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Recovering a lost or stolen computer
To recover a lost or stolen computer, you will need to generate an IP Address report to give to law enforcement.
To view computers that have reported back, you will need to login. The choose the "Computers" tab.
From there search for the computer in question.
Once you located the computer record, click the IP Address link. This will perform what is called a "reverse lookup" on the IP address. The report will be displayed on the screen.
After the report has finished loading, print out the page an give it to law enforcment.
The report contains the information about the IP Address such as what Internet Service Provider (also called the ISP) was used to access the internet.
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Law enforecment will then contact the ISP and request that the ISP lookup the IP Address in their records. This will tell law enforcment who was using the IP Address at that point in time.
Some factors that will hinder you from recovering a lost or stolen computer:
| Stale Computer Details |
Old information will be misleading, make sure the client is installed and up to date. |
| Improper Client Installation |
If the computer has not reported back, then it will be impossible to track. |
| Public WiFi connections |
Public WiFi connection often handle hundreds of connections per-day, and are usually not enforced. |
| Invalid IP Address |
Invalid IP Addresses will report back invalid information. |
| Internet Service Providers |
Some ISPs will refuse to work with law enforcement without a court order |
| Tech Savy Theif |
If the person that stole the computer formats the harddrive, the client will not exist, and can not report back. |
| Application Crashes |
If the client is not up to the current version, or if it is blocked by a firewall or virus scan, it will not report back. |
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