how can I block naughty users in my house?

[Guest]

I'm getting tired of taking the keyboard and locking it in the trunk of the car. Is there a way to block users on my PC?

 

[Chris Lanier]

Put a password on your user account.

I'm getting tired of taking the keyboard and locking it in the trunk of

the car. Is there a way to block users on my PC?

 

[purplehaz]

Try setting a password in the bios. Also, create one user account and
password protect it. Password protect the hidden admin account and the guest
account also(or tuen the guest account off). Last put a foot up the a$$ of
anyone who messes with your computer without your ok.
The bios password is almost impossible to get by without physically clearing
the cmos, so that should do you fine. Windows passwords can be cracked if
you have physical access to the computer.

I'm getting tired of taking the keyboard and locking it in the trunk of

the car. Is there a way to block users on my PC?

 

[GK]

Try setting a password in the bios. Also, create one user account and
password protect it. Password protect the hidden admin account and the guest
account also(or tuen the guest account off). Last put a foot up the a$$ of
anyone who messes with your computer without your ok.
The bios password is almost impossible to get by without physically clearing
the cmos, so that should do you fine. Windows passwords can be cracked if
you have physical access to the computer.



the car. Is there a way to block users on my PC?

Umm...my opinion only. I wouldn't do anything in the bios for this. You are
asking for more headaches if you forget the password. Personally, I'd just
do so from the control panel, user accounts. Issue passwords to users and
don't tell them what they are. Log in for them when you want. Make them
limited users, and make yourself the administrator. Create passwords
for all the accounts you create. Unless these users are savvy, I doubt
you'll have a problem. If they are savvy, well then you can go the extra mile.

 

[R. McCarty]

Norton Internet Security 2004 has "Parental Controls" built-in.
As part of Live Update, a database of "Explicit" sites is loaded
that are blocked. You can also enable a password on the program
so the feature cannot be turned off. Parental Controls can be
setup for different accounts, so you can customize it for each
user. It works very well in restricting access to web-content &
certain programs.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

Try setting a password in the bios.

Russ should be aware that a BIOS password is effective against
casual intruders, but not against anyone who really wants to get
in and knows even a little bit. BIOS passwords are very easy to
get around, and may or may not be useful in his situation. If by
"naughty users in [his] house," he means a teenager who he wants
to keep out, it's probably not good enough.

Also, create one user account and
password protect it. Password protect the hidden admin account and
the guest account also(or tuen the guest account off). Last put a
foot up the a$$ of anyone who messes with your computer without your
ok.
The bios password is almost impossible to get by without physically
clearing the cmos, so that should do you fine.

But physically clearing the CMOS is extremely easy. Many
motherboards have a jumper to do this, and you can always just
remove the battery for a short time. Some BIOSs even have
back-door passwords that are fairly widely known.

 

[Rob Schneider]

I'm getting tired of taking the keyboard and locking it in the trunk of the car. Is there a way to block users on my PC?

What are the risks you are trying to protect against?

 

[GK]

In

Try setting a password in the bios.

Russ should be aware that a BIOS password is effective against
casual intruders, but not against anyone who really wants to get
in and knows even a little bit. BIOS passwords are very easy to
get around, and may or may not be useful in his situation. If by
"naughty users in [his] house," he means a teenager who he wants
to keep out, it's probably not good enough.

Also, create one user account and
password protect it. Password protect the hidden admin account
and

the guest account also(or tuen the guest account off). Last put
a

foot up the a$$ of anyone who messes with your computer without
your

ok.
The bios password is almost impossible to get by without
physically

clearing the cmos, so that should do you fine.

But physically clearing the CMOS is extremely easy. Many
motherboards have a jumper to do this, and you can always just
remove the battery for a short time. Some BIOSs even have
back-door passwords that are fairly widely known.

Mother boards, jumpers, batteries? Fairly easy? The guy sticks his
keyboard in the trunk.

 

[purplehaz]

But windows passwords are just as easy to get around for anyone who has
access to the computer and they don't have to open the case and mess with
jumpers to get around them. Clearing the cmos or removing the battery may be
"easy" for you and I, but I don't know any, and I mean any, beginner/novice
that knows how to clear the cmos or remove the battery. If they know how to
do that, chances are they know how to crack, reset, or get by a windows
password. There are zillions of sites that tell you how to get by both. That
is why I said do both. Then it makes it that much harder to get in, but
still not impossible. Anyone with physical access can get in if you know
what your doing. Cracking windows passwords is just as easy as clearing the
cmos. Doing both to keep naughty teens out would be better than doing just
one. I guess I'm missing your point here.

In

Try setting a password in the bios.

Russ should be aware that a BIOS password is effective against
casual intruders, but not against anyone who really wants to get
in and knows even a little bit. BIOS passwords are very easy to
get around, and may or may not be useful in his situation. If by
"naughty users in [his] house," he means a teenager who he wants
to keep out, it's probably not good enough.

Also, create one user account and
password protect it. Password protect the hidden admin account and
the guest account also(or tuen the guest account off). Last put a
foot up the a$$ of anyone who messes with your computer without your
ok.
The bios password is almost impossible to get by without physically
clearing the cmos, so that should do you fine.

