Great.I never imagined that this is the way things actually work out .Every time i visit your site i always learn something new.
Chris
January 27, 2009 10:02 AM
What you can do is install a tool like dyndns or no-ip on your system. What they do is resolve the wan ip address of the system the software is installed on into a hostname. You can then log into your account and see the IP address last used when the software was running. This can aid law enforcement with the combination of the ISP used by the thief, to track him down. You can even run a tracert on the hostname and get a general idea where they are located by the routers the ping packets hop through.
All this is one of the many things software like Leo is talking about and law enforcement use to track down stolen computers. Chances are though, if it was a professional thief, they would have whipped the drives, software and all, making it virtually impossible.
A hostname will definitely log an IP Address the machine used to connect from so you at least get something if the machine was connected before being wiped.
amit tomer
December 29, 2009 1:16 AM
everytime u have some thing special to tell
but i still confuse why i need mac address when there ip address is still there to identify the unique host on the network at point of time
plz plz plzz
can anybody help me in finding the answer plzz
sir help in this topic
saransh
June 12, 2010 2:08 AM
hiii....
i want to know that whether the websites i visit through my laptop be traced by the company i work for, if they dont know my MAC id.
Depends on how you're connected to the internet. If it's through the company's internet connection, of course they can. If that's a company laptop, I'm guessing they can too. Safest to assume that they can.
12-Jun-2010
lew
August 16, 2010 4:58 AM
Hi, interesting... " Your MAC address never makes it further than the first piece of networking equipment between you and the internet".
I have to confess up to making an ill-advised comment on a forum post. I know that the blog is being watched by my bosses now. I want to remove the post the same way I put it on - by using my netbook on a public wifi network (free one). I think my paranoia may be just a bit overboard but I don't want them to trace the comment (or removal) back to me - free wifi safe for this purpose? Thanks
Saadhana
September 27, 2010 5:45 AM
I received a mail, which is sent from a system of network from my office. I want to know from which system it was sent.
Mark
January 23, 2011 7:33 AM
I'm studying for a middleware exam atm, reading about home gateways.
When talking about device discovery and management (DHCP) my lecture notes say "This data will be accessible to the RMS" (ISP's Remote Management System)
Does this not mean that the ISP's sytem can see what devices are connected to my network and therefore trace a stolen laptop if it's connected via one of their clients networks??
Thanks
chandra kant yadav
October 15, 2011 11:08 PM
can i trace a stolen laptop by mac adress . just like a mobile phone can be traced from its service provider mobile number by using imei number
Nope. That's actually discussed in the article you just commented on.
16-Oct-2011
Jojo
October 29, 2011 4:35 PM
I thought they could be traced. I opened 47 hushmail email accts for my students one morning at Starbucks. When we went to log into them, hushmail said they had blocked my computer (not closed the accts) in case of fraud or spam and to contact them. I did (but they never responded). I went home and tried again. That's 3 different IP addresses that hushmail knew it was my computer. I thought they'd IDed my mac address. If not, what was it.
Mark J
October 29, 2011 5:29 PM
@Jojo
If you accessed the internet through a router the MAC address of your computer would only be visible to the router
It possible that this blocking was accomplished through something as simple as a cookie. Try clearing your Saved Cookies and see if that helps.
This article on clearing the browser cache will show the steps needed to do that, just press Delete Cookies where it says Delete Temporary Internet Files (or Clear Cache depending on which browser you use). You might also Delete the Temporary Internet Files anyway, just in case. http://ask-leo.com/whats_a_browser_cache_how_do_i_clear_it_and_why_would_i_want_to.html
Comments
Read the article that everyone's commenting on.
January 27, 2009 9:31 AM
Great.I never imagined that this is the way things actually work out .Every time i visit your site i always learn something new.
January 27, 2009 10:02 AM
What you can do is install a tool like dyndns or no-ip on your system. What they do is resolve the wan ip address of the system the software is installed on into a hostname. You can then log into your account and see the IP address last used when the software was running. This can aid law enforcement with the combination of the ISP used by the thief, to track him down. You can even run a tracert on the hostname and get a general idea where they are located by the routers the ping packets hop through.
All this is one of the many things software like Leo is talking about and law enforcement use to track down stolen computers. Chances are though, if it was a professional thief, they would have whipped the drives, software and all, making it virtually impossible.
A hostname will definitely log an IP Address the machine used to connect from so you at least get something if the machine was connected before being wiped.
December 29, 2009 1:16 AM
everytime u have some thing special to tell
but i still confuse why i need mac address when there ip address is still there to identify the unique host on the network at point of time
plz plz plzz
can anybody help me in finding the answer plzz
sir help in this topic
June 12, 2010 2:08 AM
hiii....
i want to know that whether the websites i visit through my laptop be traced by the company i work for, if they dont know my MAC id.
12-Jun-2010
August 16, 2010 4:58 AM
Hi, interesting... " Your MAC address never makes it further than the first piece of networking equipment between you and the internet".
I have to confess up to making an ill-advised comment on a forum post. I know that the blog is being watched by my bosses now. I want to remove the post the same way I put it on - by using my netbook on a public wifi network (free one). I think my paranoia may be just a bit overboard but I don't want them to trace the comment (or removal) back to me - free wifi safe for this purpose? Thanks
September 27, 2010 5:45 AM
I received a mail, which is sent from a system of network from my office. I want to know from which system it was sent.
January 23, 2011 7:33 AM
I'm studying for a middleware exam atm, reading about home gateways.
When talking about device discovery and management (DHCP) my lecture notes say "This data will be accessible to the RMS" (ISP's Remote Management System)
Does this not mean that the ISP's sytem can see what devices are connected to my network and therefore trace a stolen laptop if it's connected via one of their clients networks??
Thanks
October 15, 2011 11:08 PM
can i trace a stolen laptop by mac adress . just like a mobile phone can be traced from its service provider mobile number by using imei number
16-Oct-2011
October 29, 2011 4:35 PM
I thought they could be traced. I opened 47 hushmail email accts for my students one morning at Starbucks. When we went to log into them, hushmail said they had blocked my computer (not closed the accts) in case of fraud or spam and to contact them. I did (but they never responded). I went home and tried again. That's 3 different IP addresses that hushmail knew it was my computer. I thought they'd IDed my mac address. If not, what was it.
October 29, 2011 5:29 PM
@Jojo
If you accessed the internet through a router the MAC address of your computer would only be visible to the router
http://ask-leo.com/whats_the_difference_between_a_mac_address_and_an_ip_address.html
It possible that this blocking was accomplished through something as simple as a cookie. Try clearing your Saved Cookies and see if that helps.
This article on clearing the browser cache will show the steps needed to do that, just press Delete Cookies where it says Delete Temporary Internet Files (or Clear Cache depending on which browser you use). You might also Delete the Temporary Internet Files anyway, just in case.
http://ask-leo.com/whats_a_browser_cache_how_do_i_clear_it_and_why_would_i_want_to.html
To post a comment on "Can a MAC address be traced?", please return to that article's main page.