Apart from setting an administrator password, is there any reliable software available to password-protect my laptop PC on boot-up, exiting screensaver, etc? What I am trying to PREVENT is for someone to go into my system BIOS, reset the boot up sequence so that the CD-ROM is the first boot up device, insert a WinXP bootable CD, and format my hard disk. Is there any way to prevent mischief makers from doing that? Nowadays, there's so many password recovery software available. If I set an administrator password, can it be retrieved or reset by another software? Any advice wld be appreciated. Thanks.
You should be able to password protect the BIOS in your laptop. Enter Setup when the machine is first booted and you should be able to find an option, perhaps in Security that will allow you to prevent unauthorised changes to the boot settings as well as stopping anybody using the laptop unless they know the password. Check your handbook for Security options or try Google quoting the laptop make and model.
If that's what you want to do, password protecting the BIOS is the best way to go about it. However, it isn't fool-proof. If they steal your notebook, they can just open it up and remove the battery to reset the CMOS settings. But if you just want to prevent people from messing with your BIOS, just set the BIOS password.
We use hard drive encryption software for all of our laptops, like anything else, I am sure it too could be hacked, but it will take a considerable amount of work... Plenty of good software around.... LINK
Wangs, do I read your post correctly? Are you more worried about vandalism than theft? Adrian is spot-on about being able to bypass BIOS protection if your machine is stolen but it sounds more like you have somebody who just wants to delete your operating system and files as some sort of joke or mischief. If this is the case encryption or strong passwords might make that person cause worse damage.
Well obviously I don't want my laptop stolen. But if it does get stolen, I don't want all my sensitive data like passwords and credit card details to fall into the wrong hands. That's why I hope to be able to password protect some folders. Secondly if possible, i would like to password protect the whole PC as well. That means people can't start up the PC and go into the BIOS and make changes, or press F8 and start up in Safe Mode and change the Administrator password. Some people may get the idea of "hey let's see what Wangs has in his laptop" or "let's see what project Wangs is up to". Well I'm trying to keep my laptop safe from these people too. I'm not sure if encryption is the best way to go because I don't want the system to lag or slow down. Any suggestions?
Hi Wangs. You might not have realized this, but you've just answered your own question: As Adrian has mentioned, there's no fool-proof way to protect your BIOS. And if someone can get access to your BIOS, he or she could (as you've pointed out) change the boot-up sequence, insert a bootable Windows XP disk and format your HDD. Well, if someone is really that determined to wipe out your HDD, I think there's very little you can do except to keep your laptop with you at all times. What you can try to protect is your HDD contents, or at least make sure its contents don't fall into the wrong hands. To do so effectively, you may need third-party software. As for third-party software, I'd recommend WinGuard Pro 2007 and System Administrator v11.3. WinGuard Pro has a lot of features that you'd find will meet your needs. It allows you to password-protect your folders as well as allow you to set a boot-up password. The Premium version has way more features than the Pro version, so if you're looking for everything, you might have to invest a little. System Administrator has a better-looking UI and gives you control over a whole bunch of tweaks and controls. You can tweak your system to your heart's content with this baby (Ok, so not really to your heart's content, but nearly ). However, I find it somewhat buggy in my opinion. You can't password-protect your folders with it, but there is a feature where you can disable the F8 button. From my experiences, I've installed System Administrator in my computer before and after uninstalling it, some personalized Windows settings seem to have been wiped out with it as well. Maybe you'd have better luck with it. Hope my suggestions have helped a little. I think the ARP Gurus would have better suggestions for third-party software. Adrian, hope you don't mind my butting in.
Well, each software has its own limitations. WinGuard Pro doesn't disable the F8 key. The latest version doesn't even allow you to password-protect your folders anymore (sorry, error in my earlier post). It just prompts you for a boot-up password. For folder protection, the WGP developers seem to have come up with a separate software for that purpose: WGP FolderLock. System Administrator doesn't allow you to password-protect your folders but it does prevent users from using the F8-Safe Mode function. (The F8 key still works but the Safe Mode function is disabled.) But think about it ... do you really want to disable Safe Mode? Doing so might prevent you from starting up your computer the next time you experience a nasty crash.
