We’ve all been there. On the website, the hotel was described as an indulgent fusion of modern vitality and ancient, mystical peace. Step inside and you’ll be transported to Shangri-La with deep pile carpet. The beds are firm, yet somehow also soft, and your room’s en-suite spa has an elephant-sized bath served by three golden taps. These dispense hot and cold mineral water, and the elixir of life.
The reality is always somewhat different. You leave your meeting, jump straight into a taxi, fight your way across a strange town, check in and arrive in your room. Maybe you’ll have dinner in the hotel restaurant – a gastronomic experience of the first order, microwaved to one side of cooked or the other – and then you’re back in your room until the next morning. With only the muffled sound of next door’s TV to keep you company during those long evenings, life away from home suddenly loses its glamorous Sloane Street sheen.
In these moments, there’s only one possible solution: your laptop. With a few clicks you can be chatting with your family back home, watching your favourite shows, playing the latest games or even – perish the thought – doing some more work.
As you read on, we’ll look at how to keep the ultimate travelling companion – your laptop – in fine fettle. We’ll explore techniques you can use to ensure your battery is fully charged and in tip top condition when you need it most, and how to get online when the there’s little or no broadband available. We’ll also discover how you can keep up with your favourite TV programmes while you’re away from home, even if you’re venturing abroad.
We’ll also have a peek at the iPad. If you’ve got one, it’s unlikely that you’ll want to go abroad without it. Again, we’ll check out how you can stretch it to its limits with extra apps and hardware that will help make travelling a pleasure rather than a chore. Before we get started though, we’d like to make one important recommendation: be prepared to do a little preparatory work on your laptop and iPad before you leave home. Many of the tips, tweaks and techniques we discuss in this guide are best applied before you arrive in your hotel room so you have everything you need straight away.
Maximising productivity
When you spend a lot of time moving between meetings and conferences, most of your work probably gets done away from the ideal office environment. You find yourself catching odd moments to work in waiting rooms, stations, departure lounges and, more often than not, hotel rooms. Your productivity can be slashed unless you plan your time and resources carefully.
Most hotels provide access to Wi-Fi, usually via a paid hotspot or an unencrypted connection. These services are begging to be abused by hackers sniffing the data packets flowing between business laptops and the wireless access point. If you handle any sensitive data at all, you need to ensure that it’s encrypted.
All direct communication between your browser and the access point using unencrypted web pages can be easily accessed and read. Encrypted pages with URLs starting with ‘https’ are safer because the encryption exists between your browser and the destination site. Anyone sniffing out the communication would need to crack the encryption in order to access the data transferred. Pay close attention to encryption messages from your browser and reject the insecure portions of mixed pages.
It’s also vital to ensure that potential hackers can’t access shared resources on your PC. Be sure to identify any public networks as such so Windows doesn’t enable sharing automatically. Also check that your firewall doesn’t permit incoming data from anything other than your allowed programs.
Windows Firewall isn’t ideal, but you can tighten its security signifi cantly if necessary. Click ‘Start’, type firewall into the search bar and select ‘Windows Firewall’. Here you can verify that your connection is correctly identified as a public one. Click ‘Allow a program or feature through Windows Firewall’, then disable all unnecessary programs in the ‘Public network’ column. You should also consider installing a third party firewall such as ZoneAlarm (www.zonealarm.com) or Comodo (www.bit.ly/bnYAru) to replace Windows’ offering if you use public networks frequently. Both tools are available as free downloads, and they’re pretty easy to set to a lockdown mode, blocking all but web traffic.
Check your connection
Make sure you check your connection details with the hotel or hotspot provider. A classic hacker trick is to set up a network with a similar SSID to a nearby hotspot, or to provide a honey pot connection called ‘Free internet’. These can be used to harvest hotspot passwords and any insecure data you have. Make sure the SSID matches that provided in the hotel’s details exactly.
