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England riots: computer expert tracks down laptop looter using Facebook
Computer security consultant Greg Martin explains how he used open source software to track down the thieves who stole his laptop during the UK riots.
Greg Martin, 29, a Texan who claims to have worked for the FBI, Nasa, US Secret Service and a number of leading corporations, had his computer and other valuables stolen after a thief used a scaffold pole to prise open the security bars on his basement window.
He was staying with his girlfriend when Fulham Broadway erupted in rioting.
But Mr Martin had installed tracking software on to the computer, allowing him to pinpoint its location once it was switched on, and activate the webcam, capturing images of the suspect as he surfed the internet.
“My entire career has been as a computer security person and I take this stuff very seriously,” he added. “This guy’s face popped up at me and I nearly lost it. It was the most incredible feeling. I went straight to my hotel room, put in the password for my laptop and just watched. I sat there and basically stalked him. I got the guy on a silver platter,” he told a newspaper.
Mr Martin, who collected a treasure trove of information about the suspected thief, contacted the Metropolitan Police, who raided the suspect’s flat and recovered the computer.
An 18-year-old man was charged on Friday with handling stolen goods, a police spokesman said. He was bailed and is due to appear at West London magistrates’ court this Friday.
Article from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...tracks-down-laptop-looter-using-Facebook.html
Computer security consultant Greg Martin explains how he used open source software to track down the thieves who stole his laptop during the UK riots.
Greg Martin, 29, a Texan who claims to have worked for the FBI, Nasa, US Secret Service and a number of leading corporations, had his computer and other valuables stolen after a thief used a scaffold pole to prise open the security bars on his basement window.
He was staying with his girlfriend when Fulham Broadway erupted in rioting.
But Mr Martin had installed tracking software on to the computer, allowing him to pinpoint its location once it was switched on, and activate the webcam, capturing images of the suspect as he surfed the internet.
“My entire career has been as a computer security person and I take this stuff very seriously,” he added. “This guy’s face popped up at me and I nearly lost it. It was the most incredible feeling. I went straight to my hotel room, put in the password for my laptop and just watched. I sat there and basically stalked him. I got the guy on a silver platter,” he told a newspaper.
Mr Martin, who collected a treasure trove of information about the suspected thief, contacted the Metropolitan Police, who raided the suspect’s flat and recovered the computer.
An 18-year-old man was charged on Friday with handling stolen goods, a police spokesman said. He was bailed and is due to appear at West London magistrates’ court this Friday.
Article from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...tracks-down-laptop-looter-using-Facebook.html