Re: Simple question about laptop file security

here@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
I've browsed through various Windows docs and can't seem to get a
simple answer to the following question.

I've always used third-party encryption software to encrypt sensitive
files on my laptop in case it was lost or stolen but I'm wondering if
that's really necessary.


Well, it'd stop a rank amateur from accessing your files, but would hardly slow down a professional who stole the laptop with the goal of getting at your data. Encryption is helpful, but none is 100% iron-clad.


My question is, if my laptop is lost or
stolen and I have a password on the administrator account and password
on my user account, would someone be able to access my files somehow
if they're not encrypted?


Certainly. It's take less than 5 minutes for anyone with physical access to the computer and any of the dozens of Linux-based password cracking tools that are freely available to anyone who can use Google.


I'm using XP Home and can't use the built-in
file encryption available in the Professional edition.


Without physical security, you have no security. If you have data that you absolutely cannot afford to have accesses, don't store it on the laptop's internal drive.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot
.

Relevant Pages

  • UPDATE; Encrypted Laptop Poses Legal Dilemma
    ... Encrypted Laptop Poses Legal Dilemma ... stymied by a password-protected encryption program. ... Now Boucher is caught in a cyber-age quandary: ... The government has appealed the ruling. ...
    (alt.true-crime)
  • RE: Need a Full Drive Encryption program
    ... Need a Full Drive Encryption program ... Booting from a linux or other boot disks will defeat most setups, ... Since the BIOS controls the access to the hard drive, upon power-up, the ... > the laptop back to IBM. ...
    (Security-Basics)
  • Re: NTFS File Encryption Question
    ... Unfortunately, they are not written in "novice english", but it's supposed to be possible to import the certificate and key and then be able to decrypt the file on another computer. ... I need to be able to move that USB drive to my laptop and be able to access the EFS encrypted files on the laptop. ... I have attempted to export the certificate and keys from the desktop and import them onto the laptop. ... Now, however, I wanted to be able to read those with my laptop, so I thought I would export the encryption keys to a ".pfx" file, which I did and put on the FAT partition, protected with a password. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: Dell Laptop on Local Area Network?
    ... You don't have to do anything in the router setup, leave the router itself alone unless you are currently operating without encryption. ... On the new laptop, you may have to set some things or you may not, I don't actually have a 1505, and in any case Dell offers multiple WiFi options. ... You may have to set the wireless channel on the Dell to match the router (on some laptops, some WiFi cards and with some software, the laptop will "search" all channels and find your network, in other cases it has to be explicitly set). ...
    (alt.sys.pc-clone.dell)
  • Re: Encrypting MS SQL databases
    ... What about an encrypted volume on every laptop? ... server 2K does not have encryption tools included. ... EARN A MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION ASSURANCE - ONLINE ... The NSA has designated Norwich University a center of Academic Excellence ...
    (Security-Basics)
Loading