Computer Password

[ToeHold]

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Combined with a screwdriver and a windows password reset CD, how am I NOT going to gain access to a desktop in under 10 minutes.

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Hmm, is it possible that the system chassis could be locked?

What if someone "forgot" to install a CD (or floppy) drive in the system?

Does anyone know what happens to USB ports that have a glob of krazy glue dabbed in them? Do they still work??

I also wonder if there was a way to monitor the network status of the system, so that an alert is generated if it goes offline?

I've also heard of something called "encryption" that when applied to data makes it, uhm, difficult for those without appropriate credentials to access.

Oh, I also read somewhere that there is another operating system out there besides Windows. The name escapes me, but I think it had an "X" somewhere in it. Or maybe it was lowercase.

But I admit I didn't know about [brag] html 7.0 tag until today. Oh well, back to the drawing board. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[d-baggery]

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Combined with a screwdriver and a windows password reset CD, how am I NOT going to gain access to a desktop in under 10 minutes.

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Well considering my HD is 128-bit on-the-fly encrypted, I don't think you'll have an easy time unless you are jesus.

[LuckyTxGuy]

Yes those Windows login passwords can be cracked easily. I have a buddy who has helped a friend crack his XP password in a matter of seconds. It took longer to get the program running than it did to successfully crack the password.lol

I have a laptop that goes everywhere with me. I had/have a fear of it getting stolen also. I have done two things to protect myself in case that happens.

1) I regularly back up everything of any importance at all onto another hard drive.

2) I use a commerical encryption software called Cryptainer to store any and all "sensitve" data, passwords, photos, documents etc. The program creates large "vaults" that you put your data in and it encrypts/un-encrypts the vault immediatly when you enter a password. You can choose the encryption method you want like AES, Blowfish, etc. These encryption methods are, in theory, unbreakable without alot of computer power and a couple hundred years of time. A free option of a similar software is TrueCrypt. I would advise anyone who has data they want to protect to use one of these encryption methods just to be on the safe side.

[d-baggery]

the windows passwords aren't really for security in the first place.

[Fryguy]

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Removing the internal battery IS a trivial task.

You don't need to reset the Windows password if you have physical access to the drive.

Why's it gone up from 5 to 10 minutes, losing your touch?

Seriously, just STFU.

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I LOL at this.

[CORed]

Linux isn't really any more secure than Windows if you have physical access to the machine. If the boot loader is not password proteced, you can easily get root access with a few boot options. If it is password protected, you can boot from cd, floppy or USB stick, or install the hard drive in a machine to which you do have root acces. If you have sensitive data on a laptop which could get stolen, you need to encrypt it, regardless of what OS you are using.

[primetime32]

Thanks for the great feedback guys. Now i have to decide the best way to protect my computer.

[_TKO_]

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You didn't password protect the administrator user that nearly no one password protects, or even knows exists.

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