Traveling with your trusty laptop? Luke Ford, founder of My ComputerWorks in Phoenix, has come up with a Top 10 list of travel tips:
1. Use a quality, well-padded case to carry your laptop in, and never check it as checked baggage during air travel.
2. Make sure security applications and software updates are up to date (anti-virus, firewall, anti-spyware).
3. Limit confidential information transmission, such as any credit purchases and reservations or anything with a Social Security number. Unfamiliar networks are always potentially dangerous.
4. Setup a remote e-mail account to enable access from any browser: (Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, MSN Hotmail).
5. Bring an Ethernet (Cat5) cable with you in case there is no wireless connection available, or if the wireless connection is troublesome or slow.
6. Use a system password on your laptop (this is not a perfect solution, but may stop or slow down the novice thief).
7. Use file passwords when available on confidential files (this is also not perfect, but again may stop the novice).
8. Do not set your computer down and leave it out of sight (especially in the airport bathroom).
9. If you must leave your laptop unattended in a car, keep it in the trunk (out of sight is out of mind). But remember that extreme temperatures are not good for most electronic devices.
10. Don't send your laptop through the X-ray until you are the next person to walk through the metal detector. Patience pays.
