Locking the computer

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tony
  • Start date Start date
T

Tony

This may sound dumb,but I can't figure out how to lock
the computer.I know you can hide a file with a zip file
and pass word,but I don't want others accessing any
thing.The help section in XP is to complicated for
me.Thank you.
 
Tony said:
This may sound dumb,but I can't figure out how to lock
the computer.I know you can hide a file with a zip file
and pass word,but I don't want others accessing any
thing.The help section in XP is to complicated for
me.Thank you.
Click to expand...

An easy way: check if your computer's BIOS supports password
protection on startup. With this feature no-one can start the computer
without permission.
Alternatively you can lock the user accounts with passwords.
 
Go to Control Panel, User Accounts, and assign a password to the built in Administrator account, and you're own account.

Then go to Control Panel, Display, Screen Saver, and check the box, On resume, show Welcome Screen (or On resume, password protect). And set a timeout on the screen saver, so if you walk away, the machine will "lock" itself.

And last, when you walk away, press the Windows key and L at the same time to "lock" the work station.

To access the built in Administrator account.

XP Pro: Press CTRL-ALT-DEL twice at the Welcome Screen, and you'll get the older Windows 2000 style logon dialog. To enable the Administrator account on the new Windows XP logon screen, visit my web site, www.dougknox.com and go to the Windows XP section. Follow the link for Enable Administrator Account ......

This small VB Script will make the registry change necessary for the Administrator account to be available on the Welcome Screen.

XP Home: Boot the computer in Safe Mode. Press the F8 key between the BIOS POST screen and XP actually starting to load. You'll see the Administrator on the Welcome Screen.

And last but not least, your file system should be NTFS, otherwise anyone with a boot disk has access to your information.

You cannot password protect individual folders in XP. You restrict access by assigning permissions to drives, folders and files.

If your hard disk/partition is not NTFS you will need to convert it. To do this, open a Command Prompt window and enter the following command:

CONVERT X: /FS:NTFS

Where X: is the drive letter you wish to convert. You may also want to see http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfscvt.htm to ensure that you're getting the optimal conversion.

After this step is completed and you've rebooted the computer, if necessary:

XP PRO: In Windows Explorer, go to Tools, Folder Options, View and uncheck Use Simple File Sharing. Now, when you right click on a drive, folder or file (on an NTFS partition) and select Properties, you'll see a Security tab. Here you can assign or deny permissions based on user name or user group membership.

XP Home: By default, you can only make files and folders under My Documents "private". This is done by right clicking a folder or file and selecting Properties, Sharing. To change the permissions on other folders, you need to boot the computer to Safe Mode and log in on the built in Administrator account. In this mode, you'll see the Security tab in Properties, and you can assign permissions based on user name or group membership.

How Do I Get the Security Tab in Properties - XP Home (makes the Security tab appear outside of Safe Mode)
http://www.dougknox.com, Win XP Tips section

HOW TO: Set, View, Change, or Remove File and Folder Permissions in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308418

HOW TO: Set, View, Change, or Remove Special Permissions for Files and Folders
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;308419

HOW TO: Disable Simplified Sharing and Password-Protect a Shared Folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;307874
 
Greetings --

There at least 4 ways to lock a WinXP (Home or Pro) workstation:

1) Use the Windows Key + L hotkey.

2) You can press CTRL+ALT+DEL and then <ENTER>, once you've turned
off the Welcome Screen and Fast User Switching. (This is the default
in a domain environment, as FUS is contrary to the domain security
paradigm.)

3) You can create a desktop shortcut with
"%windir%\System32\rundll32.exe user32.dll, LockWorkStation" in the
target field. (It is case-sensitive, BTW.) You can then assign a
keyboard shortcut.

4) Set a password protected screensaver, and wait the allotted time
without touching the mouse or keyboard.


Bruce Chambers
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