A GadgetTrak customer in Corvallis, Oregon had his new 13″ MacBook Pro stolen from his house along with other valuables. After a few days after activating tracking, reports started coming in from the device along with photos. The laptop went on a bit of journey as it moved North all the way up into Canada. The stolen MacBook finally ended up at a Seattle, WA residence and the police recovered it just this week. The information has led to a continued investigation that is still ongoing, as the device appears to have been fenced along with other stolen property.

In June of 2010 Eric posted items for sale on Craigslist before his move from Virginia to California. One of these items was his Canon EOS 7D. Shortly after posting someone called to to take a look at the camera and an appointment was made to meet at his home. He pulled the camera bag out which housed the camera and lenses and was opening it when the potential buyer snatched the bag from his hands and ran. Eric chased after him, but the thief jumped in a car where a driver was waiting and sped off.

A police report was filed with Detective J. S. Turner of the Fairfax County Police Department. They tried tracing the phone number that the thief had called from, but it mapped to a pre-paid SIM card. They tried tracking the IP address from the emails but that led them nowhere as well. Eric gave up and continued with his move believing he would never see his camera again. Then he heard about CameraTrace, he searched his stolen camera’s serial number and found several photos that were taken just weeks after it was stolen, posted on Flickr.

The photos were of a couple driving and smoking marijuana while driving in their car, apparently on their way to a concert. The Flickr profile provided additional information, we assisted police by providing additional information on the suspect including phone numbers, addresses, social media profiles and several other photos of the suspect including photos of him holding a gun and more photos of illegal drugs. We also found more photos taken by the suspect with several other cameras which were also provided to Fairfax County Police Department.

David Hoskerman and his family went to Florida for a wedding, staying at the high end Doral Country Club a well known stop on the PGA tour. David borrowed his father-in-law’s Nikon D80 and lenses ( valued at $5K ) to take photos at the wedding for the couple. David then left the camera in his room after the wedding as they enjoyed their remaing time in Florida. Then the unthinkable happened, a series of rooms were broken into in the hotel including David’s and the camera was stolen from. Several other rooms were also hit with laptops and other equipment taken with no evidence left behind, the police were at a dead end.

David found CameraTrace.com and contacted us, he uploaded several photos and we was able to extract valuable information assisting the detective working on the case to track the stolen camera down on Craigslist. The police setup a sting operation and recovered the camera at a McDonalds, along with other stolen property from the hotel. Not only did David get his camera back, but the wedding photos were still on the camera. GadgetTrak not only helped recover a stolen camera, but a lot of other stolen property and more importantly priceless memories of a couple’s special day.

Doral police were able to recover the camera as well as lenses and memory card with priceless photos.

Yesterday a Sprint store in Grants Pass, Oregon had a display Samsung Epic 4G phone stolen. The device was removed from the secure cradle with a special tool, the surveillance video showed a suspect who had hit their store before, but this time they had another weapon in their arsenal. GadgetTrak Mobile Security is installed on all of the store’s demo units.

Immediately after staff realized the phone was stolen they activated GadgetTrak before they called police. Once activated we tracked the perpetrator to an Applebees nearby. The police moved in, once they pulled into the Applebees parking lot, the perpetrator ran leaving the newly purloined phone behind.

The police are still investigating the theft and now know who the thief is. The entire recovery took less than 2 hours from theft to recovery thanks to GadgetTrak Mobile Security, which is a new record for us. The Sprint store was able to act quickly, enabling tracking themselves and were able to provide the GPS coordinates to police over the phone as they changed.

The fact that GadgetTrak provides actionable intelligence right when the crime takes place has proven to be a significant factor in the recovery process. We are able to provide police with information immediately without requiring search warrants, or subpoena’s which in this case would have caused significant delay with today being President’s Day the process would not have started until tomorrow after which the phone would be long gone.

