Recently my Hotmail and Googlemail accounts were accessed via a shared computer in my shared home using tracking software that revealed my secure passwords. I have changed the passwords and set up new email accounts, which I only use on a non-shared computer at work. What else can I do? Name withheld
If someone else has physical access to a PC then ultimately there is no security, unless you can encrypt a portion of the hard drive. You will need your own account with administrator level access. I'd suggest TrueCrypt, which is open source, does on-the-fly encryption and can be run in "traveller mode".
You should also run all your own applications from a USB memory stick, using Firefox Portable Edition. This is included in a useful bundle, the Portableapps.com Suite, which provides a menu system along with an office suite, calendar/scheduler, instant messaging client, antivirus, Sudoku game and backup utility (http://portableapps.com/suite). Go for the Base Edition that lets you select your preferred applications. You could also put together your own collection from other sources: WorldStart will get you started.
Travellers and users of shared computers can increase their level of security by using SysInternals' Process Explorer to delete unwanted background tasks, flushing browser caches and rebooting the PC afterwards. But carrying an encrypted USB Flash drive is a better option.
