Laptops How to save Laptops from theft?

rock_ya_baby

rock_ya_baby

~~~=o=~~~
Explorer
I have been mulling over this since past week. Couple of laptops belonging to my friends got stolen from Cafeteria (college) within 2-3 minutes of them leaving the table and walking to the meal ticket counter. The GUTS of the guy(s)!! They were not even 4 meters away.

Anyway, I was thinking is there any GPS/SIM that we can place in our laptops which can trace the lappy's location? :ohyeah: 'filmy' ishtyle!

On a serious not, think about it... we buy top of the line laptops with our hard earned money and some @$$ low life nicks it in a minute, that sucks.

Same with mobiles etc. I have lost couple of cell phones in past. I didn't mind losing them as such, but, the amount of personalization that we do to our devices, not to mention the data. That pinches the most.

Apart from taking general precautions what else can we do about this?
 
Adeona is the first Open Source system for tracking the location of your lost or stolen laptop that does not rely on a proprietary, central service. This means that you can install Adeona on your laptop and go — there's no need to rely on a single third party. What's more, Adeona addresses a critical privacy goal different from existing commercial offerings. It is privacy-preserving. This means that no one besides the owner (or an agent of the owner's choosing) can use Adeona to track a laptop. Unlike other systems, users of Adeona can rest assured that no one can abuse the system in order to track where they use their laptop.
Click to expand...

Adeona: A Free, Open Source System for Helping Track and Recover Lost and Stolen Laptops
 
Keep an eye on them ALL the time..i simply refuse to let it out of my sight, let alone leave it anywhere..There is nothing more you can do,

A gps and all would be a bit too much, and what if the guy keeps it in his house bag etc? there's thin chance that he'l take it and sit in open air..:lol:

best bet woud be to hav it connect to the phone network and then we can zero in on the person..But then again you'l need it separate form the OS, Right now all of them dial through windows as modem:(

So in short keep them close to your heart..thats the best way unfortunately..I hav friends who think im paranoid abt security of my things, but i prefer that to loosing my precious gadgets anytime..
 
Party Monger said:
What if the guy formats the laptops?:@ Or doesnt connect to the internet?
Click to expand...

Thats a possibility, but a majority of ppl wont be so tech savvy, at least you hope they wont ;) And to a certain extent its true.

Also, the point about not leaving it anywhere applies. even if its 4m, I would NEVER leave a laptop in a public place unattended. Would you treat your mobile the same way? I doubt it, else it wouldnt be with you long :P
 
What about those evdo (w/e) modules that you have in some of the laptops. I hope it can do some kind of connection with the cellular network (which I don't know how it will do, in absence of an OS)

By the way, how do those advertised, "traceable cell phones" work. There seem to be a lot of ads these days that speak of such phones. If cheapo cell phones can have that, then, why not our lappies.

Its correct that we are not going to be leaving our lappies unattended, if we are in a public place. Sometimes the bag is way too heavy or you may have to go fetch something heavy etc etc. It is imperative that we have to leave the bag, in order to take care of some other urgency.

These days even people in well off establishments like Expensive schools/colleges, even, in offices -- there are people who would steal. I know a guy, who was son of a rich dad. He had a gang which used to steal cell phones and sell them at half the price. WHY?
 
rock_ya_baby said:
He had a gang which used to steal cell phones and sell them at half the price. WHY?
Click to expand...

TDK style

Some people just want to watch the world burn.

On a serious note, according to me it is difficult for anyone to take a laptop from someone unless its unattended or the theif has a weapon to intimidate you. Keep an eye on it all time.
 
laptops were of which company? Many companies keep track of stolen laptops, so just intimate the manufacturers......

Though its very unlikely but if the person who is using stolen laptop calls to CC for help, then it can be identified with its serial no. and status.

I was troubleshooting my friend's dell laptop and identification procedure of that machine along with the owner details was extremely strict with all details..... they dont even talk with a person on phone unless he specifies all these details, however the doubt is small. So thats good one way.
 
^^ What about using those laptop securing cables which goes into the K-Lock... Something like those chains we use to secure our bicycles earlier with....
 
The thing is most of the people who do this in such a risky environment, are professonal, they know to format the hdd and to remove the locks...

there are shops they bring these to and get this done, they dont do it them selves..same with mobiles..

These guys dont use the laptop and mobiles...they sell it for cheap..
 
Well, is there no lock/system which is 100% safe.

at most what we can do is, make the process harder for them to steal.

think two cars parked side by side.

first as a Centrol locking System,gear lock and other such systems

second doesn't have anything fancy.

I as a theif, would pick second car not because i can't steal first car(there are no locks for thief's:ohyeah:). Simply because its easier to get my hands on first car without taking any risk;)
 
Gaurish said:
Well, is there no lock/system which is 100% safe.
at most what we can do is, make the process harder for them to steal.
think two cars parked side by side.
first as a Centrol locking System,gear lock and other such systems
second doesn't have anything fancy.

I as a theif, would pick second car not because i can't steal first car(there are no locks for thief's:ohyeah:). Simply because its easier to get my hands on first car without taking any risk;)
Click to expand...

Problem is you cant just pick up a car and vanish..
here, take the laptop, then thik everythign else.. If need be sell as spares...thay get much more for selling spares, + no risk..
 
Party Monger said:
If need be sell as spares...thay get much more for selling spares, + no risk..
Click to expand...

How much would u shell out for a spare laptop accessory knowing it had no warranty whatsoever.
Stolen goods do not come with a original bill of sale,do they.:ohyeah:

Try selkling something without warranty in MARKET section of this Forum:cool2:
 
kreativekevin said:
How much would u shell out for a spare laptop accessory knowing it had no warranty whatsoever.
Stolen goods do not come with a original bill of sale,do they.:ohyeah:

Try selkling something without warranty in MARKET section of this Forum:cool2:
Click to expand...

Try getting spares from hp, the rates wil give you a shock..14-15k for a motherboard..
These guys are trusted by the local people.and generally they have their own way of satisfying their customers..
 
Just keep it locked at all times. Why cant you carry a laptop cable lock. The ones from kensington or targus cost 1500-2500.

Buy a slim laptop backpack, that way it will never get heavy and you need not take it off for picking something heavy.

GPS!! You are just looking for a thrill of catching your laptop thief red handed and then beat the shit out of him. :P
 
Back
Top