This is a good reminder for people to set an Open Firmware/EFI Password on their hardware.
If someone has physical access to your hardware then they can get access to all of your unencrypted data if they really want it. However, a firmware password would probably prevent someone from emailing you from your own account a couple of hours after they've stolen your laptop.
When the firmware password is set, your laptop will prompt for the password before booting from DVD, USB, or Firewire drive. It will also prevent booting into Single-User mode. You can set up a firmware password by using the Open Firmware Password.app in your Utilities folder.
Does the firmware password also cause the hard drive contents to be encrypted? I don't think so. Anybody with a screwdriver can take the hard drive out, pop it into another box, and bypass whatever password you've set up. After all, why would a thief care about voiding the warranty?
"If someone has physical access to your hardware then they can get access to all of your unencrypted data if they really want it. However, a firmware password would probably prevent someone from emailing you from your own account a couple of hours after they've stolen your laptop."
If someone has physical access to your hardware then they can get access to all of your unencrypted data if they really want it. However, a firmware password would probably prevent someone from emailing you from your own account a couple of hours after they've stolen your laptop.
When the firmware password is set, your laptop will prompt for the password before booting from DVD, USB, or Firewire drive. It will also prevent booting into Single-User mode. You can set up a firmware password by using the Open Firmware Password.app in your Utilities folder.