Hardware and Hacking.

Deliberate Damage

Deliberate Damage can severely hamper a machine. An example of such is scratching the screen with a sharp object, or smashing the keyboard with a hammer. Some people may do this to take revenge at a company. Going in and destroying their hardware could set them back thousands of pounds, millions if some hardware is bespoke.  

Reference: Created (7/3/13) Accessed (08/04/14) "Hardware Threats" http://www.cknow.com/cms/vtutor/hardware-threats.html

Accidental Damage

Accidental Damage are things that sometimes cannot be controlled. So rather than knowing that you're destroying the computer, not knowing that you're doing it is classed as Accidental. An example of accidental damage is an earth quake or tornado - something out of your control.  Human error is also covered under Accidental Damage, such as downloading something that will affect the speed of your laptop etc.

Reference: Created (2011) Accessed (08/04/14) "Accidental Damage Support"http://diegocomputers.com/accidental_damage_hardware_support.html

Misuse of Equipment

Misusing equipment can be very detrimental to how your system performs. An example of misuse is setting something up incorrectly, as you didn't follow the manual or the on screen tutorial. Downloading 32bit software whilst you have a 64bit machine is an example of misuse. Although the program will still function, it's not fully harnessing the power of your machine. A more serious example is when you download the wrong drivers to your laptop/computer. Downloading the incorrect drivers can seriously affect the performance of the machine. Drivers are brand and model specific, so downloading Dell drivers  for a HP laptop could end up bricking the machine - it will cease to function. Reference: Created (2000) Accessed (08/04/14) "Drivers Specific"http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/categories/specific_drivers.xml

Abuse of Equipment

Abuse of equipment covers a lot of things varying from spilling drinks and food into the keyboard and motherboard to printing off tonnes of pieces of paper to damage the printer. Taking a work laptop home to play graphic intensity games on it is another display of abusing equipment. It can seriously affect and burn out the laptop, and thus mean that it cannot be used again. Whereas someone who uses their laptop solely for work, that can be passed onto a new member of staff should they leave.

Reference: Created (30/9/2001) Accessed (08/04/14) Taking Care of Keyboardhttp://www.epinions.com/content_2212339844?sb=1

ESD (Electrostatic Discharging)

Electro Static Discharge (ESD) is the unwanted surge of electricity that comes when two items of different electrical potential come in contact with each other or the same electrostatic field. When you are shocked by "static electricity," that is ESD. ESD is very dangerous to computer components. While it takes around 300 volts of electricity to be discharged for a person to feel it, a surge as small as 30 volts is enough to damage sensitive components. To overcome this static charge, you should always wear a "grounding bracelet" when looking at and replacing components inside the computer.

Reference: Created (2011) Accessed (08/04/14)  "How can ESD damage computer components"  http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5271872_can-esd-damage-computer-components.html#ixzz2yHjPH6L1

Loss or Theft

Laptops, Smart Phones and Tablet Computers are regularly becoming smaller, thinner, lighter and seemingly, costlier. Because of this, they are a huge target to thieves who look to make some quick money. It's very easy to see who has a laptop when sat on a train or a bus etc. Therefore you should take precautions in protecting your device. You can protect devices by having them electronically tagged, meaning they can be traced from all over the world. Many police stations can do this for you whilst you wait.

Reference: Accessed (08/04/14) "Laptop Registration" http://ist.mit.edu/security/devices
Reference: Accessed (08/04/14) "Protecting Devices" http://ist.mit.edu/security/devices