just got burglered

So I came home from work a few hours ago to discover someone hade broken into my apartement through a window and stolen my laptop and my ipad. As far as I know they did not steal anything else. These are my primary tools for studing making the next week really shitty. I had a paper on the laptop that is due in 8 hours.... though I have called my teacher and got a extension until monday.

However... since my laptop was neither locked or encrypted what should I consider trying to protect myself digitally? Im mostly worried about them accessing information through saved sessions, cookeis etc. in chrome and using it for ordering items and such.

I have cancelled one of my credit cards and limited funds on the other (need to be able to buy food).

I am changing passwords right now and expect to be up all night continuing to do this. Then tomorrow I will find my insurance papers and call the insurance company as well as try to find a new laptop.

I have set my stolen ipad (through iCloud) to erase as soon as it gets connected to the internet. Any way to track my laptop?

I live in Sweden so identity theft is not really a risk for me. Police has already been here and crime lab people will come tomorrow.

I laughed at the title.

Sorry to hear this. Can't offer any advice, but want to show some sympathy nevertheless.

@BigBoss1911: Not cool.

Sorry to hear that duder, hope that asshole gets caught!

AW FUCK DUDE. I WISH YOU LUCK IN REBUILDING YOUR PR0N COLLECTION; THESE THINGS TAKE THEIR TOLL THOUGH.

BUMMER

If they use the internet (and are not savvy with tech) you should be able to track them with IP, shouldn't you?

Assuming they are able to use the internet and you haven't cancelled anything. They might do something silly and sign into something personal.

@whyareyoucrouchingspock said:

If they use the internet (and are not savvy with tech) you should be able to track them with IP, shouldn't you?

Assuming they are able to use the internet and you haven't cancelled anything. They might do something silly and sign into something personal.

It really depends on if the ISP will cooperate with the authorities and if the burglar isn't using a VPN. All a civilian can do with an IP is maybe find a general location of where he might be.

If they are caught they should chop their hands off, but I'm sure they were just raised or have a medical condition that makes them that way. As someone who has been there, thieves are some of the worst scum walking the planet.

To catch a thief you need only look to craigslist. Watch for sales of ipads in yours or the surrounding area.

@JudgeDread: I'm terribly sorry to hear this. Maybe you've done this already, but do you have access to iTunes somewhere else? If so, sign in and deauthorize all computers with your accounts on them. This will force the thief to have to sign into the iTunes store on the stolen devices with your password (which hopefully he won't have). At least this will stop him from downloading anything using your Apple account.

Oh man, that sucks bro. Fuck thieves.

There is one thing that I cannot stand and that is a thief. There could be a chance that you could track your Ipad down since you can track Iphones. I don't know how it works, but supposedly it does.

I wrote a blog last year about what happened to my mom at a friends house, and a robber tried to break in. Being there during an attempted robbery is not cool.

All I know is it's almost always someone you know. Think of your poorest acquaintance, and it's probably them.

@WilltheMagicAsian said:

@whyareyoucrouchingspock said:

If they use the internet (and are not savvy with tech) you should be able to track them with IP, shouldn't you?

Assuming they are able to use the internet and you haven't cancelled anything. They might do something silly and sign into something personal.

It really depends on if the ISP will cooperate with the authorities and if the burglar isn't using a VPN. All a civilian can do with an IP is maybe find a general location of where he might be.

Good luck with that. My house got broken into and the police told us that if nobody was hurt then they aren't going to waste time or effort in investigating it.

Man, that's awful. Unfortunately don't have any advice.

@MideonNViscera said:

All I know is it's almost always someone you know. Think of your poorest acquaintance, and it's probably them.

Not necessarily, if he is a rather new resident to his apartment or if someone next to him just moved in... then it could of been someone that knew the previous owner or current owner. There will always be different coincidences. I know that living in the city is dangerous, and robberies from people you do not know are not uncommon.

That's just a rotten way to be welcomed home. At least your insurance company should cover the expenses and at the end of the day all you really lost was your paper and and precious time.

