It has nearly been a year since my iBook was stolen. It was old and time for an upgrade anyways. G3 128 mb ram. It couldn’t really handle a DVD. I’ve had the replacement, a PowerBook G4 1.2 gb ram, and I’ve taken some steps to insure it doesn’t get stolen.

Never use your laptop in public.
I know what you’re thinking. “I got the thing so I could use it where ever I am.” Here’s a scenario, you’re in Starbucks, you’re feeling thirsty and you hop in line for something to drink. Upon returning you find your computer stolen. This is exactly what happened to me. The thief walked out right behind me and I was completely unaware. No one saw anything. In retrospect I should have never relied on other people’s simple presence as a deterrent. If you do have to use your laptop in public be smart about it. You’re in the library typing a paper and you have to use the restroom, it isn’t a chore to close it and carry it with you, it’s designed to be portable after all. So you look like you an idiot, who is going to look at porn in the bathroom, but its better then having no laptop.

Don’t by bags designed for computers.
Buy a sleeve and put your computer in a backpack, messenger bag, etc. A Targus backpack screams one thing; there is an expensive laptop in here. The only thing worse is the laptop attaché case. I know very few college kids use these but I do still see them. Never use these, ever.

Install laptop tracking software.
In the event that your laptop does get stolen, it’s not just your computer, its all your data on the hard drive too. In the event that the thief decides to turn it on then go online, boom, the software phones home and maybe there is a good chance that you can get your computer back. Plus, most of these programs offer money back if your laptop isn’t recovered. It’s a good 50 dollar investment. Plus there are some homebrew versions floating around that you can run on your own web server, if you have them.

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Posted at : April 11th, 2007 - 10:39 am
Filed under : Advice
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