<p>I just bought my D a new laptop and am concerned about theft. What theft protection is recommended?</p>
<p>We have not had any problem with theft so far but they definitely recommend you get one of those lock and chains for the laptop to attach to their dorm desk. The surge protector is the most important protection.
I see the FSU computer store sells a LoJack for laptops that might be helpful: fsu.edu</a> | your pagetitle here</p>
<p>I would make it as inconvenient as possible for someone to steal the laptop in order to deter the thieves. If someone really wants the laptop, there is not much you can do to stop them. I have one of the Kensington laptop locks (<a href="http://us.kensington.com/html/11204.html)%5B/url%5D">http://us.kensington.com/html/11204.html)</a>, but as you can see here (<a href="http://www.toool.nl/kensington623.wmv%5B/url%5D">http://www.toool.nl/kensington623.wmv</a>) they are easily pickable. I've used that technique to open mine, and it is fairly new. </p>
<p>I think LoJack is flawed because the thief needs to connect the laptop a network connection in order for the packets to be sent, and it relies on the MAC address for tracking (which can be spoofed or replaced with a new network card. Also, if the thief is an FSU student, the police will only see FSU's external IP address and that won't help much. </p>
<p>I would enable a boot+bios+hard drive password, use a laptop lock, and stay with the laptop at all times. These are inconveniences in stealing the laptop, and the thief will hopefully just move along and find someone who hasn't taken these precautions. </p>
<p>What kind of laptop is it?</p>
<p>Toshiba Portege</p>
<p>Yeah- that model supports LoJack if you wanted to get it.
The computer has to support it in the BIOS if you want any chance of recovering the laptop.</p>
<p>Well after what you told me about Lojack, it doesn't seem worth the expense. Good thieves will know how to get around it, and the closest thief would be another student I guess. Just tracking it to campus won't help at all. Thanks for the info. Maybe I should lock it to my D! :)</p>
<p>Make sure the door is locked at all times, have an eye on your laptop when in public(this is obvious) and you should have nothing to worry about.</p>
<p>I was going to buy one for mine but after a week I saw it as a waste of money. Play it smart and you should be fine.</p>