Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!x194
From: x194@cs.utexas.edu (Jonathan Abbey)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.tech
Subject: Re: How to LOCK your Amiga?
Message-ID: <137@atacama.cs.utexas.edu>
Date: 7 Jan 91 17:13:18 GMT
References: <1991Jan6.233133.1@csc.fi>
Organization: U. Texas CS Dept., Austin, Texas
Lines: 48

In article <1991Jan6.233133.1@csc.fi> rronkko@csc.fi writes:
>I would like to find an efficient and relatively cheap way to prevent 
>'unauthorized' use of my Amiga. Because there is no hardware-based locking 
>mechanism in A2000/A3000 itself, not even optional (BTW why, Commodore?!), 
>I have to find some other solution. I have been thinking about two tricks, 
>both of which are probably needed:
>
>1) A 'special' diskette, which can be locked into the diskette drive 
>(I suppose the ones sold for PC:s can be used also in Amiga?). There is, 
>however, a couple of problems: IF the lock-diskette is non-bootable, then 
>the machine will boot from my autobooting Hard Disk, and the lock-diskette 
>is useless. On the other hand, IF the locking diskette is bootable, a
>skilled 'unauthorized user' would eventually find his way to my auto-
>mountable HD from the cli prompt, which he will reach with the Ctrl-D, even 
>if I use some password software on the lock-diskette.

If what you want to do is prevent anyone from using your amiga, you could
concoct a custom boot block for your harddrive that requires the user to
enter a password to continue using the system.  This, combined with a lock
diskette for your internal drive, would effectively lock out any unauthorized
users.

Such a thing may already exist out in the big world some place.  If not,
it should be the matter of an afternoon for a good assembly programmer.

It sounds like what you really want to do, though, is prevent unauthorized
access to your harddrive.  For this, you could use the lock command to lock
your partitions.  I seem to recall that this is only effective until a reboot,
and so not helpful.  You could, if truly desperate, patch the internal scsi
cable, so that the line used to recognize your internal hard drive (I'm
simply assuming there is such a thing, mind you) is brought out to a key
switch.  The power line for the hard drive could be brought out in any case,
and this could be the simplest solution.

If you want to get really fancy, you could build a credit-card security
switch.  The March 1983 _80 Mirco_ has plans for it.

If you do go for a switch, Radio Shack has plastic boxes you could install
it in, rather than marring your computer's case.

Good luck.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jonathan Abbey				      The University of Texas at Austin
x194@cs.utexas.edu			  	     Computer Science


--