Stolen iMac Returns Home

A fantastic story about a stolen iMac recently appeared on MacScripter.net that's really worth checking out.

The story goes like this -- a Mac user named "R.D. Bridges" wrote in to Google's UseNet Groups site that his sister's iMac had been stolen in a burglary. Long gone, right? Well, except for one little hitch -- his sister's iMac had the software package Timbuktu installed, which basically allows remote access to a computer through the internet from another machine. People use it to retrieve files, reboot servers, etc. With Timbuktu running, every time the thief went online with the stolen iMac, her brother could "see" it, and had full access to the machine's hard drive and system.

So now came the ultimate challenge -- how to not only wipe out his sister's personal data (tax returns, bank records, email addresses) without the thief knowing, but to also track down the physical location of the scared little iMac and alert the cops.

I'm not going to ruin it, for it's simply too much fun to read. A classic cops and robbers, played out over IP Addresses and AppleScript. Thanks to for picking this up.