Laptop Saftey PART ONE: Theft and Power
By: Lindsay Hogg
It is often recommended not to travel with your laptop or expensive electronic devices. It can be a hassle having to lock these up or hide them in hostels, but if you are like me and can’t live without it, here are things you need to know and precautions you should take. Many of these tips can be applied to general laptop safety, but our main concern here is travelling with your laptop.
Theft: Better Safe Than Sorry!
Having a laptop out in the open is a red flag that you are wealthy and worth being robbed. If there is a recommendation that you not wear nice jewelry or clothing in a certain city, it goes without saying, you should not be pulling your laptop out on a bus there either. If you have to carry it with you, put it out of sight in your backpack and don’t pull it out in public places. It depends on how safe where you are staying is, but you will have to make the decision if you feel more comfortable having your laptop with you, out of site, or hidden/locked in your hostel/hotel.
That being said, hostels often have lockers in their rooms. A small key lock usually works on all of them, if you don’t have one, the front desk usually does. I always lock up my passport, computer and camera if it is not need for the day. I have not seen these lockers in many hotels, but depending on where you are in the world, it is a safe precaution to hide your laptop if you leave your room.
Some hostels/hotels offer to lock up valuables at the front desk area for you. Make sure you get some sort of documentation to say they have it and that you can bring back to claim it.
One other measure to take is a laptop lock. A laptop lock is like a bike lock, make sure you attach it to something sturdy that can not easily be moved. I always carry one with me travelling. This way, even if you hide your laptop somewhere or hide it in your room, it has that extra mile. There are a few different kinds of laptop locks: ones with a manual number lock, ones with keys and even ones that sound and alarm when tampered with. You can also get a lock for your laptop case.
Although you can take all these precautions, it does not always guarantee that your laptop will not get stolen:
A) GET INSURANCE!
B) BACK UP YOUR FILES!
Power: Surge Protection, Adapters and Prolonging Laptop Usage
If you plan on travelling outside of your native Country, you will need an adapter for anything that requires an outlet. If you travel often, especially internationally I would recommend you get a worldwide adapter. Most importantly, don’t leave home without a surge protector! Developing Countries don’t always have the most reliable power outlets. Even if you aren’t travelling to a developing country, don’t take any chances: a surge protector can save the life of your adapter, laptop, blow drier, hair straightener, camera or anything else you need to plug in! Some adapters can convert power, but make sure of this before taking off.
There are a few simple things you can practice to try and prolong your laptop usage. They won’t effect your battery tons, but every little bit can count when you are on the road. Try turning down your screen luminosity and don’t run numerous programs at once if you don’t have too. Although these are not huge energy savers, more apps means more ram being used and more CPU processing time, more heat, more fan and so on, equaling more battery usage. Another option is to buy an extra laptop battery. This can be a pricey option, but if you require your laptop for work it is something to consider. You can also justify this purchase with the idea that if you are in a developing country, and your laptop battery bites the dust, being able to find a new one may be a complicated task.
In the case that your laptop does get fried:
A) BACK UP YOUR FILES!
B) Bring a backup of programs that you will absolutely need.
Laptop Safety PART TWO: Climate Change and Security
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
This is really good advice! I have never had anything stolen from me while travelling (because I follow the smart tips provided above!) but a friend of mine had an incident while staying in Guatemala on a research trip last summer. She was in her hotel room using her laptop and when she got up for a washroom break, someone climbed in her window and stole her laptop. So take precautionary measures when leaving your valuables for even a few minutes!
Jess this is so much more professional than how you told me the story earlier!
“point is, take your electronics to the bathroom with you.”
great work thx!
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