As one-laptop-per-student initiatives catch on in charter schools nationwide, the need for better security is more pressing than ever. That’s because as portable computers proliferate in our classrooms, so do loss and theft.

Fortunately, schools can take steps to protect their hardware and intellectual assets. The following tips will help provide some insight on protecting your computer hardware.

Mark your Property

Marking your school’s property can happen in a variety of ways.  Some schools will do stickers while one school in New York laser etched each of their laptops.  Since doing so, they haven’t lost a single laptop.

Purchase an Insurance Policy

Some schools will add insurance coverage to protect their equipment while in possession of students.  This coverage can be handled in various ways, but we recommend purchasing coverage that covers burglary, theft, and vandalism.

Install a LoJack for Laptops

Just like the LoJack antitheft system, which tracks down stolen cars, there’s a device called Computrace, which IT administrators can install on laptops. A hidden transmitter pinpoints the location of the computer. Since the Orange County Public Schools in Orlando, Florida, installed Computrace on its 26,000 computers, the school district has recovered a third of some 70 stolen laptops.

“We wanted software that could track down laptops within a guaranteed time frame of 60 days,” says Tom McNabb, the district’s assistant director of device management. A bonus in installing tracking software on laptops is that schools often recover other stolen equipment, such as overhead projectors and DVD players, at the same time.

Control the Contents

Before assigning laptops to kids, IT staff should install a program like Deep Freeze, which prevents students from permanently installing their own software — and requires storing files on a separate hard drive, such as a school server. Other applications, such as Bit9, allow students to run certain software while blocking programs like iTunes and screensavers.

The inability to save unsanctioned content is a constant reminder that the laptop is someone else’s property. It also deters theft because who wants a laptop that can’t be customized? Limiting outside content has a few other fringe benefits: It keeps the laptops’ operating systems running smoothly because it bars memory-hogging applications, video files, and more. And it saves the work of erasing hard drives when transferring laptops from student to student.