The FreeBSD Diary

My stolen laptop has been used. At least I think so. Microsoft have been uncooperative in determining this point.

I was sitting at my desktop last Thursday night when I was logged off my MSN Messenger session with a you have been logged out because you logged in on another computer message. WHAT? OMG!

I was on the phone right away to the folks at MSN. I called four different departments. I spent 90 minutes talking and waiting. Nothing. People were polite. Helpful. But at no time did I find someone who could provide me with the information I wanted.

I emailed MSN. They answered my question, but did not address my request. What IP address did the login come from? The following is a collection of my correspondence with MSN regarding this incident.

1. A transcript of an online chat session with MSN. view
2. An email I sent to MSN view
3. Their reply to the above, which did not answer my question. view
4. My response stating that they did not read my question view
5. Their response which claims they cannot help me without a court document view
6. My final emails to them, all of which have gone unanswered view

I have been speaking with the detective assigned to my case. She tells me that most laptops stolen in the Ottawa area wind up in India. She also thinks there is very little chance of recovering the laptop. Local police have had little help from Microsoft. They must go through RCMP, and INTERPOL in order to get anything from Microsoft. By the time this process is completed, the logs have been purged.

The officer pointed out that Microsoft's response to my query is surprising. I am merely asking for the logs related to my own account. Why they cannot provide this without a warrant/court order is confusing. It is my own information. It is not like I'm asking to identify someone else. All I am asking for are my logs.

Today I sent a sworn affidavit, witnessed by a local official, to Microsoft. I have sworn that I am the owner of the account in question and that I request they send me all records pertaining to the incident. It was sent via registered mail. I await their response.

I was quite surprised when the folks at NYCBUG send me a donation last night. Details are in my blog. George Rosamond tells me that it was Ike Levy who started this donation process back when the laptop was stolen.

Thanks Ike.

In addition to their donations, other contributions have arrived unexpectedly. I've put together a list on my blog.

I have been looking for a replacement laptop. Used ThinkPads are not easy to find. I would rather not buy one off eBay. So I'm going through my original supplier of my T22. I keep calling several times a week to see if he has one. None has shown up yet.

On a disappointing note, I have not heard a thing from my insurance company. My insurance broker has been useful though.