Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with windows and Security

Law-abiding civilian wants to kinda remove personal info from a laptop

salvia — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:41:33 -0800

What are the basic steps to remove personal information off of a hard drive? (XP Home, SP3) I'm trading up a work computer for a newer one. I'd like to make sure to erase things like my frequent flier password, browsing history and downloaded docs, emailed files, and documents I created myself.

I realize many people would find it easiest just to reformat the hard drive, but I'd rather not do that myself, as I don't know what I'm doing or have the disks, plus that'd look more suspicious than leaving behind a few non-work files. I'm not concerned anyone is going to run file recovery software or investigate me, and I don't have any confidential client data that I need to protect. I don't use this for much besides work, and I never save bank passwords, and they're probably going to reformat the computer right away, so I'm not that worried.

I just don't want someone to open a folder and accidentally stumble across some doc I forgot about ("FindingANewJob.doc") or some cached NSFW pic or pdf download that I clicked on in Metafilter, or some embarrassing google search term, or a personal essay a friend emailed me on Outlook that I edited over the weekend. I'm looking for a middle ground between the Department of Defense seven-wipe wiping standard and/or total reformat, and just leaving behind entire folders full of potentially-personal things.

What's a reasonable way for me to clean files and browsing history off of the computer? Is there a good checklist of folders to empty out? Is there a way to know which folders have exclusively system files and which have user-created documents? If you delete a file, then empty the Recycling Bin, is that pretty good or is there one step further you need to take to keep someone from accidentally encountering TMI?

If it matters, I am one of three users on the machine, and I don't know if I have full admin privileges, but I can add and remove programs.

I realize this is a pretty common question, and I've found some decent eHow articles, but I trust AskMe more than my googling skills. Thanks a bunch for any advice you can offer.

Help me connect Mac-at-home to Windows-at-work?

OlivesAndTurkishCoffee — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:40:00 -0800

What could happen to my mac if I connect remotely to my windows computer at work. Is there a viciously secure way of doing this? I need to connect my home mac to my office's windows computer remotely. So far, this has stumped the tech guy so I've been using a small windows netbook and connecting via vpn. But opening files on the company network takes forever and we need a better solution.

He is currently working on a solution that allows me to connect to the small business server using my mac via the windows Remote Desktop Connection Client 1.0.3 for Mac.

This worries me because I don't want windows stuff touching my mac! But my worry is based on mere suspicious distrust of windows rather than any actual knowledge of how these things work.

Those of you who do know about these things: Will using this client application make my mac vulnerable to windows risks; and, if so, is there a better more secure solution? (or a better solution with the netbook?)

New Mac Setup

Admiral Haddock — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 09:56:33 -0800

OK, so my new Mac will arrive next week. Can power users fill me in on best practices for setting it up? I've used Macs for a looooong time now, but I think I've really lost touch with how they should be set up. I am currently running off of a first-generation MacBook where everything is set up on a single admin user (without a password--ugh).

So, starting from scratch, I'd like to set this up with an admin user, a user for me, and a guest user with limited privileges (but full access to iTunes and innocuous stuff). I've read the great tutorial on from this post already, but I still have (possibly stupid) questions that I'd love your thoughts on.

1) I presume I'll use migration assistant to get everything I want from the MacBook over to the Mac Pro. Do I set up an administrator first and then add the MacBook account as a new user? Or set up administrator and a new user, and import to the new user account directly? I've never used different accounts before--do you install programs while logged in as the administrator and then set which users have access? Or install as the user (with the admin password)? If you install as a user, can the administrator then share with the other accounts?

2) What about security? This thread has a lot of advice I hope to follow. But a couple other questions: I expect my home directory for the user account will be about 300-500 GB. Is Filevault able to decrypt/encrypt large directories on the fly, or does it get choked up? Does it make more sense just to use encryption on certain subfolders, rather than the whole user directory? If so, what program? Should I be setting up an Open Firmware password? Or is this just overkill?

3) Would it make sense to keep all of my documents on a second drive in one of the extra bays, so that I can yank the personal stuff if I ever have to send in the machine?

