Delete Data On Netbook If Stolen? 459
An anonymous reader writes "I have just moved overseas on a 2-year working holiday visa and so I picked up a netbook for the interim, an MSI Wind U100 Plus running WinXP. I love it to bits. But as I am traveling around I am somewhat worried about theft. Most of my important stuff is in Gmail and Google Docs; however, I don't always have Net access and find it useful to gear up the offline versions for both. Ideally I would like to securely delete all the offline data from the hard drive if it were stolen. Since it is backed up in the cloud, and the netbook is so cheap I don't really care about recovery, a solution that bricks it would be fine — and indeed would give me a warm glow knowing a prospective thief would have wasted their time. But it's not good if they can extract the HD and get at the data some other way. All thief-foiling suggestions are welcome, be they software, hardware, or other."
a hack (Score:5, Funny)
set up a scheduled task to wipe the drive unless you cancel it. Then don't forget to cancel it.
Nuke it from orbit (Score:1, Funny)
It's the only way to be sure.
Booby trap it? (Score:3, Funny)
There is probably room in the case for a few ounces of C4 explosive, and a detonator. You might have a hard time getting it through customs though..... and you had better never drop the thing so the detonator goes off!!
alpha particles (Score:2, Funny)
Re:a hack (Score:5, Funny)
That's a TERRIBLE idea... Like, HOLY SHIT terrible.
Then your threshold for terrible needs adjusting. I'm sure I can think of something worse than what the AC suggested :-P
For example: a small thermite charge, proximate to the hard drive platter. It's fused to go off if a particular peripheral isn't detected upon boot-up; you keep the peripheral "key" with you, perhaps attached to your regular key-chain. A thief tries to boot, and BOOM (okay, thermite doesn't "boom", but you get the idea) - no more HDD. Or netbook. Or whatever it happened to be on top of. Bonus points if the thief happens to have it on their lap at the time.
Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you propose a terrible idea. Compared to this, a full disk wipe sounds positively safe and reasonable.
(IMPORTANT: If anyone out there is stupid enough to take this suggestion seriously and implement this obvious deathtrap, I cannot be held accountable for any loss of property, organic damage or Darwin award nominations that result.)
On a netbook? (Score:5, Funny)
Including the owner!
Take to it with a hammer! (Score:5, Funny)
Right now! No thief will ever get your data if you destroy it right now!
Oh you wanted to use it in the meantime. Well that's different...
Re:Whole Disk Encryption (Score:5, Funny)
The answer to your problem is whole disk encryption, not trying to delete the data.
Feh. Your so-called answer does not include the word 'thermite' or the phrase 'earth-shattering kaboom'. And you call yourself a geek?
THERMITE! (Score:1, Funny)
come on! this isn't tagged with 'thermite' yet? Consider me disappointed...
Re:Whole Disk Encryption (Score:5, Funny)
Where's the ka-boom. There was supposed to be an earth shattering ka-boom.
Re:Whole Disk Encryption (Score:5, Funny)
the part where the original poster said "Running WinXP" may not have made it all the way in.
I despise answers that randomly suggest competing products without really answering the question. It's like "My lawnmower won't start" and "Well, if you had goats, then you could feed them a different feed to make them more motivated." Try to advertise less and answer the frakking question more, MMkay?
Re:Whole Disk Encryption (Score:4, Funny)
If your lawnmower doesn't work, one answer would be: try goats.
Re:Encryption (Score:2, Funny)
I wish I could make it deliver an electric shock, explode the battery or maybe a dye capsule, emit a foul-smelling and nauseating gas, or make a 911 call and report a fire at its location. Something along those lines. I don't expect thieves to be caught, so I want to somehow cause them harm directly.
I once designed a car security system that would have stood a good chance of killing the driver. I heard a lot of arguments about why that was a bad idea, but I don't buy any of them to this day. If you try to steal my radio you're in for a shock and will need a tetanus shot. I don't care much for thieves starting with whether they survive the attempt to steal my stuff, and ending there too, I suppose.
Thermite NO, Lithium YES (Score:1, Funny)
Adding a home made thermite device to a computer is not highly recommended. The nice people at airport security check might mistake your computer for improvised explosive and delay your flight.
For safe and secure disposal of hard disk I recommend installing an extra lithium battery from a certain manufacturer. The LHDDU (Lithium Hard Drive Disposal Unit) is both legal and functional as proven numerous times in Internet video clips. Just remember to keep the laptop on the table, not in your lap while using it yourself.
Re:Encryption (Score:2, Funny)
>Get a seagate momentus FDE and do pre-boot authentication.
>encryption is done in hardware, on the drive, viola.
Seagate momentus disks use string instruments for data encryption?
Re:Truecrypt + fake account (Score:3, Funny)
You don't have kids, do you ?
You just gave a recipe for disaster :)
Re:a hack (Score:5, Funny)
The OP says he's moved "overseas" so presumably some day he'll be travelling back to which ever country he came from
Not necessarily, he might have moved out of the U.K.
(No flames please, I'm British :)
Re:fencing (repost) (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Whole Disk Encryption (Score:3, Funny)
Moot. The word is moot.
If you make more mistakes of that magnitude, you may be muffled and mutilated with a maddened moose.
Re:Truecrypt + fake account (Score:3, Funny)
C4 (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Whole Disk Encryption (Score:5, Funny)
Install a Sony battery.
Ka-boom.
http://geeksaresexy.blogspot.com/2006/11/lithium-ion-laptop-battery-explosion.html
P.S: It was made by a Gnome, so it might explode before it gets stolen.
Re:Truecrypt + fake account (Score:3, Funny)
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Whole Disk Encryption (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Whole Disk Encryption (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Slow News Day - WTF? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Truecrypt + fake account (Score:3, Funny)
... you don't have kids, do you?
Re:Whole Disk Encryption (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Whole Disk Encryption (Score:3, Funny)