I knew it was too good to be true.

[KiaKat]

Life is going pretty well for me right now.

So of course something had to go *very* wrong.

My laptop was stolen last night, at work.

I frequently bring it to work. I have my twitter accounts set up on a desktop app, I have tasting and seminar notes on there (useful for studying on slow days) and I have all my bookmarks organized just the way I like them. Easy access.

It was about 15 minutes until closing. I was getting ready to pack up, and a guy came to the door. Last night was cold, snowy, and generally miserable, so I gave only a couple thoughts to the fact that he had a hoodie on, with the hood up.

Being a bit of an exhausted idiot, I let him in. Mistake.

He came up to the desk and started to ask a question. After a few words, he grabbed both my laptop and my coworker's (she had hers at work so she could get some photos edited for an upcoming show), and ran. My coworker followed him to see where he went, and to find a cop car and maybe catch him.

I called the cops.

Do you know how many mugshots they have in the system that fit the (admittedly vague) parameters of this particular thief?

Almost 6000. I gave up somewhere around page 120.

All my passwords have been changed. I have a backup from a couple months ago when I upgraded the OS.

I miss my baby. I put a lot of care into her, and she was a wonderful computer.

[MadMike]

That has to suck. Changing your passwords was a smart move, but if you had any credit card numbers stores in there, you might want to get new cards.

[KiaKat]

I try not to store card numbers on the computer itself. Hell, I don't even keep my bank password saved. Changing that anyway.

Hm. I don't know what info Chrome keeps, though. I might put an alert on my cards, though, just in case. Thanks for the suggestion.

[CaptainJaneway]

If you get a new laptop you might want to get this software called lojack for laptops. It works like the lojack for cars.

[KiaKat]

If you get a new laptop you might want to get this software called lojack for laptops. It works like the lojack for cars.

I have the serial #, and a friend who works at Apple. Gonna try to see if I can get the MAC address and go hunting for it on the internet.

If I find it, asshole is fucked. Fiance knows all sorts of nifty tricks with OSX command line.

[earl colby pottinger]

Accounts

Also some thieves have been caught because they used the original facebook/flicker/email accounts. Check your accounts for clues if possible.

[KiaKat]

All my passwords got changed immediately, to something completely unrelated to any previous passwords. No matter what, due to the security on my computer, he has no way of getting into any account of mine.

[Kogarashi]

Did the police take down the serial numbers for the two laptops (assuming you and your coworker had them on hand)? Maybe they can keep an eye out for your machines appearing elsewhere, like pawn shops or the like.

I'm sorry this happened.

[KiaKat]

Yeah. My fiance texted me my serial number last night. Pawn shops have been alerted, I've alerted a few guys on craigslist that "buy broken macs," and so far everyone is on the lookout.

I have an associated MiM post that I need to construct. Suffice it to say, they're getting my notice tonight. And if they fire me, I'm not going to be upset.

[Elspeth]

I am so sorry this happened. I can't imagine losing my laptop like that.

*hugs*

[teh_blumchenkinder]

My laptop is actually a netbook-- which, if you know anything about those little guys, you know that generally they don't perform very well/manage somehow to perform. I keep all my files in a dropbox-- still need to figure out security on that, but anyway, I'd still be very upset. It was an investment, and I'm still attached to my little fellah!
Actually losing a computer that I have files on, and such? At least you've been smart about your lappy, too many aren't.

[Raveni]

Dropbox uses Amazon's Simple Storage Service (S3) for storage. That means that it is remarkably safe, unless you leave your account logged in*, or have a simple password to guess. Nothing is accessable to anyone else unless you put it in your public folder or exlicitly allow them access by giving them a shared link to the content.

* And by account, I mean your windows account. Once someone physically has your computer, they can easily get into your dropbox if the program is installed on it.

[Daemonmonkey]

Dropbox uses Amazon's Simple Storage Service (S3) for storage. That means that it is remarkably safe, unless you leave your account logged in*, or have a simple password to guess. Nothing is accessable to anyone else unless you put it in your public folder or exlicitly allow them access by giving them a shared link to the content.

* And by account, I mean your windows account. Once someone physically has your computer, they can easily get into your dropbox if the program is installed on it.

That goes for all auto-inlogged applications, like Skype, Messenger (all of them), etc.

[KiaKat]

I left the email account hooked into google notifier unchanged, as well as my skype. Everyone is alerted to that, and is to tell me if they see weird activity. I'm hoping to capture his IP via gmail.

Everything is so locked down on that machine, he can only wipe it and start fresh, or stick to using it for photos/documents/internet. Nothing can be installed or uninstalled without the admin password - which is a string of numbers & letters unrelated to any personal info.

[blas]

My bet is he either stole it just to sell it, or was hoping you'd have info he could steal and go shopping with.