Getting Quality VoIP 634 The basic TestMyVoip report, shown in Figure 6-1, allows you to bounce a simulated call from your location to places like Boston, Montreal, London, San Jose, and Sydney. An overall score compares your VoIP score against the Pony Express, tin cans and string, a crummy cell phone call, a decent cell phone call, and the best telephone-like service you could hope for. The Brix scale runs from 1.0 to 5.0 but the best most users can hope for on a VoIP system is a score of about 4.4. If your score is significantly below that level, click Detailed Results to learn an amazing array of information about your signal, including ✦ The percentage of discarded digital packets ✦ The average and maximum amount of loss of continuous signal ✦ The amount of time it took to set up and dial your call What can you do about problems pointed out by tests like those provided by Brix? Nothing, by yourself. However, when you call your VoIP support desk and ask them to run tests on your line, you’ll be well-armed to rebut their claims that “everything looks good.” I’ve found that just mentioning that I know of the existence of www.testmyvoip.com is enough to get my complaint Figure 6-1: My VoIP system test shows it currently performs about as well as I could hope for, a condition that in my rural location is better than I got from the old telephone company. 44 140925-bk08ch06.qxp 4/8/08 12:52 PM Page 634 Book VIII Chapter 6 Communicating with VoIP Equipping a Laptop for VoIP 635 escalated from someone whose job it is to make customers go away to some- one whose job it is to actually fix a problem. Equipping a Laptop for VoIP You can connect your laptop to a VoIP service three ways. Traveling with a telephone adapter Bring your VoIP phone adapter with you, which also moves your telephone number. For example, if you have VoIP service in Boston, with a 617 or 781 area code, you can travel anywhere in the world and connect to the Internet to make and receive phone calls at that number. Your neighbor across the street can make a local call to you, and it will ring your laptop in Norway (or leave a voicemail you can pick up). Setting up a softphone on your laptop A softphone uses software to emulate the hardware of a telephone adapter. In most cases this requires a separate telephone number; you can, though, request a number almost anywhere in the world that makes sense to you. The number could, for example, appear to be in the Boston area if that makes it easier for people to reach you. Or you could receive a softphone number in London or Paris or almost anywhere in the world, which might be more cost- efficient if you need to make calls from that location; callers from back in Boston or Biloxi, though, have to make an international call to reach you. Softphones are available from companies that also operate hardware-based VoIP systems; companies include AT&T (CallVantage) and Vonage. They pro- vide a software application that you install on your laptop that integrates with your permanent account at your home or office. Companies like Skype are entirely based on softphone technology. See Figure 6-2. These ad hoc services use the same conversion from voice to digital packets that a VoIP telephone adapter or a softphone employs. However, you can purchase a telephone that has the Skype software embedded, instead of being resident on the laptop computer; either way you need to get out onto the Internet to communicate. Many softphone programs are designed to look like a telephone keypad, adding easy-click access to advanced features. If your laptop has a built-in microphone, you can use that together with the machine’s speakers to func- tion as a speakerphone, although for privacy (and clarity) you should instead purchase and use a headset and microphone that attach to your machine’s built-in sound adapter. 44 140925-bk08ch06.qxp 4/8/08 12:52 PM Page 635 Equipping a Laptop for VoIP 636 Softphone (IP) telephone These devices attach to your laptop through a USB port or an Ethernet cable and integrate with the softphone software; these handsets automatically load your VoIP software on your laptop and include a keypad, speaker, and microphone. You can also purchase a WiFi phone that communicates with most WiFi hotspots in Internet cafés, offices, and some homes to directly connect without attaching to a computer: ✦ If the wireless network is open and unsecured, you should be able to get onto the Internet and make calls. ✦ If the network is secured, you need to login and enter a password to gain access (if the network owner permits this). Figure 6-2: The Skype softphone software running on my laptop allows me to enter a number for almost anyplace on earth. 