Student Uses Wireless Controller to Track Down Stolen Xbox 360
Student Uses Wireless Controller to Track Down Stolen Xbox 360
December 16, 2008
We love it when the good guys win.
A clever student at Missouri State University used the Xbox 360 controller's wireless capabilities to track down his stolen console, reports school newspaper the Standard.
It seems that someone swiped Ryan Ketsenburg's 360 from his dorm room after the sophomore forgot to lock his door. He managed to recover his system, however, with a tidy piece of detective work:
Ketsenburg... turned on his wireless Xbox controller and found that it was still connecting to his Xbox. Based on this discovery, Ketsenburg said he realized that his Xbox must be nearby...
The controller connected to the Xbox on the fourth, fifth and sixth floors of Hutchens but not on the third floor and seventh floor, so through process of elimination, Ketsenburg said he figured out that the stolen Xbox must be on the fifth floor.
Following the controller's signal, Ketsenburg said he was able to pinpoint the room where his Xbox was stolen... The 5th floor resident assistant checked the alleged room where the stolen Xbox was and was able to find the Xbox, Ketsenburg said.
The controller was able to prove that the Xbox belonged to Ketsenburg, because the controller was able to turn on the console unit, he said.
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Posted 02/09/10 at 03:51pm
DarkSaber: I think he just goes round the internet copy+pasting the same bollocks to get attention.
DarkSaber: I think he just goes round the internet copy+pasting the same bollocks to get attention.
Posted 02/09/10 at 03:41pm
Valdearg: @DS: I have to admit, I chuckled when I saw the 4 Feb 2010 on that post.. >.<
Valdearg: @DS: I have to admit, I chuckled when I saw the 4 Feb 2010 on that post.. >.<
Posted 02/09/10 at 03:31pm
DarkSaber: Hm, Bioshock. Not that Zippy likes to beat the dead horse by ranting about it for TWO $&%£ING YEARS!
DarkSaber: Hm, Bioshock. Not that Zippy likes to beat the dead horse by ranting about it for TWO $&%£ING YEARS!
Posted 02/09/10 at 03:30pm
DarkSaber: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.173063-Bioshock-yet-another-zippy-rant
DarkSaber: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.173063-Bioshock-yet-another-zippy-rant
Posted 02/09/10 at 03:20pm
DarkSaber: Although, unsurprisingly, he's just being called an idiot alot and criticised for being as illegible as always.
DarkSaber: Although, unsurprisingly, he's just being called an idiot alot and criticised for being as illegible as always.
Posted 02/09/10 at 03:18pm
DarkSaber: Oh good lord, I just found Zippy on The Escapist.
DarkSaber: Oh good lord, I just found Zippy on The Escapist.
Posted 02/09/10 at 03:14pm
Valdearg: IE: Male body/Female Mind or Female Body/Male Mind.
Valdearg: IE: Male body/Female Mind or Female Body/Male Mind.
Posted 02/09/10 at 03:13pm
Valdearg: @Zip: TG == Transgendered/Transsexual.
Valdearg: @Zip: TG == Transgendered/Transsexual.
Posted 02/09/10 at 03:09pm
DarkSaber: Forget it Zippy, it's an abbreviation of a big word and so would be wasted on you
DarkSaber: Forget it Zippy, it's an abbreviation of a big word and so would be wasted on you
Posted 02/09/10 at 03:07pm
ZippyDSMlee: Vlag:....TG?
ZippyDSMlee: Vlag:....TG?
Posted 02/09/10 at 03:02pm
Valdearg: @DS: Im sure that's what they'd do if it wasn't legal to just tell Gays/TG's to "Screw off," just because they're who they are.
Valdearg: @DS: Im sure that's what they'd do if it wasn't legal to just tell Gays/TG's to "Screw off," just because they're who they are.
Posted 02/09/10 at 02:50pm
DarkSaber: Whoever told him/her/it that is dumb. They should have done like most companies and made-up some bullshit, yet legal, reason for it not getting the job.
DarkSaber: Whoever told him/her/it that is dumb. They should have done like most companies and made-up some bullshit, yet legal, reason for it not getting the job.
Posted 02/09/10 at 01:16pm
Andrew Eisen: Shouldn't be. Spirit of anti-discrimination laws would seem to include sexual orientation (and eye color). Plus there's always equal protection and such. Never know until you try.
Andrew Eisen: Shouldn't be. Spirit of anti-discrimination laws would seem to include sexual orientation (and eye color). Plus there's always equal protection and such. Never know until you try.
Posted 02/09/10 at 01:10pm
Andrew Eisen: Should have sued (unless that wasn't an option given her financial situation or something). Might have won.
Andrew Eisen: Should have sued (unless that wasn't an option given her financial situation or something). Might have won.
Posted 02/09/10 at 01:00pm
Valdearg: Story about a Male to Female TG who was expressly told she wouldn't be given a job because she was TG. Its not the main point of the story, but explicit, perfectly legal discrimination like this exists.
