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Ask Slashdot: Protecting Tech Gear From Smash-and-Grab Theft?
rstory writes "I seem to be hearing about more smash and grab thefts lately, from low-tech purse snatching to thieves after laptops and cameras. Bold thieves are even snatching stuff in church/day-care parking lots in the 5 minute window while a parent goes in to pick up their child. I often drive around with my laptop, and want to find the best way to protect against theft. Besides the obvious 'don't leave equipment in the car' solution, what else are people doing? Right now I just use a regular backpack instead of a fancy laptop case. I don't have a trunk, so when I leave the car I put the backpack on the floor of the back seat, sometimes throwing other junk on top. The only interesting thing I've found while googling is a couple of 'anti-theft' backpacks which have wire mesh to prevent cutting them open and a (thin looking) cable for securing to a stationary object. What do you do to protect your gear?"
Get a dog and keep it in the car.
...holding laptop, make sure to solder an unobtrusive on/off switch someplace you can reach but non-obvious on the briefcase (or connected to the briefcase by wire.
Fun! :)
(I had a friend who did something similar to the hood ornament of his Dad's Mercedes during the 80's when everyone was stealing them.)
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There are a lot of articles about this, and probably suit his needs.
I'm waiting to see someone combine these remote tracking and accessibility methods with semtex and finishing nails packed in the old optical drive bay.
It's an old photographer's trick to keep gear in a diaper bag. Nobody wants to go near that (literal) shit.
They don't grade fathers, but if your daughter's a stripper, you fucked up. --Chris Rock
rstory, as the submitter of this question, you neglected to provide a link to yourself and your /. profile doesn't seem very informative.
Can you please give us a few details. Particularly, oh I dunno, maybe some info on where you like to park your car? Thanks!!
P.S. FYI, you can post stories as ac.
I'm waiting to see someone combine these remote tracking and accessibility methods with semtex and finishing nails packed in the old optical drive bay.
As a fun bonus, your vacations just became a lot more interesting.
Go too Goodwill, grab a ratty looking Barney the Dinosaur. Cut a hole and insert.
Wait, are we still talking about theft?
Yeah, thanks for those Mandarin homework answers. I was totally lost in that class.
Police department IT guy here. We've got a couple of "bait cars" rigged with a computer system and a private network 3G aircard for comms. Onboard are hidden cameras, mics and video recording system, remote controlled door closers and locks, remote control windows, GPS tracking, remote engine shutoff and brakes, all sorts of fun stuff. They're not only used to catch car thieves, but also we'll leave stuff laying in the back seat of floor to catch car burglars too. Lots of hilarity ensues on the videos we record inside these cars. Especially when a subject hops into the back seat and tries to grab a backpack that the strap is tied under the front seat rails so you can't grab it and run, and all of a sudden the door slams shut, the window rolls up and they can't get out of the car. By the time they try kicking out the window, a couple carloads full of uniforms arrive to greet them.