A laptop is stolen every 53 seconds, revealed by laptop theft statistics. Residential property is among the list of top 10 places from which laptops are stolen. Still have no ideas how to protect your laptop and other personal electronic devices from home theft? Read on, and you’ll be capturing the best laptop and other electronics theft prevention tips.
Burglars are usually targeting at expensive and easy-to-carry items when intruding a house. Besides cash and jewelry, laptops, tablets, smartphones, digital cameras, and other small electronics, including iPads, iPods, Kindles, MP3 players, are their favorites.
Not only does losing your laptop and other personal electronics mean losing a large sum of money, ’cause some electronics like Apple products, are considered as luxuries, it also lets you suffer important and private information leakage, causing great trouble.
Now we’re getting into some simple tips to safeguard your electronics and keep them where they belong - in your home (rental rooms included) and within your control.
Thinking of Laptop Theft Protection? Firstly Prevent a House Invasion
If the thief cannot get inside your home, they can’t steal your home laptops, notebooks, and other electronics. And installing a home security camera is one of the most effective ways to prevent a home intrusion and larceny.
In our previous blog “Top 10 Reasons Why You Need a Home Security System”, the importance and necessity of security cameras in home has been fully stated.
The thing you should note is, choose a high quality one. A high quality security camera doesn’t mean it is so expensive that you cannot afford it. And a cheap camera doesn’t mean low-quality, either. Make sufficient researches until you find a professional and reliable one. If you are lucky, you will buy a security camera with a favorable price.
Simply put, investing a home security camera is one of the best ways to secure your laptops and electronics (and also secure your cash and jewelry).
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How to Prevent Laptop and Other Electronics from Being Stolen during a Home Break-in
A determined intruder will spare no efforts to enter your house, and a skilled one makes it easier. If your home has been broken into by a burglar, all you need to do is to “persuade” him not to take your laptop and other valuables away, or make it a tough “task” so that he’ll finally give up.
Of course, your home security camera will play an important role in protecting yourself from digital device theft. Motion detection function makes it smart enough to send alerting emails or notifications. When a burglar realizes his action has been captured, he is likely to escape right away.
Other useful laptop and electronics theft prevention tips include:
1. Keep Your Laptop and Other Electronics Out of Sight
It might be a bit inconvenient, but simply keeping your laptop, tablet, iPad, iPod and other personal electronics out of sight is one of the best ways to protect them from home theft. Installing a wall safe hidden behind a painting or photograph is one simple way to accomplish this goal. Just unplug the laptop before you leave home, secure it in the hidden safe and then go out and run your errands.
2. Choose an Inconspicuous Bag
When a thief sees a fancy laptop bag, they immediately think that there must be an expensive and high-powered laptop hidden inside. Buying an expensive laptop bag is the electronic equivalent of showing up at the airport with a set of designer luggage – you are essentially waving a big red flag and inviting thieves to come your way.
Instead of a dedicated laptop bag or laptop theft protection case, choose a plain backpack with a laptop sleeve built in. To a would-be thief the bag will look like just a run-of-the-mill backpack, and they need never know that your expensive laptop and other electronics are hidden inside.
3. Install a Laptop Alarm
Secure your smartphone, tablet, laptop and other tech kit with a steel cable attached to an alarm that emits a loud shrieking sound. Nothing stops a burglar quite as fast as an audible alarm, and that noise may be enough to give the thief second thoughts.
Installing a steel locking cable will also slow down the bad guys and make them rethink the wisdom or stealing your laptop and other electronics. The longer it takes them to steal your laptop, the easier it will be for the police to intercept the theft and make the arrest.
4. Invest in a Laptop Lock
How does a laptop lock work? Just like a bicycle chain lock, the laptop lock lets you wrap a mental cable in an immovable object, and insert the lock into your notebook’s lock slot, making it importable and harder to steal. While a dedicated thief with lots of time on his hands may still be able to steal the device, a criminal looking for a quick hit is likely to look elsewhere for a quick score.
5. Use an Electronics Safe
If you really want to safeguard your laptop and other electronic equipment, you might want to invest in electronics safes. Look for one that is heavy and built to withstand efforts to open it. A built-in safe will work best, but a heavy and well-built standalone can also be very effective. Keeping your laptop, tablet and other electronic devices in a special safe may seem like overkill, but it can be a smart strategy, especially when you go away on vacation or plan to be away from home for an extended period of time.
How to Find Lost/Stolen Laptops and Electronics after a Larceny
If the worst thing happens – your laptop or some other expensive electronic device is stolen, don’t go desperate. There is still chance you can find it back.
1. Use Laptop Theft Prevention Software
Apple provides “Find My Mac” to track a lost or stolen Mac computer. For Windows or other laptops, netbooks, tablets, there is some other laptop theft protection software available. Install this kind of tracking software on your computer and sign up for an account. Once it is stolen, you can go to the software’s website, log into your account, and then you can see where it is, and control it remotely. No denying that tracking a laptop is much harder than tracking a smartphone, it does help in recovering a stolen laptop.
2. Register Your Devices
It may take some extra time, but there are clear benefits to registering your smartphone, laptop and tablet with the manufacturer. Recording the serial number and your contact information will make it easier to remotely wipe your data in the event of a theft and increase the odds that you and your devices will ultimately be reunited.
How to Protect Data/Files after Laptop Theft
Securing your laptop and other electronics also includes securing the data in it. If there are personal emails and private files in your machine, you are vulnerable to identity theft or trapped in financial crimes. Try the following to protect data after a laptop theft:
- Always remember to backup data. Losing all the pictures, videos, documents in the laptop is like losing your whole world. Always prepare for the best and make a backup of your laptop regularly.
- Use a power-on password. Secure your laptop by making it impossible for criminals to gain access to your files. A stolen laptop can be a real security risk, putting your passwords, PIN codes and banking details at risk. By assigning a power-on password you can safeguard your data and protect yourself from further harm if your laptop is ever lost or stolen.
- Use a tracking app to erase laptop data remotely. Some laptop tracking software not only allows you to track your machine, but also lets you delete all your data on your stolen device. Make sure the burglar never accesses your files on the laptop.
One more thing you need to know is the laptop and electronics theft insurance, which has been popular in the USA, UK, Canada, and more counties. Look into it, know its coverage, and consider buying one when your laptop is in danger of being stolen.