Another Reminder to Keep Your Notebooks Safe

Robert Scoble, one of the best known tech bloggers around learned an expensive lesson in San Francisco.

He writes:

On Wednesday evening I picked up Brad Fallon and Andy Edmonds who were taking me to dinner. I didn’t even notice that Brad left a laptop bag in the back seat, although at that point even if I had I’m not sure I would have said anything (Andy carried his backpack into the restaurant). That turned out to be a very expensive mistake for both of us. As he notes that after dinner we came back to a smashed back window and a missing bag. Luckily they didn’t get into the trunk where I had a laptop and camera. I got the bill for the window: $410. The window itself cost about $185, the rest is labor. I probably could get it a little cheaper by shopping around, but at least Saturn loaned me a car while they are fixing it.

I won’t be leaving my equipment in my car anymore. It was an expensive lesson to learn. This is yet another reminder for notebook users to keep their computers secure, backup data on a regular basis and encrypt any sensitive information. Users should also install tracking software such as LoJack for Laptops. And NEVER leave your computer out of arms reach when you’re in public.

If this can happen to some of the most tech-savvy guys in the world, this can definitely happen to you.

I’ve never lost a notebook, but I’ve been lucky. I’ve forgotten my camera gear and notebook bag in my car in plain view several times. In many big cities stolen notebooks are openly sold on the streets for a couple hundred dollars. In San Francisco, stolen gadgets are sold in a virtual open-air bizzare called United Nations plaza on Market St.

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