A friend of mine bought a laptop and wants to keep it safe. Nothing incrimminating but advise on how to combat this I will read as well. Basically he's just afraid if it gets lost or stolen that people can access his personal data. Maby steal his I.D, look up his frequently visited websites or conversations he may have had. Is there a way for him to keep all of his data not on the computer?? Like a plug in chip that will store everything so if he can just keep the chip-thing safe he'll be better. Also Wi-Fi.. Can people acess your computer just by being near you working? Can theyhack into and find personal data this way. I'm a bit slow with technology so please bare with me. Anybody have any good reading or suggestions on how my friend can still use his laptop for buisness and remain secure?? Thank you for your time.
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Laptop security..
- Thread starter 79towncar
- Start date
Absolutely. There are a ton of jump drive or external hard drive based products that'd fit that need.
Be aware though that if someone has access to a machine and enough time and resources nothing is going to be secure. You can make it really really inconvenient however.
When I was in a situation where I had issues with security I had programs like BCWipe constantly eating anything I wasn't immediately working on, and old HD's and such went to the range and got shot before being tossed.
Really though, the best solution is to NOT put that data on a machine you're worried about in the first place. I have been out of bad situations for a few years now and I've no idea of the software or hardware specific solutions out there.
Be aware though that if someone has access to a machine and enough time and resources nothing is going to be secure. You can make it really really inconvenient however.
When I was in a situation where I had issues with security I had programs like BCWipe constantly eating anything I wasn't immediately working on, and old HD's and such went to the range and got shot before being tossed.
Really though, the best solution is to NOT put that data on a machine you're worried about in the first place. I have been out of bad situations for a few years now and I've no idea of the software or hardware specific solutions out there.
Try truecrypt.. with the hidden volume option.
You could encrypt the entire drive or just use a small partition (file based) to store sensitive info.
Could use truecrypt on a thumb drive with portableapps installed (http://portableapps.com/)
--dh
You could encrypt the entire drive or just use a small partition (file based) to store sensitive info.
Could use truecrypt on a thumb drive with portableapps installed (http://portableapps.com/)
--dh
T
TroubleGuy
TrueCrypt!
I see someone beat me to it, but it's a life saver my friend. Can't stress it enough!
I see someone beat me to it, but it's a life saver my friend. Can't stress it enough!
I just started using True Crypt, and I gotta say it is really good. As geopol. said, anything can be broken into in time, but most cops don't have the technology or patience to brute force 128+ bit encryption. Now if the NSA is after you, it might be a different story.
Also, you can set firefox to erase your browsing history and a bunch of other stuff every time you close it. Tools -> options -> "Always clear private data". And set it to clear most, if not everything in there. Also, instead of using bookmarks within Firefox, you could always just store hot links on the encrypted drive.
Also, you can set firefox to erase your browsing history and a bunch of other stuff every time you close it. Tools -> options -> "Always clear private data". And set it to clear most, if not everything in there. Also, instead of using bookmarks within Firefox, you could always just store hot links on the encrypted drive.
oldschoolfarmer
Member
Full hard drive encryption is your answer.
As for wifi, if your card is active (aka turned on) it can be hacked. If you're on a wifi network, it can be hacked. Once the actual wifi connection is hacked, it's only a matter of time until your files/machine can be accessed.
FYI - Anything stored on USB or other removable media can still be viewed through the history files on the actual PC. Also, having firefox erase your data is good but with a free forensic tool from sourceforge those files can be un-deleted.
Even full disk encryption can be hacked, but 99% of people/orgs don't have the skills needed. NSA/etc could do it, but probably wouldn't unless they thought you were planning a terrorist attack...
As for wifi, if your card is active (aka turned on) it can be hacked. If you're on a wifi network, it can be hacked. Once the actual wifi connection is hacked, it's only a matter of time until your files/machine can be accessed.
FYI - Anything stored on USB or other removable media can still be viewed through the history files on the actual PC. Also, having firefox erase your data is good but with a free forensic tool from sourceforge those files can be un-deleted.
Even full disk encryption can be hacked, but 99% of people/orgs don't have the skills needed. NSA/etc could do it, but probably wouldn't unless they thought you were planning a terrorist attack...
