Identity Theft: Computers And Laptops
How can I protect my laptop from identity thieves?
The problem with laptops is that the hard drives have become so big that they're replacing the desktop computer. Many small businesses and corporations are actually using the laptop computers as their primary means of computer. And as a result they're storing thousands and sometimes even millions of names, addresses, and social security numbers of their clients on these laptop computers. And in the event that they are lost or stolen, well that corporation becomes liable for that data resulting in thousands and thousands of dollars lost due to, you know, client dissatisfaction, they have to pay for credit monitoring, it becomes a very, very big problem for the corporation. If you have a laptop computer that you're going to be taking portably, make sure that any data that you have on it is encrypted, that you have some type of password-protected folder, or some type of encryption that prevents a lost or stolen laptop from, that information from being accessed, causing you to lose your identity or your identity to be stolen.
How can I protect information on my laptop from identity thieves?
There are numerous smaller companies out there that are offering password protected software and folders or encryption that allows you to store proprietary data in that folder. So that in the event that your laptop is lost or stolen, anybody that tries to access it would have to break that code. Often this type of encryption or code is very difficult to get into, so I would always consider investing in some type of a third-party software that allows you to encrypt your information in a password-protected folder.
How can I protect myself from identity theft if my laptop is lost or stolen?
In the event that your laptop is lost or stolen, and it had proprietary data on it, you're going to have to pay a penalty. Now there are actually laws that have been enacted over the past few years, that in the event something breaches your client's data, you have to notify all those people. If it's your information has been compromised, then you need to determine what information was actually stolen, whether it was credit or banking information, even social security numbers. The best thing to do is to treat that information just like it was a lost or stolen credit card. Start making phone calls and start cancelling those accounts.
Is it safe to sell an old laptop or computer?
In the event that you decide to sell your laptop or computer make sure that you completely reformat your hard drive, removing any and all traces of any data whatsoever that could compromise you, your family, or your clients if you are in business, because if they computer is resold that data is extracted that could compromise peoples identities. Reformatting a hard drive is essentially reinstalling the operating system. If you don't know how to reinstall the operating system you should have somebody else in your life do it for you. Otherwise, there are software systems you can buy and you can actually look up on the internet and search out keywords like "wipe hard drive info" in quotes and you'll find software programs you can then download and install that will reformat the hard drive for you.
How can I trace my laptop if it is lost or stolen?
In the event that your laptop is lost or stolen, there's actually software programs that you can buy that will trace out the IP address of that laptop when it's hooked up to the internet. So, for example, there are GPS type programs, that when you install them, if the laptop is lost or stolen, you can actually contact this company that you bought the software from. You log into a server and from that point on they actually trace the location of that laptop the moment that it's connected to the internet. Some of them will silently remove all that data and even encrypt it in the mean time so you can actually get back all the information that you lost.
How can I prevent my laptop or computer from being stolen by identity thieves?
Consider that our computers are being used for our financial center. We're using it for on-line banking, to balance our books. We're using it to access the internet, to buy products and services over the internet. As a result our computers are being used for just about all of our financial transactions and we're storing a lot of proprietary data on there. If someone was to actually steal your computer from your home or office, what would the consequences be for you? Obviously, it could be some form of identity theft. So I always recommend that a computer is always in some form of a locked room in a locked home or office, preferrably alarmed. And the computer itself be bolted via some type of a cable device to that desk making it that much more difficult for a thief to remove that device, that computer, from your home or your office. There are numerous companies out there that offer hardware to actually lock down your PC making it very difficult for a thief to remove it from your home or office. By searching on-line terms such as security locks for computers, computer lock and so on, you should be able to find numerous small businesses offering these solutions.
