I myself do not send confidential e-mails. (For that, I use snail mail). Nevertheless, I do take steps to protect my computer files as a general practice. First, I travel with an Asus Eee netbook which weighs about 3 pounds and has a six-cell battery with a nine-hour life. It's easy to carry in a slim shoulder bag so I often take it with me when I leave the room. Otherwise, it fits into most room safes. (I just took the picture shown here while meeting with a client for a consultation at the Encore in Las Vegas.)
If your hotel room does not have a safe, then you may wish to travel with a suitcase that has combination locks. Slip your laptop into the suitcase before you leave the room, and lock it.Or, if the room contains a tall piece of furniture (such as is used to house the television
set), lay the laptop up there when you're away from the room. Maids, when cleaning a room, can sometimes be fooled into letting a stranger posing as the room's occupant slip into the room. The excuse will be something like "I forgot to pick up my laptop." However, when a quick glance around does not reveal it, the intruder may assume you have taken it with you.Protecting your computer at the airport presents a different series of dangers and may--if enough interest is shown--be the subject of a future post.
By all means, please post your advice for securing a computer at an airport! We have traveled with one as well as other carry-ons. One of us will go through first & once checked, the other will place carry-ons on the belt for the first to retrieve while the second is checked through. So far, so good. But we may not always travel together. What then!?!
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