Advice When You Lose Your Device

A laptop is stolen every 12 seconds, according to "The Billion Dollar Lost-Laptop Study," conducted by Intel Corporation and the Ponemon Institute. "Transportation venues, such as airports and train stations are not the riskiest places; seemingly safe locations, such as homes and hotel rooms account for more than 40 percent of laptop disappearances."

So what should you do? Most people do not even do the basics: encryption, back-up and anti-theft technologies. Laptops and smartphones allow you to password protect them. It's simple. Yet for some it is cumbersome; it adds a step or two. However, if important or sensitive customer or company information is kept on these devices, shouldn't at least the fundamental protections be put in place?

For laptops, think about storing passwords and sensitive info in a storage app like KeePass, TrueCrypt, or BitLocker. Some laptops like Lenovo come with one. Record the serial and model numbers now. Asset management software is available to track such items as 3G/4G data cards, laptops, cellphones, projectors, flash drives, external hard drives, iPads, e-readers, and copiers.

Did you know copiers have a hard drive that should be removed or wiped before replacing? Many smartphones like Blackberries and iPhones have a data wipe application available for remote usage. (SmrtGuard SmrtApps is BlackBerry data wipe, for example). The value of the laptop or other device pales in comparison to the data loss. How often has a friend asked for your contact info because he had to replace his phone - and had no backup! It's easy to backup data today. Carbonite, Mozy, SugarSync and so many more online data services are easy to use and fairly inexpensive. Dropbox is another service to store documents safely since it is password protected. Phone contacts can be backed up by syncing to a laptop. These can be further saved by uploading to Gmail or another email service.

It is suggested that all music, video and photos be saved on DVD and an online service like Picasa or Flickr. You won't get these memories back. A security leash is available as well. Examples include MyLaptopGPS, Adeona, Undercover antitheft software and PreyProject (for phone or laptop). GadgetTrak is available for Mac, PC, and smartphones. Just 30 minutes of preparation to load a security leash, a data wipe app, and set up passwords will go a long way in peace of mind if your devices are lost or stolen.