Did you know that a laptop is stolen every 12 seconds? What if the missing laptop is a business laptop used by an employee? Even if your employee isn’t mobile and only uses the laptop at home, a startling 46% of business laptops go missing while in employee’s homes. Two-thirds of companies don’t take advantage of even basic security practices for their laptops and don’t fully understand the affect lost laptops can have on their bottom line. A recent study found that the average cost of a laptop is $49,246.00, 80% of which is the value of the data. Losing laptops also crushes productivity. Mobile employees can’t work effectively, IT spends time replacing and reconfiguring equipment and clients get put on ice while you get back up to speed. Do you have a plan? Here are a few suggestions on what to do if that stolen laptop belongs to you.
1. Change your network username and passwords. The first login that should be changed is the account used to access your office network. Notify your IT provider so they can keep an eye out for repeated authorization failures in your username. Next, change information for all personal accounts: email, credit cards, bank accounts, web sites, airlines – anything with a web based username and password. These accounts can be accessed through your web browser cache and cookies, so changing the password should prevent this type of access. For the future, consider utilizing a storage vault app for sensitive password information such as KeePass or TrueCrypt. These are both free open-source apps that can be used for Windows, Mac and Linux.
2. If sensitive client data was on the laptop, notify clients that are affected. If you were storing any access to their sites or personal information, you need to let them know so they, too, can change passwords.
3. Don’t automatically assume your laptop is gone for good. Only about one-third of laptops turned in to lost-and-found departments are reclaimed. Retrace your steps, make some calls, and make sure that someone didn’t turn it in. If you find the laptop was stolen, request a police report, particularly if the laptop was insured. You will also want to check with pawn shops and look for similar units for sale on Craigslist and eBay. If you haven’t already done so, make a note of your laptop’s serial number. Knowing the serial number will be key in identifying it.
4. If you don’t already have laptop tracking software, consider purchasing some. MyLaptopGPS claims a 99.6% success rate and a 300% guarantee. Prices start at $9.95 per month for one computer; $49.95 covers five laptops. If this is more than you want to spend think about downloading Prey, a free app that sends reports to your email with information about your laptop’s location. This includes the general status of the computer, a list of running programs and active connections, network and wifi information, a screenshot of the running desktop and here’s the best part – if your laptop has an integrated webcam, you’ll receive a picture of the culprit.
5. Regularly backup your data. Back up to a server at the office or if you aren’t going to be in for a few days, an external drive for safe-keeping.
To learn more about integrating mobile device management into your technology strategies for 2012, sign up for our webinar, “Trending Technology | Hot Topics & Profitable Predictions to Drive Your Business in 2012”. For questions, contact Megan Meisner at mmeisner@launchpadonline.com or call 813-920-0788 x210.
