The first thing that needs to be secured is the physical pieces of the computer. Some of you might have used a computer at one of the schools or libraries in your neighborhood and wondered what the padlock was doing on the back of the computer. You may be surprised to know that without the locks on the computers, some of the systems have had parts stolen out of them while still on the desks. The newer tower type systems are being made easier to get in to in order to accommodate the computer user of today that does a lot of their own upgrades and computer servicing. There are systems on the market that have a plastic tab on the back of the case that releases the side panel of the computer system. From there you have access to the memory, CPU and all of the add-in cards in the system. A thief could have the insides of a computer in his coat pocket in about a minute and no one would know any different unless the were standing behind him. This is the reason for the padlock. 

The padlock is also needed to keep the software secure. You have the option to have a password setup on your system in a number of different areas. The first would be the CMOS or Bios of the computer. You can set a password for the Bios as well as the system. This would mean that anyone turning on your computer would have to enter a password before being able to access the Bios or before the software for the system would load. This is one of the best ways to secure your computer. There is usually a jumper on the motherboard that will allow you to clear the password and this is the main reason for the padlock. If they can't get the back off of the computer, then they won't be able to change the jumper and bypass the CMOS or System password. 

Another type of security for your computer is a software program that protects the system from being accessed or changes being made to the system configuration. Fortres is one of the software programs that I have seen at a number of the schools in the area. The program is available for purchase for the home for $29.95 as a download. This program will monitor the users actions from the time the system is turned on and based on the setting will allow or deny access to everything on the system. You can place restrictions on browsing of files, floppy drive access, and virtually anything on the system. The schools place the icons that they use on the desktop and everything else is off limits to the users. There is no chance that one of the students can make changes or delete files because access has not been granted to them. When the system boots up you have to enter a specific keystroke to bring up a password prompt that will allow you to turn off the program. By configuring the computer to boot directly from the hard drive you will have cut off just about any chance for someone to get into places that you do not want them to be or to bypass the software.. You have the option to give access to as little or as much as you choose within the settings of the program. You can set up the system so that all the files and icons are accessible but changes cannot be made to the configuration of the system. This would be good for a family with growing and inquisitive children that like to fix things.

Windows also has a password file that stores all of your online user names and passwords that you have asked to be remembered. This means that if someone cancels out of the Windows logon password, they would not be able to use any of these stored passwords. This is about the only security that this password helps with. If you leave the system on or if you have a program that will enter the password for you, this password really does not help. After you get into Windows you have the option to set up a screen saver to turn on after a period of time. You can set the screen saver to require a password before you can go back into Windows. Microsoft has finally written the software so that you are not able to use the three-finger salute (ctrl/alt/del), to stop the screen saver. But that is OK because I can still hit the reset button and after the computer reboots I will be able to go into the display properties and turn the screen saver off without knowing what the password is. Someday maybe they will get it right. 

Since we are into Windows now, let's take a minute to talk about using passwords on some of the programs that you use. Did you know that you can password protect the file that contains all of your data in Microsoft Outlook? In the Control Panel click on Mail and then highlight Personal Folders. Click on Properties and then Change Password. Add a password and verify and anyone starting Outlook on your system will need to enter your password to access your e-mail. Microsoft Money and Quicken can also be password protected in the preferences of the program after you have created or opened your data file. Most of the programs that deal with any type of financial or personal data will allow you to set a password to secure your work. 

Now that you have an idea of how many different areas you can password protect, let's take a look at what your password should or should not be. Some of the don'ts would be consecutive letters or numbers such as 123456 or abcdef. Letters as they appear on the keyboard such as QWERTY or POIUYT would not be a good idea. You would not be the first one to use these so this would make them very easy to guess. Don't use numbers such as your Social Security number, phone number, address, license plate or any birth dates of any of your family members. Try not to use any word that you would be able to look up in the dictionary. There are programs out there that are used to guess passwords. It is very easy to load a word list into one of these programs to check all the words in the English language in a matter of minutes. 

If you can't use all of this easy stuff for passwords, what should you use? The first suggestion I would give you is to find a combination of random letters and numbers at least 6 digits long. Mix in upper and lower case letters to increase the odds of someone not being able to guess the password. The more digits that you use will also increase the time that it will take for a program to crack your password. This will also increase the chances of you forgetting it. Come up with your own language and then choose a couple of words for your password. Maybe wErga4hiBna7 would be a choice that you could use. This 12-digit password would take over a year to be cracked by a password program because of the number of digits and the use of upper and lower case letters. A word from the dictionary or some other type of word list might take 10 minutes to crack. 

I have different levels of passwords that I like to use for the different areas that I have to get into. I use the most secure password for financial sites and easier passwords for less secure sites that I have to login to. I also have a Word document that has all of my user names and passwords in it so if I happen to forget which one I used; there is a place that I can look them up. The document is of course password protected with the most secure password.  

You need to come up with a system that is right for the amount of security that you need, for the work that you do and the amount of sensitive data that you store on your system. There are ways to lock up your system so that you are the only one that can access it. If you are the only one that has access to your computer, then maybe you don't need to have passwords on every level. You need to explore the options that you have and choose a level of security that you feel comfortable with. Passwords are available to help you but they won't if you don't use them wisely.