| Laptop Insurance: Looking after your laptop - | | | | |
| Some things are obvious - some are not ... | | | | Don't travel with your laptop unless |
| | | | absolutely necessary - obvious but true - o |
| You already know how much your laptop is | | | | you really need to take it with you? Laptop |
| worth. Unfortunately, there's a fair chance | | | | theft peaks on Friday, when office workers |
| that the laptop thieves as well … | | | | take their laptop home with them. |
| | | | |
| Here are some tips on looking after your | | | | Put it in a rucksack not the laptop bag. If |
| laptop, minimizing the likelihood of a loss, | | | | you want to use the laptop bag eg because it |
| theft or damage and also shrinking the | | | | has stronger edges to keep your laptop |
| possible pain if it does happen. | | | | protected, put the laptop in the laptop bag, |
| | | | and then put the laptop bag in a rucksack. |
| First, make sure it doesn't matter so much if | | | | This stops it being visibly a laptop. |
| you do lose your laptop: | | | | |
| | | | When your do travel with your laptop, |
| Everything that is important on your laptop | | | | mentally program yourself to keep hold of |
| should be backed up. Buy an external | | | | your laptop. On trains etc jeep it between |
| hard-drive (usually about £50/US$90). Keep | | | | your legs, so you can feel when it is not |
| it connected to your laptop whenever | | | | there immediately. There are many cases of |
| possible. Then buy a software system that | | | | items even being stolen from between legs at |
| will automatically copy your essential files | | | | restaurants etc, so also put 1 foot through |
| to the external hard-drive. "Second Copy" is | | | | the strap. |
| a good option - | | | | |
| | | | Make sure you have got a good laptop |
| Backup the backup - Copy the back-up files to | | | | insurance policy in place. Make sure you |
| another external hard-drive or computer. | | | | know exactly what is covered. |
| Your first may have broken or corrupted - and | | | | |
| if you did not notice that until your laptop | | | | Avoid traveling on a Friday with your laptop |
| goes or goes wrong ... | | | | - this is key theft-day, because many staff |
| | | | take their laptop home to use over the |
| Make sure you have copies of the license keys | | | | weekend. This means that Friday is key theft |
| for all software on your laptop - create a | | | | day. |
| text file of the these. This makes it much | | | | |
| easier to reinstall when you get a new | | | | Complete these simple steps and your laptop |
| laptop. For security you might want to lock | | | | will be far safer - and should your laptop be |
| this license key file away behind a | | | | lost, damaged or stolen, you will feel the |
| password-protected system. RoboForm is handy | | | | pain far less. |
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