🚀 go-pugleaf

rlee@csugrad.cs.vt.edu writes in article <BvAv1r.M8C@csugrad.cs.vt.edu>:
> 
> Does anyone know of a program that puts a password program in the config.sys and
> the boot sector of an IBM PC?  I know of many that it's in the autoexec.bat
> but that is almost laughable.

There's a shareware program around called PC-VAULT. We use it at work on
all our portables (Sorry, but I'm at home now & don't have access to any info
on author or registration fees).

It works by requiring a password before booting DOS. The DOS partition
is not readable by DOS booted from a floppy, but I don't know if that is
acheived by fiddling the partition table or by encrypting the disk.

In either case, I would only look on encryption as a defense against relatively 
simple attacks. Presumably the program can be read with a debugger, and the 
key should be derivable from the fact that the plain text of the DOS boot 
sector is known.

Against that, there is a good chance that anyone stealing your PC would simply
repartition/reformat & your sensitive data would go unread.

--
Bruce Clement    (frey@alfheim.actrix.gen.nz  SNEWS/2,  UUPC 1.11q)