Clearing the XP Page File

[iminj]

On my desktops, I long ago started the habit of wiping the WinXP page file at shutdown as an added security measure. A simple registry hack does the trick, although this significantly slows down the shut down process.

On my ThinkPad, I have enabled the hardware security in BIOS to lock the hard drive. Is that secure enough to negate the need to wipe the page file when I shut down my notebook?

Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[Wiz]

The harddisk password is pretty secure so i'm sure you are fine, but if you are really concerned about securing you data you should consider a full disk encryption software like Utimaco Safeguard Easy, Drivecrypt Pluspack or similar software. Using any of those the whole harddisk is encrypted including the paging file.

[davidspalding]

Password protecting the hard drive is risky if there is failure, but is certainly a good security feature. Once you do that, I'd disable pagefile wiping on shutdown. I use that from time to time, and it only bothers me when I'm trying to shut down while mobile, with an eensy-weensy bit of battery left.

[iminj]

Thanks for the feedback !

Based on the advice, I'm no longer wiping the paging file when I shut down the system - since I use the hardware PW to lock the hard drive. Cuts the shutdown time by 50-60% which is nice ...