[sek929]

Yesterday I came home from work to see the side door of my new home shattered. Went inside to discover my PS4 and my iMac had been stolen along with various other small electronics.

We moved in about 2 months ago and we're just starting to get nice and settled in, no my g/f is terrified and I have a new door to install this weekend.

Criminals suck

[subego]

Ugh. Totally sucks.

[OAW]

Awww man that really blows. I had a similar incident several years ago and had a flat screen TV taken. The violation of it all is really hard to get past. Any new people in your home lately? Contractors? Friends of friends? Etc. In my situation it was a day or so after I had a new security system installed by some guys canvassing the neighborhood offering great "deals" on new equipment in exchange for a monitoring service contract. To this day I think they were the ones who did it. Because nothing of the sort happened in the area before that or since. Since then I've been particularly leery about who I let inside my home.

OAW

[starman]

That sucks, sorry to hear that. Make sure you report the s/n of the PS4 to Sony. Is your iMac on Find My Mac?

[Laminar]

Had a friend go through the same thing last year. Idiots broke a window that they ended up not being able to open, then smashed through a door. They missed his pricey liquor, cigars, cash, guns, and most of the electronics. They got the (less valuable, more sentimental) heirloom jewelry and a 10 year old DSLR. It happened during a huge funeral for two police offers so response time was over a half hour, and the officers that showed up spent most of their time complaining about his expensive taste in scotch. Obviously nothing was recovered.

Did you have Back to My Mac enabled? Is there a chance the computer would phone home?

[sek929]

He took down the sn of the PS4, unfortunately the iMac is all but untraceable as I got rid of all its documentation years ago.

They took an old iPhone 5 that we use to play music in the living room, then turned it on hours later in a nearby city. That location was also given to the cops since all our iDevices are on the same account for find my phone.

Major silver lining is that they left the doors open and my cats did not escape and get lost, that would have been a bit too much to bear.

I had an old iMac G5 kicking around too, then picked it up and inspected it but left it in the middle of the office, and also left a nice fresh entire hand print on it, that was taken by the detective as well.

The worst part is definitely the invasion of our private space, many things were rifled through and now my g/f is jumping at loud noises...

[andi*pandi]

That really sucks. Goes to show even if you lock your doors determined thieves will find a way. They must have known you had good stuff.

[sek929]

Oh yeah, in the same desk that the iMac was sitting on was about 500 in cash they didn't find, but they did take a box of old concert stubs and sporting event tickets we had saved.

They were definitely looking for their next fix and only interested in small items they could carry, and our old ticket stubs too apparently.

[P]

This sucks. I recognize this feeling of invasion of privacy, have heard that from friends who have had the same thing happen to them.

Anyway: You can most likely figure out the serial number of your iMac if it was ever used with your AppleID, for iTunes or iCloud. Go here:

https://appleid.apple.com/

and sign in with your ID and password. Devices associated with your account are shown there, and you can click them to see the serial number. They seem to stay on that page for a long time, as it still shows my MBA which I haven't used in months by now, but the iMac which broke close to a year ago is gone.

[The Final Dakar]

Well that's **** me up for a few weeks.

Good news about the cats though

[Doc HM]

also if you can get into iCloud you can remote lock/wipe the iMac and have it display the rude message of your choice on the screen at boot.

The nasty feelings associated with it all are the worst part though. Hope your g/f gets better with it.

[P]

Originally Posted by Doc HM 

also if you can get into iCloud you can remote lock/wipe the iMac and have it display the rude message of your choice on the screen at boot.

Remote wipe is only available if you have enabled it in various settings, though.

[ort888]

I was hoping this thread was somehow about Ca$h. Sorry to hear it's not.

The only time i've had things stolen from my house, it was by people I knew... which doesn't make it better, but somehow lessens the feelings of violation.

[Jawbone54]

Man, I'm sorry...

The violation of privacy and security is a terrible hurdle to get over. I hope you and your GF recover some peace of mind soon.

[The Final Dakar]

I actually think I had a nightmare last night because of this thread. Dreamt my car was broken into and stripped clean except for the radio with removable face.

[Waragainstsleep]

Originally Posted by sek929 

He took down the sn of the PS4, unfortunately the iMac is all but untraceable as I got rid of all its documentation years ago.

If you bought it direct from Apple they should be able to track down the invoice which will have the serial number. You might need to call the store you bought it from, retail and online were separate a few years back. If it came from a 3rd party, they have long been required to track serials too.

Also there is a good chance its info was logged via an iCloud login even without Find My Mac. Its worth a few calls if you think the serial will help.

[sek929]

It was bought in 08, from the Apple Store refurb section.

I'll be giving them a call after dinner

[mindwaves]

Sorry to hear the news.

I used to live in a single family detached house and was always frightened at the possibility of someone breaking in. However, ever since moving into a condo-like building with a doorman, my fears have been 100% alleviated. I like such places. I can (and have) left for two weeks without the slightest fear of someone breaking in. I do admit that picking my door lock is relatively easy as I had a locksmith do it in a couple of mins after having locked myself out.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by mindwaves 

I do admit that picking my door lock is relatively easy as I had a locksmith do it in a couple of mins after having locked myself out.

