When you look for your next notebook, you may want to look for one that features "TPM 1.2"

This is a hardware based encryption module that is featured on many business-class notebooks sold over the last 6-12 months. You may not find it at the local retailers, but major notebook manufacturers typically offer it.

The TPM (Trusted Platform Module) let's you encrypt individual files or directorites. You can even create entire hidden encrypted partitions. It doesn't appear to slow down my machine at all.

The chip is on the mother board, so even if someone pulls out the drive and puts it in another machine, without a password, their stuck.

So don't forget your password. Alot of notebooks now even let you manage that with a fingerprint reader.

"Older" machines may feature the 1.1 version, but I believe the 1.2 version is the one that will support the Windows Vista advanced security features.

Cromely.