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Laptops, Documents and Airport Security

Some options when laptops are banned from flights.

All the recent airline security restrictions have prompted quite a few messages to Peter asking what they should do with their laptops when they are banned from being taking on flights. As many Office Watch readers know, our Editor in Chief is a chronic traveler who has visited over 120 countries, often working on Office Watch articles as he goes.

There are no guarantees about airport security. Not only can the rules change but the application of those rules can vary according to the country, airport and especially the individual security personnel. That’s sometimes a nuisance but it’s worth remembering that some level of inconsistency is not only inevitable (security staff are humans not robots) but also essential (terrorists have a problem if there’s a range of variation in the screening process).

That’s the long way of saying that this article is full of ideas and suggestions, hopefully some of which had not occurred to you – what you do with the ideas depends on your own situation and the security rules in force at the time.


WHAT RULES APPLY?

There has been a lot of mis-information about the current increased security precautions. In particular, the much publicized rules about ‘no carry on except in a clear plastic bag’ which only applied to OUTgoing flights from the UK. Flights to, from and within the USA applied greater checks of carry-on luggage but only liquids/gels were banned from carry-on items – you could still take on books, laptops and electronic devices.

Ex-UK flight rules have been changed to read “All Laptops and large electrical items (eg hairdryer) are now permitted however they must be removed from the carry on bag at screening and placed in a provided tray.” http://www.heathrowairport.com/

Don’t rely on media reports. We’ve seen some quite wrong reports about the security rules from outlets that should know better.

All these security rules are changing and may have changed again by the time you read this. You should always check with your airline and airport just before leaving for the airport. Even then security can change while you’re traveling, so you need to be prepared.

Aside from the strict security rules there’s a general request for people to reduce the amount of carry-on luggage to make security processing faster. That’s good advice at any time.

It’s always a good idea to pack a few plastic bags, you never know when they might be handy. With the current rules they are good for sealing a liquid from spillage in your luggage. At worst you’re prepared if stricter rules are applied while you’re on the road.


LAPTOP IN CHECKED LUGGAGE

Many of the questions we’ve received are about the necessity of putting your laptop computer into your checked (hold) luggage, which was necessary if you were leaving the UK during the period of heavy restrictions. Since that rule might be applied again we’ve asked Peter for some suggestions that will let you prepare for such a situation.

Ideally you’d carry any valuable item in your carry-on bag but that’s not always possible.

There is certainly a risk putting any valuable item into the hold luggage. Checked bag security isn’t all that it could be, and Peter once had a laptop stolen right out of a checked bag at a popular Asian airport. The thieves just took the laptop, not even the power cable or other attachments. Most likely, the thieves look for interesting bags as they go through the x-ray and then reach directly into the luggage knowing exactly what they want and where it is.

While there is a risk of your hard drive being raided for personal data, it is more likely that a stolen laptop will be erased and/or stripped for parts. Even organized rings are more likely to move the hardware quickly than bother with grabbing data. Despite what you might see in movies, most computer thefts do not target a particular person or company. Thieves are mostly after the hardware. If the files are easily accessible they might read them, but it’s unlikely they’ll take the time to work past even simple forms of security.

That doesn’t mean data protection isn’t important and it is more important if you have lots of sensitive information on your computer (as in the recent story about a stolen laptop with details of US Veterans).

LUGGAGE LOCKS

There are luggage locks available which may deter thieves but make sure you get the ‘TSA’ approved locks which can be opened with a special key by US airport security staff.

Peter has had no trouble with these but there are reports of TSA screeners resorting to the bolt cutters anyway.

We suggest you get a combination lock not a key lock, because you might lose the key but can always have a reminder of the combination.

Since the lock might be cut by the TSA, probably best to go for a cheaper lock.


REMOVING THE HARD DRIVE

If you do need to put your laptop in the checked luggage you could remove the data or the entire hard drive.

An extreme option is to remove the hard drive entirely. This isn’t as scary as it sounds, for most laptop drives can be removed with a small screwdriver from a slot on the side or back.

Make sure you take a screwdriver plus a small plastic bag or container to hold the screws and some padding to wrap the hard drive (you can wrap it in some clothing). You can take the hard drive onboard (if permitted) or put it separately in your hold luggage. If the laptop is stolen the thief probably won’t notice or have the time to find the separate hard drive tucked into another part of the luggage.

There is a problem if you try to take any uncommon item, especially electrical items on board as a carry-on item. Airport security is understandably wary and while they are familiar with laptops they might not be accustomed to seeing a hard drive on its own. Peter has a similar problem when he takes a new or unusual gadget on the plane – security will often stop him about the item, partly for security and partly out of curiosity.

MOVING THE DATA FILES

One possibility is to copy or move all your critical data onto a USB memory key that you can carry with you, leaving the laptop in the checked bag. Or, if the security is really tight, putting the memory key separately in the luggage (eg a side pocket inside the bag).

A variation on this idea are to burn a CD/DVD – which is always a handy excuse for doing that backup you were always promising to do .

However you transfer the data, remember that the USB stick or silver disk could also be stolen. Password protecting the data on the USB key or CD/DVD is a good idea when the media could be stolen. A simple way to do this is using the password option in file compression programs like WinZIP  and WinRAR. Compression also means you can fit more documents onto the storage media.

Our Office BACKUP Handbook has step-by-step instructions for using both WinZIP and WinRAR plus tips on compression and encryption.

Peter suggests a USB key over a CD/DVD disk. A disk is more easily broken and is generally write-once. A USB key is rewritable and more resilient. There are now small USB devices with 5GB or more at fairly reasonable prices.

Our Office Extras Handbook has a section on USB keys with tips for buying one.

Another option is to upload your data to an Internet storage space. This might not be practical for large amounts of data but can be useful for offsite storage of documents you’ve created while on the road.

Peter moves his documents to a USB key as a password protected RAR file but also keeps the compressed file on the hard drive. The hard drive copy is stored in an obscure directory with a non-obvious name. If all goes well he retrieves his documents quickly from the compressed file. It’s unlikely a thief would find the RAR file and work out the password. Even if they did, the documents aren’t that interesting to anyone else (there’s little value in drafts of Office Watch articles to anyone but Peter).


OUTLOOK DATA

Outlook is a special case of data storage. The PST data file can get very large indeed, possibly larger than a USB key can handle.

In theory you could use a compression program to shrink and password protect the PST file but often the file is so large that won’t work or will take too long.

You can move the PST file to a USB key or DVD, if you have the space. To do this you need to shut down Outlook entirely, that includes removing any PDA device that has a connection to Outlook. You might need to check the Windows process list to see if Outlook.exe is still running, it can be amazingly persistent.

An OST file is essentially the same as a PST file except that it’s for connections to Exchange Server mailboxes. You can treat the OST the same way with the added assurance that most, if not all, the data, is replicated onto the server.

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