most recent 30 from superuser.com 2010-03-20T16:15:05Z http://superuser.com/feeds/question/74605 http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/rdf http://superuser.com/questions/74605/i-need-to-password-protect-the-entire-computer 0 TheLakersHighlights http://superuser.com/users/6244 2009-11-24T04:12:58Z 2009-11-26T18:19:44Z

<p>Everything I open needs to ask for a password. What software will help do do this task? I am using Windows XP 32 bit.</p> <p>Answer: I right-clicked any .EXE I wanted to prompt me a password -> Advanced -> Checked off "Run with different credentials".</p>

http://superuser.com/questions/74605/i-need-to-password-protect-the-entire-computer/74608#74608 2 John T http://superuser.com/users/1931 2009-11-24T04:26:46Z 2009-11-24T05:39:30Z

<p>Why not just set a BIOS boot password? That way nobody can even boot up into Windows without authenticating.</p> <p><hr></p> <p>After your comment, it seems setting up a kiosk solution would be better if only browsers will be accessed. Since it's using multiple browsers, you could use 1 account per browser or set up a hotkey to switch browsers.</p> <p>You can start up IE with the <strong>-k</strong> switch for kiosk mode.</p> <p>For Firefox, look into <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1659" rel="nofollow">the R-kiosk add-on</a> (only supported up to FF 3.1b3 though unfortunately).</p> <p>Certain keyboard shortcuts still work in some of the kiosk modes, you can combat the possibilities with <a href="http://www.autohotkey.com/" rel="nofollow">AutoHotkey</a> to remap any combinations you'd like, and even create a very complex combination to unlock it if you need to change something. Of course you can take extra security measures with group policies, and create a backup in case some crafty fellow manages to bypass everything.</p> <p><hr></p> <p>For a fairly cheap software solution ($10), <a href="http://www.winguardpro.com/products.html" rel="nofollow">WinGuard Pro</a> does what you want. There is a free version as well but it is fairly limited in functionality.</p> <p><img src="http://www.winguardpro.com/user/cimage/main0.jpg" alt="alt text"></p>

http://superuser.com/questions/74605/i-need-to-password-protect-the-entire-computer/74609#74609 -1 Geoff Fritz http://superuser.com/users/18521 2009-11-24T04:28:34Z 2009-11-24T04:28:34Z

<p>Sounds like you're asking for full disk encryption. You'll need to enter a password once when the computer boots, but nothing will be accessible until you do and you will not need to enter it again. It's a little more practical than encrypting every file individually.</p> <p>Check out <a href="http://www.truecrypt.org/" rel="nofollow">TrueCrypt</a>. Be careful, though; if you lose your password or mess something up, you could permanently lose your data.</p> <p>If this isn't the case, state your needs a little more clearly.</p>

http://superuser.com/questions/74605/i-need-to-password-protect-the-entire-computer/74612#74612 2 Molly7244 http://superuser.com/users/0 2009-11-24T04:39:15Z 2009-11-24T04:39:15Z

<p>maybe this is for you:</p> <blockquote> <p><strong><a href="http://www.tropsoft.com/pcsecurity/index.htm" rel="nofollow">PC Security™</a></strong> is the ultimate computer security system offering File Lock, Folder Lock, System Lock, Shortcut/Program Lock, Explorer Control, Context Menu, Restricted System, Window Lock, Intruder Detection with Alarm, Import and Export PC Security settings, Flexible and complete password protection, and Drag and Drop support.</p> </blockquote> <p><img src="http://www.tropsoft.com/pcsecurity/scrshots/ctxmenu2.gif" alt="alt text"></p> <p><strong>Shortcut/Program Lock:</strong></p> <p><img src="http://www.tropsoft.com/pcsecurity/scrshots/shctlock.gif" alt="alt text"></p> <p><strong>File Lock:</strong></p> <p><img src="http://www.tropsoft.com/pcsecurity/scrshots/flock.gif" alt="alt text"></p> <p><strong>Folder Lock:</strong></p> <p><img src="http://www.tropsoft.com/pcsecurity/scrshots/fldrloc.gif" alt="alt text"></p> <p><em>PC Security™ is shareware ($44.95), try before you buy.</em></p>

http://superuser.com/questions/74605/i-need-to-password-protect-the-entire-computer/74636#74636 6 phoebus http://superuser.com/users/11204 2009-11-24T06:11:27Z 2009-11-24T06:11:27Z

<p>I recommend using local security policies to lock down a user account, rather than password protecting everything. Creating a highly restricted user should be sufficient.</p> <p><a href="http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles%5Ftutorials/wxppspol.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles%5Ftutorials/wxppspol.html</a> is a quick guide to getting started with local security policies. You should be able to create a user account and then tailor it to your security needs. There are many more settings than shown in that article, and through a combination of security policy and permissions you should be able to create a totally locked down user.</p>

http://superuser.com/questions/74605/i-need-to-password-protect-the-entire-computer/74638#74638 -1 user19096 http://superuser.com/users/19096 2009-11-24T06:41:31Z 2009-11-24T06:41:31Z

<p>DiskCryptor is a free full disk encryption application. It is seamless and very fast in operation and does not interfere with your computing speed at all.</p> <p>You will have a new password to enter before boot, and then your regular windows account password to get to your data.</p> <p>No one can access the disk without both passwords.</p> <p>The initial encryption takes awhile to do. After that everything is very fast and there are no slowdowns at all.</p> <p>Great for laptops, but also desktop systems.</p>

http://superuser.com/questions/74605/i-need-to-password-protect-the-entire-computer/75501#75501 0 Joe Internet http://superuser.com/users/11771 2009-11-26T06:38:30Z 2009-11-26T06:38:30Z

<p>Take a look at <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/sharedaccess/default.mspx" rel="nofollow">Windows Steady State</a>. It makes it fairly easy to lock down a computer, and you can use it in conjunction with local security policies.</p>

http://superuser.com/questions/74605/i-need-to-password-protect-the-entire-computer/75671#75671 0 TheLakersHighlights http://superuser.com/users/6244 2009-11-26T18:18:52Z 2009-11-26T18:18:52Z

<p>I have solved my own problem.</p> <p>What I did was, I right-clicked any .EXE I wanted to prompt me a password -> Advanced -> Checked off "Run with different credentials". Easy fix that anyone could have figured out if they took the time to think a little :). <img src="http://i45.tinypic.com/nqeo7d.jpg" alt="alt text"></p> <p>Thanks for everybodys' help. I will post the answer in the description for future reference. </p>