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Feature: How Not to Lose Your Gadgets

What happened to my friend Natalie is something we should all worry about.

On a recent trip, Natalie inadvertently left her notebook on a busy airport sidewalk. (She was traveling with 6-year-old daughter Allison, who carries nearly as much baggage as her mother does.) To make matters worse, Natalie had no identification on her bag or on the notebook inside.

Luckily, someone turned in Natalie's bag to the airline. An airline employee then found her boarding pass and airline ticket inside the bag. Using the airline's computerized passenger records, the employee obtained Natalie's cell phone number and called her. Soon, Natalie was reunited with her notebook.

The moral of the story? Travel with either a 6-year-old or a notebook--but not both.

Seriously, losing a notebook, cell phone, or PDA on a trip can be catastrophic. Aside from the inconvenience and monetary loss, consider the potential ID and data theft should your device end up in the wrong hands.

Here are some tips for preventing gadget loss on the road--and for minimizing the damage should you and your devices part ways.

Label, Label, Label

The only label on Natalie's notebook bag was "Gucci," for which she almost paid dearly. The rest of us may pay dearly, too, if we don't properly label our gadgets.

In addition to an ID tag on your briefcase or notebook bag, put an ID label on each device within the bag. The label should have your name and phone number. Put your office, home, or other phone number on your cell phone.

Another option: Get an ID label from BoomerangIt, StuffBak, Trackitback, or another online service that reunites people with their gadgets. When you register a device and obtaining a unique ID number at Trackitback ($10 per device), for instance, you can also specify a reward for the gadget's return.

I haven't used any of these services, but would love to hear from you if you have.

Install Tracking Software

You can also install software like PC PhoneHome, which helps track your missing notebook or PDA.

After you've installed PC PhoneHome, the software sends an e-mail message to a predetermined e-mail address every time your computer is running and has an Internet connection. The e-mail message, which the user doesn't know is being sent, contains information on the computer's current location.

If someone steals your computer and uses it to go online, they're unwittingly e-mailing information about the notebook's exact location. When the information is received, PC PhoneHome's "recovery agents" work with you and law enforcement to recover your stolen notebook, according to the company.

The software, which I haven't tested, costs a one-time fee of $30 and is also available for Pocket PCs and Apple computers.

Have a Backup Plan--for Everything

Before you leave town, make sure you have a backup plan for each device you're packing.

Notebook: For obvious reasons, traveling with a spare notebook is usually impractical. Instead, back up your important files to a CD, a DVD, or a USB keychain drive. Store the backup separately from your notebook. If your notebook is lost or stolen, you'll still have your important files for use on a borrowed computer.

Another option is to e-mail important files, contact data, and other information to yourself. If you lose your notebook, you can easily retrieve that data by checking e-mail on another computer.

Mobile Phone: If you live on your cell phone when traveling, consider taking along a spare. A good option would be a phone with a prepaid plan, which many wireless carriers offer. Instead of a monthly rate, you buy a block of minutes. When you've used the minutes, just buy more. You can browse prepaid wireless plans at MyRatePlan.com. And for more info, read Grace Aquino's "Prepaid Cell Phones."

PDA: If you use a smart phone or a hybrid phone/PDA for voice calls, carry a spare cell phone. If you rely on your PDA for e-mail, then print out your address book--or just your most important contacts--and pack it separately. At least you'll be able to reach key business contacts if you leave your PDA in a taxi. And yes, people are leaving their gadgets in taxis these day. Read "Lost Your Cell Phone? Call a Cab!" for the story.

Safeguard Your Data

Windows XP (and earlier versions of Microsoft's OS) can be configured to require a password on startup. You can configure most PDAs and PDA-phone hybrids to require password access, too.

Any password can be cracked by a skilled hacker, of course. And adding passwords or other security methods requires you to take another step to use your device. Still, I recommend turning on password protection during a trip, particularly if your device contains sensitive information.

In Windows XP, set up password protection by opening My Computer, Control Panel, and selecting User Accounts (you'll need to do this twice if Control Panel is in Category mode). Click your existing user account, select "Create a password," then type in your password and password hint. Click Create Password when you're done.

On a Pocket PC, select Start, Settings, Password to create a password.

For Palm OS 5.0 devices, select Preferences, General, Security. Under Password, tap Unassigned, and enter your password (and password hint, if you choose). Click OK. For the Auto Lock Handheld option, I recommend selecting "On power off." From that point on, anyone turning on your PDA must know your password to access its data.

Alternatively, some devices come with biometric security that's harder to crack than passwords. For example, IBM's ThinkPad T42 notebooks include an embedded fingerprint reader. To access your T42, or its network, you must place your finger over its small biometric scanner. When the scanner recognizes your fingerprint, you're in.

Store It All in One Place

When flying, store all devices in one carry-on briefcase. You'll get through checkpoint security more quickly, and it's easier to keep track of multiple gadgets when they're all in one bag. The downside: Lose the briefcase, and you've lost everything. So don't let that briefcase out of your sight.

What's Your Plan?

Have you lost a notebook, cell phone, or PDA on a business trip? If so, what happened, and how did you recover from the loss? E-mail your stories to me.