Laptop Security Advice

31 March 2008
Posted in Laptop Advice

Having heard from a valued customer this morning that he had a break-in at home over the weekend, and his laptop stolen, we wanted to remind all our readers of the need to take some precautionary measures to protect themselves.

Laptops, because of their portable nature, are very high on the thieves list of items. There is never a totally foolproof way of dissuading the would-be thieves, but you can take some basic measures to protect yourself.

Realistically, you need to look at your protection in 2 categories:

• Physical Security
• Data Theft/Loss

We do not want to be responsible for scare-mongering, but the information below may afford you a little protection from the casual thief, a scourge in our society. A little additional security may be all you require, and at least can improve your probability of staying secure, rather than doing absolutely nothing to protect yourself.

The Physical Security of your laptop can be aided by using the following measures:

1. Lock your laptop up in a secure and covert cupboard/locker when not being used. This may save it when the burglar comes to visit, and may stop those who are 'casing' your premises with a view to seeing what to steal.
2. If in an office environment, use a docking station, as you can lock your laptop into this. This will prevent the opportunist type of criminal.
3. Get a cable lock. Most modern laptops come with a Universal Security Slot which allows for attachment to a large or immovable object. These security cables are not expensive nowadays, and can be sourced from any number of outlets online.
4. When travelling with your laptop, don't carry it in a computer case. This makes you an obvious target for laptop thieves. Get a padded sleeve and carry your laptop in a regular briefcase or a backpack instead. These again are inexpensive, and easily sourced.
5. Again, when travelling, do not leave your laptop unattended, even for a moment. the opportunist criminal is always on the lookout for people off their guard.
6. Ensure you have some sort of security marking on the reverse of your laptop - making it both difficult to resell for the criminal, and easy to trace back to the owner in the event of being recovered.
7. Have all of the details of your laptop stored somewhere, including Make, Model, Serial Number, Specification, etc. This will be useful for both insurance and police purposes.
8. Register your laptop with the manufacturer. This will mean that it will be returned to you, should a thief have to send it away for repair.

Data Theft/Loss can be an even bigger problem, and steps should be taken to ensure you are as safe as can be. Think about using some/all of these measures:

1. Ensure you have adequate backups of everything on your laptop. Once it is gone, it is gone, and you may have some very important data on there.
2. Password protect any sensitive data, although most criminals will now be able to bypass these basic passwords nowadays (but not all, so this will offer a little protection).
3. You could use WinZip or the likes to archive important data files, and add password protection there too. This is quite basic encryption, but may help with some of the criminal elements. Think of this as a 'cheap padlock'.
4. True, industrial-strength encryption can be provided by using something like TrueCrypt. Truecrypt is a free piece of software, which can encrypt an entire volume (such as pen-drive, Hard Disk, etc), or it can be used to provide a virtual encrypted disk. the second of these is very secure, but advice should be sought on how best to utilise this, if you are less than an advanced user.
5. Disable the 'Guest' User Account in Windows. This can be done in the Control Panel. It is good practise to also assign it a long password, as an added security measure.
6. Utilise passwords on all other accounts on your laptop. Again, these can be bypassed, but not by the basic opportunist criminal.
7. Don't set your laptop to automatically log into websites, as this allows the criminal to 'steal' your account on that particular website. Don't store passwords on there either.
8. If you do not use it, disable the 'infra-red' port on your laptop, to deter thieves who can utilise this to steal your data (maybe without you even knowing about it).
9. When using WiFi in a public place (such as an Airport, etc), do not enter any private information at all, unless you are sure that the Wifi is a secure connection.

Hopefully the above information will enable our readers to add a little security to their laptop & data, and if it stops even one person from having the problems our customer has had, then we will feel our article was worth the time it took to write.

As always, any additional items you think we may have overlooked are welcome, don't hesitate to drop us an email.

Getting the most from your Laptop Battery

04 March 2008
Posted in Laptop Advice

We all notice that our battery in our favourite laptop becomes less and less useful as our machine ages. We have compiled a list of 15 tips to help you extend your battery life to its full potential.

1. Keep the battery contacts clean. Remove your battery periodically and clean down the little metal contacts with a dry cloth. This stops the build up of dirt/grime from making your battery work harder.
2. Always read the manual which comes with your laptop. It will have some tips included for ensuring maximum battery capacity/life.
3. Ensure your laptop is not too low a spec for the applications you are running. If necessary, upgrade the RAM to ensure the machine is not having to work so hard.
4. Lower your screen resolution. If your laptop is running at the higher end of the resolution scale, it will be working harder, and this will reduce battery life. If you do not need the higher resolutions, then reduce this.
5. Turn off WiFi when not in use. There is a switch on all laptops which have built-in wireless capability. Turning this off when not being used will reduce battery wear.
6. Remove all external devices when not in use. This includes printer connections, USB memory sticks, etc. Removing these when not in use will reduce work for the laptop.
7. Remove the battery when plugged into the mains. This will give your battery a well-earned break when it is not needed. Do not allow it to fully discharge though, 40% charge is thought to be the optimum.
8. Change 'idle' mode to hibernate, rather than stand-by. Hibernate completely shuts the laptop down, therefore saving battery power.
9. Don't block the Air Vents. Lots of people try to use their new laptop on their knee, or on a bed, etc. This blocks the air vents at the bottom of the machine and causes the laptop to work less efficiently. you can also lead to a breakdown if your laptop overheats, and this might not be cheap to repair.
10. Run Disk Cleanup & Disk Defrag (plus any other system optimisation techniques you use) regularly, as these will keep your laptop operating at peak performance, and lengthen battery life.
11. Run your battery completely down and recharge it once every 2 months or so. Providing you have followed all the tips above, this will help extend its life.
12. Keep your battery cool. Do not let the battery get too warm, and do not set it beside a radiator or in direct sunlight, etc. A cool battery performs better.
13. If your laptop has not been used for a while (or the battery has not been used for a while), fully discharge and then recharge the battery.
14. Check your power management settings on your laptop, and ensure it is making full use of these.
15. Reduce the frequency of things like auto-saves, disk scans, etc. These will make the processor work hard, therefore lowering battery life.

