Miscellaneous laptop discussions : Buying laptop - is fingerprint security worth it?
Buying laptop - is fingerprint security worth it?
by thinkofaname - 10/25/06 11:55 PMI have some issues. I'm buying a lap top and don't know which model or make to purchase.
However, my greatest concern is security. I have a boss who has a tendency to break in to our personal laptops (not company property) as he feels like it. He's a computer nutter and has degrees in computing, seems to know how to do more things than our IT people. Anyway, no one really trusts that they can leave their lap top overnight and it won't be accessed. Somehow he manages to bypass passwords for starting up the system. How? I have no idea. But we've ascertained that it has happened. This is a pretty serious issue as our privacy is breached.
I am looking at buying a new lap top now and am considering the fingerprint technology option as a means of preventing anyone from accessing my lap top anywhere. However, I understand it behaves in the same way as a password protected system and, if that's the case, and people can already get in to the system bypassing the password, what's the point?
Is there anyway of PREVENTING access, boot up itself, with fingerprint technology or anythign else for that matter? If so, what IS it?
I'm clueless for the most part so any help is very appreciated.
Aside from that, I travel regularly so portability is a priority. I'm not in to gaming nor do I create graphics. I will use it to watch the occasional DVD and listen to music. The most important thing is that I can write, edit work on the run, and use it for presentations. I have a budget up to $US2000 - does anyone have any ideas?
I'm looking at Sony and Toshiba products.
Thank you very much!
Good stuff but not good enough in my book.
by R. Proffitt
- 10/26/06 5:09 AM
In reply to: Buying laptop - is fingerprint security worth it? by thinkofaname
http://www.google.com/search?q=Researcher+Hacks+Microsoft+Fingerprint+Reader&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=mozilla&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:unofficial
If you were looking for bulletproof can't leak solutions,
this may not be it. For instance even with this, what
stops me from removing the hard disk and copying out the
files?
I won't repeat the basics of security here. But you must
maintain physical control of that laptop.
Bob
Lap top with removable hard drive
by thinkofaname - 10/26/06 7:39 PM In reply to: Good stuff but not good enough in my book. by R. Proffitt
Is it possible to buy one from which you can easily remove the hard drive on a daily basis without damaging it too much? If so, is it best to get a cheaper one?
Thanks again.
So much to learn...:)
That feature was sacrificed on the altar of low prices.
by R. Proffitt - 10/26/06 7:47 PM
In reply to: Lap top with removable hard drive by thinkofaname
I wonder why not an USB pocket hard disk for "your stuff"?
I saw the 100GB pocket unit for not a lot today.
Bob
What is a good brand of pocket hard drive?
by Apt411 - 10/27/06 3:57 AM In reply to: That feature was sacrificed on the altar of low prices. by R. Proffitt
Bob et al:
Thanks for the answers to the original question. It has helped me immensely.
I want to ask what a good brand of pocket hard drive is. I think I am going for that option you suggest. I live in Chile, so we have major brands only.
K S Katz
Get the 1.8'' pocket drive
by mark960 - 10/27/06 4:11 AM In reply to: What is a good brand of pocket hard drive? by Apt411The brand of the external drive doesn't really matter all that much. The actual drive inside will come from one of the major brands. I have seen little difference between brands. Some brands offer a 3 year warranty so you may want to look for that.
Just make sure the drive is a 1.8'' format, not the 2.5'' format. The 2.5'' drives are NOT pocket sized by the time they add the case and electronics.
2.5" drives are fine
by johncosgrave - 10/27/06 5:08 AM In reply to: Get the 1.8'' pocket drive by mark960I regularly use 2.5" USB drives for external backup with my laptop. My eMagic drive enclosure is only 138mm x 78mm by 12mm thick - so it is definitely pocket sized. I have had the best experience with USB 2 as the drive will run off the bus power. Most laptops ony have a 4-pin firewire connection which does not have any power on it.
So buy any major drive designed for a laptop (I have had good service from different versions of the the Hitachi Travelstar) and a small external drive.
However, my understanding is that you cannot boot windows from an external USB drive, but you can use an external USB drive for all you data.
Thanks
by Apt411 - 10/28/06 11:05 AM In reply to: Get the 1.8'' pocket drive by mark960Thanks for the in-depth answers, gentlemen.
The staff at the stores here normally cannot give me this kind of information.
