California State University, Los Angeles
Better Safe than Sorry
Are Your Laptop and Flash Drive Secured?
Jo
buys a new laptop, and spends the weekend loading class notes,
account information, and software onto it. To be on the safe side,
Jo backs up all the laptop data onto a flash drive.
This new equipment is so conveniently portable. Jo stuffs the laptop and flash drive into the backpack, and heads out to the local coffee bistro with the closest hotspot with free Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) access.
Finding a seat at a crowded table, Jo sets up the laptop. It’s a snap to get online, pay some bills, and order a few books and cds. Shuffling through the backpack, Jo drops some of its contents, including the new flash drive, which slides across the room and lands unnoticed under a table in the corner. Jo works a couple hours before heading back to the dorm.
A couple of weeks later, Jo receives a letter from the credit card company – the charges have exceeded the credit limit. A call to the bank reveals that the bank account has been depleted. To make matters, a virus has infected the new laptop and made it impossible to retrieve anything, including the term paper that is due tomorrow.
How Could This Have Happened?
Perhaps if Jo had implemented security measures when the laptop was first purchased, Jo’s personal information, accounts, and data would not have been compromised. And, remember the trip to the hotspot at the coffee bistro? Without enabling wireless security features, laptops and other wireless devices are vulnerable to unauthorized access by others.
Last, but not least, the lost flash drive didn’t go unnoticed after all, except by Jo. It was not password protected, yet contained all the laptop contents, including usernames, passwords, and account information. Jo realized too late that the flash drive should have been treated as something very valuable.
Tips for Protecting Laptops and Electronic Storage Devices
- Configure laptop security measures for optimum security.
- Install anti-virus software. Run and update it regularly.
- Regularly install operating system and application patches and service packs.
- Password to protect access to your laptop, flash drive, and all other electronic storage devices. Always use strong passwords, and change them frequently.
- Disable the guest account feature.
- Disable all auto-login and save password functions.
- Prevent user names from being displayed at log in.
- Do not load passwords or PINs on any computer, especially laptop or portable electronic storage devices.
- Try not to keep financial or personal information on a laptop. Keep them on electronic storage devices that, when not in use, are secured and not kept with the laptop.
- Encrypt your data files.
- Do not let other see the screen or see you type, especially if you are entering confidential information.
Read more about securing your laptop on the Are You Secure? Web site. Click on the Protect Your Laptop security tip on the left menu.