Quote Originally Posted by jonnyspeed
you can put a password on the BIOS - which makes most laptops useless once they are stolen......
peace.
Password on the Bios does nothing. Its easy to get a HD out of the laptop and they can get all the data by just plugging it into another computer as a second drive.

The only real protection is when the data is encrypted. They are programs that you can get that segment out a part of your HD. Everything in one sector is encrypted and you need to have that program installed (and type in your password) to make it make sense. That's they only safe way against important data theft.