Best of luck getting everything back to normal over there, sorry to hear this happened to you.

Sucks dude :(

Rotten.

Although it won't be able to help in this instance, PreyProject is a free way to track stolen tech. It's Open Source, lightweight, and offers several prohibitive remote measures, such as alarm activation, webcam capture, and location trace.

And although it sounds like it, I don't work for them.

I hope it all works out, and your losses are recovered and the criminals caught and prosecuted.

Wait! You have a forensics team coming to your house to investigate the thefts of a laptop and an ipad. I don't think that's how they do it here in Massapequa. Go Sweden!

Also, sorry about the burglary. I know how frustrated and vulnerable that makes one feel. Do you have insurance? and if so does the theft meet your premium?

probably not someone I know, lots of people moving around in the courtyard to which the window they broke into is facing.

Have deauthorised all itunes devices as well as spent half the night on changing passwords. Tomorrow I will have to try and find a new laptop that is not too expensive since I am short on money and really cannot afford a laptop right now. But I need it for my university studies. Hopefully I will be able to buy a laptop on scheduled payments and it wont take too long until I get my insurance money to pay it off completely. So far I have found that stuff worth around 2700 USD was stolen but I guess it might go higher as I will continue to discover things that are missing.

will buy locks for windows (that are early 20th century windows...) tomorrow as well as a movement sensitive light that I will set up outside the window.

Starting to feel anxious when I am not home so I hope fixing the security somewhat makes things better. I work halftime and study fulltime so usually I am (was) away from 08:00 until 22:30 during weekdays so it would be very bad for my studies if I feel I cannot leave the apartement to go and study in the University library.

@Bribo said:

@BigBoss1911: Not cool.

I disagree, very funny.

Buy a gun!

MAN SUCKS!!!

If someone broke into my house and stole my laptop and ipad id cry

That sucks man. Unforutantly the only ways I really know of getting stuff like that back are preventive things that you would have to have on the computer to begin with. As said though, there may be certain programs or services that he logs into that you may be able to trace with an IP, but that's all dependent on the police and the company in question willing to put the effort into it.

The only other thing I can think of would be to try and leave some password not changed on some service where you can leave a message and try to leave a note saying you just need it back because you need some important information for school on it, and that you would be willing to pay him $500-$1000. Then if he replies back saying he will meet tell the police and they can be waiting for him when he comes to get the money.

Sorry to hear, at least you've got the crime lab people coming to your place. I'd be happy to get as much as a return call from my local police after being robbed. Not sure what kind of insurance you've got but my renters insurance and car insurance both cover theft. I haven't owned an Apple product since my unibody Macbook Pro was stolen in college. One reason I'd prefer owning Apple products is because they sell used for close to retail online, but that's the same reason they're stolen so frequently.

Dude, dude, dude...  is your video game collection okay?

How did they get past the rails on your window?

@JudgeDread: Sorry to hear. It sucks man. I hope you have insurance.

Just curious, why does living in Sweden keep you safe from identity theft?

Wow, my sympathy to your plight man. It is bad enough when you lose/get your wallet stolen, with all the cancelling of cards and getting new ones, but you don't really think that much about how much your computer is central to your life. I have security and everything backed to an external HD, but they are in the same spot, so they would probably steal that as well.

Good luck fixing it. These arseholes have no idea or don't care what chaos they can cause to a person's life.

That sucks, man. Hopefully you can get your stuff back.

Your insurance company will compensate you well and fast, most likely. Also swedish here. My mom recently crashed her car and got money two days after the accident, a fine amount for what the car was worth as well. This was with Länsförsäkringar. They're usually all pretty speedy unless it's a fire, or so I've heard.

@Spoonman671 said:

Dude, dude, dude... is your video game collection okay?

as far as I know, they threw a PS3 controller on the floor though, must have been x-box fanboys...

@Wolverine said:

Just curious, why does living in Sweden keep you safe from identity theft?

cause the government knows all, almost... We have a personal number that we get assigned at birth. Identity theft happens but is not as common since it is more difficult to cheat the systems in Sweden due to higher control.

