Zxian Posted September 9, 2005 Share Posted September 9, 2005 Grr... I'm so angry right now. I went to my girlfriend's place yesterday afternoon after lunch to drop some stuff off, since I was going to stay the night anyways. 5 minutes after I got there, one of her roommates comes home to find that her laptop was missing from her room. I checked in my girlfriend's room, and her laptop was taken as well. The two of them live upstairs, and three girls live downstairs - none of their stuff was taken.The strange thing about this was that they also took a bag from my girlfriends room that had a bunch of electronics in it, but they took out and left her digital camera... in the box, with all manuals and CDs, etc etc... It's pretty obvious that whoever did this was specifically after laptops. They came in through an unlocked window, grabbed the laptops, and left. The only time that no-one was in the house was between 10:20 and 11:10.I'm just p***ed off that people do these kinds of things. It's the start of a school year, the girls who live there need their computers (everything in university is now online), and they're not just stealing the computers themselves - they're stealing pictures, documents... generally just time spent from these girls. Not to mention that if the girls do poorly in their classes because they don't have the means to do all their homework, it's all the tuition fees down the drain as well.I told my girlfriend that I'd lend her my desktop computer for the time being (it's harder to steal that unnoticed), either until the police find her computer (they claim to recover 95% of stolen items) or until her insurance covers the loss. I'm just wondering about the insurance if it comes to that... she bought the laptop back in January for $1400CAD (after tax), and since the market is moving so quickly, I'm worried that she's not going to get very much for it. I wish that I could find whoever did this when I had a big baseball bat or something else heavy and hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripken204 Posted September 9, 2005 Share Posted September 9, 2005 wow that sucks, what did the girls downstairs have? if they had computers then who knows if it could have been them unless ur positive that the ppl came through the window. the police wont find it, 95% is insane! insurance is crap too, b/c it doesnt include all of the files that were on the comp which are more important than the comp itself! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zxian Posted September 9, 2005 Author Share Posted September 9, 2005 The three girls downstairs already had their own laptops as well, and the two that were taken weren't really much to write home about (my girlfriend's was an Averatec *shudders*, and the other girl's was a 3 year old Compaq).I also know that there would be no reason for the other girls to take anything. They all know each other (my girlfriend is the only new roommate) already.And yea... it's pretty obvious that they came through the window. It was open when we got back (it's in a laundry room) and the door from that room out was unlocked (and it's always locked normally). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Peace Posted September 9, 2005 Share Posted September 9, 2005 I know how mad you must beMine got stolen about 2 months ago after my house was broken into also --and I'd like to think mine was one to write home about.My roommates and I have some very unique tastes in music, and the thieves were dumb enough to steal some of our music DVDs also. We've found a bunch of them in pawnshops. And the pawnshop owners have been co-operative... willing to give IDs to the cops etc...Not to rain on the parade or anything... but even after 2 months now... the cops still haven't even been to the pawnshop to get IDs of the seller. In case the authorities aren't of too much help to you either... I do want to point out that around here.... none of the pawnshops (at least admit to) sell(ing) laptops or any computer equipment. So if you really need to get it back in a hurry (which it sounds like you do)... I'd be talking to any drug-dealers you know already - if you're so fortunate. Not that they'd have anything to do with it... but chances are the people who stole it just want to make a quick dollar... and drug dealers already have tons of contacts who they sell stuff to privately, so I'd think they'd probably be a first stop for any seller if pawnshops out West are anything like how they are out here.I wish you all the best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redcloud Posted September 10, 2005 Share Posted September 10, 2005 A password wouldn't do much good either, the theif would have reformatted the hard drives and installed a stolen OS. If a thief tried that in my home, he would have had a German Shephard 2 ft. up the wazoo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zxian Posted September 10, 2005 Author Share Posted September 10, 2005 A password would at least help prevent the thief from getting access to the files (a BIOS and drive-lock password that is). I know you can reset the BIOS password by clearing CMOS, but most people don't even know what CMOS is. A drivelock password would prevent the thief from