It was recently discovery that social media startup Path has been uploading contact information to their servers without its users’ consent. The discovery was by Arun Thampi using Aldo Cortesi’s excellent mitmproxy tool which allows researchers to intercept data transmitted by apps to remote servers even if being sent via SSL. This discovery has led to quite an outrage online, as users were not told their address books were being uploaded to Path’s servers. To make matters worse if your contact information is on your friend’s phone your contact details including phone number are now sitting on Path’s servers. The information was not encrypted and there is no word yet how the information was being protected on the servers.

Mobile privacy is something that we hear at GadgetTrak anticipated and worried about early on. GadgetTrak Mobile Security uploads your photos and contacts to our servers, however we encrypt the data on your device with a privacy key that you choose with AES 246 bit encryption before data is transmitted over a secure connection. This model of backup is often referred to as “host proof” backup where not even we have access to our customer’s data. For example if we were subpoenaed for back up data by a government agency all we could provide is an encrypted blob, only our customer has the key to decrypt the data.

This approach helps ensure the privacy of our customers on several levels, first by not even allowing any employees access to the data. This ensures that your data is not used for any other purposes and ensures your data is kept private from ANY prying eyes. Second, if our systems were compromised the damage would be minimal as an attacker would not be able to do much with the encrypted data. This is just one step we have taken to help ensure the privacy and security of our customers, if you have questions regarding how we secure your data feel free to contact us.

Another stolen camera as been tracked down with CameraTrace. A Canon EOS REBEL T2i valued at $1,500 was stolen February 2011 from Mr. Lee in New York. He used CameraTrace and found several wedding photos posted online taken with his camera after it was stolen. We confirmed that the make, model and serial number matched his camera which were taken towards the end of February, the same month the camera was stolen. Mr. Lee however did not file a police report at the time of the theft “So I just went to the NYPD, and they said they wont help me. After three months it’s considered ‘lost property’, and even though I know and they know it was stolen and I know where it is, they wont do anything. I should have filed a police report! Now I am kicking myself.” We are still trying to work with the NYPD regarding this case and hopefully will get their assistance.

One of the photos found that was taken by the stolen camera

People usually don’t file police reports as they assume they will never see their device again, which was generally true, with a recovery rate of around 3% on average. Burglary is one of the hardest crimes to solve due to the lack of evidence. However, with new technology such as GadgetTrak these odds are increasingly in the victims favor. Before police can act on any evidence that GadgetTrak provides a police report must be filed this is true for all device types. If you have a device stole file a police report!

A Sprint retailer in Coos Bay, Oregon had a problem with theft of their demo units in the past and installed GadgetTrak on all of their demo devices. It did not take long to find see it in action. An HTC Evo phone was cut from its cradle and taken out of the store. Usually that would be the end of the story, as recovering stolen phones is almost impossible to track down without GadgetTrak, as the carriers will not assist and identify if the phone is activated again.

Not only does GadgetTrak provide location information for the phone, but also backs up all data loaded on the phone such as photos and contacts. Many times location is not enough for police to act, particularly as services such as Find My Phone from Apple have been known to be inaccurate, leading police to not trust just location data alone. The thief synched the phone with his contacts and working with the police were able to identify the suspects identity. We were able to identify the suspects parents, tattoo artist, dentist amongst others. The data provided to law enforcement allowed them to quickly identify a suspect they knew very well. This is the second recovery we have had for the Sprint chain and given the amount of thieves that target these stores as more expensive phones are released, it won’t be the last.

We are happy to announce the launch of CameraTrace. Formerly in beta as "GadgetTrak Serial Search," the tool is an advanced search engine that allows users to find images taken by a specific camera with just the serial number. The technology helps users track down stolen cameras as well as monitor copyrighted photos online.

CameraTrace now provides premium services including the ability to register a camera and receive real-time notifications when new images are found. Also included in the one-time $10 premium service fee is a metallic "Lost & Found Tag" with a unique serial number that provides an easy way for someone who finds a lost camera to get in touch with the owner. The tag also serves as a warning to would-be-thieves that the device is registered with the system.

