Protect Your Computer While Your Traveling

Uglify your computer to make it less appealing to thieves

As you probably know, it can be a bit unnerving to take you nice new computer with you on your trip. The biggest concern would be if it gets stolen, so here are some things you can do to protect your computer while traveling abroad.

As many of us know, the trend of Uglifying has become a favorite amongst travelers. This process of making your items of value seem less valuable must work in some sense. The only problem here is that you bought a nice new computer. What is the point of making it look crappy?

Try out this one easy and inexpensive step to uglify your computer. Basically, it is removable plastic sheet that clings to the backside of your laptop. I made a custom one and am offering them for only $42 USD, payable via PayPal. May be more for shipping internationally. Not much considering all the photos you've been storing on your laptop. At the moment while I set up a regular distributer I have to take orders by E-mail.

Basically, when you use your laptop in a public cafe or train station, potential thieves just see the computer, not knowing what kind it is. This can either look like the Travel Droppings world logo, or it can look like some piece of shizz HP computer that has been used and abused. Check it out.

The Gel Skin actually protects your computer from any real damage and you can take the skin off at any time. This is a more creative way to make your expensive laptop less tempting for thieves who might be looking for a Mac.

What happens if your Mac does get stolen while your traveling?

This is when you should consider the Phone Home application provided by the good people at Digital Point. Sorry, PC users, but this is only for Mac OS.

Phone Home will allow you to track the geographic whereabouts of your computer after it has been thieved. It will tell you the IP address within a couple miles of where the computer is the next time the thief tries to use it in a WiFi hots pot. And if the computer has been stolen, you can subpoena the ISP to get the exact location.

Then, on top of that, it will also use the built in camera to take a photo of the person using your computers own camera. And even if the thief can't log into the computer, the laptop will still report back to you what is happening and a photo of the perp trying to log in.

The program is free, but you do have to sign up to the Digital Point website. Phone Home is a pretty cool program that could very likely get your stolen computer back. A must have for the paranoid/proud computer owner.