How This Sixth-Grade Teacher’s Warning About the Internet Went Viral on Facebook

Melissa Bour was concerned by what her students were posting on Facebook. Instead of lecturing, she created a viral post to demonstrate the power of social media.

At the end of 2014, Tulsa, Oklahoma, sixth-grade teacher Melissa Bour received a friend request on Facebook from one of her students. She didn’t accept the request, but a quick browse through the girl’s friends list revealed the names of dozens of kids from her classroom. Many of the students’ Facebook pages were completely public, meaning even strangers could trawl through the kids’ personal photos and messages.

“I saw middle fingers, students dressed inappropriately, and extremely foul language,” Melissa says. “It was disturbing.” When she brought up her discovery in class, the students were unfazed. So she created a post of her own.

With a bright green Sharpie, she wrote on a piece of paper in all caps, “Dear Facebook: My 12-year-old students think it is ‘no big deal’ that they are posting pictures of themselves … Please help me … [show them] how quickly their images can get around.” She put a picture of the letter on her Facebook page and asked people to share it.

In hours, it was shared 108,000 times across dozens of states and four countries. She deleted it after eight hours, but it continued to circulate. “I wanted to show them that it’s on the Internet forever,” she says.

As she explained the results of her experiment in class, the students’ “eyes got bigger and bigger,” she says. “It scared a few of them into deleting their pages completely,” she says. Others have removed inappropriate posts and utilized privacy settings to manage their pages.

Her intention wasn’t to scare them off social media but to push them to be mindful of what they post. Melissa says, “I tell them, ‘Just because everyone else is sharing doesn’t mean you have to.’ ”

Cyberscammers Confess: Their 20 Top Tricks, Cons, and Schemes to Hack Your Internet Security

Computer hackers have lots of tools to threaten your internet security, but these tips from cybersecurity experts can help protect your privacy.                

                                              1. We send incredibly personal e‑mails. 

Spear phishing, the act of sending targeted e-mails to get you to share financial information or passwords, can be exceptionally sophisticated. “The old-style ones had spelling and punctuation errors, but today, it has really become an art,” says Mark Pollitt, PhD, former chief of the FBI’s computer forensic unit. “They may call you by name, use your professional title, and mention a project you’re working on.”

Outsmart us: Spot phishing e-mails by looking for incorrect or unusual URLs (hover over links to see the actual URL address), requests for personal information or money, suspicious attachments, or a message body that’s actually an image. Unless you’re 100 percent confident that a message is from someone you know, don’t open attachments or click links.

2. We’ve got all the time in the world. 

Hackers have programs that systematically test millions of possible passwords. “They go to sleep and wake up in the morning, and the program is still going, testing one password combination after another,” says Peter Fellini, a security engineer with Zensar Technologies, an IT and software services firm.

Outsmart us: Instead of a password, try a passphrase. Use letters and characters from a phrase and include special characters, numbers, and upper- and lowercase letters (Mary had a little lamb could become mh@Ll, for example). Or consider a password manager that generates and remembers random, difficult-to-crack passwords. (Even then, some experts recommend unique passphrases for financial accounts in case the password manager gets hacked.)

3. We sneak while you surf.

A growing number of cyberattacks are arriving via “drive-by download,” says Giovanni Vigna, PhD, a computer science professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara and cofounder of anti-malware provider Lastline Inc. “You visit what looks like a perfectly harmless website,” he says, “but in the background, you are redirected to a series of other sites that send you an attack.” Often even the website’s owner doesn’t know the site has been compromised. Although search engines keep blacklists of known malicious sites, the bad sites are continuously changing.

Outsmart us: Make sure you install all available updates to your browser, or use a browser that automatically updates, like Firefox. Vigna’s research has found that Internet Explorer users are most vulnerable to these attacks.

4. We can infiltrate your baby monitor or smart TV. 

Remember, your smart device is essentially a computer—and chances are, it’s not a particularly secure one. Anything in your house that’s connected to the Internet, from your smart fridge to your climate-control system, can be hacked. In several recent incidents, hackers were able to hijack a baby monitor and yell at a baby. Experts have also shown how hackers can turn on a smart TV’s camera and spy on you.

Outsmart us: When setting up smart devices, always change the default password. Most of these devices work from your wireless router, so password protecting your Wi-Fi can also help. Keep up with firmware updates; many devices will inform you when there’s an update available. Otherwise, look for an Update Firmware option in the main menu or settings.

