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Posted by Cerebral Believer on December 21, 2005, 7:35 am
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Hi everyone,
I have a BIOS utility on my PC (accessible during start up by pressing "F1")
which allows me to set passwords, but for some reason the PC does not
require that a user enters any of these passwords every time the PC is
switched on, but rather only when a user enters the BIOS utility. My laptop
requres the BIOS password to be entered every time the computer starts up,
and I want my desktop PC to act in like manner. I have checked out the
product support helpline for my desktop PC and it seems (strangely) that the
BIOS passwords can not be set so that they are required on boot up.
Does anyone know of any programs that will impliment a power on/boot
password, or is there anything in Windows XP that will do the same?
-------
Regards,
CB.
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Posted by Jim Watt on December 21, 2005, 8:09 am
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On Wed, 21 Dec 2005 12:35:54 GMT, "Cerebral Believer"
>
>I have a BIOS utility on my PC (accessible during start up by pressing "F1")
>which allows me to set passwords, but for some reason the PC does not
>require that a user enters any of these passwords every time the PC is
>switched on, but rather only when a user enters the BIOS utility.
many machines give you the option of protecting the machine -or-
just the BIOS settings in CMOS. Look more carefully at the options
connected with the password.
Its a useful security feature, but not high security unless you
lock the case.
--
Jim Watt
http://www.gibnet.com
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Posted by Cerebral Believer on December 21, 2005, 9:34 am
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Thanks for your reply. As far as I could see, the only options are Change,
Set or Disable. There isn't a BIOS or Machinr protection option there at
all, but thanks for the suggestion.
For what reason would I have to lock the case? What is the best way to
protect a desktop computer from unauthorised access in your opinion?
-------
Regards,
CB.
> On Wed, 21 Dec 2005 12:35:54 GMT, "Cerebral Believer"
>
>>
>>I have a BIOS utility on my PC (accessible during start up by pressing
>>"F1")
>>which allows me to set passwords, but for some reason the PC does not
>>require that a user enters any of these passwords every time the PC is
>>switched on, but rather only when a user enters the BIOS utility.
>
> many machines give you the option of protecting the machine -or-
> just the BIOS settings in CMOS. Look more carefully at the options
> connected with the password.
>
> Its a useful security feature, but not high security unless you
> lock the case.
> --
> Jim Watt
> http://www.gibnet.com
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Posted by Mike on December 21, 2005, 10:24 am
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> For what reason would I have to lock the case?
So that nobody could get in and set the jumper inside to reset the cmos
and so reset your password to blank. BIOS passwords are pointless
without physical security.
> What is the best way to
> protect a desktop computer from unauthorised access in your opinion?
Lock it in a cupboard, don't connect it to the Internet or a network and
don't install any software. Proably best not to turn it on at all ;-)
BIOS passwords are pointless in terms of security.
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Posted by Cerebral Believer on December 21, 2005, 10:39 am
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I take your point on physical security. I thought that BIOS passwords, in
conjunction with other BIOS settings, were useful for ensuring that a user
could only boot from the hard drive of a PC, and not from a CD-ROM etc in
order to bypass the Windows Password?
I chose to get a PC that can work with removable drives, all my programs are
on the main C drive, and all my important files are stored on 160GB
removable drives which are locked up.
I also have a Cisco router and Norton Firewalls on each PC on my LAN, trying
to be safe but productive rather than just plain safe:-)
-------
Regards,
CB.
> Cerebral Believer wrote:
> > For what reason would I have to lock the case?
>
> So that nobody could get in and set the jumper inside to reset the cmos
> and so reset your password to blank. BIOS passwords are pointless without
> physical security.
>
>> What is the best way to protect a desktop computer from unauthorised
>> access in your opinion?
>
> Lock it in a cupboard, don't connect it to the Internet or a network and
> don't install any software. Proably best not to turn it on at all ;-)
>
> BIOS passwords are pointless in terms of security.
>
>
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