How To Secure Your Laptop When Traveling By Air

Airports and planes now come packed with people bringing their laptops along with them when they travel

. Whether for business or pleasure, the laptop is now an important companion.

Concerns about the safety of your laptop when traveling by air abound. Here are some tips not to lose those precious machines and the data packed inside them.

Getting Through Security

Getting through airport security can be time consuming. Especially now with the concerns over terrorism and other security scares. You might be required to remove your laptop from your bags and turn it on to show to security personnel that it is exactly what it is declared a mobile computer. To save time, it would be wise to turn on your laptop earlier and leave it to hibernate for easy start-up. You can totally shut it down after the physical inspection is done.

You might also be required to have your laptop checked by an x-ray equipment. This is totally safe as the magnetic field generated is not strong enough to cause damage to your storage drive and the data within. However, metal detectors do cause damage. You should politely request for airport security not to use a metal detector and physically check the laptop instead.

Keep it on You

Keep your laptop with you and never let it out of your sight. Because of their small size and big value, laptops can be prime targets of theft. Anybody can snatch the bag and keep walking as if it is his while you are unaware. As a precaution, it is better to keep a low profile. Should you have the need to work on your laptop, it is better to find a place that is relatively secluded and not crowded. After all, it s annoying to be working while somebody elses eyes are looking over your shoulders.

Never deposit your laptop as part of your checked-in baggage. Handlers do not expect valuable items in those bags. It will be treated as with all the other baggage, pushed, shoved and thrown around, during departure and arrival. As a carry-on baggage, never shove it under your seat or in storage bins. The aircrafts motion might damage your laptop, or somebody else, in search for more and better storage area might shove or push it away.

Back-Ups and Passwords

Before leaving for a trip, create backups of all important and sensitive data contained in your hard drive. Just in case your laptop gets lost or damaged, you do not lose your important files and information. You can buy a new laptop anytime, but it is very hard to retrieve lost data. It is also a good idea to store over the net, in your emails or blog sites, data files that you will need for your trip such as a powerpoint presentation for your client.

Better yet, carry another copy through a portable data storage device. In case your laptop gets lost or data are damaged, you can access those important files through the internet when you arrive at your destination.

Do not forget to put passwords on your computer. Should your laptop fall in the worng hands, you are sure that your files can not be accessed without your authorization. GP

by: Ritchie Smythe

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