John Heller recovered
his stolen camera after having it stolen more than a year prior thanks to CameraTrace.

The technology has already helped many track down their stolen cameras; crimes that would have otherwise gone unsolved. One such case allowed professional photographer John Heller to recover his $9,000 camera after having it stolen from him while on assignment a year prior. Using CameraTrace, he was able to find images captured by his camera a year after it was stolen. The camera had been sold twice, first on Craigslist and then on eBay. The evidence not only got Heller’s camera back, but also a stash of other stolen property being fenced. You can read more about the amazing recovery on TechCrunch and Gizmodo as well as on our blog.

The CameraTrace search engine uses a proprietary technology to scan photo sharing websites and extracts embedded serial numbers from images. The powerful grid computing technology has scanned and analyzed more than 5 billion images from the popular photo sharing site Flickr, consisting of all photos uploaded to the site from 2006 to the present, as well as images from other popular photo sharing sites.The system has identified more than 300 different high-end camera models across multiple manufacturers including Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Kodak that embed the unique camera serial numbers in the images the capture.

The new CameraTrace tool will have a significant impact on the theft of cameras, as thieves will now need to be concerned with the fact that a camera they steal today can be traced back to them in the future if someone uploads photos from it to the Internet. The company is working with law enforcement to scan serial numbers from older camera theft cases, as well as research other crimes the tool may help solve.

Here at GadgetTrak we have a long history of innovation and developing custom tracking and data protection technologies. Our patented technology is currently embedded in FLIR thermal imaging cameras, allowing them to be tracked if they are stolen as well as in assisting with export controls. We have also pioneered tracking and data protection technologies for laptops and smartphones that have led to amazing recoveries.

We will be at this year’s CES. To setup a meeting to learn more about our technologies at the show, please contact us at info@gadgettrak.com.

GadgetTrak customer Nathan, who attends the University of Colorado in Boulder, lives with several friends in a house. The group went to a concert and came back late one night to discover their house was broken into and several items were missing, including four laptops. Luckily, Nathan had installed GadgetTrak on his MacBook Pro and quickly logged in and activated tracking for his device. Within hours he was receiving tracking reports with photos of a suspect and location information which put the laptop in Longmont, Colorado, about a half hour drive from where the device was stolen.

The Longmont police acted quickly. Using the information provided by GadgetTrak, they were able to identify the suspect and went in with a search warrant this morning. Nathan’s laptop was recovered, the others (which did not have GadgetTrak installed on them) are still missing, however. The police were able to get additional information from the suspect that may lead to the recovery of the other stolen property. The investigation is ongoing.

Download a PDF version article

GadgetTrak was featured in this month’s Forbes Magazine, along with a great photo of our founder and CEO Ken Westin. The article “To Shame A Thief” by Kashmir Hill discusses the growing market for software such as GadgetTrak as well as the privacy risks this technology can introduce if not implemented properly. The article shows how the technology can be helpful to recover stolen devices using one of our latest recoveries as an example where we recovered several stolen phones for a Sprint store.

The more negative stories where this type of technology has been implemented irresponsibly dealt with one of our competitors who provide their employees with backdoors into customers’ computers. This is something we always felt was highly invasive and not needed when we can rely on other more advanced methods such as Wi-Fi positioning and web camera capture to locate the device and identify the suspect.

Although GadgetTrak does not have the largest number of customers, we believe we provide a better level of service for customers who are concerned about their privacy and security. GadgetTrak is one of the only products in our space who cover every major platform for laptops and smartphones, as well as allow users full control of their data, how it is used, stored and delivered.

