Help recovering stolen notebook

Hi everyone,

my brother is a university student and yesterday someone broke into his rented apartment and stole his HP Pavilion dv6515ej notebook (this model is only available in Israel), so i was wondering if you guys know what steps i can take in order to recover it (aside from filing a police report), if there are any...

any advice is appreciated

 

Unless LoJack for Laptops was installed on the system, there really is no way to track it down. File a report though, as the police might be able to track it down.

 

should i state in the report anything else other than the serial # of the lappy (color, product #, and all the other things written on the box)?
unfortunately my brother didnt install LoJack on his system, is there a possibility that it was pre-installed by HP? how does it work anyway?

Thanks

 

I would also have him or the original purchaser call HP to report the notebook stolen. This way, on the slim chance the thief ever needs tech support, they can use the S/N or service tag to identify him and help track him down.


LoJack is a tracking system. It would have to have been explicitly requested or installed after the fact.

 

It's going to be difficult to recover unless you have some identifying marks. You can post a description on campus bulletin board. Serial numbers can be changed or peeled off. LoJack is a good idea. Also a locking cable is good but they might actually destroy the laptop if they can't get it.

 

Unfortunately, they're out of luck unless they think it was a university student who stole it. If that's the case, you could tell the school's tech support and give them the IP for that computer. Then when they try to use the school's network, they'll know where the computer is.

 

@jin:

The IP? Most schools I've seen use dynamic IP addresses, so an old IP address would be about as useful as saying, "It's the one with a black keyboard!"

Now, if the OP happened to have the ethernet and WLAN MAC addresses, THAT would be useful.

 

Ah. Mine used one that tagged each and every computer. I thought it might be like that at other schools. A couple laptops were stolen and that's how they were found.

 

i have no idea whats the ethernet and WLAN MAC addresses of it, maybe the ISP i used for it knows? or maybe its written somewhere other than in the notebook itself (like on the box or HP database)?

 

It's doubtful that anyone would know. The ISP MIGHT have a record of MAC IDs connected from your brother's location, and HP MIGHT have recorded the HFC MAC ID of one or the other component, but I really wouldn't count on it. It's worth spending a few minutes checking into, though, because ISPs could be alerted to watch out for that particular MAC address on the off chance that it WAS stored somewhere.

 

Sad reality is you are probably boned, or rather your brother is. Did he have renters insurance or theft insurance? If not you probably wont ever see that laptop again. Still at the very least you should file a police report with the S/N.

Sorry man

-Reby

 

I don't suppose he had it on a router? If so you might be able to check the router logs for the MAC address.

 

It was connected through a wireless router, how do i check the router logs?
and what can i do after i find (if i find) the MAC address?

 

Look for it on ebay/craigslist

 

I live in Israel, i dont think it would get there...

 

I'm not network-savvy enough to tell you how to check the router logs (it's just something I've never done), but once you find the MAC, find someone technically minded with the police and report it. They should be able to work with ISPs to watch for that particular MAC ID.

 

unfortunately i couldnt get the MAC address, i asked the ISP it was connected through to find the MAC for me by checking the router logs or by any other way, but they didnt know what the hell i was talking about and said that it was impossible since they can only see the everchanging ip (even though they have complete control over the modem and router) :/

anyways, thank you guys for all the help... i guess my bro will have to survive withought a notebook for a while

 

If your brother was using a router at home, the router would keep a log of the mac address of the laptop. If this is the case and assuming that the laptop would be used on the university network, then the IT department could potentially track everytime that laptop logged on. Then depending on the IP that it gets assigned, you could potentially narrow down the area where the laptop could be. But there are many assumptions in this scenario. Good luck to your brother!

 

To check the router logs, you'll need another computer to log into the administration screen of your brother's router, not the ISP's router. You'll need the router's manual or call the manufacturer's tech support for the exact procedure, but this should get you started. If you don't have another computer at your brother's place then bring one there, don't unplug the router and bring that to another computer or you'll lose the logs.

