Portability feature of laptops have given convenience to its users. It is a fact that portability nature of mobile devices has made it easy for bandits to target laptops to make some money or get access to restricted data. It is necessary for laptop users to take some additional precautionary measures to protect their laptop data from loss or theft. Today, most enterprises allow employees to work using laptops and the mobile workforce is growing steadily. These enterprises have an overriding concern to keep their sensitive information safe. Here are some guidelines that will enhance security of your laptop data:
First of all, there must be primary security protocols for laptop to protect data. Use of password, anti-virus software to work against malware, and hard drive encryption are some of the ways to improve security. In addition to malware threats or theft, data loss is possible due to human error. In order to cope with such situations, it is necessary to activate on-going continuous data protection on to a secondary portable drive. To improve security of data, the laptop drive can be partitioned. The removable drive should be stored away from the laptop to prevent simultaneous loss.
Companies should clearly communicate with all of its mobile workers that laptop data must be backed up on a regular basis in to their online repository vaults. Whenever a laptop has made an online connection, an automated alert should be generated reminding the user to backup the data. Easy to use, client based software should be installed. The owner of the laptop should be given access to upload important data online to the remote servers using the client interface. It is important to disclose that userĀ ID and password to access and upload or download data online should not be saved in the laptop itself. It needs to be kept in a secure location, away from the laptop or its case.
To reinforce a secure environment, the company should have a policy to allow data downloads in an emergency situations only. Laptop must only contain data that is related to ongoing tasks. It should not have access to data that is not currently in use. Users of laptop must be given training on how to download data, and they should only keep relevant data on the drive. Unnecessary data must be deleted or removed from the laptop disk. It is necessary to perform laptop data cleaning whenever the laptop is returned back to the company after completing a field trip.
To protect data, laptop users should use private networks only. Usually, open networks are in access at hotel rooms, airports, stations and conference centres. Open networks are not safe for laptop users. It is easy for hackers to connect hacking programs with open network and compromise your data, including emails, password, and all data stored in the laptop.
Laptop users are required to encrypt data before transferring from laptop to office network. Encryption data requires specific key, password or PIN number. In other words, only authorised users, who have the right key have the right to use encrypted data. Moreover, only Virtual Private Network should be used to prevent data loss. If you cannot get access to Virtual Private Network of your company, it is good to use network from reliable service providers. It gives guarantee that all data is fully protected and not in range of other users.