Off-line and on-line security with
encrypted drive and file shredder
It is well-know fact that files deleted in Windows are recoverable. Anyone who have access to the computer will be able to undelete file and the
content of the file.
It seems to be the problem of top-secret organizations and
agencies, but in fact, end-users also must consider this problem.
Notebook computer might be stolen or lost. In this case the most vulnerable
is information that looks like deleted, but is actually available for covering.
Another problem is internet activity. Any Internet browser leaves a lot of
traces, including the links to visited sites, used loggings and sometime
password. This aspect may lead to identity theft problem, when someone could
take a lot of information about you from your PC, from browser cookies.
Notebook computer might
be stolen or lost, in this case the most vulnerable is information
kelp on laptop. |
If trying to solve this problem, we should understand that first, we need to
know what is the source of potential danger and in what way can we manage these
risks.
I'm sure you are concerned about using credit cards online, but simple
rules will help to use your credit cards only on trusted web-sites, and your
data will not be stolen. So you keep using your credit card getting benefits of
purchasing online.
- The first simple recommendation about staying secure is: "keep your sensitive
files in secure place". It's not hard now as there exists freeware and open
source encryption systems, such as TrueCrypt.
- Another approach is to use
encryption system of end-user programs, such as encryption suggested in zip file
format or word files. Cryptology algorithms there are very hard to crack
(actually, someone will be able to find the password only using brute-force
analysis).
- If you send sensitive file to your colleague, use a password
protection for this file or put this file into protected archive.
Keep your sensitive
files in secure place with free tool called TrueCrypt. |
Communicating with others is a serious secure aspect. If you will use simple
encryption systems, then before communicating you will need to exchange the
password, this might be not very convenient, that's why it's a better idea to
use one-key cryptography.
The second task is to make sure that your data is not easy to undelete. Use file
shredder to secure delete (wipe file), better idea is using
background mode file
shredder, which doesn't need your action to secure every deletion. Schedule
regular wipe free space operation, this is not really 100% security, but it will
keep about 98% of previously deleted data secure. How to choose file shredder to
use? Download some free or free-to-try undelete software and check if files
wiped with file shredder are recoverable. There might be some other security
aspects (such as temporary files), but for most users it's quite enough.
Wipe free disk space
with X passes, where X = ? |
The frequent question is - how many passes do I need? Actually, the answer is
1-pass overwriting during wiping is enough. The idea of overwriting data several
times was suggested by Peter Gutmann in 1996. Where hard disks were much slower,
small in size and worse in quality. For nowadays disks this idea is not really
applicable and one-pass overwriting is enough.
Staying secure at the web. It is not a hard task:
- Consider installing latest
version of web browser, FireFox is great new software.
- Consider using firewall
that is built into the system or is distributed as a stand-alone tool.
- Don't
pass your data to the web-sites that you don't trust. Web-sites that accept
credit cards must support secure protocols for purchasing pages.
- As for identity
theft problem, the good idea is to read more about possible ways for intrude to
steal your personal data, there is no much software that might help with this.
Finally, my recommendation is: make sure you keep files in secure place and
make sure it's not possible to find your files somewhere else, for instance,
undelete previously deleted files. It's simple, but it's a good way to stay
secure.
Try
it and Buy it
You can try
Shred Agent for free. 30-days fully-functional version of Shred Agent is available
for download. Before downloading, please, pay
attention to System requirements. If you find Shred Agent useful, then you
can purchase a license. Please, visit ordering
page for more information. Need more information? Browse from the
product home page.
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