How Secure Is Your Computer?

As most people do, I used to believe that in order to secure your computer you just put a password for Windows and then it is impossible to access. This all changed when a friend of mine came to me because they had forgotten their password. They wanted me to try and reset the password. I honestly had no idea what to do but I said I would give it a go. A quick google search later, I found several pages detailing how to reset a 'forgotten' password. After about 10 minutes I found simple to use program. All it needed was a USB stick and the computer where you had forgotten your password. It took me about 10 minutes to erase the password and get into the locked computer. I could access everything no problem and I am a  complete amateur when it comes to hacking.

Now, obviously, if someone stole my laptop they would be able to do the exact same thing. Its like setting a PIN code and telling everyone what it is, it's useless! So if your operating system password doesn't do anything to secure your computer, what do you do?

Well, if your files are top secret and need to be secure, encryption is the answer. There are many programs to encrypt all of your files but one of the easiest to find and use is Windows Bitlocker. It comes built in to all computers which have Windows Vista or 7 Ultimate edition. Bitlocker uses either a recovery key and password or a TPM chip inside your computer. By setting a password, you need to type it in every time you start the computer and if you forget it, there is a recovery key which you save to a USB stick so you can recover the data of your hard drive. If you lose the recovery key, your data will be forever lost. A TPM chip is built in to your computer and it basically stores the encryption keys. When your computer starts up, everything on your hard drive is decrypted and so you can access it.

A TPM chip is useful because if an attacker removes your hard drive and installs it in another computer, the hard drive will remain encrypted and will be useless. IThe chip comes built in to many business laptops as these people are the ones with the most sensitive files.

So, if you think your computer is secure because you have set a password, think again. Try other methods such as encryption to keep prying eyes away from your files.