Recently our place got broken into. One of the more important things that got taken was my personal laptop. Here are some lessons learnt from the resulting research.

1. Require a password to unlock your computer from sleep. (This would have prevented in my iTunes account from being violated.

2. If you’re extra paranoid, get a laptop lock/safe for your computer. They cost about $20-$30. The one I’ve bought has already paid itself off.

3. Local backups are good to do but doing a remote backup is handy. I used to do backups to an external hard drive. Sadly my external hard drive got stolen too. These are some solutions I’ve found for doing remote backups.

a) Mozy (mozy.com) You configure it with a set of files you want to backup. It backs up your files at pre-determined intervals. According to their documentation, the files are stored encrypted on their side. Cost: 2gig Free, Unlimited $4.95/month

b)  Dropbox (getdropbox.com) Not really a backup solution but remote storage. You store your files on a remote server. Nice interface for getting access to your files (basically shows up as a folder on your computer). Another cool feature it possesses is versioning. It versions all updates you make to it so you can go back in time and retrieve an older version of the file. Cost: 2gig Free. 50gigs $9.95/month (Interestingly the backing store is hosted on S3). Bonus points for working on Mac and Linux.

c) Good ole S3. If you go this route, google for Jungle Disk. I have a friend who really likes it. I didn't go this route.

4. Password managers are extremely useful tools (considering the number of websites I mess around with). Free multiplatform ones are PasswordGorilla and PasswordSafe. If you’re on a mac, I recommend 1password (it even comes with a nifty iPhone version). Remember to backup the password file created by the manager.

5. The other thing I’ve learnt is getting your door kicked in is pretty common. Apparently most door jambs are made from wood moldings that are broken easily. To make it tougher for burglars when installing the door strike, make sure you get long screws that go all the way through the jamb and into the studs behind them.