Another Reason Not to Travel with Your Laptop

Troy Davis, a former officer with the Transportation Security Administration, has admitted to authorities that he stole laptops and video game systems from passengers' checked luggage. Davis used to work as an airport screener at Philadelphia International Airport.

A baggage handler spotted Davis taking a laptop from a suitcase and hiding it behind an explosive-detection machine earlier this year. The witness notified supervisors who later discovered four laptops and a game console in the same area.

The 36-year-old Davis pleaded guilty yesterday to the charges and will be sentenced by a federal court in January.

It seems as though nothing is safe these days, especially when you are traveling. Once your luggage leaves your hands, you can never be exactly sure where it'll end up or whose hands it will fall into. Could a devious airport employee like Troy Davis be waiting for the bag, containing your laptop, to pass through security? Could your entire suitcase get lost and end up in a city 2,000 miles away from where you are going?

These are certainly things to consider when packing, whether it be for a business or personal trip, but these incidents are avoidable. Whether you're traveling to a business meeting or just taking your laptop along on the family vacation, so you can keep up with your business, you should always consider a quality Laptop Rental, instead.

There are so many different ways to save your data and most of them are compatible with almost any computer. Worried about the cost? A rental fee is a small price to pay compared to the potential thousands of dollars, not to mention the sentiment from personal files, you could lose when traveling. Instead of risking theft, loss, or damage to your personal computer, consider having a rental meet you at your destination.

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Disk Encryption: Not as Safe as Once Thought

Disk Encryption is a common technique used by people to protect private data on laptops and computers. Disk Encryption scrambles all data on the hard drive making it unreadable to those who do not have have the correct key or password. Many operating systems, such as Windows Vista, Mac OS 10, and Linux currently employ their own disk encryption software in hopes to provide more secure features for users.

Unfortunately, a new kind of attack that requires physical access to a computer can be used to render these encryption programs entirely useless. This type of attack is referred to as a "cold-boot attack" and takes advantage of computers that are currently powered on or in sleep mode. An uncommon fact that many people are unaware of is that RAM data gradually fades when the power is cut spanning from a few seconds to a few minutes.

This exploit gives the attacker time to read the RAM data, extract encryption, passwords, and any other data that is currently being stored in the ram. The RAM can also be physically removed and placed into a different operating system or laptop to allow a program to decrypt the data. Attackers can also extend the time of data decay by cooling of the memory chips with over the counter products such as canned air commonly used for cleaning keyboards with dust.

This exploit leaves many popular disk encryption methods insecure, and leaving laptops most vulnerable to these types of attacks. Individuals and businesses that commonly use laptops need to pay closer attention to the physical security of their laptops to prevent this type of attack from happening.

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