> Might work.... ....not that I
> would be able to tell.
>

That will work for the hard drive.

Might work....
No it won't.

If you really wanna erase the data (and the thief really shouldn't if he/she knows what's good for him/her), you'll want to expose the platters to a very very very high magnetic field, like particle accelerators.

As soon as the Prof. gets his data back, why should he give half a about the rest of the laptop?

---

> Might work....
> No it won't.
>
> If you really wanna erase the data (and the thief really shouldn't if he/she
> knows what's good for him/her), you'll want to expose the platters to a very
> very very high magnetic field, like particle accelerators.
>

Or just degauss it.

> As soon as the Prof. gets his data back, why should he give half a about the rest
> of the laptop?
>

Maybe it was his mom's laptop or something. Or it could've been his favorite.

> Not good enough: There'll still be latent magnetization.
What latent magnetization? Computer crime labs make an image off the HD and then look at the copy for evidence. They don't do any work on the original HD for fear of damaging the drive or corrupting the data. As long as any "maybe" leftovers cant make it to the image he should be ok.

> Seriously, just send back the data - That's all the Prof. needs and deserves.
> The thief can keep the rest.
Send it back so they can trace the route the data came thru? No way. Either demagnatize it, bonfire it, and throw it into a dumpster somewhere, or demagnatize and keep if too cheap to buy a new one. But why stop at the HD? Maybe the guy has his DL# engraved somewhere inside the computer and they can ID it without the HD.

> The Wifi card can be torched without any further qualms...
Can one wifi card really be uniquely distinguished?

You'd have to apply an extremely strong field first.

Maybe it was his mom's laptop or something. Or it could've been his favorite.
That's the his stupidity, not the thief's. 2FB for the Prof.

---

> > The Wifi card can be torched without any further qualms...
> Can one wifi card really be uniquely distinguished?
>

Yes... It's a network card and therefore it has a MAC address and all MAC addresses are unique.

---

I'd rather speak my mind because it hurts too much to bite my tongue.

American Spirit BBQ Proudly Serving those that courageously defend freedom.

> As soon as the Prof. gets his data back, why should he give half a about the rest
> of the laptop?

Because giving it back will increase the chances of the thief being caught. Take what you want. Destroy the rest.

Send it back so they can trace the route the data came thru? No way.
As long as the data is untouched, the Prof. (and the Prof.'s wallet) is happy.

Either demagnatize it, bonfire it, and throw it into a dumpster somewhere, or demagnatize and keep if too cheap to buy a new one.
You're talking to a guy who's been through the same situation: Give the data back - The rest doesn't matter as much.

Maybe the guy has his DL# engraved somewhere inside the computer and they can ID it without the HD.
Mere cosmetics.

>>The Wifi card can be torched without any further qualms...
>Can one wifi card really be uniquely distinguished?
I've got four chars for you: MAC@

---

>
> > > The Wifi card can be torched without any further qualms...
> > Can one wifi card really be uniquely distinguished?
> >
>
> Yes... It's a network card and therefore it has a MAC address and all MAC
> addresses are unique.
>
Well if that don't beat all...

Take what you want. Destroy the rest.
True. Maybe the thief could send everything back on a DLT/DAT or a pair of DVDs, but send the ing data back.

---

> Send it back so they can trace the route the data came thru? No way.
> As long as the data is untouched, the Prof. (and the Prof.'s wallet) is
> happy.
He may be happy, but the law enforcement agencies dont suddenly just go away. Whether or not the prof is happy or angry wont make a bit of difference.

> Either demagnatize it, bonfire it, and throw it into a dumpster somewhere,
> or demagnatize and keep if too cheap to buy a new one.
> You're talking to a guy who's been through the same situation: Give the data
> back - The rest doesn't matter as much.
And exactly how do you propose doing this?

> Maybe the guy has his DL# engraved somewhere inside the computer and they
> can ID it without the HD.
> Mere cosmetics.
I'm sure that's exactly what the thief's public defender will say to him.

> Take what you want. Destroy the rest.
> True. Maybe the thief could send everything back on a DLT/DAT or a pair of
> DVDs, but send the ing data back.

I disagree. That proves the thief is still hanging around. If caught there will be search warrants looking for similar dvd's, receipts of dvd purchases, video from the store they were purchased from... etc. Physical items leave a physical trail.

Trust me, degaussing will work. Then, just steam clean the rest of it.

...law enforcement agencies dont suddenly just go away.
If the Prof isn't BSing and they do have a pic and a log, then law enforcement would've found the sucker already.

And exactly how do you propose doing this? [Demagnetization]
I'm not proposing it, but a few coils around a an iron core plugged straight into a 22Amp 120V outlset should do the trick.

It'll also kill the guy in the process, but who cares, right?

I'm sure that's exactly what the thief's public defender will say to him.
Care to chime in, Tom? !-P

Physical items leave a physical trail.
But digital items can clone that trail ad nauseous infinitum.

---

> Trust me, degaussing will work.

F steam clean. A good rubbing with 99% isopropyl will do the trick.

> Trust me, degaussing will work. Then, just steam clean the rest of it.
>
Degaussing would send so many transient voltages through
every circuit all you'd end up with is toast.

---

Account frozen...

> And exactly how do you propose doing this?[/i] [Demagnetization]
> I'm not proposing it, but a few coils around a an iron core plugged straight
> into a 22Amp 120V outlset should do the trick.
>
> It'll also kill the guy in the process, but who cares, right?
>

Close your tags you DB wannabe. :)

...and you can't resell toast.

You could always chop the box down for parts and build yourself a BOINC cruncher....

---

> > And exactly how do you propose doing this?[/i] [Demagnetization]
> > I'm not proposing it, but a few coils around a an iron core plugged
> straight
> > into a 22Amp 120V outlset should do the trick.
> >
> > It'll also kill the guy in the process, but who cares, right?
> >
>
> Close your tags you DB wannabe. :)
>
It's an Apple thingy....ha ha...

---

Account frozen...

Dog tag?
Mwahahaha...

---