How to Find Lost or Stolen Laptop

This article will show you how to Find Lost or Stolen Laptop. Even if you think you’re taking good care of your laptop, bad things can happen. It can feel like the end of the world if you lose your device or, even worse, if it gets stolen. Only your phone is likely to have more of your personal information on it than your PC. Even though it makes sense that this would upset you a lot, all may not be lost. Both Microsoft and Apple have added tools to their operating systems that could help you find your laptop faster than you thought.

This is by no means a sure thing, but following these tips at least gives you a chance. If you work on the go, you probably bring your PC with you wherever you go. This can be done at a coffee shop, the office, the park, or anywhere else where you can get your work done quickly. It would be great to be able to do your work while taking in the beautiful view outside. But that always makes it more likely that you’ll lose your laptop or, worse, that someone will steal it. So, this guide will show you how to Find Lost or Stolen Laptop.

Importance of Finding a Lost or Stolen Laptop

1. Data security: Laptops often have private and personal information on them, like personal documents, financial records, login credentials, and work-related files. Finding a lost or stolen laptop helps keep this information from falling into the wrong hands and saves people or businesses from identity theft or data breaches.
2. Protection of privacy: If you lose your laptop, your personal photos, emails, and contact logs could be seen by other people. By finding the device, you can make sure that this personal information stays private and doesn’t get into the wrong hands.
3. Loss of Money: Laptops are expensive gadgets, and if you lose one, it can cost you a lot of money. If someone finds a lost or stolen laptop, they won’t have to buy a new one and might even save money on data recovery services.
4. Productivity: Professionals, students, and other people who use their computers for work or school can’t do their jobs or learn as well if they can’t access their device. When the laptop is found, people can get back to work, view important files, and avoid any work or school problems.
5. Device Replacement: A laptop can have sentimental worth if it was a gift from a loved one or if it holds memories that are important to you. Finding a lost or stolen laptop could help bring back this personal value and make you feel better emotionally.

How to Find Lost or Stolen Laptop

Use Find My Device

Find My Device is a tool that has been built into Microsoft laptops since 2015. This function helps you figure out where your laptop is in the area. By default, this option is off, so you would need to turn it on. But for the feature to work, you need to turn it on before you lose your laptop. Before we talk about how to track your laptop, let’s look at how to turn on the Find My Device tool in Windows 11:

1. To open the Settings app on your PC, press the Win and I keys together.
2. Click the Privacy & Security choice on the left side of the Settings window.
3. Now, go to the right side of the screen and click on Find my device in the Security area.
4. Find my device is on the right side of the next window. Move the slider to the right to turn on the function.

Use Gmail to Track your Stolen Windows Laptop’s IP address

But if Find my device wasn’t turned on when you lost or had it stolen, you still have a chance. You can find out your laptop’s IP address if you have a Gmail account. If someone is already using it, this would be helpful. Even though you might not find out exactly where your lost laptop is, this would give you a good idea of what city, town, or place it might be in. Follow the steps below to use your Gmail account to try to find your laptop’s IP address:

1. Open your computer and sign in to your Gmail account on the web.
2. Make sure you’re on the Inbox page in your email.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Details on the right side of the box that says “Last account activity.”
4. It will bring up the pop-up box for Activity information.

Use Facebook To Track Your Stolen Laptop

If none of the above methods work or you don’t have the choice to use them, you can also use your Facebook account on another PC or laptop to get your IP address and the last time it was connected or the last session. Let’s take a look:

1. Open your computer and sign in to your Facebook account on the web.
2. Now, go to the top right of your Facebook home page and click on the down arrow (Account).
3. Click on Settings & privacy in the list.
4. Next, click on the Security and login choice on the left side of the Settings page.
5. Now, go to the right and look at the part called “Where You’re Logged In.”

Use Dropbox

In the same way, you can use your Dropbox account to find the IPD address that can help you find your laptop if it’s been lost or stolen. Here’s what to do:

1. Open your computer and go to the Dropbox Official site on the web.
2. Use your account to sign in.
3. On the home page of Dropbox, go to the top right and click on your picture.
4. Now, go to the menu and choose Settings.
   You will now go to the area called “All files.”
5. Here, under “Personal account” on the right, click on the “Security” tab.
6. Now, go to the Web browsers field and click on the “i” next to “Current session” in the “Most recent activity” column. Write down the IP Address.

Use a Tracking Software

Installing tracking software may be expensive, but it’s the only way to be sure that your lost or stolen laptop will be found, unlike the other methods. But you have to use the software before your machine goes missing.

PreyProject

This is a well-known piece of device tracking and security software that helps you keep an eye on your devices, protect your data, and even get them back if they get lost, stolen, or used for online work. Here are some things about it:

1. It has Control Zones that help you keep track of your device when it leaves your area.
2. It helps you find your device with Aware Tracking and lets you see where it has been every hour with Location History.
3. It lets you delete data from afar if you lose your laptop, extract certain papers, get back images, or encrypt your laptop while you look for it to keep your privacy safe.
4. It makes reports with proof for a lost or stolen device that include the position, pictures, WiFi networks nearby, and user information.
5. It also lets you lock the screen from a distance, set an alarm that can’t be turned off, and send texts.

Questions and Answers