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Windows Forum / Windows Vista / General Topics / May 2008laptop was stolen, how easy is it to get pass the password screen
So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I can get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass the password protection I had on it? > So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I can > get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass the > password protection I had on it? The answer is, that depends on which password it was. Laptops can offer several passwords, one so that you can't restart the system - this BIOS password often requires sending the laptop to an authorized service depot to clear. If you have just the XP or Vista password on the account, sorry, but these can be cleared pretty easily. If the system can't start due to the BIOS password, the drive can be removed and the data simply removed... unless the data was encrypted, and that's a feature only on a couple of versions of Vista. However, if the passwords are cleared outside the account, encrypted data is almost certainly permanently lost to the person holding the laptop. So, the news may not be good, but the specific answer really depends on what passwords you had where, and whether encryption was available and invoked. HTH -pk If they have even the slightest clue and know how to use a search engine, extremely easy.  Signature---- Crosspost, do not multipost http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/mul_crss.htm How to ask a question http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375 > So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I can > get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass the > password protection I had on it? To add, if you have a BIOS level password on it it's a bit more difficult, on some laptops almost impossible. Signature---- Crosspost, do not multipost http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/mul_crss.htm How to ask a question http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375 > So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I can > get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass the > password protection I had on it? > To add, if you have a BIOS level password on it it's a bit more difficult, > on some laptops almost impossible. Just pull the drive, put it in another PC, get the data. This person should assume everything on the drive is available to the thief. Period. If someone is half baked interested in portable security they would use the newer in hardware encrypted hard drives. > So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I > can get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass > the password protection I had on it? I'm not sure about vista, but I know there was a Linux utility which could easily reset the password from a Live CD - at any rate, it's trivial to get the data. >> So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I >> can get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > easily reset the password from a Live CD - at any rate, it's trivial to > get the data. Yea but who really cares about a Linux utility on a Vista machine? Actually, who really cares about Open Source on a Vista machine? NOBODY >>> So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way >>> I can get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Yea but who really cares about a Linux utility on a Vista machine? It's not a Linux utility. It's a standalone Windows utility really. It has no use directly in Linux. A utility that can completely circumvent Windows user authentication and allow you to change the password of any account on the machine, including the built-in Admin acct, all w/o having to know the original password. Pretty handy to have. Even though it's on some live CD's, it's really only a bootable floppy anyway. >>> So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I >>> can get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > NOBODY In this case, the Linux utility is not actually "on" the vista or XP system, and lots of people care, as they use it when windows suddenly decides that the accounts DO have passwords, when admin passwords are lost, etc. This is actually a pretty common use of a Linux CD. In any case, it's not really good news for the OP, as the data, unless encrypted, is almost certainly available. The only question is how much the thief, or the person who winds up with the laptop, cares about the data. -pk >>>> So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I >>>> can get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > >-pk The good news is most computer thieves only want the machine... not the data because duh... they have no idea what data would be there and accept for possible personal information for identity theft of no interest to them. If the laptop was used for business, that might be of interest but again computer theft is a crime of opportunity and the thief logically had no idea what was on the machine and probably couldn't profit from it and couldn't care less. For those interested LoJack popular for cars (I have it) is now available for laptops. Once the thief goes on the Internet LoJack contacts the monitoring center (once you notify them of the theft of course) and like with cars GPS tracks it, the police nab the crook and you get the laptop back. http://www.lojackforlaptops.com/ >>>>> So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I >>>>> can get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > thief logically had no idea what was on the machine and probably > couldn't profit from it and couldn't care less. Adam speaking from first hand experience. > For those interested LoJack popular for cars (I have it) is now > available for laptops. Once the thief goes on the Internet LoJack > contacts the monitoring center (once you notify them of the theft of > course) and like with cars GPS tracks it, the police nab the crook and > you get the laptop back. Adam would have no use for a car because the mentally insane aren't allowed to drive. The State took his license away years ago upon his entering the institution. He is allowed to push his own wheel chair when the nurses take him outside to sit under the Apple tree. >>>>>> So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I >>>>>> can get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > >Adam speaking from first hand experience. I see you insist on being a dick at every opportunity. Just like your pal Frank. > >>>>>> So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I > >>>>>> can get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Are you talking about Dick Van Dyke or maybe Dick Patton, Tricky Dick Nixon, Dick Cheney, Dick Fosbury, or Dick Weber by chance? >>>>>>>>So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I >>>>>>>>can get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > Are you talking about Dick Van Dyke or maybe Dick Patton, Tricky Dick > Nixon, Dick Cheney, Dick Fosbury, or Dick Weber by chance? He's talking about his dick...the one he can't seem to find!...LOL! Frank > spankydemon...