Or lost?
I often talk about computer failures of various sorts and how to prepare for the crash that happens just before you save your document to disk, the failure that renders a disk completely unreadable and unrecoverable, or the computer that dies a true death, taking all of your data with it.
But by being prepared for that, you’re only ready for half of a somewhat-related disaster.
What happens when your computer disappears?
Prepare for loss
If your computer or phone is ever stolen or lost, two things are at risk: your device and your data. Backups protect your files. Encryption keeps strangers out of your personal information. On your phone, use a PIN and turn on remote wipe.
It’s about more than travel
Typically, we think of a traveler losing their laptop. Perhaps they left it at the security checkpoint1, maybe it was stolen out of a hotel room, or possibly something else happened. The bottom line is that it’s gone.
But that same scenario can play out elsewhere with the same result. Electronics are a popular target for theft and burglary at home and at work. Perhaps you take your portable computer to school or a local coffeehouse from time to time, where it can also be stolen or left behind.
Regardless of the specifics, just about any computer can disappear, including desktops and, of course, smartphones.
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Data loss
The loss of data on the computer is perhaps most easily dealt with.
One of the ways your computer can “disappear” is to fail catastrophically. The device may physically still be present, but as it’s no longer functional, that doesn’t help. Everything on it is gone. Not all failures are this disastrous, and this one isn’t even likely, but it can still happen — and thus, you must be prepared.
That’s what backups are for.
And by being prepared with a recent backup, you’re also prepared for the loss of your computer by other means, like theft.
Replace the computer, grab your data from your backup, and life goes on.
Data theft
What most people don’t plan on is the theft of the data on their lost or stolen computer.
Be it the thief or the person they sell your hardware to, eventually your computer could come into the hands of someone who might know what they’re doing: someone who might start poking around and discovering your data.2 Depending on how you use your computer and what you have stored on it, that could be a Very Big Deal.
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This is where encryption comes in. If you have sensitive personal data on your computer, especially if it’s on a portable computer of some sort, use encryption such as BitLocker or a tool such as VeraCrypt.
I recommend that you not rely on password protection in applications such as Word or Excel. While they have improved in recent years, I believe they remain useful only to keep honest people honest. If an intruder is determined, such tools are often easily cracked.
Security-conscious businesses and government agencies rely on whole-disk encryption, and given how easy it is to turn it on these days, I recommend it.
One key element, however, is to make sure you sign out of your computer when not using it. Whole disk encryption really only secures the machine when you’re signed out (or if the hard disk is removed and examined elsewhere). Not using standby and hibernation and actually shutting down your computer accomplishes this.
Mobile devices
Checking email, uploading photos, using social media — mobile is everywhere. It’s often the primary device for many people.
And naturally, mobile devices are lost and stolen.
Mobile devices are a tad harder to secure. The single most important thing you can do for a mobile device you carry with you regularly is to lock it with a PIN (or in some cases, a swipe pattern, fingerprint, or face ID). Yes, you’ll need to tap out that code each time you wake up your phone, but that’s a small inconvenience compared to giving a thief quick and easy access to the treasure trove of personal data many people keep in their phones.
In addition, both Apple (via iCloud‘s Find My) and Android (through Google’s Find Hub) support remote wiping of lost mobile devices, if set up beforehand. There are also several apps that instruct a mobile device to wipe or self-destruct on receipt of a specially formatted text message.
Do this
The risks of losing a computer or mobile device are easy to overlook. Inconvenience and data loss are the first things that come to mind, but understanding that your data could end up in the hands of a stranger is well worth considering.
And well worth preparing for.
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Footnotes & References
1: Something like 12,000 laptops are lost each week at airports. I have a hard time understanding how that can be. When I travel, my laptop is my life! 🙂
2: Fortunately, my understanding is that this isn’t all that common. But the fact is that it can and does happen.
