How to Prepare a Bug Out Laptop Kit
Can you imagine being away from your computer for an extended period of time? No internet, no email, no funny jokes, no games to play? Many people have found themselves in this position when the unexpected happens. In the event of a natural disaster, terrorist event or a bird flu pandemic, having access to your computer could be a lifesaver. Are you one of the many people who have all their personal and financial records stored on their computer with no back up and no way to access them in the event of an emergency?
Because we are so wired these days, a backup laptop computer should be considered part of your essential survival gear just as much as a 3 day supply of food and extra water. You can either choose to use your existing laptop or buy a used one specifically for use in the event of an emergency.
Now you could buy one of the laptops that are made to withstand extreme conditions but that will set you back several thousand and probably isnt necessary. You can find a number of good used laptops online for a few hundred pounds. It doesnt have to be the latest and greatest, it just needs to get the job done when you need it to. A good basic laptop with a cd rom and a good battery will do the trick.
Items you will want to add will include a wireless card for accessing the internet. While your internet access may be down you may be able to find a hot spot for access. Most laptops will have a built-in modem, if not you will want to add a modem card also. Cell phone connectors so you can access the internet via your cell phone. You may need to add internet access to your cell phone plan. Modem and network cables, you need to be able to plug and play. Power cable and ac adapters. A 12-volt adapter and converter. You could run your laptop directly off 12 volt or run it through a converter to charge the battery. A spare battery. Any other laptop accessories you feel necessary such as external mouse or even a solar battery charger. With this setup you should be able to access the internet either through dialup or wireless. You may also want a small external hard drive or flash drive. A portable printer is nice but not absolutely necessary. All needed software should be loaded along with a backup or emergency startup disk. Dont forget to load in your favorite bookmarks.
You will need to decide what files you want to take with you. You should have a backup from your main computer of your personal and financial records. Burn these to a cd. You could have another cd with your household inventory complete with digital pictures. If your house is destroyed you have a record of the contents. Consider scanning in family photos so you have a backup of those. Dont forget to have a copy of all your passwords for accessing online sites and accounts. Address book and email contacts will also be important. Any other or vital documents that would be hard to replace and are essential to recovery after any type of emergency should be backed up. Consider scanning in copies of your will, birth certificate, marriage certificate, titles and deeds. Because this information is private consider security software to encrypt it in the event it fell into prying eyes.
You may want to build a cd reference library of information that could help you survive a disaster and recover. Backwoods Home Magazine offers back issues on cd including one specific to survival. The Mother Earth News also has back issues on cd. Both would give you a wealth of survival and how to information. You might also include foreign language cds, learning cds appropriate for your childrens ages, games, if you cant live without them and to pass the time. Reference books could include encyclopedias, yellow pages for your area, maps, cookbooks and anything else that will help you out.
If you have high-speed internet access at home, get a list of dialup numbers from them for around the country or consider an AOL account or other national provider. If you cant access the internet one way you should be able to access it another way.
Now, the whole idea of this setup is to bug out with it. Grab and go in the event of an emergency. You will want to store it all in a good laptop case with easy access. For extra protection you may want to consider a waterproof case (good in the event of a flood) or a hard side case such as an aluminum one that photographers use to protect their equipment. Other family members should know where you keep it so if you are not at home and they need to leave they can grab it for you.
Before you pack it all away, test it out. Make sure your connections are working and it starts up without problems. Test it once a month and make sure the batteries are still charged. Try accessing the internet through dialup and a wireless hot spot. Work out the bugs before you need to use it in an emergency.
Having a backup bug out computer will help you when the unexpected happens and get you back on the road to recovery.
How to Keep Your Laptop Out of Thieves’ Hands
Here are six guidelines to help you avoid seeing your notebook PC disappear!
So there you are, rushing to catch a plane. You've got an important presentation on your laptop, along with sensitive company and personal information. And then, suddenly, it's gone.
Either you've lost it, or it's been stolen.
Airports and hotels are favourite places for thieves. Laptops disappear from both and that's bad enough. But often, irreplaceable data has gone with them. According to Safeware, an insurance agency specialising in insuring high-tech equipment, in the US alone 591,000 laptops vanished in 2001.
None of this has to happen to you. But you have to be extra careful today. With the increased security at airports, losing track of a laptop is easier than ever. Here are six guidelines to help you avoid seeing your notebook PC disappear or, if it does, help you find it or get a quick replacement.
Tips for Getting Through Security Checks
Oddly, some airports have collected stacks of laptops. They're left behind by harried passengers in security areas. Most are reclaimed eventually. But some people never come back for their machines.
Obviously, you've got to allow yourself plenty of time when you fly. When I travel, I carry my laptop in a backpack. There's lots of room in there, and it's inconspicuous. I see fashionable businesspeople carrying laptops in expensive cases. They're asking for trouble. Those cases say, "Laptop! Laptop! Steal me!"
