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Delete Data On Netbook If Stolen?
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."
The answer to your problem is whole disk encryption, not trying to delete the data.
Encrypt the entire drive with TrueCrypt or something. Use a strong cipher and a very strong passphrase. The laptop is as good as bricked to anyone who gets it.
"Nature doesn't care how smart you are. You can still be wrong." - Richard Feynman
set up a scheduled task to wipe the drive unless you cancel it. Then don't forget to cancel it.
If it's physical theft I would think they would bin the HDD or sell it "as is" without even looking at what's on it. Bricking it doesn't do a lot, you'd probably just replace the HDD anyway.
Identity theft is more worrying. Why not encrypt the HDD with something like Fedora / Ubuntu offers - ie an encrypted /home or MyDocuments. That way the laptop won't log on for the thief.
As others will have already said: use truecrypt. In addition, use two account: yours with a password, and another one (visible from the login shell) without password. Put a script in it that wipes the disk if anybody logs in it.
Non-Linux Penguins ?
First, get truecrypt, that takes care of your data.
Now then, If you have the spark of evil in you, here's the plan.
1. Set up multi-boot config.
2. Create a bootable partition that has enough OS on it to run the drive and network, name it something interesting like 'Confidential'.
3. Get the BIOS flash utils for your netbook, create a corrupt bios image that will still pass muster enough to install.
4. Set up a boot time process on the netbook that does a 'wget' from a web site that you control. If it gets a file, quietly flash the BIOS with what it downloads.
If you ever get ripped off, move the nasty BIOS image to the file location on your web site and bask in the glow of pure wickedness...
You can test this with a valid BIOS image, but don't look at me if something terrible happens, you're playing with fire here.
1) Set up two accounts. Your actual one behind a password and an unprotected one.
2) In the unprotected one's startup, set it to delete all of your personal data.
You'll never log on via the unprotected account. Therefore you'll never accidentally delete everything. Even if you do manage to, as soon as you're next near a net connection it sounds like you can pull it back anyway.
Most casual thieves (sorry, your life isn't actually important enough that crack teams of ninja espionage winged monkeys will track you down and deliberately steal your data) will be perfectly happy to log on via the one account they can get on via and won't notice a suitably disguised process quietly cleaning everything sensitive off the machine.
It's not perfect, it's not infallible but, honestly, your data really isn't worth the hassle of defeating it for the average opportunistic thief.
You want to have more fun with them...
Set a scheduled task on that account to open Firefox 3.5 every 15 minutes and go to an address on your own server where it promptly gives its geolocation info before more obviously redirecting itself to some apparent malware site. They'll assume your machine's just infected with malware while you and the cops are given constant updates on their location.
Again, it's not perfect and most of /. could easily defeat it... But the average thief isn't a /. reader, they're just an opportunist who thinks they're getting something for free.
"Yes, the thief could remove the BIOS battery, but he would have to tear the case open. If he knew how to open a laptop without breaking it, he has more skill than I would associate with a petty thief."
Did it ever occur to you that the thief might be part of a larger crime organization, which organization might have a few people with pretty advanced technical skills? Or, even if they aren't, it's entirely possible/probable that after the thief fences the stolen computer, it will end up in the hands of someone both unscrupulous, and technically saavy?
Including the owner!
Boffoonery - downloadable Comedy Benefit for Bletchley Park
Most casual thieves want the hardware to use, resell, or simply because it's pretty. They don't give a toss about your data unless they can get easy cash out of it.
Encrypt the disk to protect your data. It doesn't even have to be very strong encryption but obviously good encryption is better if your CPU can handle it. You can save CPU cycles by only encrypting data that really needs to be kept personal.
Personally I'd be tempted to have some kind of low trick on there just to fuck with their minds. Add a script like
echo "GPS location tracking started..."
sleep 13
echo "Device location found and reported."
read x
There is absolutely no security in this but casual thieves are normally not too smart so might shit their pants.
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...
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
Google: windows encrypted drive + "I'm feeling lucky".
Here's what I got:
http://www.truecrypt.org/
I'm OK with "Ask Slashdot" being used to gather the collective experience of the techies that like to hang out off-hours here at /. - but.. this?!?
Something that could be addressed by a moment or two spent at Google or even (god's sake) Bing is a WASTE OF HITS. But maybe that's the plan - get droves of angry techies to bitch about the lameness of the stories, delivering ad impressions?
Crazy like a fox?
I'm on to you, Cmdr Taco, if that is your real name!
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
All the more reason to use a Linux or BSD based OS.
To the average thief or receiver of stolen goods, a netbook running an alternate OS is as good as bricked.
Computer memory is just fancy paper, CPUs just fancy pens with fancy erasers; the 'net is just a fancy backyard fence.