5. We eavesdrop on free public Wi-Fi networks. 

Even if you’re connected to a legitimate public network, a “man-in-the-middle” attack can allow hackers to snoop on the session between your computer and the hot spot.

Outsmart us: Avoid public Wi-Fi if possible, especially unsecured networks without passwords, advise security experts at MetLife Defender, a personal data protection program. Instead, set up your smartphone as a secure hot spot or sign up for a VPN (virtual private network) service. If you must use public Wi-Fi, avoid financial transactions and consider using a browser extension like HTTPS Everywhere to encrypt your communications.

3 Ways to Avoid Identity Theft

Your personal online info could be leaking right into identity thieves' hands. Here's how to keep yourself secure.

Adam Voorhes for Reader’s Digest

Every year, millions of Americans see their personal information leak into the wrong hands. Maybe there’s spyware on their computer, or a service they use suffered a security breach—as eBay did this year, leaving customers at risk of exposure. Or perhaps their password is easy to guess: Security company SplashData reports that the most popular passwords in 2013 were 123456 and password.

Fear not: It’s a lot easier than you might think to set up proper defenses. In fact, you can easily do it all in a weekend. Here’s how.

Clean Your Computer And SmartphoneBefore you put new security measures into place, make sure your devices are as spotless as possible. This means installing a good anti­virus program and taking the time to clear out any spy- or malware that may have already infected your system.

Go with AVG Free Antivirus (free.avg.com) or Avast! (avast.com)—each is free. Run a full system scan. This can take over an hour, so start it before settling into other plans. When you return to your computer, clear out anything that shouldn’t be there with a few simple steps (the program will guide you).

These days, it’s also worth it to make sure your phone is safe from viruses. iPhones are less likely to be targeted by malware, but Android users should download the Lookout app (lookout.com) to scan their devices and ensure everything is as it should be.

Secure Your Wi-FiNow that your computer is clean, you should plug any holes in your home network. It’s fairly easy for potential criminals to gain access to your information if they’re able to share your connection—that’s why you want to be careful when using public Wi-Fi.

For your home, the Federal Communications Commission recommends a few steps. Even if you put security measures into place a couple of years ago, it’s a good idea to refresh your settings. You may have to refer to the instructions for your wireless router or call tech support for help. Different routers will have different setup pages, so the actual step-by-step will vary, but the end result will be the same. Here’s what to do:

• Enable basic password protection. That means setting up WPA2 encryption via your router, if possible, which will allow you to set a password of your choosing; make it good!
• You also need to change the password that allows you to access your router’s settings to begin with. This will keep unsavory types out.
• Then change the default name of your wireless network. Don’t use any personal information here. Something nondescript that you’ll recognize (even something random like “Bran_Muffin”) will work well.
• Turn network-name broadcasting off to keep anyone from selecting your network from a drop-down menu.

Each of these steps takes some time, so sprinkle them throughout a day if you want: There’s no need to tackle everything at once. When you’re done, you’ll know that your wireless network is safe.

Dig Deep with Your PasswordsEverything you just accomplished could be for nothing if a thief has your existing passwords, so you need to change them for every service you use. Try it when you find yourself on those sites anyway.

What you’ve heard is true: Passwords should use a variety of special characters, numerals, letters, and cases when possible. They should be close to random, and there should be a different one for each website you use. Doing this, and keeping track of it all, is a pain—which is why people don’t do it and wind up with stolen identities.

Try Dashlane (dashlane.com), a password manager with powerful encryption that can securely keep track of the weirdest codes you can come up with. Best of all, it logs you into sites automatically, so there’s no need to worry about all those obscure keystrokes. Whew!

How to Avoid Online Holiday Shopping Pitfalls

   

With the holiday shopping season quickly approaching, we are all looking for ways to save. One of the best ways to cut costs and avoid hassles is to shop online. But not all deals are as great as they seem at first glance. Our friends at MoneyTalksNews.com share five potential pitfalls to online holiday shopping, and some ways you can address them to maximize savings and minimize stress:

Plus: 13 Things Your Salesclerk Won’t Tell You

Pricing
Risks: While the base price for an online item might look lower than the store price, you also have to factor in the cost of shipping. Sometimes the list price assumes you’ll mail in a rebate, or meet certain conditions, like buying a large enough quantity or spending enough money to qualify for a discount.
Solutions: Check out shipping costs before you buy, and see what options you have. Many retailers with local stores will allow you to ship a product to one of their locations at no charge. Also be sure to check for coupons through Google and on sites like RetailMeNot.comand DealCoupon.com — there are often codes for free shipping during the holidays, plus additional discounts that not everyone knows about. Be sure to check the conditions on those coupons as well, though.

