CD-based Linux distros - LNX-BBC, eloop, others
I tried quite a few Linux distributions that can be run directly off the CD. I found
LNX-BBC Linux an excellent solution for running sshd on laptops and doing *serious* stuff.
F.I.R.E. is another interesting one. There's now
a lot of development happening based on the Knoppix distribution.
I plan to give
eloop a try soon. Eloop is creates a serpent encrypted filesystem on a windows partition and helps you to encrypt personal files. At least, I want to be able to recognize a eloop-ed system, when I see one.
Serpent was an AES-candidate developed by
Ross Anderson et al.