Introduction
Securing my laptop has always been a major concern to me, as my laptop cost a lot of money, contains all my work and entertainment. It is the primary means to which I connect to my loved ones and finally it's the hub of all my educational material. I'm assuming you also have a similar amount of important information on your laptop as well, that is why securing a laptop is absolutely essential. I'll also explain how to secure an external hard drive and Flash USB drive, as these two items also tend to contain important data. There are several ways that I like to secure my laptop, and I'll give step by step breakdown of my favorite five ways.
Step 1
The first and easiest step, to securing your laptop is, to buy a protective cover. You can choose between either a plastic or cloth cover. Although the protection might feel minimal, it does help my laptop's plastic from cracking when it falls. Buying a cover for aluminum laptops (Mac book air, Mac book Pro, HP ENVY series etc.,) is also recommended, as they tend to completely dent when dropped. I personally prefer a plastic cover over a cloth one for my laptop, but the best solution is to buy both. Since the plastic cover will act like a second skin, that can be wrapped in fluffy cloth, it'll be like having twice the protection. But if you can only afford one of the two, then you are better off with a plastic cover.
Step 2
The second method I prefer when it comes to securing my laptop, is the Kensington lock. You've probably seen it at most laptop display shops and re-sellers, it's a long metal chain that locks into a special slot designed into laptops. Kensington locks need something to anchor onto, so make sure that there is barrier, banisters or anything immovable for you to wrap the cable around. I also don't shy away from using a Kensington lock on my laptop, that's attached to a table or heavy chair. Over all, if my laptop is being used in a public place and I need to leave it alone for a while, using a Kensington lock isn't a bad idea.
Step 3
As important as my laptop is, what's truly important is the data it contains. Whether that data is music, work, and studies, if I lose the data my laptop is worthless. That's why, the single most important way to secure my laptop is to back up my data. Backing it up in as many ways as possible is a good idea. There are several ways to back up one's data, and using most or all of them is not a bad idea. You should transfer your physical files onto a hard drive first, and arrange them properly, so that you don't have to re-organize a mess if anything goes wrong. Also, consider burning your most important files onto a disk and stashing it away after encoding it with a password. If your external hard drive comes with a back up software, use it. If you're using Mac OSX snow leopard, then you cal easily use Time Machine to back up your files.
Step 4
The fourth step in securing my laptop involves encrypting my data. Password protecting my files insures that even if all the above precautions fail, at least no one can access my data.
Step 5
The last step is to actually encrypt and password protect my external hard drives and my USB Drive, this way, if my peripheral devices get stolen or lost , my data is still safe.
Tips
Keep a good eye on your laptop in public places.
Don't trust your laptop with strangers.
Don't surf malicious websites or click on pop ups, ever.
Sources and Citations
www.wikipedia.com
