How can I protect the sensitive information that resides on my laptop?

Learn how to safeguard data that resides in your laptop in this Network Security Ask the Expert Q&A.

University of Notre Dame

I have a lot of sensitive and confidential company information on my laptop. Is it possible for someone on the Internet or my LAN to break into my machine and copy files? How do I ensure that no one (including the sys admin) can get onto my laptop? And, if anyone does attempt to, can I find out who is trying to break into my machine?

You should be concerned about individuals accessing files on your system via the Internet or your LAN . Fortunately, there are a few simple steps you can take to reduce this threat to a manageable level. The following are some suggestions ordered according to their relative benefit:

Disable file and printer sharing on your computer. In an enterprise environment, there's no need to install this feature.

Configure your host firewall. If you're using Windows XP, set the firewall policy to "On" and "Don't allow exceptions."
Encrypt the files stored on your laptop using technology such as Microsoft's Encrypting File System (EFS). This will also protect you from data compromise if your laptop is lost or stolen.

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Learn how laptop encryption can keep your data safe even if your laptop is lost or stolen.

This was last published in August 2006

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