4) What about installing Windows? I think I'm assuming I might install it with Bootcamp, but I have an old version of Parallels I might upgrade to the latest and greatest. Is it safer to install Windows on a dedicated drive? How does Windows (either in Boot Camp or in virtualization) play with multiple accounts/security settings?

I'd definitely like to set up the new machine right the first time. Thanks in advance for your input!

Most secure PDF viewer?

benzenedream — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:58:47 -0800

In light of the increasing number of PDF security exploits, what is the most secure PDF viewer for Windows? I would prefer a minimal viewer that will handle encrypted PDFs but doesn't have a javascript engine built in, nor any of the other multimedia junk that exists in Adobe products. I'm aware of Foxit and some of the open source offshoots from Ghostview. I know you can turn off Javascript execution via registry hacks but would prefer to minimize the attack space by not having features that are rarely used.

Installing Vista Securely

kidbritish — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 10:15:22 -0800

Those stories about Windows PCs getting infected within minutes of connecting to the internet... does that still apply in Vista SP1? Soon I'll be setting up a new PC put together from parts and doing a fresh install of Vista Ultimate with SP1 (retail). Should I do anything special to maximize security?

How can we better secure our network?

4ster — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:04:41 -0800

My (very) small office has two desktops running XP Pro (SP3), that are networked using a cable. They also share a DSL internet connection, which can also be accessed wirelessly via our Linksys router. The internet connection isn't password protected, which is nice in that it allows people who visit to have an easy time getting online. However, I'm pretty sure that free and easy access to wireless network=anyone can access our shared folders on those two desktops. Clearly, this is bad, but I'm not sure what to do. Please explain a fix to me like I'm five. Thanks. Also, both computers are running a third-party (not the built-in-to-Windows) firewall.

Thanks in advance to everyone.

Help me make a PC safe

aburd — Wed, 07 May 2008 10:36:39 -0800

My co-worker asked me to help her secure her home Windows Laptop. She recently had a virus that made the computer unusable. As someone who has been using primarily OSX at home for the past year I'm behind the times in terms of Windows security. I formatted the drive and re-installed windows XP for her. I've recommended getting Firefox and AVG, but aside from that: what should she do to make her computer more resistant to viruses and spyware? And please limit the suggestions to switch to Linux. I tried to talk to her about it but her husband is going to be periodically using the laptop at his work which will require him to install some proprietary Windows software. So that won't work.

Seeking advice on anti-virus and other security software

danwalker — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:20:10 -0800

What software (or combination of software) are you using to keep your computer internet-secure these days? I work for a not-for-profit org and am finding myself increasingly responsible for its IT needs. We're about twenty people in an office, with another six or seven halfway across the country, and perhaps another half-dozen roaming the landscape as remote employees. A mix of fairly barebones Dell laptops and desktops, all running some flavour of Windows XP. Most users use 'limited' accounts, but some are admin where necessary. Everyone has MS Office and Outlook for everyday tasks, there's a lot of browsing with IE or Firefox, and not much else goes on.

Our IT intelligence isn't that hot, so we have a mishmash of various anti-virus scanners and other such software on the machines. It's mostly Avast, which scares our less-savvy users with its sirens and voices shouting out when it's done something. (I can give these users a hug and discreetly change their notification settings while they get over it, but the exercise is getting kind of annoying.)

Anyway, being a fan of Spybot S&D myself, but with very little specific anti-virus software knowledge, I'm looking for some feedback on options available out there today. What would you recommend? Is S&D ok to run alongside other AV software, or do the two clash?

(Free is better for a not-for-profit, of course, though commercial software will be considered. And the main goal here is to keep each individual machine secure - outfitting our overall network with more security and assessing the ways we communicate with remote users will be the subject of a future AskMeFi post, I'm sure.)

How to set up group permissions in Windows XP?

Khalad — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 09:23:21 -0800

In Windows, how can I set up a group that has permission to create/edit/delete user accounts? I'm trying to lock down a Windows XP Pro machine as tightly as possible. What I want to do is have a user called 'admin' who users can log in as. This is not a real administrator account; the only thing it should be able to do is create, edit, and delete other user accounts. 'admin' should not have any other extra abilities. The permissions need to be as fine-grained as possible.

