How do you secure your compter on board?

[donaldsc]

It would be interesting to do a poll on the number of people like me who leave everything out in plain sight who have had anything stolen.

[julia]

While I have never had any of my electronics go missing on a cruise, we most certainly have had other things taken (and YES, I do mean "taken", but by whom remains a mystery). We are very neat and very organized people, and on three different cruises have lost (1) DH's size 13 new sneakers (2) a bag of three bracelets purchased in port (3) an expensive black lace bra :eek::eek: All of these items were searched for, and we politely asked our respective stewards if they had seen the items,..... none were ever located.

 

Now, we tend to be a bit more cautious, and use the safe to its capacity (size 13's sure wouldn't fit though!) ;)

[ChucktownSteve]

While I have never had any of my electronics go missing on a cruise, we most certainly have had other things taken (and YES, I do mean "taken", but by whom remains a mystery). We are very neat and very organized people, and on three different cruises have lost (1) DH's size 13 new sneakers (2) a bag of three bracelets purchased in port (3) an expensive black lace bra :eek::eek: All of these items were searched for, and we politely asked our respective stewards if they had seen the items,..... none were ever located.

 

Now, we tend to be a bit more cautious, and use the safe to its capacity (size 13's sure wouldn't fit though!) ;)

 

I wonder if the cabin Steward looked good in your black lace bra? ;) Guess he didn't offer to model it then.

 

I just got back and left my laptop on the desk the entire trip. Nothing happened. Just make sure you close/lock your cabin door securely when you leave or don't take it on the cruise. Mine doesn't fit in the safe. Anywhere else in the cabin is accessible if a steward really wants it while you're out. Do you think losing his job is worth the price of a used stolen laptop?

[fraidknot]

I am actually very surprised that not only do so many not secure their stuff, but that it has not dissapeared....

 

I am too. With very little work a average theif could get a lot more than just photos of you and the hubby on the beach... and you may not even know it!

 

Identity theft is so easy, they dont even need to steal the computer... they need only turn it on for a minute or two and they will know more about you, your company and all your friends than you can imagine. Someone posted they only take a computer with no personal info on it... I wonder if that is even possible? They said they went online... if they checked their email.. BAM!, Easy Identity Theft. If they uploaded the photos to a site they have an account on.. BAM! Idtentity Theft. Got a ipod touch or iphone with access to your Apple itunes account... you guessed it.. BAM! Idtentity Theft. Even if you did stuff online in the airport in Chicago and take it with you on the ship and never use it... your history is there... The worst part is... you wont know its stolen... at least not right away, so you wont know it was stolen by someone who accessed your room with your laptop on the desk where you only download photos, but checked your email last week from your office.

 

Someone else posted that these people don't want to lose their jobs, but I would almost be more worried about another passenger more than the crew.

 

I dont write this all to be an alarmist or make people fearful, but its shocking how many posts here say they dont lock it up or protect it. Trust me, people who would do these things are everywhere and they go after the easy targets. I design and develop websites and applications for a living and a major concern in everything we do is how to protect information as it travels accross the web, but most hacking of data is done at the point of entry.. your laptop or phone.

 

I know some folks solve the problem by not bringing anything with them and "unplugging" for a week... its great if you have that option. I don't... 20 minutes of work before my wife wakes up each day pays for us to be there and is 100% worth it IMO. I would guess there are many of us in this condition.

 

It takes seconds to put it in the safe, but years and $$$ to get back your identity.

[julia]

FraidKnot:

 

Thank your for a VERY INFORMATIVE post. May I add on?

 

Sometimes cruisers may not even be aware of how many people have total access to their cabin. Obviously, your steward has primary access, but also housekeeping, maintenance, security, etc. We had a bathroom water problem on one cruise, and while it was fully resolved within a day, there were QUITE A FEW people in and out of our cabin during that time. Your scenario, and an accessible laptop, is certainly not a good combination!

 

Thanks again for your input.

[sasset]

Here's the beauty of this thread. Most have said leave it on the desk, in a drawer, etc. But if it's stolen you will be told it was your fault for leaving it out.

