what happens if someone stals my laptop?

December 17, 2005 2:00 PM

Next spring I will be starting grad school and be carrying a laptop with me to class. The school is in a downtown building of a not so safe town and most the classes are at night. Is there any insurance that would cover it being stolen from my person (versus the car or home)?

I was thinking of carrying it in a back pack instead of a laptop case. I think the parking is close by and there should be people coming and going. Hopefully it is well lit (they will hear from me if not). Any suggestions? (other than making sure I have the serial number copied down)

posted by TheLibrarian to Grab Bag (18 answers total)

My insurance company (State Farm in Michigan) offers personal item protection, which we got to cover my wife's laptop. It covers theft, damage, etc ANYWHERE, and it's only $40 or $50 a year (probably cheaper if you have homeowner's as well).

I think you can get this to cover just about anything - cameras, etc.
posted by sluggo at 2:04 PM on December 17, 2005

If you have homeowner's insurance, it may already cover it, check with your insurer, or agent, or read the fine print.
posted by jacquilynne at 2:23 PM on December 17, 2005

Forgive me, but if you are about to embark on graduate school in an area so unsafe that you actually need to (basically) plan on being mugged / robbed w.r.t. your laptop, are you also taking precautions for your person?

It sounds like a firearm (or at least mace), or martial arts, or something might be a wise investment?
posted by NucleophilicAttack at 2:26 PM on December 17, 2005

Aside from the insurance, make your data a pain in the ass to get at -- use passwords everywhere the machine will let you (make it ask for a password to log in, after sleeping, or going to screen saver, etc), and encrypt any personal data, and keep backups. That way, in addition to monetary loss from it's theft, you can cover the problems of information loss to some degree, as well.

It'd be really annoying to lose a laptop to a thug, and also lose your only copy of your dissertation. Or have your bank account emptied because your account number and password were on the hard drive. Or have your identity stolen, etc...

I just have a little padded carrier for my laptop, which goes into an ordinary backpack. Also, it may seem elementary, but don't leave it unattended. It's amazing how many times I'll see someone leave a $2000 PowerBook sitting on a table in the cafeteria while they go to the restroom.
posted by teece at 2:31 PM on December 17, 2005

Get a laptop sleeve and carry your laptop in a normal backpack. Also, have your wits about you and avoid stupid situations. It would be a good idea if you can walk with other students. Don't have a false sense of security when carrying a weapon or mace.
posted by furvyn at 2:34 PM on December 17, 2005

Thanks guys! lots of great, simple suggestions. Hopefully there will never be anything to be concerned about:)
posted by TheLibrarian at 2:45 PM on December 17, 2005

I found a webpage that explains "having your wits about you" better than I can.

Pyramid of Personal Safety


Awareness is born of a blend of habits and knowledge. One part would be knowing where a mugger would lurk in a parking garage in order not to be seen by security personnel or potential victims. Having the habit of looking around and seeing if anyone is loitering in that spot when you enter the parking structure is the other. If you see known danger signs, turn around and go back -- don’t walk into the lion’s jaws.

posted by furvyn at 2:49 PM on December 17, 2005

I did just notice that the building is acros from....[trumpets] THE POLICE STATION!!!
I will still be aware, smart and check out furvyn's link.
posted by TheLibrarian at 3:14 PM on December 17, 2005

Yeah, I've always felt that laptop bags are awful, they're like beacons in the night to thieves.
I found a good backpack that fits my laptop perfectly. Keep the laptop out of sight.
posted by smitt at 3:29 PM on December 17, 2005

My standard LL Bean backpack fits my oversized Dell perfectly. A removable "sleeve" from a standard laptop bag fits right in the front pocket.

And take it everywhere you go, no exceptions.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 4:25 PM on December 17, 2005

I know this isn't exactly part of your question, but getting a Tom Bihn sleeve for your laptop will make it easier to carry in a generic backpack without damaging it.
posted by cmonkey at 4:42 PM on December 17, 2005

My laptop insurance is two part:

1) All my personal data is encrypted. This is quite easy (and transparent) in Windows XP and Mac OS X. If you steal my laptop, you'll get a cell phone number, the ability to use my installed applications as 'guest', and a polite request to please call me.

