A lot of people are using laptops these days and it's not exactly surprising. They're easier to use and carry around. Those who need to travel need not part with their data just because now, everything could be carried around from one corner of the globe to another. Portability is, of course, the main thing that makes these gadgets a favorite. From the most mundane office tasks to the most exciting social networking activities, laptops can prove to be heaven sent. In fact, not just business people tend to have them. Anybody who wants the freedom of being able to live their computing lives at any place and time has drawn people to these laptops, whatever their personal reasons may be.
Laptops may be easy to carry around and most users appreciate this. But without proper care, this portability may just become a cause for security breach. Whether it's used for personal or business reasons, those computers will always have information that their owners would rather keep to themselves. Aside from the risk of physical theft, the owner could also lose his personal information. Because the laptop can be carried around in malls, airports, parks and everywhere else, it can also be an easy target for people who may not have the best of intentions. Good if the laptop is all that's stolen. What's more important is the information inside, Imagine if you stored there your bank account number, usernames and passwords. Anyone an use that information and soon you'll be faced with a credit card bill and you won't even remember buying those things detailed on it. Probably, you won't remember because you never made those purchases- a thief did. While you may have your credit card with you, somebody may have stolen your private information and pretended to be you while entering into a number of financial transactions. The worst part is, you'll be the one paying.
Another way to make sure you have your data safe and secure is to have a backup of all these files that you believe are sensitive or crucially important. At least, when you lose the laptop, you'll have the information you stored which is much harder to get a substitute for. You should also note down your laptop's model, serial number, and other information unique to it. For claiming and law enforcement purposes, this could be very helpful.
Your information will be the safest if you could encrypt them. Some operating systems come with an encryption feature but if yours doesn't, you can always rely on software to do the job. Some of them can be downloaded off the Internet. Of course, the golden rule in downloading from the Internet is to ascertain that the site you get the file from is safe.
Another thing you can explore is getting a software that allows you to remotely access your laptop if it falls in the wrong hands. This software will enable you to copy your important files and to delete them once you're done so the thief can't use them for his own benefit. If you have corporate information, the thief could actually sell that to your company's competitor and this could be seriously damaging to your career. Or, again, you could simply become a victim of identity theft. You certainly wouldn't like either scenario.
Protecting your computer with an operating system login and password might be good but this will not be absolutely fool proof. You can strengthen your PC's protection by providing a passwords fro your computer at the BIOS level. That means your laptop can't even work without the required password.
As for Internet security, you can count on an IP hiding software which is a program that allows you to surf with your laptop's IP address hidden. This way, you won't be identified by hackers who may be on the loose. And when you're not identified, you're inevitably safe.
