> Any computer security is only as good as physical access to th
> machine.
>
> If your computers support booting from floppy and/or CD, there is a =
> freely available utility that will allow you to change/remove the =
> Administrator password on the computer.  Once that's done, you can lo
> =
> in on the Administrator account and make any changes you desire.  Now
> =
> changing or removing the Admin password does remove access for the =
> person who would normally use it (since they don't know there is no =
> password, or what it was changed to), but that's a minor point.
>
> There are other utilities such as Bart's PE, that will give you simila
> =
> capabilities, if you know what you're doing.
>
> http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/editor.html
>
> In order to prevent this, you need to remove the ability to boot fro
> =
> floppy and/or CD in the BIOS, set a BIOS Setup password and ensure tha
> =
> the physical case cannot be opened (see the computer's manual for =
> reseting the BIOS's CMOS settings to default).
>
> If you're successful, you can buy me a couple of beers and a bi
> honkin' =
> steak next time you're in the Boston area. :-)
>
> --=20
> Doug Knox, MS-MVP Windows Media Center\Windows Powered Smart =
> Display\Security
> Win 95/98/Me/XP Tweaks and Fixes
> http://www.dougknox.com
> --------------------------------
> Per user Group Policy Restrictions for XP Home and XP Pro
> http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_securityconsole.htm
> --------------------------------
> Please reply only to the newsgroup so all may benefit.
> Unsolicited e-mail is not answered.
> =20
> "lagomorph" lagomorph.1sxz1r@pcbanter.net wrote in message =
> news:lagomorph.1sxz1r@pcbanter.net...-
> =20
> My boss was in the office while I was slagging the IT guy for doing a
> poor job setting up the network & systems.
> I got pulled up to explain what I thought was wrong with the setup
> To
> cut a long story short, my boss made a bet with me that I can't break
> into the stand alone computer by the end of my shift (9hrs). If I do
> by-pass the admin security he'll pay for a meal and discuss the
> possibility of working with the IT guy to make sure that everythin
> is
> good, if not I've gotta buy drinks for everyone at the next work
> function (all night).
> =20
> Problem: Computer running Windows XP Pro.
> Conditions: Create a new user account (admin) without removing access
> the the current admin account. Must use resources from the office or
> internet.
> =20
> Any suggestions?
> =20
> =20
> --=20
> lagomorph