It can happen to the best of us—your shiny new phone, tablet or laptop, left in an airplane seat pocket or stolen at the local coffee shop when you got up for a refill. Imagine losing the device that connects you to the outside world, and most importantly, your work.
Our laptops contain confidential company information and in order to prevent this unruly situation from happening to you, here are three quick tips for increased laptop security while on the go.
3 Ways to Increase Laptop Security On-The-Go
Physical Security
There are ways to lock your laptop down from outside of the machine. First, be sure that your laptop bag is always on your person, or that you use a padlock to keep the zipper securely closed. Most work benches at the airport have legs that you can easily secure the carry strap to. Or you can utilize a cable lock to secure it to something like a chair fastened to the ground or a building pillar.
Second, always keep a Kensington lock in your bag, and break it out every single time that you use your laptop in a public area.
Software Security
I'm not talking about McAfee or Norton here, but something more along the lines of location software. Some examples of this may be Lojack for Laptops if you have a Windows machine, or Find My Mac if you are an Apple user. To help protect your information, these applications will setup passcodes that the thief will have to hack to bypass. Also, they can provide the location of your device if it’s missing or stolen.
Backup Solutions
The world doesn’t stop, even if your laptop is stolen. You need to be able to back up your most valuable data and recover it at a moment’s notice with a legitimate backup solution. And I'm not just talking about a file backup like Dropbox or Google Drive. A truly reliable backup solution allows for virtualization of your laptop, so you can log in to this virtual copy of your machine and it’s just like you’re sitting in front of it again.
All in all, it’s important to practice safe tech habits wherever you are. Always lock your computer when you walk away from it.
For more tips on keeping your machines safe and protected while you’re on-the-go contact us.
For more information on laptop security, check out these other blog posts:
| Keep a Clean Machine | Take the Risk out of Working on the Go |
| Power Surge Protection | Working Securely from Home |