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Filmmaker Installed Security Software On a Decoy Phone To Spy On Smartphone Thieves (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the very-particular-set-of-skills dept.

An anonymous reader writes from a report via The Verge: Dutch film student Anthony van der Meer had the unfortunate pleasure of having his phone stolen while having lunch in Amsterdam. Unsatisfied with the response from the Amsterdam police, who register an average of 300 stolen phones per week, Meer decided to find out what kind of person steals a phone. He downloaded DIY security software on a decoy Android phone, intentionally got the phone stolen, and was able to spy on his thief for weeks. He recorded the ups and downs of his covert investigation and turned it into a 22-minute documentary called Find My Phone. Meer preloaded the decoy device with an anti-theft application called Cerberus, which allows the owner of the device to access any file on the phone remotely, as well as discretely activate the phone's camera and microphone. Meer and his friends were able to navigate the technicalities of surveilling the thief with relative ease. They even snapped a close-up of the guy's face. The hard part, it turns out, was getting the preloaded phone stolen in the first place. It took Meer four days to get his device pilfered in a city with high rates of theft because concerned citizens kept coming to his rescue.

68 of 118 comments (clear)

  1. Nothing odd here, no sir... by SuperKendall · · Score: 2

    Not to sound too paranoid, but a guy who switches out phones to use a new stolen phone every two weeks or so, sets the phone to Arabic, and makes a few calls back to Egypt every few days... does the film make find nothing even a tiny bit odd in all that?

    The rest of it wouldn't matter but the "use a phone for two weeks than toss it" approach to phone use seems mighty suspicious, along with apparently just sitting idle... waiting to be activated as it were...

    Also, no description of his preferred porn? Not a very hard-hitting documentary!

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by nulldaemon · · Score: 2

      You find it odd that an Egyptian speaks Arabic and calls home every few days, then takes his phone to a phone shop after he mysteriously gets remote credit where the phone is evidently wiped?

    2. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by SuperKendall · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You find it odd that an Egyptian speaks Arabic and calls home every few days

      As I siad, no. Actually that part is pretty normal, UNTIL....

      then takes his phone to a phone shop

      Then the phone is sold off every two weeks, and a new one obtained illegally... meanwhile he does nothing all day. Where is his income from? Have you ever lived in Amsterdam? I have, it's damn expensive. Also I don't swap out phones every two weeks. Have you never even seen a single episode of Breaking Bad? Nothing seems at all off about the way this guy lives his life and treats his phones? OK then, I look forward to your self-introspection covering for you if we see that guy in the news someday.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    3. Re: Nothing odd here, no sir... by Jack9 · · Score: 1

      ...or he's just integrated software and it accidentally turned the output to arabic sometimes due to intention (maybe that's part of Cerebus) or accident. I wouldn't be surprised that he didn't detail the bugs of his program(s), especially if there were proprietary or not-so-EULA bits used. There's nothing about the film maker that seems like he's trying to be a major anything other than "innovative" documentary maker.

      --

      Often wrong but never in doubt.
      I am Jack9.
      Everyone knows me.
    4. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 2, Funny

      Then the phone is sold off every two weeks, and a new one obtained illegally... meanwhile he does nothing all day. Where is his income from?

      Selling stolen phones.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    5. Re: Nothing odd here, no sir... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Another non-programmer Slashdot reader. What the hell do you guys do? IT support? What?

      Good applications will query the device's locale. Say, your device has 15 apps. You go to the settings page for the device and switch the locale from en_US to en_GB. Now "color" is spelled "colour" and "favorite" is "favourite" and the date format changes from MM/DD/YY to DD/MM/YY and so on. It's better that your 15 apps automatically pick up your new locale instead of having to set it individually 25 times. A programmer should also account for instances where the app may be different than the system and allow a preference to override the system, but in most cases for most apps, if not explicitly set within the app, it should defer to the device's locale setting.

