GadgetTrak is like Lojack for your iPod or other gadgets like USB flash drives or digital cameras. GadgetTrak works by installing files on your device that sit quietly until you alert the company that the device has been stolen. The next time the device is accessed, the iPod will send identifying information you can use to track the stolen device like IP address, host name, computer name and geographical location through the internet connection of the device to which the iPod or other gadget is attached.
Problem one is, rather obviously, what if the device is not connected to the internet? If the stolen device is not connected to a device which can access the internet, you’re out of luck. Plain and simple. This is not like the proverbial homing device attached to a car bumper. If the device is not connected to the internet or there are problems connecting with the internet like firewalls, chances are good your iPod is gone forever.
According to the company’s website, files are installed in the root of your device. This is good information for the iPod thief who will now likely reformat the stolen iPod before using it or just turn your stolen iPod into a Linux iPod.
Notice the title of this post: “Track Your Stolen iPod”, not “Find Your Stolen iPod” or “Locate Your Stolen iPod”. The chances that you will “find” or “locate” your stolen iPod with the information sent from your device if it is connected to the internet seem to be “slim and none”.
IP addresses aren’t really going to tell you too much unless your brillant thief has a static IP address. Computer and user name could help but what are you going to do with that information? Are you going to be banging on the door of every apartment building with the shared IP address of your iPod looking for “Admin’s Desktop”? Good luck. And that’s probably what the police will tell you unless you have a bigger needle in the haystack.
You can certainly “track” you stolen iPod. You might even be able to enjoy your stolen iPod’s journey vicariously as you watch different IP addressess accumulate in your account. Somebody will certainly make this the next Google Maps mashup - pushpin locations of your stolen iPod’s travels. Your iPod may become the next stolen pink flamingo.
Some of the company’s other plans to help stop theft of your iPod? Stickers. Those theft deterring car alarm stickers will soon be making their way to an iPod near you.
Fake blinking lights work good too. Of course, you could always just make your iPod look like a box of breath mints. Nobody ever steals breath mints.
Ken Westin wrote,
The service does a bit more than just track the IP address. It also returns the username, computername and internal network address. 75% of the time a username is used which can identify the culprit.
Quote | Link | March 24th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Tommy wrote,
@ Ken, How do you recommend physically tracking the culprit? Should someone report your information to the police? Do you have any success stories where the police actually used the information and successfully recovered devices?
The product sounds like a great idea. As an attorney who has quite a bit of interaction with local law enforcement, actually locating the stolen iPod seems like something that might be difficult to implement in the real world. What do you suggest users do with information provided by your service?
Quote | Link | March 24th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
Ken Westin wrote,
Tracking the device down can be done a few different ways.
The first would be to provide the information to law enforcement, in the case of a real theft we would assist by providing additional information such as numbers to contact the ISP etc. The ISP would provide law enforcement with the subscriber’s address. Law enforcement then questions that person. The person they find may not be the thief, or would at least provide more clues such as if they bought the device from a pawn shop etc.
It is actually very similar to the recent SETI laptop recovery:
http://www.securitypronews.com/insiderreports/insider/spn-49-20070215AliensGeeksAndAStolenLaptop.html
Granted not every local law enforcement will be that tech savvy, which is why we offer to assist law enforcement with any technical assistance for our subscribers.
The second way which we have actually had a case of would be in an environment such as a colllege. In addition to public IP we provide the internal network address of the system, the username and the computer name. A device was stolen a connection was made 12 hours after it was flagged in our system and we were able to determine that it was connected from inside the same college (actually a dorm room). From there campus security worked with the IT staff and they were able to see who had that internal network address at that specific time, the username also helped identify the culprit.
We had another case where no tracking was actually needed. In Florida a Sony MP3 player was stolen. They had a feeling that they knew who stole it and that it was a kid in the neighborhood. They simply started mentioning our service and that the tracking software was installed on the device, they spread this little rumor throughout the neighborhood. The next morning the MP3 player was on their doorstep
We had one case where digital camera was reported stolen. A connection was made that same day and from the username they were able to find that it was a sibling that “borrowed” the device.
