MacDailyNews - Where Mac news comes first

May 09, 08 - 12:39 pm Comment from: Zach

Wouldn't they have seen her using the camera software to take the photo's? I've never used the back to mac software so I could be wrong. I know when I use Share Screen you can see everything that the other person is doing.

If this story isn't the best new idea for an Apple ad I don't know what is.

Well, she worked at the Apple Store . I wonder whether rather than sharing the screen, she used a backdoor method not widely known, to activate a Macbook camera remotely and surreptitiously? Through the Terminal?

We see you. Oh yes we do. Now stop that!

May 09, 08 - 12:54 pm Comment from: Jay-Z

@ Zach:

She might have turned on screen sharing and just taken a screen shot of the window on the computer she was using, rather than taking a photograph with PhotoBooth or iChat. Or these idiots could have been too stupid to notice her taking the picture or controlling the computer.

May 09, 08 - 12:55 pm Comment from: Tommy Boy

Zach of course they saw her taking pics. But they're retards.

May 09, 08 - 12:57 pm Comment from: mr_matalino

@mh

I thought the same thing. How do you gain remote control without the other person knowing??

May 09, 08 - 12:58 pm Comment from: Think

A third party software called Undercover works extremely well. It is invisible to the thief and takes multiple pics and other info and sends it to the company, then they contact you.

http://www.orbicule.com/undercover/

For this method, never under estimate the stupidity of criminals, one more green light, they had no idea what it meant.

Great story. Good for her.

May 09, 08 - 01:12 pm Comment from: DLMeyer

anthony007 has the right idea ... make a Mac ad out of the story. OK, sure, maybe the next mentally deficient clowns who steal a Mac portable or iMac will understand the dangers, but just as likely they'll say "leave the Mac alone ... they can track it".

May 09, 08 - 01:27 pm Comment from: The Other Steve

Can you see me now?

May 09, 08 - 01:29 pm Comment from: HMCIV

I hate that a Jeep was made an unwilling accomplice to the crime.

First off, three pounds of pot is now going for $7,500? Move over Frias and Shahikian. I'm changing careers. If you were selling pot for that much, why would you take to being a common burglar?

Second off, did the victim have her Mac set up to get open access to be remotely operated via Back To My Mac? That makes me wonder if she leaves her front door unlocked too. In fact, this whole story sounds kind of suspicious to me, but then I tend to not trust obvious PR stories. Obviously, I don't know much about .Mac and how you can share stuff back and forth between that and your Macintosh.

Just guessing, but they may have thought that it was just some pop-up advertising and completely ignored it. Then again, if the victim was a big Mac user, she could have moved everything behind the screen.

May 09, 08 - 01:37 pm Comment from: GmanMac

All she had to do was quickly minimize the Video iChat window, she could view them without her side of the video chat showing on screen.

If it was only the green light, I doubt many people would have noticed.

Orbicule's software does look interesting too:

http://www.orbicule.com/undercover/

May 09, 08 - 01:45 pm Comment from: MrScrith

I wonder if spaces works with back to my mac? have photo booth on a separate window taking snaps while the guy does stuff on the main. Also it could be that it opens up a separate session for back to my mac and not use the main window session... I need to play around with it some time.

Also should look at how logging in as someone else would work (say the main account that is logged in all the time, and a second account that's connected to .Mac and is logged in as well, but in the background) I should play around with this to figure it out for myself.

May 09, 08 - 01:47 pm Comment from: Gman

I still can't get Back to my Mac to work!! what the hell!

May 09, 08 - 01:48 pm Comment from: LinuxGuyAndMacProdigalSon

Get a rope. It solves the recidivism problem.

if you had a stolen computer, wouldn't the first thing you do when you got it would be to wipe all traces of the former owner off of it??

I'm not familiar with Back to My Mac either, but wouldn't you be able to deactivate that ability??

At this very moment I can remotely see each of you from my laptop. Moon!

We have so many idiotic Internet laws, one could imagine a scenario where she gets arrested for hacking - into her own computer. (ie. "well it's not her computer anymore!")

You can have a one-way video iChat. I do that with my two Macs. A TiPB with an iSight is connected at home. And, when I'm at work, I can start a one-way video iChat, automatically to see what's happening. Of course, you get a small dialog box, which the perp would see saying that you had connected. But if they're new to the Mac, you'd have time to do what you need to do, before logging off.

Using screensharing, you'd get a little red flashing icon in your menubar, unless you can turn that off.

Sounds like she was able to dig around on the hard drive, because she found pics of the other perp. I imagine they used the photobooth software and took pics of themselves.

May 09, 08 - 02:13 pm Comment from: Willie G

@ Rudge...

Truthfully $7500 for 3 pounds of pot is a little on the low side, unless it is dirt weed. It works out to $20 for 1/8th of an ounce. The going rate for good stuff starts at $50 for 1/8th and can go as high as $75

Even if it was at the low end of the 'good stuff' spectrum, it would street at $19,200 for 3 pounds.

