{"id":14437,"date":"2011-07-27T19:39:19","date_gmt":"2011-07-27T09:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/power-up.space\/?p=14437"},"modified":"2011-07-27T19:39:19","modified_gmt":"2011-07-27T09:39:19","slug":"don%e2%80%99t-say-goodbye-to-your-digital-devices-and-your-business-at-the-airport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.impulsegamer.com\/wordpress\/?p=14437","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t say goodbye to your digital devices (and your business) at the airport"},"content":{"rendered":"

AVG (AU\/NZ) gives tips to make sure your smartphone, tablet or laptop doesn\u2019t get lost in transit\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Melbourne, 26 July 2011<\/strong> \u2014 AVG (AU\/NZ) Pty Ltd<\/a>, the distributor of the award-winning AVG anti-virus and Internet security software in Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific, observes that almost every business traveller now takes at least one mobile device to the airport. Not everyone still has them all when they reach their destination.<\/p>\n

Smartphones, tablet computers and laptops are increasingly popular travelling companions \u2014 they\u2019re also among the items most commonly left behind on planes and in airports.<\/p>\n

Travellers left more than 11,000 laptops, tablet PCs, smartphones and USB memory sticks at US airports in the past year, according to a recent survey1<\/sup>. Another study2<\/sup> found more than 800,000 laptops were stolen or lost at airports in the US and Europe in 2008. Up to seven in every 10 laptops lost at airports worldwide are never reunited with their owner.<\/p>\n

In Australia, the number of mobile phones reported lost or stolen has doubled in the past five years to 200,000 annually \u2014 that\u2019s 4000 a week, or one every three minutes.3<\/sup><\/p>\n

Up to 50 mobile phones a month \u2014 600 a year \u2014 are lost and never reclaimed at Sydney Airport alone, where all lost property is bundled up each month and sent to be sold at an auction clearing house. Smartphones are now a high, fast growing, proportion of all mobile phones.<\/p>\n

In the rush to disembark, business travellers leave behind lots of precious cargo \u2014 usually in the seatback pocket of the plane. Back in the terminal, most laptops are lost at security checkpoints, gates and lounges. Food courts, restrooms and baggage claim areas are other places devices and their owners tend to part ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusiness trips are meant to be productive. Losing a smartphone, laptop or tablet computer can turn that business opportunity into a frustrating, stressful and costly exercise that can cause you to lose more sleep than jetlag,\u201d Lloyd Borrett, Security Evangelist<\/a> at AVG (AU\/NZ)<\/a>, said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s the inconvenience of filing reports and re-tracing steps and the cost of replacing the device, but perhaps the biggest cost is the loss of business and personal information.<\/p>\n

A lost tablet, phone or laptop is a bitter pill to swallow<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMost mobile devices are packed with valuable, often confidential, potentially irreplaceable business and personal information including contacts, photos, videos, emails, meeting notes, presentations and calendars. That makes it vital for travellers, especially those carrying sensitive company information, to protect their device \u2014 and their business \u2014 from theft or loss in transit.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmazingly, while more than half (53%) of travellers said their laptops contained sensitive or confidential business information, two in every three (65%) said they did nothing to protect or secure it.2\u201d<\/sup><\/p>\n

Losing a laptop, tablet or smartphone with unsecured business data on it could have devastating results in terms of fraud, identity theft, reputation damage and lost business \u2014 particularly for small to medium-sized organisations (SMBs) that may not have the same resources to rectify the problem after the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good news is there are steps smartphone, tablet and mobile computer owners can take to make sure they don\u2019t say bon voyage to their devices in transit \u2014 plus new ways to increase the chance of being reunited with your lost or stolen phone, tablet or laptop if it does go astray,\u201d Borrett said.<\/p>\n

Tips to protect your digital devices\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n