Re: Any Security Software On Boot?

A proper BIOS lock is tied to the Mother Board and Hard Drive. Removing the CMOS battery or BIOS chip will effectively render the computer a paper weight.


ju.c


"Shenan Stanley" <newshelper@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:eCk1h%23VoIHA.2160@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Tom wrote:
I am running Windows XP Home. I have a standalone laptop, no
network. As of now, anyone can start my computer and get it.
Windows XP Home has No login security! I cannot stop anyone
from getting into my computer. I looked at www.download.com
and could not find it.

Is there any security software that prompts for a password for
login OR AT BOOT?

Also - access security software for memory sticks!!!

Shenan Stanley wrote:
Windows XP Home *has* logon security - you are just choosing not to
utilize it. I have *no idea* why you would go to
"www.download.com" to look for Windows XP Home Logon Security. heh

Ensure every user on your computer *has* a password assigned to the
account. This will include the built in "administrator" user - for
which (being that you have Windows XP Home Edition) you need to
boot into Safe Mode, log in as the user "administrator" (which
probably has no password) and assign one to that user there.

- Open the Control Panel
- Select User Accounts
- Select your own user account
- Select "Assign Password" (If you already have a password
assigned, only "Change Password" will be available and you can
stop this part now.)
- Go through the steps to assign a password to the account - make
sure it is one you can remember. Here are some tips on a 'strong'
password:

Passwords should contain at least six characters, and the character
string should contain at least three of these four character types:
- uppercase letters
- lowercase letters
- numerals
- nonalphanumeric characters (e.g., *, %, &, !, :)

Passwords should not contain your name/username.
Passwords should be unique to you and easy to remember.

One method many people are using today is to make up a phrase that
describes a point in their life and then turning that phrase into
their password by using only certain letters out of each word
in that phrase. It's much better than using your birthday
month/year or your anniversary in a pure sense. For
example, let's say my phrase is:
'Great new job in November 2007'
I could come up with this password from that:
'Gr8n3wj0bNOV2007'

After making sure all users now *have* a password assigned to them
- make sure Windows XP knows you want users to have to enter them.
Being Windows XP Home and since you have only one user - Windows XP
could just have decided to let you in (there's only one user
available in normal mode - what are you going to choose from?) You need to tell it you want it to ask for your password.

- Click the Start button
- On the Start menu click Run
- In the Run dialogue box type ‘control userpasswords2’ (without
the quotes) and press OK
- The User Account properties window will now appear
- Ensure there is a check mark next to the ‘users must enter a user
name and password to use this computer’ option
- Click Apply and/or click OK.

Go through the following 'checklist' Microsoft has available for
reaching some base level of security:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/archive/security/chklist/xpcl.mspx

If you wish to set a boot-up password (prior to even being able to
load the operating system - so the hardware itself asks for a
password) - you can most likely do this through your system BIOS.
This is *not* a function of your operating system - this is a
function of the hardware and you must follow the directions given
by your user manual on how to get into the system BIOS (usually a
key like F1, F2, DEL, etc - prior to any OS starting to load at
power-on) and (if possible with yout particular computer) how to
assign a boot password.
As for security for data you store on a memory stick, two things:

1) Don't store critical or private data on a memory stick that you
carry around with you freely.
2) Whether or not you break #1, Encrypt any and all data you store
on a memory stick.

For #2 - TrueCrypt is a good solution, IMHO.

Search using Google!
http://www.google.com/
(How-to: http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/basics.html )

ju.c wrote:
User Accounts can easily be bypassed. Use a BIOS lock.

Thanks for the reiteration...

BTW - since it is a laptop and the whole thing will likely be taken (thus the hacker will have unlimited physical access) the BIOS password will also do little to protect your data. The only thing that probably will is Encryption (being Windows XP Home - TrueCrypt is a choice you could make to encrypt your entire system drive...)

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html


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