Note: I modified this blog when I reAlized that the hacker was 18 instead of 11 before read the article
He was telling me about a college student who had has computer stolen but who got it back in a unique way. Begin quote.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1369007/Computer-geek-turned-detective-Mark-Bao-foils-theft-social-networking-sites.html#ixzz1HQ4fRsBx
Revenge of the computer geek: Student uses his techno savvy to track down 'dumb' thief who stole his MacBook
Rachel Quigley
Last updated at 6:36 AM on 23rd March 2011
He doesn't look like your everyday detective - but he could certainly teach them a thing or two.
Mark
Bao is a Massachusetts college student with enough computer savviness
to track down a thief who broke into his dorm and stole his laptop.
The
18-year-old's MacBook Air was stolen in February and through the help
of Social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, he was
able to track the perpetrator down single (and gadget) handedly.
Detective: 18-year-old Mark Bao found the thief
who stole his laptop by tracking down his hard drive and finding
pictures of the perpetrator
into a computer's hard drive, Mark found an access point into his
missing computer and into his hard drive and browser history.
What he found led him to turn detective as he unravelled the investigation to his delighted Twitter followers.
Discovering
a photo that the thief had taken of himself using Photo Booth, Mark
tweeted: 'Wow. The first thing that MacBook thieves do REALLY IS take
pictures on Photo Booth. I didn't think they were that dumb!'
He
then discovered that the thief had recorded himself doing a dance to
Tyga's Make it Rain and immediately posted it on YouTube, tweeting: 'The
video is up! This is the dude who stole my MacBook Air a few months
ago.'
He then traced him back to his Facebook page using the
browser history and then not only had the thief's name but found that he
was another student living in the same building as him at Bentley
University.
He then informed his Twitter followers: 'He goes to my school! a few floors down from my dorm.'
Thief: The student who stole Mark¿s computer videoed himself, Mark then traced him via Facebook
He
tweeted: 'And yes, I have thief guy's Facebook and everything. I'm too
busy to stage any serious lulz (sic), but don't worry... lulz (sic) will
certainly happen.'
The student-turned-detective discovered this only two days ago and had to leave for an interview at NYU.
Upon
his return yesterday he reported the matter to police, giving them all
the evidence he had collected on his online investigation.
Speaking
to the MailOnline he said: 'I don't hold any grudges against him. He
returned the laptop this morning to the police and then sent me a
message on Facebook telling me and saying he was sorry etc.
'I don't hold grudges because I don't have time nor patience to. There are more important things in life.'
Because
he already replaced the stolen laptop Mark is planning on selling it
and donating the proceeds to Japan saying: 'The disaster is just
terrible and they need all the help they can get.'
According
to his online profile, Mark Bao is an entrepreneur and founder of two
non-profit organisations, The Genevine Foundation, which aims to fight
homelessness and poverty, and The Centre for Ethical Business.
His tagline is: 'I move fast. I'm ambitious. I'm out to make change.' end quote.
The point my son was trying to make to me was that if this kid who is obviously an A student type had time to (in his spare time from college) track a kid down who stole his computer, "What could a real criminal or a government hacker of any nation by the thousands in concert do?" Since my son spent his twenties being a computer expert and building and repairing computers before he got his bachelor of science in nursing because at 30 he decided, "I would rather fix people than computers" , after he lost two aunts and his wife's best friend and life was beginning to feel very short to him in a new way.
So, because he used to "and still does in his spare time as a hobby" live with his Ipads, Macbooks, IBM pc clones etc. whenever his wife gives him the free time to do so, I trust his 150 IQ reach into all this stuff past present and future.
Even I know quite a bit as well about computers having been a computer programmer and computer operator back in 1966 through 1970 before there was random access memory or microprocessors and when any computer you worked on likely was close to a million dollars including its peripheral equipment and there were no windows because they were worth so much you didn't want anyone to know (that didn't work there) where those million dollar setups were.
So, the point he was making to me is that "all cellphones have been tracking everyone on earth since 9-11" as a way to catch terrorists. The IPhone and android thing now is about keeping a record of where everyone goes 24 hours a day which is something different. So all governments could know where every person who has a cellphone is in any given moment since 9-11 all over earth. The new thing is keeping records of where everyone has ever been with their cellphone.
Also, my son was telling me that governments now have technology where they can see anyone inside their houses (doing anything) as well as hear any conversation they want to anywhere on earth from satellite or by vans or trucks driving by your home. So, are there any secrets left anywhere? Maybe.
For example, on a clear day satellite cameras could read the date on a dime on the ground from space 20 to 30 years ago. What can they do now?
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