K Katz
USB 2.0 portable HDD
by dlsears - 11/2/06 6:21 AM In reply to: Lap top with removable hard drive by thinkofanameI use a 2.5'' 80-GB USB 2.0 portable HDD as my work disk. It's no problem at all to mount and only occasionally a problem to unmount. I have to use two USB ports -- one for the USB transfer and one for the additional electricity needed for an 80-GB drive (I'm told that a 60-GB drive needs only a single USB connection). This is the best solution I've been able to find for backing up my data (one copy on my desktop at home and one on my laptop and one on my desktop at work) with Allway Sync (there are both free and not free versions. I have both) and for making sure I always have it where I need it. No damage at all to my portable HDD or to my laptop or desktops.
You would have to do something about the Application Data folder and its contents on your laptop's C: drive, though, because that's where your browser and email program store lots of sensitive and what should be private files. I don't know whether you can move those files so that they're all on your portable work disk as well, but one of these days, I'll find out.
In a word... Yes
by Screwdriver Monkey - 10/27/06 3:07 AM In reply to: Buying laptop - is fingerprint security worth it? by thinkofanameI work with laptops on a daily basis. I have had all kinds of requests for data recovery or file access e.g. I lost my BIOS password can you remove it? or I can't get into Joe Blow's profile to see what he's been hiding can you remove his passwords? etc. These things are easy to get around, even when users set Biometric passwords to stop people booting up their machine, easy to get around. And when they set Windows biometrics passwords for log-ins, also easy to remove.
The only thing that has stopped me so far is the Biometric "Safe" folder. Basically comes standard on Toshiba machines with Biometrics and uses your fingerprint as an encryption key for every file that you enter into that folder, and if you really want to get technical and remove the drive to try accessing that data, guess what, you can't. You are supposed to set a password as a backup to your fingerprint but really don't need to and it just weakens the folders security. You can even put your mail store files in there to prevent people opening your archive mail, just make sure you unlock your "Safe" before opening applications that references files you are keeping in it.
Having said that, life is a case of balance, you make a stronger lock and they make a stronger crook.
When you do get your machine set a BIOS password, a HDD password, a Windows Password and a register a fingerprint for your "Safe" folder then you can rest assured that your files are for your eyes only.
Are you sure?
by R. Proffitt - 10/27/06 5:22 AM
In reply to: In a word... Yes by Screwdriver Monkey
Did you read the link I provided?
It appears such is not as bulletproof as we first thought.
Bob
simple fix
by chrisr67 - 10/27/06 7:21 AM In reply to: Are you sure? by R. Proffitt
An extremely simple fix to this is "TAKE YOUR LAPTOP HOME AT NIGHT!" Why even risk a security breach, when you could just bring your laptop home each night and save yourself from all the multiple passwords for bios, hd, etc.
Bingo. Access control is number 1 on...
by R. Proffitt - 10/27/06 8:28 AM
In reply to: simple fix by chrisr67
All security protocols I've read.
Thanks!
Bob
Looking for simplicity
by ilearnit - 10/27/06 8:21 AM In reply to: Buying laptop - is fingerprint security worth it? by thinkofanameI like to look for simplicity.
To me, carrying the laptop home every night has its own pitfalls. So does having a removable drive (unless you need to carry your data between computers).
I take a simpler route.
Create a new, encrypted, virtual drive to hold all your data. You can move all your data there, such as your emails, word documents, and so on.
There are several such programs available (try sourceforge.net and download.com). Some are freeware, some are free for smaller-scale use, and some are high-end programs (such as pgp.com).
I use Cryptainer, and have been happy with it. Enter a password to load the drive. Close the program (or turn off the computer) to protect.
Choose the right program, and you have high-end cryptography that (supposedly) even the government can't break.
Security is great, but be cautious of hardware failures ...
by cymshot - 10/27/06 12:02 PM In reply to: Looking for simplicity by ilearnitI am in agreement with most about creating secure drives/folders, but you MUST be sure there is a ''backdoor'' into your secure system in case of a hardware &/or system failure so that you can retrieve your protected data. In the past I have seen people lose their secured data when part of the overall secure system failed. This is one area where you don't want to be a casualty.
Also, whether one uses a third party application for file/folder/drive security, or one uses Window's encrypted file/folder system, be CERTAIN that you possess the security keys to unlock a failed system so that you can get your data back safely. Even better, do a practice run of getting your data off such a system before fully relying on the system.
You might also like to consider the usage of steganographic tools to conceal passwords and such within documents. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steganography for more info.)
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