The router may have been set up to only allow administrator access from a wired connection, so get a network cable and plug the computer in. Turn on the computer and start a browser. You may have to turn off any firewall software running on the computer. Type the router's IP address into the browser. If you don't know what the IP address is, go to your Network Connections, click on the Local Area Connection, View Status of this Connection, Support. The router's IP address is the set of numbers beside Default Gateway (probably something like 192.168.x.y). This should bring up the router's login screen. You'll need the administrator's password if one was set. Log in and look around for the logs. If you're lucky, there will be a log and it will contain the MAC address of the stolen computer.

Note that not all routers keep logs. My D-Link router at home keeps a log but I have an old SMC Networks router here at work that I don't think had such a function (I haven't been able to get past the login screen on it for years now). Good luck.

 

A regular college student doesn't usually write down their connection information. What to do is when the police department advertises that there will be a display of stolen goods, you can go and claim an item if you can prove that it's yours. Hopefully said laptop might show up, but it'll be a rare chance.

 

jimbob, the first thing my brother did when he got home after the theft was unplug the modem and router :/
and he doesnt have his own router, only the one his ISP supplied...

 

Oh well . You could try accessing the router's logs anyways on the off chance that the router stores its logs in non-volatile memory (probably grasping at straws now).

 

Just thought I should add, don't feel too bad about the router log, it probably wouldn't have helped much anyways. I thought your brother was connected through his school's network and if it was another student they would likely use the computer to connect to the school's network. Since your brother connected through another ISP having the MAC address would only have helped if the thief uses the same ISP (unless you could get all other ISPs in the area to watch for this address as well), and only if the thief connects directly, not through a router.

 

finding the MAC could still be usefull, if the ISPs could see the MAC addresses of their costumers, but i have talked to nearly all of them (there are only like 6 here ) and they all said they can only see the ip not the MAC (which is not very useful)... we are also assuming here that the thieves access the internet instead of just stripping the nb down and selling it in parts or just replacing the NIC (if its even possible in laptops) or just not accessing the internet... i also heard something about MAC spoofing which farther decreases the chance of finding it...

well, thanks for consoling me

 

If you're brother used his laptop in college and actually connected to the network, most colleges make you log your laptop in with them so they can determine your MAC address and who is using their network at any given time. Especially for wireless they do this, so that they only allow people that have signed up for it can access it for security reasons. Ask your brother if he used it on the college's network, and if he did, ask him if he had to register his computer with the college. If he did have to register it, the college should be able to tell you the MAC address, and if somebody at the college did steal it and tried to use it on the network they should be able to tell you. That's only if the person that stole it goes to the College though.

Best of luck to you though! My friend actually got her laptop stolen last year and she ended up having to buy a new one, so I know what a pain it is from that experience.

 

he did use it on the university's network, but he didnt register his nb with the university, anyone can access the network...
I also hardly believe its someone from the university...

Edit: he told me that when trying to access the Internet from the university's grounds (using the university's ISP) it first brings you to a page where it asks you to press "Continue" and when you do you are connected... maybe this procedure takes your nb's info and logs you in?

 

If the laptop is automatically connected to the internet then the settings are automatic. The University can probably see the connection but that person could be anywhere. Unless they do triangulation finding to see where the signal is being sent to... watching too many CSI episodes!! hahaha

 

shishio, It will be very difficult if not impossible to recover a notebook or laptop if stolen. Lojack or pcphonehome should have been installed prior to the theft. A police report will help but,it is only effective if local businesses are cooperative as well as individuals watchful eyes. If you can't recover your notebook, you will have to just consider this event as a hard lesson learned............or maybe you know of someone in your university that came across a notebook mysteriously overnight ..............

 

Since the thief stole the laptop he might actually come back and break in again because he'll know that your brother will be replacing it and will steal again! Be forewarned.

 

Get renter's insurance for next time.