How do I make sure that no one can get on my PC, and somehow or someway get into my personal business?

Question

These "people", that I am trying to keep out are very, very good.
A lot of them are working on their masters deg.'s in various fields of computers technol;ogy.

Answer 1

You can't. If they have masters degrees, there's very little you could do.

For example, you could try setting a BIOS password...however that's easily bypassed. Most computers have a jumper that can be set to clear out the BIOS password, or just remove the little battery that keeps the clock/BIOS information stored and wait a few minutes for it all to be wiped out.

You could set a windows password...but there's countless ways to get around that using windows. And if you manage to plug all those issues, they can still put in a live-cd, boot into linux, and access everything that way.

Encryption methods...might work for awhile, but there's no doubting that they could decode it eventually.

Sorry, but there's not much you could do.

Answer 2

Normally, I would recommend adding a password to your account. But, this just locks out casual attempts to open the account. You mention that they have some background in computers. Well, there are 2 things I can think of which can help you. You can use a secure key. Basically, it works like a lock and key. The computer will not boot until the secure key (i.e. usually it is a thumb drive) is inserted in to one of the computer's USB port. Once the key is removed from the computer, the computer shuts off and can not be opened until you reinsert the key.

The other alternative is to use a security software program to encrypted the hard drive. Once installed, when you turn on the computer, a popup window appears and asks for the password. If you fail to enter a password, the computer won't even boot up. Even if the hard drive is transferred to another computer, it will still not boot until the correct password is enter.

Of these 2 options, the key requires you to spend some cash. There is a free edition of the hard drive encryption. I, myself have never used the encryption software but it was reviewed by PC World Magazine and given high marks. Please read the following article for more info. The article firsts talks about Windows Vista, just keep on reading and you will come to the passage about protecting information on a computer.

1. "Why Wait for Vista?" -- written by pcworld.com (http://www.pcworld.com/printable/article/id,125324/printable.html)


"...will secure your data by letting you put your hard drive's encryption key on an external USB drive. You can do something similar for your notebook computer by using Kensington's $70 PCKey, which protects an entire hard drive, or with the company's $50 PCKey LE, which safeguards individual files. To access your data with either product, you must insert the hardware key into a USB port and enter a password to unlock its 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard protection. If you register your product and password at the Kensington Web site, you get support for lost passwords and keys.

You don't have to wait for Vista's release to lock out unauthorized users before your PC boots. This same ability is available for free in CE Infosys's CompuSec utility. Using the same AES encryption, CompuSec provides preboot authentication to protect your hard drive's data, even if someone removes the drive and tries to use it on another machine. If you prefer, you can encrypt individual files rather than your entire system. The product also lets you encrypt diskettes, CDs, DVDs, USB thumb drives, and other removable media..."

Answer 3

Turn on your firewall (Start>Control Panel>Windows Firewall), or better yet download a new one. If you use the Windows version, go to Exceptions and turn off Remote Assistance, Remote Desktop, File and Printer sharing or anything else that looks dangerous.

Don't use wireless internet: my dad has demonstrated how to hack even an encrypted wireless connection (it took him 9 hours, but it can be done). Tapping phone or cable internet is a serious pain in the ***.

Once, I locked myself out of an XP machine and my mom demonstrated how to bypass the password so make sure they can never get a minute alone with it. You can annoy them by encrypting your important files with this on top of Windows password:
http://www.cypherix.co.uk/cryptainerle/index.htm?adv=ec_hde

You may also want to consider changing your operating system to something obscure, like Linux. Very hard to hack.

Also, beware of email from anyone you don't know or don't trust. Never open attachments, especially if you recieve a warning about an executable file. It could contain a keylogger, or worse. Go here to get something to find anything already in your machine: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/select_your_product.php

Answer 4

It depends on the operating system. First, make sure your account is password protected.Still, it might be possible to read any files you create that arent encrypted. MS Word and other programs allow you to encrypt your work in a way that is not trivial to decypher. You might want to try that. When you go to the save menu, look for the tools drop down menu, and you will be prompted for a "Password to open" box. The file can't be opened without it.. That might help.

Answer 5

Click start, control panel, and double click on "passwords."
Go to users profile and set a password, You will have to enter your password every time you restart your pc.I"m not sure if they can figure out a way to get in, but it's certainly worth a try.

Answer 6

Restrict their physical access to your computer.
Any computer can be compromised if you have time and access.
If you can't keep them away from it physically,
get a server style removeable hard drive bay and take your HDD with your data with you.
It doesn't matter if they have access to the rest of the computer if you have the hard drive with the data on it.

Answer 7

make different users and pick a password for every user,so when you turn in on nobody could found out the password and they cant look your personal stuff

Answer 8

Install the latest spyware. Change your passwords every few days.

Answer 9

A lot of passwords help.

Answer 10

generate a password.

click start, at the top you will see your name, click on it.
Click on home
click on your name
click on create password