Don't steal a hacker's computer

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
N

Narmer

Diamond Member
Aug 27, 2006
5,292
0
0
tcsenter said:
The video actually doesn't address or answer this at all.
Click to expand...
Yeah. The Mac was stolen in Boston and the user was in Las Vegas. It could've been put on ebay or something. The presenter did not say how the mac got to Nevada.
 
Blackjack200

Blackjack200

Lifer
May 28, 2007
15,995
1,688
126
Narmer said:
Yeah. The Mac was stolen in Boston and the user was in Las Vegas. It could've been put on ebay or something. The presenter did not say how the mac got to Nevada.
Click to expand...

Not to mention it was two years later.

...On the other hand, who steals a computer and then waits two years to hawk it? At the very least the guy knew or should have known that he was using a stolen computer - buying a computer with no documentation, no recovery discs, and no access to admin rights? That's a bunch of horseshit. So I guess I don't feel too bad for the guy.

I don't see how he justifies including the pictures of the girls though.
 
postmortemIA

postmortemIA

Diamond Member
Jul 11, 2006
7,721
40
91
seriously, you buy computer and seller don't give you admin access ... it is obvious that it is stolen. Thus, even if he didn't do it, he knew what he was getting.
 
frostedflakes

frostedflakes

Diamond Member
Mar 1, 2005
7,925
1
81
I have some relatives set up on limited accounts, most people just get on the internet and don't really install programs or do stuff that would require access to an admin account. I could totally see a computer illiterate person not even knowing what an admin account is or running into issues not having access to it. Just saying. I think a lot of people are seriously overestimating how much knowledge your average user has about the more complex workings of their computer.
 
Last edited:
SSSnail

SSSnail

Lifer
Nov 29, 2006
17,458
83
86
frostedflakes said:
I have some relatives set up on limited accounts, most people just get on the internet and don't really install programs or do stuff that would require access to an admin account. I could totally see a computer illiterate person not even knowing what an admin account is or running into issues not having access to it. Just saying.
Click to expand...
That's why the perp "bought" a Mac, everyone knows this. The stuffs that the hacker did was all trivial, I first thought he hacked through some serial number DB where the asset was being tracked (by some other entity) and then did everything else and not just accessing what he installed.
 
punjabiplaya

punjabiplaya

Diamond Member
Nov 12, 2006
3,495
1
71
frostedflakes said:
I have some relatives set up on limited accounts, most people just get on the internet and don't really install programs or do stuff that would require access to an admin account. I could totally see a computer illiterate person not even knowing what an admin account is or running into issues not having access to it. Just saying. I think a lot of people are seriously overestimating how much knowledge your average user has about the more complex workings of their computer.
Click to expand...

yeah, ssh, vnc, dyndns, that stuff isn't all that complex, but for the average person it is.
 
T

tcsenter

Lifer
Sep 7, 2001
18,934
567
126
postmortemIA said:
seriously, you buy computer and seller don't give you admin access ... it is obvious that it is stolen. Thus, even if he didn't do it, he knew what he was getting.
Click to expand...
This guy is obviously not a savvy or advanced computer user. Most people aren't. It is entirely plausible that he had no idea the computer was stolen. I've received off-lease computers that still had user data on it. And this is presumably from a supply chain where an IT person was supposed to have laid their hands on or cleared it at some point.

I will trust/hope that the owner did in fact confirm that he was involved either with the burglary or knew the computer was stolen but just neglected to mention that.
 
Last edited:
rockyct

rockyct

Diamond Member
Jun 23, 2001
6,656
32
91
I think his biggest "lesson learned" at the end should have been to get a fucking offsite backup. The guy still lost most of his data even though he got his computer back. I have a Windows Home Server box that backs up all of my computers, but I also use online Crash Plan storage to keep the essential stuff safe.
 
geno

geno

Lifer
Dec 26, 1999
25,074
4
0
Very interesting story for sure, lol'd at the perp's pics / browsing habits. A couple of things I don't get though : this guy was on a dialup connection, right? How the hell was this guy running VNC? I'm sure you can scale it back a bit to make it narrowband-friendly and all, but he must have been getting a screencap every 20 seconds. Also, with the IP being dynamic, what were the odds that that same IP would come back and it happen to be his box being assigned it? That part seemed awfully coincidental. I'm not calling shens, just asking how that one worked out. With a certain pool of IPs versus a number of users, what's the likelihood that Mac would get that IP again? Or did I miss something in the video?
 
TridenT

TridenT

Lifer
Sep 4, 2006
16,800
45
91
geno said:
Very interesting story for sure, lol'd at the perp's pics / browsing habits. A couple of things I don't get though : this guy was on a dialup connection, right? How the hell was this guy running VNC? I'm sure you can scale it back a bit to make it narrowband-friendly and all, but he must have been getting a screencap every 20 seconds. Also, with the IP being dynamic, what were the odds that that same IP would come back and it happen to be his box being assigned it? That part seemed awfully coincidental. I'm not calling shens, just asking how that one worked out. With a certain pool of IPs versus a number of users, what's the likelihood that Mac would get that IP again? Or did I miss something in the video?
Click to expand...

It had to have not been dial-up. The ISP was Cox. They're a cable company.
 
911paramedic

911paramedic

Diamond Member
Jan 7, 2002
9,448
1
76
Kaervak said:
A hacker that uses a mac? LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUULLLLLZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ


Sorry, had to do it.





P.S. I'm a Linux user, nice and smug.
Click to expand...

Macs use Unix as an OS IIRC.

EDIT: NM, I see this has already been addressed.
 
Last edited:
Cogman

Cogman

Lifer
Sep 19, 2000
10,286
145
106
NOT a hacker. This guy is some random dude with several ways to access his machine. Quit calling random people that use random software "Hackers". (though, the story was entertaining.)

The only part he would have goofed up is where he would let the thief know he has access to the computer. If he wanted to get his stuff back, he would have never let the thief in on the fact that he knew where he was.
 
Cogman

Cogman

Lifer
Sep 19, 2000
10,286
145
106
geno said:
Then why did was the IP unresponsive at times? Cable modems are always on :hmm:
Click to expand...

The modems may always be one, but the computer is not. Many cable modems are just bridges, they just pass packets without checking them.
 
M

melchoir

Senior member
Nov 3, 2002
761
1
0
geno said:
Also, with the IP being dynamic, what were the odds that that same IP would come back and it happen to be his box being assigned it? That part seemed awfully coincidental. I'm not calling shens, just asking how that one worked out. With a certain pool of IPs versus a number of users, what's the likelihood that Mac would get that IP again? Or did I miss something in the video?
Click to expand...

He got the IP to begin with from an auto updated DNS record. Every time the IP changed (every time it signed on) this record would be auto updated. He used the host name for pinging/connection purposes.
 
geno

geno

Lifer
Dec 26, 1999
25,074
4
0
Cogman said:
The modems may always be one, but the computer is not. Many cable modems are just bridges, they just pass packets without checking them.
Click to expand...

Every cable modem I've ever used is assigned a dynamic public IP each time it's powered on. But then again, as far as Cable goes, I've only worked with Comcast in my region so that may vary. The setup you describe would make sense for the story in the video.

melchoir said:
He got the IP to begin with from an auto updated DNS record. Every time the IP changed (every time it signed on) this record would be auto updated. He used the host name for pinging/connection purposes.
Click to expand...

Ah, I thought I heard him say he kept trying to ping the IP, this makes plenty of sense though. What a lifesaver it was for him to leave DynDNS running all the time! :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom