hostels and laptop security

I'll be backpacking around Romania this summer; do any/some/all of the hostels have lockers or are staff willing to lock up laptops (even if for a small fee)? With all the people carrying laptops, what does one do besides keep the damned little thing with you 24/7? I have to have it due to work.

Yeah, you either want to have it with you, or locked in a secure location. Some hostels have lockers, some have a secure luggage room (you have to assess: how secure?), and some have nothing. Just depends. Another option is lockers at major train stations.

For peace of mind you can also buy a chain lock that fits in a special hole in your laptop. It won't prevent a determined thief, but will stop a snatcher. Good for locking it to the table in cafes etc if you want to go to the toilet for a few minutes without dragging it along.

We have lockers and even wifi, im sure the hostels in Cluj do as well.
Rob
Cobwobs

dave=#2, I cannot remember ANY Rom/CFR staton having ''lockers'' in the true meaning of that word-all I have seen-eve int he tiniest remote places-is manual 'keep luggage''=not the first palce i would just deposit some expensive laptop in. Mostly they store the striped plastic bags any local takes hir/her luggages in.

Thanks BMTA -- I know lockers are spotty in this region. Wasn't sure about Romania, but thought I'd throw it out there as an option. I've always had good luck with left-luggage services, but I agree that I wouldn't put a laptop in one.

Dave

Thanks guys; looks like I'm tied to it. :(

Why do you want to carry around a lap top with you? Isnt part of the point of traveling to escape all that?

Well as OP says, he needs it for work.
I personally travel with laptop to be able to edit photos and videos and also post them on the web.
It's also much more convenient to use wifi in bars/cafés for trip planning, timekilling etc, than going to an internet place.

Just my 2 cents.

I'm with you, Dragoro, wouldn't take ANY tech with me. Just a good book, but the work is a necessity. Fortunately, it won't take more than 4 or 5 hours per week. The rest of the time I will not be online. I won't even have a mobile phone! :)

We stayed in hostels in Brasov and Bucharest with lockers and we used our own padlocks. My backpack is completely lockable and I usually just stuff it in there and lock the bag up. Never had a problem all through Eastern Europe or China. We have a cable lock (as mentioned above) but don't often use it on the theory that it probably attracts more attention to our stuff.

yeah, good thinking. I"ll go with a padlock.