Toshiba announced today they are recalling laptop batteries made by Sony . This follows the high-profile recall last month  of Sony batteries by Apple  Computer and Dell , after the batteries were found to overheat and actually catch fire .

Last winter, a UPS plane made an emergency landing in Philadelphia  with laptop batteries ablaze. During the nation's killer heatwave, the NTSB held public hearings  on the incident, which focused on properties of the batteries and how flammable they are.

Such an occurence would be a real disaster for an individual. (The laptop fire, I mean. A fire aboard a plane is totally the other end of the spectrum—a full-on disaster.) How do you prepare for such an occurence? How do you protect one's data and gear?

Dan Phillips, a Risk Manager with Wells Fargo, suggests an easy list of things to do to protect against computer malfunction. As more and more people utilize laptop computers to perform their functions and processes, he tells me, it's vital to:

• Ensure your data is backed up on a regularly scheduled basis.
• Keep backup data in a secure location away from the laptop itself. This ensures that a laptop disaster does not also affect the backed-up data.
• Give consideration to where and how you could obtain another laptop quickly in the event your primary unit fails.
• Ensure your laptop is current and up-to-date on security standards, such as encryption, anti-virus software and remote access software.
• As laptop technology continues to evolve and improve, older platforms easily become outdated and obsolete. Make future budgetary plans for laptop upgrades every 2-3 years.

Dan and other experts have suggested that the flammable battery is a technology glitch and is likely to be a thing of the past very soon. For the immediate term, though, it's wise to check and double-check the serial numbers and other identifiers against lists of defective batteries.

If you're not sure, contact the maker of your laptop or take it to a dealer.