trying to take the hard drive out and using it in another computer.Unfortunately, not all homes have a german shepherd, nor do all homes that are rented out have proper security mesaures installed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripken204 Posted September 10, 2005 Share Posted September 10, 2005 well thats a reason why my dad likes to close the windows if we all go out somewhere. my 3 dogs wont help, they will just lick the guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zxian Posted September 10, 2005 Author Share Posted September 10, 2005 Yeah... I just got paranoid again today about loosing my laptop... I've worked so hard getting it to work right and the way I want it...so I bought this. My laptop is never being left unlocked ever again...Not to mention the crazy swedish-partly-converted-to-1337-speak password that I've got for my BIOS lock and another similarly complex hard drive lock password... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripken204 Posted September 10, 2005 Share Posted September 10, 2005 well dont put that around just 1 leg b/c u can just side it off, u need to tangle it around alot of things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zxian Posted September 10, 2005 Author Share Posted September 10, 2005 Yup... know about that one already... Thanks for the concern though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atomizer Posted September 10, 2005 Share Posted September 10, 2005 sorry to hear about the theft. i can easily sympathize with you...i live in huntsville AL and, a while back, i had a jeep CJ5. my tools were stolen out of it one night and they smashed my neighbors car window (but didn't take anything). tonight, some f**k threw a lit cigarette in my miata. luckily it landed on a t-shirt i had lying on the seat -- no damage done. i confronted them (it was one of two kids in a truck) and they wouldn't admit to it. now i have their license number and that, along with a friend in the police dept., spells major problems for them once i get an address. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HyperHacker Posted September 10, 2005 Share Posted September 10, 2005 Ugh, I know what you mean. No matter how much I try to protect them my video games always end up getting stolen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prathapml Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 ****!Its these things that make our open & free lives, paranoid.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zxian Posted September 12, 2005 Author Share Posted September 12, 2005 Minor update... still not sure as to whether or not her parent's insurance will cover the laptop... either way, there's an IBM R51 laptop at the UBC bookstore... really really good deal.IBM R51Intel Pentium-M 1.60GHz512MB PC2700 RAM60GB 4200RPM HD32 MB ATI Radeon 750015.0" XGA displayAll the extra IBM stuff $1300 CADFor what she needs (word processing, internet, music, movies, etc), it's far more than enough. Not to mention that it's an IBM... and as such will never break. I've basically told her to just buy that one.As for living arrangements, she (understandably) doesn't feel safe at her place anymore. It's the little things that she had over looked when she moved in. We've been talking about it, and I've got access at a family member's basement, which has security grade windows (already tested by some fool who broke the outer pane trying to break in) and a monitored alarm system. So the two of us might be moving in together in a few months... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 OTAs for living arrangements, she (understandably) doesn't feel safe at her place anymore. It's the little things that she had over looked when she moved in. We've been talking about it, and I've got access at a family member's basement, which has security grade windows (already tested by some fool who broke the outer pane trying to break in) and a monitored alarm system. So the two of us might be moving in together in a few months... <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Darn, you had to steal her laptop to get her to move in with you? *Just Kidding!!!!!*Back on topicI've had things stolen from me. To say it sucks is an understatement. Insurance might cover some of it but often times it just comes out of your pocket. For most of us, it is the extra money that we have had to work for. The extra hours, the doing without somethings and the time it takes to save up for it. This is above and beyond basic living expenses. And what about the sentimental value or an heirloom? A thief walks in and takes a part of you life, for free. The thief sells it for pennies on the dollar or takes it for his own pleasure to use. What about a thief that steals someone's tools. Steals what someone works with. A laptop or a hammer. The victim is out of work until the tools are replaced. The victim may have to borrow in order to replace. Even then, it will take time to get the new laptop back up to where the original was, if at all. That is all downtime and no compensation.Sorry Zxian. I read your story and go into a slow boil.DL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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