security motion detector

[joefosho315]

Hey guys, I am headed to college with my new IBM T42 so it'd be nice not to lose it. I was planning to get a security cable lock this whole time until I found this motion sensor that gives off an alarm when it's moved. It's called the Fellowes Kryptonite Motion Sensor Notebook Alarm and the link is http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...609229&CatId=46

Has anybody had any experience with this or know the practicality of owning this instead of a security cable lock which seems like a bigger hassle?

[mtbiac]

I'm in the same exact situation and also wondering the same question. I was thinking about getting the motion detector but was hoping to hear from people who have tried both to see which would work better?

[mattfromomaha]

The link wouldn't work for me, so I couldn't look at the motion sensor. Personally, I doubt the siren would attract much attention in a dorm. The dorm I lived in had cement floors, walls, and ceilings, so a siren in one room would not travel very far.

My freshman year at college was spent in the dorm and good ol' Creighton University has metal-frame beds, so I bought a combination lock cable that wrapped around one of the metal bed rails and then locked to my laptop. I taped a couple pieces of bright tape to the cable and made it as visible as I could, hoping just the sight of it would be a deterrent.

Now, if a thief really wants your notebook, the Kensington port isn't going to be strong enough to completely prevent the theft, but the cable is a good deterrent (and if you bang up the thing stealing it you won't get much for it if the guy trys to sell or pawn it). I think the best you can do with any security device is just hope it deters the thief from even trying to steal it. If you go through any of the dorms I've been to, half of the people leave their doors unlocked because they don't want to carry their keys with them all over (especially girls), so as long as you take some common-sense precautions, you should be okay.

Another thing to consider is adding loss insurance to your laptop. We were able to add a rider to my parents homeowners policy for like $55/year that would cover theft of the laptop from any location. Once I got my own apartment I transferred that rider to my renter's insurance.

Personally, I think the best anti-theft deterrent would be to cover your IBM logo with a "Dell" sticker.....

[hmphargh]

or you could get an asset tag w/ IBM. It has your name on it, its big, its silver, has the serial number and everyone knows how cool I am w/ my 2378-EZU but I think its a good deterrent - its easier to steal something without big, noticable tracking information on it.

[Kenn]

or you could get an asset tag w/ IBM. It has your name on it, its big, its silver, has the serial number and everyone knows how cool I am w/ my 2378-EZU but I think its a good deterrent - its easier to steal something without big, noticable tracking information on it.

What is the asset tag? Is it a big metallic sticker on the bottom (that can be taken off/scratched off?)

I saw this thread title and immediately thought, the T42 DOES come with a motion detector alarm - the tpshocks hard drive drop protection device Maybe someone could set it to trigger a loud alarm when the machine is moved...you'd still need a cable of course.

Right now, my BIOS flashes my name, email, and reward notification every time I boot. I figure the average computer thief would be perplexed and disappointed after wiping the hard drive and still having a "Property of:" notice come up every time it boots.

[mattfromomaha]

Kenn,

Did you replace the IBM boot screen with your customzied one or is there a way to alter it to add the information?

[Kenn]

Matt, I followed the excellent how-to instructions on pages 5-6 of the monster "replace boot up logo in BIOS" thread - I created my own (admittedly ugly) boot-up image with my contact info on it and burned it onto the BIOS.