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Community Newsletter: Q&A: My laptop was stolen, what concerns should I have?
- 8/23/07 4:58 PM
Stiolen Lap Top possible identity theft
by rob_bernshaw - 8/7/07 6:57 PM In reply to: My laptop was stolen, what concerns should I have? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi Dave, I know it is a great shock to come back to your room and find it has been broken into. I am sorry to hear that this has happened to you. Normally hotels have a leave items in room at own risk policy which is not much help I know at this time for you. Hotels and motels also have safes that valable items can be locked up and the hotel will be responsible for those items no questions asked. Usually staff are bondable and are accountable for a lot that happens in the rooms especially if they happened to leave the room open after cleaning it. For the identity theft if you have passworded access to your harddrives with a login screen every time the laptops are booted up there should not be an issue with identity theft, as there will be no access to your files or data. I know the loss of years of data is a great loss in itself but if you were able to back up the data to a separate hard drive or usb key than that loss would be minimal. These are some things to think about for future laptops and trips. Have a great day and hope everything is getting better for you now.
What was your computer?
by KevinChung - 8/7/07 8:46 PM In reply to: My laptop was stolen, what concerns should I have? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
If it was a Dell, you need to contact them immediately!!! Dell has this Service-Tag system. If you have registered the computer with them, contact them and advise them that the computer is stolen. If the thief connect the computer to the internet, the authority can track them down. I'm not sure if HP does that, but I'm very sure Dell does that.
That's pretty scary.
by Igiveup2 - 8/8/07 12:38 AM In reply to: My laptop was stolen, what concerns should I have? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
First of all, Dave, let me say that that truly sucks. But it's also a reminder that it could happen to any of us.
Unfortunately, hotel thefts aren't that uncommon. That's implicitly acknowledged by the industry when they provide room safes or security storage behind the desk. I'm a little unsure of the hotel's liability. It would be governed by state law.
The basics of security are physical security and password protection.
A security cable is a good idea for anyone using a laptop in a public place. It will deter casual theft, but it can be defeated by a thief with enough time and the right tool. It also won't protect you if your laptop is packed for transport. It's a good idea to disguise your laptop's carrying case if there's any question about the security of your environment.
The first line of defense if your unit is stolen is password protection. It may or may not be enough, depending on the strength of your password and the sophistication of whoever steals the computer. You can gain a lot of protection with a strong password, i.e. following the recommended procedure of recommended length, no complete words, mixing upper and lower case, numbers, and special characters. Weak passwords are surprisingly common.
It's also a good idea to set your computer to lock on sleep. A password doesn't do much good if it's defeated because the computer wasn't completely powered down when stolen.
Under no circumstances use the autologin feature for anything but the most casual websites.
The second line of defense for critical information is encryption. There's a variety of free and low cost software available. Do some research to find the functionality that suits you. Do you want to encrypt individual files or entire disk volumes? Do you want encryption automated or manual? Do you want your encrypted files to be invisible?
Your experience reminds us of another reason to back up to an external hard drive. Critical information can be kept in a folder that is deleted after use, and retrieved from the external hard drive as needed. A digital shredder will take file deletion one step further and eliminate all traces of data in the disk space of the deleted file. Encryption software also allows encryption of the entire external drive.
Ouch
by medicman47 - 8/8/07 6:55 AM In reply to: My laptop was stolen, what concerns should I have? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The bad news first. If the thieves are semi-computer literate, your info is now theirs. It depends on how determined their attempts to gain the info are, if each piece is password protected, if they have a good hacking program or dedicated hacking computer, etc.
Now, the good news. Although it is cold comfort, most thieves, not all, are idiots. If they were smart, they wouldn't have to steal. They aren't looking for your info, they are usually just looking to make a quick score. They grab your laptops and then sale them to people on the street, pawnshops, dealers, etc. If you are lucky and have the serial numbers AND filed a police report AND they sold it to a pawnshop, there is an excellent chance that your laptops will be recovered by the police.
To help protect your info in the future, I would recommend a bios password. This password makes it considerably more different to get into windows. In fact, short of some serious hacking or luck, that alone may stop them. I don't believe there is anything out there that can't be hacked by a determined hacker though.
Finally, the hotel probably has a disclaimer that "they are not responsible for items left in your room". However, once you explain to them that they are going to get a lot of bad press or be sued for negligence, most of the nicer hotels will cave in and cover your losses. The hotel industry is cut-throat and a little bad press has seen more than a few hotels close down from the lack of business. (My wife manages a resort hotel and confirms this). IMPORTANT: Do not threaten to send this letter of yours JUST to local papers, most business comes from out of town. Let them know that it will be posted on every travel website and e-mailed to every travel agent you can find. I would also advise against letting them preview the letter. Asking an attorney for guidance is also a good idea.
I hope this helps!
