Laptop Security

Securing Your Laptop

Over half a million laptops are stolen every year, from cars, coffee shops, college campuses, and hotel rooms. Keeping your laptop or netbook safe involves a combination of common sense, physical security devices, and software strategies. Let's start with devices that make it harder for your portable computer to be carried off by someone else.

Physical security devices are used to keep your laptop from being stolen or used without your authorization. The most basic physical security device is a laptop security cable. This cable connects to your laptop and secures it to a non-moveable item in your office, hotel or conference room. For example, you can connect your laptop to your desk, or the leg of a conference room table. The cables usually have a combination or key lock device, and attach to the security slot found on most notebook computers. Expect to pay around US$30 for a high-quality laptop security cable. A determined thief with a bolt cutter could foil this device, but it certainly makes it a lot harder to grab and run.

Another physical security device that you can add to your laptop is a theft protection tab. This tab is use to identify the owner of the computer and to prevent people from trying to resell your stolen computer. If this tab is removed then it leaves a permanent acid "tattoo" on the laptop, and in some cases it can also damage the LCD. These security tabs are available from STOP for about $25.

Biometric devices can also be used to ensure that if your laptop is stolen, it can't be used by someone else. Biometric devices include fingerprint scanners and retinal scanners. These devices can be added to just about any laptop. The fingerprint scanner comes standard on some Toshiba laptops.

Security Software

Front Door Software's Retriever software can help to get your laptop back if it's lost or stolen. Retriever displays ownership information at startup, and can also report tracking information to the owner if the laptop goes online. Also, if your laptop is stolen, you can login to the Front Door website and enter a lockdown code that will help to protect your information. You can even send a personal message to the thief, or cause an audible "This laptop was stolen!" alarm to be played. Retriever works on XP, Vista, Linux, and Mac OS X. The software has a 90-day free trial, and costs $30 for 3 year license.

Lojack for Laptops is another software-based laptop recovery product. This company provides you with a Theft Recovery Team that's actually a licensed private investigation agency. They will work with local law enforcement and Internet Service Providers, using information sent from the stolen computer, to assist local police in recovering your computer. They claim that 3 out of 4 stolen computers with Lojack for Laptops are recovered.

And of course, there's the threat of hackers and snoops that attack through viruses and spyware. Every laptop should have an up-to-date anti-virus and anti-spyware software package installed, to identify and remove malware from your system. Read my companion article Should I Buy Anti-Spyware or Anti-Virus Software? for my recommendations to keep your computer safe from viruses, spyware and other threats.

File Encryption

File encryption is used to protect your data from hackers, thieves and others who may access your computer without permission. It is usually done by special software programs, however, Windows XP offers a free encryption tool that you can use to protect individual files and folders. See my article Password Protection for Windows XP to learn how to protect sensitive files. If you have Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista (Ultimate or Enterprise edition), BitLocker can be used to encrypt an entire hard drive.

Other options for encryption are PGP's Whole Disk Encryption (Microsoft and Mac OS X), and the free TrueCrypt software, which can encrypt a hard drive partition, USB flash drive or external hard drive. TrueCrypt works on Windows, Mac and Linux systems.

Password Security

In addition to physically securing your laptop and protecting your computer with security software, you also need to take steps to protect your laptop with strong passwords. While it is important to set up a user account password for your laptop you will also want to set up a power-on password. These passwords will prevent unauthorized people from logging in to your computer, or accessing it by using a boot-up disc. To create your and power-on password you will need to enter your BIOS security set-up menu. This is usually accessed by pressing the Del, F1 or F2 key while your computer is starting up. Try to use passwords that include a combination of at least eight letters and numbers, and stick to a password rotation schedule that changes your passwords on a regular basis. Make sure you remember the passwords, or you'll lock yourself out!

Here's one other point on passwords, particularly relevant for travelers. If you allow your web browser to store your passwords, and your laptop is stolen, you've given away the keys to the kingdom. Roboform and similar tools can keep all your passwords handy, but with the protection of a master password. See Secure Passwords for more information on password management strategies.

Keeping Your Laptop Safe

To keep your laptop as safe as possible you will want to combine physical, software and use password strategies. While not all of the above security methods are applicable, practical or necessary for all laptop users, it is still important to understand what your security options are so that you can alter your security strategies as your computer use evolves.

What strategies do you use to keep your laptop safe? Post a comment below...