When travelling abroad with your laptop it worth keeping in mind a few points. There included it getting lost, stolen or damaged – business travellers should be better at this than those who are taking their laptop on holiday.

Image courtesy of pink_fish13

First things first then: Always make sure you have a backup for your data before you even leave the front door. Also, keep on record somewhere (other than that laptop!) its serial number. This will be of great use if you do need to report it as lost or stolen to the airline, police, or insurance company.

Next: It’s a bit “yah – durr” but people still do it – keep your laptop with you at all times. Treat your laptop as part of your hand luggage rather than checking it into the hold at check-in. This way you know where it is.

When you’re going through the usual, stringent, security checks remove your laptop from its bag / your personal luggage. Most airports around the world now ask that you have your laptop x-rayed separately from your other belongings. By doing this before you get to the front of the queue you will save time and won’t tick-off your fellow travellers with a delay.

If you’re planning on using your laptop in departures to check emails and use the Internet, make sure you connect securely to a wireless network and that people around you cannot see your screen if your reading sensitive documents or data.

When you do get on the plane, make sure your laptop is actually turned off and not in standby mode or hibernation mode. Windows Vista users take note: Press Start > press the arrow on the far-bottom-right > press shutdown. The reason for this is if your power button on the start menu is orange in colour, it means that you are putting your machine in standby mode. If it is red then it means it will shut down properly.

Ok you’re ready for take off! Keep your laptop under your seat and not in the pocket of the seat in front or in the overhead locker. Storing it in the overhead locker could it getting damaged by fellow passengers placing or forcing their stuff on top. It may also get damaged during the flight and turbulence.

Tags: check, Email, Internet, Security, Windows Vista