College life is rarely friendly to laptops. When a student carries their laptop around with them all day, it presents several opportunities for something to go wrong. College campuses are one of the top locations where laptops are stolen. The trouble is, most students don’t think about this danger when they bring theirs to school.

You need your laptop to study and complete your schoolwork. With that in mind, here are six things that you can do to protect these devices at college.

1. Keep It In Sight

The library may seem a relatively safe space, but that doesn’t mean that you should leave your laptop unattended. Even if you’re only stepping away for a few moments, you should take the computer with you or ask someone that you trust to watch it. This person might be a friend, a

librarian, or a professor. Leaving your laptop out alone in the open is just asking for trouble.

2. Use A Discrete Bag

A convention laptop bag only informs potential thieves that you’re carrying an expensive device. This can make you a target, putting you at just as much risk as your laptop. Because of this, you should stick with discrete bags instead.

A regular tote or backpack will draw much less attention to you. You can always put your device in a laptop sleeve as well, to protect it from any damage.

3. Show Off Your Personality

While you don’t want your bag to stand out, your laptop definitely should. This makes it less attractive to thieves, as it is more easily identifiable.

Using laptop stickers and skins will show off your personality and give your device a one-of-a-kind look. While personalizing your device, remember to include your contact information somewhere on it, just in case you lose it instead.

4. Choose A Strong Password

People usually steal laptops to use themselves or to sell on. Being unable to access the device makes it much harder for a thief to do either. For this reason, you must choose a strong password for your computer.

The best passwords include a combination of numbers, letters, and symbols. You must also update your password regularly, so it’s harder for thieves to learn it.

5. Note The Serial Number

No matter how well you protect your laptop, there is always a chance that it is going to be stolen. Because of this, it’s vital that you prepare for such a situation. This means writing down your laptop’s serial number.

Although this won’t stop someone from stealing your device, it will make it much easier for you to find it again, as this number is unique to your laptop alone.

6. Invest In Tracking Software

To make it even easier for you to find your device, you should invest in a tracking software. This is very simple to use and costs much less than most people imagine. With such software, you will be able to locate your device, as well as hide your data. This means that no confidential information will be stolen before you can make a recovery attempt.

Laptops are stolen all the time on college campuses, so keep yours safe with the tips above.