Most people who have laptops will most likely be travelling with them this holiday season as they go to and from various family gatherings. Unless you are me, and I don’t take my laptop to any family functions because my crazy uncle Phil feels the need to go through his LOLCats website in its entirety. Any way, back on topic.

While having your wallet stolen can be devastating having your laptop swiped can be even worse. At least with your wallet you will only use a set amount of cash (unless you write your PIN on your ATM), your driver’s license, and a few credit cards. While it can be a pain to have everything deactivated and replaced at least the damage a thief can do is somewhat limited.

Now think about the damage someone could do if they took your laptop. The information the crook has access to can include personal documents like tax returns, family photos and videos, and possibly passwords to your online banking account if you have chosen to store them. So what steps can you take to ensure your laptop is safe?

Keep Track of Your Laptop

This one is simple. Don’t leave you laptop, not even for a second, not even if you are only a couple of feet away. I know that $7.00 bottle of soda looks really appealing while waiting at the airport and the guy selling it is three feet away but you must carry your laptop with you to go buy it. Sure, you may look and feel like a total dork at times when it appears you and your computer are conjoined but what would you rather do? Look like a silly nerd (I don’t need a computer to look like this) or spend the next weeks/months worried about what the person who took it will do with the stuff they find. Also, if you are having to leave it at a relatives house and you are unsure how safe it is get a security cable and lock it to something, just make sure that something isn’t easily carried off. Just do what you need to do to keep your valuable data safe.

Register It

I am terrible at registering things. I can’t and won’t be bothered to mail in a 3×5 card or click a few buttons to register something, which is just plain dumb on my part. If you register your laptop you can then report it stolen to the manufacturer which flags it if it is ever sent in for maintenance. Remember, thief are for the most part dumb and could potentially do this. With that said, take two minutes to register your laptop and increase the chances of getting it back.

Don’t Leave it in Your Car

If you are one of those lucky folks who get to take a road trip to visit family make sure you do not leave your laptop out where it can be seen by people walking buy, even if it is in a bag. Either put it in your trunk, or as I mentioned above, carry it with you. While it may look odd carrying a laptop around a relatives funeral at least you know where it is and it is safe. Trust me, Uncle Phil would have wanted it that way.

Personalize It

By personalize I don’t mean put stickers all over it. Either find a way to etch your name and address into it or have a metal plate engraved with that information and attach it to your computer. There are many tamper proof asset tags available, you can find a few examples here.

LoJack Your Laptop

While this will not prevent your laptop from getting stolen it will help greatly in finding if it ever does. There are many solutions available that will help you track your laptop. A few include MyLaptopGPS, LoJack for Laptops, and LocateMyLaptop.com. There are just a few options, there are many more to choose from.

The holidays are about spending time with family and loves ones (not necessarily one and the same) and because of that it is all the more reason to bring your laptop along so that you can pretend you are busy doing something instead of talking to people.

What other ways do you know to keep your laptop safe? Besides bear macing anyone who even looks at it funny. Please share in the comments.