44 140925-bk08ch06.qxp 4/8/08 12:52 PM Page 636 Book IX Protecting Your Laptop 45 140925-pp09.qxp 4/8/08 12:53 PM Page 637 Contents at a Glance Chapter 1: Traveling with a Laptop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .639 Keeping It to Yourself 640 Encrypting the Disk 651 Keeping Panic in Check(list) 657 Chapter 2: Guarding Against Intruders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .659 Breaking and Entry, Laptop-Style 659 Being Neighborly with a Firewall 661 Getting Your Antivirus Vaccine 669 Enjoying a Visit from Antispam and Antispyware 673 Security? Suite! 675 System Maintenance Suites 679 45 140925-pp09.qxp 4/8/08 12:53 PM Page 638 Chapter 1: Traveling with a Laptop In This Chapter ߜ Giving it away isn’t good ߜ Carrying a laptop in style and safety ߜ Locking the hardware ߜ Dealing with disaster I travel nearly half the year to all the distant corners of the world, and I can no longer conceive of going out the door without my laptop. I’ve transferred funds to pay my children’s college tuition from Ua Pou in the Marquesas Islands of the South Pacific. I’ve exchanged e-mails with my investment advisor from Cape Horn at the tip of South America. I’ve sent IMs and video mail from Svalbard near the North Pole. If my laptop computer had ever 1) been stolen or left behind, 2) dropped from an outrigger canoe into the Great Barrier Reef, or 3) fallen to the floor whilst computing from Chile, I could well have suffered an almost incalcula- ble loss far beyond the value of plastic, silicon, and metal. The laptop-equipped road warrior fields three major threats: ✦ Losing a machine worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. ✦ Losing the contents of the hard disk drive (or other storage medium). What value to a dishonest person is personal information, financial data, and business data stored in a laptop that goes missing or is stolen? ✦ Electronic theft of data sent from or to your machine: the sneakiest form of cyber crime. A moderately clever crook can send spyware over the Internet or even pluck data out of the wireless signals that engulf us at home, at work, and on the road. Be careful out there. In this chapter, I offer some tips about how to be a smart road warrior. 46 140925-bk09ch01.qxp 4/8/08 12:53 PM Page 639 Keeping It to Yourself 640 Keeping It to Yourself My dear, sweet, and very bright wife stepped onto a crowded subway train in Rome a few years ago; she stepped off minus her wallet. Maybe it was the city map she held, or perhaps her very stylish but obviously foreign cloth- ing. Whatever it was, she was a very attractive mark for a team of pickpock- ets who moved quickly past her and off the train. Any experienced traveler, and that includes most road warriors, knows that he should limit the amount of cash he carries, keeping his wallet deeply buried or even hidden away inside his clothing. Try to blend in and keep a low profile. But all that’s mere window dressing if you’re walking around town, riding in cabs, and passing through airports with a rectangular cloth or leather satchel about 12 × 16 inches. The first laptop computer bag I owned had a great big label on it advertising the brand of the machine inside; today’s bags are generally less conspicuous but it doesn’t really matter: You might as well be strolling the streets yelling, “I’ve got a $1,500 laptop computer in this bag! And it’s got all of my bank and credit card account numbers and login information listed in a file called Passwords.” And it’s not just thieves you have to worry about. Every year tens of thou- sands of computer bags are left behind in hotels, restaurants, taxicabs, rental cars, at airline security checks, in overhead baggage compartments, and sitting on the corner. It’s not the subject of this book but still worth pointing out: The convergence of cell phones and banking and computing functions means that a great deal of personal information is now being carried around in much smaller and much easier-to-lose electronic devices. Think twice and then again before storing any personal or financial information on a cell phone. Carrying a laptop the smarter way Engineers haven’t yet developed an invisible laptop (how could you find it once you put it down?), but you can do some things to lessen the likelihood that your computer is stolen or lost — and to reduce the effects if a laptop nevertheless goes missing. I start with physical protection. Software security comes later. ✦ Get strong coverage. Buy a