What to Do Before Packing Your Laptop in a Test Bag
If you’re packing your laptop in a check-in bag, the best advice is don’t . From lost luggage to lost data, a lot can go wrong. However, with the looming threat of a laptop port ban , you may not have a choice. Whatever the circumstances, you want your laptop to be safe as you drop your bag and continue on your way.
The Department of Homeland Security has already banned electronics flights to the United States from 10 airports in eight Muslim-majority countries in North Africa and the Middle East. The ban was reportedly imposed due to intelligence reports that terrorists have learned to design bombs that can hide in portable electronic devices such as laptops (although it is unclear how to allow them in checked baggage will be safer given that checked baggage still on the plane).
If anything, DHS Secretary John Kelly said last week that some new airport security regulations will be implemented in a few months and weeks.
If you’re going to check your laptop – or if you’re forced to – here’s how to keep it safe.
Back up your data
Let’s be clear: you should back up your data even if you’re not traveling. One day your hard drive fails, and if you do a backup, you don’t have to deal with the unpleasant feeling of losing documents, photos, and anything else you store on your computer’s hard drive.
We’ve walked you through how to do this, but it’s pretty easy to get started. You can back up your data online using a program such as Crashplan or Backblaze , for example. If you don’t like this idea, you can always use an external hard drive and your computer’s own backup media .
Once you’ve properly backed up, consider how to minimize the size of your data as much as possible by reinstalling or reinstalling your laptop with a lightweight version. As former Lifehacker editor Alan Henry said :
The best way to make sure that you don’t lose important data or that someone else can’t access it while you are using free Wi-Fi at the airport is to not have it on your computer at all. It also makes you less vulnerable to spyware or other malware – if anything is found, uninstall the system and reinstall it. You have nothing to lose. Travel light.
You can also store whatever you need on an external hard drive and just throw it in your carry-on – if that’s still allowed, of course.
Delete confidential information
If you don’t want to reimage your entire system, just make sure you delete all sensitive information. Log out of websites (including social media), remove autofill data, and remove any other irrelevant information.
Some password managers will do this for you and for the sites you have saved. 1Password recently added the ability to travel abroad for its cloud subscribers. It removes all non-essential information stored on your devices and you can choose what information you want to keep on which device. Everything else is erased and stored in your online database. LastPass has its own travel feature that restricts access from certain countries.
Encrypt your information
Take a step forward in your security and encrypt your information too . Obviously, you want to lock your laptop with a password, but encrypting your laptop makes it much more difficult for anyone to access it. However, encrypting your entire drive can be tricky too , so you can simply encrypt the files on your computer. Anyway, here are some of our readers’ favorite encryption tools . Just be sure to write down your password in a safe place, because if you lose it, you won’t be able to log into your hard drive or files.
Also, avoid working with an administrator account to log into your files, and make sure that this account is protected by a completely different password. Set your laptop to lock automatically when idle or asleep. So it will also need a password to run it again.
All of this might seem overkill, especially when you consider that DHS has stated that it does not collect our data , but it doesn’t take much effort to block this additional layer of security.
Keep your luggage safe
You don’t want strangers to access your full laptop baggage, so get a TSA approved lock .
There is always a chance that the airline will lose your luggage, lock and all that. Airlines have a record low rate of mishandled baggage, but you probably don’t want to risk it with your laptop. You can use the baggage tracker to keep track of your bags. The tracker will definitely not stop the airline from throwing your bag on the wrong flight. However, if your bag gets lost and your laptop goes with it, the tracker will be easier to find. Of course, there are location tracking software that you can also use with your laptop: Prey , LoJack for laptops, and Find My Mac, just to name a few.
You can also put your laptop in a tamper- proof bag (and some airports will do this for you). TSA still has the right to open it if they want to, but at least you will know if your laptop has been tampered with.
Prevent Damage to Your Laptop
If you’ve ever looked at a baggage handler at work, you know that your bag gets tossed around a lot along the way, so make sure your laptop itself is safe in your baggage. Sure, a good laptop sleeve or sleeve will probably work for this, but you can also wrap it up with something soft to keep it nice and soft.
When I travel with something fragile, I wrap it in clothes that I take with me and then put it in the middle of my bag to insulate it. An anti-tamper case or bag can also help protect your laptop from anything that could leak or explode in your luggage.
If you need to check your laptop, it’s obviously important to keep your data safe, but remember to also protect it from bumpy rides and the occasional sunscreen bottle.