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mrkotians
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Blank Prevent your laptop from theft
We've all heard the horror stories about executives'
laptops being
stolen from airports, cars or park benches often
enough to know that it is
indeed a serious problem. Replacing a laptop costs a
relatively small
amount of money, but the cost of compromising or
revealing data on that
laptop can be significant, and a stolen laptop may
grant access to a
company's internal networks or virtual private
networks. Here's a look
into the ways to protect your laptop both "physically"
and "digitally."
Set a BIOS password
If the very first thing a thief sees when they turn on
a machine is
"Please enter boot password: " they'll know that they
are in for a load of
trouble. Or else, set a boot password. Typically most
laptops will
prompt the user three times to enter a password, then
refuse to boot if
there are three failures (however, if you restart the
machine, you will
once again have three guesses). Removing a
password-protected BIOS and
boot-sequence typically involves physically opening
the computer and
removing the CMOS battery (which may clear the BIOS
information) or
shorting some jumpers to reset the BIOS to a default
state, a process which is
both time consuming and risky to the thief (playing
with screwdrivers
and an open computer is often a recipe for disaster)
Physical security devices
Did you know that you can put your notebook under lock
and key? Yes,
there is a whole range of notebook security devices.
Most notebooks come
with a tiny oval-shaped hole tucked away in one
corner, which usually
goes unnoticed. This hole is needed for attaching a
lock to the
notebook. There are largely three types of locks to
choose from:
The vanilla cable: It's a regular cable with a lock
and key and works
much like a bicycle lock.
The numbered cable:
This is also a regular cable, but with a
combination lock.
Motion detector:
It locks just like your car security
locks, these
motion detectors are also fixed using the lock port
and beep when somebody
tries to move the notebook
Fingerprint Scanner
There are notebooks which come with built-in
fingerprint scanners.
These let you, and only you, access the data. These
devices are also
available from companies like Microsoft and Targus and
can be fitted on to
your older machine using a PCMCIA slot or a simple USB
port. A word of
caution though: While using these devices, make sure
that your fingers
are clean and nick-free or you might end being locked
out of your own
notebook!
USB Keys
This is also a car-key like mechanism for your
notebook. It has a key
that you insert in the USB port. It does a great job
of protecting
people from getting to your data when you're not
around. Just make sure that
you carry the key with you at all times. If you don't,
the applications
on your computer just won't work.
UV Marking Kits
These kits can be used to mark your notebooks with a
UV mark. These
marks will be visible only when you put a UV light on
them. A relatively
cheap, but effective way of reclaiming your notebook
from someone who's
claiming it as theirs.
Encrypt the data on the disk
This will ensure that even if the disk can be
accessed, the data is
secure. Make sure the encryption is seamless and
quick, and managed
centrally, so that the user cannot circumvent it.
Tracing and Tracking
There are several worthwhile tracking programs
available. Once a
computer is reported stolen, the tracking companies
will wait for the laptop
to send them a location signal (sent whenever the
machine is connected
to the Internet). When a signal is retrieved, the
program will be
instructed to broadcast as much information as it can
about the current
connection (originating phone number, IP address,
service provider etc.).
When enough information has been collected, the
tracking company will
notify the appropriate authorities, which will in
turn, obtain a search
warrant and hopefully retrieve your stolen property.
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