@gmail.com wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Maybe we should take up a collection for Adam so he can have a search party and magnifying glass to find that needle dick of his > He's talking about his dick...the one he can't seem to find!...LOL! > Frank its up ur ars along with the titanic, a Saturn rocket, a large asteroid, replicas of the twin towers, and several dinosaurs previously thought to be extinct... oh I almost forgot... Moby Dick >>>>>>>>>So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no >>>>>>>>>way I [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > He's talking about his dick...the one he can't seem to find!...LOL! > Frank >> He's talking about his dick...the one he can't seem to find!...LOL! >> Frank > > its up ur ars along with the titanic, a Saturn rocket, a large asteroid, > replicas of the twin towers, and several dinosaurs previously thought to > be extinct... oh I almost forgot... Moby Dick hehehe...does that make you jealous...excited...or both?...LOL! Frank >>>>>>So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I >>>>>>can get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > institution. He is allowed to push his own wheel chair when the nurses take > him outside to sit under the Apple tree. I think his mom sometimes lets him drive her Prius. Or maybe he just sneaks into the seat (while parked of course) and pretends to be driving!...LOL! Frank >>>>>>>So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I >>>>>>>can get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] >driving!...LOL! >Frank Somebody stole your brain. Get out of your chair and see if it falls out of your a.s. >>>>>>So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I >>>>>>can get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > institution. He is allowed to push his own wheel chair when the nurses take > him outside to sit under the Apple tree. Now the fat little drunken pig has confused his brain for his a.s, or a.s for his brain!...hahaha...LOL! In his case, it won't make any difference! What a dumb little fat fukker he is! Frank >>> So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I >>> can get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > NOBODY Watch how easy it is to own that PC with Linux. http://www.offensive-security.com/movies/vistahack/vistahack.html Don't forget to click play. >>>> So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I >>>> can get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Don't forget to click play. LOL! Alias >>>>> So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I >>>>> can get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > Alias And it is something Linux can do to Vista, but Vista can't do to Linux. Thanks to Vista not being too compatible with non-Microsoft products and Vista's lack of using open standards. ;) Nice too keep that link too if you forget the admin password or something. I wonder if Bill read that and watched the video. ;) >>>>>> So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I >>>>>> can get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > I wonder if Bill read that and watched the video. ;) He's hoping the video will just go away. Alias > >>>>>> So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I > >>>>>> can get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > - Show quoted text - We are hoping that Alias will go away >> >>>>>> So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I >> >>>>>> can get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > >We are hoping that Alias will go away I was hoping between you, Frank and Bill combined you'd have a total IQ of 60. Fat chance. You three buffoons are dumber than dirt. On May 28, 4:15 pm, Alias <iamal...@NOSPAMPLEASEgmail.com> wrote: > Canuck57 wrote: > >> Canuck57 wrote: [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > > - Show quoted text - -- >We are hoping that Alias will go away -- Why would we want Alias to go away? I can't afford the time/$$$ to go to Spain at the moment but could like a good dude to meet. Certainly adds more than Bill or Frank or keypan815....the mutts of Microsoft. >>>>>>> So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way >>>>>>> I [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > Alias Maybe he should hit the windows key and U, or was it Ctrl-U...? And it will not go away, not exactly a secret. Maybe to those that think they know Vista, but not those that do. BTW, I do not profess to be a Vista expert. Waste of my time. LOL. > So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I can > get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass the > password protection I had on it? Without physical security, there is *NO* security. It'd take any knowledgeable individual mere minutes. SignatureBruce Chambers Help us help you: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375 They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers. ~ Denis Diderot > So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I can > get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass the > password protection I had on it? If your hard drive was not encrypted it will probably be fairly easy to access it. C.B. SignatureIt is the responsibility and duty of everyone to help the underprivileged and unfortunate among us. On May 27, 10:41 am, ragazzasporca <ragazzaspo...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote: > So my laptop was stolen at the airport, and I'm sure there is no way I can > get it back....but how easy will it be for them to try to get pass the > password protection I had on it? Well you can't do anything about that laptop now but definitely on your next one install some whole drive encryption. There are several flavors around, but one of the best is TrueCrypt. It's open source and free to use. It's available at http://www.truecrypt.org. As an added bonus some testing has shown that using TrueCrypt full drive encryption (which will protect your data, no matter what a thief does with your laptop) actually speeds up your drive. I know it sounds crazy, but it seems like the driver that TrueCrypt uses to encrypt/ decrypt sectors on-the-fly is more efficient that the native driver... by quite a bit! Steve Gibson has some excellent research on it at GRC.com. I use it on all my laptops now. Hope this helps in the future. "Thomas Couey" <tcouey@gmail.com> wrote in message news:e4b9ff27-6c55-48f7-98e0- >Well you can't do anything about that laptop now but definitely on >your next one install some whole drive encryption. There are several [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > >I use it on all my laptops now. Hope this helps in the future. Whole drive crypto is very good security. It is actually what I recommend - always. However I differ in that I prefer it in the hardware. My preference is: http://www.seagate.com/content/docs/pdf/marketing/PO-Momentus-FDE.pdf Hard to bypass too. Not much to go wrong over software either, aside from losing the passprhase. But any crypto has that issue, which escrow is needed. But in the case of theft, 100% desirable. The entire disk media becomes a metallic silicon brick. The problem I have with file/directory software based options is that they do not necessarily cover all areas of the disk, including cache and swap. A user might encrypt C:\MyDB\SSN\employees.someext but if the application keeps temp files in temp, they are recoverable from temp and represent risk. Whole hardware driven disk encryption can also be moved by moving the hard drive. Where as software methods may rely on OS installed keys and other nuances. It also covers the numerous password cache points of MS-Windows. So what if you encrypt it if the freaking password is cached. No way in the hell they are going to crack it if the login password is set.... cracking the passphrase is all in the hollywood stories. Signatureferrisits >No way in the hell they are going to crack it if the login password is >set.... cracking the passphrase is all in the hollywood stories. It's obvious that I won't miss any of your advice in the future. > No way in the hell they are going to crack it if the login password is > set.... cracking the passphrase is all in the hollywood stories. Why crack it when you can bypass it or replace it? Windows users always look at the hard way. > No way in the hell they are going to crack it if the login password is > set.... cracking the passphrase is all in the hollywood stories. There are several simple ways to overcome a login password but I'm certainly not going to explain them here. Most people already know how to do it anyway. You need to do some research on the subject for your own good. I say this only to help you, not criticize you. C.B. |
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