Notebook computer rental

Know Where Your Notebook Is

In my May 22 column, I talked about the long faces and longer silences I get from my corporate clients when I ask about P2P security. But do you know what really draws the awkward silences? When I ask about their plans for notebook securityhow they protect the corporate information stored in the thousands of notebooks their employees (especially senior executives) are carrying around.

Think it's not a problem? Well, you might want to ask Qualcomm CEO Irwin Jacobs. Last September, Jacobs gave a speech to southern California technology journalists at the Hyatt in Irvine. From the podium, he used his notebook to run Microsoft PowerPoint slides during the speech. After the talk, he stayed at the front of the room for a few minutes, schmoozing with a handful of journos who were asking questions. When he turned to retrieve his things, the notebook was gone. And it hasn't, as far as I've gathered, been seen since. (Neither Jacobs nor any other Qualcomm rep was eager to talk about this.)

It's More Than Your Loss

I'm not about to accuse one of my fellow periodistas of filching Jacobs's computer. I'd be drummed out of the corpsdumped in the Hudson with a couple of Tony Soprano's spare cinder blocks tied to my feet. In fact, we don't know who took the computer or where it is now. Nor do we know (caution: paranoia ahead!) who might have examined its files and offered critical Qualcomm strategic documents to the company's competitors. What happened?

That's the rub. When your notebook walks, you have no idea who took it or where those documents could be.

If a personal notebook strays, it's painful. But when a company's notebook walks, it's "open sesame!" to all sorts of corporate dataon the hard drive in saved e-mails and in the corporate servers that the computer can access. Sure, your IT people can slam the door on system access. But they hate that. You would, too.

The loss of a company notebook can be a serious and incredibly expensive problem. So when I ask IT staffers about their companies' plans to avoid theft and to lessen the awful consequences of a theft, they exchange pained expressions, look at their feet, and mumble a lot. Occasionally, I'll get an authoritative reply from Someone In Charge: "We don't discuss those plans." That sounds greatit's what they ought to saybut then later, some lower-ranking manager sidles up to me and confesses that they have no plans. But they sure worry a lot.

Divide the problem into two logical parts: (1) avoiding the loss of a computer, or how to keep it from straying in the first place, and (2) protecting the data on the computer's hard drive and its system- access tools if it does walk away.

The solution to number 1 is simple, albeit a nuisance and not a guarantee: Keep the computer with you, or lock it in a hotel safe. And don't walk away from a rental car (or a limo, if you're a high flier) with your notebook sitting on the seat. Try using a Kensington notebook security cable ($30 to $50, depending on the model) to chain it down to a hotel room desk (not a chair, they'll steal that, too) or maybe the $40 Targus DefCon 1 motion-sensing alarm and cable.

After It's Gone

What if it disappears anyway? First, I suggest using RSA Security's encryption software to scramble some or all of the files on the hard drive. This is clumsy but manageable, and the security level is high enough that no one is going to get into those files without your (software) key. (A tip: Windows 2000 is potentially much more secure than other versions; it's worth moving to W2K for the security advantages, if you're worried about notebook loss.)

Second, consider products from the Israeli security company Aladdin Knowledge Systems, especially the new USB-based Aladdin eToken PRO, a $50 key-size gizmo you can literally keep on your key chain. It's a great product, with 1Kb encryption. Just don't lose it.

There are no effective painless security systems, but taking care not to lose the machine and secure access in case it does disappear are worth the trouble. Just ask Irwin Jacobs.