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Safeguard Your Laptop When Traveling

SecurityTip: Take special security precautions when traveling with a laptop.

  1. Keep your laptop in your possession at all times.
    Yes, you’ve seen this tip before, but it’s worth repeating.
  2. Do not store confidential data on the laptop.
    Keep confidential, personal, and/or proprietary information on a removable storage device.  Do not store a removable drive or other storage device with your laptop. Keep your removable storage device in a safe place at all times.
  3. Be especially cautious in certain locations where theft might likely occur.
    Never leave your laptop out of your sight, even for a moment. Busy places such as bus and train stations, airports, offices, conference and seminar centers, restaurants, hotels, college campuses, phone booths, libraries, and hospitals are places where thieves who are on the lookout for laptops easily blend into the crowd. To go unnoticed, some thieves pose as conference attendees, delivery persons, or other familiar personnel.
  4. Carry your laptop in a nondescript carrying case, one that does not advertise it contains a laptop.
  5. Don’t leave your laptop in your hotel room.
    Leave your laptop in the hotel safe, or if that option is unavailable, leave it in your locked luggage. Beware: In some foreign countries, your laptop may not be secure in the hotel safe – it may be subject to search and seizure by local intelligence or police. When traveling to foreign countries, be sure to first check travel advisories from these two agencies: Federal Aviation Administration (http://www.faa.gov) Transportation Security Administration (http://www.tsa.gov)
  6. Keep your eye on your laptop at security checkpoint conveyor belts!
    The two people ahead of you in line at the airport security check may be thieves, working together to pull off a scam. The first of the two moves through the security check quickly, while the second delays the line using a ploy of some sort. During this delay, you put your items on the conveyor belt where they roll out of your sight. This gives the first thief the opportunity to grab your valuables off the conveyor belt as if they were his own. Be cautious! Put your laptop on the conveyor belt only when you are certain the person in front of you has picked up their own possessions and is moving away from the security check area. If there is a delay of any kind while going through the security check, keep an eye on your laptop at all times.
  7. Never check your laptop at airports. Carry it on the plane with you.
  8. Never put your laptop in overhead storage bins on planes, buses, or trains.
    While you are napping or talking to the person next to you, another person can open the overhead storage and disappear with your laptop.
  9. Never store your laptop in an airport, bus, or train station locker.
  10. Back up your data files before traveling.
    Regularly backing up your data is good practice, especially before traveling. If your laptop does get lost or stolen, at least your data won’t be lost, too.
  11. Prepare your laptop for security checkpoints.
    At security checkpoints in airports and elsewhere, you may have to show that your laptop is a working computer and not some other kind of device. Therefore, have the power cord with your or make sure that the battery is charged. If your laptop will not power up, you may not be permitted through the security checkpoint. To protect your laptop and floppy disks, ask the security guard to hand-inspect your laptop rather than have it pass through the checkpoint X-ray machine.
  12. Be aware of restrictions when you travel abroad.
    Import restrictions may cause travel delays, or worse, confiscation of your laptop. Some countries ban encrypted telecommunications traffic. Know the laws and restrictions in the destination country. If you bring a new computer into the United States, you may have to pay an import tax. To prove your laptop is not new, have your laptop’s sales receipt or insurance documentation with you. To avoid any confusion about your laptop’s status, register your laptop with U.S. Customs before traveling.

Other Laptop Security Tips

Select the links below for tips on securing your laptop computer.

  1. Implement Security Measures on New or First-Issued Laptops
  2. Safeguard Laptop Contents
  3. Secure the Wireless Laptop Connection
  4. Physically Safeguard the Laptop
  5. Secure the Laptop When Traveling
  6. Report Laptop Damage, Loss, Theft, and Security Breaches

For more information:

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