 

It will be more secure at home and you will enjoy your vacation more.

 

Lots of luck.

[SeaCod]

you will enjoy your vacation more.

 

Lots of luck.

 

HUH???? How would you know that?

[floridatravelersforlife]

On the S class ships, I cable lock the laptop to the bed frame and stick the laptop in the side table next to the bed. This way I never have to unlock it since I use it bedside. Plus I always password the laptop.

 

I'm not so much worried about the crew as much as the pax. The young hackers along for the ride with their families can do a lot of damage. How you may ask? Ever see the room attendents working in cabins and they have a whole string of cabins open? How long does it take to pick up a laptop and walk away? And what happens if they get access to your personal data on the laptop?

 

And you might think cameras in the ship will protect you. Maybe, but a baseball cap and sunglasses make it hard to ID. I'm in the security business. I'm not trying to scare anyone. Cruise ships are safe environments and that's one reason why we cruise. I have never lost anything. And I leave my expensive camera equipment and other electronics out in the open. (I download photos to the laptop so I never would loose them anyway.)

 

However computers and their contents are a lot more personal so my 2c is a little prudence will save a lot of misery.

[teajak]

This thread saddens me deeply. I am not being critical of the people that feel the need to be in constant touch I am sure you all have your reasons. I am just sad because of what we have become, the fear,the need to protect ourselves at every turn,the lack of trust in our fellow man and I do realize the necessity for our actions but it is too bad.Thank you, my rant is over I will be on the Solstice on Sun so I am a happy camper.

[Wine-O]

This thread saddens me deeply. I am not being critical of the people that feel the need to be in constant touch I am sure you all have your reasons. I am just sad because of what we have become, the fear,the need to protect ourselves at every turn,the lack of trust in our fellow man and I do realize the necessity for our actions but it is too bad.Thank you, my rant is over I will be on the Solstice on Sun so I am a happy camper.

 

I hope you enjoy Solstice as much as we did. It was great having wifi right in our stateroom so we could connect with friends and relatives at home in order to get updates on the conditions of our parents who are in assisted living.

 

I also like to keep up on current events as the ship's news sources are very limited.

 

We did 2 Solstice Transatlantics and left the laptop on the desk the entire time. Never felt the need to lock it up or hide it amongst our luggage.

[80sramfan]

I am actually very surprised that not only do so many not secure their stuff, but that it has not dissapeared.

 

I secure everything as I usually have multiple cameras and a laptop.

 

Here is what I do to secure my stuff in the cabin or any hotel room. I bring a laptop cable lock to secure my suitcases under the beds in the cabin, or to a table in the hotel room. Once the cabin wall safe is filled, I secure other belongings in my suitcase using the laptop cable lock .

 

The cable has a loop on one end. I take the non looped end, run it through the bottom of the metal bed frame, not the leg of the bed frame. I then run the non looped end and run it through the loop on the cable. If this sounds confusing, think of a yo-yo string and how the loop on the string attaches to your finger. Thus the looped end of my cable is now tethered to the bed. I take the other end on the laptop cable, which is only a combination or key lock at the non looped end, and I run just the cable through a small sturdy travel padlock that holds two zippers together on my suitcase. My suitcase is locked just as I would lock it when checking it in on an airplane trip.

 

To better illustrate this, think of securing padlock with the yo yo string running through the closed padlock where it would be over the end of the yo-yo string nearest the yo-yo. Once the padlock is secured, you would be unable to pull the yo-yo through the top of the padlock. Thus once the skinny cable is run through the loop of the padlock and the padlock is locked through the zippers on the suitcase, the cable easily slides through the padlock for the length of the cable, but big end of the cable cannot be take out of the closed padlock, and the suitcase is now tethered to the cable on one end and to the bed on the other end. It may then take only 15- 30 seconds to pull the suitcase out from under the bed, access you stuff, then securre it again.

