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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?"
If I park somewhere that has a reasonable chance of a smash-and-grab, I take valuables with me.
Period.
Who cares if it's locked down to something, if it looks like there is something valuable in the car, it's going to get broken in to. And if they can't take the thing they really want, they'll likely do extra damage, just because.
Other than that, I try to avoid leaving my car in locations that I worry about its safety.
Another non-functioning site was "uncertainty.microsoft.com."
The purpose of that site was not known.
>>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.
Seriously? You expect technology to solve this?
Sorry to be so blunt with the title, but that sums it up. If you don't want your shit stolen, don't leave it laying around for an opportunistic thief.
Take your stuff with you.
My dog would fiercely defend my car to his death. I'd much rather just lose the laptop.
What happens when the perp wipes the hard drive? Barring some BIOS magic, your software just disappears. That's the first thing I do when I steal laptops.
A ridiculous number of compact and subcompact cars have no trunk these days, they are glorified hatchbacks in effect. Although minivans and SUVsgenerally don't have trunks either....
Make sure it is covered by auto/home-owner/renter insurance and back-up regularly.
If I'm going around with my laptop, I put it in the inconspicuous place in my car *before* I get in my car. Not after I've stopped and everyone nearby can see that I'm hiding something valuable.
t
The location can be tracked as soon as your OS loads, you can wipe a laptop without ever loading the OS
You're assuming the perp plugs in the laptop to his network. Why would he do that? Network access isn't needed when wiping laptops. Just pop in a bootable CD or USB flash drive, wait a few minutes, and laptop has been wiped.
Surprised nobody else has said it, but it also helps if you have a piece-of-junk car. People don't expect to find anything worth stealing if you have visible rust and dents on a 10-year-old Ford or Saturn. I've never had a car broken into, and I frequently leave (small amounts of) cash in plain sight and a backpack with a laptop in the back seat.
That may help once your laptop has been stolen, but it doesn't do anything to prevent the theft in the first place. It may not be a bad idea, but it isn't really what the submitter is asking about.
When someone says, "Any fool can see
I do photography on the side. That means laptop AND camera. First thing I do is use carrying cases and bags that don't advertise what they carry. My laptop bag looks like an army surplus hippie bag. My camera bag looks like a small backpack. If they are going to stay in the car, I make sure they are out of sight, usually in the trunk of my car. I don't make the mistake of parking my car THEN hiding my valuable, therefore advertising *where* to go to get the quick grab. I also drive a fairly common car that also isn't among the models that make the "top stolen" lists year to year. Not standing out in a parking lot has it's advantages. However, if you drive a vehicle that is largely labeled or *branded* (like BOB'S COMPUTER REPAIR or FRANK'S PHOTOGRAPHY), just ignore this and move to backups and insurance.
Backups. Your laptop likely has data you can't live without. Backup your entire user folder, and any data outside of it. Remember how you had to keep reburning that mix CD you loved before you got your mp3 player? Don't be cheap, use external drives.
Finally, Insurance. I'm still pricing mine out, but make sure that whatever you get covers theft wherever you are. PPA.com (for those based in the US) is an option I'm looking at as a photographer. It's a trade association that includes insurance in your dues, and covers a variety of situations that may not be covered by a regular policy. Also seems to offer quite a few resources for photographers (I am not yet a member).
Prevent by keeping it out of sight, but insure with backups and an insurance policy.
tech related a question as you hoped. If you really want to fix it you need to address inherent flaws in consumer capitalism, market driven sales, and social inequality.
churches, children, whatever the hell a five minute window is, are not all universally shared and certified as morally sanctified places; in other words, thieves dont care. asking slaskdot what product we would consume in order to protect the products we consume is perpetuating the very same problem that causes the kinds of thefts you've outlined in the first place.
the only reasonable solution is to buy a reasonably sized laptop that does what you need; perhaps something used on ebay. Bring the laptop where and when you think you will need it, and its dated appearance will likely serve the dual purpose of deterring thieves who want a very nice looking laptop, as well as preventing you from using it as a suburbanite status symbol. backup your data often so that if and when the laptop is stolen, a quick restore to another relatively inexpensive ebay laptop will solve the bulk of your problems.
Good people go to bed earlier.
On the other hand, liquid bleach will do wonders over a period of a week
I just want to point out something that should be obvious, but deserves to be pointed out nonetheless: Don't be an idiot. If you don't know what you're doing, don't go around mixing random shit together. It's not very hard to win yourself a Darwin award by mixing oxygen bleach with gasoline or chlorine bleach with any of a long list of things that will release chlorine gas.
In your case, what would happen is the perp would break into your car to grab the fake laptop, discover it's a fake laptop, and then he'd notice the black cloth and you would be out the real laptop. :)
Jason
And probably a couple more windows because you just pissed him off.
I had my car broken into once, had my girlfriend's purse stolen and my new speakers stolen. They couldn't get the radio out so they just smashed it and much of the dash.
Best way to save your stuff is to not be a target. Don't give them a reason to even consider that there is something in the car. Keep everything clean, and dont make it look like you're hiding anything. My friend had his window smashed out for a pack of cigarettes once.
I didn't do anything because this was a very tall bloke, and was probably carrying a knife. I didn't call the police either, since, this being East London, he was no doubt part of a gang and knowing my luck I'd walk into him the following week.
I'm admittedly unfamiliar with London and it's culture but this irks the hell out of me. Maybe it's just the way of life there but here's a relevant movie quote:
"And I am reminded, on this holy day, of the sad story of Kitty Genovese. As you all may remember, a long time ago, almost thirty years ago, this poor soul cried out for help time and time again, but no person answered her calls. Though many saw, no one so much as called the police. They all just watched as Kitty was being stabbed to death in broad daylight. They watched as her assailant walked away. Now, we must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men."
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