McAfee has released a tool designed to protect sensitive information in the event of PC theft.

The McAfee Anti-Theft File Protection utility allows users to store information such as bank statements and tax returns in a 'digital vault' that will prevent a thief from gaining identification information.

Users will be able to create multiple 'vault' archives on their machines which will secure the files from access by other users and thieves.

McAfee hopes that the offering will gain a foothold on the back of the security firm's consumer antivirus business.

The software will, however, operate independently and will work with security software from other vendors.

"With this new anti-theft category, we are offering consumers an important extra layer of security for their PCs," said Todd Gebhart, senior vice president and general manager of McAfee's consumer, mobile and small business branch.

"With McAfee Anti-Theft, we are extending our security offering beyond traditional malware protection."

McAfee estimates that some two million laptops are stolen every year, at least half of which contain sensitive data which the owner would not want to share.