mikesal0902 said:I establish myself as Admin level and my children as Limited access.
My 14 year old found a way to not only change this, but my User login
password as
well. How can he do this and what can I do to prevent it.
mikesal0902 said:I establish myself as Admin level and my children as Limited access.
My 14
year old found a way to not only change this, but my User login
password as
well. How can he do this and what can I do to prevent it.
I establish myself as Admin level and my children as
Limited access. My 14 year old found a way to not only
change this, but my User login password as well. How can
he do this and what can I do to prevent it.
As to your last, that was my approach to this "problem".Any computer running any operating system can be accessed
by someone with 1) physical access; 2) time; 3) skill; 4)
tools. There are a few things you can do to make it a bit
harder though:
1. Set a password in the BIOS that must be entered before
booting the operating system. Also set the Supervisor
password in the BIOS so BIOS Setup can't be entered without
it. 2. From the BIOS, change the boot order to hard drive
first. 3. Set strong passwords on all accounts, including
the built-in Administrator account. In XP Home, you will
need to log into Safe Mode to access the built-in
Administrator account. 4. If you leave your own account
logged in, use the Windows Key + L to lock the computer
(and/or set the screensaver/power saving) when you step
away from the computer and require a password to resume.
5. Make other users Limited accounts.
Please understand that these are technical responses to
what is basically a non-technical problem. This is a
family/interpersonal issue that can't be solved by
technical means.
All good advice, but to do that now at age /14/ is hopeless.in message
Are you using a username like "daddy" or "mike_sal", or are
you using a username like "lrg43sm" (where the letters and
numbers mean something to you, like your initials
backwards, a couple of noncontiguous digits from your
birthyear, and initials for your company)? If you use your
own name, it doesn't take many trials to figure out your
username, especially if you let the kids watch you login.
Same goes for your password. Did you use your pet's name,
spouse's name, parent's name, or some other word(s) that
the kid would know? Or did you use some jumbled mess of
alphanumeric characters (and perhaps some punctuation
characters) that mean something to you but to no one else?
Figure out an algorithm for your passwords which lets you
generate passwords that are jumbled but have order based on
rules that you remember. I use such an algorithm (so all I
have to remember is the 3 parts to a password and what they
contain) so that the password is different for the hostname
on which I login and also for every web site where I'm
registered. That way, you have a different password for
each host or site and you don't really have to memorize it
because you just plug in the characters that match your
algorithm.
Maybe the kid installed a rootkit or keylogger. Have you
used various anti-malware products (many of which are free)
to scan your computer for malware? No matter what you do
to change your username and password, the kid might be
using a keylogger to get the new ones and can get back in.
You already know about the BIOS password to thwart the kid.
That should be sufficient and cannot be recorded by a
software keylogger because it hasn't been loaded yet (but
you could physically inspect the computer to make sure
there wasn't a keylogger dongle inserted in the keyboard
cord or connector). You may find it impossible to
eradicate the rootkit or keylogger. In that case, save a
disk image of the partition(s) and do a fresh install of
Windows and start with strong a strong username and
password and don't even give the kids any admin or power
user permissions so they cannot install ANY software. All
they get to do thereafter is *use* your computer (as
opposed to getting a computer for your kids) and all they
can run is what YOU have installed (so be careful of what
you install).
Have you told the kid that any further interference and
alteration of your computer system will result in severe
and REAL punishment? Do you let your babies play with
guns? If you can't manage to keep the kid off the computer
and you are too wimpy to dole out punishment then put the
computer in a room that you can lock to prevent physical
access. Software is not a substitute for parenting. Also,
why are you letting anyone use your critically important
host? If you use it for work (remote or working from home)
then NONE OF THE KIDS should be touching it anymore than
you would allow them to go shooting your shotguns in the
house.
Michael, save yourself some time and aggravation, and re-you all have been very helpful. i will be home for a long
weekend and have some computer work to do. thank you much.
from staten island, michael
All Things Mopar said:Today Vanguard commented courteously on the subject at hand
All good advice, but to do that now at age /14/ is hopeless.
Children establish their core beliefs and values, basic
opinions on life, politeness/rudeness, personality, attitude,
etc. very early in life. Many child psychologists say this
occurs as early as 7-8 and is firmly locked by 12. That is not
to say that kicking the kid's ass (and landing yourself in the
slammer!) can't change his "core beliefs and values") but if
he's a hacker now for fun or profit, the "real" punishment
isn't likely to last long. And, /NO/ PW nor /ANY/ super-duper
security utility will stop a teenager determined to put one
over on Daddy. Finally, Dad, should be on the lookout for
time-bombs planted on /his/ account that'll go off if Junior
is removed again.
And yet none of those 7-8 year olds know anything about the
law. They have to learn when they drive as to what are the
laws. They have to keep learning after that age since
obviously no one is getting their doctorate degree at that
age. Learning doesn't stop at 7-8 years old. Pain is an
excellent motivator to train animals (which includes
humans). If the kid can't obey the rules then they don't
get to use the computer anymore, or they lose their
allowance, or you add chores, or you give them homework, or
whatever. Being 14 years old doesn't preclude a parent
from punishing their kid. Pain motivates. For kids (any
age), complacency and acquiescence equate to permission.
If the parent cannot manage to control their kids, software
certainly isn't a substitute. Don't use software to
overcome poor parenting. I wasn't talking about morality.
I was talking about training the kid to follow rules since
the kid will eventually become an adult (in age but perhaps
not in mentality) and have to obey even MORE rules. How
old are you now? Do you think your employer would give a
gnat's fart about what you have learned by the time you
were 7-8 years old regarding you complying with their
company policies? You don't comply, you get fired. You
think the police officer cares about what you learned at
7-8 years old when he is filling out your speeding ticket?
You don't comply with the speed law, you get ticketed and
have to pay (the ticket and higher insurance premiums).
Pain motivates compliance!
If the kid can't comply with your rules regarding use of
YOUR property, they don't ever get to use it again.
Parents can manage to lockup their guns but they can't
manage to lockup their computers? Yeah, right. Also, don't
put the computer in the kids room, don't let the kid wander
around with it, and don't leave it in your room or anywhere
where they will be out of sight. Put the computer in a
publicly travelled room in the house so there is no privacy
of its use and have you do the login (out of sight of the
kid) and logoff for the kid to make them feel like the
peurile baby that they have exhibited so far in their lack
of control and respect. Sometimes all it takes is turning
off the router or cable modem since the kid probably wants
Internet access more than just using the computer
(providing you don't permit any games to be installed on
it). The router or cable modem can go into a closet or
even into a lockbox. If you turn off the router or cable
modem, the kid probably won't want to use your computer.
Some routers even let you define a password that is
required (using the web interface) to get Internet access
and that box can't be hacked or infected, like with a
keylogger. You could use removable drive bays where you
install your license of Windows that you use and then
remove it and lock away and the kid slides in their hard
drive with whatever OS they want with whatever programs
they want (and maybe even deny buying them any OS or
software so they'll have to earn the money to buy what they
can't steal). However, although cheaper to get a
good-quality drive bay and 2 hard drives (one for you and
one for the kid), maybe you should just get the kid their
own computer - but then configure the router so their host
cannot connect to any other host in your home network so
all they get is Internet connectivity. However, in the
last case, you are actually rewarding the kid for ****ing
up your computer. Decide how you want to train your
adult-to-be kid. Training NEVER stops regardless of your
age. Pain motivates compliance.
Even at 80 years old, if you got zapped with a cattle prod
whenever you attempted to butt into line, it wouldn't take
long for you to learn to stop butting into line regardless
of what you had learned way back up until you were 7-8
years old.