sturdy bag to hold your computer and make sure it has sturdy zippers and clasps. I prefer a case that also includes an internal strap with a Velcro closure that holds the laptop within a cushioned chamber; the strap helps protect against the machine tum- bling out of a case when the zippers and clasps open, and it also makes 46 140925-bk09ch01.qxp 4/8/08 12:53 PM Page 640 Book IX Chapter 1 Traveling with a Laptop Keeping It to Yourself 641 it more difficult for a thief to reach in and grab the machine while you’ve got the bag over your shoulder. ✦ Shun labels. Make sure the bag doesn’t advertise for the computer man- ufacturer. Remove labels or cover them if you must. ✦ ID yourself. Place several ID tags on hooks and straps of the bag and make use of any internal compartments for additional identifying infor- mation. Put your name, phone number, and e-mail address on the tags; that is sufficient for an honest person (or a lost-and-found department) to contact you. Most experts recommend against adding your address or your company name; that might give a dishonest person enough details to at least attempt to get into your financial and personal accounts. ✦ Keep keys separate. Don’t keep your car and house keys in the pocket of your laptop case; in addition, make sure your car and house keys don’t have your home address and auto license number on them; a smart crook might be able to figure out your address from documents in the bag or on the hard drive, but don’t make it easy for him. If you lose your keys and your identity can’t be traced from them, all you have to do is replace the keys; if your name and address are on the keys, you probably should call a locksmith and change all the hardware. ✦ Reward returners. Add the phrase “Reward for Return” to the ID tags. This might improve the chances that a finder will contact you. ✦ Play tag. Several companies offer anonymous tracking tags to apply to your laptop (and any other valuable) in hopes that a finder will do the right thing. These tags include a code number, a telephone number, and an e-mail address. If someone finds your machine and contacts the ID company, they serve as an intermediary to arrange the return without revealing your name and address. Companies with this sort of service include • ArmorTag at www.armortag.com • BoomerangIt at www.boomerangit.com • StuffBak at www.stuffbak.com • TrackItBack at www.trackitback.com • YouGetItBack.com at www.yougetitback.com • zReturn at www.zreturn.com In most services, you purchase a subscription to cover your equipment for particular period of time; annual charges are generally less than $25. ✦ Keep passwords elsewhere. Don’t include in your laptop case a notebook with all of your user IDs, passwords, account numbers, Social Security number, and the combination for your locker at the health club. I advise against making such a list at all, but if you must, I offer some suggestions about ways to encode them in a moment; put any such list in a separate bag — stuck in with your dirty socks or under the lining of your suitcase. 46 140925-bk09ch01.qxp 4/8/08 12:53 PM Page 641 Keeping It to Yourself 642 ✦ Strategize for separation. Think about your strategies for times you and your laptop case may be briefly separated. I recommend holding onto your laptop anytime you use a taxi; don’t put it in the trunk. If you’re traveling on an airline, the safest place for your laptop and its case is on the floor under the seat in front of you; if you must put it in an overhead compartment, put it somewhere you can watch during the flight and get to it quickly during the mad scramble to get off the plane at the end of the flight. ✦ Hide it. Never leave a laptop in plain sight in a car. Move it to the trunk — if you’re sure no one’s watching you — or hide it beneath a seat. ✦ Vault it. In a hotel, see if the in-room safe is large enough to hold your laptop. You may also be able to leave your machine in the vault at the front desk of one of the better hotels; I wouldn’t try this at the No-tell Motel out on the shopping strip. ✦ Keep your eye on the X-ray. One of the most challenging places for a road warrior is airport security (and some government and private buildings) where bags must go through an X-ray machine. In theory, a properly designed and maintained X-ray machine won’t damage your laptop, but here’s something that might: a fall from the conveyer belt or rollers. Another concern is that someone on the “safe” side of the X-ray machine might take your laptop bag (on purpose or by accident) and head off for a flight to Keokuk (or just turn around