While smartphones are on the up and up and becoming the most relied upon piece of tech, the idea of losing our laptop still haunts us an impossible amount. But how can you stop (or at least make things way harder) a thief from making you their next victim?
Well, we have spoken to a few industry professionals, and compiled a list of their top tips to protect you against laptop theft (when you get a chance, you can thank us with a nice email from your un-stolen laptop, don’t sweat it):
Lock It (But Don’t Throw Away The Key)
Laptop Lock Buying Guide: 5 Things You Need to Know
Watching your laptop isn’t always enough. In fact, the most effective method of thievery is to snatch it from under your fingertips and to then sprint into a crowded street never to be seen again. There is nothing worse than that. So make sure your laptop is secure and invest in a security cable. This has to be one of the cheapest and most effective forms of defending yourself against an attack, and opportunists out there will either walk away, get caught or just look like a knob.
Put Your Name On it
Okay, your name alone isn’t going to do a lot, but if you put a sticker on your laptop that clearly states your laptop has Tracking & Recovery Protection, most thieves will believe you. Most of them aren’t in the game of calling someone’s bluff. Another great tip involves taking your laptop to your nearest laser engraving services and having your name (and address) engraved into it somewhere. That way, should someone steal your laptop, and you do have a means of tracking it, you will have zero problems proving it is yours to the police.
Eyes On The Prize
This is probably the same motto any thief operates under, but what better way is there to defend yourself that to use their own strategy. Sneaky sneaky. Of course, the best way to protect your prized possession is to constantly have it in your vice-like grip, but this can get tiring. So just make sure you always have eyes on your laptop. Know where you have put it, don’t leave it on the table in a coffee shop and you need to pop to the loo. If you’re at an airport, going through the security check procedure and they call you over, ask if you can put your laptop away first. The more careful you about knowing where your belongs are the less likely anything will happen to them.
Track It Like A Bloodhound
Laptop tracking software: 8 apps to track your lost or stolen PC
This was once an area of contention because it was so easy for a thief to get around this issue and wipe it clean of any tracking software of may have had on it. However, tracking and recovery software has come a serious way in the past few months and years, and you can now get geo-tracking software that will allow you to pinpoint your stolen laptop, remotely delete files, retrieve other files and set the dogs on the thief. Now that is a good service.
