kevin said:
I am going to leave for a week and I don't want anyone useing my
computer. I know I need a password. But how do you set it up and then
not use it any more TIA "Kevin"
You want to SET a password, right?
But then you do not want to use it anymore?
Can you explain what that means in real terms?
If you are going to set a password to keep people out, then you have to use
it or there was no use in setting the password.
You choices have been laid out by other good responses.
A BIOS password (hardware level) would keep people from even booting and
trying to hack into your computer in various ways (if your BIOS is also
setup to boot from HDD first and there is no keystroke to get around this -
all should be options in the BIOS itself - sometimes referred to as "System
Setup" at boot time, usually pressing F1 or F2 or DEL gets someone into
their BIOS - yours may be different.) Note that if they have unrestricted
access to the system, they CAN get to everything on it with a little time
and a few tools (both hardware and software tools.) You could turn off this
password when you returned.
A Windows password is just a good idea. You could get this information
yourself.. It is on your PC right now. Start Button -> Help & Support. In
the search field type (without quotes): "reate a user password" and search.
It will tell you how to do this.
In case that was too much for you to comprehend:
To create a user password
Passwords add a level of security to your computer. When sharing a computer
with others, your customized settings, computer programs, and system
resources are more secure when you assign a password to your logon name or
user account name.
The steps to perform this task differ depending on whether your computer is
a member of a network domain or is part of a workgroup (or is a stand-alone
computer).
My computer is on a domain
---------------------------------
You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators
group in order to complete this procedure. If your computer is connected to
a network, network policy settings might also prevent you from completing
this procedure.
- Open User Accounts in Control Panel.
- On the Users tab, click the name of the user for whom you want to create a
password, and then click Reset Password.
- In New password and Confirm new password, type the password, and then
click OK.
-- Note
You can create passwords only for local computer accounts, such as guest,
administrator, or accounts you create for your computer.
My computer is not on a domain
--------------------------------------
The steps to perform this task differ depending on the type of user account
you have.
If you have a computer administrator account on the computer:
- Open User Accounts in Control Panel.
- Click your account name.
- Click Create a password.
- In Type a new password and Type the new password again to confirm, type
the password for your account.
- You can also enter descriptive or meaningful text in Type a word or phrase
to use as a password hint to help you remember your password.
- Click Create Password.
If you have a limited account on the computer:
- Open User Accounts in Control Panel.
- Click Create a password.
- In Type a new password and Type the new password again to confirm, type
your password.
- You can also enter descriptive or meaningful text in Type a word or phrase
to use as a password hint to help you remember your password.
- Click Create Password.
--Notes
- When you create a password hint, anyone who uses the computer will be able
to see the hint on the Welcome screen.
- A user with a computer administrator account can create and change
passwords for all users on the computer. Users with limited accounts can
only create and change their own passwords, as well as create their own
password hints.
- If a user with a computer administrator account changes the password for
another user, that user will lose all EFS-encrypted files, personal
certificates, and stored passwords for Web sites or network resources.
--Note
- To open User Accounts, click Start, click Control Panel, and then
double-click User Accounts.
Now.. If you set both a BIOS and Windows Password, you have at least made
it difficult for someone to break into your computer. Again - however,
physical access to the computer would pretty much make all of this a moot
point.
