Remote Fail Safe

Law Technology News  - Jason Krause
Dec 1, 2011
Link to article

The most sensational stories about data loss tend to involve a government or corporate road warrior losing a laptop full of sensitive data while out of the office. Those stories are perhaps extreme examples of carelessness, but data loss is a real problem and can happen in any number of ways. Laplink recently introduced PC Lock, an all-new utility that encrypts files on a desktop, laptop, or tablet computer, and can even remotely protect the data on computers when they're lost.

Laplink has been making PC utilities for decades, most notably for file transfer. In the early days of personal computers, the Laplink Cable was a popular tool for connecting two computers without a network connection. "We've provided data file transfer and other utilities in the PC realm for a long time, including some with built-in encryption," says Neil Minetto, director of marketing at Laplink. "But this is our first stand-alone encryption tool, which meant we could take a fresh look at the user's needs."

For lawyers and other professionals handling sensitive data, encryption is an increasingly popular and necessary utility. According to the 2011 ABA Legal Technology Survey, 15 percent of those surveyed said that their firm had experienced a data breach, with 31 percent of respondents saying the breach resulted in lost billable hours.

Microsoft provides a useful built-in Windows utility with 128-bit encryption, but, as is a common problem with encryption utilities, if you forget your password, you can be locked out of your system. Laplink has created a 256-bit encryption system that is not only recoverable if you forget your passwords, but can also make your system unrecoverable if it should be stolen or somehow falls out of your control.

The key to the program is remote online management. Cloud-based data management is perhaps over-hyped as a trend in technology, but, in this case, the ability to manage encryption online is practical and useful. The PC Lock Management Console can be accessed from any web-enabled device, including smartphones, letting users change settings, reset passwords and, if a computer is lost or stolen, lock the system or even delete information.

As an everyday encryption system, PC Lock is unobtrusive and does not impede the normal course of work as other systems can. For example, Mc-Afee's Anti-Theft creates what the company calls vault encryption, which means the software creates a protected, partitioned area on your hard drive that is encrypted and password-protected.

The benefit to this approach is that users can control and manage sensitive files easily without turning their entire PC into a high-security zone. The downside is that secured files kept there are segregated from your file system, folder structure and backup systems, and must be managed separately.

In addition, other products may launch the security logon prompt before you can even log into Windows, which means you can be locked out of your system by the encryption utility. The PC Lock remote management system allows users to reset passwords remotely by answering challenge questions chosen during setup. The setup process is a little more involved and different from the typical software installation. It's also unforgiving — all applications must be closed and if you don't get the serial number or confirmation code right, the installation will fail. The setup also demands that you back up files during installation, which can consume system resources.

To start the installation, PC Lock first prompts you to create an account. Once you choose your password and complete a couple of steps, confirmation codes are sent via email to complete the installation. Unlike many software installation setups, PC Lock prompts users to answer several security questions. As mentioned, you will need to remember to keep a separate record of the answers to the questions to access the PC Lock Web Management Console.

After installation, users are directed to visit PCLock.laplink.com to access the Web Management Console and given the opportunity to make changes to system settings. In the name of speed and efficiency, PC Lock does not encrypt images, videos, and emails during initial installation. Once logged into the remote management main page, users should select File Selection Settings in order to choose the file types to encrypt. You can choose to encrypt everything or selectively choose the types of files that are most sensitive.

Note that unlike similar systems, PC Lock does not allow users to pick and choose files to encrypt but will encrypt every document within the selected file types. If you choose to encrypt email files, click on Add Email and select the files to encrypt within your email program. If you install PC Lock on more than one computer, you use the same email address, password, and security questions, all managed through the Web Management Console.

From the Web Management Console, you can also choose to set application security settings, like the number of failed Windows or PC Lock password attempts your computer should allow before disabling access to encrypted files. The system can even be set to disable access to encrypted files based on the number of days the PC is offline, which can be an extra layer of security in case the machine is lost.

To change the password to your Web Management Console only, go to the main page and click Change Web Management Console Password. Most importantly, you can access the application from a smartphone or any web-enabled device, so even if you manage to lose a laptop while traveling, it's possible to remotely change your settings to keep a thief from accessing your files.

If your computer has been lost or stolen, access the Report Computer as Missing function within the console to select an option. Within that window you can choose to disable access to encrypted files, which will immediately disable access. If you select "Delete all encrypted files," all your encrypted files will be deleted from your computer; keep in mind that you will not be able to restore them. (By way of full disclosure, note that I didn't actually test this feature on my computer, or this review might not exist, and all my files might have been made inaccessible.)

PC Lock is competitively priced at $29.95, or $95 for five licenses, $175 for 10 licenses, or $375 for 20 licenses.

Minetto says Laplink is not marketing the product to corporate clients, but it has an enterprise version in the works. For large firms and corporate environments, an enterprise edition will make more sense, allowing corporate IT staff to set encryption standards and remotely manage settings for networked employees if necessary. But until that is available, PC Lock is a useful option for individuals concerned with protecting and managing the integrity of data on a personal computer.