Taking Laptops with you

[macman752]

Thanks for the heads up about BWV. I've not have a problem at SSR or OKW. The safes at Port Orleans Riverside also are big enough.

I too am thinking about bringing just my iPhone and the Airport Express for our upcoming trip. I wish more website were optimized for mobile devices. Browsing DIS Boards from an iPhone is tedious to say the least.

 

[DisneyWalker44]

I would not leave something worth hundreds of dollars sitting out unprotected.

While laptops my cost hundreds of dollars, they aren't really worth hundreds of dollars, at least not to a thief. Street value of a stolen laptop is about $25.

Which is not to say cable locks aren't a good idea. Just that I don't stress too much for not using one. I don't lock my laptop down at home (does anyone?) and I figure my home is at least as vulnerable as a DVC room.

 

[kiingor]

While laptops my cost hundreds of dollars, they aren't really worth hundreds of dollars, at least not to a thief. Street value of a stolen laptop is about $25.

Which is not to say cable locks aren't a good idea. Just that I don't stress too much for not using one. I don't lock my laptop down at home (does anyone?) and I figure my home is at least as vulnerable as a DVC room.

and why is the street value of a laptop only $25 ...??

 

[nightshaderose]

and why is the street value of a laptop only $25 ...??

Your stolen laptop will pass through several pairs of hands on its way to resale at *maybe* pawn-shop prices, and someone will have to go to the effort of scrubbing out serial #s, etc. My laptop is currently selling on eBay for approx 1/8 what I paid for it 3 years ago, so I imagine that for everyone that's going to handle it to make enough profit to cover the risk, the original theif would probably get paid $25-$50. The richest criminals are businessmen, too.

 

[kiingor]

Your stolen laptop will pass through several pairs of hands on its way to resale at *maybe* pawn-shop prices, and someone will have to go to the effort of scrubbing out serial #s, etc. My laptop is currently selling on eBay for approx 1/8 what I paid for it 3 years ago, so I imagine that for everyone that's going to handle it to make enough profit to cover the risk, the original theif would probably get paid $25-$50. The richest criminals are businessmen, too.

That ****- I just sold a 2 year old laptop dell inspiron on ebay 3/4 what I paid for.

 

[CarolA]

Aren't those cables easily cut... ?

Not really... It' was not fun. LOL!

And remember it's not just the LAPTOP, it's what's on it. That may be more valuable then the laptop.

There have been reports of thiefs accessing bank account etc via the laptop. It's not that hard to do.

Family photos, etc.. priceless


And if you have work data on it your boss may consider the fact that "it's not worth much" a poor defense for your carelessness in leaving it unprotected. (I would consider it a poor defense for any of MY employees!)


While not Disney I have returned to hotel rooms a few times to discover that things weren't "locked up" My last example was a very nice hotel. The TV didn't work so I called and they said they would fix it. Came back from dinner and the door had been left propped open using the little swing lock on the top. I went to the front desk and security escorted me to the room. Everything was fine, but......(I did get a nice apology and free wine and cheese tray LOL!)

 

[dizzneebabe]

We always have one laptop with us and sometimes two (DH's work one and one for me ). We always leave them out on the desks and have never had a problem.

Maybe we're tempting fate, but I would think management knows exactly who has access to those rooms and could track down the person if something like that went missing.

Then again, we always left our GPS on the dashboard of the van and that was stolen 2 months ago while my DH was at work in the company lot!

 

[kiingor]

Not really... It' was not fun. LOL!

And remember it's not just the LAPTOP, it's what's on it. That may be more valuable then the laptop.

There have been reports of thiefs accessing bank account etc via the laptop. It's not that hard to do.

Family photos, etc.. priceless


And if you have work data on it your boss may consider the fact that "it's not worth much" a poor defense for your carelessness in leaving it unprotected. (I would consider it a poor defense for any of MY employees!)


While not Disney I have returned to hotel rooms a few times to discover that things weren't "locked up" My last example was a very nice hotel. The TV didn't work so I called and they said they would fix it. Came back from dinner and the door had been left propped open using the little swing lock on the top. I went to the front desk and security escorted me to the room. Everything was fine, but......(I did get a nice apology and free wine and cheese tray LOL!)

I understand the value lies in the information inside the laptop and not the laptop itself. But I can't see how a 1/4 inch thick cable can keep the laptop safe from thiefs.

