Tips for Traveling With a Laptop
with
Jonathon E. Stewart
If you travel often for work, then you most likely have your laptop in tow. Protect your computer, your time, and your identity while you're on the road with these simple laptop traveling tips.
Transcript: Tips for Traveling With a Laptop
Hey guys - Jonathon Stewart here for About.com. If you use a computer a lot, and you're on the road a lot, there's a pretty good chance you might find yourself traveling with a laptop a lot. While laptop computers are getting more and more travel-friendly every day, they're still prone to getting spilled on, dropped, stolen or otherwise slowin' you down. But take a look at these tips, and you - and your laptop - will be in business. Check it out.Keep Your Laptop Near
The single most important rule in all of this is to make sure you keep your laptop as close to you as possible at all times. Carry it in a sturdy case designed specifically for laptops if you can, keep that bag in your sight or locked away safe and out of sight at all times, and whatever you do, don't pack it in any bag you're planning to check onto an airplane, bus, or boat. Unless you've got one of those fancy new computers that can stand up to being heaved several yards at a time and buried under hundreds of pounds of other luggage. Ah yes, they haven't really invented those. Yet...Don't Clutter Your Laptop Case
If you're flying, you should also resist the temptation to pack other papers or folders in with your computer. When clearing security, it's almost guaranteed these days that you'll be asked to remove it from its bag, and a zillion loose papers are the last thing you want to have deal with in line.Laptops at Airport Security
So you can keep as close an eye on it as possible during this process, make sure that your computer is the last thing you put through the x-ray, and don't send it until you go through yourself. But remember, your computer goes on the conveyor belt, you go through the big door-frame looking thing. Apparently they're pretty picky about this one.Laptop Travel Tips
Before you go, be sure to charge up your battery and any spares you might have, but also know that many planes these days have hot outlets that you can plug into - don't forget to ask when booking your ticket. If you're traveling to a foreign country, be sure that you have a proper AC adapter that works wherever you're going, and it's not a bad idea to carry the original sales receipt to avoid getting hit with any import taxes. Unless of course your laptop looks like mine, in which case the broken hinges, scratches, and dents are usually enough to prove you didn't buy this puppy on vacation.Protect Information on Your Laptop
While you're in public, always be careful about the information on your screen as well. Confidential pages like bank websites, company e-mails, and anything displaying your personal information can be easily seen and recorded by lingering eyes. In the age of identity theft, criminals don't always need to physically take your computer to steal from you.You also don't want strangers seeing just how much time you spend looking for high-school exes on Facebook. Finally, simply make sure you actually know your way around your computer and its ability to connect to the internet before you take off. Working out kinks with your company's tech department is a whole lot easier when they're around in person, and it's not a crisis.
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