GadgetTrak customer Jessie had just purchased a brand new MacBook Pro just a few weeks ago at The Mac Store. The sales representatives recommended GadgetTrak and her father insisted that she buy and install it. It was a good thing she did, because just last week the new Mac was stolen out of her car. She logged and activated tracking for the device immediately and filed a police report through GadgetTrak, shortly thereafter the device started sending photos of the thieft and other information back to her. She passed the photos on to the police and they knew who the thief was, as he has a bit of a record. The police went and recovered the laptop and Jessie now has it back in her possession, we received a great email from her thanking us:

One of our competitors who develops laptop theft recovery software has made the news recently due to a lawsuit filed against them where they are accused of crossing the line in terms of privacy, particularly a staff member who had back door access to a customer’s computer. It is important to note that not all theft recovery software and approaches are created equal, we saw serious issues early on with the “traditional approach” to theft recovery which requires the company to provide a back door into the computer system for monitoring center staff to access.

When we designed our software we kept customer privacy at the top of mind and built the system so that a back door was not needed. With privacy in mind we also gather only the critical information that law enforcement need to recover a stolen device. We do not capture screenshots, not only because it is not needed but we also felt that it was in violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act ( ECPA ). The information we do gather includes location, network information and a photo of who is using the computer, all of which are sent directly to the owner of the device. The device owner can even configure the software to use their own mail servers for added privacy. The data our customers’ see when testing the software is the only information our software gathers and they have full control of how and where this data is delivered and stored.

GadgetTrak pioneered the use of Wi-Fi positioning for laptop theft recovery, paired with the web camera capture and network information we provide law enforcement powerful tools to investigate theft. Since launching our innovative and privacy-safe approach to laptop theft recovery in 2008 we have had a very high recovery rate while still protecting our customers’ privacy. By using advanced technology we are able to provide law enforcement with the information they need to recover the device, while at the same time not requiring invasive back doors that not only compromise customers’ privacy, but also security.

If you have questions or concerns regarding privacy, or our technology feel free to contact me directly.

Thank You

Ken Westin
GadgetTrak Founder & CEO
kwestin@gadgettrak.com

SAO PAULO, Brasil and PORTLAND, Ore. – August 25, 2011 – ActiveTrak Inc. (www.activetrak.com), producer of loss and theft recovery software for mobile devices, today announced the opening of an office in Sao Paulo to manage the rapidly growing mobile market in Latin America.
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Professional photographer recovers stolen Nikon D3 camera using GadgetTrak Camera Serial Search. The stolen camera was tracked down through images posted on Flickr after the device was stolen that were scanned and indexed by GadgetTrak. Police acted on evidence provided and recovered the camera a year after it was stolen.

Professional photographer John Heller experienced the unthinkable while on assignment for Getty Images. His prized possession, a Nikon D3 camera was stolen from him at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. It seemed the camera with lenses valued at over $9,000 was gone forever; gone that is, until just a few months ago when he did a search for his camera on GadgetTrak’s Camera Serial Search. Heller entered the serial number of his stolen camera and found an exact match with several images that were recently posted to Flickr.

Photo from Facebook profile of the stolen camera’s new owner after theft

With the help of police, Heller was able to track the images to another professional photographer through Facebook, who had unknowingly purchased the stolen camera from an individual and even had the receipt to prove it. The camera was returned to Heller and the police are currently investigating the individual whom it was purchased from, the investigation is still ongoing.

This is the first time stolen property has been recovered by tracking the serial number embedded in images. We have also learned that thanks to this recovery, the LAPD is now recommending our tool to detectives and officers in the field.

GadgetTrak’s Camera Serial Search tool is a free service that we developed that scans images posted online and extracts their embedded serial numbers into a searchable database. It allows people to enter the serial number of a camera and see all of the photos that we have discovered that were taken by that camera. To date we have indexed more than 10 million camera serial numbers, making it the largest database of its kind. We have currently indexed all of the photos on professional photo sites like 500px.com as well as all images posted to Flickr from 2006 to the present, with plans to search additional sites in the works.