and exit the airport with a free laptop). • My best solution for security lines is to travel with a wing man (or wing woman). Let your confederate go through the metal detector ahead of you and wait for valuables to arrive. • If I’m traveling alone, here’s my procedure. First of all, I put my wallet, cell phone, keys, and other valuables in zipper pockets of my jacket. Then I send items through the X-ray machine in reverse order of their value: shoes, books and papers, the laptop-less case, then my jacket, and finally my laptop. Once I see the laptop go through the scanner, I proceed through the metal detector. Locking the hardware A delivery courier strolls out the door with a stack of boxes; does the secu- rity guard at the door open up each one to look for a laptop snatched off a desktop? The pizza delivery guy walks through the hallway of a dorm; are you certain there’s not a $2,000 portable between the pepperoni and the Hawaiian special? Does your company’s recycling program include a check of waste bins to see if an organized theft ring is trying to sneak a fully func- tioning Dell into the dumpster? All of these scenarios, and more, are real. Just imagine that a thief has come into your home or office. What are the most valuable small items he can grab? In my house, this includes the Crown Jewels of Freedonia in the living 46 140925-bk09ch01.qxp 4/8/08 12:53 PM Page 642 Book IX Chapter 1 Traveling with a Laptop Keeping It to Yourself 643 room . . . and several laptop computers. Everything else is either in a safe or too bulky. A laptop by definition is supposed to be easy to take and run. So how do you lock one down? Here are a few suggestions: ✦ Get cable. Nearly all current laptop include a hardened slot at the back to work with special cables and locks that you can attach to a desk, pipe, or other fixed object. Cables won’t stop a truly dedicated thief (especially one who comes with a chain cutter or a Ginsu knife), but will slow down a casual rip-off artiste. If someone intends to resell something they’ve stolen, they don’t want to damage the case by breaking off the lock. • One example is the MicroSaver Portable Notebook Combination Lock from Kensington; the device, about the size of a desktop mouse, includes a retractable 4' aircraft-grade steel cable; the end that plugs into the security slot of the laptop includes a three-tumbler combina- tion lock. • If you want to really raise a ruckus, products like the MicroSaver Alarmed Computer Lock, also from Kensington, include a loud, battery-powered alarm that sounds if someone tampers with the lock. ✦ Enforce house arrest. It’s not hardware, but it might help you enlist the police in retrieving a stolen laptop: A company’s software installs on the laptop’s hard drive and keeps in occasional contact with the company’s monitoring center over the Internet. If your machine is stolen or goes missing, you can contact the company and put it on alert. From that point on, the service waits to find someone using your laptop with a connection to the Internet and can, in many cases, pinpoint its location through its IP address on the Web. The system isn’t perfect — some IP addresses aren’t tied to a particular location, and thieves might use temporary WiFi connections — but it’s a step in the direction of remotely tracking your equipment. CompuTrace claims that its code can survive a disk drive reformatting, and some laptop companies have announced plans to embed tiny LoJack or simi- lar chips inside the cases of their machines where they can’t be disabled without damaging the system. Service is by annual subscription; as this book goes to press, the service costs less than $50 per year. Manufacturers include • CompuTrace LoJack at www.lojackforlaptops.com • Brigadoon’s PC PhoneHome at www.pcphonehome.com • Inspice’s Inspice Trace at www.inspice.com • XTool’s Laptop Tracker at www.xtool.com • zTrace Technologies’ zTrace Gold at www.ztrace.com 46 140925-bk09ch01.qxp 4/8/08 12:53 PM Page 643 . personal information is now being carried around in much smaller and much easier-to-lose electronic devices. Think twice and then again before storing any personal or financial information on. and make use of any internal compartments for additional identifying infor- mation. Put your name, phone number, and e-mail address on the tags; that is sufficient for an honest person (or a lost-and-found. VoIP Equipping a Laptop for VoIP 635 escalated from someone whose job it is to make customers go away to some- one whose job it is to actually fix a problem. Equipping a Laptop for VoIP You can connect