Protecting Your Laptop

Do you ever worry about losing your laptop when you are traveling or enjoying a nice day outdoors somewhere?  Studies have shown that over a period of a year, more than 86,000 laptops were stolen or reported missing.  This is a pretty big number.  While this may never happen to you, the risk of losing a laptop involves more than just replacing the computer.  The loss of website bookmarks, emails, pictures, or business information may be of more value than the hardware cost of the computer.  For this reason, it pays to take steps to protect your laptop.

4 Steps to Protecting Your Laptop

Studies have shown that the majority of laptops that were stolen or lost had no theft prevention device and no form of encryption to protect the information on the laptop.  Here are the security measures you should take to protect your laptop:

• Automatic Backup – Back up the information on the laptop on a regular basis.  Store the backup in a safe location – not with the laptop.  Web-based automatic backup systems are also a possible solution.
• Laptop Security Devices – Hardware security devices must be compatible with the type and model of laptop you have.  This can include a variety of locks, cables, and other similar type of security devices.  One size does not fit all.
• Use Encryption – Use encryption to protect the information on the laptop. If the laptop is stolen or found, the person who has your laptop will not be able to access your information.  There are many forms of encryption software available so research and pick wisely.
• Use a Software Recovery Tool – If a laptop is stolen after all the preventative measures have been taken, this step involves recovery of the laptop.  There are a number of software/services available that can assist you with tracking, locating, and recovering a lost or stolen laptop.  However, these are usually software driven, meaning you have had to install the software on the laptop before it was lost or stolen.  Make sure the service/software is installed and set up before your laptop comes up missing.

While we are specifically addressing laptops in this article, the same security issues are inherent in mobile devices such as smartphones, blackberry’s, IPhones, PDA’s, IPads, tablets, netbooks, etc.  If you need any help with securing any of your mobile devices, please let us know at Ironclad Tech Services.