How to Recover Stolen Laptops
More than 700,000 laptops were stolen in 2005, and laptop theft has been increasing 20 percent every year, according to PC Guardian. Data lost when a laptop is stolen can fall into the wrong hands, and confidential data found on the laptop can lead to company lawsuits. A loss of profits might also occur when vital information related to sales or the company product is lost. The good news is that there are several methods of safeguarding laptops from theft and recovering stolen laptops.
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Instructions
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Purchase computer tracing software. Several programs use GPS technology to track down the exact location of a laptop. Inspire Trace and PC PhoneHome send you an email with the laptop's location. Computrace calls designated phone numbers if the laptop is stolen, provides the location, saves your data to an external hard disk and promises to reimburse the laptop's cost up to $1,000. XTool Laptop Tracker both provides a GPS location and uses the laptop's camera to take a picture of the thief. One free program, Laptop Alarm, can set off an alarm through the speakers if the laptop is stolen.
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Install free file-encryption software. This ensures that sensitive data will not be recoverable by those who do not have the password. Crucial data can be backed up on a flash drive, an external hard drive, a zip drive or an online backup service such as Carbonite.
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If you want to be absolutely certain that no one else can access the data on your laptop, consider installing data-destruction software, which erases data when the software detects that the IP address of the computer has been changed.
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Place a sticker on your laptop with a phone number so that anyone finding it can return it to you.
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Install the program LogMeIn. If the thief does not reformat the laptop, you will be able to remotely access it and possibly collect enough information to track the thief down. One important piece of data is the new IP address assigned to the thief by the Internet provider. Websites such as whatsmyip.com can help you find out what the new IP address is.
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Collect as much data as possible that might help a property recovery detective find your laptop.
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