Valdearg: Story about a Male to Female TG who was expressly told she wouldn't be given a job because she was TG. Its not the main point of the story, but explicit, perfectly legal discrimination like this exists.
Posted 02/09/10 at 12:53pm
Valdearg: Lol, I don't know. It may very well be legal to do so. Though that might able to fall under the "race" restriction, depending on how that point is argued.
Valdearg: Lol, I don't know. It may very well be legal to do so. Though that might able to fall under the "race" restriction, depending on how that point is argued.
Posted 02/09/10 at 12:51pm
Valdearg: I don't think they do have any legal recourse. I'll have to dig around, but I seriously believe that if the law doesn't specifically mention Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity, they can still be discriminated against in those 29 states.
Valdearg: I don't think they do have any legal recourse. I'll have to dig around, but I seriously believe that if the law doesn't specifically mention Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity, they can still be discriminated against in those 29 states.
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Comments
Ahhh, love it when theives get caught red-handed :P
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Could you say this one got caught red ringed?
Awesome ... what a great use of a wireless controller.
I've never been so interested in the latter half of a story. What happened to the thief?!?
Violent sodomy? does it matter?
Violent sodomy always matters.
At the moment, no idea, at the least suspended I would have thought, but Ketsenburg is going to prosecute, the hard drive was wiped so he's lucky he's not getting death!
Ugh! The thief wiped his hard drive?! Hangin's too good for 'im!
wow man, wiped his info thinking that would make it untrackable ehh? well new lesson to xbox thieves in dorms, steal ALL the controllers. Lesson to xbox users in dorms, always keep one of the sync'd controllers hidden somewhere safe so you can walk around with it later searching for your xbox :P
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Yeah, hopefully something interesting. Required to clean the halls and bathrooms of the dorm.
Nido Web Flash Tutorials AS2 and AS3 Tutorials for anyone interested.
How to set Xbox 360 Parental Controls
Blindfolded.
Quite creative.
Is it just me, or was this posted before, a few weeks back?
Nah, its just becoming a common theft in campuses apparently, something similar happened but he didn't track it down with the controller.
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A similar one was posted, yes, but that one was tracked down using the IP address.
What kind of idiot takes the console and not the controller?
the kind that gets caught?
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Maybe he only took one of them or something?
Maybe his own XBox red-ringed on him and he already had all the controllers he needed?
Or perhaps more likely, only one controller was lying around. That's often the case at my place, since I rarely have gaming visitors.
But yeah: stupid. But then, intelligence never was a requirement for being a thieving scumbag.
Thats pretty creative. Glad to see someone with brains in a college.
Unless he's got some very rich parents, he's going to have a nice little record which makes employment and enrollment in school much more interesting. nys regents | regents exam | math b regents | tanning lotion
How did he find it exactly. I'm still somewhat confused.
By seeing on what floors the controller would work.
Wireless controllers sync with the last x-box 360 they were connected to. Unless you sync a controller up with another Xbox, it will always try to connect to the last machine it was connected to. Turning on the controller will turn on the console. The controller has 4 lights around the xbox button in the middle. If you are player 1, you'll see the top left quadrant lit up. Each player has a different quadrant.
But the wireless has a limited broadcast range, just like a wifi hotspot or any other wireless device. If you take your controller too far away from the machine, it will lose its connection. I'm not sure if the controller turns off at this point or if the LED rings all blink in a sequence to represent a lost signal. Either way, you can tell when your controller is out of range.
By walking around and making notes on where the controller loses sync, you can make a rough guess as to where the xbox is. By going up and down floors he worked out which floor the xbox was most likely to be, and by walking around that floor he worked out which room it was most likely to be in.
That was brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. And what wonderful deduction! Sherlock Holmes would be proud, if he were real. I really do mean all of that.
"That's not ironic. That's justice."
Handy bit of detective work, this.
Criminal charges sound likely, vandalism for the destruction of the data on the HD and theft for the theft of the unit. The guy who did it is likely going to be expelled from the school as well, as he's been caught dead to rights. Authorities KNOW it was the stolen unit, and it was in his dorm room.
Unless he's got some very rich parents, he's going to have a nice little record which makes employment and enrollment in school much more interesting.
I love "geeks gets one over on thief" stories. My favorite is still the girl who used remote desktop to take a picture of her laptop thief with her webcam.
Why I never leave a webcam plugged in. And if I can't unplug it, electric tape time.
I have two controllers for my 360 but I put one of them away in my closet until company comes over. This guy probably does the same or something similar. The theif was probably in a rush to get in and out so grabbed the xbox and the nearby controller. There was no way for him to even know there was a second or third controller somewhere in the dormroom. I guess the lesson to be learned here is to not steal xboxes from people who live within a few dozen feet of you. Or not to steal xboxes at all.