In a previous tip of the day I talked about how it was necessary to lock your desktop when you were away.  On a similar page is the concept of physically locking up your laptop using your “laptop lock”.  This is usually a cord that you can loop through a secure holder on your desk and then “lock” to your computer via a key and lock port on your laptop.  Believe it or not, laptop theft is a serious problem in the workplace, so if your laptop is at your desk it should be locked up at all times.  These things can be VERY expensive to replace and you better believe your company is coming after your paycheck if it is stolen and you didn’t have it locked up.

At most jobs today, you’ll find yourself using a computer.  Regardless of whether it’s a laptop or a desktop, it is always a good idea to “lock” your computer when you are going to be away from it for an extended period of time.  What I mean by “lock” is to essentially require a user to enter your password to get to your desktop by placing the login screen on the monitor.  This can be done easily by holding down Ctrl -> Alt, pressing Delete and then selecting “Lock Computer”.  This will make sure that somebody has to login into your computer to be able to use it while you are away.  This is an important security measure as you never know who will be wandering around your office while you are away.