Here's the thing: The information is already out there, regardless of whether or not Lifehacker spreads it or not. Pandora's box has been opened. You can't make people "un-know" this information, and the people that were doing this before will do it again. Putting the information here is an informative process, and…

No, if you try to sync with an unknown computer then iTunes will make you enter in the password. The only thing the thief can do is restore the phone and delete all your information in the process.