<p>Not sure if this is the right forum but here goes... I am going on a 3 week research summer program to UCONN and will be boarding there.. Is it safe to leave my laptop in the dorm room open on the table when i'm not around? </p>
<p>Do any of you leave your laptops on your desk as opposed to packing it up time and again?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>there are laptop locks that you can use to attach it to your desk while you're gone</p>
<p>and My knife could cut throgh that.,</p>
<p>Just take it with you,</p>
<p>You have to remeber that the weakness is not in the lock, but in the laptop.</p>
<p>Cheap little plastic is not gtoing to stop me.</p>
<p>I don't know what kind of knife you have, but my Kensington laptop lock is made with industrial strength steel and from I've seen, there's no way to get through that with any knife.</p>
<p>up how does a lock work,</p>
<p>You put the lock into the little hole on the laptop. That hole is plastic.</p>
<p>and this is my knife</p>
<p>I think Vincent has a good point...</p>
<p>I have an Apple Powerbook (aluminum). The hole in mine is not plastic and the ability for someone to cut the lock off of it seems incredibly difficult. A friend that has an IBM thinkpad and lost his key had his computer locked to his desk for quite awhile until he somehow managed to find either his spare key or someone with the jaws of life.</p>
<p>Yeah... I wrap my Kensington Cable Lock around my desk at work. It locks into the metal case of my powerbook. My brother beta tested the cable lock for Kensington and I think we tried to hack through it once. No go. You'd need to get through the kevlar-reinforced steel composite cable, and even if you were able to somehow hack through that, then you'd still have a hunk of Kensington cable lock conspicuously stuck to the side of the computer you just stole... which is what we call "red-handed".</p>
<p>Not to mention, all that is kind of a moot point, because if you register your cable lock, Kensington guarantees that they'll replace your laptop for you if it's stolen while the cable lock is in use. So.... back up your data often and buy yourself a Kensington cable lock!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.computrace.com%5B/url%5D">www.computrace.com</a> They sell tracing software. Undetectable by people. Read up on it, its pretty good.</p>
<p>Most, if not all, laptop locks can be opened using the barrel of a cheap Bic pen. The locks are good enough to keep the casual thief away, but if somebody really wants your laptop, they will get it. This goes for nearly all locks with the cylindrical key.</p>
<p>The best defense is to lock your dorm roon when you leave. If you're carrying your laptop around with you during the day, don't let it out of your sight.</p>
<p>Buy theft insurance or make sure the laptop is covered by your parent's homeowner's policy (take a photo and copy down the serial number).</p>
<p>Here you go.</p>
<p>That's an old technique used by motorcycle thieves to steal motorcycles. It also works on laptops.</p>
<p>I never had a laptop lock for my laptop. Many nights I left it on my desk while sleeping at a friends house. It was there when I got back - and my roommates didn't even lock our door most of the time. If someone wants your laptop, they're going to find a way to take it. Lock or not.</p>
<p>IN conclusion, I can leave it the laptop on my desk so long as I lock it using the "kensington lock".. There are still ways that it can be stolen but even if it is stolen, Kensington supposedly will replace it for you.</p>
<p>Well.. technically you can but if the technique used above is used (video) to steal it.. then no... because it wanst really by force.</p>
<p>doh....ok on second thoughts, I guess ill just pack it up once im done and keep it somewhere safe in the room ( although it could still be stolen but still.. ) </p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>Locks are the same for everything.</p>
<p>Like with Bike locks, You lock you bike up so nobody can just walk by and hop on it and take it.</p>
<p>The laptop lock will do the same,</p>
<p>Any lock can be broken. With the correct tools, I could get into an a armoured truck if I had the right tools.</p>
<p>A lock is not a absolute protection.</p>
<p>A 300 lbs fire proof safe is probrolly the better option. Maybe more expensive but, not to many students will be able to carry a 300 lbs safe down and out of a dorm.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Kensington supposedly will replace it for you.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>
[quote]
Well.. technically you can but if the technique used above is used (video) to steal it.. then no... because it wanst really by force.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>How will you know the exact technique the thief used to steal your laptop? If you left it locked with a Kensigton lock, and it gets stolen - doesn't that clearly mean they are liable to replace it? Or does the Kensington warranty come with fineprint conditions, like "FORCE must be used to steal the laptop before we replace it"?</p>
<p>There is a discussion on slashdot.org (ask slashdot section) from a guy asking about protecting his daughters laptop. He wanted some sort of tracing software (though that doesnt work once they reformat it which would be the first thing I would do).</p>
<p>Go read the discussion, but my best advice is to write down the MAC Address of both the wireless adapter AND the wired port. Keep those on file and if it gets stolen, report it with the police and give the numbers to the network people at your school. They can use that MAC address (doesnt change when you reformat or anything) to indentify which room it is plugged into or which wireless hotspot it is connected to. From there, the campus police just have to go knock on the door.</p>
<p>Also make sure the other relavent numbers (like serial) are written down so you can prove that it is yours.</p>
<p>Not all Kensington laptop locks qualify for the anti-theft warrantee. From their website, it's their $50+ model. Even then, there are significant qualifications. </p>
<ul>
<li>coverage up to $1500 (Blue Book Value at time of theft) and less any other coverage you may have.</li>
<li>Theft must be reported to the police within 72 hours. A police report and both lock keys must be sent to Kensington via registered mail within 7 days.</li>
<li>coverage is for one year only...may renew coverage each subsequent year for $15</li>
<li>The lock must have been "violated" or "broken" for the warrantee to be valid...</li>
</ul>
<p>Just what "violated" or "broken"" means to Kensington is not clear from this document.</p>
<p>Read this document carefully!</p>
<p>about the mac address thing, i remember reading an article a while ago in the stanford magazine...someone's laptop was stolen, but they were able to catch the guy as soon as he tried to connect to the campus network the next day!</p>
<p>=D</p>
<p>Alternatively, if you leave your room locked you shouldn't really have any problem...</p>
