[caption id="attachment_3539" align="alignnone" width="497"]
Hot, hot, hot! I did steal this graphic though. Click the image to go to the original source.[/caption]
I wonder if a laptop is stolen every half-hour in Vancouver, or once every five minutes, or maybe one-per-minute -- I have no idea. But I know all-too-well they get stolen, along with iPads, cell phones, and everything else that isn't nailed down, and people naturally look for culprits among the poorest people they see -- the homeless. Understandable, but a bit ironic, as the homeless are frequently themselves victims of theft: Their loaded shopping carts are walked-off with while they cash in bottles at supermarkets; their bikes are stolen for lack of a good lock; their sleeping gear is taken from a stash spot in bushes. I've had a loaded backpack stolen at a library while I dozed off, while other patrons watched ("your friend came and took your bag"). I've had bags of bottles yanked off my trailer while I was in McDonalds getting a coffee, and I've even had people steal the empty garbage bags.
So, speaking of stolen laptops -- in the Waves coffee shop on West Broadway at Spruce, day before yesterday -- I overheard a man at the counter asking an employee to keep a lookout for any homeless person with a MacBook Pro computer, or, any rubby who didn't look like they should have anything that nice -- boy. That got my undivided attention! He went on to say that someone had broken in to his office through a security-barred window, and made off with a "plate full of change, two X-boxes, and a MacBook Pro."
Being the outgoing, friendly person I am, I waited till he took his drip coffee to the condiment station -- which was happily near where I was sitting -- leaned towards him, and caught his attention: "Excuse me. I heard what you said at the counter. I'm homeless, and this is my laptop," I said, waving his gaze towards my satisfyingly glossy black HP tanktop, which lumbered quietly on the little marble table in front of me.
His reply started something like "Bhu, bhu ...," but we settled into a chat ranging from homeless folk I know, who all have laptops they didn't steal, to the sad fact I'd had my MacBook Pro stolen in the very coffee shop we were sitting in. "Then you know how I feel," he said. Sure I did. Though it turned out it hadn't been his MacBook, but his friend's -- he had his with him.
I mentioned his friend might consider getting a webcam security app for his next MacBook. He thought Macs had that built in. I mentioned MacKeeper off the top of my head, but I see it is quite controversial.
I thought about how some of us let our Web browser "remember" our passwords, so I also suggested his friend consider changing passwords to any Web-based services, like Gmail. He called his friend, and asked him if he'd kept any lists of passwords on his laptop. He went on to tell me his office was in the Downtown Eastside, and he'd gone to all the places where you might find a stolen laptop in that area, with no luck -- I found this statement curious to say the least -- Was the theft there, or here, in Fairview? How would he know all the places?. And not once did he say anything about reporting the theft to the police. Whatever. theft is wrong, unless it's food to feed your family.
My laptop runs the Ubuntu version of the Linux operating system. When I install Ubuntu, I choose the option to encrypt my Home folder. So, assuming a thief can't crack my password ("pudding" -- all lowercase) then, if they boot my laptop using, say an Ubuntu live DVD, and they don't have the long encryption key, they should only see gobbledy-gook in the place of my personal content. And I think, in a future install, that I should look at password-protecting the boot loader itself, which should stop thieves from being able to boot from a live image.
Hot, hot, hot! I did steal this graphic though. Click the image to go to the original source.[/caption]I wonder if a laptop is stolen every half-hour in Vancouver, or once every five minutes, or maybe one-per-minute -- I have no idea. But I know all-too-well they get stolen, along with iPads, cell phones, and everything else that isn't nailed down, and people naturally look for culprits among the poorest people they see -- the homeless. Understandable, but a bit ironic, as the homeless are frequently themselves victims of theft: Their loaded shopping carts are walked-off with while they cash in bottles at supermarkets; their bikes are stolen for lack of a good lock; their sleeping gear is taken from a stash spot in bushes. I've had a loaded backpack stolen at a library while I dozed off, while other patrons watched ("your friend came and took your bag"). I've had bags of bottles yanked off my trailer while I was in McDonalds getting a coffee, and I've even had people steal the empty garbage bags.
So, speaking of stolen laptops -- in the Waves coffee shop on West Broadway at Spruce, day before yesterday -- I overheard a man at the counter asking an employee to keep a lookout for any homeless person with a MacBook Pro computer, or, any rubby who didn't look like they should have anything that nice -- boy. That got my undivided attention! He went on to say that someone had broken in to his office through a security-barred window, and made off with a "plate full of change, two X-boxes, and a MacBook Pro."