Well I was just asking because my friend is getting a laptop for work. He works for Caldwell Banker and he has alot of important personal information as well as client information he was hoping to store. he has all kinds of real estate related information about his clients and some of his tennants as well. Now you can see his dilema if that were to be stolen... Not only could he jeopardize himself but all of his clients and tennants.. Then he would be liable. Also he frequents sites like this and could not jeopardize himself. So OldSchool... could you provide me with more information about full hard drive encryption? Just the basics or a link with information? Thank you very much.
oldschoolfarmer
Member
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_Disk_Encryption to get you started 
oldschoolfarmer
Member
Vista encryption was already cracked once:
https://www.hackinthebox.org/module...article&sid=23235&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
A patch was applied in SP1, but surely it will be cracked again. (And a brand spanking new laptop may or may not come with SP1 installed).
https://www.hackinthebox.org/module...article&sid=23235&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
A patch was applied in SP1, but surely it will be cracked again. (And a brand spanking new laptop may or may not come with SP1 installed).
You must spread reputation around before giving it to OLDSCHOOLFARMER.. Thank you so much I really appreciate the help. Me and my friend thank you. Now If I was to go into a store and help a friend of mine pick out his laptop and I ask for encryption to the max... Will this present a problem? Like I said there is nothing illegal involved with this laptop, it's just that it will be used for storage of many personal and private things related to many middle class people who can't take the chance of having thier information exploited from a thief stealing the actual computer. This will not only hurt our reputations as real estate brokers but me and him just want our clients to know they are also protected from something like that. Will this raise red flags asking for this type of encryption even know that it's being used for a legal purpose? I don't want people thinking we're acting suspicious and then me being labled as a terrorist. Me and my friend have all our real estate credentials. We work for a mid sized firm called Caldwell Banker we're part of Caldwell Banker Elite. When I brought this subject up to my co-workers... I was appalled that none of them used any type of encrption software for protection of thier clients.. Some use alot of paper and fileing cabinets and if those documents were ever stolen, it would be an embarassment and potential lawsuit against our firm. Me and my friend deal with very peronal informtaion, credit history, ssi numbers, adresses, finance reports and much more, anybody who is a homeowner knows what I mean haha all the paper work involved.. I've been looking into these links and soon as I learn alittle more/find the most secure way of protection I will immediately act. Thank you everyone so much for the help me my friend and my clients especially appreciate everything!!
oldschoolfarmer
Member
all you have to do is ask for the best full disk encryption suite they offer. If for any reason they ask, just tell them you're concerned about propietary data for work (totally normal reason).
Good luck!
Good luck!
strydr
Active member
Truecrypt on a PC,
Sparseimage on a Mac.
Thumb drives can be lost too easily. Keep a separate copy of your data in a off-site location (like in a fire-safe, at a friends' house), and make sure that disk is encrypted too.
I've lost enough valuable data over the years to learn to keep multiple copies across multiple sites. If your data is important enough, you will too. Hard drives die eventually. Just encrypting your data on a laptop will do no good when the drive goes south.
Sparseimage on a Mac.
Thumb drives can be lost too easily. Keep a separate copy of your data in a off-site location (like in a fire-safe, at a friends' house), and make sure that disk is encrypted too.
I've lost enough valuable data over the years to learn to keep multiple copies across multiple sites. If your data is important enough, you will too. Hard drives die eventually. Just encrypting your data on a laptop will do no good when the drive goes south.
N
nekoloving
heh mostly right.
i can have plenty of things on my usb that have no record on my lappy/desktop i connect to. your thinking of the mft table that keeps a record of every file that was ever on the thing.
full disk encryption really isnt hacked perse. its cracked. - VERY different. brute force takes much more resources than an elegant solution [elegance in this particular case is still not with us] they take your personal details that they have - ALL OF IT and parse it and try to use that to guess what your pass is for the encryption.
on erasing data there are several decent programs, DOD level of shredding is to write 1's and 0's 7 times. i recommend a minimum of 3. if they look for this they can get you no matter how many times you format/overwrite.
a court can make you unlock it btw.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_Disk_Encryption to get you started
well.... thats really only part of it.
you need to do that, THEN hide an OS inside the OS. a great way to do this is to make that hidden partition the manufactures like to put the iso in a bit larger
you can do some really interesting stuff when doing the hiding lol nice hadnt noticed that one actually
yeah i've secured so many of yall buggers you woudlnt believe it!
you need to look into deep freeze also. encrypted or not if your lappy is compromized when your opening the files THEIR DECODED!
also pagefile needs to be encrypted. do yourself a favor memorize a dozen or so 25-30 digit passes that use upper/lower/symbol/numbers - memorize first, recite each day, and rotate every 30 days.
never EVER EVER EVER use same pass for user and encryptions. thats the biggest way they get em
er... oi. i wouldnt agree really. first one needs to decide how much security they are willing to be hasseled about.
and [sorry for the parsing] this is the winner~!~
and finally! look into products like deepfreeze to keep free from virii/trojans - worx great if you must be on windows.
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