Cunning wiring found my Xbox

Stolen gaming consoles can be tracked - who knew?

Microsoft's Xbox 360 console can be tracked if it's ever nicked. Kind of.

A student who lost his Xbox in a burglary was able to find it again by using the console's own wireless technology. Ryan Ketsenburg, a sophomore construction management major at Missouri State left the door unlocked when he and his room mate collapsed shagged out after a field trip.

When they woke up the Xbox had gone walkabout, so Ketsenburg called the coppers. While he was waiting for them to show up, Ketsenburg found himself reasoning that since the wireless controller was still registered to the console he could track it down, if it had not gone too far.

Sure enough, he turned on the wireless Xbox controller and found that it was still connecting to his Xbox.

Ketsenburg figured out that it must be on the fifth floor of his student digs, pinpointed the room, and called the authorities who got the unit back for him.
It was not a completely happy story. The thief had formatted the hard drive and clearly was not interested in giving the console back. So now Ketsenburg has decided to prosecute and has told the media.

The moral of the story is that, if you are going to steal stuff, take it out of the building that you stole it from.

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6 Comments

Thoughts on this article? Add a comment below.

orcone Dec 16, 2008 10:49 AM	Fucking awesome. Though I would have kicked down the door and beaten the thief with the 300kg overheating monstrosity.
H3VIW8 Dec 16, 2008 10:56 AM	my friend had his zune stolen a while back, he was going to do a similar thing, his girl had one and they were linked or something, and he was told his girls zune would act like a gps-ish tracker and lead him right to it, tho living in the neighborhood he does, he decided against it. it is nice to know one can track ones tech these days.
oddman Dec 16, 2008 8:44 PM	ITS BIG BR0THER ZOMGZ TRACKING ME OMG HAX0RZ ZOMG!!1!eleven!111!!
ahsoka Dec 16, 2008 11:04 PM	If I were to get kidnapped, would my mum use my built-in wireless technology to track me down? Doubt it :P
Truckasauras Dec 17, 2008 9:17 AM	I'm with orcone, I wouldn't have called the police. I'd have beaten the snot out of the guy who stole it.
Hoonbernator Dec 17, 2008 6:34 PM	He could have messed with the guy's gaming first! Spend a couple of days (or late nights) messing with the thief's head. I do agree with Orcone too! People are a bit quick to call the cops when they have good opportunity to implement their own style of justice!

Editor's Choice

Area 53

Atomic Magazine

Issue: 111 | April, 2010

Atomic is a magazine aimed squarely at computer enthusiasts, gamers, and serious PC upgraders.

Every month we bring you the latest reviews of new technology and PC components, in depth features on everything from overclocking to console hacking, and gaming previews and interviews.

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