System password or Hard drive password?

[t. wise]

My Dell Latitude C640 setpu offers me the choice between a system security
password (that is entered before Windows loads), or a Hard disk drive
password ( that is entered immediately after turning the power on).

Am I correct in assuming the Hard disk drive password offers me greater
protection against someone accessing my stuff?

What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of either?

 

[Steven L Umbach]

The hard drive password would protect your data better as if in the case someone
stole your laptop and yanked out the hard drive to put into another computer to try
and access the data in which case they would have to deal with the hard drive
password while the system password would not be a problem to them - they just want
the data. A hard drive password would also allow multiple hard drives to be used in
the computer, each being secure which a system password in itself could not protect
them outside of the computer. The system password [if I understand it correctly] will
not allow any operating system to be used on the computer and will make the computer
useless to thieves and possibly protect the hard drive data for a period of time and
keep out the idle curious and protect the operating system from password
cracks/resets as long as the hard drive remains in the computer. The hard drive
password in my opinion would be the best at protecting your data [stuff]. I don't
know how secure those passwords are to attacks. My understanding is that they are
pretty secure and require a trip back to the manufacturer to have those passwords
reset [not any Joe Blow working there can do it either]. You can't simply pull out
the cmos battery to reset the system password for the newer laptops. There of course
may be very sophisticated individuals/services with resources to crack those
passwords, though it is not something easily obtainable to the rest of us. --- Steve

 

[Guest]

Well, I myself found randomly on the internet a program that can crack hardrive passwords very easily.

I am sure if someone wanted to access your data bad enough to steal or try to crack your password via sitting at your laptop they probaly would have a program like this.

Sadly these days the only thing password protecting data does is keep out those who don't know a lot about computers. The best way to protect the data is to encrypt it anyway possible. The only way to truly protect all your data i.e. word documents, slide shows, reports ect ect, is to store them on a disk or CD and not on your computer, but as well all know that is a greater pain and a greater expense, but this is what we have to do when we live in a world where people think its fun to crack the newest security methods as they come out.

 

[James.Crack]

Try product StorageCrypt , password protect external hard drive .

Magic Locker , password protect system boot drive .


Software link : http://www.magic2003.net

The hard drive password would protect your data better as if in the case someone
stole your laptop and yanked out the hard drive to put into another computer to try
and access the data in which case they would have to deal with the hard drive
password while the system password would not be a problem to them - they just want
the data. A hard drive password would also allow multiple hard drives to be used in
the computer, each being secure which a system password in itself could not protect
them outside of the computer. The system password [if I understand it correctly] will
not allow any operating system to be used on the computer and will make the computer
useless to thieves and possibly protect the hard drive data for a period of time and
keep out the idle curious and protect the operating system from password
cracks/resets as long as the hard drive remains in the computer. The hard drive
password in my opinion would be the best at protecting your data [stuff]. I don't
know how secure those passwords are to attacks. My understanding is that they are
pretty secure and require a trip back to the manufacturer to have those passwords
reset [not any Joe Blow working there can do it either]. You can't simply pull out
the cmos battery to reset the system password for the newer laptops. There of course
may be very sophisticated individuals/services with resources to crack those
passwords, though it is not something easily obtainable to the rest of us. --- Steve

My Dell Latitude C640 setpu offers me the choice between a system security
password (that is entered before Windows loads), or a Hard disk drive
password ( that is entered immediately after turning the power on).

Am I correct in assuming the Hard disk drive password offers me greater
protection against someone accessing my stuff?

What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of either?