As I just had my 17" PB stolen, I'd like to better protect my new Mac
Book Pro.
I now have my whole user directory encrypted with FileVault.
I would assume this renders attempts to get at my data futile.
It does not get a stolen laptop back though.
What would your recommend as "phoning home" software that sends back any
new IP addresses the computer is connected to (private and public, ie through routers), preferrably free- or shareware. And preferrably
something that is run faceless with cron, so it does not show up in the
task list usually.
Is there anything else that I can do preventively (other than locking it
up :-)?
Engraving an e-mail address/name on the case, ...
What would your recommend as "phoning home" software that sends back any
new IP addresses the computer is connected to (private and public, ie
through routers), preferrably free- or shareware. And preferrably
something that is run faceless with cron, so it does not show up in the
task list usually.
Entity Marc Heusser uttered this profundity:
What would your recommend as "phoning home" software that sends back any new IP addresses the computer is connected to (private and public, ie through routers), preferrably free- or shareware. And preferrably
something that is run faceless with cron, so it does not show up in the task list usually.
I would suggest this kind of script run from cron:
curl http://checkip.dyndns.org/ > /private/tmp/IP.html ; scp /private/tmp/IP.html /private/tmp/IP.html login@address:webPath
I ran it just now and it works well when ssh is already set up. The result
is seen here: http://Gnarlodious.com/IP.html
There may be a way to pipe the curl output directly into the scp command without creating a temp file, but I don't know how.
As I just had my 17" PB stolen, I'd like to better protect my new Mac
Book Pro.
I now have my whole user directory encrypted with FileVault.
I would assume this renders attempts to get at my data futile.
It does not get a stolen laptop back though.
What would your recommend as "phoning home" software that sends back any
new IP addresses the computer is connected to (private and public, ie through routers), preferrably free- or shareware. And preferrably
something that is run faceless with cron, so it does not show up in the
task list usually.
Is there anything else that I can do preventively (other than locking it
up :-)?
Engraving an e-mail address/name on the case, ...
In article <marc.heusser-E169FC.11330820042006@idnews.unizh.ch>,
Marc Heusser <marc.heusser@CHEERSheusser.comMERCIALSPAMMERS.invalid>
wrote:
As I just had my 17" PB stolen, I'd like to better protect my new Mac
Book Pro.
I now have my whole user directory encrypted with FileVault.
I would assume this renders attempts to get at my data futile.
It does not get a stolen laptop back though.
What would your recommend as "phoning home" software that sends back any new IP addresses the computer is connected to (private and public, ie through routers), preferrably free- or shareware. And preferrably something that is run faceless with cron, so it does not show up in the task list usually.
Is there anything else that I can do preventively (other than locking it up :-)?
Engraving an e-mail address/name on the case, ...
Not to be a killjoy, but if I were the type to be swiping a powerbook, I
can *GUARANTEE* this much:
*NO* "phone-home" or "where are you?" type scheme would ever get a
chance to work. Why not? Simple:
My very first move (probably even before completing my "getaway") would
be to pull the batter(y/ies) and render the machine inert until I had
time to dink around with it at leisure. Once that time came, the machine would never see a network connection of any kind because every card,
cable, antenna, or anything else that even looked like it *MIGHT* be a
"get in touch with the outside world" device would be
disconnected/removed before I powered it up.
If I thought there was data on it that I wanted, it would fire up
completely isolated until I got an inventory of what there was I wanted, that data would be copied off to a USB drive of some sort, and then I'd proceed to wipe the machine's drive and do a re-install from CD/DVD
media.
<poof>
So much for your "phone home"/"lo-jack" scheme...
Not to be a killjoy, but if I were the type to be swiping a powerbook, I
can *GUARANTEE* this much:
*NO* "phone-home" or "where are you?" type scheme would ever get a
chance to work. Why not? Simple:
<poof>
So much for your "phone home"/"lo-jack" scheme...
