How to Protect your Laptop, MacBook or MacBook Pro So you’ve just spent a small fortune on your new laptop? Money that could have gone toward gold plating your dog, cat or toddler. Although you missed on on the gold plating, you do have a wonderful new shiny laptop. All is well with the world – or is it? Your expensive purchase will soon be non-shiny, scratched, dinted and essentially wrecked. Yes, really, laptops are fragile beasts and don’t take well to abuse, * emotional or physical. No name-calling or jamming a Subway into your laptop keyboard; both of these are bad. Remember this. How do you stop the death of your laptop? You can’t. The enraged gibbon of time will eventually pounce on your purchase and ultimately destroy it. That’s a fact. But I have great news, fellow believers, you can delay the gibbon of time, and this is a helpful guide on how. With the proper protections and precautions, those simian fingers can be kept away from your pride and joy. These precautions will extend the life of your laptop and stop Swiper the fox from swiping it while you’re busy consulting map, climbing big red hill or swimming turtle-head river. First, some basics. Purchase your laptop using a credit card. If you don’t have one, steal one or make the numbers up. use a relatives or friends with permission. (Revised by legal squirrels.) That way your purchase is covered by all kinds of guarantees provided by your credit card company. Just ask them what benefits you get from doing this, you’ll be amazed. Check that your home insurance covers your laptop, covers accidental damage and is ‘old for new.’ If you don’t have home insurance, get it. Shop around, take your time, but get it. You see that invisible elephant in the corner? Er, well, anyway, that elephant is going to knock your laptop off your desk and/or pour a drink over it as soon as he can. I see this piece as ‘under development’, if you have suggestions post them in the comments. Expect this to be updated as the gibbon of time roars on. As you might have guessed, CR is mostly aimed at Mac users. The information here can to used for all laptops though and most of the pages I link to have both PC and Mac protection available to buy. Bag: Soft Cover: Speck Canvas Sport http://www.speckproducts.com/products/by_device?device_id=9 iSkin SOHO http://www.iskin.com/soho/?cart=1202242209731275 Soft Shell: Protective Leather Case: http://www.macally.com/EN/Product/ArticleShow.asp?ArticleID=206 Hard Shell: Speck See Thru Case http://www.speckproducts.com/products/by_device?device_id=9 Keyboard: iSkin ProTouch http://www.iskin.com/protouchmb?cart=1202242209731275 Trackpad Protection: Skin Styler http://www.skinstyler.com/mac Invisible Shield http://www.invisibleshield.com/laptop/apple/macbook-pro-15-inch.php Wrist Rest Protection: BodyGuardz for Apple MacBook Pro 15″ – WRIST REST & TRACKPAD http://www.bodyguardz.com/MacBooks_s/34.htm Invisible Shield http://www.invisibleshield.com/laptop/apple/macbook-pro-15-inch.php Protection Pack http://www.marware.com/PRODUCTS/Apple-Laptop-Products Screen Protection: iProtect Micro Screen Protector (Keyboard Cover) http://www.maxupgrades.com/istore/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=124 Shaggy Mac 15.4″ MacBook Pro Laptop Screen Protector (Keyboard Cover) http://www.shaggymac.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_4&products_id=72 Notebook ScreenSavrz http://www.radtech.us/Products/NotebookScreensavRz.aspx Macalley Screen Protector http://www.macally.com/EN/Product/ArticleShow.asp?ArticleID=79 Cleaner OmniCleanz http://www.radtech.us/Products/OmniCleanz.aspx Port Protection http://www.radtech.us/Products/Portectorz.aspx

40% of laptop thefts are from the office. According to the FBI, losses due to laptop theft totaled more than $6.7 million dollars in 2005. The Computer Security Institute/FBI Computer Crime & Security Survey found the average theft of a laptop to cost a company $89,000. (Wikipedia)

Theft/Loss: FlickrBooth Auto upload pics to Flickr http://www.otierney.net/flickrbooth StuffBak http://www.radtech.us/Products/StuffBak.aspx Locks

Over 80% of the laptops on the market are equipped with a Universal Security Slot (USS)

Kensington Key or Code Cable http://us.kensington.com/html/11179.html PCGuardian Key or Code Cable http://www.pcguardian.com/products/2900_2901_2907_ez_keyed.html http://www.pcguardian.com/products/combo.html Affixing Plate http://www.pcguardian.com/products/4101_4140_miniplate_pkg.html Theft Recovery LoJack http://www.lojackforlaptops.com/ PCPhoneHome http://www.pcphonehome.com.au/products.html