Security people most likely will want to check the laptop. If possible, handle it yourself, rather than having them do it.
Don't be afraid to speak up. You don't need your machine damaged.
Be sure your battery is charged. The security people may well want to turn on the machine. Most important, don't let it out of your sight. This becomes especially difficult if you are selected for a random head-to-toe check.
Once on board your flight, put the computer safely stowed in your bag under the seat in front of you. Try to avoid putting it in the overhead bin. Others will have more access to it there.
Have Sensitive Data? Encrypt It
If you have sensitive information on your computer, consider encrypting it. If you have Windows XP, you already have the tools needed. While the thief has your machine, these extra steps will make it much more difficult to access the laptop's data.
Encryption will protect your business secrets, but it won't retrieve your data. To do that, you've got to back up your information to another computer. If you run your own server, you can easily upload files to it.
You don't have to back up everything on the laptop. Just copy the files you will need to the server. If your laptop should be stolen on your trip, you may be able to borrow a computer at your destination and download your important files. Finding time for backups is a pain, I know. But they can save you.
Make Your MP3 Player do Double-Duty
If you don't have a server, or don't want to back up to it, take a look at MP3 players. Some today have huge hard drives. They are easily hooked to a laptop through the USB or FireWire ports. The data can then be copied to the MP3 player. These things can copy any data, not just MP3s.
Trace a Stolen Laptop's Location
If your laptop does get stolen, wouldn't it be great if the system could do the high-tech equivalent of phoning home? There are programs that will report the location of a stolen laptop. They work when the laptop connects to the internet.
Security experts also say that engraving your name on the computer is helpful. That will make it more difficult to sell on so thieves may look elsewhere.
Set a System Password
Every road warrior should protect their laptop with a start-up password. This way, a system password prompt will appear each time you start your computer before Windows even begins to load. It will prohibit any access to the computer at all.
To create a system password, you'll need to access your computer's setup utility (also known as BIOS settings, which stands for "Basic InputOutput System"). Typically you do this by pressing Delete, Esc or F1 as soon as you turn on the computer. Check the manual though, as some computers are different.
Consider Laptop PC Insurance
If your laptop is expensive (and aren't they all?) you might want to insure it. Some homeowners, renters and business insurance policies don't cover computers, and if they do, there may be many conditions attached.
Today's laptops are ripe targets for thieves. If you follow these basic guidelines along with some good common sense, you won't have to give yours up.
How To Choose Quality Laptop Computer Case.
The following paragraphs summarize the basic knowledge about major factor that you should consider when choosing laptop case. The knowledge comes from direct experience of a person who is completely familiar with all the aspects. Heed the advice to avoid any negative surprises when you have to choose one. If you base what you do on inaccurate information, you might be unpleasantly surprised by the consequences. Make sure you get the whole story from reliable sources.
It can be said that today everyone has laptop computer, as since it is a type of computer that is very convenient to bring to anywhere and as a result its price is also expensive. In some case, laptop computer can cost two or three times expensive than desktop computers, so you have to make sure that you have a quality case to protect your laptop when you carry it from place to place.
Looking for rugged and durable laptop case is not an easy job. But you may have to use it because it is very important. The environment and atmosphere today are very uncertain, your laptop may be wet in heavy rain, strong sunlight, shaking on bumpy road or any other of difficult environment including sometimes it may have been destroyed by chemical agents and so on.
There is many of ordinary laptop cases available in the market but seem that they are not the one that you want because they might not be able to protect your laptop computer. These laptop computer cases generally made by soft materials and they are designed to protect laptop computer from common accident but they may not designed to protect laptop from severe and unexpected conditions such as bumps or drops. However, please consider main factors below, which suggest about what you have to consider when choosing rugged case for your laptop computers.
Firstly, you may have to see waterproof ability. Waterproof is very important qualification for good laptop computer case. It is the basic thing that all kind of laptop case should have but good quality case should have different level of waterproof ability. The good quality ones should protect your laptop in case of you drop the bag into the water, apart from protects form rain. Secondly you should look at the material that they made from the case must be made by the materials that stand to all kind of force and impact such as crushing forces. Because sometimes, you laptop may have to face this kind of situation such as it could be squeezed in a suitcase when you travel or there might be a person step on it when you dropped the case.
Do not forget to see whether if inside of the case is properly coated neatly, this is because it helps you to protect laptop computer from inside and decrease the force that harm the computer. The materials may have to have chemical resistance in order to protect the case when touched by chemical agents. It is unnecessary to look for the case that resist to all kind of chemicals because you will find no laptop case has such a qualification, but just to make sure that it resists some kind of chemicals.
Explained above is only the basic information about how to choose you laptop case, so looking for more information will help you to understand more about this issue.
