<p>I will be living in a dorm for the first time this fall, and I'm really concerned about how to keep my laptop and other valuables safe. I've heard of cable locks for laptops, but I'm not really sure how they work or what the best kinds are. Clearly, a safe that isnt bolted down is pointless, but do they sell smaller safes that can attach to a desk with some kind of lock?</p>
<p>Whats the best way to keep your stuff safe in a dorm?</p>
<p>First and foremost:
Always lock your door if you are not in the room. It doesn’t matter if you’re just going next door.
My school had automatically locking doors, so if that’s the case for you, don’t prop your door open when you’re not in the room.</p>
<p>The vast majority of thefts are going to be crimes of opportunity. I’m sorry, but you’re a blithering idiot if your laptop gets stolen because you left your door open.</p>
<p>I had a laptop cable, but I used it maybe once every few months or so. If you choose to get one, get one with a combination- not a key. The key ones are easy to pick (I’m not good at picking locks, but I can open those easily lol).</p>
<p>I also have this tiny blue safe like thing. It’s big enough to hold spare money, (prescribed) drugs, and things I wouldn’t want people taking. It had a similar cord that could wrap around a post on a bed frame, and it opened via combination.</p>
<p>Johnson, we all know they aren’t prescribed drugs so you don’t have to lie :P</p>
<p>I would also advise that you get some kind of insurance. They are quite a few companies that offer college students coverage for laptop accidents/theft/etc. The prices are VERY reasonable, like $50 -$200 a year.</p>
<p>Laptop cables do not work. Keep your door shut or keep your laptop with you. I do not know if they will allow you to put a few hundred pound (300-400) safe in your room, but that would keep potential thieves away. Small safes that you can attach to a desk can be easily forced off, it is no better than a 40 pound safe. They will just carry it away and break it open elsewhere.</p>
<p>Wasted- actually, they were. Vicodin from a surgery, if you wanted to know. Kept them in a safe since I knew people who wouldn’t think twice about taking them.</p>
<p>(I don’t keep anything that could get me in serious trouble in my room lol. That’s what being a moocher is good for.)</p>
<p>Read the fine print before you buy an insurance. For example, most insurances will only cover theft if the item was stolen from a secured location (e.g. someone breaks into your locked room), and will require a police report to back up your story. Opportunity theft will never be covered. Accidental damage coverage might have unexpected exclusions too.</p>
<p>The point of the cable style locks is to keep someone from walking past and swiping something while your back is turned. If you leave belongings totally unattended, you are right, the cable locks don’t work. If you are hoping to make a crime of convenience less convenient, they certainly help.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice 
I’m a very careful person and would never think to leave my dorm unlocked or the dorm open, but I will be living with people I have never met before, so although I might trust them, I’m still concerned with them forgetting to close the door or whatever.
Johnson181, where did you get your “tiny blue safe like thing”? I would feel much more comfortable leaving my stuff in something like that than just leaving it in a desk or drawer.</p>
<p>Couldn’t find it online, but it’s something like this:</p>
<p>[College</a> dorm security safe for valuable is our Go Vault College Dorm Safe](<a href=“http://www.dormco.com/Go_Vault_College_Dorm_Safe_p/dormco-gov.htm]College”>College dorm security safe for valuable is our Go Vault College Dorm Safe)</p>
<p>but with a combo rather than a key, and mine looks a lot sturdier than that. But you can see that it has a cable to lock around furniture and the like.</p>
<p>As far as Laptops go, I was just given this “Lojack” service by a scholarship that I won. You install it into your laptop and it basically acts as both an insurance and theft protection.
In the case it is stolen: The computer can be traced to the location and they will work with your local police dept to recover it.
In the case it isn’t recovered: They will reimburse you for the computer to up to a $1000 value.</p>
<p>Have roommates who won’t steal from you.</p>
<p>My friend had a roommate who stole his shoes and television. </p>
<p>Your roommates are the people you live with with inside access. They’re really the only type of people who can easily steal from you.</p>
<p>^ roommates might have friends come by</p>
<p>I have always wondered whether the LoJack software actually works. If I were to steal a laptop, the very first thing I would do is wipe the hard drive and install a clean copy of an operating system. I suspect that would delete the LoJack software as well. Are most criminals dumb enough to go online with a stolen computer before cleaning up the computer?</p>
<p>@darkdream</p>
<p>Then have roommates who are loners with no friends. Problem solved.</p>
<p>[Track</a> down your stolen laptop – Prey](<a href=“http://preyproject.com/]Track”>http://preyproject.com/)</p>
<p>Install this and if your laptop is stolen and will be easier to track and find</p>
<p>^ That is useless unless the thief is stupid or trying to get information from the laptop [rarely the case]. These programs are becoming common, unless your computer’s motherboard came with a integrated chip that remains regardless of the hard drive’s condition.</p>
<p>Our police department on campus has this system going on where you register your electronics and bikes with them. Basically they give you an ID and engrave it into your stuff. They’ve recovered over 80% of the items stolen by tracking the ID… not sure if your school has it, but at orientation a few weeks ago they told everyone to get their valuables into the system.</p>
<p>Also, if you’re in the library, do NOT leave all your stuff at a table if you want to go to the bathroom. Pack everything up, don’t just tell someone nearby to watch your stuff, because chances are, they won’t. Like what a lot of people said, many thefts are from opportunities.</p>
<p>I’m commuting next year (I live close enough to campus), but hope to dorm someday. I’m a bit wary about having a roommate that I don’t know… I’m more of a cautious person than a super trusting one, so if I do dorm, I will probably request someone I know very well.</p>
<p>Make sure you don’t fall asleep in a library either. Happens all the time here - people fall asleep in the library and wake up to find their laptop gone.</p>
<p>People steal watches that beep softly (as an alarm clock) from people who fall asleep at the library the night before finals, too. (sometimes)</p>