Being the outgoing, friendly person I am, I waited till he took his drip coffee to the condiment station -- which was happily near where I was sitting -- leaned towards him, and caught his attention: "Excuse me. I heard what you said at the counter. I'm homeless, and this is my laptop," I said, waving his gaze towards my satisfyingly glossy black HP tanktop, which lumbered quietly on the little marble table in front of me.
His reply started something like "Bhu, bhu ...," but we settled into a chat ranging from homeless folk I know, who all have laptops they didn't steal, to the sad fact I'd had my MacBook Pro stolen in the very coffee shop we were sitting in. "Then you know how I feel," he said. Sure I did. Though it turned out it hadn't been his MacBook, but his friend's -- he had his with him.
I mentioned his friend might consider getting a webcam security app for his next MacBook. He thought Macs had that built in. I mentioned MacKeeper off the top of my head, but I see it is quite controversial.
I thought about how some of us let our Web browser "remember" our passwords, so I also suggested his friend consider changing passwords to any Web-based services, like Gmail. He called his friend, and asked him if he'd kept any lists of passwords on his laptop. He went on to tell me his office was in the Downtown Eastside, and he'd gone to all the places where you might find a stolen laptop in that area, with no luck -- I found this statement curious to say the least -- Was the theft there, or here, in Fairview? How would he know all the places?. And not once did he say anything about reporting the theft to the police. Whatever. theft is wrong, unless it's food to feed your family.
My laptop runs the Ubuntu version of the Linux operating system. When I install Ubuntu, I choose the option to encrypt my Home folder. So, assuming a thief can't crack my password ("pudding" -- all lowercase) then, if they boot my laptop using, say an Ubuntu live DVD, and they don't have the long encryption key, they should only see gobbledy-gook in the place of my personal content. And I think, in a future install, that I should look at password-protecting the boot loader itself, which should stop thieves from being able to boot from a live image.
Prey is an impressive looking opensource anti-theft application for Linux, Apple, Windows, Android, and iOS. Here's Lifehacker's review and feature walk-through.
Password protecting Ubuntu's boot loader ►
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I enjoyed this post immensely.
Fortunately for me no self respecting thief would be seen dead with my 2006 Dell. Bastard thing's too heavy to take anywhere much anyway...
LastPass is a useful way to manage passwords. Security nerds have debates and religious wars over what sort of thing you should use to manage those. Did you see the Ellen Degeneres clip lampooning the company that was selling - in all seriousness - a nice pre formatted PAPER NOTEBOOK so you can write them all down and keep them with your laptop?
I've used full disk encryption when I've done installs in the past but I haven't bothered this time. Unless someone knocks me out and grabs my laptop while I'm logged in and browsing the web theyre not getting my passwords. And besides - 2006 Dell Inspiron ;)
Owning shitty looking but highly functional kit is a very good security measure. I don't know if you read William Gibson's Virtual Light - but in it there's a San Francisco bike messenger living in a squat on what used to be the the Golden Gate Bridge - and when she gets her new bike she goes to huge pains spraying fake rust on the thing and wrapping it in duct tape.
I think if by some miracle I were to get a new laptop it would be a Lenovo and I'd give it a going over with some steel wool and a compass to make it as fugly looking as possible...
S'cuse lengthy blather - I'm on my second cup of coffee since getting up.
Given the following facts: 1) MacBook Pro's, and all things Apple are targetted by theives. 2) There's a massive market for cases, and shells for Mac, and iGear, then why is no one making shells/cases/covers to disguise the stuff as, well, crap. I love the idea of making a MacBook look like a 1996 IBM StinkPad, or imagine you iPad masquerading as a Newton! Bhaw-hah! -- wait, I think I'd steal that.
HEH. Yep. Me too.
Quick comment about the Bridge Trilogy -- T'rif'! Idoru, the middle child, is my fave of the three. I imagined Gibson and Stephenson had a bet to see who'd create the coolest future courier. Y.T. in Snow Crash (1992), and Chevette in Virtual Light (1994).
Good call. I've wondered for awhile what sort of a menace to the fictional multiverse YT and Chevette would be if they met. Or maybe they'd hate each other ;)
Oh damn - I just realised I got my Gibson trivia wrong - NOT the Golden Gate - Oakland Bay - considering I've read the books however many times that's embarrassing...
That aside I particularly like Keithy Blackwell as a character in "Idoru". Gibson based him on Mark "Chopper" Read - he's a well known figure in this part of the world - mostly due to his skill at self publicity...