 

It will still go under the bed easily and come out easily for quick and easy access, but it secures your stuff in any hotel room or cabin. Perfect solution? No, but my stuff is no longer an easy target for someone and it is easy to see if anything was tampered with. I feel if I eliminate the opportunity, the crooks go elsewhere. Probably more important to secure my stuff in a hotel than a cabin, but most crimes are done because of the opportunity. Many times it is done by someone whom would not typically do such a thing but if a money or drug problem is on their mind and an opportunity presented, make people do things they never thought they would.

 

Call me untrusting, but at least I still have my stuff.

 

I've been on over 20 cruises leave my 3-4 cameras out in the open, my computer out in the open pretty much anything and everything but cash out in the open. Never ever had a problem

[Denny01]

I realize some think we should leave the extraneous laptop behind and enjoy vacationing.....but that is a bit like 'vacation as I do' type advice. Each of us has either requirements that necessitate a laptop, or communicating is part of their enjoyment by sharing their vacation with family and friends. Calling can be a hassle and expensive.

For me, I bring my mini-laptop (older Asus 7" - cheap and small!) so I can stay in touch with my family easily And for business. I'm in a position that requires me to be ready to respond - not normal day-day stuff, but major issues. Before I go, I get a new Gmail address, give it to my colleague and my family/friends I plan to connect with. Cuts down on all the spam that builds up in older addresses, and I only get specific emails I need for that cruise. My workmate sends me emails I must respond to (no monster attachments!) or that I need to be aware of when I get back. That way I don't have to wade through the hundreds of emails first day at work and maybe miss important ones. Normally, I get a max of 1 or 2 work-related emails and emails are mainly from family. Myself, I don’t spend much time ‘surfing’ or reading news sites – I barely read the ships Daily News – I enjoy vacationing and focusing on relaxing. But that is my choice – I use my computer to communicate with family and to be aware of major business issues.

And I also use that little computer to journal about my cruise and to transfer my digital photos and manage them a bit. Fun is in the eye of the beholder.

As to security – I put my computer in a drawer so it’s not sitting out but that’s about it.

Denny

[patty1955]

We're not big partiers so we use our vacations to catch up with our stack of unwatched DVDs and use the laptop to watch them. We also have a small DVD player that we sometimes use, but more and more places are securing their TVs so you can't plug in a DVD player and watch. From what I've read on these boards, we need the laptop to watch.

[fraidknot]

Normally, I get a max of 1 or 2 work-related emails and emails are mainly from family.

 

I agree with your statement and am also really jeleous. My work, even when on vacation, means 10-20 important emails amongst 30-50 not so important ones PER DAY. It doesn't take me long to sort thru and pound out some responses, so for me anyway, I would rather be responsive to my clients (i dont usually use an out of office reply) and not have 600 emails to sort thru when i get back.

[atljoo]

We just sailed on Solstice, and brought our Mac Book. Never even took it out of it's case. We left it in the closet. I spoke with the steward one day, and he told me there are cameras everywhere recording every move in the ship. The locks record who enters, exits, or tries to enter cabins. If you try your card in the wrong door by accident, they know about it immediately.

 

I use a password to login to the computer, and it is backed up every time I login. So all being said, I felt comfortable leaving it in the closet. In the future I will not bring it. I am on vacation, and it's nice to "unhook the data cord" for a week at a time.

[fleckle]

Different solutions suit different people. We really like having the netbook along for convenience. We also leave it out in the cabin and have never had a problem. We are very willing to take the slight risk in exchange for the ease of having it handy.

 

The first time we took it on a cruise, we kept locking it in the safe whenever we left the cabin. It was a pain constantly taking it out and putting it back, so we soon stopped doing that.

 

We don't want to keep it chained in one place because we like the freedom of easily moving it from desk to couch to balcony. Any thief on the ship could quickly find many items to steal that are far more valuable.

 

We do not have identity theft concerns because we don't keep personal identifying information on it and do not use it for business. Like so many others, we use a throwaway email address when traveling. Any thief looking through the info on our netbook would probably be bored stiff. The people we know who do keep confidential information on their computers when traveling encrypt it anyway.

