"A friend recently quizzed me about the Encrypted Home Directory feature in Ubuntu, but unfortunately his questions were not due simply to his naturally inquisitive nature.
"A week earlier, he was en route to a Free Software conference and boarding a train in Europe after an overnight flight from the United States. In a flash, one thief created a diversion while his partner-in-crime stole my friend’s laptop case.
"While not particularly happy about losing his computer, he was far more distraught at his potentially compromised data which included encryption keys, stored website passwords, personal finance information, confidential documents… everything.
"This could just as easily happen to anyone. Do you travel with a laptop that contains private information? If so, what is of more value – the physical hardware itself, or the data? There must be a way to protect this highly sensitive material. Fortunately, there is!"
