A laptop computer can be a great convenience: all your programmes and data available wherever you go. But along with the benefits of portability comes a huge risk: the loss of the device.
A major inconvenience of losing your computer is the loss of your data – family photos / videos, financial records, emails, etc – however this can be addressed via regular back-up’s. In the case of a stolen laptop, you have the added concern of the thief accessing your private data. And not just the data on the laptop.
If you save website passwords in your browser the thief may be able to log-into those sites and impersonate you. Furthermore, they could reset the website passwords, thus locking you out of your own online accounts. And if you use a local email application (e.g. Outlook) they will continue to receive emails (including password reset notifications) until you change your email password.
Some people configure their computer to require a password to log-into the operating system. However that is not always secure, as there are scenarios in which the data can still be accessed.
Hard Drive Encryption
A simple and effective approach to addressing the risk of theft is to encrypt the laptop’s hard drive. If you encrypt the entire drive, then a thief will see nothing but random data (garbage) when they try to access your files. However when you start-up your laptop and enter your password all your data will be available to you.
Hard Drive Encryption Programmes
For Windows, Microsoft offers a feature called BitLocker. However not all users will have access to this, as with Windows 7[1] this is only available for the Ultimate and Enterprise versions, and with Windows 8[2] for the Professional and Enterprise versions.
A popular programme available across many versions of Windows, Max OS X and Linux is TrueCrypt[3]. TrueCrypt is free, and can encrypt an entire hard drive, a section of the hard drive, or even an external USB thumb drive (very handy!).
Finally, Mac OS X users also have File Vault[4].
Although there are many more programmes in existence for encrypting a hard drive, the above three programmes are perhaps the most popular.
What are the Downsides to Encrypting a Hard Drive?
The most obvious downside to encrypting a hard drive is that if you forget the password then you have lost your data. Some encryption programmes allow for a special “recovery key” (code) to be entered. Needless to say, if this feature is available to you and you use it, be sure to keep the recovery key in a safe location. If a recovery option is not available, then your only other option would be to resort to back-up’s.
Another concern may be that the performance of the machine will deteriorate: after all, the data must be encrypted / decrypted as it is written-to / read-from the hard drive. Of course whether or not this is noticeable will depend on several factors.
There are other risks (such as the ability to recover from data corruption) however these are rare, and can again be mitigated through regular back-up’s.
Ultimately, the relative benefits of hard drive encryption must be weighed against the risks, and non-technical users should consider discussing their specific situation with a trusted technical source before proceeding.
Final Comments
Arguably, encrypting a hard drive is necessary for laptop users. However even desktop users would benefit, as when the time comes to dispose of the computer, the former owner can be confident that whoever takes possession of the computer can not access the encrypted data.[5]
Please note that hard drive encryption protects the data while the computer is “off”. If the laptop is stolen while left running and logged-in then hard drive encryption again offers little value.
Of course, this article assumes (hopes) that users select strong passwords when encrypting their hard drives; there’s little value in encrypting if your password is easily guessed.
References
[1] BitLocker for Windows 7: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-au/windows7/products/features/bitlocker
[2] BitLocker For Windows 8: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/bitlocker-drive-encryption
[3] TrueCrypt: http://www.truecrypt.org
[4] File Vault: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4790
[5] Personal data should still be suitably “scrubbed” before the computer before it is sold, however if the hard drive was encrypted then that is an added layer of security.