Somebody Stole My Laptop

  • Thread starter Thread starter marco
  • Start date Start date
Richard said:
There is hope. (-:

You could create a task in Task Scheduler with the following:

C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe /s /t 001

In the General Tab you would set it up to run whether the user is logged
in or not, run with the highest privileges and hidden.

In the Triggers Tab you would make the task run at startup and make sure
the box is checked to make sure it is enabled.

In the Actions Tab you would choose Start a program and place this in
the program/script line:
C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe /s /t 001

In the Conditions Tab you would remove all checks.

In the Settings Tab, remove all checks.

What this should do is run the script during startup. The computer would
shutdown within one second. There would not be enough time for the
average user to abort the shutdown. This will keep happening until
someone with enough computer smarts solves as how to fix the problem.
Click to expand...

Yeah, like wiping the disk and installing a pirated copy of XP.

Alias
 
Hey I know I can't stop them using the laptop entirely - but I just want to
give them a headache - and certainly not the benefits of my paid for version
of Vista!
 
Do they care about the software.....?

I reckon they have deleted everything already and are gonna sell the
hardware......

I would..!
 
marco said:
Somebody stole my laptop and stupid me had autologon enabled. I KNOW the
cops wont get it back so if I see it online, and I can if they don't mess
with my settings, I can remote desktop to it. How can I completely screw
the system either by de-activating windows or deleting boot files or what?
Grrrrrrr! Hopefully if they are stupid enough to be thieves they'll be too
stupid to understand how to protect themselves. (maybe not as stupid as
me though) I just want to make his (or her) life a little difficult at
least!
Click to expand...

I'd be more worried about the personal info in someone elses hands.
 
marco said:
Somebody stole my laptop and stupid me had autologon enabled. I KNOW the
cops wont get it back so if I see it online, and I can if they don't mess
with my settings, I can remote desktop to it. How can I completely screw
the system either by de-activating windows or deleting boot files or what?
Grrrrrrr! Hopefully if they are stupid enough to be thieves they'll be too
stupid to understand how to protect themselves. (maybe not as stupid as
me though) I just want to make his (or her) life a little difficult at
least!
Click to expand...

Don't worry about it. If Vista is secure as all previous
Microsoft "operating systems", it's just a matter of time before malware
brings the system down. Have a little patience for Christsake.

Love and Kisses,
Doris

PS. How is that you will see when that laptop is online? If you could do
that, then surely you'd know the location of that laptop. If that is the
case, why don't you just go over there and take it back?
 
I can just - re-enable the logon
screen - then what will he do? I trust Vista is secure enough that
he'll have to re-format and re-install something to get in there!
Click to expand...

I seriously doubt that re-enabling the login screen will stop anyone.

Anyone that knows how to use the NT/XP Linux BootDisk Password Changer,
can most likely boot from it and change the password of any account to a
known password and then just log in.

Whether or not this utility still works in Vista, I don't know, but my
guess would be yes.....

http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/

Regards,

DanS
 
Another disappointing point to take into consideration. They probably
formatted and installed their own licensed copy.
 
BTW: do ***NOT*** try this on your current computer. I have confirmed this
to be 100% effective.

I just finished recovering my own computer - thank you TrueImage! <grin>

--


Regards,

Richard Urban MVP
Microsoft Windows Shell/User
 
DanS said:
I seriously doubt that re-enabling the login screen will stop anyone.

Anyone that knows how to use the NT/XP Linux BootDisk Password Changer,
can most likely boot from it and change the password of any account to a
known password and then just log in.

Whether or not this utility still works in Vista, I don't know, but my
guess would be yes.....

http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/
Click to expand...


That's why you should always disable CD-ROM, USB and floppy boot in the
startup sequence, and password protect the BIOS as well.

ss.
 
Synapse Syndrome said:
That's why you should always disable CD-ROM, USB and floppy boot in the
startup sequence, and password protect the BIOS as well.
Click to expand...

Or just encrypt the hard disk.
 
Of course you have heard of BitLocker (providing you had correct version of
Vista. Also there is a compnay, name escapes me, which provides software
that permits them to locate the laptop whenever it goes online. If they do
not locate the laptop the fee is refunded.
 
Andre Da Costa said:
I put up some burglar bars this past weekend, so, I feel a little safe.
Click to expand...

Jeez I'm glad I don't live where any of you guys do. We're living on an acre
and a half and all the protection we require is an English Cocker Spaniel
(distant early warning system) and an Anatolian Shepherd (enforcer).
 
I'd try and gather evidence via the remote logon as to who/where they
are for the police. You could also visit a few warez sites and after
downloading a few things I'm sure you would introduced a virus or two
to the system. Just turn off defender and any a/v software. Good
luck.
 
DanS said:
Does changing a password reset the encryption certificate ?

I wouldn't think it would.
Click to expand...

Not sure I follow, if the disk is encrypted with say 256bit AES I wouldn't
worry if the laptop was stolen.
All they'd see is random data if they mounted the disk in another machine &
I use strong passphrases which I doubt Joe Blow would be able to get past.
If my computers have personal info on they are encrypted, always.
 
Not sure I follow, if the disk is encrypted with say 256bit AES I
wouldn't worry if the laptop was stolen.
All they'd see is random data if they mounted the disk in another
machine & I use strong passphrases which I doubt Joe Blow would be
able to get past. If my computers have personal info on they are
encrypted, always.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if I follow now either. The encryption you speak of is an
intrinsic Windows encryption routine correct ?

The assumption is that the encryption is based on the Windows login. So
if you login using your username/password, your encrypted data is
available to you. If a different user logs in on the same PC with a
different username/password, your encrypted data is NOT available to
them.......is that correct ?

If so, it is then based on the Windows login credentials. The password
reset bootdisk I mentioned is just that.....

1. You boot your PC with this disk, a mini-linux image.
2. It lists all PC username accounts.
3. You choose an account to change the password for, any account, even
the built-in Administrator account, WITHOUT HAVING TO KNOW THE ORIGINAL
PASSWORD!!!!
4. Write changes.
5. Remove the CD, reboot to Windows, logon using the username/new
password.

Is the encryption certificate still valid ? If so, then whomever just did
that routine now has full access to your files.

That is, unless changing your password while in Windows, the 'right' way,
forces Windows to generates a new encryption certificate based on the
username and newly entered password.
 
Back
Top