Shipping Time
Risks: Lots of people are shopping alongside you, and item stock might drop fast. There’s always a small risk that a merchant will run out of an item and have to order more, possibly delaying the arrival of your item. Every business has different shipping policies, too – some orders can take weeks to arrive.
Solutions: Look for sites that have automated systems that notify you when an item’s stock is low or sold out – some smaller independent merchants update their product listings by hand and their stock listings might be inaccurate. If the product page doesn’t mention whether the item’s in stock or not, skip it. Likewise, make sure the ship and/or delivery date is listed – if not on the product page, at least during the checkout process. Otherwise, who knows when your gift will arrive?

Returns:
Risks: Whether you shop online or at a store, returning a purchase can be a sticky process. Sometimes items can only be exchanged, or can’t be returned at all if they’ve been opened. Sometimes there’s a “restocking fee” and you won’t get a full refund. On top of that, you often have to cover return shipping on your own.
Solutions: Read the merchant’s return policy carefully before ordering. Know if you’re responsible for return shipping, or if you can print out a prepaid return label. Also make sure you understand the policy for your specific item – in addition to a general return policy, there are also often specifics for different categories of items. Returning clothes is different (and often easier) than returning electronics or unwrapped DVDs, CDs, and video games.

Merchant Reputation
Risks: Pretty much anybody can do business online, and not everybody is professional or trustworthy. Especially on auction sites like eBay, it’s easy to misrepresent the condition or nature of a product with a stock photo or generic description.
Solution: Solution: Check out the seller’s ratings and what other buyers have said, if the website has those features. If it doesn’t, or if the merchant isn’t well-established, be skeptical and contact the seller for specifics before buying. Make sure you’re not getting a generic or knock-off product unless you’re looking for one. If it’s used, be sure to assess the condition and quality by asking questions and getting photos from different angles, not stock images pulled from Google. In short, the less you can tell, the more you should ask.

Payment Method
Risks: Identity theft and fraud are always risks online, but never more so when you’re shopping, because that’s when you’re putting your financial information out there. Online shopping allows you to screw up in other ways: like buying more or different items than you intended.
Solution: At checkout, verify the list of items you’re purchasing and make sure the quantities are right. Consider using secure checkout methods such as Paypal.com, or be aware of the protections your credit card offers in case something goes wrong. Consider using a virtual credit card for online shopping, too.

Now that you know what to look for, you might be looking for some sites to compare prices. Google is a good place to start, but it doesn’t always provide the best results when it comes to shopping. Try these, too: PriceGrabber.com, Yahoo! Shopping and NexTag.

Plus: 6 Ways to Survive Holiday Travel

Stacy Johnson is a financial expert and CPA. More articles from Stacy can be found at

7 Online Scams and How to Avoid Them

Swindlers may be following your every tweet and post, looking for a chance to fleece you. Here’s how to confound seven fast-growing cons.

1. Free Trial Offer! (Just pay forever)

How it works: You see an Internet offer for a free one-month trial of some amazing product—often a teeth whitener or a weight-loss program. All you pay is $5.95 for shipping and handling.

What’s really going on: Buried in fine print, often in a color that washes into the background, are terms that obligate you to pay $79 to $99 a month in fees, forever.

The big picture: “These guys are really shrewd,” says Christine Durst, an Internet fraud expert who has consulted for the FBI and the FTC. “They know that most people don’t read all the fine print before clicking on ‘I agree,’ and even people who glance at it just look for numbers. So the companies spell out the numbers, with no dollar signs; anything that has to do with money or a time frame gets washed into the text.” That’s exactly what you’ll see in the terms for Xtreme Cleanse, a weight-loss pill that ends up costing “seventy-nine dollars ninety-five cents plus five dollars and ninety-five cents shipping and handling” every month once the 14-day free trial period ends or until you cancel.

Avoidance maneuver: Read the fine print on offers, and don’t believe every testimonial. Check Tineye.com, a search engine that scours the Web for identical photos. If that woman with perfect teeth shows up everywhere promoting different products, you can be fairly certain her “testimonial” is bogus. Reputable companies will allow you to cancel, but if you can’t get out of a “contract,” cancel your card immediately, then negotiate a refund; if that doesn’t work, appeal to your credit card company.

2. The Hot Spot Imposter (He’s close, real close)

How it works: You’re sitting in an airport or a coffee shop and you log into the local Wi-Fi zone. It could be free, or it could resemble a pay service like Boingo Wireless. You get connected, and everything seems fine.

