US SOME TIPS PROTECTING A MAC COMPUTER AGAINST THEFT Tech Tip: Protect Your Mac! - Hopluv's Vox Blog

I found these tips on a Mac blogsite a looong time ago and that I would share them. It's specific to Macs, however PC owners may find some of the tips adaptable.

Recently, a good friend of mine had his home broken into by a thief. They came in thru a side window, stole both of his Macs (left both of the PC’s), stole his external hard drive and a couple camcorders. Luckily, none of his family was hurt or threatened as they weren’t home. He has taken all the necessary steps with the local police and they’re still hoping for some results.

I’m surprised at how much this has weighed on my mind.

The first thing I have felt is sorrow for him. The Macs stolen had a high money value, but a much higher sentimental value. He had plenty of scanned photos, digital photos, home videos, email archives, etc that are not replaceable. He had them all on the external drive, but that was stolen too.

Secondly, I’ve been wondering if I’d be ready for something like that. My friend lives in a safe neighborhood. He is smart, careful and organized. Having this happen to him has reminded me that, cliché or not, this really can happen to anyone.

I’ve started to compile a list of things to consider in preparing for a situation like this if it happened to me. I thought I’d list it here for others.

I won’t be focused so much on things like “be sure your doors and windows are locked” and “be sure your housing perimeter is well lit.” These things are specific to taking care of your Mac and it’s contents.

1. Have A Hard Copy Of Your Serial Number - Your serial number will be on your receipt. Be sure that it is in a safe place. If you only have a digital copy (in an email), print off a copy and keep it somewhere safe. If your Mac is stolen, you’ll want to be sure to give this to the police. It will help them in identifying your stolen property. Also, pawn shops are required to report serial numbers to the local police so they can be cross checked with the reports of theft.
2. Have A Good Backup Of Your Machine - Most people back up in case of data loss, but it’s important to back up in case of data theft as well. Be sure your external hard drive isn’t permanently sitting next to your machine. If you want it always connected, put it in a locked drawer and drill a hole for the power and transfer cable to be fished out.I back up my machines every Friday. As soon as I’m done, I return the external hard drive to the safe in my closet. That keeps it safe from theft and from fire.

   At Macminicolo.net, we have some customers who use a colocated mini just to back up their machine each night. If every they have to replace their home Mac, they can download everything from the hosted mini.

3. Look Into Tracking Software - The chances of you getting your machine back are small, but every little bit helps. Consider programs like iAlertU (free) which may scare off a thief. Or programs like Undercover that will track your machine as it connects to the internet. If you have a built in camera, it will take pictures of the person to be sent. If it never connects to the internet, the program “will simulate a hardware failure by gradually making the screen darker until it becomes unusable.”Sure, these programs can be erased with a new install of the OS, but every little bit helps. The chances are high that the thief won’t know how to do that. Also, they probably weren’t able to steal your restore disks.
4. Use A Cable Lock - All Apple laptops come with a Kensington Security Slot. These slots make it easy to tether your machine to your desk. Applelocks.com offers inexpensive cable for all kinds of Macs. Both key locks and combination locks are available.
5. Report The Stolen Mac To Apple - Call Apple and report that the Mac has been stolen by giving them the serial. They won’t actively track the Mac, but if anyone comes in to have the machine looked at for repair, the records will indicate that it has been stolen.
6. Get Insurance On Your Machine - Be sure that your Renter’s or Homeowners’s insurance covers your computers. Since this has happened to my friend, my wife and I added computer insurance to our coverage. Our computers, cameras and TV’s are covered up to $30k and it only added $18/ month to our insurance. That is very, very reasonable.
7. Encrypt The Sensitive Data That You Store - If you have banking records, birth certificates and other scanned documents that are sensitive, be sure you keep them in an encrypted disk image. Programs like FreeDMG (free) make this easy to do. Just make a folder of all the files, drop it on there and add an encryption. You can still open it whenever you need something, but a thief wouldn’t be able to do it easily. Send a copy of that image to a family member for safe keeping as well.
8. Get Familiar With ebay and Craigslist - Craigslist and ebay have made it really easy to sell your old junk. It also makes it easy to sell stolen goods. Be sure you are familiar with using these sites. When your machine is stolen, be sure to monitor them for your stolen Mac. ebay will allow you to search the listings that are near your home.
9. Add Your Contact Info To Your Login Window - When your machine starts up, be sure that your contact info is there on the login screen. This is easy and fast to do following the steps in this hint. If the thief never starts up the machine and just sells it off to someone, they’ll start it up and see your “This machine belongs to…” info.
10. Turn Off Automatic Login - It is so convenient to have your machine automatically log into your account, but it’s not safe. Be sure it is set to require your password each time. That way, the thief may have your machine, but not your info. (Again, I’m aware that passwords can be changed with the restore disk, but hopefully they didn’t get that too.)

Conclusion

All of these steps are so easy to do, but they may prove to be really important. Please take the time to do them…or at least some of them.