In a previous Blog Posting, “Stop Malware!“, I mentioned ways to keep malware out of your computer, but what about keeping unauthorized people away from your computer, and more importantly, your sensitive information?

First of all, determine whether your computer actually needs protection. Is there any sensitive data on it, like banking information or personal information? Obviously if you use a computer to simply browse the internet or play games, and don’t have any confidential information on it, then there is not much to gain by even password protecting it. On the other hand, if it is a laptop with client data including Social Security numbers, you need more than a password.

You can buy a Notebook computer with a built-in fingerprint reader, but what if you already have a Notebook which doesn’t have a fingerprint reader. This is where the APC Biometric Personal Password Manager may come in useful. It simply plugs into a USB port and is apparently easy to use. It can also be used to remember user names and passwords for websites. There are also numerous software password managers, for example Roboform.

For securing sensitive data on a password-protected computer, Winzip can create password protected archives, or with free open source software like TrueCrypt you can create an encrypted partition on your hard drive or on a USB key.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to securing information.