Time and time again we read about how companies or government agencies manage to loose laptops and in most cases the data on the laptop is highly sensitive. Not only can a misplaced laptop bring negative news for a company more importantly, the personal details of customers, employees and clients is put into major risk.

A step forward for every company is to use data encryption and surprisingly enough, not everyone practices this essential step in computer security, for whatever reason.

As our goal is to help people and companies with no or very little IT knowledge this post will cover the basics of using data encryption for better laptop security. What is data encryption?

In basic terms data encryption is when data is made unreadable to anyone without access to a key. If you have more in-depth info on data encryption we suggest reading the Wikipedia article here .

Why should you encrypt data?

If you are part of a company then data encryption is essential, no excuses. First think what the laptop is being used for such as to store:

Customer details – names, addresses, birth dates, credit card numbers

Employee details – names, addresses, social security numbers, bank account details etc

Business details – company finances, bank account details, client details and anything else deemed sensitive business data

These are just 3 examples of the different types of data that maybe held on a laptop, there are possibly hundreds more which can be deemed highly confidential.

Do we really need to continue covering why data encryption is important?

Recently The Ponemon Institute released an astonishing report for Dell computers (PDF File) showing that business travelers lose more than 12,000 laptops per week in U.S. airports. We highly advise that you read the report here (PDF File) and see why data encryption on a laptop should be a top priority for every business .

How to protect data using encryption

There are various types of encryption software available today with each one having different features. When looking for encryption software for a laptop a few questions need to be considered such as, what is primary use of the laptop? & what kind of data will be stored on the laptop?

File encryption software such as Steganos Safe One allows users to select which files they want to have encrypted. The Stenganos encryption software creates a “virtual safe” using 256 AES encryption which can be stored on the local hard drive or removable storage such as a USB Key.

Hard disk encryption is a more robust method of keeping data prying eyes. Instead of the users selecting which files to be encrypted the whole hard drive gets encrypted. Software such as PGP Whole Disk Encryption protects data without changing the users experience but can also automatically enforce data protection with centrally managed policies.

What is the best data encryption software?

Unfortunately this is a question that is difficult to answer without knowing more background information about the laptop. When looking for software that encrypts data consider these points:

• Is the encryption software complainant with data protection laws set in your country?
• What type of data is held on the laptop hard drive?  i.e. customer details
• Will the laptop leave company property?
• Who will be using the laptop?
• What level of encryption does the software use?

These are just a few points to consider and more research into data encryption solutions will be required. Even though encryption plays a major role in laptop security there are more ways to secure your laptop.  See our 16 tips on better laptop security for more basic pointers.