Best place for a password?

Under WinXP, I can set a password for my user account, in which case I'm
prompted for the password about halfway through the boot-up process ... or I
can set a password through my BIOS, in which case I'm prompted almost
immediately.

Is one a better way to secure my computer from prying eyes than the other?

t. wise

On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 17:25:01 -0800, "t. wise" <>
wrote:

>Under WinXP, I can set a password for my user account, in which case I'm
>prompted for the password about halfway through the boot-up process ... or I
>can set a password through my BIOS, in which case I'm prompted almost
>immediately.
>
>Is one a better way to secure my computer from prying eyes than the other?
>
Given that there are ways around either method, I'd go for the one
that gets in first.
The bios password at least requires the case to be opened and the bios
reset in order to hack it ( or some fairly specialist knowledge ).

By far and away the best method of securing your data is to use
encryption - so that even in the event of the whole machine being
lifted, your personal data is safe.
Either that or keep it all on removable media.

I use a utility called Blowfish Advanced CS ( freeware, widely
available ), but I don't know if it works under XP. There are other
utilities available though, including some that can make use of
encrypted virtual drives.

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

Stephen Howard

"t. wise" <> wrote in message
news:C-udnTFuVPF1PsHcRVn-...
> Under WinXP, I can set a password for my user account, in which case I'm
> prompted for the password about halfway through the boot-up process ... or
I
> can set a password through my BIOS, in which case I'm prompted almost
> immediately.
>
> Is one a better way to secure my computer from prying eyes than the other?
>

Why not use both?

One protects your machine from hands-on tampering.

The other protects your machine from remote tampering, via network.

And like Stephen Howard replied, you could use encryption to secure your
data in case your hard drive is stolen or your network password is cracked.
But even that isn't perfect, because if you're actively using your computer,
that data is being decrypted while you're using it.

So my additional suggestion is to install a personal firewall product, like
ZoneAlarm or Sygate, and make sure your NTFS permissions are all in order.
Wouldn't hurt to turn on some auditing (don't over do it!) so in case
someone IS accessing your files, you have an audit trail to track them down.

Rick

Richard S. Westmoreland

On Fri, 1 Oct 2004 07:29:45 -0400, "Richard S. Westmoreland"
<> wrote:

>Why not use both?
>
>One protects your machine from hands-on tampering.
>
>The other protects your machine from remote tampering, via network.
########################
Actually, both is the correct answer. However, don't forget the
default BIOS passwds.
BIOS Type | BIOS Master Password(s)
--------------------------------------------------------
Advanced Integration Advance

AMI 589589
A.M.I.
aammii
AMI
AMI!SW
AMI.KEY
ami.kez
AMI?SW
AMI_SW
AMI~
ami°
amiami
amidecod
AMIPSWD
amipswd
AMISETUP
bios310
BIOSPASS
CMOSPWD
helgaßs
HEWITT RAND
KILLCMOS

Amptron Polrty

AST SnuFG5

Award ?award
01322222
1EAAh
256256
589589
589721
admin
alfarome
aLLy
aPAf
award
AWARD SW
award.sw
AWARD?SW
award_?
award_ps
AWARD_PW
AWARD_SW
awkward
BIOS
bios*
biosstar
biostar
CONCAT
condo
CONDO
djonet
efmukl
g6PJ
h6BB
HELGA-S
HEWITT RAND
HLT
j09F
j256
j262
j322
j64
lkw peter
lkwpeter
PASSWORD
SER
setup
SKY_FOX
SWITCHES_SW
Sxyz
SZYX
t0ch20x
t0ch88
TTPTHA
ttptha
TzqF
wodj
ZAAADA
zbaaaca
zjaaadc

Biostar Biostar
Q54arwms

Compaq Compaq

Concord last

CTX International CTX_123

CyberMax Congress

Daewoo Daewuu

Daytek Daytec

Dell Dell

Digital Equipment komprie

Enox xo11nE

Epox central

Freetech Posterie

HP Vectra hewlpack

IBM IBM
MBIUO
sertafu

Iwill iwill

JetWay spoom1

Joss Technology 57gbz6
technolgi

M Technology mMmM

MachSpeed sp99dd

Magic-Pro prost

Megastar star

Micron sldkj754
xyzall

Micronics dn_04rjc

Nimble xdfk9874t3

Packard Bell bell9

QDI QDI

Quantex teX1
xljlbj

Research Col2ogro2

Shuttle Spacve

Siemens Nixdorf SKY_FOX

SpeedEasy lesarot1

SuperMicro ksdjfg934t

Tinys tiny

TMC BIGO

Toshiba 24Banc81
Toshiba
toshy99

Vextrec Technology Vextrex

Vobis merlin

WIMBIOSnbsp BIOS v2.10 Compleri

Zenith 3098z
Zenith

ZEOS zeosx

Compiled by:
Nathan Einwechter

donnie