Laptop Security
Laptops are lovely.
Some are stolen by professional “Laptop Lifters” who may work in teams to steal the laptops for resale. QualComm’s CEO had his laptop stolen while he was conducting a Press Conference. A Department of State laptop containing high level information on nuclear proliferation was stolen right from State’s headquarters.
There are 3 areas of vulnerability: 1) Securing the actual laptop, 2) Securing the Data, 3) Getting the laptop back.
1) Securing the actual laptop
There are many ways to control the physical security of a laptop.
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Use a laptop carrying bag that does not look like a laptop case. One of the prime places for laptop theft is the men’s bathroom in airports and convention centers. Another prime place that laptops are stolen is at pay phones in a busy area.
Many times people will leave laptops unguarded on or under conference tables during breaks.
Even if it is not your laptop that is stolen, your PCMIA cards – modem or wireless connectors – can be stolen in an instant. You may get your laptop back this way.
Don’t leave your laptop in your car. If it is visible, you may lose your laptop AND have to pay for the damage to your car. Many people ONLY have a laptop, so ALL of their data is on it. Your laptop will not boot at all until that password is entered. Prevent data loss through your Infrared port. (It’s a little dark window, generally on the back of your laptop). Because each laptop manufacturer has different steps, search on Google or Yahoo for “Disable Infrared Port” and add your laptop manufacturer’s name to the search terms.
That way, if your laptop is lost or stolen, you have not lost your files.
Consider keeping sensitive files off your laptop hard drive.
2) Data Security
Losing your data can be MUCH more serious. Replacing the data can be a pain. Set a BIOS password. Prevent data loss through your Infrared port. Because each laptop manufacturer has different steps, search on Google or Yahoo for “Disable Infrared Port” and add your laptop manufacturer’s name to the search terms.
That way, if your laptop is lost or stolen, you have not lost your files.
Consider keeping sensitive files off your laptop hard drive. If you are running XP Pro, your can encrypt your data using EFS (Encrypting File System), so it will be totally unreadable without the decryption key.
3) Getting your laptop back.
So the worst has happened and your laptop has disappeared. Hopefully, you have your name and phone number on it somewhere, so it can be returned to you if it was just left in a cab.
If you’ve taken the right steps before it disappeared, there’s a fair chance you will get it back.