Stolen Laptop Contingency Plan

We've been talking a bit about the benefits of going mobile, especially for business owners who want to get more done. One of the best benefits of a laptop computer is portability, which leads into its greatest weakness; it's easy to steal. According to the FBI, over 1 million laptops are stolen each year. If you are using your laptop for business, you'll want to take action ahead of time and employ some protective countermeasures to keep your business safe. We'll even go over some ways you can recover your stolen laptop.

First and foremost, you'll want to make regular backups of your data. There are a few ways to do this effectively. If possible, do all of your work through a remote client, so you are working with files and data on your network only. This is a great process to put in place if you have several remote employees, giving them a terminal to log into means they do all of their work on the business network, so things are backed up by your in-house backup solution, whatever it may be. If that solution doesn't work for you, be sure those files are getting to your network regularly, or at the very least use an automated backup solution that keeps your data safely archived elsewhere. Directive can certainly help you find the solution that is right for you. Second, look into investing an anti-theft service. There are a few solutions out there and if you'd rather not do the research, give us a call at 607.433.2200 and we can get you started. One of the most popular solutions is LoJack for Laptops (LoJack is known for automotive security, so they know what they are doing when it comes to theft prevention). LoJack uses IP-based geolocation, and for a little more uses Wi-Fi geolocation. IP geolocation isn't as accurate as Wi-Fi location (Wi-Fi location can target the laptop's whereabouts within a city block where IP geolocation can be off by miles). This can help LoJack track down your missing laptop as long as it gets turned on and can find a network. Once you report the theft to LoJack, they set up forensic tools on your device and start gathering data. LoJack and other comparable theft-security packages run about $40-$60 per year, but if you do a lot of traveling or issue out several company owned laptops, the small investment can make the difference of getting your stolen laptop back or buying a new one.