If you are a reporter and would like more information regarding this recovery, or any of our recoveries, contact us directly at 503-799-8610

Coverage

TechCrunch - Embedded Serial Number Helps Photographer Find His Stolen Camera
Gizmodo - How This Pro Photographer Recovered $9k Worth of Stolen Gear
BoingBoing - Photographer gets $9K worth of stolen camera gear back with GadgetTrak
Washington Post - Embedded Serial Number Helps Photographer Find His Stolen Camera
Popular Photography Magazine - Website Helps Recover a Nikon D3 Using EXIF Data
Tecca - $9,000 in stolen camera equipment recovered through Flickr search

Since GadgetTrak started tracking stolen devices in 2007 we have launched tracking and data protection across the most popular platforms. Today GadgetTrak is the only solution that allows users to track all of their devices across Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and Blackberry devices, as well as embedded in FLIR cameras. Now with over a million downloads around the world, we thought you would like to see what 24 hours looks like as devices check in:

Click the image to view a larger map or click here to view a real-time map of devices checking in

Since we launched our first product we have been reuniting customers with their devices, we are the first to recover a stolen laptop using the web camera and Wi-Fi positioning, the first to track and recover a stolen smartphone and the only company that has recovered stolen iPods, flash drives and other devices. We are also the first and only mobile security company to provide “host proof” data backup where data is encrypted with your own privacy key before being uploaded, ensuring that not even we have access to your sensitive data. We continue to innovate and have some new “firsts” we will be announcing soon.

GadgetTrak Mobile Security was installed on demo phones at a Sprint store and is now leading authorities to suspected thieves. The software has provided location data as well as photos of the suspects captured by the stolen phones.

The thieves were able to remove the phones from their secure cradles, the store was able to capture surveilance videos of the thieves in the act.

After the theft the store activated GadgetTrak which provided location of the thieves as they moved to Vancouver, Washington. In addition we were able to access images captured by the phone of the suspects.

In one of the images we were also able to see a temporary permit on the back window and were able to read the numbers.

We tracked one of the phones to an apartment complex in Vancouver, Washington.

An investigative reporter went to the location with the data we provided and found the car thanks to the trip permit in the image.

The police are still investigating the incident, but thanks to GadgetTrak they have quite a bit of evidence in the case and it is only a matter of time before the suspects are identified and brought in for questioning.

Portland, OR and Boston, MA July 14, 2011- ActiveTrak Inc. announces it has signed a reseller agreement with PlumChoice Inc. which will enable PlumChoice to bundle ActiveTrak’s award winning GadgetTrak® Mobile Security solution with PlumChoice’s world class technology care services provided by its qualified IT certified technicians. Plum Choice will offer the combined technology and services through its channel partners, which include ISPs, service providers, and other retail partners serving the small and medium size business and consumer markets. The combined solution provides PlumChoice’s partners with an additional revenue stream and offers their customers not only peace of mind but also access to a comprehensive suite of support services.

“With the explosion in the use of mobile devices including smartphones and tablets the numbers of lost or stolen devices is increasing,” said Josh Goldlust, Vice President, and Product Management for PlumChoice. “The combination ActiveTrak’s technology and PlumChoice’s technology care services will enable our partners to offer security and peace of mind to their customers for a simple monthly subscription fee.”

GadgetTrak Mobile Security provides advanced tracking and data protection software for smartphones and tablets. The software allows lost or stolen devices to be tracked, as well as remotely backup and wipe sensitive information on the device. GadgetTrak Mobile Security also provides tamper proof measures, preventing thieves from modifying the application settings or avoiding being tracked by simply removing the SIM card.
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Para ler a versão em português, clique aqui.

In June a potentially dangerous carjacking turned into a great recovery story thanks to GadgetTrak. Augusto Eto, a veterinary student in Curitiba, Brazil was driving with his friend in his car when two men with guns approached them and told them to get out. The two men then took the car with everything inside including Augusto’s MacBook Pro which happened to contain the only copy of his final project for his degree. He thought his laptop and school work were gone forever along with his friend’s car, but remembered he had GadgetTrak installed, he went home and activated tracking and notified the police.