But physically clearing the CMOS is extremely easy. Many
motherboards have a jumper to do this, and you can always just
remove the battery for a short time. Some BIOSs even have
back-door passwords that are fairly widely known.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup

Windows passwords can
be cracked if you have physical access to the computer.


the car. Is there a way to block users on my PC?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

But windows passwords are just as easy to get around for anyone who
has access to the computer and they don't have to open the case and
mess with jumpers to get around them. Clearing the cmos or removing
the battery may be "easy" for you and I, but I don't know any, and I
mean any, beginner/novice that knows how to clear the cmos or remove
the battery.

No, I didn't say that everyone can do this. But we are not
necessarily talking about "beginner/novices" here; neither of us
knows how much knowledge his "nasty users" have. What I said was
"*may* or *may not* be useful in his situation" (emphasis added).

You often see advice to use a BIOS password. Sometimes it *is*
good enough for the protection needed, but other times it's not.
As I said, "it is effective against casual intruders, but not
against anyone who really wants to get in and knows even a little
bit." It's far from real protection, and my point was to make
sure that Russ didn't think it was.

Russ didn't say who the "naughty users" in his house were, but my
guess was that they are one or more teenagers. If I'm right, it's
highly likely that either they can easily get around a BIOS
password by themselves, or that they have friends who can help
them do it.

If they know how to do that, chances are they know how
to crack, reset, or get by a windows password. There are zillions of
sites that tell you how to get by both. That is why I said do both.
Then it makes it that much harder to get in, but still not
impossible. Anyone with physical access can get in if you know what
your doing. Cracking windows passwords is just as easy as clearing
the cmos. Doing both to keep naughty teens out would be better than
doing just one. I guess I'm missing your point here.

I'm not against his using a BIOS password. I was merely
cautioning him on relying on it, unless he's concerned only with
casual intruders who don't know much. You said "The bios password
is almost impossible to get by without physically clearing the
cmos, so that should do you fine." To me, that says it's real
protection that secures the computer against almost anyone, and
almost nobody can get around it. I think that's a great
overstatement.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup

In

Try setting a password in the bios.

Russ should be aware that a BIOS password is effective against
casual intruders, but not against anyone who really wants to get
in and knows even a little bit. BIOS passwords are very easy to
get around, and may or may not be useful in his situation. If by
"naughty users in [his] house," he means a teenager who he wants
to keep out, it's probably not good enough.

Also, create one user account and
password protect it. Password protect the hidden admin

account
and

the guest account also(or tuen the guest account off). Last

put
a

foot up the a$$ of anyone who messes with your computer

without
your

ok.
The bios password is almost impossible to get by without physically
clearing the cmos, so that should do you fine.

But physically clearing the CMOS is extremely easy. Many
motherboards have a jumper to do this, and you can always just
remove the battery for a short time. Some BIOSs even have
back-door passwords that are fairly widely known.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup

Windows passwords can
be cracked if you have physical access to the computer.

I'm getting tired of taking the keyboard and locking it in

the
trunk

of
the car. Is there a way to block users on my PC?

 

[purplehaz]

In


No, I didn't say that everyone can do this. But we are not
necessarily talking about "beginner/novices" here; neither of us
knows how much knowledge his "nasty users" have. What I said was
"*may* or *may not* be useful in his situation" (emphasis added).

You often see advice to use a BIOS password. Sometimes it *is*
good enough for the protection needed, but other times it's not.
As I said, "it is effective against casual intruders, but not
against anyone who really wants to get in and knows even a little
bit." It's far from real protection, and my point was to make
sure that Russ didn't think it was.

Russ didn't say who the "naughty users" in his house were, but my
guess was that they are one or more teenagers. If I'm right, it's
highly likely that either they can easily get around a BIOS
password by themselves, or that they have friends who can help
them do it.





I'm not against his using a BIOS password. I was merely
cautioning him on relying on it, unless he's concerned only with
casual intruders who don't know much. You said "The bios password
is almost impossible to get by without physically clearing the
cmos, so that should do you fine." To me, that says it's real
protection that secures the computer against almost anyone, and
almost nobody can get around it. I think that's a great
overstatement.

Ok, I agree. The extra info was helpful. I let you slide this time. ;o) It
was/is good to let the op know that the bios password is not completely
secure and my words did make it seem "stronger" than it is.
<snip>

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

Ok, I agree. The extra info was helpful. I let you slide this time.


LOL!


;o) It was/is good to let the op know that the bios password is not
completely secure and my words did make it seem "stronger" than

it is.


OK, glad we agree.

 

[Cindy Winegarden]

In news: (e-mail address removed),

I'm getting tired of taking the keyboard and locking it in the trunk
of the car. Is there a way to block users on my PC?

Hi Russ,

One thing no one else mentioned is that you should use a password-protected
screen saver (Right-Click on the Desktop, Properties > Screen Saver > On
resume, password protect) for your account. If you're going to go away from
the computer you can use WinKey + L (Windows Lock) to bring up the password
box immediately, without needing to wait the 10 minutes or whatever for the
screensaver to come on.

 

[Trent©]

I'm getting tired of taking the keyboard and locking it in the trunk of the car. Is there a way to block users on my PC?

Put a small tack weld on the back of the computer...to permanently
keep the case/side on.

Then follow some of the other suggestions.


Have a nice week...

Trent

Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity!

 

[Broomstick]

Your naughty users may be using other keyboard you know.
the car. Is there a way to block users on my PC?