What’s really going on: The site only looks legitimate. It’s actually run by a nearby criminal from a laptop. If it’s a “free” site, the crook is mining your computer for banking, credit card, and other password information. If it’s a fake pay site, he gets your purchase payment, then sells your card number to other crooks.

The big picture: Fake Wi-Fi hot spots are cropping up everywhere, and it can be difficult to tell them from the real thing. “It’s lucrative and easy to do,” says Brian Yoder, vice president of engineering at CyberDefender, a manufacturer of antivirus software. “Criminals duplicate the legitimate Web page of a Wi-Fi provider like Verizon or AT&T and tweak it so it sends your information to their laptop.”

Avoidance maneuver: Make sure you’re not set up to automatically connect to nonpreferred networks. (For PCs, go to Network Connections and uncheck “Connect to non-preferred networks” in advanced wireless settings; for Macs, go to the Network pane in System Preferences and check “Ask to join new networks.”) Before traveling, buy a $20 Visa or MasterCard gift card to purchase airport Wi-Fi access (enough for two days) so you won’t broadcast your credit or debit card information. Or set up an advance account with providers at airports you’ll be visiting (Travelpost.com lists Wi-Fi services at all U.S. airports). And don’t do any banking or Internet shopping from public hot spots unless you’re certain the network is secure. (Look for https in the URL, or check the lower right-hand corner of your browser for a small padlock icon.)

3. The Not-So-Sweet Tweet (It’s a real long shot)

How it works: You get a “tweet” from a Twitter follower, raving about a contest for a free iPad or some other expensive prize: “Just click on the link to learn more.”

What’s really going on: The link downloads a “bot” (software robot), adding your computer to a botnet of “zombies” that scammers use to send spam e-mail.

The big picture: Scammers are taking advantage of URL-shortening services that allow Twitter users to share links that would otherwise be longer than the 140-character maximum for a tweet. These legitimate services break down a huge URL to 10 or 15 characters. But when users can’t see the actual URL, it’s easy for bad guys to post malicious links.

Avoidance maneuver: Before clicking on a Twitter link from a follower you don’t know, check out his
profile, says Josh George, a website entrepreneur in Vancouver, Washington, who follows online scams. “If he’s following hundreds of thousands of people and nobody is following him, it’s a bot,” he says.

4. Your Computer is Infected! (And we can help)

How it works: A window pops up about a legitimate-sounding antivirus software program like “Antivirus XP 2010” or “SecurityTool,” alerting you that your machine has been infected with a dangerous bug. You’re prompted to click on a link that will run a scan. Of course, the virus is found—and for a fee, typically about $50, the company promises to clean up your computer.

What’s really going on: When you click on the link, the bogus company installs malware—malicious software—on your computer. No surprise, there will be no cleanup. But the thieves have your credit card number, you’re out the money, and your computer is left on life support.

The big picture: “Scareware” like this is predicted to be the most costly Internet scam of 2010, with over a million users affected daily, according to Dave Marcus, director of security and research for McAfee Labs, a producer of antivirus software. “This is a very clever trick,” says Marcus, “because people have been told for the past 20 years to watch out for computer viruses.” Even computer veterans fall prey. Stevie Wilson, a blogger and social-media business consultant in Los Angeles, got a pop-up from a company called Personal Antivirus. “It looked very Microsoft-ish, and it said I had downloaded a virus,” she recalls. “It did a scan and said it found 40 Trojan horses, worms, and viruses. I was concerned that they were infecting e-mails I was sending to clients, so I paid to upgrade my anti-virus software. Right after I rebooted, my computer stopped working.” Wilson had to wipe her computer hard drive clean and reinstall every-thing. Although most of her files were backed up, she lost personal photos and hundreds of iTunes files. “I felt powerless,” she says.

Avoidance maneuver: If you get a pop-up virus warning, close the window without clicking on any links. Then run a full system scan using legitimate, updated antivirus software like free editions of AVG Anti-Virus or ThreatFire AntiVirus.

5. Dialing for Dollars (With a ring of fraud)

How it works: You get a text message on your cell phone from your bank or credit card issuer: There’s been a problem, and you need to call right away with some account information. Or the message says you’ve won a gift certificate to a chain store—just call the toll-free number to get yours now.

