Leptop Stolen

verywell

Hi all.

Can someone please let me know if a laptop is stolen and it is password protected, can they get at the data?

Thank you.

Kinetic^

verywell wrote: »

Hi all.

Can someone please let me know if a laptop is stolen and it is password protected, can they get at the data?

Thank you.

Is it just your login that has a password?

If so, yes.

verywell

When I start it I have to enter a password to access everything.

Spear

verywell wrote: »

When I start it I have to enter a password to access everything.

Then your data is easily accessed.

verywell

For future reference, what can I do to protect my data for the next laptop?

Mr.Crinklewood

Encrypt it / do not leave it in Trim.

Kinetic^

Install truecrypt.

bobdole968

have a password at the bios screen
its the screen that loads the second you turn on your laptop

verywell

Thanks all. When I get the money together for another one, I will come back to ask you about truecrypt and the bios screen if you don't mind.

Kinetic^

bobdole968 wrote: »

have a password at the bios screen
its the screen that loads the second you turn on your laptop

That doesn't secure anything and is quite easily removed. The hard drive could just be removed from the laptop and connected to another computer and the data would be accessible.


Encrypting the hard drive with something like truecrypt is the only way of protecting the data.

knuth

verywell wrote: »

Hi all.

Can someone please let me know if a laptop is stolen and it is password protected, can they get at the data?

Thank you.

I would guess that the majority of laptop thieves are not tech savvy and probably get the laptop wiped somewhere.

If a "hard drive lock" password was enabled in the BIOS, your data would not be "easily accessible".

Mr.Crinklewood

There is also software that allows the data to be wiped remotely.

bobdole968

the majority of thieves would not know how to get past the bios password.
chances are if they are steeling it they would want to sell it on again or use it themselves. most thieves are only after the hardware eg sell laptop for 300€
more advance thieves might search your comp for credit card details etc.

there is 2 approaches really
the first, would be to password/ encrypt it but if a thief cant get into it or install a new os he might just throw it in the bin. you will never see your laptop again

second, little security at all but put a tracker program on the laptop and always write down the serial number of the laptop if the guards ever come across it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4oB28ksiIo

skip to 3:20 in the video

verywell

Is the website that I use to download it? http://www.truecrypt.org/

Also, I am not that tech savy myself. Is there anything that I should be aware of when using this? Thank you.

cookie1977

verywell wrote: »

Is the website that I use to download it? http://www.truecrypt.org/

Also, I am not that tech savy myself. Is there anything that I should be aware of when using this? Thank you.

Yes that's it. Have a read of the instructions on the site and if you've any questions then post back.

Kinetic^

verywell wrote: »

Is the website that I use to download it? http://www.truecrypt.org/

Also, I am not that tech savy myself. Is there anything that I should be aware of when using this? Thank you.

Truecrypt is great. The one thing I will say is, make sure you have a backup of your data, either online or at home/work. Data recovery from a broken/dying hard drive with encryption on it is quite difficult.

cookie1977

Kinetic^ wrote: »

Truecrypt is great. The one thing I will say is, make sure you have a backup of your data, either online or at home/work. Data recovery from a broken/dying hard drive with encryption on it is quite difficult.

And to add to the above. Whether you use truecrypt or not backup, backup, backup!

drunk_monk

+1 on backup, I personally use dropbox which I've found to be extremely handy

verywell

Thankfully I had my stuff backed-up so all was not lost

cookie1977

drunk_monk wrote: »

+1 on backup, I personally use dropbox which I've found to be extremely handy

To add (again ) Online I use sugarsync for files (docs etc), flickr for pics and videos. And I've two identical 1tb western digital elements drives with everything. I only back up data because if my system is stolen or breaks I'd prefer a clean install rather than a restore. Just my personal preference.

verywell

cookie1977 wrote: »

To add (again ) Online I use sugarsync for files (docs etc), flickr for pics and videos. And I've two identical 1tb western digital elements drives with everything. I only back up data because if my system is stolen or breaks I'd prefer a clean install rather than a restore. Just my personal preference.

Is sugarsync the same thing as dropbox?

cookie1977

Pretty much but I prefer it to dropbox although I use both. It gives you 5gb free data space instead of the dropbox 2gb.

verywell

Thank you!

verywell

I am reading the truecrypt documentation and when it says create truecrypt volume what does that mean exactly?

cookie1977

The volume is the harddrive or section of the hard drive that you're encrypting

zagmund

Be wary of encrypting stuff without knowing the full consequences of any problems that may arise.

In work I deal with a number of people throughout the course of a year who have encrypted files and can't get access to them for one reason or another. There's no problem directly with the encryption and I would recommend it for someone looking to secure data, but what people often fail to realise is that once it's encrypted *properly* you can't get it back without the key. If you forget the key, or the file gets corrupted (so the key doesn't 'fit' any more) then you have almost no chance of getting your stuff back. As in, we're talking the .001% on the flip side of the oft quoted 99.999%.

It really comes down to the fact that encryption is *supposed* to be a strong protective measure. If it was easy for the bloke on the service desk to decrypt your stuff then it would be easy for the determined thief to do the same.

Encryption is good, but you really need to be aware that a glitch (power cut at exactly the wrong moment, for example, or something as simple as you forgetting the key/password) could render all your data unusable to you in the blink of an eye. As others have said, backup.

z

verywell

It was more to do with the thought of others going through my stuff that is/was driving me mad.

Not too sure if i am keen on the encryption idea anymore now.

biko

You can choose to only encrypt a certain part of the computer, like a folder or a partition. Then keep your secrets in there.
It'll be like a password protected folder, only stronger.

verywell

Thank you. i will give that a go.