What is password protection secure?

Your at the coffee shop, some one calls your name, you turn and spill coffee on your lap.   As your rush up to get some napkins to clean your pants, a person grabs your computer and takes off with it.

Luckily you password locked it and you have a back up.  The question is what could that person do with the data that is on that laptop, because you have client records, financial information, personal documents, and other confidential information on it.

Most people believe that password protection means that their Windows computer is secure and people can not get access to your files and information, this is not necessarly true.  The reality is that easy access to your files and information is disrupted, but there are many, many different ways that people can access your information.  

On many occasions I have unlocked password protected computers, and while it takes a little while to get done, it is fairly straight forward (I always verify ownership prior to unlocking).   The only true way that you can secure your computer is through disk encryption.  

Disk encryption is defined as, 

"Disk encryption is a technology which protects information by converting it into unreadable code that cannot be deciphered easily by unauthorized people. Disk encryption uses disk encryption software or hardware to encrypt every bit of data that goes on a disk or disk volume. Disk encryption prevents unauthorized access to data storage."

Wikipedia

There are multiple ways and software packages that allow you to encrypt your disk, the key is to ensure that you are using it.

Again many people believe that their data is protected, but are not aware of the full risk.  If your unsure of your level of protection I am more than happy to provide a free 15 min assessment of your security and possible risks.