I lost my laptop and got it back. Here’s the shit I had to get through in the meantime.
In 2014 I moved from PC to Mac – for efficiency and mobility I started with the 11” MacBook Air. It enables me to work. Full stop.
Over the years having experienced theft of lightweight high value items (4 phones in 6 years) – the last in 2007 in Dublin – I am a bit security conscious.
So much so that about 8 months into owning my new laptop I decided it was time to back everything on it to the cloud – Dropbox specifically – and pay €9.99 a month for the peace of mind.
Still, I’m careful when carrying my laptop around, concealing it well enough. That was why I had it in my arms in Tesco on Monday night. I didn’t want to leave it in the car.
So it was natural to assume on Tuesday morning when I realised I didn’t have it, that I had left it down there while juggling groceries. When they didn’t have it in Lost & Found I had to assume it may have been stolen. This piece is about the consequences. ***SPOILER ALERT*** It was subsequently recovered there on Wednesday (40 hours later).
My five main worries when I realised my laptop was missing
1. The password
I had a crappy password to access the machine on start up/log in.
Why? It was easy to remember a few times a day.
The problem: In theory also easy to crack by hackers if they wanted to access the machine.
The solution: A 12-character password with a mix of caps, numbers, and other characters.
Read BH Consulting’s blog on password tips and this one on how creating strong passwords is easier than you think.
2. Leaving browser windows open
Since I got the laptop I’m in the habit of leaving browser windows open with the intention of coming back to something.
Why? Work half done.
The problem: In theory if someone hacked the password and got into the computer they could change something quickly.
The solution: Leave windows open and thieves can get in. It’s probably best to close out of stuff or get the work done and then close out of it.
3. Not saving stuff properly
Same as above, sure you don’t really need to save a Word doc if you’re just closing the laptop for a half an hour do you? You do.
Why? Despite having Dropbox I was sometimes lazy in what I saved as I was working on it. Best of intentions/laziness/sure I’ll come back to that in a minute.
The problem: Loss of genius or a few hours work if that file is not saved to Dropbox.
The solution: Create a habit of immediately saving all new documents or other documents. Save, save, save. And definitely have everything in the cloud and not in My Documents for example or on your desktop. When it’s gone it’s gone.
4. I didn’t really understand Keychain access
What if someone hacked my crappy password. Could they then hack into my Keychain access where other passwords were saved.
Why? I never read up on it.
The problem: I had entrusted something with my passwords and never checked a thing about how it worked.
The solution: RTFM and that goes for all browsers and how they save passwords. Know how they work, if actual passwords can be viewed by someone else, and if you can remove them remotely.
5. I didn’t really understand how Find my iPhone works
As far as I knew I’d get an alert if my laptop went online. But I didn’t realise that I could place a very specialist code on it so if the password was hacked another code would appear rendering it useless until the correct pin was entered.
Why? I just didn’t “get” it.
The problem: 24 hours after the initial loss I rang Apple and a great customer service agent Joanna patiently talked me through everything.
The solution: Set it to lock and/or erase.
What I would do differently: I had the option to erase and lock or just lock the computer remotely. Erasing my data put a few hours of reinstalling the operating system and getting stuff somewhat back to normal. More time lost. I wish I’d just locked it.
Key learnings
1. I am responsible
I am assuming I left the folder containing the laptop behind at the till or while reaching over the freezers for the half price mint Magnums. It was my possession and I failed to keep it in my possession. Subconsciously I noticed its absence – thinking how easy it was to carry everything in from the car; thinking there was something missing on my keys when I locked my front door; noticing something not quite right when looking at the stuff I had brought in before going to bed. Consciously I did not miss it until the next morning. So before I get into my other key learnings. It was my fault entirely, I’m not pointing any fingers.
2. You can never be careful enough
Be too careful and you do something stupid like juggle a handbag, a laptop folder and a load of shopping. Someone I spoke to in Tesco said they had heard of people having stuff stolen while they put shopping in the boot of their car – someone walks past, takes the handbag for example, and you’re none-the-wiser. My lesson from this is, not to be juggling too much and to definitely be alert with items of value especially in dark car parks or when you’re distracted at a till.