    6. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

      Somebody who steals and uses other people's phones isn't exactly a model citizen; but the notion that an Egyptian immigrant who doesn't...exactly...look to be living the high life would want cheap telecommunications, prefer an Arabic localization, call home periodically; and take 'his' phone in to the shop for a look when its weird behavior becomes too jarring to ignore doesn't seem terribly suspicious.

      Yes, I suppose a particularly low-budget terrorist might also do all those things(though apparently the ISIS-preferred model for command-detonated IEDs is a nokia; unknown if this means that Mr. Elop needs to watch his back for what he did); but that is true in the same (largely useless) sense that "the guy at the shooting range plinking away with his AR-15 is doing what somebody practicing for a spree killing might do" is true. Yes, it isn't false; but the worrisome cases are drowned out be the number of similar looking and uninteresting cases.

    7. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by thermidor · · Score: 5, Informative

      An alternative would be to actually watch the film, where you'll learn that he regularly topped up the phone (and did watch porn).

    8. Re: Nothing odd here, no sir... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The Cerebus interface on the Windows PC was in Dutch. The Arabic you saw was the data from the stolen phone... For example, given your preferred language is English, if you managed to install this software onto a Russian's Android phone, the call history db, location history db, messages, etc would be sent back to you in Cyrillic. Cerebus is not translating the payload.

    9. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by bytesex · · Score: 3, Funny

      He lives in Amsterdam. He doesn't have to have income - he gets social security!

      --
      Religion is what happens when nature strikes and groupthink goes wrong.
    10. Re: Nothing odd here, no sir... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      ...or he's just integrated software and it accidentally turned the output to arabic sometimes due to intention (maybe that's part of Cerebus) or accident.

      OK, fine. Don't look for malice where incompetence can be found I guess. With the same reasoning the thief probably switched language to Arabic by accident too. (Because for some reason speaking Arabic means that you are a terrorist?)

      It's not guaranteed, but seems very suspect don't you think?

    11. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      He probably used the phone until he exhausted all the money on it.

      Did you watch the movie? The guy repeatedly added credit to the phone.

      I happened to have watched the whole thing before it was posted to Slashdot.

      Most people use tablets or computers to watch porn.

      Again, I refer you TO THE ACTUAL MOVIE.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    12. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      He kept the same SIM card in a new phone (as you can see in the movie that the phone's original owner calls the guy at the same number long after the phone has been offline), making changing the phone itself rather pointless. The phone was probably either damaged or pawned. Better put the guy on a watchlist for being Egyptian, poor, and possibly clumsy though!

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    13. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      He kept the same SIM card in a new phone (as you can see in the movie that the phone's original owner calls the guy at the same number long after the phone has been offline)

      Incorrect. Watch starting around 20 minutes in. He says that he lost it at a phone shop as "that is where the sim was removed". He doesn't know what happened after that and did not try calling the number after that. He simply that that if the phone is enabled again the story will continue...

      Way to cover for a possible murderer though! I'll note blood is on your hands if anything happens. I've filed away your ID and made a special note of it so that if anything occurs, I can point to you as a potential collaborator. After all, why else would you be covering for a criminal?

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    14. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      A criminal? That's the thing that filled me with dread throughout the movie, the best evidence we have that he actually stole the phone himself is that the language was set to Arabic immediately and never changed. It's quite possible this guy just bought a used phone from the actual thief who also spoke Arabic, and this movie is exploiting a man who simply unknowingly bought stolen property. The 4 days of inactivity soon after the theft makes more sense in this scenario.

      Getting back to the matter of the SIM card being reused in another phone, I think you're confusing the order of events.

      If you watch starting at 18:30, the owner speaks of the phone going offline. Directly after, he calls the "thief" - the only phone number he would have for the "thief" would be from the SIM that was in the stolen phone, but that phone is offline, so the SIM must be in another phone.

