# How to keep unauthorized people from logging on my computer ?



## jackjet (Jul 23, 2003)

Hi People,
can someone PLEASE tell me how to keep unauthorized people from using my computer ? I went to 'users' - put in passwords for my wife and me - but when you turn the computer on and the box comes up - if you push 'cancel' - the desktop comes on anyway - then anyone can STILL use it- how can I stop this ?
Thanks.
Jackjet


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## buddhafabio (Aug 5, 2002)

2 options for you as microsoft security is a joke


first you may have a boot password option in your bios, which means you have to type a password after you hit the power button. this is the best because if you loose pasword all you do is clear cmos

second there are third party apps that can install them selves to boot before windows. or right when windows boots. if you lose the password you reformat losing all data


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## jackjet (Jul 23, 2003)

Sir,
will you please tell me exactly how to do this ?

Thanks.
Jackjet


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## brindle (Jun 14, 2002)

My computer is on 24\7 so I password the screensaver. Don't like using a screensaver but keeps nosey people out


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## jackjet (Jul 23, 2003)

I shut the computer off - went to the bios screen up on start up - looked everywhere for the 'boot password' - cannot find it - do you know where it is ?
Thanks.
Jackjet


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## buddhafabio (Aug 5, 2002)

not every computer has this


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## Bryan (Jul 3, 1999)

This works to lock the casual user out of Windows. I use it on PCs at my workplace running W95/98/ME and it works well.

Click on Start>Find>Files, key in *.pwl and press enter. Now right click on any and all .pwl files found and select delete for each one. 

Now click on Start>Settings>CP>Network. In the box labeled "Primary Network Logon", change it to "Client for Microsoft Networks". Click on OK. Follow the prompts to restart. When it restarts you'll be prompted for a user and password. Put in what ever you want to use for a UserID and Password and click on OK. You'll still be able to get around it til you do this next step and then you'll have to have a valid userid id and password to access Windows in Normal mode. 

Now do this to force a valid userid and password at startup, click on Start>Run, key in Regedit and press enter. 

Now in the Left pane double left click on each one of these. 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Network\Logon 

Now Right click in the Right pane and choose New>BinaryValue. Name it MustBeValidated 

Then right click on it and select Modify. Give it a value of 01 00 00 00 

Now restart the PC and you'll see nothing gets you by the logon box any longer except the valid userid and password. 

BTW, I attached an image of the registry entry in case you need it.


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## Doncomp (Jul 21, 2003)

There you go, someone who knows something about logon.
See my message about "User Selection" box, Please.
I'm not A retentive, don't have kids, and nothing to hide.
And, as you said, windows security is a joke.
I'm talking, not about "Windows Logon" but about the &^%$#@
"User Selection" box that pops up after Desktop is loaded in
Win98. As you said, you can just OK or Cancel it and get by.
I'm real interested in some Regedit'ing to get rid of this STUPID
box.


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## annieschi (Jun 17, 2003)

I was gathering this information for a coworker just the other day... hope you got what you needed.

http://users.adelphia.net/~ksiemb/siemtech_alert.html (this sounded good to me)
http://www.bootguard.com/ (this sounded good, too)
http://www.doshare.com/ (this will hide specific files, which might be good)


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## buddhafabio (Aug 5, 2002)

my brother tried bootgaurd, worked great till he for got password


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## Tombstone (May 9, 2003)

Bryan said:


> This works to lock the casual user out of Windows. I use it on PCs at my workplace running W95/98/ME and it works well.
> 
> Click on Start>Find>Files, key in *.pwl and press enter. Now right click on any and all .pwl files found and select delete for each one.
> 
> ...


I tried this, and there's only one problem. I have no domain on which to log, and therefore no way to validate the password. I am essentially locked out of my computer now. I've tried every domain from "LOCALHOST" to the computer's ID name to the Workgroup name, and I still cannot log on.

Good thing there's Safe Mode, or I'd be royally screwed.


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## bobol (Jan 28, 2004)

bump...
can someone aid Tombstone further?..... he's in a pickle


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## Bryan (Jul 3, 1999)

Sorry to hear you had problems. I just stumbled upon this thread while searching for something else. Anyway, just boot into SafeMode and delete the registry key, change the Network back to Windows Logon, delete the .pwl files and reboot back into Normal mode. You should be fine after that. 

As far as the issue you're having, I don't have a Windows 9x PC available any longer to test on so I'm not sure why you're having a problem. I know it works with non-networked PC's because I used it on many PC's and never had a Domain issue and they weren't networked. I'll try to get access to one in a day or two and figure out what's happening to you.


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