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16 Easy Steps to Laptop
Security
1.
Secure your laptop with a BIOS
password. Protect your data and possibly your laptop from being
stolen in the first place (estimates are that 40% of laptops are
stolen at the office) by protecting the BIOS, or the programs your
computer uses to boot up. If the thief can’t even boot the laptop,
your data is on its way to being secure, and the thief who is
looking for a quick buck may pass your laptop by for another. Do
your research, laptop manufacturers vary in how secure this can be,
and don’t rely on it as your only form of security, but take it as a
first step. Note: many manufacturers won’t reset the BIOS password
without sending it back to the factory, which is great if your
laptop is stolen, but not so great if you lose the password. Also,
check to see if the BIOS password also locks the hard drive, or it
could simply be removed and placed in another
machine.
2.
Engrave your name and phone
number into the case of your laptop. You can also use a UV pen.
The police always check recovered laptops for this form of
identification, and it makes it harder for a thief to sell the
laptop as his own. I both security tag and UV pen any hardware for
my clients, and never buy a laptop without looking for this type of
ID.
3.
Register the laptop with the
manufacturer. If the thief resells the computer, the new user
can’t take advantage of any warranty without proving ownership. If
you report the laptop stolen and it has been registered prior, this
adds greatly to your chances of recovery. Keep your laptop purchase
papers in a secure location (don’t let the thieves grab them too!)
and give that information to the police promptly. Hint: when buying
a used laptop, call the manufacturer to verify that the nice guy you
met on Craigslist is the actual owner and that the warranty is
transferable.
4.
Use the cable lock. At
least 80% of the newer laptops on the market have a Universal
Security Slot (USS) that lets you attach a cable lock or laptop
alarm. This keeps someone from grabbing your laptop when the barista
calls your name at Starbucks. Never leave your computer loose and
easy to grab, even in a locked hotel room or office. Eject and lock
up any cards or other peripheral devices (PCMCIA cards, for example)
if you walk away from your computer. Laptop docking stations with
locks are great for the office.
5.
Get a Yoggie hardware firewall
(or other software firewall). This keeps the people enjoying
their morning mocha from hacking into your computer when you are
connected in public places.
6.
Encrypt your data. In
Vista, you can globally set your data to be
encrypted. If you don't have Vista,
use a product like NTI software’s Ninja or True Crypt to encrypt
your important files & programs. This keeps thieves from ripping
the drive out of your laptop and recovering your data for their
malicious usage.
7.
Setup laptop tracking
software. I like Lojack for laptops. This will allow you to
recover your laptop as soon as the thief connects to the internet.
Every IP address in the world is registered to an address or company
(even cell phone cards). The thief goes to his favorite donut shop
and as soon as he connects the laptop, he's broadcasting his
location to the good guys.
8.
When you buy a new laptop,
think about security. Cellular data cards are now being built
into the laptop, so they can’t be stolen. There’s pros and cons, but
biometric ID and other new gadgets might be useful to
you.
9.
Backup your computer to an
encrypted drive. You can also use software like True Crypt to
create an encrypted partition on your backup drive. Use a passive
backup program to backup an image of your entire system or the
important parts. NTI Shadow Copy or Karenware Replicator are good
programs for this. I recommend the new Backarmor Maxtor drives
because they feature AES Hardware encryption so your data can't be
read unless you have the password. This protects you if someone
takes your whole laptop bag – they still can’t get your
data.
10.
Keep your backup current.
It’s one thing to run a backup every week or month or year, but
people just don’t do it. I like iBackup.com for their automatic, no
work, no thinking about it solution for keeping a laptop backed up
and always current. You install the software and it automatically
backs up to a secure, off-site location. Their service meets the
criteria for healthcare and banks, so it’s secure while being sent
to them or downloaded back to you. This is also a nifty way of
getting that older version of a proposal from last week, etc.
11.
Speaking of passwords, choose a
long, easy to remember, hard to guess password. Example:
LetMeInNow4IWantToAccessMyDaTa. This way, your AES encryption has a
good scramble and is harder to decode
(break).
12.
Check to make sure the “Guest”
account is disabled, if you use Windows. This is especially
important if you didn’t supervise the setup of the laptop, or
purchased it used. I have had clients who spent a lot of money on
security only to leave this loophole wide open. An easy way to
restrict this without going thru a disable process is to give the
“Guest” a complex and very long password.
13.
Protect your user names.
Again, this is for you Windows users. The Administrator account is a
wide open door for hackers, and renaming it can stop the beginners
from accessing your computer easily. You can also give the
Administrator account no privileges and a really long and
complicated password, then set up the real administrator account
under a different name. Have someone who knows Windows help you with
this – it’s easy to cause a lot of problems if this isn’t something
you are familiar with. This is also useful because you can see if
someone has tried to hack in, maybe while you were at lunch, etc. I
also hide the user name of the last user who logged in, just because
it makes it harder to do a password attack.
14.
Flash Memory. With USB
flash drives so cheap and readily available, consider traveling
without your laptop and taking a drive instead. This is a great
solution for avoiding the haul thru the airport for a couple hours
of meetings.
15.
Basic Common Sense. I can’t
emphasize this enough. Your laptop is never safe. It’s easy to grab,
and if you leave it running, chances are I could access anything I
wanted before you even reported it stolen. I could then wipe the
drive and sell it on Craigslist before you got to the police to file
the report. Pretend it’s a baby, don’t leave it alone without
supervision. Also, forget the fancy carrying case, I want that new
Mac bad enough without you telling everyone in the room that you
have a shiny new one in your bag right there. Backpacks are great
for the airport jog, but lock the access so the thief can’t just
reach in and grab the laptop out from behind you on the
subway.
16.
Pay Attention and don’t set
down that bag. Even though you have to take off your underwear
to get on a plane (almost!), that doesn’t mean the curbside check in
or taxi line is safe. Anytime you set that laptop down, it’s fair
game. Especially with that fancy case. This includes as you pass
thru airport security. I like backpacks for this reason, but think
before you set that bag down, every single
time.
© Copyright CORE Data
Recovery, Chuck House
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