Put your brand on your laptop! Whether you do this using an engraving tool on the bottom of the machine (my personal favorite) or a permanent metal tag, your MacBook deserves some sort of identifying information. (Forget the old standby, a business card taped to the bottom of the case. Your MacBook needs a more permanent brand.) After all, most of the people in the world are honest, and you might not need that tracking software that I mention later in this chapter. You might leave your laptop somewhere by accident, and someone would like to return it to you. (Don't forget to offer a reward!)

Some laptop owners will want to include their name, address, and other contact information, whereas other Road Warriors might feel more comfortable with just their name and e-mail address. Whatever you choose, branding your laptop is as important as backing it up.

This is security at its most basic. Without a strong login password and screen saver password, your MacBook is essentially a sitting duck — and not just to those thieves who would steal your laptop but also to those casual sets of prying eyes that can read an inopportune e-mail or see too much of a private company spreadsheet.

With both a login password in place and FileVault security turned on (which I discuss a bit later in this chapter), you may still lose your MacBook to outright theft, but your personal information and your data will likely never be compromised!

Tucked away in the Desktop & Screen Saver pane in System Preferences is the Hot Corners button, which lets you specify a corner of the screen that will immediately activate your screen saver. Using the Hot Corners feature means that just a quick swipe of the finger to the selected corner of your trackpad brings instant security from prying eyes, no matter what application you're using.

I'm reminded of a close friend who once dropped by his manager's office and was asked to report on company sales performance. Through no fault of his own, my friend couldn't help but notice the open memo displayed on the manager's widescreen monitor, which listed co-workers who would be downsized within the month. A fast switch to a screen saver would have preserved the privacy of that memo. (Luckily, my friend wasn't on the list.)

As a kid, did you lock your bike whenever you left it behind? I certainly didn't — and luckily, my bike was never stolen, but I certainly gave thieves every opportunity to try their luck. Funny thing is, as an adult I lock my bikes religiously! Chalk it up to an enhanced dose of common sense and an adult's appreciation of the cost of a replacement.

Friends, the exact same common-sense rule applies to your MacBook: Buy a security cable and use it to keep your laptop safe from theft. Oh, and you don't have to search for a bike rack to lock down your MacBook — I've used table legs, tree trunks, and wrought-iron fencing to secure my MacBook, depending on how long I'm away. (Of course, if someone's around that you can trust to monitor your laptop, your cable can remain in your backpack. But as long as you're prepared, you'll never have to leave your MacBook unsecured!)

Sure, using a laptop case or bag sounds like common sense — but MacBooks are so doggone sexy that you'd be surprised how many people carry them around without any protection at all. These Mac owners hear phrases like "rugged aluminum unibody" and "Sudden Motion Sensor hard drive protection" and figure that their laptop can tackle a construction site, a college campus, or a hotel room with impunity.

Part of that is indeed true. Mac laptops are some of the toughest laptops ever made, but they're not immune to bumps, scratches, and the (I hope) rare fall. But if you carry your MacBook from place to place without any protection, it'll soon look like a boxer after a bad fight.

Many folks think that a traditional laptop bag draws too much attention — and to some extent, I agree. (That's one reason no one totes an obvious 15 × 7 bag with a hardware manufacturer's logo emblazoned on the side these days.) If you're a member of this group, consider a well-padded laptop sleeve that will allow you to carry your MacBook in your backpack or briefcase; the laptop always goes in on top of those heavy books, of course. Remember, though, that the padding is the important thing. Without that extra cushion, you might as well just toss your unprotected laptop in with the rest of your books and must-have equipment.

In Book III, Chapter 3, I discuss a number of System Preferences panes. The Security pane is particularly important to laptop users because it allows you to encrypt your Snow Leopard Home folder. Encryption prevents just about anyone from accessing (or even identifying) any of the files you've stored in your Home folder. The robust encryption provided by Snow Leopard will certainly stymie just about anyone but the NSA and FBI. (I won't even go there.)

In System Preferences, click Security, click the FileVault tab, and then click Set Master Password to create a backup password that will unlock your Home folder, just in case. (Your login account password is your primary password.) Select Turn On FileVault, and Snow Leopard takes care of automatically encrypting and unencrypting files as necessary.

Okay, I like free Internet access as much as the next technology author — it's cool, it's convenient, and public access wireless networks keep popping up more and more all over the world. My favorite example? New Orleans has upgraded to citywide free wireless Internet access, which is perfect for checking your e-mail whilst you're catching beads or listening to jazz. Many more cities are certain to follow in the near future.

However, just because something is free doesn't mean that it's safe. (Impromptu bungee jumpers, take note.) Unfortunately, the free public wireless access you're likely to encounter is not secure: Anyone can join, and the information you send and receive can be intercepted by any hacker worthy of the name. A public network uses no WEP or WPA key, so no encryption is involved, and therefore no guarantee that your private e-mail, your company's financial spreadsheets, and your Great American Novel aren't being intercepted while you're uploading and downloading them in the airport.

If you need to establish a secure connection with your home or office network, use an SSL-enabled Virtual Private Network (VPN) client, which allows you to transfer files and remotely operate a host computer with bulletproof security.