How To Choose Laptop Case
If you have even a passing interest in the topic about things to consider when buy laptop case, then you should take a look at the following article. This enlightening article presents some of basic information as well as fundamental element that you can use to decide whether the laptop case is good to buy. I could confirm that the knowledge presented below can give you a real advantage. To make sure you're fully informed about this topic, it is strongly recommended that you should keep reading. However, according to loads of information about this topic somewhere else on the internet, so you may be confused by misleading information. The best way to help those who are misled is to gently correct them with the truths you're learning from the following article.
Laptop computers is now have become part of people every day life, it is expensive and need intensive maintenance and care as you have to carry your laptop and travel with you. Unfortunately, when people are buying laptop cases, they usually ignore important things to be considered. This probably due to most of laptop cases normally accompany with the laptop that they buy and they can get the laptop case for free. However, I strongly recommend that if you have more budgets available, you should buy another one to increase protection for your laptop. This is because normal laptop case could protect your computer, that's for sure! Regular cases are soft and their purpose is to help you carry the laptop while protecting it from common injuries, but not to protect it from hard bumps or drops or any others of this kind. The following details give you the important criteria that you should consider when buying laptop case. They probably not the exact guidelines that can apply to all model of laptop case, but I have gathered from the most common characteristics that good laptop case should have.
Firstly, you should consider waterproof. Water is the most important obstacle that you have to keep your laptop away from it. You have to make sure that the surface of laptop case could let the water away quickly. If possible, you can ask sale staff to test for waterproof but in most case you are not allowed to do so. Second, you should consider resistant to chemical agents. Even though there is not often that your laptop is damaged by chemical agents, unless you are the person working in environment that has chemical on daily basis. However, our laptop case may be accidentally touched with chemical agents so you should look for kind of laptop case that can protect you from them. Especially if you want to buy leather laptop case, it is also good if the leather surface is coated by waterproof and chemical resistant film. Thirdly, you have to consider the laptop case that flexible in terms of interior space. A good laptop case must keep the computer inside it in a fixed position, to not "jump" up and down, protecting it from extra hits. Here are the top three criteria that you have to consider when you buy laptop case. There should be more information about this topic but I have picked up only highlighted ones.
Have You Made the Switch from Desktop to Laptop?
Have You Made the Switch from Desktop to Laptop? What You Need to Know
If you're one of the million who have given up bulky desktop computers altogether for the sleeker, lighter, more versatile laptop, there are a few things you should consider if you haven't already.
First, because they are portable and light, laptops aren't inherently as secure as desktop computers when it comes to theft. And we're not just talking about coffee shops, airports, college campuses, and the passenger seats of cars (which is where most laptops tend to be stolen). Even if you're in the practice of leaving your laptop on your desk when you go home for the evening, your risking theft should someone break into your office suite or if a door is left unlocked. The first thing a thief would do is snatch up all the laptops. They're valuable, they resell easily, and they're easy to remove undetected.
The answer to this problem is simple. Attach a lockable laptop drawer to your desk. We found high-quality models at Versa Tables for under 120. Constructed of steel, these accessories bolt to the under side of almost any desk and allow for a laptop to be retracted under the desktop when not in use, and locked with a key. The back of the drawer has an opening to allow the laptop to be plugged in and charging overnight. While occupying your desk, simply pull the drawer out and use the laptop right thereit creates more space on your desk.
Second, back up your files. Because laptops are mobile, they are at a higher risk of being dropped, kicked when your laptop case is sitting at your feet, or of having something spilled on them. While the manufacturers of laptops are well aware of this, no piece of computerized machinery is indestructible. Back up your files more often either by copying them onto a jump drive or by emailing them to yourself.
Third, be sure to have the necessary accessories at your fingertips. We suggest an extra battery (kept charged), an approved extension cord, and outlet adapters if you plan to travel. An additional USB cable is always good in case you need to plug into a printer and lightweight headphones will allow you to use your laptop anywhere (and still hear live streaming video or DVDs) while maintaining your privacy and without disturbing others.
The last thing you need to know is that ergonomically, laptops aren't as well-designed as your desktop computer probably was. With desktops, most people now use keyboard trays that adjust to the comfortable tilt and height for the user and therefore, minimize the risk of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and other conditions caused by repetitive motion. Unfortunately, laptops pretty much just rest on your lap and if put on a desk, do not sit at the correct ergonomic height. Experts predict that with the increased use of laptops, there will be an increase in repetitive motion symptoms and potentially disabling conditions like CTS. A way to combat this is to use a laptop desk when working at home or the office. Laptop desks, often referred to as 'Laptop Carts' because of their mobility, are available on the market. Simply, they are height-adjustable carts designed to hold a laptop and allow the user to sit or stand while using them. They don't provide the same ergonomic efficiency as a keyboard at a traditional desk, but they're better than flopping down on a sofa and sitting the laptop on your lap or having to reach up to type on the laptop keyboard at a regular desk.