A Word of Caution
by phantomsoul - 8/8/07 7:37 AM In reply to: Ouch by medicman47If you do make a complaint with the press or somebody like that, be absolutely sure that you don't lie or make any false claims, or else the hotel might be able to sue you for slander and destruction of character. There's often a fine line between what's acceptable and what's not, that often has to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. You may want to consult an attorney for more details on this.
Many states also have laws which protect the hotels as well, often limiting their liability in incidents just like this. You may be able to recover some compensation for the equipment, but it's really the potentially leaked information in any files and website logins you had on the computer that you should focus on -- especially any saved logins to financial institutions, VPN connections to your job, and things like that.
my answer
by LAWAL-AKINKUNMI - 8/18/07 9:01 AM In reply to: A Word of Caution by phantomsoulA Word of Caution
by phantomsoul - 8/8/07 7:37 AM
In reply to: Ouch by medicman47
If you do make a complaint with the press or somebody like that, be absolutely sure that you don't lie or make any false claims, or else the hotel might be able to sue you for slander and destruction of character. There's often a fine line between what's acceptable and what's not, that often has to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. You may want to consult an attorney for more details on this.
Many states also have laws which protect the hotels as well, often limiting their liability in incidents just like this. You may be able to recover some compensation for the equipment, but it's really the potentially leaked information in any files and website logins you had on the computer that you should focus on -- especially any saved logins to financial institutions, VPN connections to your job, and things like that.
adobe 6
by giovaso - 8/8/07 10:33 AM In reply to: My laptop was stolen, what concerns should I have? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
My system is window XP professional sp2.
Most of the times I received e mail with attachment (pdf files) and I need to make changes on the text and/or number. I cant change them there is any way you can help me.
Thanks
Giovanni
Post on different question.
by artek-studio - 8/8/07 3:31 PM In reply to: adobe 6 by giovasoGiovaso,
You should try Adobe Acrobat for modifying the file, instead using just the Adobe Acroba Reader.
Jorge R.
updating adobe files
by paulboehme - 8/18/07 10:48 AM In reply to: adobe 6 by giovasoI use pdftypewriter, is very competent, and free.
Only drawback is to get a PDF-competent printout, you save as a PDF file then print using adobe.
Sorry for your loss. Prepare for what happens next.
by cnet_earl - 8/9/07 7:27 AM In reply to: My laptop was stolen, what concerns should I have? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
You must prepare yourself and assume the worst. Naturally, you must call your bank and credit card companies. Cancel current accounts and/or change account numbers. Stay on top of your credit report. I assumed you've filed a police report too. Every piece of info on your laptop is at risk of being exploited. I'm in network support at a major company. I am not a hacker but know enough to say your laptops have already been compromised. The tools are readily available on the net so you better be concerned. Going after the hotel for your material loss is after-the-fact. Your laptops can be replaced but your identities, are priceless, especially to those who know how to capitalize on them. Good luck.
Stolen laptop
by dklopez - 8/10/07 6:43 AM In reply to: My laptop was stolen, what concerns should I have? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I would pursue the hotel reimbursing you for your laptops. But, on your next trip make sure you purchases a locking device for your laptop. They cost around $30 to $40 and its worth the investment. In the past, I've found myself lugging my laptop every where I went, for having fear that someone would still it from my hotel room if I left it there. You should also purchase some encryption software and remove cookie files.
Statistically you are "safe"
by TreknologyNet - 8/11/07 11:32 AM In reply to: My laptop was stolen, what concerns should I have? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
If the person stealing the computer from you had immediate use for it, the chances are that he/she would have erased the hard drive of anything that didn't seem immediately useful.
If the machine was sold, the new user would probably do the same thing.
If on the other hand you are a high-ranking target for identity theft, then even your laptop would be overkill. Professionals can gather the information they need without having to steal hardware.
I should have added:
by TreknologyNet - 8/13/07 2:53 PM In reply to: Statistically you are "safe" by TreknologyNetYes, backup, backup, backup. It no longer occurs to me to recommend this, because whenever a machine is connected to my network, it is backed up and updated automatically.
disk boot failure
by vptik - 8/13/07 9:16 PM In reply to: My laptop was stolen, what concerns should I have? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Madam, good day there are lots of possible cost of this failure, first is the bios setup, maybe it is always reset and not recognizing the harddrive, or the harddrive happen to have a bad sector.You are lucky you can still get it, from sometime but please backup now your data because the harddrive will crash any time if it is the problem and since your machine is new. Never try open it to reseat connections, this will void the warranty. you better call HP or bring it it them. This is a serious problem so better attend it as soon as possible. Good luck have a nice day......
Wrong thread vptik
by Lee Koo (ADMIN) - 8/16/07 5:02 PM
In reply to: disk boot failure by vptik
Hi vptik,
This discussion thread is in regards to Dave's stolen laptops. Please repost your response here:
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-10149_102-0.html?forumID=7&threadID=257993&messageID=2549113
Which is the thread about Windows disk boot failure.
Thanks for participating!
-Lee
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