4 ms·

A hacker’s marginal security helps return stolen computer

33 points by rick_2047 16y ago

xuhu 16y ago
I guess stolen laptops with OS X are a lot more likely to be recovered simply because there are fewer (pirated) OS X install disks laying around, so the thieves eventually cave in and just let them boot up.
- rick_2047 16y ago
  But there is this one thing which is bugging me and my sister. We haven't actually used a Mac system so this may be a stupid question. The laptop was stolen right? and everybody (excluding me) sets a password to their logins. How did the thief get the password?
  - woodall 16y ago
    The article in question is about a stolen desktop that booted into single user mode.
    - wwortiz 16y ago
      It's not actually single user mode but autologin, that is why the stolen computer user was still using the same browser and keychain as he didn't have access to admin rights.
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - vacri 16y ago
    The laptop booted straight to the desktop. The user lambasted by the hacker simply isn't "a computer guy", hardly a sin.
- borism 16y ago
  macbook (pro|air) is just a x86 PC, you can install pretty much anything onto it, it doesn't have to be Mac OS X. also, with unibody macbook (pro)'s it's trivial to replace HDD/SDD.
  - martey 16y ago
    Despite x86 compatibility, a large part of the value of Apple laptops comes from the fact that they are able to easily run OS X. It would be extremely difficult to sell an Apple laptop that did not come with the operating system preinstalled, since most of the potential buyers would expect to be able to run OS X. Replacing the hard drive would not help in this circumstance.
  - lmz 16y ago
    You could install Windows on it, but wouldn't that require Boot Camp to be set up first?
vacri 16y ago
Seen this elsewhere but: a) There is no point in the video where the guy that started using his computer /after two years/ is confirmed as the theif, even after the police finally got involved, and; b) The speaker violates the concept of privacy that is supposed to be a 'hacker value' but not only posting everything he can on this unconfirmed thief (including dick size jokes) but also by posting naked pictures of uninvolved third parties. This hacker is an arsehole, no two ways about it. The BOFH is funny... when it's fiction.
- vacri 16y ago
  but not only posting => by not only posting
- killedbydeath 16y ago
  Buying stolen goods is not very ethical either. And it should have been pretty obvious that the computer was stolen. But I personally would not be able to be that angry at someone buying my stolen computer.
  - aniket_ray 16y ago
    Obvious to us hackers. I'm not so sure that this would be obvious to a not-so-computer-savvy person who thinks he is just buying a used computer. After all his iphone is locked. Why shouldn't his Mac be?
  - forgotusername 16y ago
    I'd love to hear your foolproof means for determining if some used product is stolen, or if some reseller is not about to sell you some stolen product.
    - killedbydeath 16y ago
      The computer you bought boots into someone else's personal desktop?
joeguilmette 16y ago
Despite the ethical discussion as to how to this hacker should have treated the guy using his stolen computer, it seems that as with anything there are some important lessons worth paying attention to. Interestingly and counter intuitively, the fact that it booted into single user mode and had ssh/vnc installed were the keys to getting his computer back. I know I'm definitely going to go install some software with this in mind :)

33 points by rick_2047 16y ago

xuhu 16y ago

I guess stolen laptops with OS X are a lot more likely to be recovered simply because there are fewer (pirated) OS X install disks laying around, so the thieves eventually cave in and just let them boot up.

rick_2047 16y ago
But there is this one thing which is bugging me and my sister. We haven't actually used a Mac system so this may be a stupid question. The laptop was stolen right? and everybody (excluding me) sets a password to their logins. How did the thief get the password?
- woodall 16y ago
  The article in question is about a stolen desktop that booted into single user mode.
  - wwortiz 16y ago
    It's not actually single user mode but autologin, that is why the stolen computer user was still using the same browser and keychain as he didn't have access to admin rights.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- vacri 16y ago
  The laptop booted straight to the desktop. The user lambasted by the hacker simply isn't "a computer guy", hardly a sin.
borism 16y ago
macbook (pro|air) is just a x86 PC, you can install pretty much anything onto it, it doesn't have to be Mac OS X. also, with unibody macbook (pro)'s it's trivial to replace HDD/SDD.
- martey 16y ago
  Despite x86 compatibility, a large part of the value of Apple laptops comes from the fact that they are able to easily run OS X. It would be extremely difficult to sell an Apple laptop that did not come with the operating system preinstalled, since most of the potential buyers would expect to be able to run OS X. Replacing the hard drive would not help in this circumstance.
- lmz 16y ago
  You could install Windows on it, but wouldn't that require Boot Camp to be set up first?

vacri 16y ago

Seen this elsewhere but: a) There is no point in the video where the guy that started using his computer /after two years/ is confirmed as the theif, even after the police finally got involved, and; b) The speaker violates the concept of privacy that is supposed to be a 'hacker value' but not only posting everything he can on this unconfirmed thief (including dick size jokes) but also by posting naked pictures of uninvolved third parties. This hacker is an arsehole, no two ways about it. The BOFH is funny... when it's fiction.

vacri 16y ago
but not only posting => by not only posting
killedbydeath 16y ago
Buying stolen goods is not very ethical either. And it should have been pretty obvious that the computer was stolen. But I personally would not be able to be that angry at someone buying my stolen computer.
- aniket_ray 16y ago
  Obvious to us hackers. I'm not so sure that this would be obvious to a not-so-computer-savvy person who thinks he is just buying a used computer. After all his iphone is locked. Why shouldn't his Mac be?
- forgotusername 16y ago
  I'd love to hear your foolproof means for determining if some used product is stolen, or if some reseller is not about to sell you some stolen product.
  - killedbydeath 16y ago
    The computer you bought boots into someone else's personal desktop?

joeguilmette 16y ago

Despite the ethical discussion as to how to this hacker should have treated the guy using his stolen computer, it seems that as with anything there are some important lessons worth paying attention to. Interestingly and counter intuitively, the fact that it booted into single user mode and had ssh/vnc installed were the keys to getting his computer back. I know I'm definitely going to go install some software with this in mind :)