Laptop Security
The mobility that laptops and notebook computers provide has made it imperative for users to take steps to secure their computers. There are several simple things that you can do to keep your laptop safe. Read on to learn how to protect your laptop from theft, snooping and data loss... |
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...
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Posted by Bob Rankin on 1 Apr 2009
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Article information: AskBobRankin -- Laptop Security (Posted: 1 Apr 2009)
Source: http://askbobrankin.com/laptop_security.html
Copyright © 2005 - Bob Rankin - All Rights Reserved
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Most recent comments on "Laptop Security"
Posted by:
smb1280@aol.com
02 Apr 2009
I have Windows Vista on my Dell desktop computer and I hate it...I have software for Windows XP but I can't remove the Vista windows...Help. Is this something that I can do or do I have to take it to a shop???
EDITOR'S NOTE: Not something you want to do on your own if you're not a little geeky...
Posted by:
s gerhard
03 Apr 2009
There shouldn't be a problem except that you purchased a Dell machine. Call/email Tech Support. You will probably have a LARGE amount of space on your harddrive used by Vista OS backup. Maybe you'll have to set file properties to SHOW HIDDEN FILES to see that. Which if you're installing XP you can delete. BEFORE YOU PROCEED TO BEGIN XP INSTALL, BACKUP ALL YOUR IMPORTANT FILES. Video, music, email, favorites, documents to whatever media you have available. Dvd, cd, flash devices, portable harddrive. From bootup, (when you first power on the computer), push the tray button on your cdrom/dvd drive button and insert the XP OS installation disc. If your computer loads Vista before the disc runs, restart the computer and let the disc run. Or leaving the disc in the drive, stop the computer, wait 30-45 seconds before restarting and let the disc run. While the disc runs, it'll ask you and WARN YOU if you want to overwrite the windows OS it finds on the harddrive. Of course you answer yes. Follow the default procedures if you are going to make a standard install. One question you should heed is do you want to format harddrive? Use the NTFS file system when you format. Better security and works best. Also you'll be given the chance to format all partitions if you desire (remove the Vista restore file) and to make any number of partitions and size them as you desire. Or do that later after XP is installed. By using Administrative rights, Disk management tools from the Control panel. Your computer will reboot twice during install. DON'T PUSH ANY KEY TO RUN FROM INSTALL DISK OR YOU'LL BE STARTING ALL OVER. Just let the computer boot into XP. If the procedure does not go well for some reason, you can just restart the whole procedure by booting with the XP disc. Trial and error. It should work fine the first time. I've taught myself, you can too.
Posted by:
SarahL
13 May 2009
I keep my DATA safe by using Portable Apps (portableapps.com) on an external 2.5" drive. The drive and the laptop never travel "together"; that way if the laptop is stolen, I can plug my drive into any available computer, and work instantly - without fear of leaving behind any personal data! When staying in a hotel, there are tons of places to hide the drive. The laptop gets "chained" to the desk. BTW - Portable Apps is FREE!
One *really important* way to safeguard your laptop when traveling is to NOT use a "standard" laptop bag! Everyone knows what is inside! Go for something that doesn't look like a standard laptop bag - even a roll-around suitcase is better than the usual black bag.
I typically see more problems with laptops that get damaged by their owners while traveling (coffee spills, cracked screens, broken hinges) than are actually stolen.
Posted by:
Jan te Kiefte
13 May 2009
Hi Bob,
Thanks for your posting about Laptop Security. I have been using for a while Adeona (http://adeona.cs.washington.edu/ ). It's a small free program that randomly (and more or less secretly) takes a snapshot using the built-in laptop camera. The snapshots go to a server and can be retrieved (using a different computer if your laptop is stolen) using your Adeona credentials. At least you have a mugshot of the guy using your laptop. As long as it works, it seems to be a good idea. Regretfully, I understand that the server is down.
Keep the bus rolling!
Posted by:
Tom
16 May 2009
Simply putting identification on a laptop increases the chances of it being returned, especially if it were simply lost such as at a TSA station
Posted by:
JP
26 Aug 2009
Hi,
I'm a relative newbie on security issues. I have a Sony Vaio laptop with Vista Home Premium. I use FIOS for the internet. I have Norton 360 and Webroot SpySweeper with Antivirus. I currently have a password at the Vista logon screen.
Would the logon password help to protect the laptop from internet hackers, or is that just to keep someone in my immediate environment from logging on? The computer boots up very slowly, and I thought that I might be able to save a few seconds if I removed the logon password.
Also, I've just started to use Truecrypt for certain items, but not the entire drive.
Is it safe to remove the Vista logon password if I don't intend to take my laptop anywhere soon? If I decide to travel with it, I can always add the password back. I'm just really concerned with internet hackers.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Windows logon password won't enhance your Internet security.
Posted by:
libai
27 May 2010
Good share，Attractive enough for me,thanks for your kind share, laptop tracking software can help you track you stolen laptop or mobile,I have to tell you that it will be your best choice.
Posted by:
Adam Martin
24 Jan 2011
Bob - great article! However, you completely missed LaptopSentry (http://www.laptopsentry.com). LaptopSentry does everything that Frontdoor and LoJack do and more, all for a lower price! It automatically backs your files up to the cloud so that you never lose your data, and then lets you track and control your laptop remotely as well as recover, delete, and encrypt files. You should definitely consider including it in your article - I use it and I love it! Thanks for the great article!
Posted by:
prabhat
29 Mar 2011
Effective way of logical and physical security of laptop there is also Complete Laptop Security which provides full laptop data security, notebook protection against theft, data leakage with antivirus, firewall, activity monitoring and data backup solution.
Posted by:
Tara Lucas
09 Jun 2011
Hi Bob, thanks for including our software LoJack for Laptops in your article. It's worth noting that it allows remote locking or deletion of your hard drive, and some editions also offer a $1000 service guarantee if your laptop is not recovered.
May your belongings never be stolen!