Risks

• Losing data that hasn’t been backed up.
• Thieves gain access to private information and files.
• Laptops are dropped or damaged.
• Fire, flood or accidental damage.

Keep computers under lock and key

• Keep doors and windows locked.
• Secure door locks.
• Don’t leave a spare house key under the mat.
• Make a note of computer serial numbers.
• Use a security marker to label your computers and other high-value items.
• Consult with your insurance company or your local crime prevention officer for additional security advice.
• Keep private paper records, such as passports, under lock and key if possible.
• Consider using a computer locking cable to make it harder to steal.
• Consider a burglar alarm.
• Be careful about who you let into your home.

Take special care of laptops

• Backup your data. (See Make regular backups).
• Get a security lock and use it if you leave your laptop unattended.
• Set a boot password. Most laptops have the ability to set a password so that an unauthorised user cannot start the computer. Consult the manual that came with the computer for more information.
• For more security use encryption (see Use encryption).
• Watch what you put on the laptop. Non-existent personal information can’t be stolen.
• Get a padded bag. Many laptops are broken simply by dropping them.
• Avoid bags that look like laptop bags, for example a bag with a manufacturer’s logo on it.
• Be security minded. Keep your laptop in sight whenever possible. When it is unattended, keep it hidden or physically locked down. Carry laptops in hand luggage when flying – don’t check them in. Don’t leave them with hotel porters for safe keeping.
• Internet browsers usually allow you to remember passwords for websites so you don’t need to enter them if you go back. Don’t do this on laptops – enter the password every time manually.
• Never leave a laptop on a car seat, even if you are in the car.
• We recommend setting a password for the master Administrator account in Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7. To do this, go to the User Accounts section in the Control Panel.
• Particularly with laptops, take additional steps to ensure that sensitive data you access on the internet, such as online banking sites and payment services are kept hidden.  Many Internet browsers now have 'Private Browsing' features.  When turned on at the click of a button, your browser limits the amount of personal information stored to your computer's memory.  This makes it more difficult for a thief or cyber criminal to find your personal details.  The latest versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Opera have this feature.
• If you use a laptop outside of your home or work, on holiday for example, consider using technology built into many laptops that allows the user to create a 'digital key' and save it to a USB thumb drive or memory card.  Once created the user then has to plug in this 'digital key' to gain access to the laptop.  Check with the manual that came with your laptop for more information.

What to do if your PC or Laptop is stolen

• Everything you do on your computer, from banking to reading email is recorded in memory.  A thief would potentially be able to access this information, including usernames and passwords and possibly use it fraudulently aginst you.  As soon as you can after the theft use another computer to change any passwords for services that you use online, in particular online banking, online payment services, auction sites and webmail such as gmail, hotmail or yahoo mail.  If you use your laptop to access work email, inform your IT department so that they can monitor your account for any unusual activity.  For more see Report a lost or stolen computer.

Other advice

• Consider buying a shredder to destroy personal information before you throw it away.
• If your home is at risk from flooding consider locating computers out of danger on upper floors or on top of desks rather than on the floor.
• Invest in a hand held fire extinguisher suitable for use with electronics.
• Keep offsite backups of your data as an insurance against a flood or fire that destroys both the computer and any backup stored on site.
• Get proper insurance and maintenance contracts.

More information

• UK Government advice on crime prevention.
• Home Office advice on reporting crime.