What’s really going on: The “bank” is a scammer hoping you’ll reveal your account information. The gift certificate is equally bogus; when you call the number, you’ll be told you need to subscribe to magazines or pay shipping fees to collect your prize. If you bite, you will have surrendered your credit card information to “black hat” marketers who will ring up phony charges.

The big picture: Welcome to “smishing,” which stands for “SMS phishing,” the new, text-message version of the lucrative e-mail scam. In this ploy, scammers take advantage of the smart-phone revolution—hoping that a text message to your cell will make it less likely you’ll investigate the source, as you might do while sitting at your desk. Since many banks and businesses do offer text-message notifications, the scam has the air of legitimacy. Shirena Parker, a 20-year-old newlywed in Sacramento, California, was thrilled when she got a text message announcing she’d won a $250 Wal-Mart gift card. When she called the number, a representative explained there would be a $2 shipping charge (later upped to $4 by another “representative”). Parker gave the scammer her debit card number and started getting round-the-clock calls from him, asking for the phone numbers and e-mails of friends and family. “It was turning into harassment,” she says. After two days, she contacted the Better Business Bureau, which told her that Wal-Mart was not giving away gift cards. Hearing that, Parker’s husband canceled their debit card before the con could empty the account but not before he had helped himself to the $4 “shipping” charge. “I don’t know how they got my name and phone number,” says Parker. “But I learned my lesson.”

Avoidance maneuver: Real banks and stores might send you notices via text message (if you’ve signed up for the service), but they never ask for account information. If you’re unsure, call the bank or store directly. You can also try the Better Business Bureau, or Google the phone number to see if any scam reports turn up. Had Parker checked out the phone number, she would have learned this was a scam.

6. We Are the World (The world of charity scams, that is)

How it works: You get an e-mail with an image of a malnourished orphan—from Haiti or another developing nation. “Please give what you can today,” goes the charity’s plea, followed by a request for cash. To speed relief efforts, the e-mail recommends you send a Western Union wire transfer as well as detailed personal information—your address and your Social Security and checking account numbers.

What’s really going on: The charity is a scam designed to harvest your cash and banking information. Nothing goes to helping disaster victims.

The big picture: The Internet, e-mail, and text messaging have given new life to age-old charity scams. “These cons watch the head-lines very closely,” says Durst, and they quickly set up websites and PayPal accounts to take advantage of people’s kindness and sympathy. Durst recalls seeing fake donation websites within days of Michael Jackson’s death, urging fans to contribute to his favorite charities.

Avoidance maneuver: Donate to real charities on their own websites. Find the sites yourself instead of clicking on links in e-mail solicitations; in the wake of the Haiti earthquake, scammers even set up fake Red Cross sites that looked real. Genuine aid organizations will accept donations by credit card or check; they won’t ask for wire transfers, bank account information, or Social Security numbers. Donations via text message are okay as long as you confirm the number with the organization.

7. Love for sale (The cruelest con)

How it works: You meet someone on a dating site, on Facebook, in a chat room, or while playing a virtual game. You exchange pictures, talk on the phone. It soon becomes obvious that you were meant for each other. But the love of your life lives in a foreign country and needs money to get away from a cruel father or to get medical care or to buy a plane ticket so you can finally be together.

What’s really going on: Your new love is a scam artist. There will be no tearful hug at the airport, no happily-ever-after. You will lose your money and possibly your faith in mankind.

The big picture: Online social networking has opened up bold new avenues for heartless scammers who specialize in luring lonely people into bogus friendships and love affairs, only to steal their money.

Cindy Dawson, a 39-year-old customer service representative for a manufacturing firm, fell for a Nigerian named Simon Peters whom she met on a dating site. “We started talking on the phone,” the divorced mother of three recalls. “He said his father lived in Bolingbrook, Illinois, not far from me.”

They exchanged photos; Peters was a handsome man. Dawson sent him pictures of her kids, who also talked to him on the phone. “He kept saying how much he cared about me,” says Dawson, fighting back tears at the memory. “I was in love with him.”

Soon enough, Peters started asking for money—small amounts at first, to buy food. He always wanted the money wired by Western Union to someone named Adelwale Mazu. Peters said he couldn’t use his own name because he didn’t have the right documentation. “It started progressing to higher amounts of money,” says Dawson. “I sent him money for airfare from Nigeria. I drove to the airport, but he never showed.”

