Data Doctor: Tips for shielding stolen laptop data from prying thief

Q: What can I do to protect my critical data in case my laptop gets stolen? — Iris

A: As with most technologies, mobile computing is a double-edged sword. It provides us great flexibility and productivity, but it also creates the potential for massive exposure of our private or business data.

Stolen laptops are a fact of life, so it’s a good strategy to assume yours will get stolen at some point. Statistics from Computrace suggest that one in 10 laptops will be stolen this year and that roughly 2 million laptops are stolen every year.

The actual cost goes beyond the replacement cost of the hardware and software because of the valuable data that reside on many laptops. Because the data are actually more valuable to the thief these days than the hardware and software, protecting that information should be your primary focus.

The first tip is making sure you have a more secure operating system. Windows is the most common choice, but the difference between Windows XP Home and Windows XP Professional is significant when it comes to securing data because of the built in “encryption” capability in the Professional version. So make sure any future laptops you purchase come with the “business class” version of Windows so you have the file encryption capability.

The reason this is so important is that if your laptop is stolen and the thief wants your data, he will remove the hard drive (which bypasses the need to know your password) and try to view the files from another computer.

Under normal circumstances, this is pretty easy and will give the thief access to virtually everything on your hard drive. If you have your critical files encrypted, they will be able to see the files, but when they go to open them they will be denied access. While a motivated thief may take the time to try and break the encryption, in most cases they just move on to the next “easier” victim.

If you already have a laptop with Windows XP Home, you can install third-party encryption programs to achieve the same protection. You can find several low-cost programs for Windows XP at www.snapfiles. com (search for “file encryption”) complete with ratings and trial downloads.

If you want to try to locate the laptop after it is stolen, you can add a program like LoJack for Laptops (www.lojackforlaptops.com), which will allow you to activate a beacon (much like the vehicle version) once you report it stolen.

The catch to this service is that the stolen laptop must be connected to the Internet after it has been stolen. If the thief never connects the stolen unit to the Internet, the system can not send out its hidden beacon signal.

The company claims to recover three out of four laptops that are reported stolen and that if they do not recover your laptop within 30 days, they will refund the purchase price, which is $49.95 a year.

Another company that provides a similar service that goes one step further is Everdream (www.everdream.com). Not only will they use the silent recovery beacon process, they also will remotely encrypt the stolen unit so that it can no longer be viewed by the thief. However, this still requires someone to connect the laptop to the Internet.

Your best strategy is to review all files that you would be concerned about if your laptop were stolen and have something in place to make it difficult for the thief to gain access.