Originally Posted by
jimjim1
It's pretty easy to bypass a Windows password and has been for, dare I say, decades. Anyone who does PC support at any level can do it very easily using instructions and software from the internet.
The only protection is to encrypt the file system. For a few years PCs have had hardware built in that co-operates with Windows to allow effective encryption. Older PCs can use Bitlocker and achieve a similar result. I think you can encrypt part of the file system.
Be aware that, as I understand it, if the authorities ask for a crypto key and you cannot provide it you will go to jail. Maybe best to write the key on the outside of the computer. Oh wait a minute!
Encrypting the file system helps if someone steals the file storage. If they steal the whole laptop then the windows password is still all they need to access the data.
The good news is that I don't think the windows password is as bad as you say. I went on a Cyber-Security course about 3 years ago and the status then was that any Windows 5 password could be cracked in a few seconds, but from Windows 7 onwards it depends on the strength of the password. The cracking algorithms starts with all the 1 character options, then all the 2-characters etc. At each level they first try from a list of names and dictionary words. At that time were were told that anything over 8 characters would require a serious amount or processing power to crack in a reasonable time and anything over 10 characters wouldn't be worth attempting unless you already knew what was on the computer and that it would be worth it. I always use 12 characters for anything that could give access to my money.