The Lowdown on Laptop Security

When asked whether security was an important factor when selecting laptops, 89 percent of respondents agreed, with 34 percent strongly agreeing. Only 2 percent of respondents said that security wasn’t an important factor to consider when evaluating laptop

Further, a whopping 99 percent of respondents agreed that effective laptop security requires a combination of physical and information security measures. The responses to another question in the survey suggest that social measures such as end-user trainin

More than half of respondents said that laptops were used at their organizations primarily by end users who travel frequently. These are arguably the laptops that are most in need of measures against theft and loss.

When asked to select from a list of laptop selection criteria, the highest percentage of respondents selected ‘other.’ The criterion written in by 7.35 of those respondents was price relative to value, 3.43 percent wrote in overall specifications, 2.45 pe

Despite the raft of laptops currently selling for less than $1,000, the majority of respondents expect to pay $1,500 or more for a quality business laptop.

The vast majority of respondents-91 percent-said Microsoft’s Windows XP was the operating system running on the last laptops purchased for their companies. Many companies are still evaluating Windows Vista, a year after its release, but 18 percent of resp

Speaking of operating systems, built-in OS features are being used by about half of respondents to secure laptops. Also high on the list is some combination of end-user training, encryption and physical measures, along with the OS security features. Intel

A majority of respondents-76 percent-said their companies had implemented end-user policies regarding the use of laptops.

A combination of technical and social measures may have helped the companies of the 57 percent of respondents that said that no laptops had been reported lost or stolen in the last 12 months. Twelve percent of respondents weren’t as fortunate, with a repo

Of those who said a laptop had been reported lost or stolen, almost half said the system was stolen from a vehicle. The companies that deploy laptops mostly to end users who travel frequently should take note that 25 percent of respondents said a laptop w

Whats the lowdown on laptop security at your organization?

Write me at debra.donston@ziffdavisenterprise.com.