      Then he shows his attempted meeting with the "thief" and then after the 20-minute mark, he recaps the phone going offline where the SIM card is removed. Not a new incident.

      But he's a possible murderer for doing weird stuff with a phone while Egyptian! Next time some innocent brown person gets sent to Gitmo should the blood be on your hands? Will you be a potential collaborator in torture too? By the coocoo logic you used on me, you would be!

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    15. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by amicusNYCL · · Score: 2

      meanwhile he does nothing all day.

      How do you know what he does all day? I missed the part of the movie where the filmmaker described the guy's routine every day. Maybe he has the phone off while he's working. Maybe he helps his friends. Maybe he meets women and tries to get them to give him money.

      Where is his income from?

      He stayed in at least one homeless shelter and doesn't have enough money for a bus. He probably doesn't have a huge amount of income, or maybe he just sends what he does make to family somewhere else.

      Then the phone is sold off every two weeks

      Where are you getting this "every two weeks" from? Did you miss the part of the movie where the filmmaker thinks he has a certain picture of the guy and then shows up and actually sees him and realizes that the guy isn't what he had in mind? But here you are, thinking you know all about the guy. Do you detect the irony at all?

      --
      "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
    16. Re: Nothing odd here, no sir... by amicusNYCL · · Score: 1

      Cerebus: the dyslexic guardian of the underworld.

      --
      "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
    17. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

      >Better put the guy on a watchlist for being Egyptian, poor, and possibly clumsy though!

      Or for being a thief maybe.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    18. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

      >But he's a possible murderer for doing weird stuff with a phone while Egyptian!
      He's a definite thief.

      >Next time some innocent brown person
      He's no so innocent. He's a thief.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    19. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      He again. Please stop basing your reality on television shows.

      That's not what I base reality on, I base reality on the very real use of burner phones by criminals, well documented in any number of news stories including many news stories of past terror attacks in Europe). Breaking Bad just happens to be an extremely accurate example of the reason they call them burner phones, one most people would have seen.

      Just because something is in a TV show, does not mean it is NOT really happening in real life also.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  2. Meh. by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 2

    The "story" such that it is doesn't go much deeper than the Slashdot summary. It would be nice if there was a more tasty tease to watch the film, such as the perp used the phone to run some sort of huge prostitution business or a huge drug ring or maybe some sort of Islamic terrorism.

    Given that there is no such tease, we can assume the perp used it to call his grandma now and then in some faraway place.

    --
    If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
    1. Re:Meh. by Hognoxious · · Score: 5, Insightful

      well the joke is that since it was intentionally given to be stolen(or "found") and then spied on the people, he was actually breaking all privacy laws you could think of.

      You made that up. Stop lying.

      Nobody forced the little shit to steal it.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    2. Re:Meh. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      The "little shit" was a middle aged man. And perhaps it's different where you live, but in the Netherlands being the victim of a crime does not imply one is free to commit crimes against the perpetrator. Recording conversations is not allowed without permission unless you're a participant in the conversation according to Dutch law. Secretly photographing or filming people in private settings also isn't allowed. Yes, the film maker broke laws, and no, being the victim of theft does not make it legal to do so. I don't feel sorry for the thief at all, but that doesn't make it legal.

      Interesting detail: the first location where the film maker thought the thief probably lives is just around the corner from where I live. I didn't recognise the guy, though.

    3. Re:Meh. by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 1

      well the joke is that since it was intentionally given to be stolen(or "found") and then spied on the people, he was actually breaking all privacy laws you could think of.

      it wasn't a "decoy", it was just a phone with spying software that he left to be found.

      stupid article really. though I have to wonder how many creeps do this on purpose - to just creep.

      You steal someone's phone and, IMHO, you give up any right to privacy whenever you use it. It's still the original owner's phone so accessing it is not breaking into someone else's system and anything on the phone belongs to the owner. I realize privacy laws may dictate otherwise but I would expect common sense to rule if some their tried to claim there rights were violated.

