If you're heading off to your first or second year of college, there's a good chance that you're going to be required to live in a dorm. Aside from the fact that these aren't generally the best living quarters on earth, they also come with some significant security threats. First and foremost, the best security you can have in a dorm is having your own dorm room. If you can't afford to do this, however, and you need a roommate, these are some ways that you can provide security.
Understand the Threat
Understand that not every threat you face when you have a roommate comes from them deliberately trying to steal things from you. Sometimes, they hop on your computer and accidentally delete materials that you desperately needed. In other cases, they may have friends over who are threats, while your roommate really isn't one. The biggest asset you have in terms of security is simply making it difficult to access anything valuable to you. Because they are such an important part of our lives these days, we'll start with your digital assets.
Computers, Pads, Phones and So Forth
Just about any electronic device that allows you to surf the Internet or store information comes with an option to set up a password. You have to do this on every single device you have. Your passwords should also be different between each different device.
Remembering the passwords is usually what makes people nervous. Too many passwords mean too much to remember, to put it simply. To make certain that you can remember all of your different passwords, you may want to write them down in a secure place or you may want to make them related to one another somehow so that you can at least guess what the password might be if you forget it. That said, the best policy is to have separate passwords that are not related to one another and that are not dictionary words. Whenever you walk away from your computer, make sure you turn on the locking feature so that nobody can get access to your hard drive without entering your password first.
Laptop computers, tablet computers and smartphones all need to be password secured. These are even bigger security threats than your desktop computer, simply because you're going to carry them around with you.
Paper Files
Any information you have that's stored on a hard copy needs to be secured, as well. You will have two basic ways you can go about this. First, you have the option of getting some sort of secure storage that provides security by offering a simple deterrent. This type of security would include devices such as a file cabinet with a locking drawer, a cash box that has a simple lock on it or a desk drawer that has a lock on it. These locks provide privacy, but they don't really provide security.
The other option is to get a storage device that is truly secure, such as a small safe. You can get very small safes that are appropriate for dorm rooms and that you could easily slide underneath a bed. These make it exceptionally difficult to steal anything. Even if somebody tries to steal your safe itself, there's a very low chance that they're going to be able to get into it without thousands of dollars in locksmith tools and the requisite skills and experience to know how to use them. Simply put, most of the time, a safe will just make it not worth it to somebody to try to get at your valuables.
The types of documents you want to keep secure include identification, vital records, Social Security cards, passports and anything else that would cost you a lot of money, a lot of time and a lot of hassle to replace.
Guest Author:
Richard Gilmore is a blogger for ValueSafes.com and offers important advice on protecting your family's information with a fireproof safe.