This is to meet DoD Navy requirements. My approach until now had been to simply make 'admin' a member of 'Power Users'. But that is not a viable approach since power users can do a whole lot more than just create and delete accounts. The DoD's automated security tool produces gobs of findings about this abuse of 'Power Users'.

So, what I'd like to do is have a group called 'User Administrators', add 'admin' to that group, and set it up so that group has the ability to manage user accounts. This Windows machine is not on a domain and does not have network access, so I only need to (can only) do this using local security policies.

What was that password again?

al_fresco — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 17:02:03 -0800

In Windows XP, is there a way to see the password that is stored in the system to log into a wireless network? In OS X, this is easy – one just goes to Keychain Access, looks up the entry, and by entering an administrator password one can see the given password. Is there a way to do this in XP? I'm not a Windows person, so don't know where to look.

This is for a client for whom I set up a wireless network over a year ago. She created the password and it's stored in her system, as she connects fine to the network. She now wants to get another computer onto the network. I guess I need to start saving clients' passwords.

Help me be a responsible but care-free computer user

amtho — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 17:54:45 -0800

Maybe obvious backup question: I want to achieve: an external hard drive with an exact copy of my main drive's contents that can, in the event of my main internal drive's failure, be swapped into the machine for instant everything-as-it-was. I also want incremental backup, so that I can keep this drive constantly up to date with a daily backup process. This is a Windows XP ThinkPad laptop; I've got the external backup drive in its little case already. I'm half wondering if this is such a basic set of requirements -- copy my drive exactly (making sure it's bootable), and then copy incremental changes -- that most backup software does it already.

The software that came with the laptop (ThinkVantage Rescue and Recovery) creates "archive files", all ~50 MB in size, that require the backup software in order to be read. This isn't going to do it for me.

I briefly looked into Acronis, but they won't even let me install the trial without registering -- through the internet, automatically, during the installation process. Can't even register by phone. (Is it too much to want to try the software before giving them permission to automatically send themselves information about myself & my system?) No deal. Also, $50 seems like a lot for such a simple-sounding piece of software, but if I have to spend that much (or more), I'm willing.

The drive came with three pieces of software, but I can't tell whether any of them will do what I want: PC Clone EX Lite (by JMicron Technology), VBTUcopy (by VIA Technology), and HDBackup (by Moai Electronics). Each of these has a short PDF document with it -- I've read through each -- but it doesn't answer my questions, just outlines the setup procedure. These seem like very bare-bones programs, based on the docs.

To clarify: if my computer's HD fails, I'd like to avoid having to install Windows on a new drive before restoring files. I want to just take out the old drive, stick in the new drive, and then pretend nothing happened (I'd just buy a new backup drive).

I'd also like to avoid having to re-clone the HD every time I want to make an incremental backup. In other words, although I'm not sure, I'm under the impression that backup software that "clones" the HD will need to copy every single file every time it runs.

Also: I've already formatted my new drive. How can I make sure it's bootable? Do I even need to worry about that at this point?

Thanks!

Stop Me If You've Heard This...

boombot — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 20:21:21 -0800

A little over a year ago, DuckFOO asked essentially the exact same question I'd like to ask now - I'm a Mac geek and will be setting up a Windows Vista Basic computer for my computer novice mother, and am freaked about security. I'm doing the re-ask because many of the articles and ideas that came in responses to the original question are MIA or too old to necessarily apply to Vista, and because the original poster took some things for granted, like turning off unnecessary services, that I'm nowhere as familiar with. Obviously, many a result comes up with any search for Vista security - I need a reliable, Ask Mefi-approved, novice level guide.

Roaming Profiles on Windows XP what to do?

bleucube — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 14:00:03 -0800

Looking for a secure Windows XP Roaming Profile alternative. What do you suggest? Need to stop using roaming profiles in my agency. Data is getting spread about and there is a high chance of laptops and public machines (due to change in physical security) getting stolen. I don't want a workstation getting stolen that has the VP and HR director's documents on it.

There is a lot to the story, but rather keep it short. Please don't tell me that I should change physical security or anything of that sort. There's a lot that *should* be done, but fighting the power is for another day.

