Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!killer!bobc
From: bobc@killer.Dallas.TX.US (Bob Calbridge)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: CTRL-ALT-DEL key
Summary: password protection
Message-ID: <7717@killer.Dallas.TX.US>
Date: 31 Mar 89 23:08:41 GMT
References: <1623@arctic.nprdc.arpa> <3818@nicmad.UUCP> <234@sppy00.UUCP>
Distribution: na
Organization: The Unix(R) Connection, Dallas, Texas
Lines: 30


 =>In article <1623@arctic.nprdc.arpa> snguyen@nprdc.arpa (Son Nguyen) writes:
 =>
 =>Hello, every one.
 =>
 =>	I just wonder if (possibly done) we could write a program to
 =>detect the pressing of these three keys: CTRL-ALT-DEL.   In other words,
 =>can I write a software in the "C" language or in IBM assembly language to
 =>detect and maybe disable them  ?   You may say that I am a little crazy.
 =>The reason I would like to achieve so is because I would like to implement
 =>a password program hat allows only the authorized users to access my IBM
 =>PC XT computer.  I know how to disable the interrupts but my friends are
 =>smarter.  When they turn on my computer and notice that I have installed
 =>this program, they then press the keys CTRL-ALT-KEY and insert their own
 =>MS-DOS disk on the drive A:.  It may seem silly that why they don't put
 =>their system disk initially when they try o turn it on.  Well,  that is
 =>another problem.  This raises my second question:  Can we configure the
 =>computer to boot only with "C:" drive ?	
 =>
 =>PS:  Please, don't tell me to buy an IBM AT which
 =>has the key lock.  My questions are posted to achiee both
 =>points: for learning, and for my IBM PC  protection.


How about investing in a new computer? :-)  I went to a roll out of some
AST computers a couple of weeks ago and learned that they have some high
end computers that have password protection built into the system.  The
password is put into CMOS and the only way to defeat it is to open the
machine and diddle with some liddle switches.  A case lock would be needed
for more secure safety.