02 February 2011
The major cause of data loss during travel is loss of the laptop itself. Reports indicate that over in the US alone, there is an average weekly record of 12,000 laptops lost by business travelers in airports. Surprisingly, only 33% of these laptops are reclaimed by their owners.
The causes of such loss are the frenzied rush to catch flights, the abundance of luggage that travelers usually carry (luggage, briefcase, mobile phones, PDA and laptop) and checkpoint security procedures which require you to be separated from your luggage during scans and pat-down procedures.
To help minimize the risks of losing your data during travel, Kingdom Data Recovery offer the following security tips during travel:
Keep your laptop inconspicuous. Keeping them in laptop bags is rather obvious and simply advertises them to would-be thieves.
- Back up your data before you travel.
- Use encryption technologies to secure confidential or sensitive data. You may back up data on an encrypted USB flash drive which you can carry separately from your laptop
- Use laptop data recovery and data protection software. Macs come equipped with Computrace LoJack for Laptops which can send tracking information on the stolen laptop and also wipe hard drive data remotely.
- Keep your laptop inconspicuous. Keeping them in laptop bags is rather obvious and simply advertises them to would-be thieves. Have them stashed away in tote bags or backpacks with laptop compartments.
- Map out in advance who to call and what to do if your laptop gets lost or stolen.
- Label your laptop with your full contact information so that if it gets into the hands of honest airport personnel, they can immediately contact you. You could even have the company name, logo and contact details printed on the outside.
- Allow for enough check-in and boarding time. Being in a rush will preoccupy your mind with missing the flight that you will fail to look after your belongings.
- Carry less and count how many items you carry. At each checkpoint, count the items again. Always remember to put back what you have taken out of your bag, such as laptops.
- While traveling, be aware that logging onto unsecured wireless networks greatly increases the chances that a hacker gain access to your laptop and its information.
- Avoid accessing banking and financial records during travel.
- Deselect the “remember me” button when browsing the internet so as to prevent thieves from stealing your usernames and passwords.
- Clear your web history and cache after using a web browser. This ensures that your private data are erased and therefore inaccessible to identity thieves.