      --
      I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
    4. Re:Meh. by Wulf2k · · Score: 1

      Sure, maybe morally/ethically, but legally you can't just record any conversation you can slip a microphone into.

      Especially when you then hit Slashdot proclaiming that none of it was accidental recording and you had full intent to commit those specific crimes repeatedly.

  3. Since TFA only has facebook comments... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    ...I'll have to vent my frustration here. You don't take last names by just taking the last separate word of someone's name. The guy doesn't have two middle names "van" and "der" his last name is "van der Meer"

  4. Nuts by freeze128 · · Score: 4, Funny

    "van der Meer had the unfortunate pleasure of having his phone stolen while having launch in Amsterdam."

    You really got to watch out for that... Having Launch. That's what sent Bob Denver into space.

    1. Re:Nuts by lhowaf · · Score: 1

      Not to mention Joel.

  5. Praying by kanweg · · Score: 5, Funny

    I had to laugh when the thief consulted an imam who told him that Allah would give him what he wanted if he prayed every hour for 24 hours. But the thief didn't notice Allah had already given him a smartphone without praying! Those mysterious ways are really universal. Take another person's possessions and thy will receive. Fool another person, and you will receive tithes.

    Bert

    1. Re:Praying by stephanruby · · Score: 1

      I had to laugh when the thief consulted an imam who told him that Allah would give him what he wanted if he prayed every hour for 24 hours.

      If this is the best financial advice muslims receive, then I feel bad for them.

      Following that advice won't get them very far in our modern society.

    2. Re:Praying by twosat · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bike. Then I realised that The Lord doesn't work that way, so I stole one and asked him to forgive me." Emo Philips

    3. Re:Praying by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That's basically how most religions work. Tell people to pray really hard and claim credit for anything good that happens. Offer some vague, poorly translated dogma that can be twisted to justify whatever the interpreter needs at the time. Interesting to see it in action so candidly though.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    4. Re:Praying by Maritz · · Score: 1

      Poor naive fools don't realise that you're supposed to pay lip service to religion and then do what you want.

      --
      I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
    5. Re:Praying by allcoolnameswheretak · · Score: 1

      ... and blame the infidels for all the bad things that happen.

    6. Re:Praying by antifoidulus · · Score: 1

      That's actually what motivates a lot of western terrorists. Look at most of them(Al-waki, the Nice terrorist, the Charlie Hebdo guys, the Orlando shooter, the list goes on) and you will find that most of them lead very "sinful" lives before "finding" religion and then committing terrorist acts

      The religious leaders convince them that they aren't at fault for "succumbing" to sin, its the fault of society for allowing them to fail in the first place, thus the "logical" conclusion for them is to attempt to change the society so it won't allow such sin in the future by installing Sharia law. First step in doing so is obviously killing as many infidels as possible....

      --
      Monstar L
  6. That is funny by Black+Parrot · · Score: 1

    Unfortunately, also probably a good way to get yourself thrown in jail or murdered.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  7. The hard part was getting the phone stolen by sanf780 · · Score: 2

    Well, it was not a fan favourite iPhone but a mediocre HTC. I do not believe the aftermarket for HTC spare parts is too lucrative, even if the police told so.

  8. Re:Who the fuck cares? by OolimPhon · · Score: 2

    Because a modern phone isn't really a phone any more.

    It is what used to be called a Personal Digital Assistant, a handheld computer that might just occasionally be used for making voice phone calls.

    It is a web browser, diary, ebook reader and everything else. Most people use them on wifi and avoid the phone companies whenever they can.

  9. Re:This is violation of privacy by Hognoxious · · Score: 4, Informative

    The word you're looking for is entrapment. However that requires a policeman to actively encourage the criminal to commit the act.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  10. Re:This is violation of privacy by thegarbz · · Score: 1

    I think thief should file a lawsuit against filmmaker for making his private live public without consent. Probalbly he would be able even to defend himself from charge of theft, because it evidently was a provocation.