2) All of my personal data is backed up. I use some simple rsync scripts (setup so I just click on them, and they fire), to copy my data to a remote server. This also works nicely on both XP and OS X.

I don't have any insurance against physical loss because that always seemed like the most minor risk. It's a lot easier to finance a $500 laptop than it is to replace hours upon hours of work.
posted by I Love Tacos at 4:43 PM on December 17, 2005

Oh, and seconding laptop sleeves in regular backpacks, if you want to look like a student who isn't neccessarily worth mugging.
posted by I Love Tacos at 4:44 PM on December 17, 2005

I would say that there is no technical measure you can do to prevent the laptop from being useful to the theif after he has already stolen it. Sure, you can password protect it out the yin yang but he can always just eBay it for parts, or reset the BIOS, or put the HD in another machine and reformat it there, etc. The people that do this are not dumb and I'm sure they've run into this kind of thing before, otherwise they wouldn't be stealing these things. The only thing that encryption and passwords can do, IMO, is prevent the thief from being able to access the data on the drive. But from what I can tell most thieves are not interested in the data on your laptop, they're interested in selling the hardware.

You should be able to make it less attractive to the thief before it's stolen, though. By this I mean putting all kinds of indelible markings on it, such as stickers, engraved names, etc. Naturally this only applies to the scenario where you have it out in the open (such as working in a cafe or library) and leave it for a few moments to go to the restroom or something. So obviously you shouldn't do that. Always take it with you, no matter how short the time interval.

I would say don't waste your time on laptop locks, since they have been shown to be quite flimsy and easy to pick. And again, if you're going up against a seasoned thief I think he'll know how to deal with such things.

Finally, I agree with what everyone has said about avoiding the laptop bags. Just shove it in your normal backpack, possibly using one of those padded sleeves.

Re: self defense classes and firearms, that is obviously a whole other can of worms. I personally think the suggestion that you would need to pack heat just to prevent someone from stealing your laptop to be utterly ridiculous. Get some insurance, and gladly hand over your possessions if confronted. It's not worth getting injured or killed.
posted by Rhomboid at 5:13 PM on December 17, 2005

I have this North Face Recon backpack with a built in laptop sleeve. It works great and you can put the power supply in the mesh part so it won't scrach everything up and the mesh camaflouges it enough so ou can't tell its a power supply. The way it's structured it also doesn't appear overstuffed, which to me is always a sign of a laptop. I go to a school in a rough neighborhood and have never heard of parking lot-classroom backpack mugging. I only hear about purses or car stereos being broken into. Your average thug is not going to take the chance that a backpack is full of books and supplies.

Anyway that North Face backpack is the best one I've ever had. The padding is comfortable and my laptop is always safe.
posted by geoff. at 5:26 PM on December 17, 2005

But from what I can tell most thieves are not interested in the data on your laptop, they're interested in selling the hardware.

I would say this is a chance I have no interest in taking.

Getting a laptop stolen is pain in the ass enough -- I don't need the headache of wondering what else the guy is doing with the data.

That's why you make it a pain in the ass for them to get at it (or impossible, if it's encryption).
posted by teece at 7:43 PM on December 17, 2005

I actually recommend a laptop lock. It deters casual thieves, but only if you use it. Also, get an external drive for backups, and be incredibly reliable about backing up.
posted by theora55 at 8:48 PM on December 17, 2005

You might also look at online backups - a subscription service that automatically slurps the designated data up onto the providers' server out on the internets. That way, if your machine gets nicked, you still have the data at your fingertips.

Yes, you could just as easily use a USB disk at home, but there is something to be said for 'set it and forget it' operation, with the ability to access your backups from any connected PC.
posted by Triode at 8:55 PM on December 17, 2005