Quote | Link | March 24th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
Ken Westin wrote,
Thought you might like to know that we have had four successful recoveries in the past few months. The most recent in Newmarket, Ontario.
Quote | Link | August 18th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
Steven wrote,
Is there a way to recover my stolen ipod?
Quote | Link | August 19th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
Steven wrote,
Is there a service that finds stolen ipods?
Quote | Link | August 19th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
kwest wrote,
The GadgetTrak service requires that you have the software installed on the device prior to theft. There are some “lost and found” services out there which claim that if you register your stolen device in their database for a nominal fee that somehow magically is someone searches on their site for the serial number the device will find its way back to you. I am a skeptic myself and think most of these are a bit of a scam.
Quote | Link | August 19th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
Christy wrote,
I just got an iPhone and I know Apple is pretty particular about putting any non Apple things on it. Will this void the warranty?
Quote | Link | October 4th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
Ken Westin wrote,
The iPhone is currently not supported, nor is the iTouch. We are hoping that once Apple opens things up for developers this will change.
Quote | Link | October 4th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
Mark wrote,
I think software like GadgetTrak is a great idea. Some police departments are going to use the information provided and track down the crooks. They may at least question the person in possession of the stolen device for leads about who they got it from. Some departments are not going to do anything, just because of their workload, or unless they believe its related to other crimes. Sometimes its going to depend on the officer/detective working the case. Hopefully he or she is a real crime fighter. (Believe me some are not) I say this because I’m a police officer who specializes in auto theft. If had information such as an IP address or a user name at craigslist or ebay, I would start writing my affidavit for a warrant/subpoena to get more information. But that’s just me. As for some lost and found registries being a scam. We’ll, I just started one and its not a scam. I constantly read postings on Craigslist where victims of theft post ads about their stolen dogs, ipods, cars, motorcycles, etc. Victims feel helpless and want to do something, anything. These ads give them something more than a police report. Registries, unlike Craigslist, keep the information on the internet indefinitely so it can be searched by using Google or any major search engine within a couple of weeks. This way if someone comes into possession of something they think might be stolen, they could search for the item on Google or Yahoo and maybe find in listed on a registry. If you look at most of the registries out there, most are run by people who have a passion for the type of item stolen, like pets. They want to help victims get their stuff back and get the message out. Does it work? I don’t know, I just started mine in October, http://www.Stolen911.com. At some point I think it will. (Wow, that was a long comment. Sorry.)
Quote | Link | November 2nd, 2007 at 11:56 pm
Conrad wrote,
i would love it if gadgetTrack was more friendly for mac users. i recently purchased this software for my second ipod classic since my first was stolen out of my room, but i soon realized that since 85% of the world has windows, if a thief were to plug my ipod into their windows computer, it would ask to be reformatted to windows in order for them to do anything with it. Therefor destroying my chance at recovery.
at least a 15% chance the thief has a mac is better than zero.
Quote | Link | December 5th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
james wrote,
Conrad said
Being a mac user, I agree.
I will say, however, that if your numbers above are correct then gadgetTrack looks pretty good for windows users. Meaning, if your ipod is formatted using a windows machine, then it is highly likely that an ipod thief will sync it with a windows machine.
Quote | Link | December 7th, 2007 at 6:43 am
Lisa wrote,
Please Help!1 two ipods were stoled within 6 months. Sn#8L706PJHV9M and 8K647U4VV9M
One taken aTwisted xmas show arco arena Sac. CA 2/07 other taken from Franklin High Elk Grove Ca 5/07 Please help us get them back, the people that took these should have to work for them like I did!
Quote | Link | December 7th, 2007 at 9:50 am
Lisa wrote,
please help my daughter recover her stolen iposa. Both were stolen within 6 months. Sn#8K647U4VV9M Sn#8L706JHV9M One was stolen from Arco Arena Twisted xmas show 2/07 other stolen from backpack Franklin High School 5/07.