Three days later Augusto started receiving tracking notifications along with photos of the new owner. With the information GadgetTrak collected Augusto and the police were able to find the new owner’s Facebook profile, address, work information and other evidence. The police recovered the laptop for Augusto, the person who was in possession of it claimed to have bought it from someone he did not know. The investigation is ongoing and will hopefully lead to the recovery of Augusto’s friend’s car and bring the criminals who robbed them at gunpoint to justice.

Augusto now has his MacBook back and has graduated with his degree and is practicing veterinary medicine. We are glad to see another happy ending and that nobody was hurt during the incident.

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Português

Em junho, um roubo de carro potencialmente perigoso transformou-se em uma grande história de recuperação, graças à GadgetTrak. Augusto Eto, um estudante de veterinária, em Curitiba, no Brasil, estava dirigindo o carro com seu amigo quando dois homens armados se aproximaram dizendo a eles para sair do carro. Então, os dois homens pegaram o carro, com tudo dentro, inclusive o MacBook de Augusto, que continha a única cópia de seu projeto final para o diploma em veterinária. Ele pensou que seu laptop e os trabalhos para a universidade tinham ido embora para sempre, junto com o carro de seu amigo, mas lembrou que tinha instalado o GadgetTrak . Foi para casa, ativou o rastreamento e avisou a polícia.

Três dias depois, Augusto começou a receber notificações do rastreamento, junto com as fotos do novo proprietário. Com as informações recolhidas pelo GadgetTrak, Augusto e os policiais conseguiram encontrar o perfil do novo proprietário no Facebook, endereço, informações de trabalho e outras provas. A polícia recuperou o laptop de Augusto. A pessoa que estava em sua posse alegou ter comprado de um desconhecido, mas a investigação continua e esperamos que conduza à recuperação do carro do amigo de Augusto, e que faça justiça aos criminosos que roubaram à mão armada.

Agora, Augusto tem de novo o seu MacBook, apresentou o seu trabalho de graduação e está exercendo medicina veterinária.

GadgetTrak Mobile Security is featured in Cisco’s AppHQ for their new Cius tablet, one of the first tablets and app stores specifically designed for the enterprise. The Cisco Cius is an innovative business tablet, which delivers one of the most portable, powerful, reliable and secure communications, computing, and collaboration experience for a device of its kind.

GadgetTrak is honored to be selected early in the release of the device, due to our strong focus on security for mobile devices. Cisco’s AppHQ, an application ecosystem designed specifically for the Cisco Cius that provides new ways to create, manage and rapidly deploy mobile business applications in the enterprise. Cisco AppHQ is a highly secure user storefront that provides capabilities for end users and IT managers not found in other application stores today.

GadgetTrak Mobile Security was designed with the enterprise in mind, so we are honored our application was selected as one of the first apps to be approved for the Cius device. This in combination with GadgetTrak’s recent AT&T Enterprise Certification validates GadgetTrak Mobile Security as a leader in mobile security for the enterprise.

Since we launched GadgetTrak in 2007 we have been no stranger to the press, our revolutionary technology and recovery stories have been featured on Good Morning America, Dateline NBC, Forbes, NY Times and more. However, it is fascinating to see how the technology we pioneered is now becoming pervasive in popular culture. I was amazed to open the Sunday comics and see this strip from Jump Start where GadgetTrak is clearly referenced in a pretty funny context.

Ever since the company was founded we have pioneered and patented new technology to help protect our customers’ devices and data, we are the only company to have recover the first generation iPods, even before there was an App Store. We were the first company to combine wi-fi positioning with web camera activation to capture photos and the location of thieves and the first to catch thieves in the act utilizing the technology. We were also the first company to recover stolen mobile phones with our tracking software which we pioneered for smartphones and the first to offer secure privacy safe encrypted backup. Our company is based on innovation and we look forward to launching new revolutionary products for our customers in the future, we are just getting started.