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It was the plugged-in executive's worst nightmare. Jack Ford, having just finished a tennis match at his health club, decided to check his messages before heading back to the office. But when he reached for his trusty BlackBerry--you guessed it--the wireless communicator was nowhere to be found.

"It was an incredible inconvenience, and very disorienting," says Ford, CEO of Charrette LLC, a Boston-based company that distributes equipment for professional designers.

Fortunately, Ford had backed up the PDA/phone regularly, so he didn't lose much vital information. But the time he spent arranging for the manufacturer to deactivate the unit, ordering and waiting for a replacement, transferring his data, and simply worrying about lost calls and possible security breaches added up to a whole lot of hassle--and expense, since his insurance policy's deductible made filing a claim for the loss impractical.

If Ford's story sounds painfully familiar to you, you have a great deal of company. Researchers estimate that more than 600,000 laptop PCs, PDAs, and mobile phones were lost or stolen in the United States in 2001, and other research suggests that the number could double every year as portable devices (including digital cameras) become more commonplace.

The statistics are alarming, but relax--even if your current portable digital devices are as insecure as an applicant to Extreme Makeover, you can do plenty to help make sure they'll be there the next time you reach for them.

Start by registering your devices with their manufacturers. It's the easiest way to establish a record of what you own. In addition, hold on to all receipts, warranty details, and other documentation pertaining to each device; that way, if you do lose something, you can provide any necessary paperwork for insurance claims, police reports, or other follow-up.

Parenting Your Portable

When you're out and about, treat your portable device as you would a wayward toddler: Use common sense about where you take the device, and don't let it (or at least the bag it's in) out of your sight--not even for a minute. Jack Ford says, "I don't bring my BlackBerry to the health club, or other public places where I might need to put it down, anymore."

Staying at a hotel? Never leave your PC, PDA, or camera in the room when you're not around. Most hotels take no responsibility for lost or stolen items, even if they disappear from a locked room. If you're not taking your device with you, use the safe in your room (if there is one), or ask the hotel manager to store it in another locked, secure place while you're gone.

Nearly all portable computers offer some sort of password-based security option. Use it, even if you're the only one who works with the machine. Password protection might not prevent a theft from occurring, but it could help protect the information stored on your computer from falling into the wrong hands.

Any information that you keep on your computer and don't want publicly known should be encrypted. A variety of robust third-party applications for both handhelds and laptop PCs will do this and will provide other security enhancements as well. PDA Defense Professional ($30) is a good encryption tool for Palm devices. (You can also find biometric security peripherals such as fingerprint scanners for laptop systems. For more on biometric security devices and PC encryption software, see "Products for the Paranoid.")

Here's a no-brainer that bears repeating: Back up your data, or sync your PDA to your PC, regularly and frequently. Decide on a standard time--say, every day while you're at lunch or before you shut your device down--and stick to it. Then, even when all seems lost, all won't be lost.

If you've taken all the precautions above but still feel vulnerable, consider using extra physical protection such as a lock and cable or an alarm. Cable systems can secure your notebook at a cost of $50 or less (although an experienced thief can make short work of most such tethers). Alarms, which use motion sensors and about 120 decibels of raucous screeching to scare thieves, typically run $100 and up.

Don't forget the armor. Safeware, an insurance agency that specializes in covering computer equipment, reports that more claims result from accidental damage than from loss or theft, and that in many cases a sturdy protective carrying case could have prevented the damage.

Portable Retrievers

Sometimes all the preventive measures in the world won't stop a determined criminal. Some products claim they'll help get your device back after it's stolen. LapTrak, for instance, is software you install on your laptop's hard drive. If you report to the company that the system has been stolen, the software connects to the company's monitoring station and reports its physical location, all the while hiding your sensitive data. You have to wonder, though, how many police departments will drop everything to track down a notebook that's phoning home.

A number of companies, such as Stuffbak and BoomerangIt, sell ID labels (prices range from about $10 to $35 for multiple labels) that you affix to your device; if it gets lost later, your device can be returned to you. I'm a little skeptical of this approach as well--after all, why not just turn your 7-year-old loose with some blank stickers and a box of crayons?

There's probably no way to guarantee that you'll get a device back once it's gone. But you can at least get compensated for the loss you suffer.

Most homeowners' insurance policies don't cover--or provide limited coverage for--portable computing devices like laptops and handhelds. But you should be able to get an extension that includes coverage for PCs and other portable devices.

Whether it's a PDA that goes everywhere you go or a digital camera that comes out only for an occasional wedding, your portable device is an investment--treat it that way.

Anne Kandra is a contributing editor for PC World. You can e-mail her at consumerwatch@pcworld.com.