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Think of the laptop as a sack of cash sitting around. To a crook, that's exactly what it is. Treat the laptop as a bag full o' money, and chances are that you'll never forget it or have it stolen. This article covers just a few things you can do to help prevent your laptop from becoming yet another statistic.
Mark your laptop
 | The best way to protect your laptop is to label it. Keep in mind this statistic: 97 percent of unmarked computers are never recovered. Mark your laptops! It helps with the recovery of a stolen laptop if you've marked your laptop by either engraving it or using a tamper-resistant asset tag. After all, the best proof that something is yours is your name on the item in question. |
- You can use an engraving tool to literally carve your name and contact information on your laptop.
- Some folks merely write their names inside their laptops, either on the back of some removable door, inside the battery compartment, or in other places a thief wouldn't check. Use a Sharpie or other indelible marker.
- Asset tags are available from most print shops. The tags peel and stick like any stickers do, but cannot be easily removed or damaged. For an investment of about $100, you can get a few hundred custom tags, for not only your computers but also other valuable items (cameras, bicycles, and TVs, for example).
 | - The STOP program offers bar code asset tags that leave a special tattoo if they're removed. The program also offers a recovery system that automatically returns stolen (or lost) property directly to your door. STOP stands for Security Tracking of Office Property, although home users and (especially) college students can take advantage of the service. Visit www.stoptheft.com for more information.
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Having the laptop phone home
This feature is perhaps one of the most ingenious ways ever to protect your laptop. It involves having your laptop make a phone call and tell you where it is. Amazingly enough, it works.
This technique was supposedly discovered by accident. It went something like this: A laptop user programmed his system to phone his home computer every night at about 8:00. The two computers then exchanged data and updated each other.
One day, the laptop was stolen from work. But then a few days later, the phone suddenly rang at 8:00 p.m. The owner of the laptop picked up the phone and heard the sound of the laptop's modem making the call. He immediately grabbed the incoming Caller ID and used that information to help the police nab the laptop thief.
The laptop was recovered because it was programmed to phone home at a specific time every day. This program ran automatically, so when the thief (or whoever ended up with the stolen laptop) plugged in the system, the program continued to run.
You don't need to be a programmer to set up a similar system on your own computer. Many such programs do basically the same thing as described: They make the laptop phone home, or often they alert a tracking service over the Internet. The result is the same: The laptop's cry for help is heard, and the system is eventually recovered.
For more information, refer to the following companies that offer such "phone home" services:
Your thumbprint, please
The latest trend in security devices is the thumbprint reader. It requires that you press your thumb on a special gizmo as a form of identification. If it's the correct thumb, the reader's software unlocks the laptop and lets you proceed. Or, depending on the reader, it may simply automatically "type" the proper password for you.
Obviously, a thumb reader is a far more secure method of identification than a password. After all, who ever forgets a thumb?
Thumbprint readers are available as external (USB) devices or as part of a mouse, and some newer laptops include them as part of the laptop itself.
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