Aug 28 2008
Laptop Coffeeshop Theft
Watch your laptop. Nail it down. At least back the thing up. Laptop theft in coffee shops is increasing.
In a disturbing new trend, crooks are snatching laptops right from the hands of cafe-going travelers.
According to the The San Francisco Chronicle article linked above, the Bay area is the major “hot spot” for this type of activity, although they mention Berkeley coffee shops are also at risk.
I’d suggest that any hip, urban center full of coffee shops and laptop people will only attract more of this unwelcome attention. Think New York, Seattle, Bellevue, Ann Arbor, Austin, Boulder. Coffee towns. Maybe your own town.
Will a laptop leash help? Maybe. Or enjoying your notebook at a coffeeshop with a friend, buddying up at cafe tables? Probably more so on that one. I’d suggest keeping your eyes open - not disappearing into your Internet world - and not going alone (if you can help it).
Lastly, and always important to do - back up your laptop. And keep the backups somewhere safe. It’s not the law, but it’s still a REALLY GOOD IDEA. If your precious laptop does get snatched, you at least will have your irreplacable data.
Stumble it!
You may want to look into GadgetTrak ( http://www.gadgettrak.com ), it is software you install on your laptop that will have it send data back to you in the event of theft. The Mac product even uses the built in camera.
OOO, that sounds wonderful! I will have to take a looksee. Thanks for the suggestion.