 

I certainly understand how some people prefer not to touch a computer while they are on vacation, but we find it much easier to journal and tag photos each day as we go along instead of trying to remember everything after the trip is over. Also like having our files for each port right there easily accessible without needing to shuffle papers.

 

Unlike Fraidknot, identity theft from our cell phone is of no concern to us either because we travel with a pre-paid throwaway phone.

 

 

[MessyJessy]

If you take your lap top pc on board with you, how do you keep it safe from theft?

 

We usually bring one to download pics and update friends/family. We started out putting it up in our luggage when we were going to be gone for long periods (i.e., all day excursion) but after a few times we just left it out in plain site.

 

Never had a problem when it was put up or left out. Now when we sail in Sept we'll have a couple of iPads and I'll probably secure before I leave the room. Hopefully they will fit in the safe!

[Denny01]

OK, after posting about my 7" Asus I take on cruises, I've been thinking about its limitations, mainly the keyboard size. I'd bought one of those rollup keyboards for major typing but it was a bit of a hassle to use with such a small screen. So after thinking about how hard it was to 'journal' on the last cruise (and didn't do it much) I went out and bought a 10" Toshiba. Nice screen, keyboard and great batter life. So this thread cost me $400!

 

Oh well. I'm sure you all feel guilty........right. The guy with the most toys, wins! Not sure what, but that's what I've heard.

 

Denny

[Shelbyjane56]

I always just put mine in a drawer. It's too big for the safe. I've never had a problem.

 

I bring an older laptop without anything confidential on it. If it gets stolen, it's probably worth less than $300. If your laptop is an expensive model or has confidential business/personal info, you might consider getting a $300 netbook at your local Costco/Sams Club or Amazon.

 

Netbooks are a wonderful thing to have, small and very light weight! and they easily fit into the safe!

[fraidknot]

OK, after posting about my 7" Asus I take on cruises, I've been thinking about its limitations, mainly the keyboard size. I'd bought one of those rollup keyboards for major typing but it was a bit of a hassle to use with such a small screen. So after thinking about how hard it was to 'journal' on the last cruise (and didn't do it much) I went out and bought a 10" Toshiba. Nice screen, keyboard and great batter life. So this thread cost me $400!

 

Oh well. I'm sure you all feel guilty........right. The guy with the most toys, wins! Not sure what, but that's what I've heard.

 

Denny

 

glad to help. LOL. i am pretty close to getting an iPad, but the Wife would toss me overboard for going thru with it.

[fleckle]

OK, after posting about my 7" Asus I take on cruises, I've been thinking about its limitations, mainly the keyboard size. I'd bought one of those rollup keyboards for major typing but it was a bit of a hassle to use with such a small screen. So after thinking about how hard it was to 'journal' on the last cruise (and didn't do it much) I went out and bought a 10" Toshiba. Nice screen, keyboard and great batter life. So this thread cost me $400!

GMTA

That is exactly what I did! At the time I got the Asus, it was the only small computer available at a reasonable price. I hated the tiny keyboard because I had trouble trying to press only one key at a time so I was always making typos. Also disliked constantly needing to scroll the screen to read anything.

 

Once I tried the keyboard on the 10" Toshiba I was hooked. Too bad it wasn't available a few years earlier. I am very pleased with it. The keys are nicely spread apart. Those few extra inches in the screen size make a big difference. I auto-hide the taskbar to free up extra space down at the bottom of the screen.

Now if only it would include the Kindle book capability, like the Ipad, while retaining its keyboard and its current price......

[Anne Bonny]

H just left it out on the shelf the whole time with his blackberry.

 

Does the same thing in hotels.

 

 

Does he lock it? ;)

[jgnova]

If your reason for taking a computer is to back up your photos, I suggest you look into a portable media storage system. They're made by Vosonic, Archos, and MemoryKick, among others. You can usually get them with drives of various sizes, they're about the size and weight of an iPod, and can be easily secured in your cabin safe. Some even have screens so you can share your photos at dinner.

 

j