laptop safety
 

Has anybody had success keeping their laptop safe while they were being molested? I have a Alienware laptop, a prized commodity for many gamers, and I'm worried that if I get selected to be molested the laptop will just be sitting there, looking very tempting for either a smurf or another passenger. I have a sleeve that zips up that I can keep it in while it goes through the scanner but I'm not sure that will fly with the smurfs.

I have not had a problem. I insist that I be able to see my stuff and that it be brought with me and I have never been denied that. Some folks here have reported a problem, but I suspect that they are the unusual cases. Each time they have brought my stuff to the frisking area and put it in a chair or on a table where I could watch it. In the cases when my stuff needed secondary screening it was done either before the frisk or in the area where the frisk was being done.

This is absolutely the most important thing: Allow enough time. Tell them that you do not care if it takes a bit longer as you have plenty of time. The only power they have over you is if you are hurried and they can cause you to miss your flight.

Be firm and insist that you be able to see your belongings. If they deny that demand a supervisor and a LEO. The Supervisor is to complain to that they will not let you see your stuff. Ask the LEO to watch your stuff as you have heard about TSA thefts and you need someone you can trust to watch it.

Flying home from IND last month I encountered an overzealous TSO who snatched my laptop from Xray quicker than it took me to say "opt-out" As I walked to the belt to point out my belongings I did a double-take for my laptop which was gone. I started to panic but was flagged down by said TSO who said he had tests to run and would return it after my pat down. I watched him open it and for a brief moment think he contemplated turning it on, but I gave him a not-so-subtle evil eye which apparently worked. He closed the laptop and started the swabbing.

Geez -

I would be most concerned when they keep running the belt & piling up the bins on the other side to the point where things start getting dumped on the floor. It's happened with my wife's stuff (jewelry) but fortunately never with one of my laptops.

What about the short time period from the time you opt out and made to stand aside, but your possessions have already gone through the x-ray.

Have you been successful in either moving to a spot so you can see your possessions or have the A.S.S.’s been so responsive that they immediately grab your possessions off of the x-ray as soon as it clears to prevent any theft by someone other than another fellow ..........

Mr. Elliott

I made quite a scene at LAX one day - effectively shutting down the only WTMD/WBI when they refused to let me keep my belongings in sight under the specific scenario you described. I refused to stand off to the side where I couldn't see my things.

It caused a bit of consternation on their side, but no ill consequences as I simply demanded that they follow policy. It was not my fault that they elected to shut all the lanes (except the lane I was in) down for a 20 minute period during shift change, nor to make staffing available to do their jobs.

Amazing how they found someone (actually, two people) to do the physical molestation in retaliation for my opt-out in short order as I made my voice louder and louder that I needed to be able to see my possessions.

Every time. I repeatedly say I have to see my stuff progressive louder each time. I will eventually suggest that if anyone steals or damages anything that the person I am talking to will be personally responsible. I am not angry, just firm.

The almost exact phrase I use: It is your SOP that I be able to see my possessions and I need to be where I can see my possessions. Do not worry about taking extra time. I have plenty of time to do this correctly. If you disagree, call your supervisor and an LEO, now.

Its been effective every time so far. I expect a failure at some time, but so far, so good.

TSA agent OGG dropped my bag with my laptop in it. Thank goodness it still works.

Do you see this as a training failure, or a learning failure?

Yeah, that would be my approach. I would simply remain close to my stuff no matter what they say.

Put a separation alarm with the laptop and the other half in your carry on. As long as they are within range of each other no problems, but if they get more than ten or 20 feet apart they both start making noise.

Like $10 or $20 at most any of the stores

And if you want push it even farther, tell the ......... that they are violating SOP and therefore are interfering with the screening process and you want an LEO called so you can file a complaint against the A.S.S and ask the LEO if the ......... can be arrested for interfering with the screening process.

Would be an interesting scenario, since you are the complainant, not the TSA, to see how the LEO reacts to your complaint

Remember the A.S.S’s motto, “We can do anything we want, and there is nothing you can do about it.”

Mr. Elliott

Here is the link to the TSA website where it specifically states under Security Best Practices, line 4
ALWAYS watch your belongings as they advance through the x-ray equipment at the security checkpoints - for secondary screening, INSIST that your belongings be brought to you. (capitalization theirs, not mine)

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/custome...s/protect.shtm

I carry a copy of this in my pocket whenever I go through the security checkpoint, so if confronted by an A.S.S if I have to opt out, they can see their posted rules and if they do not follow their own posted rules, then I will demand their FSD and an LEO, show the LEO the TSA posted rules and complain that the ......... is not following SOP and is thus interfering with the screening process.

The FSD can threaten me all they want with fines or arrest, but all I am doing is following their own posted instructions.

Of course we all know that TSA supervisors make up their own rules as they go along and if you question them about it, the rules are there, but you cannot see them because its SSI

Mr. Elliott

My safety measures:

1.) Dell Total Care contract. If the laptop is stolen or broken, I get a new one from Dell.
2.) SSD password. Without the password, the drive is useless. Sensitive data is encrypted anyway.
3.) System/BIOS password. Without it, the machine is a brick

Also, I could enable TPM and remote deactivation, but I don't trust TPM.

So if the worst happens, the thief has a useless device and I get an new machine. (I have a new, top-of-the-line Dell Precision machine)

This might be a silly question, but what does a LEO have to do with it? It's not his/her job to enforce TSA regulations, is it?

To put it another way, if you went to collect food stamps and the person from the USDA behind the desk was mean to you, would you call a cop?