Last week I wrote about the Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) random inspection program of electronic media, which has resulted in more than 6,600 electronic devices searched, and many seized at US borders, in the last two years.
That’s not the only problem for travelers with laptops.
A 2008, Ponemon Institute study commissioned by Dell, followed up by a 2009 study commissioned by Intel, states that 12,000 traveler laptops go lost, missing or stolen each week at US airports.
In Europe, the Ponemon Institute reports 3,800 computers go missing each week from Europe’s 24 busiest airports. Half are never recovered.
When traveling, laptops and their data are extremely vulnerable. Here are my top ten tips to protect traveler laptops and data:
1. Back-up, Back-up, Back-up! I can’t stress enough the importance of making an up-to-date full back-up of every byte of data on your laptop, before you leave on your trip.
2. If you have another computer at the office, or at home, which is your primary computer, consider running it remotely, via the Internet, from your laptop while traveling. That way your email, and new data are safe, on your primary computer.
Special Tip: Run an automatic backup program on your primary computer while you’re away, to protect yourself if that computer has problems.
I use the remote service, GotoMyPC.com, to run my office computer remotely, but there are a number of other services, and software from which you can choose.
3. For those who can’t utilize remote computing it’s important to back-up your data while traveling, and with “cloud services” via the Internet, backing-up your computer while on the go has never been easier.
Services such as Google Docs give you free storage for up to 1GB of data, and 20GB’s for only $5 per year. You only have to store your new data in the “cloud,” as I know you’ve backed-up your laptop before leaving on your trip.
4. Never, never, never, let your laptop, out of your physical control while in transit, during your trip. Don’t hand it bellhops, redcaps, porters, taxi drivers, and others, even if in a laptop bag.
Read security expert, Robert Siciliano’s story about his travails with his laptop after he put it in the front seat of a taxi taking him to his hotel.
5. At the airport, keep an eye on your laptop at security. Put your laptop in your last bin on the security conveyor belt, just before you go through scanning.
You can also use a TSA approved “checkpoint-friendly laptop bag.” You’re allowed to keep your laptop in these bags, instead placing them in a bin. It will help prevent the theft of your laptop while in security.
6. Password protect your laptop to prevent others from accessing your data if your laptop is lost or stolen. Laptops normally have the ability to use a BIOS password which prevents access to the laptop hardware. Use this option. In addition, use your operating system’s password protection.
For both, use a strong password and make sure your password doesn’t use real words, names, phone numbers, birth dates, etc.
In addition, prevent your username from showing in your login window. Make it harder for anyone who steals your computer to steal your data.
7. Disable file and printer sharing in your laptop while traveling. On your office or home network, file and printer sharing may be essential, but, while traveling, they make your laptop vulnerable to unauthorized access.
Special Tip: Even when in your hometown, when using any public network, such as at your local coffee shop, disable file and printer sharing. A laptop’s vulnerability doesn’t change just because you’re close to home.
8. Consider using Internet accessible “cloud storage” for transporting sensitive documents on your trip. I have no sensitive documents on my laptop at any time while traveling, until they’re needed. I download them, edit and use them, then erase them when unneeded.
As many are aware, deleting a file from your laptop doesn’t actually erase it, even when emptied from recycle or trash bins. If a file is sensitive, use a program like File Shredder which uses a Guttman algorithm to erase files.
9. When storing your laptop in your hotel room, put it in the room safe, if it will fit, or perhaps the hotel’s safe, particularly if you have sensitive documents stored on it.
An alternative you can use in the hotel, in a car, or in a plane’s or train’s overhead bin is a stainless steel lockable safety net such as the PacSafe 85, which you can lock to immovable objects in your hotel room.
You might consider using recovery service software such as Computrace’s LoJack for Laptops, and/or a label based return service like EZFind, in case of theft or loss.
10. Don’t forget to have and use traditional protection every computer should have. Public wired and wireless networks, including those in hotels, coffee shops, etc., are not secure!
Use antivirus/antispyware software, and keep it and its definitions up-to-date. Use a personal firewall which protects both inbound and outbound traffic. Regularly install your operating system’s and program’s updates to eliminate security vulnerabilities.
After many years working in corporate America as a chemical engineer, executive and eventually CFO of a multinational manufacturer, Ned founded a tech consulting company and later restarted NSL Photography, his photography business. Before entering the corporate world, Ned worked as a Public Health Engineer for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. As a well known corporate, travel and wildlife photographer, Ned travels the world writing about travel and photography, as well as running photography workshops, seminars and photowalks. Visit Ned’s Photography Blog and Galleries.
