Protecting your computer

The Problem

When it comes to computing, there’s nothing more important than the data you have on your PC. A new PC sells for $500, but the data – financial information, your address books, marketing plans, family pictures -- can be priceless. So, how do you protect yourself from losing your priceless files if someone steals your computer?

The Solution

Be wise. To safeguard your information, start by safeguarding your hardware. To keep your computer from slipping into the hands of a thief, you need to spend a little time and money. Short of never leaving your computer unattended, here are seven suggestions that will help you safeguard your hardware and the data it contains.

1. Lockdown your computer with a cable. Your laptop probably already has a security slot for cable locks. Your desktop may require a special plate. Of course, cables and locks are will only deter amateur thieves. Still, there’s no sense in making it any easier for the bad guys.
2. Speaking of locks, be sure to do the obvious and lock the windows, doors and any other access to your computer. Consider motion detection alarms and maybe even guard dogs. The more barriers there are, the better.
3. Write down the make, model number and serial number of your computer and keep a record in a safe place. In the event your computer is stolen, you can enter the stolen computer’s information in the Stolen Computer Registry (www.stolencomputers.org). This database is a free service that can help get your computer back.
4. Since thieves ultimately need to remove all identifying information from your computer before reselling it, you may want to etch your name and driver’s license number somewhere visible on the outside casing of your computer. Don’t use your social security number. You don’t need to add identity theft problems to computer theft problems. You should also put an additional identifier somewhere inside your computer where the bad guys won’t easily find it.
5. What if the thief strips the parts from inside your PC and tosses the case? To prevent this, you need to prevent the thief from opening up your computer case and stealing the components inside. Consider an anti-theft case. For more information on locking cases and other devices, check out any of the following. CompuCage www.compucage.com

Computer Security Products www.computersecurity.com

Kensington www.kensington.com

PC Guardian www.pcguardian.com

Secure-It www.secure-it.com

Security Solutions www.securitysolutions.com

Alarms are also a good idea. Just as your car has an alarm, you can get one for your computer to scare off would-be thieves should your computer be tampered with or moved. Check out Barracuda Security Devices at (www.barracudasecurity.com). They make a neat system that resides inside your computer. If your computer case is removed without disarming the alarm with the correct PIN, a dye is sprayed across the internal components of your PC. This identifies all the individual components as part of a stolen system and should make them harder if not impossible for the thief to resell any part of your system.

As you can imagine, laptops are especially prone to theft. Consider alarms from TrackIT (www.trackitcorp.com) and Caveo (www.caveo.com). You should also look at remote tracking devices, that identify the laptop’s location every time it connects to the internet. Any of the following will deter use of your stolen computer.

Absolute Protect www.absolute-protect.com

Absolute Software www.computrace.com

zTrace Technologies www.ztrace.com

James Kerr is President/CEO of SuperGeeks, a Hawaii-based computer service and repair company (www.supergeeks.net). Please feel free to send your questions, comments and suggestions to Mr. Kerr. He can be reached at kerr@supergeeks.net and 942-0773.