<p>Will your kids take a lock for their laptop? I saw them at Best Buy and wondered if they really work - the little part that goes in the laptop seems so flimsy. It looks like you thread the cable around a desk leg and lock it on your desk. </p>
<p>Do your kids or will your kids use one in their room?</p>
<p>In short, no. The best laptop lock is the lock on the doorknob! Kids don’t use the cable lock that we all pack for them.</p>
<p>Bought one for D when she went off as a freshman 3 years ago. She probably used it the first week until she got comfortable with her surroundings and not again…same with the lock box. S who will leave in a couple of weeks is free to use both, but I don’t imagine he will get in the habit. </p>
<p>Still think it’s not a bad idea to have one especially if you question the trust of a roommate, roommate’s friends or hallmates. Or if you are prone to walking away from your laptop in the library, coffee shop, etc.</p>
<p>I had one for my TV and for my laptop. I kept the TV chained to my bed all year which was fine since I never had a reason to move it. I kept the computer locked for the first half of the year but stopped caring in the second semester. I am paranoid about keeping my door locked so it wasn’t an issue.</p>
<p>My daughter takes her laptop everywhere she goes so there was really never a reason to lock it up. She was very good about locking her bicycle though - very proud of her for that!</p>
<p>D2 left her lock locked to the desk all of freshman year but I think she only secured the computer with it once or twice. I won’t be bothering to get one for D3.</p>
<p>I gave one to my son 3 years ago and I know he never used it. I’ll try again with my D this year.</p>
<p>My son used this. Not pretty but I think it can be effective…and no worries about cords. </p>
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<p>D and S1 did not use the laptop cable locks we provided them with. I think it is more useful to try to hammer home locking the dorm room door and backing up the hard drive. We’ll see how that works with S2.</p>
<p>DS always used it in the dorm room and during fall of freshman year his room was robbed when suitemates left the hall door open. His backpack was taken - probably to carry out his roommate’s laptop, which had not been locked. The housing office installed locks on the bedroom doors after this incident. Bad as it was for DS to lose some notes and textbooks (and a favorite cap), the loss of the laptop would have been much worse. He always kept it locked to the desk for the rest of his college life.</p>
<p>Remind your kids if they don’t want to use the lock, then make sure all important data (like homework and papers) are backed up elsewhere.</p>
<p>There is also a software application called Lo Jack for laptops/computers that you may want to consider. Should the laptop be taken and later connected to a network, it can be tracked.</p>
<p>We never got a lock and I know both DDs would not use it. They are always taking their laptops to friends rooms, etc.</p>
<p>My dad password-locked my Dell laptop, so the first thing you see when you start the program is a white screen, plainly asking for the password. And it shuts down if you don’t have the correct one within 3 tries or so.</p>
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<p>When my brother (who works at HP) was helping D build her computer, he recommended this also. </p>
<p>We decided against a lock, and D later confirmed it would have been a waste of money. According to her, NO ONE uses them.</p>
<p>They work in a sense that you have to break the little piece of plastic it hooks into, which makes the laptop harder to resell and makes it obvious it is stolen. I think it is more of a deterrent than a real “lock.” I bought one last year and used it when I was in the library just to make sure nobody could steal it while my back was turned half an instant, which could happen otherwise. I intended to use it in my dorm if I was not comfortable with my roommate or her friends, or if they weren’t good about closing the door-- didn’t end up using it. This year I am using it and will put it on my laptop when I am not home, because I am on the ground floor and am taking extra precautions.</p>
<p>I posted something similar and got the same answer. Only the rare college student will use a lock. The trick is to get them to understand two things: 1) Lock your door to your room when you are not in it; 2) Take your computer with you when you are working in the library (or elsewhere) and get up to go to the bathroom. I did buy laptop theft insurance from a company called CSI, I believe, but fortunately did not need to file a claim.</p>
<p>Our D never bothered to use the lock we gave her but is paranoid about locking the dorm room door. As Supportive87Mom pointed out it is well worth putting tracking software on the laptop though. The one we use is nsidetrack, we have tried it out and can actually give you a GPS location and a picture of the person using it as well as allowing you to remotely lock down the computer.</p>
<p>Yeah, no one uses laptop locks. Just as long as the student is smart and their roommates are smart and don’t leave the door unlocked when no one is around, it isn’t usually an issue most places. And as post #15 says, the locks really do seem to be more a deterrent than a real “lock.”</p>