1. Lock It Down-Many laptops and other small electronic devices include a slot designed to accept a special cable lock. Wrap the cable around something massive, insert the lock into the device, and turn the key or spin the combination. A determined thief could probably wrest the device loose, but only at the expense of seriously damaging the case. There are also locks that attach to a common port such as the video output or parallel port.
2. Password-Protect It- Yes, it's awfully convenient to just turn on your computer and have it boot straight to the desktop—convenient, but not safe. You absolutely must password-protect your user account, and disable the Guest account if it's not already disabled. Also, dig into the Power settings in Control Panel and set your computer to require a password when it wakes up from the sleep state. If you have to step away from your computer, press Windows+L to lock it.
3. Protect Your Email. Many schools issue all students a school-specific email address, usually a standard POP3 account. It's a snap to set your email client so it logs in automatically, without requesting the password each time. However, if you ever leave your computer turned on but unattended, anyone could log in and read your email, or send scandalous messages. You'll be safer if you set your email client to require the password every time.
4. Manage Your Passwords. Like anyone else, students connect with many, many secure sites, each of which demands a password. The only reasonable way to use a unique, strong password for each site is to engage the help of a password manager utility. Install it, check and change any weak passwords, and set it to automatically log out after a short period of inactivity.
5. Keep Malware Out. The archetypical starving student doesn't have any cash to spare. Downloading pirated software and tunes is one way to save money, but doing so can expose you to malware. In fact, you can run into malicious code even on perfectly legitimate sites, through "poisoned" advertising links. The best free antivirus tools are better than many of their commercial competitors, so there's no excuse for going without antivirus protection.
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