I’ll need to directly address one of the three most common myths I encounter.

The myth: “I don’t have any sensitive data on my laptop.”

Some businesses and individuals are, thankfully, quick to admit that when their laptops go missing, they’ll be in a world of hurt (and not because of the hardware).

But it’s amazing how many people will say “I don’t really have anything sensitive on my laptop.” Even businesspeople say this!

In response, I have very often offered The Bet. The Bet is simple. I will pay $1,000 for one day alone with the laptop. The catch? I get to post anything and everything I find, right here on my blog, and anywhere else on the Internet I choose. I am not liable for any ramifications of this action.

No worries, right? After all, there’s nothing sensitive or private, or even of interest, on the laptop. So, no worries! Just let me take a days’ gander and post my findings.

So far I’ve never had one single taker.

Stop denying that your laptop has all kinds of information on it that you don’t want others to have. From email to photos to settings to browser histories to documents, it’s a treasure trove–even if you don’t have 1,000,000 social security numbers on it.