Getting Your Tech Ready For SxSW (Part 2- Securing Your Data)

Security/Protection

Backing up your data is great, but what if you want to get your hardware back, or at the very least, insure that whomever has it can’t get to your valuable data.

• Laptops
  • TrueCrypt
    • This is, by far, the tech community’s favorite encryption software.  Use it to encrypt your entire computer so even if someone tries to boot your computer with a live Linux Distro, they still can’t get to your data.
  • Prey
    • This is one I just learned about recently, but has been around for quite some time.  Once activated on the website, as soon as your laptop/computer accesses the Internet, you’ll be able to locate it.
• Cellphones
  • Blackberry
    • Blackberries have encryption built right in, it just needs to be enabled.
    • RIM recently released Blackberry Protect, just in time so you can not only back-up your phone’s information, but also remote wipe and remote locate
  • Blackberry & Android
    • While there is probably a ton of free software that might do the same thing on Android, both Blackberry and Android users can get a license/subscription for a service called SmrtGuard.  Before Blackberry Protect was available, I would swear by them.  Tons of security features all rolled up into a single application.
  • iPhone
    • The only service that I know of that I can recommend is the obvious MobileMe.  Just like SmrtGuard and Blackberry Protect, MobileMe offers remote wipe and the ability to locate it when on.  However, I don’t know of an encryption tool that I can recommend.