Most cloud-based applications use ‘https’ encryption, but there are some that don’t. For example, the free version of Humyo’s online storage removes encryption. It goes without saying that you should avoid using these applications for anything other than files that you’re completely happy to share with the world. Even those apps that support encryption may not use it as standard. Google Docs does, as do Zoho and Gmail, but it’s a good habit to check that your connection is secure by ensuring the URL starts ‘https’ and your browser indicates that you’re on a secure page. Unencrypted data that’s transferred from your browser can be picked up easily by another hotspot user.
You should also consider the physical security of your laptop. A simple Kensington lock enables you to secure it to your desk or another permanent fixture. Most laptops include a compatible slot to attach the lock so that it can only be removed by damaging the casing if you don’t have the key. It’s not foolproof – locks can be picked – but it reduces the chances of opportunistic theft.
If your laptop were to fall into the wrong hands, how easy would it be for someone unscrupulous to harvest useful data? Are all your passwords stored in your browser? Use a password manager such as Keepass (www.keepass.info), protected by a strong password and a key file that’s not stored on your laptop. Encrypt sensitive files using TrueCrypt (www.truecrypt.org), or enable BitLocker Drive Encryption if your version of Windows supports it.
Theft and recovery
There’s no sure fire way to protect your laptop or netbook against loss or theft, but you can protect your data. Using a service such as Dropbox (www.dropbox.com) will ensure that you can access recent data from a new computer or any web capable PC, and its frequent updates will make sure you get a very recent version. It’s also vital to make sure that your data doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. Use Truecrypt (www.truecrypt.org) to encrypt and hide your most sensitive data in a secret hidden drive that’s invisible to anyone who doesn’t have your password.
Make a note of serial numbers on your equipment, as well as any externally mounted product keys, and consider using ultraviolet marking. These are simple steps to help prove your ownership if it’s found. You can also try installing tracking software that could help to locate your PC. Prey (http://preyproject.com) is a cross-platform, free solution. Install the software and sign up for a Prey account.
The program reports back to the Prey servers with any available location information at regular intervals. You can mark a lost machine as missing on the Prey database and increase its frequency of updating. You can also set it to take screen grabs and even shots from an internal web cam that could help you to identify and catch the perpetrator.
Prey can report if your machine is lost or stolen.
Keep charged
If you’re going to be travelling for some time, you may not be sure when you’ll next be able to charge your battery, so take the opportunity to do so while in your room. Consider buying a second battery for your laptop to extend your working time when you’re away from power. They’re often available on eBay much more cheaply than from the manufacturer. Alternate your batteries to keep them in good condition.
Some hotels disconnect the power when you’re out of your room; the electronic key card used for unlocking the door needs to be docked in a wall slot for the lights and power sockets to work. It’s a good way to ensure you don’t leave the air con blasting while you’re out, but it also snookers your chances of recharging your laptop while you’re having dinner. Try the simple hack of putting a loyalty card or other low value plastic into the slot while you’re out so you can keep charging your battery.
Maximise your battery life
When you’re away from a power socket, every second of battery life counts. It therefore pays to keep your laptop’s battery in good condition, letting it discharge fully at least once a fortnight to keep its capacity high. Also make use of Windows power plans, and remember to switch to ‘Power Saver’ whenever you’re working from the battery to make each charge last longer. You can make tweaks to the current plan to get more from it, or opt to use a plan manager, which will change the plan automatically to conserve power.
1. Power Plan Assistant
You can make switching between plans quick and easy by installing Power Plan Assistant, which you can download from www.powerplan7.com/home.htm. Once installed, it runs in the system tray and shows the current plan in its coloured icon: red for ‘Power Saver’, yellow for ‘Balanced’ and green for ‘High Performance’. Click the icon and select the plan you want to change to.
2. Assistant settings
Right-click the ‘Power Plan Assistant’ icon in the system tray and choose ‘Power Plan Assistant Settings’. Select ‘On unplugging automatically switch to… | Power Saver’. Return to these settings and then choose ‘Save’ to confirm them. Alternatively, you can opt to switch to ‘Power Saver’ mode if your battery’s charge drops below a minimum level – say 20 per cent, for example.