Security and backup for college student

[brn2rnjk1]

My child will be entering college in the fall and has a macbook. Anyone have suggestions for 1. Security for the macbook (physical security in dorm room etc) and 2. Backup options that college students use?

Thanks

 

[basesloaded190]

Any security lock that can be wrapped around something solid will do so it isn't stolen, and Time Machine with an external HDD will be great for backups.

 

[miles01110]

The Western Digital Passport (or similarly sized portable drives) are pretty handy for quick backups.

 

[Puevlo]

Make sure you download and install icloud so it can be tracked when it gets stolen.

 

[malman89]

The Western Digital Passport (or similarly sized portable drives) are pretty handy for quick backups.

This. A Time Machine is overkill and overpriced for a college kid. Heck, Dropbox and/or a USB flash drive should be more than sufficient to back up the essentials.

When I was in college, I filled up my MacBook's 80 GB stock HD, so I bought a 500 GB 7200 rpm and got an enclosure for the stock drive, which became my music back up drive. My important docs are just backed up on Dropbox. It used to hold movies/TV shows, but that collection has grown considerably, so now it's time for me to get a real external to back all of that media up.

Security? I guess it depends on the school and the situation, but we had one person on our floor of 35-40 guys with a laptop lock and it was pointless. No one would've stolen anything from anyone and we never locked our doors. Those were good times.

 

[BeeJee]

This. A Time Machine is overkill and overpriced for a college kid.

Time machine is preinstalled...

 

[minifridge1138]

I'd vote with an external drive and time machine.

Having the version history of papers and projects can be very useful.

 

[malman89]

Time machine is preinstalled...

Brain fart. Was thinking of the ridiculous Time Capsule.