[Blue_Ridge_Mtn_Geek]

A short time ago, my company enforced a new security policy of PGP encrypting every laptop hard drive in the inventory. The concern was preventing theft of confidential information in the event of a lost or stolen laptop. Happily, this should also be a good defense against such government over-reach as this. For those who are managing their own laptop, this might be a good precaution to consider. Some users have reported performance problems with their installation, but I've had no difficulty, and it's nice to know that my data is secure (or at least "PGP secure" - - - who knows what tricks NSA and similar agencies have up their sleeves, but at least most thieves will be unable to get at the data, and probably border guards as well).

[Marius3188]

I remember using PGP long ago and it was basically, public enemy #1. The Feds hated it. That was years ago, when it was shareware and BBS days.

[kingu]

Is the key stored on the laptop? 128 bit encryption can be cracked rather easily, 256 bit is harder, though most PGP systems use 2048 bit encryption, but that's a 128 character string, quite a lot of typing for someone to use on an everyday basis. If it's 8 characters, that's 128 bit encryption, something I can crack using my laptop and about 20 hours of time, depending upon the sample size. If I have a huge sample of text or word documents, it can be cracked within 10 minutes; faster with word documents.

And if I can do it with simple tools, so should most government agencies. If a border agent found your data all to be encrypted, it would seem to me to be more likely for them to seize and keep the laptop until they can either crack the code, or get you to give it up yourself.