Laptop Locks

I'm moving into my dorm soon and petty theft runs rampant at Berkeley (my college ). I was wondering if laptop locks do the trick in keeping thieves away from my system. I know that anybody with bolt cutters and enough time can break the chain. Is there any stronger way of storing my machine? Please refrain from the obvious like having a bolted down safe or fusing my laptop to my back.

 

The only thing I could think of would be a padded briefcase that has a reliable lock on it. There may be cases like this for this specific reason. Google may offer some devices but who knows how well they will work. I am sure that someone else here can give you some better advice. So just monitor this thread for a few days.

 

That I shall! Thanks for your input.

 

well, bolt cutters aren't the best tool for cutting braided wire, although the dremel tool will sure do it... er... right

anyhow, all locks are susceptible to defeat; there is no such thing as a steal-proof case or lock. Locks are only there for deterrents. a person wanting some money would definitely go look for a more susceptible bike or laptop to steal. a simple cable lock will do; trust me.

 

I bought a Targus cable lock. The kind with braided steal wire covered with a plastic sheath. Will that do? (thanks for your guys' support).

 

that's exactly what i will use in my dorm room at davis... so if yours gets stolen, i'm sure that same thief will hop over to davis and steal mine too!

as a little tip, the best security measure is to A: make sure you keep it with you at all times outside your dorm room, B: make sure the dorm room door is always LOCKED, and C: always lie when you tell people about your laptop (eg, "it's an old Pentium 2 233mhz with 16 megs of ram..."). ok, maybe C isn't exactly a security measure, but hey, what the heck

 

lol... you're one crazy guy! Too bad my system is a dual processor 1024 meg of ram . If our laptops are stolen we must unite to find this villainous theif. Any other suggestions?

 

It was either PCWORLD or PCMAG that had a whole section dedicated to laptop security about 6 months ago. I have the issue at work, I'll look for it tomorrow.

There were all kinds of cool devices, some that had really loud alarms, some that had tracking capabilities. One really cool software security device would have the PC call you when the thief went online.

One cool idea would be to set up a little USB camera in the room, pointed in the direction of the laptop and have it set to begin recording whenever there is motion detected. Of course, the camera would need to be connected to a different PC, maybe your desktop. Not so much a theft deterrent, but would might be able to later identify the theif.