10 Things to Do When Your Computer is Stolen

Combating Computer Theft

No one wants to think about someone breaking into their home and stealing personal belongings but it happens every single day. Until today I was a little lackadaisical about the home security system we have; if I forgot to set it when I left I wasn't all that worried. I came home today to find computers, televisions, DVD players and about 400 movies gone. Oh, they were nice about it, they left all the cords for the computers and didn't bother with the bulky monitors.

I started thinking about what someone could do with my CPU and laptop. The things that were stored on it, information left on browsers and personal contacts that could be accessed through email servers. Yahoo gives you the option to save your password for two weeks so you don't have to log in each and every time you go to the page. Take it from me, electing not to do that will save you about 10 seconds but if your computer is ever stolen and someone decides to see what's on the hard drive and internet browsers, it could mean a whole world of trouble.

1. Contact the police. You will need police reports for insurance claims and even though I didn't have my alarm system on, some of the equipment will be able to be replaced because it was added to the policy.

2. Set your internet browsers to erase passwords when you close the browser. That might cost you some time when you are logging in but take 30 seconds to imagine what someone could do if they accessed your Epinions account and decided to look for your personal information one sites you may have shopped at.

3. Back up your files. I had almost all of my reviews saved in files with the HTML codes so I could easily add them to the bottom of reviews. I was pretty lucky that I had backed the files up about a week ago but now I have to go and buy a Zip drive to get the information off of the discs.

4. Consider using a system password. While experienced thieves might be able to crack it, you average crack head won't be able to.

5. Keep two email accounts and transfer the contact information between the two on a regular basis so you can get to names, phone numbers, accounts and contacts if someone gets into your main email and changes the password.

6. If you use any type of instant message program change the passwords for them and ask your online friends if they saw your account on after the theft. That will be one small indication as to whether or not the person that stole it was trying to get to your personal information.

7. Think about bolting your CPU to your desk or the floor. If it is inside a case you can drill holes in the bottom and secure it to something. It might not make it theft proof but it will make it that much harder for someone to take it. Time is of the essence with robberies and anything that will make their job harder is worth it.

8. For laptops, don't leave them out in plain view. Put them in a closet, under the bed or even inside a plain box in a closet. If a thief doesn't see it, he can't steal it.

9. Hit the pawn shops with your information, pictures, serial numbers and any information you have about the things that were stolen. The police can help you out with that but it could take them weeks to get even the most basic of things circulated.

10. If you have an alarm system, use it whenever you leave the house. I planned on being out for about twenty minutes but got sidetracked. That can happen easily and when it does, its usually when something bad like this is going to happen.

Dealing with a robbery is bad but thinking about the things that people could have access to on a computer or laptop will make your skin crawl. I have only myself to blame for not setting the alarm. When the police officers saw the dogs sitting in the kitchen they asked me if they were guard dogs. They are but at the time they were in one of the bedrooms because they had decided to make a meal out of a couch cushion. For all I know they were in there sleeping and any noises they heard could have easily been someone in the family walking around or going up and down the steps.

The next time you go to exit your browser think long and hard about the sites you have visited, passwords you elected to have saved and any online transactions. Would you want that information in the hands of someone that could steal your identity?