The Security Mentor

"C.J. Kelly" is a pseudonymous columnist at Computerworld. Recently she wrote about how to keep sensitive information secure when it's on a laptop. Full article at http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=300758&source=rss_topic17

I am one of those people with a laptop, and I take it everywhere. But I am extremely cautious. I never use Wi-Fi. Instead, I have a broadband wireless card, which eliminates the risk of a hacker sniffing my wireless traffic or hijacking my wireless session. My laptop has host-based intrusion prevention and a firewall, and it is set up for automatic patches and updates.

When I travel, my eyes never leave my laptop. At airports, I have a set order for putting my belongings on the conveyer belt so that when my laptop emerges, I am already at the other end to retrieve it. Even my purse is a lower priority. I use a small laptop case that slides under the seat ­— no overhead compartments. I try not to leave it in a hotel room, but if I must, I hang out a “Do Not Disturb” sign and put the laptop in the room safe. I refuse housekeeping services. Someone from the hotel could still enter my room, but I eliminate as much risk as possible

I would have put "encrypt the disk" in there somewhere.