Do you own a laptop?
If so what would you do if it came up missing right now?
Think about it, what information on your computer will leave you exposed? Perhaps you keep your tax returns information on your computer or just your address book. Wow just think of the information you just lost and how you just exposed everyone you know.
The Good News.
There were approximately 8.1 million victims of identity fraud in 2010 USA the lowest its been since 2003 (Javelin Strategy and Research 2011).
The Bad News.
Even though there were fewer victims, the remaining frauds were more difficult to detect and resolve, resulting in higher consumer cost. (Javelin Strategy and Research 2011).
The fact is that we all use computers, one way or another its just become a part of our daily lives whether it be in the form a traditional desktop computer, laptop, or even the smart phones, I can't think of anyone that doesn't use a computer now day's.
We do online banking, online purchase, tax returns, keep contact information, personal photos, business contracts, and the list just go on and on.
So when one of these devices come up missing there a vary good chance that you not only exposed yourself but more then likely your friends and business contacts as well.
This is why I wrote a short report called Free Way's To Protect Your Laptop & What To Look For Before Buying A Used One.
This is a very short report no-fluff and straight to the point. I don't even like writing, but I just felt like this information needed to get out and in as many hands as I could.
You can download my report by clicking the link below. Its in PDF form and in a zip archive.
Update: Since I released this report I had some one tell me that there is away to get around some of the measures listed in my report.
This mainly involves the removal of the hard drive and placing it in another machine to format it. Then putting it back in the original laptop. Then selling the laptop without an OS.
While I agree this can be done I guess my point is that once the drive is formated your data is gone. Yes you will not be able to track the laptop and more then likely won't be able to recover it but at least your data is gone.
Using this logic I guess we shouldn't lock our house up when we leave. After all with all the locks, alarm systems, and security cameras break ins still happen.
If you find this information of no use then I'm sorry for taking the 10 minutes it took you to read through the report.
I for one will continue to lock my house up and set my alarm when I leave and I will still try to protect my computer data the best way I know how.
If your crazy like me and think that you should still lock your house up when you leave and protect your data the best way you know then please feel free to download my report below.
Best regards,
Steven P Smith