So yeah, they are pretty much in league with 'common burglars'

I sort of agree with Grumpus. While I seriously doubt that the victim will actually be arrested for hacking into her own computer, it wouldn't surprise me if the criminals in this case are allowed to walk free. After all, their constitutional rights were violated by the police, who were acting solely on "unsubstantiated" evidence provided by the victim. I'm not a lawyer. But it seems to me that the criminals might be able to successfully argue that the evidence against them is inadmissible in court. What do all of you think?

May 09, 08 - 02:20 pm Comment from: eMax

No Mercy.

Give them the Death Penalty!

May 09, 08 - 02:23 pm Comment from: XLM

@WillieG

I would think you save when you buy in bulk and then add the profit back in by selling it in small amounts.

May 09, 08 - 02:35 pm Comment from: Altivec Guru

Pot is illegal. So is stealing. Case closed.

May 09, 08 - 02:43 pm Comment from: Willie G

@XLM, surely you do, but I doubt it equates to a $4,000/lb difference

May 09, 08 - 02:48 pm Comment from: El Guapo

@Jay-Z

She might have turned on screen sharing and just taken a screen shot of the window on the computer she was using, rather than taking a photograph with PhotoBooth or iChat.

A screenshot would not give a picture of the person using the computer!

"We have so many idiotic Internet laws, one could imagine a scenario where she gets arrested for hacking - into her own computer. (ie. "well it's not her computer anymore!")"

The problem is, that it isn't hacking. She is remotely accessing her own computer. That being said, a lawyer might argue that they were photographed without consent. However, since she is a private citizen and not an agent of the authorities (i.e. the police didn't ask her to do this), the motion would likely be thrown out.

Also, since there are security programs that actually do what she did, that is the security program is activated remotely, uses the built-in camera to snap pictures and send them back to the security company, I am sure it is legal.

A screenshot would not give a picture of the person using the computer!

Unless they were using PhotoBooth at the time....or iChat....or QuickTime's video capture.

May 09, 08 - 03:32 pm Comment from: Jim - TIV

I checked .Mac to confirm what someone else posted about a 30 buck savings on iLife purchased through .mac. There's an interesting piece of info... it's good only until may 26th.

Could this possibly mean that there's an upgrade coming out to iLife?

this would not be a good ad if for no other reason, it would ruin people's ability to use this technique in the future since thieves would know about it.

This story is a fake. Women don't know how to use computers!

May 09, 08 - 05:09 pm Comment from: It's About Time

I want to know why they are on the street if they were arrested last year for a drug-related felony. Makes me wonder who's the retard here.

Too bad she went to the police right away. She could have had some sensual iChat fun with these boys. Then, just when their hormonal juices were at a peak...call the cops!

Did she get her pot back too?

2 words, public exucution

May 09, 08 - 07:07 pm Comment from: ken1w

That's awesome...!

these idiots could have been too stupid to notice her taking the picture or controlling the computer.

You don't risk becoming someone's prison bitch when you have any level of intelligence.

And they're probably Windows users, used to shit popping up and doing its own thing without reason. Hell she could've launched & scripted Photo Booth, and many Windows lemmings wouldn't know the difference. After all that's how computers work....

She could have had some sensual iChat fun with these boys. Then, just when their hormonal juices were at a peak...call the cops!

Better yet, she could've done the chat posed as a 9-year old boy. Then called the cops...

May 09, 08 - 08:08 pm Comment from: Darkness

@Possible...

No chance. I'm sure the cops did this right. After seeing the photos they obtained a search warrant, with the photos as probable cause that these two lunkheads were in possession of stolen property. Since the criminals were known to them they had the address, and since the victim knew what was taken they knew exactly what to look for when they got there. Case closed.

Not a lawyer, but I've executed a search warrant or two in my time...

The most shocking thing about this story is the use of the "word" burglarized. I thought it was a joke, crazy Americans.

Obviously these two were two ignorant to know what that green led was glowing in front of them. That is a great story!!!!! Great real advertising for Apple and there back to my Mac feature.

Perhaps there should be some new laws and penalties for stealing computers...

Theft of a Mac... 1st offense: 20 years... 2nd offense: gas chamber

Theft of a PC... 1st offense: psychological and sanity testing...
2nd offense: Full time employment as Steve Ballmer's dance instructor.

@possible
It seems to me (if I remember Law and Order right) the cops job is to make the arrest, innuendo, hearsay, etc is not their job to decide. However, I am sure (since you thought of it too) there is a fricking disgusting, slimeball, morals ruining, hair splitting, racial card playing POS that will gladly take the case and probably even try and name APPLE in a counter suite for his clients!

Hi! I want to ask you for link exchange with my blog:
HP Laptops Blog. The Best!

All is well, that ends well!