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Stolen Mbp

C

chasezlegend

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 16, 2010
16
0
i recently bought a MBP. Then suddenly a couple days ago it was stolen. I havent installed any security sofware on it. I think the person that stole it is a student so he wouldn't be a computer genius, are there ANY solutions to recover my MBP
thankyou
 
You can try to contact Apple and report the MB as stolen with serial number. If and when the thief decides to bring the laptop in for service, they will know. It is the least you can do.
 
chasezlegend said:
isnt there a way to hack into the MB if i know the MAC address
Click to expand...

No, that doesn't help you in the least. You would need its current IP address to even find it. The MAC address is not something you can search on, it's a hardware address, not a communication means.

The police are your best bet. All other security would have needed to been in place before the theft.
 
this is why you put like mobile me and tracking software on it. especially when near students.

but check the security tapes to see who it was...
 
unfortunetly i dont but i have found a alright solution if your stolen mac has your email on it send an email that you think the thief would reply to, its along shot but if he replies you can trace the IP address and then find the location
 
angelwatt said:
No, that doesn't help you in the least. You would need its current IP address to even find it. The MAC address is not something you can search on, it's a hardware address, not a communication means.

The police are your best bet. All other security would have needed to been in place before the theft.
Click to expand...

Untrue. If you are in a campus environment, and you believe the machine may still be being used on campus, the people who run the network switches should be able to translate a MAC address to an IP fairly easily (I do this all the time at work).

Now, they may not be willing to help - but it is technically feasible as long as their equipment is capable (most college's equipment would allow this to happen) and the machine is still attached to the campus network.

The ARP cache on the campus networking equipment is where this information would be.
 
bamf said:
Untrue. If you are in a campus environment, and you believe the machine may still be being used on campus, the people who run the network switches should be able to translate a MAC address to an IP fairly easily (I do this all the time at work).

Now, they may not be willing to help - but it is technically feasible as long as their equipment is capable (most college's equipment would allow this to happen) and the machine is still attached to the campus network.

The ARP cache on the campus networking equipment is where this information would be.
Click to expand...

so what can i do
 
chasezlegend said:
so what can i do
Click to expand...

You would have to tell you school that the MBP was stolen and that you would like them to check the ARP cache to see if your MAC address is still showing as on the LAN at the school. This is something that is really easy to do, but they may not be willing to do that.

If it is still on the LAN, then the campus police (I'm assuming this is a college environment) may be willing to work with the IT department to help track this machine down. Networks are usually segmented by physical location, so they may be able to narrow down the location of the device.

You never know if you don't ask.

Edit:

Also, if the machine is plugged into the network physically, you are able to tell the actual network port that someone is using. That would give them a definitive location of the machine. Wireless it may be a little more difficult to find.
 
AdamRock said:
this is why you put like mobile me and tracking software on it. especially when near students.

but check the security tapes to see who it was...
Click to expand...
There is a track your MBP with Mobile Me? I did not know that and I don't think others know it either.
;)
chasezlegend said:
only problem is that we have broken up for 2 weeks
Click to expand...

chasezlegend said:
we have broken up for a 2 week holiday
Click to expand...
Huh? You mean that your ex girlfriend/boyfriend took it? This is information you completely failed to note in the OP. If you know who took it WTF are you doing here? Call the cops and get it back.
 
Ya, do you suspect it's an ex of yours? And what is this Seinfeld (broken up for the holiday - I know someone will get this reference)?

Seriously though, if you suspect it's someone you know and that they may be using the machine on campus then go to the campus police.
 
Ann P said:
You can try to contact Apple and report the MB as stolen with serial number. If and when the thief decides to bring the laptop in for service, they will know. It is the least you can do.
Click to expand...
Which will accomplish exactly nothing. Apple will not get involved, nor should they. It's not up to them to mediate or investigate claims of theft, and they do not check serials numbers at service against any kind of list of stolen property.
 
I'd second (or was it third?) the idea of contacting apple with the serial number. If if ever comes in for service, it'll be flagged as stolen.

Unfortunately, real life isn't like TV. Maybe the campus police/school will help, but I can almost guarantee that the real police won't help you. You'll fill out a stolen property report and that'll be the end of it. They won't go cyber-snooping to find your MB.

--rob
 
Some thoughts:

I doubt the school would start looking through ARP cache or any networking information without some legal intervention. You get into all kinds of sticky problems here ranging from privacy issues to resource allocation (who gets billed for the IT person's time). I work at a university and anything anybody does has to be billed to a group/department/task. However, the legal issues will most likely stop you.

Do you actually know your MAC address?

I would contact the police as the first step (both campus and area police).

I would suggest to them that the university might be able to track your laptop via networking solutions like ARP. They may be able to go to the university on your behalf.

If the university does not want to help you could contact an attorney to help you request the information. This may sound expensive but most decent colleges have attorneys you can consult for free (no kidding). We do as well as IU, PU, BS, and many others I have been at. I would contact my student government and inquire about free legal advice for students, they can probably point you in the right direction.

Lastly, be prepared to offer proof of ownership. Theft and ownership is another sticky situation. Having a credit card bill, receipt, or some other type of evidence goes along way. Put yourself in the position of the police here. If you accuse another person of stealing your laptop but they claim they have no idea who you are and have always owned this laptop, how to you tell who is lying?

Browsing the files on the computer will require a search warrant I believe so something with the serial number is your best bet.

Good Luck!
-P
 
OP: Your story isn't exactly convincing. You seem to be doing very little considering the amount of advice you have been getting. Are you a spammer? I suspect this whole thing is a hoax.
 
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