Peters continued working the scam, explaining that authorities in Lagos wouldn’t let him board the plane. Then he needed money for school. Then he was stuck in London. “Everybody told me he was scamming me,” says Dawson, “but I didn’t want to believe it. Finally my 12-year-old daughter said, ‘Stop sending him money; he’s never coming.’” After reading about this type of con on Romancescams.org, Dawson searched for the fake name and figured out that Peters’s photo was a stock image of a male model repurposed from the Web. “He got about $15,000 out of me,” she says. “I was angry, and I felt stupid.”

Avoidance maneuver: “On the Internet, it is almost impossible to be too paranoid,” says Durst. “But don’t be paralyzed; be smart.” Dating and social-networking sites can be a great way to meet new friends, even from foreign countries. But if someone you know only from the Web asks for money, sign off quickly.

Be a Savvy Facebook User

   

Most people know not to blithely give out personal information to strangers online. But when it comes to what they post on Facebook, all bets are off.

“Despite all the awareness that people have about identity fraud and privacy on social networks, there is a disconnect between what people are disclosing in online space and social environments and what they may be using in other places of their lives,” Thomas Oscherwitz, chief privacy officer for ID Analytics, a San Diego-based consumer risk management firm tells smartmoney.com. And this data can be used by criminals who troll social networking sites just as easily as when it’s shared elsewhere on the web. How to thwart those up to no good?  Use these safeguards, writes John Sileo, a Denver-based identify-theft expert and author of the Facebook Safety Survival Guide:

• Don’t post your birthplace and full date of birth on your profile, as together this is information that can be used to steal your identity.
• Similarly, leave your street address, phone number and email address off your Facebook  page (or any other profile).
• Limit who has access to your personal data to friends only—not friends of friends or someone you just met. And make sure to control your settings. Facebook and other social-networking sites have privacy features, but since they tend to change, keep checking them often to make sure you’re protected.
• Don’t update your status to say you’ll be away for a week in India or you’re just inviting burglars into your home. Wait to brag about a trip once you’ve returned.
• Use common sense. If your online banking password is your pet’s name (not the most original or smartest choice, by the way), don’t upload photos of “Fluffy” and ask what everyone thinks of his adorable new Steelers costume. Thieves are smart enough to know this could be the key to the vault.
• Be skeptical of those online quizzes, which are often designed to get you to reveal your secrets. Even something as innocuous as “Which Superhero Are You?” may not be so innocent. The name of the street you grew up on or your favorite vacation spot could be clues to your passwords.

How to Protect a Stolen Laptop From Thieves

How to Protect a Stolen Laptop From Thieves

Here, expert tricks to beat any computer thief, recover your hardware, and save your data in just a few easy steps

    1. Keep Track of Your Computer’s Location: Try a device-tracking program, like the free service Prey. The program determines your laptop’s whereabouts using available Wi-Fi networks around the device. It can even discreetly capture front-facing photos of your thief with the laptop’s webcam and send these “thefties” to your email. With this information, law enforcement might have a better chance of recovering the device.

2. Stay on Top of Suspicious Activity: You can remotely monitor everything someone does while using your computer if you’ve installed Laptop Cop on the device (starts at $49.95 a year for new users). The software logs the laptop’s activity from emails to keystrokes to screenshots. The police can use this information to better identify a thief, and you can even retrieve or delete files.

3. Save Serial and Model Numbers: As a preventive measure, always write down your laptop’s model number and serial number. (You can find these on the exterior of your laptop as a series of letters and numbers.) These codes come in handy if you’re trying to find your stolen device in a pawnshop or need to provide an identification marker for the police. You can even use these numbers to report the laptop as missing to your computer manufacturer. Then, if someone calls into customer service claiming to own that computer, your manufacturer can contact you.

4. Engrave Your Hardware: Try engraving a series of numbers or letters in small font onto your computer at your local electronics store. Police and pawnshops can use this unique engraving as an additional identifier.

5. Change Your Passwords Regularly: If you use your laptop for online entertainment like social media or Netflix, it’s likely that your computer browser automatically logs into these accounts. Or even worse, your computer might have saved data from online bank accounts or your personal email. To keep a crook from stealing your identity, change your passwords once you realize your laptop has been taken.

6. Delete Passwords From Your Inbox: A crook can still get your passwords if they manage to access your email. To protect your information, delete all of your password confirmation emails from your inbox. Also, research and practice other ways to keep your passwords safe.

7. Back Up Your Info: Losing your laptop may seem bad, but losing your laptop, your photos, your documents, and all of your programs is even worse. In case you don’t recover a stolen computer (Forbes reports that only 18 percent of unprotected laptops are returned to the owner) always make sure to back up all of your data onto an external hard drive or a service like Dropbox or Google Drive.