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| Safe & Secure |
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Portable Gear October 2006 • Vol.4 Issue 10 Page(s) 58-60 in print issue |
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Safe & Secure Lock Down Your Portable Devices |
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 Last month, PC Today’s Global Traveler covered the connection challenges--including security issues--for mobile workers heading overseas with their portable devices. Although we might like to believe we are safer stateside, the reality is very different. The 2006 CSI (Computer Security Institute)/FBI Computer Security Survey found that 47% of responding companies had experienced a notebook, handheld, or mobile phone theft in the past year. (Notebook theft is now the second most prevalent crime in the United States after identity theft; someone steals a notebook every 53 seconds.) These thefts cost companies $6.6 million each on average, just over $30,000 per loss. Add to this the number of lost devices (65 million of us lost a mobile phone last year, and millions more lost notebooks and handhelds) and the potential for abuse becomes nearly incalculable. Even if you watch your portable devices like a hawk eying a field mouse, you are still susceptible to invasion if you log onto insecure Internet connections at hotels, airports, and Internet cafés. Hacking into improperly secured networks is easy (check out “Hacking Wireless Networks For Dummies” on Amazon.com if you don’t believe us), and many hackers are not satisfied with stealing only bandwidth. If someone stole your notebook, mobile phone, or handheld; or if he tunneled into it while you were browsing on an insecure network, how hard would it be for him to extract data from that device? How much damage could a hacker do with sensitive or confidential company or personal data, or by using an access portal that logs you into your company’s server? If you haven’t considered these issues yet, you’d better get cracking before someone cracks your system.  Bare Bones To begin, consider whether you have basic protection for your device: antivirus, antispyware, and firewall software. (If the answer is yes, you can skip to the “Armed & Ready” section). This protection is most critical for notebooks, but handhelds (and even mobile phones) are not immune. To date, viruses and other attacks on mobile phones and handhelds have been rare. However, experts predict the situation will change, especially as more smartphones and PDAs gain the capability to log onto the Internet directly via public wireless networks. Zone Alarm Pro. Zone Labs Zone Alarm Pro ($39.95; www.zonelabs.com) is a top-rated firewall for notebooks. The company also offers a free basic version (Zone Alarm), as well as a security suite for $49.95. Other top players in the notebook antivirus/antispyware and firewall arena, most of which also make products for handhelds, mobile phones, or both, are Symantec (www.symantec.com), Panda Software (www.pandasoftware.com) McAfee (www.mcafee.com) and F-Secure (www.f-secure.com). In addition, Airscanner (www.airscanner.com) is a top-rated company that specializes in solutions for handhelds and smart phones. Armed & Ready Beyond the basics, you should take additional steps to secure your devices. The U.S. OMB (Office of Management and Budget), in response to notebook thefts earlier this year at several federal agencies, has issued new security guidelines for government offices. They’re good guidelines for you to follow, too. The guidelines include encrypting sensitive data and instituting “two-factor” (two-part) authentication with one of the factors being a device not permanently attached to your PC. (Essentially, security software will not release or decrypt the data unless both factors are present.) The agency also recommends enabling a time-out function that requires user reauthentication after a period of inactivity. You can gain these protections for your notebooks, and to a lesser degree your handhelds, with a reasonable investment. Mobile phones present a greater challenge for two reasons. First, the concept of mobile phone security is fairly new. Second, some mobile phones will not let you download third-party applications. Consequently, there is a dearth of consumer-grade security software for mobile phones. There are several enterprise-grade solutions, but these are expensive for individuals and most small companies. If you work for a large corporation, ask if a security program is available to you. Fortunately, vendors are now releasing mobile phones with built-in security features and software. Nokia (www.nokia.com) is a leader in this area. Additionally, we expect more smartphone security solutions to debut in the next year. Check out any one of the security programs we reviewed.
DESlock+. This broad-based, strong encryption tool for notebooks lets you drag and drop, create, or save files into encrypted folders where they become invisible when you log out. Data Encryption Systems DESlock+ (free to as much as $184.98 depending on version and usage; www.deslock.com) also encrypts email messages and on-screen text including Web mail. As a bonus you can use any USB minidrive to store the keys that enable file access, giving you a two-part authentication solution. A 60-day free trial makes the offer irresistible.
For more robust protection, SafeGuard Easy ($240), for notebooks, encrypts not only your notebook’s internal drive, but also any portable drives you attach to the machine. It authenticates at the boot (pre-Windows) level, so hackers cannot access your files if they bypass Windows or remove the drive. SafeGuard Easy is compatible with SafeGuard PDA Personal Edition (for exchanging encrypted data via email or smart card) and with Absolute Software’s Computrace (a LoJack–style solution we mention later). Sentry 2020. SoftWinter Sentry 2020 ($49.95; www.softwinter.com) uses super-strong, transparent encryption to protect your information. The product, which is available for handhelds and notebooks, encrypts and decrypts files on your primary storage medium, as well as on removable media, on the fly. Transfer your access keys to another device or computer and you won’t lose access to your data if you forget the password or the system is corrupt.
SplashData SplashID. SplashID (29.99; www.splashdata.com) strongly encrypts, stores, and password protects sensitive information in a secure database you can access and edit from your computer. Not only can you load personal contact and financial information, but you can also add client contact information, company price sheets, and anything you can organize by fields into a spreadsheet-style format. The program, which is available for handhelds and mobile phones, generates a nifty screen filled with recognizable icons to help you access the data quickly. T3 Security Suite. Trilogy Total Technology T3 ($99.95; www.t3us.com) came out right before press time, so there are no user reports for us to evaluate. However, this program for notebooks sounds good, and the company sweetens the pot with a $1,500 laptop theft insurance policy with every purchase. T3 incorporates two-factor authentication (password and USB key), and it keeps track of unauthorized access attempts via the T3 Audit Trail. For parents, the T3 Security Suite also offers the bonus of Web access control. And the program also automatically locks down data if you leave your notebook unattended for a specified period of time.
TrueCrypt. Another item for notebooks that offers boot-level encryption is TrueCrypt Foundation’s TrueCrypt (free, open source; www.truecrypt.org). Additionally, TrueCrypt decrypts your files into memory (rather than to a storage drive) and feeds them to the program you are using. That makes it nearly impossible for a hacker to access data you are using. The downside here is that because TrueCrypt is open source and was created as a public project and not a commercial one, TrueCrypt Foundation offers no official support for the program.
You can also purchase an add-on USB fingerprint reader to restrict access to your notebook and store your passwords. Microsoft (www.microsoft.com) and APC (American Power Conversion; www.apc.com) make popular models. Finally, you can always rely on the most basic solution: a lock. Targus recently announced the DEFCON CL Armor Combo Cable Lock ($54.99; www.targus.com), which company representatives say is so cut-resistant it will damage cable cutters. |
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