PC Gamer Presents - PC Hardware Handbook - May 2018

Protect your tech

FEATURE

bearing in mind that it’ll only provide a

minimal degree of protection.

DIY SOLUTIONS

If you’re a developer as opposed to a

user, you might want to consider

creating your own anti-theft utilities

and devices. We’ve already seen that

software-only laptop alarms are few

and far between and most of those that

do exist only operate under Windows.

Still, there’s some benefit in having an

extra layer of protection, even if it’s not

100 per cent effective. So how about

writing your own alarm? Since this will

cost you nothing at all except your time,

it’s worth considering.

The advantage in writing your own

alarm is that you can decide exactly

how you’d like it to operate. Be

prepared to be innovative. Some

features, such as sounding if the power

supply is unplugged, are surely

essential, but there are other useful

things you might choose to add. For

example, you might find that certain

patterns of Wi-Fi signal strength are

indicative of the laptop being moved, as

opposed to someone just walking

between it and the access point. If so,

this might provide a means of detecting

theft of your laptop, even if it wasn’t

connected to mains power.

An alternative is to detect motion

directly. While nearly all smartphones

contain the accelerometers that would

permit this, they are not nearly as

ubiquitous in laptops. Some products,

You could use an ordinary backpack of

the sort you might take on a hike, but a

special laptop backpack might be more

appropriate, because they’re designed

to hold a laptop of a particular size and

have plenty of compartments for

accessories and documents. You can

easily pay over £100 for such a

backpack, but we recommend opting

for a much cheaper one so it’s not as

conspicuous. These are widely available

from several suppliers. With laptop

backpacks now fairly common, their

stealth value is not as great as it once

was, but a thief will still find it more

difficult to take a backpack from your

back than a case from your hand.

Next, think about the situation when

you’re using your equipment, most

notably your laptop, in a public place

such as an airport lounge, railway

station, coffee shop or university library.

It would be rare for a laptop to be

stolen while you’re actually using it,

although you should be careful about

leaving a phone in view. After all, it only

takes a momentary lapse in your

attention for someone to walk off with

any such small items. The main risk to

your laptop, however, is if you need to

take a break,

perhaps to buy a coffee. It’s important

to recognise that your insurance

company might not reimburse you if

leave your laptop unattended – and if it

belongs to your employer, you might

find yourself having to answer some

very difficult questions from your boss.

Of course, the safest piece of advice

that we can give is to never leave your

laptop unattended, even if you only

intend to be away for a very short time.

That’s not always possible though, even

if you just need a short trip to the loo,

and in any case you might not want to

appear neurotic (Looking neurotic is

better than losing your laptop, but we

have to be realistic). This being the case,

how about carrying out a risk

assessment to come up with your own

set of rules?

You might decide, for example, that

you will never leave your laptop

unattended in an airport, on a train, or

in a coffee shop or bar (and that really

is the only sensible option in these

places). If you’re in the university

library, you might decide that you’d be

prepared to ask someone to watch it for

you, as long as you’re not going to be

away for more than two minutes. This

is also an instance in which you might

decide to use a software alarm,

ENCRYPT SENSITIVE DATA

Losing a laptop could deny you access to

important data, at least until you can access

a backup, but if sensitive data falls into the

wrong hands it could be even more costly. An

obvious precaution is not to store sensitive

information on your portable devices unless

you really need to access it when you’re away

from home. If it is necessary to store that

data when you are on the move, though, it

would be wise to encrypt it. Choosing an ideal

solution is a major topic in its own right.

QUICK GUIDE

Below

Security

cables, like

this one from

Kensington,

are ideal for

deterring

casual laptop

theft

IT’S IMPORTANT TO RECOGNISE THAT YOUR

INSURANCE COMPANY MIGHT NOT REIMBURSE

YOU IF YOU LEAVE YOUR LAPTOP UNATTENDED