Offshore Life

I got this from email and I think its good to share it here.

There are a lot of reasons to make sure that your laptop stays secure - both from a physical perspective as well as a software/data perspective. From the physical side, laptop theft isn’t generally considered a positive event - at least from the victim’s perspective. From the data side of the equation, however, losing the wrong laptop can cost your company much more than the cost of laptop. Imagine the public relations fallout if your company loses a laptop containing private information about all of your customers.

This 10 Things describes steps that you can take to protect your laptop. Not all of the steps will necessarily apply to you, but they should all be considered in any comprehensive protection plan.

1 Encrypt the hard drive
Scenario: You’re in the airport and you lose your laptop or it’s stolen. Said laptop contains your entire customer database along with personal information about each of them. Voila! Instant public relations incident — except it is not the kind of PR that you want. Protect yourself from this kind of problem by encrypting your laptop’s hard drive. If you’re using Windows Vista, consider using Vista’s BitLocker drive encryption software. If you’re using Windows XP or another operating system, there are a number of third party full-disk encryption products available on the market. Although you can use EFS (Encrypting File System) to achieve a similar goal, full disk encryption provides better protection as everything on your disk gets protected and you don’t have to worry about saving files to a particular location.

2 Install tracking software
Protecting data is extremely important but if your laptop is lost or stolen, you probably want it back. To this end, install software on your computer that tracks its location should it ever be lost or stolen. Most laptop theft recovery software installs to an undetectable location on the laptop and the software cannot be erased from the system. Each time the computer connects to the Internet, it reports in with the software manufacturer. In the event that the computer is reported to the recovery software company as stolen or missing, the company tracks down the physical location of the laptop and then notifies the authorities. In many cases, the hardware is actually recovered. However, even if the laptop is recovered, you can’t be sure that the thief didn’t compromise your data. Some tracking software includes the ability to remotely delete information from the laptop as well. This feature can be a lifesaver if a laptop with sensitive information is stolen. With this capability, you’ll be able to delete potentially sensitive information before it falls into the wrong hands.
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The researchers, Lidia Morawska and colleagues at the Queensland University of Technology, classified 17 of the 62 printers, or 27 percent, as “high particle emitters”; one of the 17 pumped out particulates at a rate comparable with emissions from cigarette smoking.

What They Found

The researchers called the emissions “a significant health threat” because of the particles’ small size, which makes them easy to inhale and easily lodged in the deepest and smallest passageways of the lungs.

The effects, she said, can range from simple irritation to much more serious illnesses, including cardiovascular problems or cancer.

“Even very small concentrations can be related to health hazards, where the concentrations are significantly elevated means there is potentially a considerable hazard.” said Morawska.

Two printers released medium levels of particulates, six issued low levels, and 37 or about 60 percent of those tested released no particles at all. HP, which is one of the world’s leading printer sellers, dominated both the list of high-level emitting and non-emitting printers.

The research also found that office particulate levels increased fivefold during work hours because of laser printers. Generally, more particles were emitted when the printer was using a new toner cartridge, and when printing graphics or photographs that require larger amounts of toner than, say, text.

Morawska recommended that people make sure rooms at work and home with laser printers are well ventilated.

List of specific printer result.