Quote | Link | December 7th, 2007 at 10:03 am
Patrick Khoo wrote,
Hi Ken, I saw that you also have the software for Mac laptop too. Can it really take video of the thief? I am using a macbookpro.
Quote | Link | December 12th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
Ken wrote,
Yes, GadgetTrak Verey utilizes the built in iSight camera to capture video of thieves and emails it to you along with a lof of other information including network data, including all wireless networks in the area. It was specifically designed with MacBooks in mind, but also works with Macs that don’t have cameras.
Quote | Link | December 12th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
blah wrote,
Can I find my stolen ipod? It was stolen in October. The serial # is 5U7360AMYXT. Thank You.
Quote | Link | December 13th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
Patrick Khoo wrote,
Thank you Ken. I am stationed in Singapore, anyway to get your software?
Quote | Link | December 14th, 2007 at 6:40 pm
Ken wrote,
Hi Patrick,
Yes, you can buy GadgetTrak through our partner BAK2u (http://www.bak2u.com ) in Singapore. It is also available retail at the iShop in Singapore:
iShop
No. 8 Grange Road
#03-04/5/6
Singapore 239695
Tel: 66228988
Fax: 66228989
Quote | Link | December 14th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
Fred Fist wrote,
Most Ipods are stolen by kids, so just give your kid a stack of 5 dollar bills, put rewards all over the place at school, find out who got it, and let some gangbanger beat the shit out of them and take it back.
Quote | Link | December 23rd, 2007 at 5:31 pm
Hailey wrote,
my brothers ipod got stolen just last week is there any way to get it back we have the serial number but not the software HELP
Quote | Link | January 21st, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Ken Westin wrote,
Hailey,
The best thing to do is file a police report, then register the iPod with JustStolen.net. Odds are not in your favor, but this will increase the chances of recovery. Next time I would suggest GadgetTrak for your device.
Quote | Link | January 21st, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Pete wrote,
i work at a department store that sells ipods. over the past few months, several of them have gone missing. i was wondering if there was any way i could track them down. if you could reply a.s.a.p that would be great
Quote | Link | February 6th, 2008 at 10:35 am
Ken Westin wrote,
Hello Pete,
Not without our software installed. We actually have several retail stores that use our software for display models in case they are stolen. What I would suggest you do is file a police report then register the devices with JustStolen.net, it is a stolen property database developed by law enforcement whom we partner with.
Quote | Link | February 6th, 2008 at 10:50 am
stven wrote,
so what if your ipod got stolen, before you even knew about this website??
but you still have the serial number and proof of purchase?
can you use the serial number to track down who stole your ipod?
Quote | Link | February 14th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
ernesto landeros wrote,
stolen ipod also!!!!at a wrestling tournament!!!!!email me back with info on how to retrive my ipod??? plse !!! thks!!
Quote | Link | February 17th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Danny Blayer wrote,
What if your ipod is stolen before you even know about this website?
Quote | Link | February 18th, 2008 at 12:52 am
Ken Westin wrote,
Hello Danny,
I would recommend that you file a police report and register your device with JustStolen.net and Stolen911.com. These are two stolen property databases started by law enforcement officers. JustStolen.net requires a police report and feeds into other databases.
Quote | Link | February 18th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Minmi wrote,
Anything for iPhone?
Quote | Link | February 22nd, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Ken Westin wrote,
Hi Minimi,
In development. We just launched theft recovery software for PC laptops as well as Blackberry phones.
Quote | Link | February 22nd, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Samantha Hansen wrote,
I had a IPOD 30G and it was recentely stolen. We know who stole it, but we are not sure of any of the numbers stored in the Ipod. Does anyone know how else to track an IPOD?? HELP!!!!!!!!!
Quote | Link | May 6th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
james wrote,
cant i just find the ipod by giving the serial number to a tracking system. Other then installing a software on the ipod itself. I mean eny one could install a software but it dose not prove that the ipod is yours unless you have profe of a purchase. can that be done then just installing a software on the ipod it self.
Quote | Link | May 21st, 2008 at 8:00 am