@Ertard said:

Your insurance company will compensate you well and fast, most likely. Also swedish here. My mom recently crashed her car and got money two days after the accident, a fine amount for what the car was worth as well. This was with Länsförsäkringar. They're usually all pretty speedy unless it's a fire, or so I've heard.

I have Länsförsäkringar as well and called them on friday, will get papers on monday probably. Hopefully I will get the money before the end of the month. Have already bought a new computer on credit as well as extra stuff for securing the apartment better.

@SlickWillyJJ said:

Wait! You have a forensics team coming to your house to investigate the thefts of a laptop and an ipad. I don't think that's how they do it here in Massapequa. Go Sweden!

Also, sorry about the burglary. I know how frustrated and vulnerable that makes one feel. Do you have insurance? and if so does the theft meet your premium?

well most petty crimes gets reported and then ignored by the police in Sweden as well but they have put a special unit on burglarys in the city due to high rates. I have lost stuff worth at around 3000 usd (at purchase price) and the deductible is around 220 usd. Hopefully the insurance will cover the cost of the laptop and a new ipad and my costs for repairing the window as well as securing the apartment better. I lost a few things that are not replacable so those money will go towards the new iPad. Though I a pessimistic on getting an iPad before the end of the month since they have almost sold out in US and are not released in sweden yet.

Anyone in the market for an Ipad?

Sucks man. Assholes like this usually get caught down the road. If both are still under warranty, I'm sure you can get a replacement with a copy of the police report.

@jerseyscum said:

Anyone in the market for an Ipad?

Sucks man. Assholes like this usually get caught down the road. If both are still under warranty, I'm sure you can get a replacement with a copy of the police report.

no, not under warranty anymore. I had bought an extended warranty for my laptop (Acer) but that did not cover theft.

That's awful, I feel so bad for you. I don't know what I'd do if my laptop was stolen. That thing practically contains my life.

Like others have said, that sucks! I'm working on papers also, and the thought of the extra work (and money) whoever robbed you has caused is terrible. :(

@JudgeDread

cause the government knows all, almost... We have a personal number that we get assigned at birth. Identity theft happens but is not as common since it is more difficult to cheat the systems in Sweden due to higher control.

Americans also get a personal number, called a Social Security Number, but it doesn't really protect us from identity theft. In fact, if someone gets it along with some other information and has malicious intent, then they can do some serious shit.

Also, that fucking sucks man. I do hope you at least don't get your identity stolen.

If go on the internet with chrome you can easily get the IP by going to your google account and seeing recent activity. But honestly that will still be a long shot at helping you get your stuff back. Even if the police used that to try and get the guys, they might of just pawned the labtop. I had my house broken into in February and the best you can do is just change all your passwords ASAP, contact your credit cards to cancel/keep an eye on your cards, and get started on the insurance process. It sucks, but if you got proper insurance you should get your life back in order relatively soon. Good luck

fuck

looks like have to do the course I'm on this term all over again. It is a major one covering January until late of april.

the paper I was writing on the laptop was supposed to be given to the teacher on friday, i got an extension until monday (yesterday) but I just have not been able to get myself started on it. The paper is obligatory work and I cannot complete the course without it. Considering doing an allnighter and trying to give it in tomorrow but I just do not think I have time enough and it is now 21:00 and the paper is estimated to be a three day job. I have all the litterature but I need to write it all from the beginning and edit and shit. Also I have been sick since saturday (flu or something), this together with the stress of the apartement being broken into with my stuff stolen and the afterwork has just beat the crap out of me to be able to focus on my university studies since saturday. I thought I would have it all sorted out on friday and then I would be able to study but I just cannot do it right now.

Shitty deal, that happened to me when I was 17, I lots my 360, luckily that my hugely buff landlord got word on where it was and went and got it back, real fast.

just talked to my teacher and I got an extension until 23 of March. thank spaghetti monster for good teachers!!

Will be studying entire weekend.