Watching a locksmith unlock one of our office doors in less than two seconds planted a seed of fear that I didn't expect. It's bizarre how easy it is with the right tools.

[Snow-i]

Sucks.

I've had my car broken & broken into twice in the last year. I live in downtown denver and park it in a garage that has 24/7 security and 200 cameras. Both times the culprit was caught on video, and neither time were the police able to catch the guy(s). The first time some asshole just kicked in my headlight, for no apparent reason, on his way back to his car. The cameras in the garage don't have the resolution to make out license plates (don't get me started on how dumb that is). The second time, this past january, some guy drove up to my car, smashed my window, rifled through all my stuff, and ended up taking a 10-yr old garmin GPS and an even older radar detector, combined value about 10 bucks. The window? 700 for replacement and re-tinting. I ended up trading in the car that very day (i had planned to get a new ford escape this summer, but i didn't want to drop 700 on a car i was planning to trade in). In the 2nd incident, they haven't caught the guy AFAIK but they did find the car he used to get into the garage to break into mine - it was stolen and they found it near red rocks completely burnt out. I guess what I'm saying is it could have been worse for me, but the feelings of anxiety, anger, and violation are still there.

I had a very stern talk with the security manager of the garage, considering I pay over 200 a month to park there. Quite simply, the guys weren't doing their jobs and everyone knew it. The second time, when my car was broken into, the culprit hung out in the garage for over 30 minutes AFTER smashing my window looking for other cars to break into. Security must have been sleeping.

First thing I did when I got my new Escape was to knock my comprehensive deductible down to 100 bucks, in case of future bullshit.

[reader50]

Did you also switch garages, or get them to upgrade their cameras and patrols? Someone wasn't watching the monitors, and no one was walking around. Where were they - hanging out in the lounge with the pizza and donuts?

[Waragainstsleep]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

Watching a locksmith unlock one of our office doors in less than two seconds planted a seed of fear that I didn't expect. It's bizarre how easy it is with the right tools.

Ever heard of a bump key? Check Youtube.

[Snow-i]

Originally Posted by reader50 

Did you also switch garages, or get them to upgrade their cameras and patrols? Someone wasn't watching the monitors, and no one was walking around. Where were they - hanging out in the lounge with the pizza and donuts?

The security office sits about 50 feet away from the entrance, but has no visibility into the garage aside the cameras. It's also security for the adjacent office building, and sometimes it seems like they don't care about the garage - just the office building. Originally the security manager tried to tell me it would be too hard to narrow down the window on the cameras when the incident occurred - when I fired back that I would be happy to find a 14 year old to do his job for him, he shut up and I stormed out angry out of my mind.

I complained to the property manager, and threatened to involve our community group & local businesses that also share the garage. That seemed to get their attention, since the next day I got a followup from Denver Police department saying that they had received all the footage from security as well as a letter from the property manager outlining the changes they would be making to the security practices. They also suggested I not park overnight and I sarcastically told them if I can't park there overnight, I will only pay for the daytime. Most people in the garage use it for work - I am one of a handful that lives in the area and uses it as my residential garage.

I also suggested they put ONE camera capable of reading license plates at the entrance, as it is the sole way in and out of the garage by vehicle and could at least identify the cars picked up on the other cameras. Not sure if they did so, but I'm not holding my breath.

I could switch garages but that means instead of literally across the street, I'd have to walk 2-3 blocks everyday to get to my car.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep 

Ever heard of a bump key? Check Youtube.

Why did you do that me?

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

Watching a locksmith unlock one of our office doors in less than two seconds planted a seed of fear that I didn't expect. It's bizarre how easy it is with the right tools.

My sister got locked out of her house back when she only lived a couple of blocks away, so she walked over and asked if we had a ladder to use to get into an upper floor window. After realizing that all of those windows were locked, I pulled out a Delta Skymiles card and got right into their front door. When we got back to my place, my wife didn't even let me try it on our door, she didn't want to see it work.

[Waragainstsleep]

I figure its best to know about these things.

[subego]

I imagine getting an unusual brand of lock isn't the worst idea.

The bump keys I've seen are Schlage and Kwikset.

[Waragainstsleep]

I believe there are locks now that are much more resistant to bump keys. Otherwise if you have one that fits it should work regardless of brand.

[subego]

Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep 

I believe there are locks now that are much more resistant to bump keys. Otherwise if you have one that fits it should work regardless of brand.

The idea is your average burglar are going to have a Schlage and a Kwikset style bump key in their arsenal. If they come across a Medeco, they're not going to scrape up a Medeco bump key and practice, they'll hit a neighbor, where there's a 99% chance the lock is either a Schlage or a Kwikset.

