Faceburgled!

Though we may rarely think about it, physically losing your equipment is only one loathsome aspect of getting robbed. But if someone steals your phone or your laptop, what happens to the digital identity that rides along with it -- an identity that's now in someone else's possession?

One UK woman, Victoria Richardson, learned the hard way last week that losing a laptop can be a lot like losing your life. A burglar absconded with her computer -- along with her iPhone, Nintendo DS, and purse -- but from there things only got worse.

Logging into her Facebook account some time later, Richardson found that the burglar now had full access to the account and was posting messages on it from "my new laptop." The burglar wasn't necessarily posing as Richardson to further his schemes -- though he certainly could have used that access to get additional information about her or data on other targets -- but was rather simply taunting Richardson with the power he now had over her.

Mocking the quality of her TV and offering a thank you from "your night time burglar," Richardson said the intense invasion of privacy worked, wholly spooking her and degrading her in front of her friends.

The Telegraph story doesn't discuss it explicitly, but the burglar's brash actions could certainly lead to his downfall. With a subpoena, Facebook could be compelled to provide the IP address from which the burglar's messages came, and that in turn could be used to track down the location of the burglar -- which is hopefully not a coffee shop with free Wi-Fi where he dropped by one night.

But the bigger takeaway should be gleaned by individuals: Always protect your computer with a password, and set the machine so that the password must be entered if the screen saver activates. This way if you leave your computer on and it's stolen (such as overnight), the thief will have a harder time breaking in to your files and web account. To be sure, there are some reliable ways to crack Windows passwords, but most thieves are unlikely to want to put in the time and effort to do so and will likely prefer to simply reformat the machine from scratch. That could be a good thing: You'll lose the laptop, but at least you'll come through with your sanity and privacy intact.