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traveling with laptop ????

12 years ago

I will be taking my laptop with me on a car trip where I will be staying for several days at one motel. I've never taken a computer with me before. I would rather not carry the laptop with me while out and about, but am not sure how best to keep it secure when out of the room.

Locking it in a suitcase is one option. I was wondering if anyone here has some better alternate suggestions.

thanks in advance
Jann

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Comments (8)

woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a
12 years ago
Many hotels will secure it in their safe(s).

Kevin
sushipup1
12 years ago
If you are worried, lock it in the car trunk. But laptops are pretty common these days, and are rarely stolen in hotel rooms. I just went to a convention where everyone was very techie and all had laptops and tablets and most people had no worry about leaving those in their rooms when they were out doing non-techie things.
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Elmer J Fudd
12 years ago
I've never gone to the trouble of putting a PC in a hotel safe. Nor would I use a locked suitcase for anything, that screams "there's something of value in here" and they're usually quite easy to force open. In the summertime, if you're somewhere hot, I'd probably not leave the PC in the car out of concern for what the high temps could do to the battery. Maybe it's ok, I don't know.

There's probably no one right answer, do what you're comfortable with, knowing you'll never completely avoid having a risk. If you're worried about it, get a cheap laptop or a tablet instead so that a potential loss wouldn't be a big deal.

Have a nice trip!
acraftylady
12 years ago
I used to take my laptop with me all the time before I got the tablet. I never did anything special except put it out of site like in a drawer or my suitcase and never once had a problem. Maybe there is a laptop case that has a lock on it but I don't consider any lock fool proof these days as the crooks know how to get into a lot of things. Now with the tablet it comes with me all over so never gets left in the hotel just because I use it a lot in the car to access the internet and stuff. Mary
mikie_gw
12 years ago
Might read about Prey.

Software to take pictures of the thief :) See what he's looking at on his desktop & send him scary messages.

Plus some other features ... for free !

Here is a link that might be useful: https://preyproject.com/faq
notjannaz10
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for the good advice. I appreciate the input. Maybe I'll get an insulated bag and take it along in the car.

Cheers,
J
vnw232
12 years ago
I either have the laptop with me or locked up in the trunk of the car. I would sometimes come back to the room and find employees in the room cleaning. Also many places I've stayed at advise not to leave valuables unattended.
kudzu9
12 years ago
Just make sure that there is nothing on your laptop that you can't afford to lose, such as family photos that you don't have stored elsewhere. In fact, this is a good time to make a backup of important files to a CD or thumb drive if you haven't already done so.

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