*NO* "phone-home" or "where are you?" type scheme would ever get a
chance to work. Why not? Simple:
My very first move (probably even before completing my "getaway") would
be to pull the batter(y/ies) and render the machine inert until I had
time to dink around with it at leisure. Once that time came, the machine would never see a network connection of any kind because every card,
cable, antenna, or anything else that even looked like it *MIGHT* be a
"get in touch with the outside world" device would be
disconnected/removed before I powered it up.
If I thought there was data on it that I wanted, it would fire up
completely isolated until I got an inventory of what there was I wanted, that data would be copied off to a USB drive of some sort, and then I'd proceed to wipe the machine's drive and do a re-install from CD/DVD
media.
Don Bruder <dakidd@sonic.net> writes:
Not to be a killjoy, but if I were the type to be swiping a powerbook, I can *GUARANTEE* this much:
*NO* "phone-home" or "where are you?" type scheme would ever get a
chance to work. Why not? Simple:
[ a day's work of details omitted ]
<poof>
So much for your "phone home"/"lo-jack" scheme...
And then you would fence it for 10 cents on the dollar, and retire in
style.
I'll grant you that whoever would steal my laptop could be a computer
savvy hacker too cheap to buy his own computer, or an agent from the
FBI working with the NSA to get my secrets. I could see the chances
of failure easily as high as 5% --- if one counts in there the
outright failure of the program to work, or the possibility of its
winding up in the trash instead. Either would be far more likely
than your scenario.
In article <4447da6c$0$1497$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net>,
Don Bruder <dakidd@sonic.net> wrote:
*NO* "phone-home" or "where are you?" type scheme would ever get a
chance to work. Why not? Simple:
My very first move (probably even before completing my "getaway") would
be to pull the batter(y/ies) and render the machine inert until I had
time to dink around with it at leisure. Once that time came, the machine would never see a network connection of any kind because every card, cable, antenna, or anything else that even looked like it *MIGHT* be a "get in touch with the outside world" device would be
disconnected/removed before I powered it up.
If I thought there was data on it that I wanted, it would fire up completely isolated until I got an inventory of what there was I wanted, that data would be copied off to a USB drive of some sort, and then I'd proceed to wipe the machine's drive and do a re-install from CD/DVD
media.
That's what YOU would do. What's your basis for assuming that any
random thief is as computer-savvy as you?
Given that many people who buy used computers don't seem to know enough
to start by reinstalling the system, you seem to be radically
overestimating the odds that a prospective thief is going to be anywhere near as clued-in as you.
As I just had my 17" PB stolen, I'd like to better protect my new Mac
Book Pro.
I now have my whole user directory encrypted with FileVault.
I would assume this renders attempts to get at my data futile.
It does not get a stolen laptop back though.
What would your recommend as "phoning home" software that sends back any
new IP addresses the computer is connected to (private and public, ie through routers), preferrably free- or shareware. And preferrably
something that is run faceless with cron, so it does not show up in the
task list usually.
Is there anything else that I can do preventively (other than locking it
up :-)?
Engraving an e-mail address/name on the case, ...
TIA
Marc
curl http://checkip.dyndns.org | ssh hostname 'cat > /path/to/IP.html'
but I like Barry's solution much better.
I would wipe the disk too if I were a thief - but there is always hope
that a thief does not know Mac's that well. Or am I just dreaming ;-)
In article <marc.heusser-1A125F.01421921042006@idnews.unizh.ch>,
Marc Heusser <marc.heusser@CHEERSheusser.comMERCIALSPAMMERS.invalid>
wrote:
I would wipe the disk too if I were a thief - but there is always hope >>that a thief does not know Mac's that well. Or am I just dreaming ;-)
Might he first boot it to try to steal personal data from it?
A clever identity thief would probably remove the disk and connect it as
a second drive on their own machine, but I wonder if most would bother.
Wouldn't it be easier to simply not put it online?
Once a machine is in the hands of someone
with enough know-how (and the smarts to USE it) then *ALL* protection
offered by said scheme is worthless.
Better by far to not let it get stolen in the first place - nail it
down, never leave it alone, even for a moment, etc.
(Yes, I understand that isn't always practical/convenient. If it's
important enough, you'll *MAKE* it possible, regardless of practicality
or inconvenience.)
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