    Wow. America, fuck yeah right?

  11. Re:Amsterdam by lxs · · Score: 1

    Yeah stay away.
    We have far too many of you fucking retards visiting the place. (Over 17million every year on a population of less than a million, it's starting to look like Venice here)

  12. Re:This is violation of privacy by stephanruby · · Score: 1

    I think thief should file a lawsuit against filmmaker for making his private live public without consent.

    What would be the point in the thief exposing himself?

    The filmmaker pixelated his face, censored his name, and didn't get the police involved (This second time around, the filmmaker was more interested in making his film, not recovering the second phone). Hopefully, the filmmaker provided the address to the police of the phone shop where the phone finally got wiped. The police should try to sell stolen phones to that particular phone shop, to see what happens.

  13. Re:This is violation of privacy by geekmux · · Score: 2

    I think thief should file a lawsuit against filmmaker for making his private live public without consent. Probalbly he would be able even to defend himself from charge of theft, because it evidently was a provocation.

    Maybe he should have had the thief agree to a 4,207-page EULA first. After all, that's how corporations have made invasion of privacy legal for years.

    Government doesn't even bother anymore. They just fucking do it and dare you to do something about actions that once were illegal and (in America) used to be constitutionally protected.

    TL; DR - Control is an Illusion. Privacy is a Delusion.

  14. Re:This is violation of privacy by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    That's US thinking, with your fantasies about "due process" and "admissible evidence". Europe is more like "You steal my stuff, your ass is mine!"

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  15. Re:This is violation of privacy by drolli · · Score: 1

    I really wonder how many laws the filmmaker broke.....

    Unless all of this was known to everybody and just as show.

  16. You must be American. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Only in your country do you consider thiefs "victims."

  17. Re:Amsterdam by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

    At least you guys are better at keeping the water out than the Italians are, so it won't look too much like Venice.

  18. Re:This is violation of privacy by volodymyrbiryuk · · Score: 2

    Yeah they should lock away that 'filmmaker' scumbag for good and give that thief a medal for exposing a conspiracy of illegal privacy violation.

    --
    sudo rm -r -f --no-preserve-root /
  19. Re:This is violation of privacy by thegarbz · · Score: 1

    No the EU has due process and admissible evidence too.

    What this is is some twisted view that someone who steals something has a right to expect it to be as he bought it, and that there's an expectation that people take care of the scumbags who thieve from them (like the guy in the USA who tried to rob a house, fell through the skylight, cut his leg on a choppingboard, sued the home owner and ... won.

    We have zero tolerance for that bullshit in most European countries, and when the Brexit happens I think it will be all European countries.

  20. Re:This is violation of privacy by geekmux · · Score: 1

    I think thief should file a lawsuit against filmmaker for making his private live public without consent...

    Privacy is a delusion.

    Humans are caught on camera and audio dozens of times a day by doing nothing more than walking around this planet, so let's drop the dramatic bullshit regarding "consent".

    As far as exposing a criminal, fuck 'em. I'd rather this concept go viral to help destroy the stolen cellphone market that obviously thrives rather well.

  21. Re:This is violation of privacy by AvitarX · · Score: 1

    I'm not sure leaving something behind is enough to count as inducement in the US.

    Person wasn't convinced to steal, person clearly has the capacity to take a phone left behind, and people leave phones behind often enough that I'd think the typical opportunity was there too.

    --
    Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
  22. Re:Who the fuck cares? by Maritz · · Score: 1

    Obviously, from your comment, you are a drastically unimaginative person who can only see their own viewpoint. Now - this is going to blow your mind - most people don't have phones as cheap as $25. Lots have phones that go $400-$600 or more.

    So unfortunately, it can matter if it's stolen. And yes, of course, anyone who doesn't see the world exactly like you is a complete idiot - this is slashdot, after all.

