What to Do When Your Laptop is Stolen

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It’s Friday morning and you’re heading out the door, your laptop in one hand and your lunch bag in the other. You put your luggage on the back seat of your car and hit the road, stopping at a garage on the way for a cup of coffee and a muffin – breakfast on the go.

You pay the lady at the till, grab your purchase, and walk back to your car – noticing that one of the back windows is open. Your heart drops to your shoes as you start to question whether you left it open or if someone has tampered with your car in the two minutes that you were in the store.

Your query is answered when you realise your laptop (and your lunch for the day) is nowhere to be seen. You’ve been robbed, and over 250 gigabytes of confidential company information are now in the hands of goodness knows who.

Sound like a nightmare? For most it would be, but with professional managed backups from Stratus IT in place, you’ll have nothing to worry about. Here’s what to do when your laptop is stolen…

Immediately After Your Laptop Goes Missing

Once your laptop is stolen, follow the below steps in order to protect your data and ensure that you can keep working when your workstation is taken:

1. Contact Stratus IT
As soon as you realise your laptop has been taken, give our support team a call. We will immediately spring into action to reset passwords, and attempt to remote-wipe the stolen device.

2. Notify Your Employer
Next, call your company and let them know that your work device – and company information – has been compromised.

3. Get a Case Number
Report to your local police station, tell them about what happened, and get a case number. You’ll need this for insurance or recovery purposes (Stratus IT will have your asset details when needed).

4. Stay Connected
Our stratus IT technicians will enable you to remain connected by setting you up on a loan PC or laptop – ensuring that you can keep working.

5. Organise a New Laptop
Our professional procurement team will look into possible laptop replacement options for you – so you don’t need to stress about getting quotes for insurance purposes.

Preventative Measures

Computer theft is a big issue these days, and laptops are prised targets for criminals looking to make a few hundred Rand at a second-hand store. You never know where your laptop (and the important data contained on it) could end up, so ensure you practise these preventative measures:

Managed Backups
Ensure that you are regularly backing up your data. Our team at Stratus It can assist you with automated secure backups – which means you get immediate access to your data.

Be Mindful of Where You Save
Avoid saving important data locally (like in My Documents or on your desktop).

Utilise company Share Drives
Always make sure you’re using company share drives such as OneDrive or Network Mapped Drives.

Password Protect Your Device
Protect your critical data by adding a password to your laptop that needs to be entered on start-up. Stratus IT can enforce password policies for all staff members.

Get Peace of Mind
For your own peace of mind, speak to your Accounts Manager at Stratus IT who will explain how we will help you should your laptop be stolen or compromised – and how our procedures and policies align with your business.

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