3. You are entitled to CCTV footage under Data Protection laws; exercising that right is not easy
I remember writing a detailed article 10 years ago about getting your CCTV footage. Basically anywhere you appear on CCTV you’re entitled to ask for a copy of that footage. I know that much. A pain in the arse for companies. When I first went into Tesco about 9.30am Tuesday morning and spoke to a man who looked managerial, I stated my query and said something about CCTV footage, he told me no I couldn’t and when I mentioned under data protection, he said oh well you could go through your solicitor and data protection and get it. That of course would turn anybody off, not someone who knows their rights. So I asked Tesco Ireland’s Twitter account and the first response was similar. When I pushed it, I was given a UK postal address plus details of having to send sterling with it. That’s a major hassle for Irish consumers. It won’t put me off though. I’d love to know where I left the laptop/where it was found/where it was for the intervening 40 hours. A better approach would’ve been for staff to say – look you can’t look at CCTV. However, the Gardai can, and if you really want here’s how to claim footage under data protection – but that can take up to six weeks.
@TescoIrl could you tell me how I can request access to CCTV footage of myself on a specific date/time on Tesco property?
— Elaine Larkin (@elainelarkin) March 3, 2015
@elainelarkin (continued) Cheshunt, Hertfordshire EN8 9SL. Please also include £10 fee (Cheque or Postal Order to Tesco Stores Limited), 3/4
— Tesco Ireland (@TescoIrl) March 4, 2015
.@TescoIrl thanks Kaz. Wow what a pity a #dataprotection request has to go through UK and foreign currency makes it harder for consumers.
— Elaine Larkin (@elainelarkin) March 4, 2015
4. The Gardaí are lovely
Making sure I was covered by insurance by making a timely statement to Gardai was top of my mind. I went into my local Garda station when the laptop wasn’t in Tesco’s lost and found and staff couldn’t do anything more than ask me to write the details in the diary. They sent a car up to the supermarket where I met the Gardai – Gardai can look at footage. However the man who knew how to look back at security tapes wasn’t there. It would be another few days before he was in again. Then they located someone who could review footage. They looked and couldn’t see me – I’d miscalculate the time most likely. I didn’t have the receipt with the time, so they asked the Gardai to come back Thursday, and I found out the exact time in the meantime.
5. People are positive/Irish people love Saint Anthony
Of course I had a facebook rant. How could you not. I also had to say in a few client emails that I was out of action sans laptop. The majority of people believed I would get it back. Many directed me to Saint Anthony. What is the going rate for Saint Anthony? And how do you “pay” him for answering prayers? And where does that money go? It seemed to work.
6. It pays to back up. But it’d be better to label your stuff as well.
I had a certain level of relief knowing that a few weeks ago I uploaded everything to Dropbox. I had lost a physical item that could be replaced. But I had one gnawing thought. My contact details were nowhere in the folder or on the laptop. It was unidentifiable if found.
7. Once you go Mac you can never go back
I struggled to get some work done on Tuesday morning on a PC laptop. Shoot me. I got into the car and drove to Wexford to buy a Mac Mini to tide me over. While standing at the till about to buy it my phone rang. Tesco. The laptop had turned up.
8. Loss of an item like a laptop eats time
I lost a day and a half of productivity. I wish I had brought the receipt and been firmer with the store about checking for the item or contacting who was on that till at that time. Having this when the Gardai were there would have also helped speed up things, rather than waiting two more days. Tuesday afternoon was dealing with the Gardai and Tesco and being in general bad form. Wednesday morning was phoning around Apple resellers in the south east to see if they had the machine I wanted.
9. Local outlets of big companies are really hard to contact by phone
Tesco
The only number online and with directory enquiries for Tesco New Ross was an 1890 number which didn’t even work.
PC World
PC World in Waterford is so high tech it’s ex-directory. Again another 1890 number which goes through to a call centre in the UK. The store line they said was engaged so the kind guy at the end of the line offered to look up the store’s stock for me – I was phoning ahead to see if they had my preferred replacement machine so I could get on with work.
Apple
Having waited maybe 10 minutes on Apple (thankfully a 1800 number) I got cut off and when I got through again they asked me for my contact details “in case the call drops”.
10. Buy less shit eg mint ice cream, 2 magazines and orange juice
What I would do differently – all I wanted was Noirin’s brown bread for my breakfast the following morning. I didn’t need the half price Magnum mint ice creams, the two magazines or the 50% less calories orange juice. Or the avocado, really.
