Why???

[Erasmus-X]

Perhaps this is just a rant, but I'm so frustrated.

Last Thursday my car was stolen. It happened within 5 minutes of just running upstairs to my friend's apartment so we could grab lunch before my class. The doors were locked and my alarm was armed, yada yada yada. They found a way to override my alarm (still trying to figure out HOW) to hotwire my car.

In that car I had my 15" PowerBook G4 that I purchased last July. I was already convinced that this was going to be gone if the police recovered my vehicle (which they did about a day and a half later), though I had a wealth of sensitive data on it that other people really shouldn't have. My laptop bag also contained the majority of my school work and books. Now my insurance company is fighting over covering my laptop, since there was never a waiver for it issued under my policy (stupid of me not to think about that, I suppose). To drive in that final nail, the optional credit protection policy on my Apple credit account won't cover loss or theft and my dad's place apparently doesn't have renter's insurance (go figure!). So basically I'm now stuck paying for a laptop that I no longer have.

So needless to say, I'm now in a situation where I can't afford to buy a new laptop that I desperately need for school (and it has to be a G4-based Mac; I have too much software that will only run on Macs).

What gives? It never seems to end...

 

[opticalmace]

I'm sorry to hear that.

Where was the laptop? Was it in plain sight? If for some reason I have to leave mine in my car I throw it in the trunk (whose remote release is disabled).

 

[Bootprint]

Ouch.

 

[BigJ]

Sensitive Data? As in you work for the government? Cause I know in certain agencies, if you lose that data, you will be incarcerated.

 

[PanzerIV]

If they literally did it in five minutes I feel for you especially since you actually enabled your alarm. Sounds like the thief was somebody who has done this many times before.

 

[Erasmus-X]

Well, from what I can see, he must have used a code hopper to trip the alarm and master key to start the vehicle (obviously a professional). There is absolutely no sign of a forced break-in anywhere on or in the vehicle (i.e. no broken glass, steering column, pryed doors, etc.). They must had been staking out my vehicle for some time before they broke into it. Get this:

1) I run upstairs to gather my friends. One of my friends was finishing up some work on his computer and he told me to wait for him a few minutes. A couple minutes later I hear an alarm disarming. At the time I didn't think anything of it since everyone's alarms sound virtually the same. A neighbor kid throws a rock at our door and we were like "what the f***?" We open the door and the kid says "dude, someone just jacked your car!"

2) I freak out (naturally...) and whip out the cell phone to call 911. My buddy jumps on his motorcycle to chase my stolen car down. It was being escorted by a white Saturn (perhaps also stolen). The police show up in a couple of minutes.

3) While the police were questioning myself and the witness (the neighbor kid), my buddy is still in pursuit of my car. He chases them down a few blocks while they attempt to run him off the road. Eventually, they turn into an alley and wave out a gun. So he's like "okay, done chasing them now" and proceeds back to the apartment complex.

Oh yeah, and one of the officers had the audacity to remark "man, if I would had just gone down a few more streets on my way over I would have nailed the guys." My god, that is the WRONG thing to say to someone who just lost his car and over $5000 of property.

I got the car back up and running for the most part. They let the battery completely die and they tore out my stereo, of course. The damned thing didn't even have its faceplate on it!

Sensitive Data? As in you work for the government? Cause I know in certain agencies, if you lose that data, you will be incarcerated.

Well, sensitive to me. Things like intellectual property. I have two screenplays and film projects that were being edited on that computer. But then again, they probably sold it off for drugs or something.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Encryption is your friend. Encryption plus a USB memory stick thingy is even better