Tips to secure your Laptop Data
Laptop computers make easy targets for thieves, they’re easy to steal and easy to sell. Most laptops that are stolen are never returned, the laptops themselves make the thief worthwhile, but in most cases it is what’s on the hard drive that’s gives it much more value– and dangerous when it falls into the wrong hands.
“The unsecured laptop computer is easily stolen and a goldmine for identity thieves,” said Robert Siciliano, president of IDTheftSecurity.com. “Owners indiscriminately store personal data of all kinds on them. The portable computer is the thief’s fantasy, but effective, and inexpensive, security exists.”
The very best way to prevent data theft is really simple — just don’t store sensitive data on your laptop period. Prohibiting the storage of sensitive data on laptops helps protect your data, but it won’t stop a thief from stealing your laptop. Keep your laptop with you at all times, never leave it even for a second.
Locking down those user accounts on your laptop is the first line of defense against someone looking to access your data is to make sure that all of the user accounts are password-protected (hopefully with strong passwords).
Another good option is to allow users to access via remote capabilities while their on the road or at home. There still will be some risks, but you take away a direct thief problem of your data. However, if there’s no remote access or when remote just doesn’t meet the need for what ever reason then we have a few tips below to help you take a little time to secure your laptop so that if it is stolen you will be able to recover it or those who have it will not be able to access the data.
Option 1
Everyone has files they would like to keep out the the hands of intruders or thieves looking to steal your identity. There’s the concern of loosing your laptop or thumb drive with all that personal or work related data you had on it. Some of us just want to keep some data from your children like adult files meant only for mommy and daddy.
Encrypting your data is one of the simplest and best options you have in your arsenal to protect your data should your PC or laptop be lost or stolen. Encrypting your data prevents your valuable information from being accessed even if the HDD or SSD is removed from the computer.
Window’s XP Professional as well as Window’s Vista Business and Ultimate all support this feature. Windows 7 also has this built-in, it’s called BitLocker encryption and does a wonderful job at securing sensitive files and data.
Macs also come with their own hard-drive encryption software, known as FileVault. Like Windows BitLocker, it secures the data on your drive from prying eyes in the event that thieves get away with your laptop. 
My favorite encryption tool is TrueCrypt, a free open-source disk encryption software program for Windows 7/Vista/XP, Mac OS X, and Linux. TrueCrypt creates a virtual encrypted disk within a file and mounts it as a real disk. You can encrypts an entire partition or storage device such as USB flash drive or hard drive. Encryption is automatic, real-time (on-the-fly) and transparent. Thats right, TrueCrypt will create a virtual hard drive that will read and write encrypted files on the fly. You can download TrueCrypt here. Oh, did I mention it is Free.
So far even the government has had trouble breaking this, so we’re pretty sure that most of the would be thieves of that get access or steal your system would not be able to get your data.
Option 2
No doubt about it, you’ve heard about LoJack before. But they just don’t secure cars, trucks and the likes. They also offer one of the best forms of protection for laptops. LoJack has a very good reputation and the success stories on their website speak for themselves. The protection is generally sold with new systems but you can order 3 years of protection for $89 USD.
Tracking Software such as ComputraceComplete, ComputracePlus developed by Absolute Software will allow you to monitor where your laptop is, who is on it, and what changes have been made on the hard drive or software. This type of software really helps protect your laptop, the moment a thief uses your laptop on the Internet it starts communicating in the background with a monitoring Centre giving it’s location.
Option 3
USB Security keys are fun to have and can be annoying if lost. Basically the USB Key is a physical password that is required to be inserted in the system if it is to operate. The only problem with this is if the USB key is lost you are going to have a big hassle fixing your problem so this option is to be used with caution.
There are plenty of programs and self help articles available online that can be used to perform this task as well as help with fixing a problem should the USB key be lost or stolen.
Option 4
This is an alternative to LoJack and a lot more technical than the previously mentioned options. This will require you to install a GPS unit in your laptop/noptebook. Depending on your warranty this can void it. But it’s one of the fastest ways to get back your computer as the GPS unit will pinpoint the location of your system (generally accurate up to six feet) so law enforcement to do their job.
“The recent statistics speak for themselves, and the responsible thing to do is invest in GPS technology to remove data and recover a lost or stolen machine,” said Dan Yost, chief technology officer at MyLaptopGPS, a firm whose product tracks the whereabouts of misplaced and stolen laptops by way of Internet-based GPS.
MyLaptopGPS is an example that offers a fantastic security software application that tracks the machine and retrieves your sensitive information once it’s reported stolen. According to MyLaptopGPS, as soon as the thief connects to the Internet, the GPS system locates the machine and removes all important files, and returning the files to the rightful owner via a fully-encrypted transfer. Their service costs about $10 a month and well worth it if you travel a lot.
(Windows, Mac OS X ) Adeona is an Open Source system ( Free) for tracking the location of your lost or stolen laptop that does not rely on a proprietary, central service. This means that you can install Adeona on your laptop and go — there’s no need to rely on a single third party. What’s more, Adeona addresses a critical privacy goal different from existing commercial offerings. It is privacy-preserving. This means that no one besides the owner (or an agent of the owner’s choosing) can use Adeona to track a laptop. Unlike other systems, users of Adeona can rest assured that no one can abuse the system in order to track where they use their laptop.
With the growing ubiquity of, and user reliance on, mobile computing devices (laptops, PDAs, smart phones, etc.), loss or theft of a device is increasingly likely, disruptive, and costly. Internet-based tracking systems provide a method for mitigating this risk. These tracking systems send, over the Internet, updates regarding the current location of the device to a remotely administered repository. If the device is lost or stolen, but maintains Internet connectivity and unmodified software, the tracking system can keep tabs on the current whereabouts of the device. This data could prove invaluable when the appropriate authorities attempt to recover the device. Check it out, it won’t cost you anything to try it out!
Option 5
Company Based Encryption/Security. This will generally apply only to those who have company sensitive data on their computers. Generally if your computer was given to you or configured by your company, the IT department would have done their job, but it’s always good to double check.
In any case check with the IT department as to options for securing data and options for recovering a stolen system. Most naturally they will offer one of the four solutions mentioned above. But its always good to check with them as they might have corporate specific options.
Option 6
Nowadays ripping someones password is really easy to do. Which has been the motivation behind manufactures providing laptops with Biometric Solutions (fingerprint identification software), which uses the fingerprint as the user’s login rather than a password. When you first use the laptop, the installation guides the user to scan his or hers fingerprint so each time you log on to your laptop the software authenticates based on the stored fingerprint.
Windows only: Use face recognition software to log into your computer, one such product that has gotten a lot of attention in this area is LemonScreen. This cool application adds face recognition to your Windows login screen, allowing you to login to your locked laptop by simply sitting down in front of your computer. LemonScreen is available for $19.95 USD and can be downloaded here.
Free ware Windows/98/Me/NT/2000/XP Only: BananaScreen adds face recognition login to your webcam-enabled Windows laptop just like LemonScreen. All you have to do is install BananaScreen and create a face model, then set it up to lock after a predefined amount of inactivity or hit Alt-L to lock at any time. Once locked, BananaScreen will keep an eye on any faces that approach the camera. When it matches yours, it unlocks your computer. It is free and rarely this category offers superior performance but it does happen with some products, basically you get what you pay for. You can download BananaScreen here.
A Mac version will be available soon according to the site.