Remember that the newer laptops, whilst having increasingly better batteries fitted, are the most graphic & processor hungry, and these will need a little effort to get full use of your battery.

Laptops versus Desktop Computers

30 September 2007
Posted in Laptop Advice

Most people seem to prefer to purchase a laptop/notebook computer these days instead of the more traditional desktop computer. The problem is that users are not always aware of information they truly need to make that all-important purchasing decision. We have tried below to provide you with a reasonable summary of the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Laptop v’s Notebook

Most people refer to their portable computer as a ‘laptop’, whilst this is not technically the correct term in a lot of cases. Here we examine the difference between the ‘laptop’ and ‘notebook’ definitions.

In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s portable computers became widely available. They were all called ‘laptops’ and they were heavier than we have become used to. Prior to this the only portable computers were very large ‘suitcase’ style machines which were quite heavy. As these laptop computers became smaller during the 1990’s the term ‘notebook’ computer began to emerge. Most portable computer manufacturers will now refer to their product as a ‘notebook’ rather than a ‘laptop’. The term ‘notebook’ has partially replaced the term ‘laptop’ because these ‘heavier’ machines are no longer being made.

Traditionally, a ‘notebook’ computer would have most of these features:

• Ultra-light and very low profile (ie. thin)
• 4 hours of battery life
• No internal floppy drive
• Minimal graphics subsystem
• Maximum 14” TFT screen
• Integrated modem/network connections
• Smallest possible keyboard (retaining functionality)
• Low power consumption processor

The problem with a notebook computer is that, in order to have a high specification, they come at a cost. Many ‘notebook’ computers cannot actually be used on your ‘lap’, so they cannot really be described as a ‘laptop’ – this is because the main cooling air fan inlet is on the bottom. Comspec would suggest that when you are actually intending to use your notebook computer on your knees, then you should place a small board (even a tray) underneath it.

‘Laptop’ computers realistically do not exist anymore, they are being referred to as ‘desktop replacement’ computers. They are designed to offer desktop performance, but still be portable. Traditionally, a ‘laptop’ computer would have had most of these features:

• 14” to 17” TFT screen
• Nvidia GeForce or ATI Radeon graphics subsystem
• Internal DVD-ROM or DVD-RW drive
• Large full-featured keyboard
• 2 hours battery life
• Upgradeability (within some restrictions)
• Integrated modem, network and Wi-Fi capabilities
• High quality integrated audio/speaker system
• Low power consumption processor

Most people, however, still refer to their ‘notebook’ as a ‘laptop’ and numerous retailers still call them ‘laptops’. The terms are used interchangeably and could be used either way. Because of the advances in portable computing, the definitions have become fuzzy and it is a matter of opinion as to which you call your computer. The layman will probably always refer to it as a ‘laptop’.

Laptop/Notebook v’s Desktop

The portable computer should not realistically be used as a ‘replacement’ for a desktop computer – it is purely a ‘portable’ solution. Some retailers are misleading (I hope not intentionally) customers by telling them the laptop they are selling is a straight replacement for a desktop. I have even heard one salesperson say that the desktop computer is now obsolete and the laptop is the new computer.

The advantages of a desktop computer are:

• More powerful
• Higher storage is available
• Easy to upgrade or repair
• More resistant to theft
• Less prone to component failure
• Components are less expensive
• Components are not always specific to any machine
• More overall performance per pound cost
• Multiple monitor support is standard on some desktops

The advantages of a laptop/notebook are:

• Portability makes them very useful
• Access to wireless networking in public places

There is no real comparison on performance between a laptop and a desktop computer. The laptop has a couple of fundamental problems to overcome which limit it. The first of these is size – the smaller the machine the less room to put components. The second is heat – the laptop is small, giving less room to circulate air to cool components. Because manufacturers are constantly fighting against these problems the laptop will never truly ‘replace’ the desktop.

A major number of laptops are ‘proprietary’ meaning that their components are not interchangeable. If you want a component for your laptop you will usually have to stick to the same manufacturer to get it. The design of laptops changes so often that parts are not always easy to get.

Here are a few other important factors which you need to be aware of regarding laptop/notebook computers:

1. Their processor usually runs at a reduced speed when on battery power
2. The cost of repairing a laptop/notebook can be much more than a desktop. Labour is more intensive and the parts are always more expensive.
3. The hard drive in a laptop is smaller than their desktop cousins. This means that, whilst laptops are being supplied with larger disks, the desktop computer is still the number one choice for users with large storage needs.
4. The laptops/notebooks which are being offered for sale in the £300-£500 price bracket are usually not what we would describe as ‘business’ machines. They are built to a lesser specification and their upgradeability path is small to non-existent.
5. Anyone who relies on graphics or sheer power for gaming is forced to go the desktop route to gain the specification they require.

So, to summarise, Comspec do not recommend that you avoid laptops, but you should realistically only buy one if you are happy to trade performance for portability. The portability aspect is very important – if you do not need it, always go for a desktop computer. The debate will go on as the industry develops, but the purpose of this article is simply to give you, the user, a heads-up on this ‘political’ debate.

Download this article to keep as a PDF document here