Passwords are the first line of defense for privacy and data security and, often, they are also the only barrier on our PCs. But if a PC is lost or stolen, the thief could still recover important documents or vital files for us "> App to block the opening of applications on Android
1) Windows local account password
This is the simplest form of password that we can apply to Windows, but also the simplest to get around or reset.
To apply it on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 just open the Control Panel, go to User Accounts, select the account in use and click Set a password .
On Windows 10 the procedure is slightly different and applicable only with a local account (not synchronized with Microsoft or Outlook): we open the Settings menu, then go to Account -> Access options .
For the simple password, just click Add present under the Password section and choose the password to use .
All this is very nice if it were not that, as seen on several occasions, it takes very little to enter a PC with this type of protection :
- You can reset the password to enter Windows with a recovery cd;
- We can find the login password as a Windows administrator.
Furthermore, with any Live CD such as Ubuntu or with PuppyLinux via USB, you can enter the hard disk and read the files or make a copy (which in fact is one of the best methods to save everything if Windows does not start and does not starts).
This method is definitely not the most suitable way to effectively protect our PC from snoopers and hackers.
2) BIOS / UEFI password on the PC
This password offers an additional level of protection (it does not replace that of Windows, but shows itself at startup before it) which can stop some unwary or impractical user of technology.
To set it, simply access the BIOS / UEFI by repeatedly pressing a specific button on the keyboard immediately after switching on; to find out which key to use for the purpose we can read our guide -> How to access the BIOS on computers of all brands.
Once inside this special menu, we will have to look for the Security section, then set the access password for the PC and the access password for the BIOS (that is, configure the Supervisor password and Password on boot items ).
Once set, we will be asked for the chosen password each time before starting Windows from the disk.
This password can be overridden by acting on a physical level on the motherboard: just remove the buffer battery of the CMOS, so the motherboard will "forget" all the customizations and you can access Windows without problems.
3) Microsoft or Outlook account password (via remote server)
This method is perhaps the easiest to apply and at the same time very secure, since the access data will be encrypted and protected by connecting to a remote Microsoft server.
Instead of using a simple local account, we can synchronize our Microsoft account on Windows 10, thus using the password to access the latter to also access our PC.
During the installation or the first start of Windows 10 we are usually asked to create a remote account with Microsoft; if we have not followed this path or want to add it later, we open the Settings app and go to Account -> Your info and click on Log in with a Microsoft account .
We insert the access credentials for the Microsoft account in our possession (if we don't have one, let's create one from here ) and wait for the synchronization.
Now our local account will be converted into a remote account, we will have our name as a user and our cover image as a Windows image, plus all the Windows customizations will be saved in the remote cloud offered by Microsoft (we can control what to synchronize in the Account menu -> Sync your settings ).
From now on, to log in we will only have to enter the Microsoft account password; if the password is too long to enter, we can make access more convenient by going to Account -> Access Options and clicking Add in the PIN section.
We type a sequence of numbers that are easy to remember and confirm; from now on we will be asked for the PIN to access our account exclusively from that PC (with the possibility of also entering the Microsoft password in case we forget the PIN).
In addition to the PIN, we can also set up fingerprint or facial recognition access, just have compatible hardware.
This access system is very secure because the remote account is encrypted and synchronized via the Internet, including the areas of the system on the disk that store personal information: this prevents any recovery system from trying to violate the registered password or PIN .
Obviously we will have to prevent someone from seeing the PIN or password that we use, otherwise we will be dot and wrap.
The only way to overcome this protection is to create a new administrator user to log in to Windows 10, from the lock screen.
4) Other applicable locking systems
The Microsoft password does not appear only when the computer is turned on but also if the PC is locked with the Windows-L key combination.
To return to the desktop, you must enter the password or PIN set (if we followed the most effective procedure, as described above).
Alternatively, you can lock the desktop, keyboard and mouse even with external programs which, for some, can be more comfortable and easy, especially if we are on old systems (Windows 7 and Windows 8.1).
Secure access with Windows we must enable it when the PC wakes up from hibernation or suspension .
From the control panel we go into energy saving options, change the combination settings and enter the advanced energy saving settings screen.
In the window that appears, set Yes to " Password required for reactivation " and click OK to save the change.
Furthermore, the password request must also be enabled when unlocking the PC from the screensaver .
We then press the right button on the desktop, select Personalize and click Lock screen -> Settings Screen Saver .
In the settings screen, we select the box next to the item Upon recovery, return to the login screen and apply the change by clicking OK .
A very interesting solution is to use a USB stick as the ignition key of the computer, so that, without such a USB stick, you cannot enter the PC.
Predator to lock the PC with USB stick is the ideal program for this purpose because it allows you to use a USB drive (pen, stick, SD card or external hard disk) to lock and unlock your computer .
When the USB stick is removed, the mouse and keyboard lock up and the screen becomes dark.
If then the USB drive could not be used, you can press the space bar several times to unlock the computer using a personal password.
Another very effective way to protect personal data is to encrypt the entire disk, so as not to allow anyone to access our personal files.
This password is almost impossible to get around, but if you lose or forget it, it also becomes impossible to recover, so it is better to apply it only on external devices.
The program I recommend to use in these cases is VeraCript, which we talked about in depth here -> Protect the data of a USB stick with VeraCrypt.
This software is almost invulnerable to any attack, it forces you to put a complex password and literally hides the protected data; we can use it either on the disk where Windows is present (but in this case the reading and writing of the data will be very slow, slowing down the entire PC) or on an external disk, which can be easily connected via USB.
Just follow the procedure indicated in our guide to VeraCrypt and we will always have an encrypted external disk to store our data and protect it from prying eyes and hackers.
In other articles we have seen:
- Different programs to password protect files and folders on your computer in order to hide them and make them illegible without a password.
- How to lock your computer with password automatically
- how to block the opening of programs and applications
- Lock screen on Windows with sequence as for Android
