Laptop Security When You Travel
Did you know that when you enter the US, your laptop can be searched? In fact, everything that’s stored on it can be downloaded, by law. A recent court ruling allows border agents to rifle through your hard drive or keep your computer for days while they establish that it’s safe. If you leave the US and fly back in, and you must take your laptop, then you need to clean up your data.
A customs agent can’t read what you don’t have. You don’t need five years’ worth of email and client data. You don’t need your old love letters and those photos (you know the ones I’m talking about). Delete everything you don’t absolutely need. And use a secure file erasure program to do it.
The Guardian article gives some tips on how to hide your data securely. (Thanks to doshdosh for the pointer.)
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