How do I password protect a CD for both mac and pc?
October 23, 2007 7:58 PM Subscribe
I want to encrypt a CD with a very simple password.
Brief explanation: I'm handing in a project in a few days, one component of which is a technologically based riddle. I want my professor to read what I hand in, then run the CD I provide, and find that it is password protected. If he is able to guess the password (which will be the greek word "Aletheia") based on the project - great, there will be a few extra things on the CD. If not, all the better.
The thing is... I run Mac OSX, but toast titanium will only let me encrypt a CD that runs exclusively on Mac OSX. I don't know what kind of computer my professor uses, and I don't have time to ask. So what program will allow me to encrypt a CD so that it will prompt for a password whether it is run on a windows OS or a Mac (assuming, of course, he is running one of the two)?
Brief explanation: I'm handing in a project in a few days, one component of which is a technologically based riddle. I want my professor to read what I hand in, then run the CD I provide, and find that it is password protected. If he is able to guess the password (which will be the greek word "Aletheia") based on the project - great, there will be a few extra things on the CD. If not, all the better.
The thing is... I run Mac OSX, but toast titanium will only let me encrypt a CD that runs exclusively on Mac OSX. I don't know what kind of computer my professor uses, and I don't have time to ask. So what program will allow me to encrypt a CD so that it will prompt for a password whether it is run on a windows OS or a Mac (assuming, of course, he is running one of the two)?
What about setting up the CD to automatically "run" an executable, password-protected ZIP file? Is such a thing doable?
posted by amtho at 8:20 PM on October 23, 2007
posted by amtho at 8:20 PM on October 23, 2007
What about setting up the CD to automatically "run" an executable, password-protected ZIP file? Is such a thing doable?
Not if you want it to be platform-independent, no.
I guess a big question is how tech-savvy the professor is; I could imagine using an entirely different strategy for something I was giving to a CompSci person than to an English professor. (For the CompSci I might just put a text file on the disc that had been trivially enciphered -- say using a Caesar shift or some other alphabetic substitution -- and a little script that would undo it when fed the right password. But that's not going to fly with someone who needs a "24"-style blinking text box.)
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:52 PM on October 23, 2007
Not if you want it to be platform-independent, no.
I guess a big question is how tech-savvy the professor is; I could imagine using an entirely different strategy for something I was giving to a CompSci person than to an English professor. (For the CompSci I might just put a text file on the disc that had been trivially enciphered -- say using a Caesar shift or some other alphabetic substitution -- and a little script that would undo it when fed the right password. But that's not going to fly with someone who needs a "24"-style blinking text box.)
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:52 PM on October 23, 2007
Does the extra content have to be on a CD? Why not put the super secret content onto a web site?
posted by nathan_teske at 9:02 PM on October 23, 2007
posted by nathan_teske at 9:02 PM on October 23, 2007
PDF files have this functionality on both platforms.
posted by crustix at 9:17 PM on October 23, 2007
posted by crustix at 9:17 PM on October 23, 2007
This sounds like a superb way to get the professor annoyed at you. Are you really sure this is a good idea?
Grading projects is drudge work. Why would any professor think kindly of a student who goes out of his way to make that drudge work slower and more difficult?
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 9:19 PM on October 23, 2007
Grading projects is drudge work. Why would any professor think kindly of a student who goes out of his way to make that drudge work slower and more difficult?
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 9:19 PM on October 23, 2007
The prof could always google your name and find the password in your AskMeFi post.
Out of curiosity, can I ask why you're doing this?
posted by pravit at 10:20 PM on October 23, 2007 [1 favorite]
Out of curiosity, can I ask why you're doing this?
posted by pravit at 10:20 PM on October 23, 2007 [1 favorite]
So he can learn about how people like this professor react to this kind of thing. I hope he doesn't get discouraged from trying to do cool stuff if it doesn't work out.
posted by amtho at 5:20 AM on October 24, 2007
posted by amtho at 5:20 AM on October 24, 2007
Response by poster: Yeah, I think googling my name is a legitimate way to go about cracking the password though.
I'm doing this as part of a response to Heidegger's "The Question Concerning Technology." It's somewhat satirical, commenting on Heidegger's accessibility as a writer. But I also think it's an interesting take on his notion of "revealing".
A lot of great suggestions. The PDF route has some potential. And, Kadin, he's an English Prof. However he is an extraordinarily unique Professor, and I think he will genuinely appreciate what I'm doing... despite its frustration.
posted by ndicecco at 5:25 AM on October 24, 2007
I'm doing this as part of a response to Heidegger's "The Question Concerning Technology." It's somewhat satirical, commenting on Heidegger's accessibility as a writer. But I also think it's an interesting take on his notion of "revealing".
A lot of great suggestions. The PDF route has some potential. And, Kadin, he's an English Prof. However he is an extraordinarily unique Professor, and I think he will genuinely appreciate what I'm doing... despite its frustration.
posted by ndicecco at 5:25 AM on October 24, 2007
Maybe also hand in a second, non-passworded cd, labelled "For Emergency Only"? Just to be safe?
posted by inigo2 at 6:31 AM on October 24, 2007
posted by inigo2 at 6:31 AM on October 24, 2007
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posted by middleclasstool at 8:09 PM on October 23, 2007