Camouflaging your notebook to reduce theft?

I'm not talking woodland camo here.

I was really tempted to get that awesome-looking graphite swirl pattern snap-on cover thingy to personalize my Dell Inspiron 8600 and a nice looking backpack or black nylon briefcase, but I really don't want to attract any more attention to it than necessary.

So I left it at the basic gray color so strangers won't eyeball it too much while I'm using it. I'll get a really old (but comfortable) beat up looking backpack to haul it around in. For protection, I'll get a neoprene cover that fits the laptop pretty tight. Neoprene should be a decent shock absorber assuming I'm careful. Besides, I've got a 3 year warranty with accidental damage coverage.

I bet this will significantly reduce risk of theft while traveling. What do you guys think?

 

I still wouldn't leave it out of your sight.

My friend had a cheap beat up wrist watch stolen.

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 22,856

 

i kinda agree..i was out looking at bags today for mine and i was going to get the usual laptop briefcase thing.. but then i realized for traveling and ect. ( which i do alot of ) i dont really want people knowing i am carrying around a computer.. so i bought a "laptop" backpack looking thing.. to the average person i dont think they take a look at it and say " that guy has a computer in there " . .just looks like a backpack that you can put around your shoulder or go the backpack route..

 

Yeah I realize that if I leave it out of my sight it's gone, but having it hidden in a crappy bag can pay off in some scenarios. Rarely, I'll admit, but every bit helps. Take this example:

You're a potential theif in an airport, and you see 2 guys that aren't paying much attention to what's going on around them. One has a nice leather briefcase, and another has this ordinary looking backpack sitting by him. What are you going to go for?

Actually that wouldn't help me because if I were one of the I'd actually be USING the laptop but you get the idea...

 

Also, I just bought this neoprene sleeve thingy made by Body glove. I had an Oneil neoprene wetsuit awhile back and it was pretty neat. Perfect material for a laptop sleeve IMO. Relatively cheap, water resistant, and spongy. I think that it might help absorb shock quite a bit. Not as much as a briefcase designed for shock protection, but it's definitely better than leaving it my yet-to-be-found ugly looking backpack.

http://www.pcuniverse.com/product.asp?pid=1923177&m_id=13

That's not the site I got it from. PCUniverse had a better pic and description, but page computer had better reviews. Here's where I actually ordered it from:

http://www.pagecomputers.com/cgi-bin/page/M0032369.html

Has anybody else got one like this? How well does it work? I'm not really worried because neoprene is good stuff.

Hey, I thought of a great camo for a 'puter backpack: Duct tape!

 

Even though your notebook may not look expensive/top-of-the-line, as long as you take your eyes off it long enough, I'm pretty sure if someone had the opportunity, your notebooks gone! Some people don't care how good it is, as long as it's free.

There was/is a software product in the market that will allow you to install a "digital serial#" to the HDD. What this "digital serial#" does is as soon as the unit is connected to the internet, it will send the serial# info to the company & if the unit is reported stolen, they will have the IP info to where this unit was used. This was way back when, so I don't know if it's still around, but I've seen newspaper articles that it does work and people got their notebooks back. I believe the only way to get rid of the "digital serial#" is to low level format the HDD (possibly), so a regular system format or OS change will not get rid of it. Something like this would probably be a better safeguard than the old backpack & cover plate.

-Vb-

 

One word...err...phrase...err...product....

Kensington Lock Cable

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Venombite

There was/is a software product in the market that will allow you to install a "digital serial#" to the HDD. What this "digital serial#" does is as soon as the unit is connected to the internet, it will send the serial# info to the company & if the unit is reported stolen, they will have the IP info to where this unit was used. This was way back when, so I don't know if it's still around, but I've seen newspaper articles that it does work and people got their notebooks back. I believe the only way to get rid of the "digital serial#" is to low level format the HDD (possibly), so a regular system format or OS change will not get rid of it. Something like this would probably be a better safeguard than the old backpack & cover plate.

-Vb-
<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>

I think this might be what you are talking about www.computrace.com I've read up a little bit about the whole "laptop recovery" softwares and I think this might be the best. They have a guarantee for one of the plans that if your laptop is not recovered they will pay you $1000*(conditions apply).

 

does products like the Kensington Lock Cable, work on the dell 8600. When I ordered it, they gave me no option of buying one, just a question

thanks
-rokov

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by rokov

 

A few months ago my friend was at a restaurant eating and he left his laptop bag beside him. Someone sitting next them (i.e. they were back to back) slid his bag out from beside him, took his laptop out, did the bag back up and put it back. Needless to say that my friend was pretty ticked off.

Unless I am travelling in a car on a straight through trip, I never carry my laptop in my leather Dell bag. I usually put it in a duffel bag and wrap it up with clothes for cushioning.

And speaking of locks, you may want to check out this article. It talks about some laptop locks that can be surcumvented with ease. When it originally posted the mistakenly posted that they cracked a Kensington lock - they later changed it to a Defcon lock.