Xref: utzoo comp.sys.ibm.pc:27248 comp.sys.mac:29900
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!purdue!decwrl!shelby!Portia!mesmo
From: mesmo@Portia.Stanford.EDU (Chris Johnson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Locking pcs
Message-ID: <1434@Portia.Stanford.EDU>
Date: 11 Apr 89 04:35:24 GMT
References: <2434@cps3xx.UUCP>
Sender: Chris Johnson <mesmo@Portia.stanford.edu>
Reply-To: mesmo@Portia.Stanford.EDU (Chris Johnson)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Stanford University
Lines: 38

In article <2434@cps3xx.UUCP> mireley@frith.egr.msu.edu () writes:
>After the recent theft of a test, maybe from the hard disk of a pc,
>we are looking for ways to keep people from using the pc after gaining
>access to the pc.
>
>Are there software or hardware devices that would require password
>access to the basic operating systems after power up of pc's or mac's?


	I suggest extreme caution if you are considering the PC-LOCK
	utility from Johnson Software Enterprises (not sure of name).

	This product is billed as a password system for PC-class
	machines with hard disks -- if the proper password isn't
	provided, the hard disk can't be used as the boot device.
	Floppy can be used instead, but hard disk cannot be accessed.
	
	I downloaded a slightly-crippled version (prevented use of
	administrator password, otherwise the full version) from Simtel
	and used it for a week or so.  All was fine until I attempted
	to de-install it.

	Their utility DESTALL, supposedly the only way to undo PC-LOCK
	short of low-level format, reported that the utility wasn't
	installed on my machine, and so failed to de-install it.  I was
	forced to do some tricky things to defeat their protection,
	which I won't tell about, backup, and then reformat -> BIG PAIN.

	Thus be sure you have a version which can de-install itself,
	before putting this on an important system, ie test it out on
	a crappy old machine first.

	Here endeth the lesson.

-- 
==============================================================================
 Chris M Johnson === mesmo@portia.stanford.edu === "Grad school sucks rocks"
==============================================================================