    --
    I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
  23. Re:This is violation of privacy by Maritz · · Score: 1

    Yeah. "I stole a phone, and I was subsequently provoked into stealing it."

    --
    I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
  24. Re:Amsterdam by Maritz · · Score: 1

    You not liking it is seriously tempting me into visiting.

    --
    I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
  25. Phone Theft by jon3k · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm not sure how phone theft is still happening. At least iPhones, not sure about Android. But if you put a password on your phone then report it stolen, I thought it was useless at that point? Could never be reactivated by another person. Is that not the case?

    1. Re:Phone Theft by gavrc · · Score: 1

      That's what the Apple tells you. Do you believe the manufacturer or what happens in real life?

    2. Re:Phone Theft by guruevi · · Score: 2

      It is the case if you activate a pin and register your phone with Apple, also report it stolen afterwards to police and Apple. It also can give it's location among other things. Many people don't know that though and many thieves target and get away with unlocked phones and many people don't bother reporting thefts like that to police.

      On the other hand, a nice iPhone is always good for it's parts, a car is relatively 'unstealable' as well between VIN numbers and online registries, that doesn't mean that stolen cars don't have value.

      --
      Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
  26. Re:This is violation of privacy by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

    I think thief should file a lawsuit against filmmaker for making his private live public without consent. Probalbly he would be able even to defend himself from charge of theft, because it evidently was a provocation.

    Yes, this would be a totally European thing to do. But act fast because the political climate there is changing fast.

  27. location =/= locale by luis_a_espinal · · Score: 1

    Honestly, I find using the location mightily irritating.

    I want my language to always be English. Always. Which is what my OS is set to.

    Then some shitty noob programmer comes along and checks my location, overrides my preferences and sets the language to whatever country I'm in. No thanks.

    Jesus Christ man, location =/= locale. Truly, so much for techies.

  28. Re:This is violation of privacy by gfxguy · · Score: 1

    I don't think it would be all that interesting to hear such a case - I doubt anyone believes you have a reasonable expectation of privacy using someone else's phone, particularly without permission.

    --
    Stupid sexy Flanders.
  29. Re:Fun Ethical Question by gfxguy · · Score: 1

    Yes, it's still stolen.

    If you leave your car, running, doors wide open, and someone takes it, it's still stealing.

    If I leave the door to my home wide open and someone comes in and takes things, it's still stealing.

    Taking something that does not belong to you is stealing no matter how easy it was.

    --
    Stupid sexy Flanders.
  30. All for naught by lhowaf · · Score: 1

    In the end, the police response was the most efficient and correct. After all the effort and expense, not a thing was done to further the cause of "justice."
    Report the crime, recover data and wipe the phone if you can and move on.

  31. He stole my laptop... I stole his dignity. by Miamicanes · · Score: 1

    The filmmaker was a wimp. This presentation at DEFCON by a guy who got his Mac stolen was EPIC:

    https://youtu.be/Jwpg-AwJ0Jc

    Spoiler: he showed the guy's adult selfies, online dating profiles, Google searches, and more. The moral: if you want to keep your data safe, use robust encryption and access security. If you'd rather get your computer back (or at least, hours of entertainment at the thief's expense), configure it with auto-login (so the thief won't even BOTHER to reinstall the OS) and remote control software w/DDNS client. :-D

  32. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  33. Re:This is violation of privacy by kaatochacha · · Score: 1

    Those people are called "thieves", and should be treated accordingly.

  34. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  35. He's doing an AMA on Reddit by Clifton+Beach · · Score: 1

    He's doing an AMA on Reddit: www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/5jg18f/iama_anthony_van_der_meer_director_of_the

    --
    42 hidden comments
  36. Parts by phorm · · Score: 1

    Phones are often like cars, the value of the parts meets or exceeds that of the whole. Even if they can't use the phone itself, they now have a working LCD/digitizer (often $150-$300 value for newer phones), battery, buttons, speaker, etc etc.