PROTECT YOUR PC FROM BURGLARS

Double-lock your accounts

You’re still just as likely to have your PC stolen as hacked, according to official crime figures ( www.snipca.com/23837). One recent victim of laptop burglary is the writer of this feature (see Issue 476 for the grim details). An even more recent victim is Donald Trump’s Secret Service agent, whose laptop was snatched in the street in March (www.snipca.com/ 23839). Unfortunately, our best advice is to assume it will happen to you sooner or later.

At the very least, set your laptop to require a password before launching Windows. To do this in Windows 10 go to Settings, Accounts, ‘Sign-in options’ then click Change under Password. In Windows 7, go to the Control Panel, User Accounts, then click ‘Create a password for your account’.

Next, enable two-step verification (2SV) to lock down your online accounts. Once you’ve enabled 2SV you’ll have to enter a second code (sent via text message to your phone) to log in, in addition to your password. It’s a bit of a pain, but it guarantees disappointment for a burglar who wants to browse your Gmail inbox.

To set up 2SV for Gmail and other Google account services, go to www. google.com/2step then click Get Started. For Facebook, go to Settings, Security, Login Approvals, then tick ‘Require a login code to access my account from unknown browsers’. For your Microsoft account and Outlook, go to www.snipca. com/23840, then scroll down and click ‘Security settings page’ to start the process. The Two Factor Auth website ( https://twofactorauth.org) has a list of other websites that support 2SV, along with contact details for sites that don’t, so you can ask them to add it.

You can add 2SV to more accounts using Lastpass. You’ll need to install the free Lastpass Authenticator app ( https:// lastpass.com/auth), but it’s easy to use and adds what Lastpass calls ‘multifactor authentication’ to any sites you log into using it.

Install tracking software

Windows 10 laptops have free tracking software built in. After you enable Find My Device ( www.snipca.com/23847), you can then use your Microsoft account to track your lost laptop or Windows 10 Mobile device.

Third-party tracking programs tend to be expensive or frankly useless, with one exception – Prey ( https://preyproject. com). This superb tool works on Windows, Android and IOS, and it’s free for three devices. Click Get Prey Now, then Get Basic, then enter your new account details. Click Download Prey, then Windows. Installation is quick and junkfree. Click ‘Existing user’ when prompted by the setup wizard, then enter the password you just created for your Prey account.

The program then runs silently in the background, using as little battery life as

possible in case your laptop is stolen. If the PC goes missing, you can then track it via your Prey account.

Not only will Prey reveal where the missing PC is, it’ll even discreetly take a photo of the person using it (see screenshot top of page 54). Give that photo to the police, along with its serial number and other identifying details collected by Prey, and you’ll stand a much better chance of being reunited with your computer.

Locate your lost PC without tracking tools

There are ways to track computers and their uninvited users without using Prey. Hackers have been doing it for years, after all. First, check your Gmail account. If anyone has opened it on your stolen computer, Gmail can tell you their IP address (see screenshot below) – and that reveals their location. Go to your Gmail inbox, scroll down and click Details under ‘Last account activity’ in the bottom-right corner to see all IP addresses used to access the account, when it happened and on what device.

You can also do this in Dropbox. Go to Settings and click Security to see a list of devices and IP addresses used to access your account. If you’ve installed remote PC software such as Teamviewer ( www. teamviewer.com) on your laptop and linked it with another PC, that could come in very handy. Log into Teamviewer on the available PC, and you can access a live stream of the thief’s activities – provided they don’t notice (or worry about) the Teamviewer chat window that will appear on screen. If all else fails, new Teamviewer 12 lets you post sticky notes on the stolen PC, so you could even ask your thief to please return your computer.

If your laptop was accidentally lost rather than stolen, this last tactic may even work.

Automate and encrypt your backups

Sadly, the likelihood is that you’re unlikely to ever see your stolen PC or laptop again. So perhaps the most important preemptive measure of all is to keep your files backed up.

Using a reputable online storage service such as Google Drive, Dropbox or Onedrive helps to ensure your backups are upto-date and easy to access when needed. These services use the highest level of encryption to protect your data.

For extra security, encrypt your backups before they’re uploaded. The easiest free tool for doing this is Cryptsync ( www.snipca.com/23797). Choose two folders (for example, Documents and your Onedrive folder), then Cryptsync automatically keeps them synced and encrypts one of them.

To encrypt the original files and backups in a way that lets you access them whenever you want, use new opensource program Cryptomator ( https:// cryptomator.org). You can create as many encrypted folders (‘vaults’) as you want (see screenshot above), so create one in your online storage folder. Any files you drag into it will be protected by end-toend encryption ( E2EE) as they’re backed up. Cryptomator is also available as an IOS app (£4.99, www.snipca.com/23820) and as a beta version for Android (free, www.snipca.com/23821).