<p>My roommate had an identical computer to mine and didn't have a computer lock, I did. Hence, the additional security of having my lock made me feel really secure about leaving my laptop in the room, because if anyone wanted a computer, they were a lot more likely to go for the one that was laying there unsecured :-) I go to school in an urban area, with a fair number of thefts on campus (almost all of which occured in places other than the dorms) and neither I nor my roommate ever had a problem leaving out computers in the room (but we did keep the door locked when we were not on the floor). Do whatever feels safest to you though</p>
<p>If I Were To Steal A Laptop, And Believe Me I Would If Mine Got Stolen. I Would Find A Vulnerable One, Take Out The Mini PCI Wireless And Ethernet Card, (To Do Away With The MAC Address Issue) and then completely erase the hard drive to do away with that Software. Bingo Free Laptop. Just to make you guys feel better hehe</p>
<p>haha well, if the wifi and ethernet are soldered into the motherboard...might not be a good idea to remove them if you wanted to laptop to still work ;)</p>
<p>there is actually a mini pci card that controls both and can be slid in and out i believe</p>
<p>it depends on the computer. If its a centrino laptop, you had better believe that that wireless chipset is pretty much stuck there.</p>
<p>The Intel 2100 and 2200 series of Centrino are internal cards. That can be removed.</p>
<p>Almost all computers use these models.</p>
<p>You have to remember that most computer thieves aren't computer savy. About 90% of them are this way. They take the comp, and lots of times fire it up and use it. Or the person they sell it to fires it up, and it gets tracked pretty quick. Then there of course are the savvy thieves who know what to do. But if you have an IBM with security subsystem their screwed. They would have to basically replaced all the components in the computer to make it untraceable.</p>
<p>I have a toshiba satellite 5205-s703 ( P4-m ) .... Not sure if the wireless card is soldered onto the motherboard. I dont think so coz i have a service manual for this laptop and there is a page with instructions how to remove the wireless card.... not sure if I should try it as a novice?</p>
<p>lol why remove it did you steal the laptop</p>
<p>so locks are no good. Then what's the best way to keep your labtop safe?</p>
<p>A Locked Drawer, but then I guess that could be pryed open. Um I think the only safe thing would be not let it out of your sight. Or do video survalance.</p>
<p>
[quote]
ol why remove it did you steal the laptop
[/quote]
</p>
<p>dunno what I was thinking :p ....</p>
<p>Btw how would I find out my MAC address?</p>
<p>take a hammer smash open the lcd and look from a number in pink</p>
<p>And really, a lock is still good (I could take a bolt-cutter to any lock if I really wanted) but it is not an absolute.</p>
<p>u can get computrace... i dont know how good it is though, but in a review:</p>
<p>"In the event a computer is stolen, Absolute offers a recovery guarantee of up to US$1,000, can remotely delete sensitive data, and can aid organizations with regulatory compliance, according to John Livingston, CEO and chairman of Absolute. Computrace software is locked-down within the computer, so the location of Computrace-protected computers can be tracked even if the hard drive is reformatted or if the operating system is replaced, he adds."</p>
<p>I'd just stick with the MAC address and maybe a lock on your desk for college. You can get a combination lock which doesnt have any problem with a bic pen opening it.</p>
<p>computrace is more for business users who can afford it and are in lots of situations where it would be an issue. It still relies on network connectivity and unfortunately relies on internet explorer which tends to mean its got some crap going on. I also fail to see how a good reformat wont fix the problem. If I zero the drive and format it with a brand new MBR, there is going to be nothing left.</p>
<p>Id just replace the hard drive probably then, knowing this now</p>
<p>i agreee with otto; you'll probably need to find the mac address when you first arrive to school to get your computer set up with the school's network and stuff anyway... it doesn't make sense not to write it down for safekeeping.</p>