What is the best way to protect your laptop computer against theft? Most would say that treat your laptop (or tablet) like the cash in your wallet and therefore never leave it unattended, even for a minute.
Easier said than done - it's not always practical to carry that heavy notebook with you all the time. For instance when you are in a conference, you won't like to carry the computer to the restroom or to the nearby coffee vending machine but that time maybe more than sufficient for a thief to walk away with your expensive notebook.
So what's the next best option to ensure that your laptop and the extremely important data doesn't disappear ? Either lock the Laptop with security cables or get the free utility called Laptop Alarm.
Laptop Alarm is like an anti-theft siren that only rings (using the in-built speakers of the laptop) when someone tries to logoff or shutdown the machine or removes the charging AC power cord or unplugs the external mouse attached to your laptop.
Laptop Alarm is Windows only but MacBook users can get the free iAlertU utility that will even capture the photo of the thief using the webcam and email it to any specified address.
Get LaptopAlarm (Windows Notebook) | iAlertU (Apple Notebook) [Thanks Sridhar]
Caution: The Laptop Alarm won't work in the case when the thief is clever enough to turn off the laptop by pressing the power button.