7 Tips to keep your Apple notebook safe
April 30, 2006
Nobody likes to think about it, but it is a fact of life that theives like notebooks. Follow these 7 tips for traveling safely with your notebook and protecting the intellectual property contained within.
1. Never leave your laptop unattended.
This may sound simple but this also includes the trunk of your car, in your luggage, or left behind in your hotel room if you are travelling.
2. Restrict Login Access to your laptop.
Ensure automatic login is turned off on your notebook. If your notebook is set to automatically login, another user can restart the computer and have instant access to your user account when the computer starts up again. Follow these directions on how to turn automatic login off with Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger.
3. Encrypt Files
Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger includes a feature called FileVault. It keeps your valuable documents safe with powerful AES-128 encryption. FileVault automatically encrypts and decrypts the contents of your home directory on the fly. Use it!
4. Change passwords often
It is hard to remember them all, but it only takes a minute, and it’s effective. Follow these directions for tips on choosing a secure password.
5. Before your laptop is stolen, take preventive measures by adding a security device.
If you leave your laptop on your desk in your office look into purchasing a Kensington cable lock. I thief is looking for a quick grab and if they notice your laptop is locked to your desk they will most likely move on to an easier target.
6. Keep a copy of your computers serial number
Ensure you have a copy of your computers serial number kept in a safe place away from your computer. If you have thrown away the box with your serial number, you can find it easily by following the directions on this page.
7.In the unfortunate event that your laptop is stolen, report it to the local police.
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26 Responses to “7 Tips to keep your Apple notebook safe”
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Another thing to do is make sure that you always have a backup of your hard drive. That way if your laptop does get stolen you at least have a backup of your data to fall back on. Just in case you don’t recover your computer.
Yes, the data is more important than the machine – same is true if your notebook dies.
I agree Andy. There is nothing worse than having a hard drive fail or having your computer stolen without a backup. The machine is replaceable but your valuable photos, music and movies, and documents are not.
Mac OS X includes a great utility that you can use to backup your drive. Check out how to do it here.
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Agreed … laptops are expensive especially the mac ones, but information is priceless. Hardware can be found / replaced / rebought, but information can’t be retreived unless proper back solutions are used
I put a startup screen on the laptop which states who it belongs to and an e-mail address for contact. This startup screen comes in at logon, and will help the computer find it’s way home if I leave it in an airport, etc.
This screen replaces “Aqua Blue.jpg” in the Computer/Librrary/Desktop Pictures
I like the startup screen idea.
I have it set that if the user fails log in, it displays a message with my contact info to call if recovered.
Tip 4 is generally bogus in my opinion. Yes, choose a good secure password, but changing passwords often only encourages you to either a). write the password down (insecure), b) chose a simple password (also insecure), c). just append a small change each time, like a number (insecure again). Choose a good password, commit it to memory. Obviously change your password if you think it’s been compromised (say someone watched you type it in a cafe, or you accidently typed it in clear text in the wrong dialogue box). Finally, do not use this password for any other services/accounts (if you have lots of other signup accounts and secure details, consider using Keychain Access.app and it’s secure note facility).
what about that utility that calls home if it gets plugged into the internet?
Don’t forget to put your name, address, phone and email on the laptop somewhere in case someone finds it. I found one on the hiway four days ago. It came off the top of someones car as they got up to speed on the hiway. Also I use the StealthSignal.com service.
A couple of other suggestions:
Modify this as appropriate and paste into a terminal window (the “sudo” at the front is to allow you to modify system files):
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow LoginwindowText ‘Reward if this computer is returned.\n Please call XXX-XXX-XXXX.’
Also, check out Undercover from http://www.orbicule.com. It will help you get your mac back if it’s stolen. (I’m a user, not affiliated with the company)
[...] Keep your Mac(Book) safe [...]
What Gary said. If the threat you’re concerned about is someone you don’t know stealing your laptop, changing your password often is pointless.
Yes, what Gary said. See this short essay why changing passwords frequently is an obsolete practice from decades ago:
http://www.cerias.purdue.edu/weblogs/spaf/general/post-30/
I think they should add the iAlertU program to this list as it sets off an alarm and flashing screen if the laptop is moved at all, handy if say you were in Starbucks and needed to get your order and wanted to just leave your laptop there for a second. Just arm the computer and if anyone even bumps it the alarm goes off. (Personal experience)
Also another handy way of keeping people out of your computer is getting a securikey from Griffen Tech. Just unplug the usb dongle to lock and encrypt your computer and then plug it back in to unlock, just like a real key.
I’ve always been a little wary of FileVault. If you forget your password, say goodbye to all your data. FileVault also makes it a little more difficult to make a “clean” backup, not to mention plenty of other strange issues. I would suggest staying away from FileVault.
Also, when you’re not using your laptop, keep Bluetooth turned off. Otherwise, your sleeping laptop that you think is safely in your bag or locked in your car is actually beaconing it’s presence to any thief that cares to detect it.
- Eric.
Really? I didn’t think that Bluetooth did anything when the machine is sleeping.
Apple’s Open Firmware Password utility protects a computer at a low level, blocking access via Target Disk Mode, Single User Mode, from an optical disc, and various other nefarious means a thief might try to access your data. It definitely gives me peace of mind.
More info is at .
P.S. It could give you pause if you attempt one of the blocked actions when you’re so tired that your brain isn’t firing on all cylinders, and you forget that you have it running! =8-0
Sorry, the URL in my previous post didn’t display. It’s article #106482 on Apple’s support site.
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I agree with Lewis. I am also wary of FileVault.
Just read about new tracking/recovery software (Undercover) from Orbicule. It is a Tiger only application (OS 10.4.x) It is a Mac only Universal application. I like their pricing philosophy. – No annual fees. I would go for the family pack (covers 5 computers) It sounds pretty cool and at first blush seems to cover most theft attempt situations. Comments? Or has Anyone had experience with the company or software? > http://orbicule.com/undercover/index.html
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