Keep it padded
Tossing a laptop into the average backpack, book bag—or
worse, simply carrying it under your arm—is asking for trouble. Your delicate
hardware needs a purpose-built enclosure to keep it safe.
Get a laptop-specific carrying case with plenty of padding
and protection. Separate compartments for accessories and power cables are a
luxury that can keep your PC scratch and dent free.
To deter theft, buy a nondescript bag, without logos that
advertise to potential thieves that there’s valuable merchandise inside.
Turn it off
Don’t make the mistake of cramming a sleeping computer into
the confines of a backpack hibernating is not the same as being powered off.
Heat is a computer's enemy it can shorten your computer’s useful life, loosen
components in the motherboard, or entirely destroy it. Block the computer’s
vents for long stretches, and you could unpack a fried PC at the end of your
trip. Be safe and power down that laptop before you stow it.
Keep an eye on it, but keep it out of sight
Laptops are hot-ticket items for thieves. Keep yours on your
lap or within view while you're at the airport, bus, or train terminal. Don’t
leave it an open target by setting it on an adjacent seat and then becoming
distracted by your phone or your kids. If it disappears, don’t expect it to
show up at the lost and found.
When traveling by car, keep your laptop hidden. Leaving it
exposed on the passenger seat, even when getting out to pump gas, could be the
perfect opportunity for a sticky-fingered individual to reach in and take it.
Keep it in the trunk, under the seat, or cover it with a jacket. And keep your
car locked at all times. If, in spite of your best efforts, your laptop still winds
up missing, you might be able to recover it—provided you installed a program
such as LoJack before you hit the road.
Back it up and lock it down
What could be worse than losing your laptop? Losing the
information you have stored on it. Follow a backup regimen, keeping a copy of
your important data on a hard drive at the home or office or in the cloud, so
you can pick up where you left off as soon as you can afford to replace the
missing PC.
And what could be worse than losing the information stored
on your laptop? Knowing some unsavory person has access to it. What’s on your
laptop? Contact information for friends, family, and colleagues? Personal
photos? Banking and tax records? Sensitive information about your business?
Perhaps there's enough personal information and photos to let someone steal
your identity. Protect yourself by locking it all down with a strong password
and encryption.
Make sure you have up-to-date antivirus and antispyware
software installed and running in the background.
Keep your firewall up to
block unsolicited connections to your PC. When connected to an unfamiliar
network, it’s sometimes best to be paranoid and treat everything like the
enemy.
Uploading personal information to the Internet while using
public Wi-Fi is asking for trouble. If possible, wait until you’re on a secured
network to do the sensitive stuff. If you must perform an online transaction, be sure the web
address begins with “https” and that there’s a locked padlock icon in the
corner of the browser window or in the address bar itself, indicating you’re
connected to a secure site.
Know what you have
Finally, record your PC’s precise specifications, including
the make, model, and serial or service number. Having this information on hand
is crucial for reporting a lost or stolen laptop—and perhaps recovering it.
Check the bottom of the laptop for a service tag with
barcodes on it. Write all this information down. Better yet, take a picture to
keep on your phone. Be sure to note any distinguishing features as well.
Stickers, scratches, dents, or additional physical features will help prove
you’re the rightful owner.
Follow these tips, and your laptop should accompany you
safely and securely, no matter where you’re headed.
www.tsiva.com
703 596-0022
