It is not exaggerating to say that laptops have become an integral part of day-to-day living. They offer so much convenience for being portable computing devices. As they give the connectivity outside of the office, they enable people to carry their work along with them off their offices thus becoming extremely valuable resource for employees as well as employers.

But there is a sad twist to the tale too, the portability of these laptops also makes it easy and prized catch for the thieves. According to an estimate made by an insurance company, as many as 500,000 laptops become victims of laptop theft every year in the United States alone.

How to prevent laptop theft

Having known the risk of laptop thefts (we otherwise know what it means losing a laptop- not just the physical loss of the device but the system gets accessed and your personal information and other details stored in the laptop will be misused to give you enough pain) what could one do to prevent the theft of it?

Are Laptop locks fool proof security solutions

The cable locks has been the most popular means of computer security devices and these are also the cheapest means to effectively deter casual thieves. A security cable is attached to the laptop and the end of it is tied to an immobile object, say a bench or a desk or even a wall.

The effort of physically securing the laptop using laptop lock is enough to stop a thief from running away with your laptop. But there are a few considerations to laptop locks:

You need to figure if your laptop has Universal Security Slot (USS). But about three-quarters of the laptops come with the USS which is a small opening on the side or rear of the laptop where in the laptop lock can be used to the chassis of the laptop. In majority of laptops that feature the USS a lock figure or a lock is embossed near the slot, so just look for the slot or even the picture of a lock and you can go ahead using it.

How about laptop alarms

Many laptop lock and security companies have come up with the alarms. These are especially great in crowded places as in at airport lounges, trains, public places, etc. wherein use of the laptop locks isn’t possible. But wait, there are some pitfalls of using laptop alarms; the false alarms triggered by interference factors are huge drawback. Furthermore if you should be in a noise free zone, the alarms become annoyance.

Low profile laptop locks become ideal option in such cases when you got to take laptops to public places. Several laptop lock companies make combination versions of the keys and purchasing them online makes it convenient option.

Remember laptop locks are not 100% thief proof. Use your common sense and have an eye on your device. Keep it password protected. Have it registered with the maker and take note of the serial number for your reference. Use secure browser software to restrict unauthorized user access.