Laptop security: what, if any, do you use?

As mentioned in this thread (more opinions appreciated there too, if you like!), I’m considering a laptop as my next main computer. So here’s a question for you laptop owners out there, whether Mac or PC:

What, if any, security measures do you take with your laptops, above and beyond the completely owner-based stuff like keeping it in your sight? I’ve seen “Lojack” type software that’ll track and/or erase your HD if it’s stolen. Are such programs worth the initial outlay and subscription fees after? What about locks? Any others I missed?

I’m perhaps under-paranoid, and my laptop is too heavy to easily transport except in emergencies (I use it as my primary computer so that I can sit on the couch) so it’s almost never out of the house. But all I have on mine is the normal Vista password, and the fingerprint scanner that came already installed.

This machine also came with facial recognition, but I ended up turning it off because it never seemed to learn my face properly, so I was constantly having to enter my password, even on the lowest security setting. Whereas the fingerprint scanner works brilliantly.

Anything you can buy to encrypty your data, most likely can be unencrypted.

As a system admin I had one rule, don’t put sensative data on your laptop. I used to fight with the H/R people over this. I’d be like “take your work home, but leave the payroll info and employee reviews on your computer in your office.”

There are a lot of good encryption programs for free, check SnapFiles (Dot) Com

It’s one thing if you’re trying to keep your girlfriend or mother from your porn collection. those programs are fine. They’ll make it not worth the effort.

I’d get an external hard drive. Fantom Drive is great it’s one TB and you can get it for around $100.00. That way you can store your hard drive info seperately.

One note if you are getting a laptop I’d pay extra for an eSATA port. The external drives work with a USB port or firewall but those are slower, an eSATA port is nearly as fast as another internal drive.

Despite the TV commercials most theft is still low level. It’s still MUCH easier to go through someone’s garbage than it is to hack into someone’s computer.

The biggest security flaw I’ve see is people using the same password for everything. Your credit cards should have a different password than your passcode for the Straight Dope Message Board.

If your laptop is stolen, the theif is just as apt to erase the hard drive and start over.