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Ask Slashdot: Protecting Tech Gear From Smash-and-Grab Theft?

Posted by timothy on from the disguise-as-a-tape-deck dept.

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?"

10 of 514 comments (clear)

  1. you can track your laptops by adeelarshad82 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Well for laptops you can install software that can help you track your laptop or protect your files from a remote location. There are ton of them out there, listed in the article below http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2387748,00.asp

    1. Re:you can track your laptops by houstonbofh · · Score: 5, Informative

      Well, the location can be tracked from the second it laptop is turned on and since wiping a laptop isn't instantaneous it gives you a (very) small window to track the culprit.

      How does it do this with no Internet and booting from a system recovery disk? It is only helpful to catch the stupid criminals. Admittedly, that is most of them.

      But it does nothing for the real problem. You now need a new window and backpack. The only good solution is to avoid the smash...

    2. Re:you can track your laptops by Daniel_Staal · · Score: 5, Informative

      Slightly more low-tech, but giving the same idea of 'make it trackable' is Stuffbak. It's just a (hard to remove) sticker, but it means you can prove a specific device is yours.

      But none of this is prevention. If you can't hide it and you can't lock it, take it with you.

      --
      'Sensible' is a curse word.
    3. Re:you can track your laptops by CohibaVancouver · · Score: 5, Informative

      What happens when the perp wipes the hard drive? Barring some BIOS magic, your software just disappears

      LoJack for Laptops has code in the firmware of all of the major laptop manufacturers. The code is dormant, but wakes up when you install the product. Once activated, the code checks for the presence of the LoJack agent on the hard drive and replaces it if it's removed or if it's been tampered with. It will survived an OS re-install, hard drive wipe - Even a hard drive swap.

    4. Re:you can track your laptops by rickb928 · · Score: 5, Informative

      My work laptop drive is encrypted. We consider the data far more valuable than the hardware, and they can have it.

      My personal tablet notebook has the TPC engaged, and without the drive (which is unique and expensive) it's worthless. If I'm at all competent as a thief, I know this and avoid that model and those similar. The meth heads aren't, so I would probably check CL and find it for sale in a day or so. Ring ring.

      In fact, my work notebook, when it is replaced, is essentially scrap. We have to shred the drives, rendering the rest of it worth zilch. Kinda sad.

      Personally, I would bolt an eye to a seat, use a Kensington cable, and if it is really that bad thread the cable through the bag onto the notebook. This is mostly to slow down a thief, and leave you with a broken window instead. First step is to camo the bag, either slipping it under a seat or behind something innocuous. In the convertible you can hardly see my bag. In the Explorer, slipping it under a rear seat makes it virtually invisible also. Anyone who sees me do that of course knows the trick, but that's an even smaller window of opportunity. A decent car alarm will help some, but your window is busted anyways. LoJack for laptops sounds good until you find out it's in India.

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    5. Re:you can track your laptops by CohibaVancouver · · Score: 4, Informative

      Unless you take the HD out and replace it with a clean one...

      LoJack for Laptops has code in the firmware of most laptops that allows it to persist across a hard drive swap.

    6. Re:you can track your laptops by berzerke · · Score: 4, Informative

      According a Houston PD officer in the auto thefts division, the worst place you can put something is on the floor of passenger back seat. That's the first place someone looking to do a smash and grab looks.

      Also be aware of someone walking around the parking lot (near cars) that appears to be talking on a cell phone. That's a definite "take it with me or leave" red flag.

    7. Re:you can track your laptops by CohibaVancouver · · Score: 4, Informative

      Ok, so the thief steals it, re-installs Windows but never directly connects it back to the internet. He then sells it on Craigslist, and when the person who bought it connects it to the internet, it leads back to a person who didn't steal it.

      You still get your computer back.

      Or if they really know what they are doing, modifies or flashes an already modified BIOS to the machine and takes out the LoJack completely.

      This is extremely difficult to do, and is usually unsuccessful.

      Or the most likely - victim tracks down the vicinity where it is reported the stolen laptop is. Gets the technically clueless police department involved who don't understand what you are trying to tell them, and are unwilling/unable to help. This has happened to several of my friends while tracking stolen cell phones.

      This is why the LoJack for Laptops recovery team manages the recovery process, not the end user. This is what you're paying for when you buy the service - It's the team of professional ex-cops who work with law enforcement to get your stuff back.

    8. Re:you can track your laptops by CohibaVancouver · · Score: 4, Informative

      do you know anyone who has actually recovered a laptop successfully using LoJack?

      Yes.

      http://blog.absolute.com/20000-recoveries-and-counting/

      They don't 'bend the law' - They just do all the legwork for the police. They basically say here's a stolen computer, here's all the forensic evidence proving who the thief is and here's what you need when you go in front of a judge. They do all the (legal) investigative work that holds up in court.

    9. Re:you can track your laptops by tnk1 · · Score: 5, Informative

      You don't need to bend the law for a former professional to be useful. You just need to know how to report an issue so it becomes a priority. Also, they know what you need to give to the cops to make it easy enough for them to go take care of it with little hassle. If the ex-cops know how to make life easier on already overworked cops, it is much more likely that the cops will work your case in preference to another one.

      On the other hand, they also know procedure and the law so that the cops they work with can't try and brush you off with an excuse or some paperwork. If a cop is lazy, the ex-cop will know to perhaps ask for a sergeant and then quote some line and verse at them which is technically available for any citizen to use, but only cops know that it is there and how to invoke it.

      Finally, they realize that a company that handles dozens of these a day may well be one that they have to take seriously. As an individual, you're powerless against the police machinery, but a company with lawyers on retainer, ex-cops, and PR people are much more of a force to be reckoned with.

      It's all about bureaucracy and how to navigate it. Technically it's nothing that you couldn't do yourself, but you wouldn't even know where to start.