laptop incrimination

[heavy Wind]

Hey brothers first post so i'll start simple.

Is there ways that someone could track a stolen laptop? such as through internet use?

[heavy Wind]

oh and how would you go about erasing the previous owners infromation linking him to his stolen property?

[crazy white guy]

there isnt a whole lot of risk unless you plan on selling it at a pawnshop or similar place. you could sell it at a flea market without any trouble. The only thing that i know of that will be traced is the IP. that can be easily hidden with a proxy. If they find you with the laptop then they probably wont look through the files and history. So your relatively safe. If i were you i would buy/make a case/cover for it so it wouldn't be recognized as the same laptop as you stole.

[Th0r]

The simple way of deleting everything?

Format the hard disk drive.

The harder way; Format the hard drive, change the Mac Addresses of everything. Then reinstall Windows under a different name.

[lcnostra]

Use killdisk to not just erase, but overwrite the HD with crap. Install a new copy of Windows and remove any identifying labels and such from the pc. Use a program like MAC makeup to change the mac addies of the NIC and wireless card.

If you want to be ultra cautious, remove the hard drive and destroy it, replace with a new HD of equal capacity. Also replace the wireless card and use a pcmcia NIC, but there are such things as duplicate macs.

[crazy white guy]

unless the laptop has tonnes of financial information on some drug lord, its not going to take that much to hide it. Its not like the FBI will be looking for you for a stolen laptop.

[Th0r]

Use killdisk to not just erase, but overwrite the HD with crap. Install a new copy of Windows and remove any identifying labels and such from the pc. Use a program like MAC makeup to change the mac addies of the NIC and wireless card.

If you want to be ultra cautious, remove the hard drive and destroy it, replace with a new HD of equal capacity. Also replace the wireless card and use a pcmcia NIC, but there are such things as duplicate macs.

www.killdisk.com

http://www.gorlani.com/publicprj/macmakeup/macmakeup.asp

The aforementioned programmes.

[death11284]

I just wanted to say that I don't think it would be tracked through IP addresses. This is because the IP address isn't going to be the same because it's the same laptop, so unless you use the original owners internet the IP wouldn't be the same.

The only conceivable way would be through MAC addresses, but you could change that easily. Other than that I think there are a couple of "vendor numbers" on the RAM, and a couple of other places, but like you said the FBI isn't gonna be looking for it.

Those are ways someone COULD, but I don't really think there are any ways someone WOULD.

[OMH]

I wouldn't worry too much about being tracked, i'd be more concerned about the unique identifiers on the laptop (such as serial number, etc) being linked to you.

Peel off the stickers on the buttom of the laptop which have the serial number on. If you were found with it, there would be no way of linking that particular laptop to the stolen one. It's not like the previous owner would have noted the MAC address, but they may have noted the serial number (for insurance purposes maybe.. i know i would if i had a laptop) which is gonna look bad for you if the cops turn up and the laptop you have has the same serial number on as the dude has noted down.

If you're ultra paranoid, i'd also recommend the solutions put forward by other members such as killdisk/swapping hard drive and using a Network Interface Card rather than connecting to the internet through the built in ethernet port or wireless...

Edit: Sorry, i see someone has already suggested removing the labels :P

[UKSWAT]

Really, don't be naive people. Formatting a hard drive leaves every minuscule of data left, data recovery programs can easily recover it. Don't even use shredders because most forensics teams can recover data past the maximum amount of passes a shredder can make.

If you're unlucky he would have installed a program which forces the laptop to report your location as soon as it gets internet access, another deterrent. Aside from that, there are many pieces of identification on a laptop:

1. Stickers
2. Vista registration
3. Component serials

It only takes the owner to record one of these discrete serials and the laptop can be identified.

In summary, can you remove the evidence? No.

[Th0r]

UK SWAT, to an extent is correct.

Also burning papers may seem like a good way to dispose of incriminating evidence, particularly regarding White Collar Crime. The Security services, MI5 and in the USA, the CIA have developed lasers that can show what little remains on the paper...

Shredders don't work. They serve as a prevention to minor Punks. For the persistent ones, a bunch of shredded papers won't serve as an obstruction...

Oh and recovering information from a formatted HDD is a risky process. And a difficult one; To say the least...

[UKSWAT]

I was talking about a data shredder, not paper shredders.

[Th0r]

I was talking about a data shredder, not paper shredders.

They don't work either.

The McAfee Data Shredder, I believe was 'hacked', as was another programme, that the creators claim is used by the United States DoD and the Secret Services in America.

Result of this; Shredders don't work, and I have a tendency to misunderstand posts at 10 PM...

[crazy white guy]

I was at a friends hose and their parents had a shredder that shred in diagonals to make thousands of elongated diamonds that are about .8 cm and their longest point and about .5 ant their shortest. I cant believe that anyone would take the time to re-assemble these as a piece of paper. There are enough cuts that the majority of the letters wold be destroyed or be rendered unrecognizable.

[edit: spelling errors]

[Th0r]

Believe me, if people think your details are worth going after they will put the effort in.

[RoundElephant]

I don't want to pay for windows so would it be a bad idea to install a pirated version of windows on it, and then try to sell it? Will the buyer find out?


Also CWG a diagonal paper shredder would produce shreds that are easier to put together then vertical ones. There is only one of two places for the same sized paper to go if it is cut diagonally.

[Th0r]

I don't want to pay for windows so would it be a bad idea to install a pirated version of windows on it, and then try to sell it? Will the buyer find out?



It depends how you've pirated it and the authenticity of the XP that the copy was made from.

[Mr.A]

Best bet is to format the disk. At least five times.
Then the MAC addresses.
(Pretty much what Th0r said)


As for your windows question, it would be better to get the real mccoy. Steal a copy. From your school if your still in school, or your employer, 'm sure they'd have one too.

[Æhµ]

Be sure NOT to log onto the internet with a stolen laptop, it may have security software that tracks where (by IP) it's being used (like Skyhook et al). There are some websites that store serial numbers of stolen laptops so its wise to remove the serial or create a bogus serial sticker for it - google "stolen computer registry" you'll find a lot of them.

SMAC or similar will easily change a MAC addy (I honestly doubt MAC addys are used to track stolen laptops).

If you cant log onto the laptop you may have to pull the battery on the motherboard to kill the BIOS, then install a new BIOS which you should be able to dl from the web. Run a shredder on the HDD and install a bootleg copy of whatever OS you feel like. You only need a shredder to wipe out whatever app is used for tracking so no need for DoD or NSA level shredding, that's what you use when trying to destroy CC#'s on your drive when you think the cops are coming for you.

[RoundElephant]

Cell them anonymously.

And if in any way they find out the OS is pirated, be it when their trying it out, say you bought it off of some China website for $40 and it seemed like a good deal. But the latter probably won't happen as long as you sell it anonymously.