Keeping Laptops Safe

<p>How do people keep their stuff safe in dorms? Do they buy safes? What is the optimal way to ensure that one's stuff is not stolen? How do students protect their textbooks and clothes from being robbed?</p>

<p>agree with your roommate to keep the door locked when neither of you are there.
if it's your roommate you're worried about though, I don't know.</p>

<p>People steal clothes???</p>

<p>Buy a lock for your laptop as well...</p>

<p>Put <em>tons</em> of flashy stuff on there like stickers and what not, it deters robbers, or at least, it'd deter me lol.</p>

<p>Locks and insurance are about the best you can do. A dedicated thief will get your belongings if they want them.</p>

<p>Just lock your door when you aren't there and buy a laptop lock. Also, it isn't a bad idea to have some sort of lockbox in the back of your closet for important papers, checkbooks, jewelry or whatever.</p>

<p>I use Desktops. I have a laptop to, but only use that for projects and stuff.</p>

<p>Id love to see somebody carry out my 2x 24" Sony trinitron CRT monitors. with the other 4 computers I have running at all times.</p>

<p>There really isn't much you can do beyond having an agreement with your roommate to watch for suspicious activity, and to always keep the room locked if no one is there. I don't think they (laptops) get stolen as much as people think. My mom is absolutely petrified of mine getting stolen still and I'm 20, going into my third year of college, living with guys I've hung out with for the past two years. I suppose there is always a chance though.</p>

<p>i586....what purpose does 4 computers running simultaneously serve (not a flame, honest question)?</p>

<p>^^^^
Dilo, you word for word stole what I was about to say. 4?</p>

<p>Haha...apparently sitting idle at work enables me to captivate one's mind & thoughts.</p>

<p>I guess I just live on a very safe campus, but I do all sorts of outrageously unsafe things with my laptop and it hasn't been touched (or stolen for that matter).</p>

<p>for example - taking 30 minute showers with my dorm room unlocked and my roommate not there... leaving it in the lounge of the admissions building (anyone can get in) for hours while going out with friends... etc.</p>

<p>my dad bought me a laptop lock but I didn't use it... ironic thing is that he recently got his laptop stolen in a train station at Brussels (mine was safe and sound :))</p>

<p>What about alarm laptop locks that sqeek if someone comnes close to it or tries to cut the lock or extract batteries? Do fingerprint readers help? What specific laptop locks would ppl recommend?</p>

<p>fingerprint readers won't matter - very few people would steal your laptop, realize they can't use it because of the fingerprint reader, and return it to you. at best they might throw it away or sell it because they can't use it. (my laptop has one and you can actually just type in the password to log in, bypassing the fingerprint reader)</p>

<p><a href="http://www.askdavetaylor.com/i_stole_this_laptop_can_you_tell_me_how_to_fix_it.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.askdavetaylor.com/i_stole_this_laptop_can_you_tell_me_how_to_fix_it.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>^Link stolen from another thread on laptop theft.</p>

<p>yeah, locking your room is the best deterrent to thieves. I don't know of anyone who has had anything stolen out of a locked dorm room. In addition, if you feel unsafe, buy a laptop lock. I've heard people say that they don't help all that much because all it takes is a thief breaking your wooden desk or chair or having some heavy-duty scissors or hedge clippers or something. That might be true, but the chances are that unless the person wants YOUR computer as opposed to someone's computer that's left in an unlocked room just sitting on the desk with no laptop lock (which, trust me, is going to be pretty easy to find), they're going to leave yours alone and go for one of the easier ones.</p>

<p>Lock your room, maybe get a laptop lock, and you're not going to have a problem (I've had a laptop for three years, and I've taken it on a semester abroad and travelled with it, and never really worried about it as long as I've kept my eye on it when it wasn't locked up somewhere).</p>

<p>Oh well 1 is a newgroup suck feed</p>

<p>the second is a server where I host files and stuff and my projects with various repositories. This one also Folds 24/7</p>

<p>The third is a BT seeding box for my school. This one also Folds 24/7</p>

<p>The 4th is my desktop where I just use my regular stuff, then I also have a laptop.</p>

<p>If you are worried about getting your laptop stolen just get a IBM thinkpad, while it wont stop it from being stolen, the thief wont be able to use it as the security on them is so tough, once stolen the only way somebody will ever be able to use that pc again if passworded is if its sent back to the IBM Depot.</p>

<p>Lets say you use a IBM security key for there onboard security chip, if the actual computer is tampered with, as in opened or something like that, the computer will just kill itself to protet your data. If the hard drive doesn't match that exact security chip, key for key, you cant recover any data.</p>

<p>Thinkpads are about as good as a notebook one can buy. Plus they are one of the few models that on the laptop locking area, actually connect the lock to the metal titanium chassis, instead of plastic like some other brands.</p>

<p>I just got a new laptop from Dell and it has the LoJack theft recovery system, but I'm also getting a laptop lock and locking it to some random metal pipe that runs right along my desk for no apparent reason.</p>

<p>Staples has a few different document safes that can also fit laptops in them. The safes are 35-100 pounts, so people would notice someone taking it away. I would suggest one of these.</p>

<p>If you've got your laptop with you, take it with you when you leave. Password protecting and encrypting information on your laptop is a must.</p>

<p>You could also buy a mini-safe and put stuff in it whilst you're there. I had no trouble in my halls of residence- just make sure your door's locked before you leave!</p>

<p>If you have expensive items and don't want to take them with you, you could leave them with the porter.</p>