Post Theft Data Protection Solutions 

Recently I had been on a business tour of Kenya. In the industrial exhibition, I saw an entrepreneur with uneasy body gestures. I could see his anxiety on his face. I asked him the reason of worry, he told me that he lost his laptop a while ago from his exhibition counter. He was not worried about stolen laptop; rather he was worried about his stolen personal data stored in that laptop.

I don't know why some people are so careless about their valuables especially laptop with precious data having most secret information of bank details, password, credit card number, and PIN number etc. I gave him some tips to protect the laptop from being stolen. But he asked me what to do once laptop is being stolen? He also asked me did I have the solution to protect the important confidential data on the stolen computer and I quickly said I have the solution to protect the data on stolen computer. If you also want to learn post theft data protection solutions you must read this article to know what tips did I give him.

Stolen data from computer may be the serious security issue, but stolen laptops are more serious issue. Most secret and confidential personal data walks out the door every day on laptop. Because of the easy portability laptops are easy to steal and difficult to recover. If the data on stolen laptop is not encrypted then the problem is more serious.

Importance of encryption

Another reason, many people don't know the importance of logical security controls that could protect data. For backup tapes in transit, encryption provides an obvious remedy for securing the data. Encryption slows down performance, which may irritate users. Many people think that biometric devices , smart cards and other access-control mechanisms are taxing. Unfortunately, the people whose laptops have the most sensitive data think like this.

Every machine having sensitive data or e-mail should be encrypted. Relax! If you have Windows XP's Encrypting File System the Windows password is the key to the hard drive. Full disk encryption is more safe and comfortable for users. Many laptop users opt for the Triple Data Encryption Standard algorithm to encrypt data, which is very secure. But the encryption keys still must reside on the disk. Some laptops store this data on a security chip based on the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) standard.

It provides more security so that your passwords and digital certificates can be protected and aren't just laying somewhere around the hard disk. If anyone forgets their password, they're locked out, but a separate administrator password can be configured for support purposes.

Hardware level disk encryption, the option announced by Seagate Technology, which is available with its new Momentus drives. The encryption key resides on a restricted area of the disk, so even if the drive is removed, a thief still can't boot the system or read the disk without the password. Both IBM and Dell are in the queue to join this technology. But laptop vendors are unlikely to integrate the drives until a second supplier comes into the market.

Major laptop vendors already offer integrated card readers as an option. Smart cards are the best bet for additional access controls. Biometric devices, in contrast, are more of a convenience feature for password management than a true security mechanism. For example, the ThinkPad X41 has an embedded fingerprint reader and encrypts the password database using the TPM chip.

Locate Stolen Laptop With Laptop Tracking Program 

Stolen laptops can be traced using a software tracking code installed. 'Cyberangel' a tracing program keeps the watch on your stolen laptop and can locate your laptop when it connects itself to the Internet.

'Computrace Personal' also offers a similar service with three years contract also guarantees to pay up to $1000 if your laptop is not found within thirty days.

Delete Data Remotely 

'ZTRACE' is a company that offers a facility to remotely delete or encrypt sensitive data on your stolen laptop. 'ZTRACE GOLD' is an invisible software security application that helps to trace the location of missing laptops for recovery.

ZCONTROL is invisible software, which retrieves files, deletes sensitive information and maintains data privacy after computer is stolen.

Still you are not feeling secured get more tips HERE.

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