I cannot tell you how many friends, colleagues, and clients have told me that they have lost data/files that they had not backed up. A few of them have had laptops or flash drives stolen while others have had hard drives fail. Two of my friends have had their laptops stolen in the airport or on the airplane. It is so easy to look away for just a moment. That moment is long enough for the right opportunist to swipe your valuable item or items.

After hearing about these experiences, I’ve become more cautious about traveling with my laptop and flash drives. I think that sometimes we fail to remember how much personal information is stored on our flash drives, especially. We usually think about how much is on our laptops that we could not do without, but our flash drives are often overlooked. I have not been very consistent with my flash drive backups. I think most people do not even back up their drives.

In light of the summer travel season, I thought it might be good to do a reminder list of travel do’s and don’ts. If possible, it is best to leave any items at home. If it is not possible to travel without these items, we should all follow a few cautious rules:

1. Before you depart, make sure you have made a backup of all important files. Also, remove any files that are not absolutely necessary for you to take with you. Make your laptop or other item easily identifiable by placing a large sticker or other marking on it.

2. Clear out the cache, history and any other items that could store your information. Make sure you have a strong password on your accounts, too.

3. Be extra vigilant at the transit or airport check-in and security stations. Retrieve your laptop as quickly as possible after you pass through a security check.

4. Store your laptop or other item close to you. If you are on an airplane, it is best not to put the item in the overhead bin.

5. If you need to leave your item in your hotel room, lock it in the in-room safe, if possible. Do not leave your item unattended if you are driving a rental car.

I hope you all have a safe summer travel season! Don’t be a target! Taking a few precautions ahead of time and during your travel can save you big headaches!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 at 11:30 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.