It's security through obscurity. Not a perfect defense by any stretch, but better than nothing in this regard.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by subego 

It's security through obscurity. Not a perfect defense by any stretch, but better than nothing in this regard.

This is a Mac forum, after all.

[Waragainstsleep]

Bump keys have been around at least ten years. I wouldn't worry too much.

[P]

The issue with bump keys is that they're fairly quick and not too hard to learn to use, so someone could walk around with a bump key in their pocket on the lookout for opportunities. Having a second lock of a different type (say a warded lock) means that someone who only knows how to use a bump key is locked out, and for anyone else it takes longer.

[ort888]

Anyone with a hammer (or rock) can break into most houses (without an alarm) in about 5 seconds. Security is mostly a numbers game for most.

[The Final Shortcut]

Honestly, I got some Arlo wireless cameras a couple months ago and cannot recommend them highly enough. Great resolution and night vision, wireless, and you get alerts on your cellphone at the first sign of movement. And you can combine it with smart home security measures like door and window sensors.

None of it's foolproof of course. But you will not be low hanging fruit. And the sense of relief is very, very palpable.

[subego]

Originally Posted by ort888 

Anyone with a hammer (or rock) can break into most houses (without an alarm) in about 5 seconds. Security is mostly a numbers game for most.

This makes a ruckus.

[The Final Shortcut]

Agreed. My philosophy is that you can't stop crazy, or a determined or smart person, from getting in. I had the privilege of helping out with a tear-down house some years ago and can say that kicking in a residentially front door is really not that difficult - and if it's a sturdy one, a $40 sledgehammer will do the trick nicely. Same with windows, etc.

I just want a reasonable heads up so I can call the cops and my neighbour(s). So I spent a few hundred dollars and put heavy-duty, near-thief-proof locks and chains where I store my particularly expensive things (shed), and I'm working on installing contact smart door alarms that will both give an alarm and send me an email/phone alert if opened during the day. And on top on that, the Arlo cameras act as the first line of surveillance and will send my phone a message when they even start getting close to the house.

Of course, if the internet is down (or they cut the line from the street) then suddenly I'm a lot less secure. But is that Ethan Hawke shit really a danger?

[reader50]

Originally Posted by The Final Shortcut 

Of course, if the internet is down (or they cut the line from the street) then suddenly I'm a lot less secure. But is that Ethan Hawke shit really a danger?

Commercial-grade routers often have two WAN ports. So you can fail over from one internet source to another. The other could be a DSL line or a cell-network backup.

[P]

Modern alarm systems around here usually have 3G mobile networking as a backup for just that reason.

[The Final Shortcut]

Yeah. The way I see it is, sure it's a risk, but if you're dealing with thieves sophisticated enough to first cut your data lines without being detected, you probably have enough valuable things to steal that paying someone else handsomely to take care of all security isn't an issue.

I mean.....I'm guessing no one's going through that trouble for a PS4 and an old iMac.

[P]

Maybe our phone systems are different then, but I could certainly see a determined thief gain access to the phone cabinet to knock out a regular phone line or an ADSL connection. And as for detection... I wouldn't notice if I wasn't home.

[The Final Shortcut]

What's a phone cabinet?

[subego]

Something like this.



It's where individual lines get split off a trunk.

[The Final Shortcut]

Guess I don't know enough about it. My phone/cable line comes from a light pole. I guess maybe there's a cable company box at some point in the neighbourhood that can be broken into but again, is a thief that's sophisticated enough to take measures to knock out the neighbourhood's cable interested in normal-people houses? That's a complete waste of talent.

[subego]

You should get a dog.

[The Final Shortcut]

I honestly don't understand that rationale, haha. Dogs are stupid. If I'm smart enough to knock out the neighbourhood's cable and phone lines, I should be able to figure out how to shut up a dog.

[subego]

The only real talent needed to kill phone and cable service is knowing not to cut the wire with the shocky-shocky inside.

I was just ****ing with you about the dog, but they do make great self-announcing alarms.

[The Final Shortcut]

So I was curious and trolled around my neighbourhood this afternoon. I eventually found a box on a street a good ways away (1/2km or so) which I suspect is a bit far to be mine - it's locked with some sort of internal cable-company lock. I'm sure that wouldn't be difficult to pick, but we're now talking about a thief who knows to find the right box, break into it in public, knock out the right internet, and then rob your house while the internet-based security is down.

That's some professional burglary right there. I'm going to have to trust that those folks are going to target jewels and artwork, not my TV, a nice PS4 or my expensive bike.

[Waragainstsleep]

The key will likely be a standard one issued to company workers, regularly lost and if not available at certain wholesalers, easily found online.
Was it only your internet knocked out? Finding the right phone line wouldn't be that tough if its ADSL and they just pulled the whole line.

[subego]

The way you described it, I'd cut the wire at the pole.

Or... wear a ski mask and not care about the cameras.

Arf.

[subego]

Today's miscreant class is how to take Shortcut's shit.



The thick stuff on top is AC. No touchee.

The stuff below is cable and phone. Cut the ones going to his house.