Theft Protection Guide
Laptops are attractive for thieves as they are valuable, relatively small and there is market for them so they can easily sell them. They represent value both in hardware itself but also in data. You have to always keep eye on your laptop as it may be stolen everywhere - in hotel, airport, train, bus, metro or even in your own office when you are out to toilet. According to Metropolitan Police Department, over 300,000 laptop computers were stolen in the US in 1999 alone and this number is still growing. SafeWare statistics says that 606,000 laptops were stolen in year 2001 and 620,000 in 2002.
General Guidelines About How To Protect Your Laptop
In this article we will try to give you some advices how to protect your laptop against theft. You may also find articles about data protection and network security interesting.
The first and obvious advice is - don't leave your laptop alone unprotected. No place is safe and it may be stolen when you don't expect it at all, as Qualcomm's CEO laptop was. He had his computer stolen during news conference while he was standing no more than 30 feet from it.
Don't use carrying cases with manufacturer's logo. Walking around with case with Dell logo clearly says what you have inside. Consider buying some more discreet laptop case.
Never leave your laptop in car on visible place. If you don't want to carry it with you, put it into trunk so it will not be visible through window. Consider also buying a cable lock to fasten it inside trunk so even if thief will manage to open the trunk, he would not be able to steal your laptop. You can read more about cable locks and laptop alarms in article about mechanical theft protections.
Engraving your laptop or using asset tags is also a good idea as it makes it hard for thief to sell it. Also registering hardware at manufacturer is a good idea as it might help tracking your laptop in case the thief would contact them for support.
There are also more expensive methods, like insurances, tracking systems or biometric systems like voice or fingerprint recognition systems.
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