Do you, like many in our mobile world, move around with a laptop? While Evidence Solutions has addressed laptop security before ( Traveling? Treat Your Laptop Like Cash! ), it doesn't hurt to have a reminder.
Laptops Are At Risk Of Disappearing!
Many people use their laptops in public locations. Coffee shops, airports, restaurants and of course bowling alleys. It takes just a minute for laptops to disappear, never to be seen again.
The Risk
Laptops can contain your life. From family photos and tax documents to browser history and other personal information it is all contained on the hard disk drive of your laptop. While it would be inconvenient for these things to disappear, it would be horrific if an identity thief obtained them by merely walking off with your laptop.
Reduce The Risk / Increase Your Laptop Security
- DO NOT leave your laptop alone, EVER, even to just go to the bathroom.
- Use a password to login to the computer.
- Use an encrypted hard disk drive or encrypt sensitive files
- Purchase a cable to allow you to lock your computer to a desk, chair, cabinet, etc
- Do not leave your laptop in your car. If you have to leave it in your car, put it out of sight in the trunk and utilize a cable to lock it to the car.
- Consider buying an alarm that lets you know when the laptop gets moved.
- Carry your laptop in a case that doesn't look like a laptop case.
- Use the room safe when in hotels that have room safes big enough to hold your laptop or lock the computer to the furniture when the hotel room you are in does not have a safe.
- Don’t allow daily cleaning of your hotel room if your laptop is out. Put out the “do-not-disturb” sign on the door to keep hotel employees out of your room and to drastically reduce the number of people who know that you have a laptop.
- Pay attention to your laptop, everywhere! We know people whose laptops have disappeared at TSA Security screening points. Keep an eye on your belongings and don’t let those around you, including the TSA employees, distract you from that mission.
Reducing The Hassle
So you take every precaution we give you and your laptop disappears anyway. How do you reduce that hassle? Make sure that your laptop is backed up frequently. Purchasing a laptop and re-installing all the software will certainly be a hassle, but if you have the data that might otherwise go missing, you can at least recover most, if not all, of what was on your now missing computer.