 

[DVCFAN]

We were down during novermber and my son's labtop has Vista we had trouble connecting for afew of the days we were there. Sometimes it worked sometimes not. We called the tech support but they couldnt help

 

[CarolA]

We always have one laptop with us and sometimes two (DH's work one and one for me ). We always leave them out on the desks and have never had a problem.

Maybe we're tempting fate, but I would think management knows exactly who has access to those rooms and could track down the person if something like that went missing.

Then again, we always left our GPS on the dashboard of the van and that was stolen 2 months ago while my DH was at work in the company lot!

Spend some time on the resorts board. Read the theft reports that show up on there every now and then.

NO Disney is not able to tell these folks who was in thier room. Disney does NOTHING. Your stuff is GONE and to be honest I don't blame them. They really have no way of knowing you HAD the items you claim are gone.

And as I said, if housekeeping had left my door open yesterday then what would have stopped the powerwashers and plumbers from taking a stroll to see what "goodies" I had left laying around?

A cable won't stop a dedicated thief. But most of these thefts are "opportunity" "See that open room, let's go look around. Grab that quick" and out the door. The cable stops that. The safe won't stop a dedicated thief either. But once again, it slows the process down meaning the "grab and run" can't occur.

I always wonder what the response will be when your laptop is gone because all you did was trust the "Disney Pixie Dust"? Is it then going to be "well it's only worth $25"?

 

[Princess_Melanie]

We were at SSR for the last couple of weeks and when we left the room the laptop went into the safe (HP tx2130 tablet) - all our photos were on the laptop as well as our usual stuff and although we backed up at home before we left it would be a pain to lose it all. Every night we also send a backup of the days photos home to DBFs parents computer (we have access remotely to it) so if we did lose the laptop or files were corrupted - the pics were safe!!

If it's not left out to tempt it's safe as far as I'm concerned.

 

[kiingor]

We were at SSR for the last couple of weeks and when we left the room the laptop went into the safe (HP tx2130 tablet) - all our photos were on the laptop as well as our usual stuff and although we backed up at home before we left it would be a pain to lose it all. Every night we also send a backup of the days photos home to DBFs parents computer (we have access remotely to it) so if we did lose the laptop or files were corrupted - the pics were safe!!

If it's not left out to tempt it's safe as far as I'm concerned.

yeah.... should always back up everynight. I backed up onto an external HD and then uploaded the pics to Walmart photo sites or disney photopass.com.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

I normally lock mine in the safe.

I carry a 17" HP Pavilion and it fit in the safe at SSR. That will be fine in January when our family goes back to SSR, however DD and I will be at BCV in June in a studio. Do they have the large safe, or should I look into a cable lock before then?

I did read where someone cable locks their laptop to the shelf in the closet. I am not sure that I am tall enough for that however.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Definately lock mine in the safe. I have a tablet PC and A) its definately not worth $25.00, B) has a ton of data on it (some personal and confidential) and C) for the two seconds it takes to put it in the safe, its worth it.

Regarding the person who states they are selling their notebook for 1/8 what they paid for it 3 years prior, I find that hard to believe. I buy a new notebook about every 3 - 4 years and have been able to recover anywhere from 50% - 60% of the original cost on either Ebay or Craigslist. Notebooks don't lose their value as much or as quickly as desktops.

 

[kiingor]

Definately lock mine in the safe. I have a tablet PC and A) its definately not worth $25.00, B) has a ton of data on it (some personal and confidential) and C) for the two seconds it takes to put it in the safe, its worth it.

Regarding the person who states they are selling their notebook for 1/8 what they paid for it 3 years prior, I find that hard to believe. I buy a new notebook about every 3 - 4 years and have been able to recover anywhere from 50% - 60% of the original cost on either Ebay or Craigslist. Notebooks don't lose their value as much or as quickly as desktops.

I agree- I sold many of my laptops on ebay and were able to get back good $$ for it.

 

[Patricksp]

If your really worried that your computer might be stolen you can always get a tracking program on your computer so that when it's stolen it lets you know where it is. I would also password protect my computer too.

 

[jade1]

Not worried in the least.. always leave it out.

Same.

 

[kiingor]

If your really worried that your computer might be stolen you can always get a tracking program on your computer so that when it's stolen it lets you know where it is. I would also password protect my computer too.

Don't trust that password thing. It's very easy to go around it...

 

[Brian Noble]

I just leave mine sitting on the table/desk, at Disney or any other hotel. If it goes walking, well, that's what insurnce is for.

 

[segpm08060]

I leave my laptop on the table. So far no problem. I don't keep confidential information on the laptop, and I backup my files.