Thanks!

I must only use my powers for good.

Joe in Australia — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 22:17:37 -0800

How can I transfer a large file from a secure Windows XP computer? I want to transfer a 3GB file from a secured computer running Windows XP. The file is in the public domain, but for various good reasons I can't burn a CD ROM or write to a USB drive. I can't even boot off a CD ROM or USB drive.

So far my best idea is breaking the file into little tiny chunks and emailing it to myself. This will take a while, especially since I can only transfer 170MB per week.

I do have access to the shell, but I don't have administrative rights to the computer involved.

Any suggestions? My next step is seeing if I can get RS232 to work ... please save me from this.

"The web is with you, young Skywalker. But you are not a Jedi yet."

EatTheWeak — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 10:23:21 -0800

"I want to come with you to Redmond and learn the ways of the Registry. I want to be Teh Haxorz, like my father before me." Good morning, hive mind. I have grown tired of the stressful life of a noob technochondriac, and seek self-education that will allow me to use my computer with confidence.

With the help of three dear friends, I built a powerful PC. My friends with know-how have already gone above and beyond in helping me learn my way around Windows. I've no wish to trouble them further with my ignorance and panic. My computer has slowed a bit from lunging, mercurial machine it was in the first weeks after assembly. I open the task manager and examine the Processes list, but really don't understand what I'm looking at. Is that stack of "svchost.exe" a spyware cell or a routine process? Without straining the patience of my friends, I have no way to know for sure.

So self-reliance is the answer. I've heard tell that mastering the arcane art of The Registry is the key to supremacy for Windows XP. I've also heard that this is a most dangerous place to meddle. Please, mefites, if you can think of a web resource on registry management written with the beginner in mind, I would very much like to begin my training. Being that I'm a luddite at heart, I'll even settle for a book.

Useful pieces of registry manipulating software are also appreciated, but I'm more interested in developing the knowledge that will help me appraise a program's usefulness for myself.

My main aims are to get my computer running at peak efficiency, tightening up security by learning how to spot malware's machinations and the ability to spot and correct anamolous behavior before serious damage is done. A tall order, I know, but I've seldom seen this forum stumped.

Your time and input is deeply appreciated.

Bypass administrator priveleges!?!?

nserrano — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 13:09:03 -0800

What did I do to gain Administrator privileges to install software and how can I do it again? Background info: I work for a company that restricts users to install software in the C:\Program files folder. People can't install Yahoo or MSN messenger nor programs that install themselves (meaning you can't change the installation location). I did however found out you can install a program directly to the c: drive or to the users folder, that is if you can change the location when installing the program. I also have access to manipulate the registry. This still does not let me install yahoo or msn messenger or a few other programs. I can't even pull up the date/time window.
What I did: I downloaded the trial version of ABBYY Finereader Pro and installed it successfully. When I tried to uninstall it through add/remove option in windows, it didn't let me (told me it was busy even after closing it in task manager) so I went to the registry and deleted all traces of the program (I went to find and searched everything with ABBYY and Finereader and just deleted everything that came up. I know that was stupid.) When I tried to install it again, it gave me a registry error so I couldn't install it again. I searched the internet with the error ("the configuration data for this product is corrupt") and was told to add an "installation key" and some other keys (one of the websites is http://support.esri.com/index.cfm?fa=knowledgebase.techarticles.articleShow&d=24710). Also I downloaded PCmechanic and tried to fix the registry. The last thing was to download a program from microsoft )Windows Installer CleanUp Utility from http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;290301) to recover the registry (funny thing is that I could install everything else but not ABBYY again). after all those steps I was able to install ABBYY again. Something that I did or one of the programs I did gave me access to install any program I desired without the "Administrator access required" box. Can anyone tell me what I did and how can I do it again without doing all those steps again? I'm running Windows XP Pro. Let me know if you need any further information.

Rocover forgotten windows xp pro admin password

JohnnyGunn — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 14:01:13 -0800

I cannot remember my windows XP Pro password. I am an administrator. Need to install software and change to a dynamic ip address. I have a pc that has been idle (not in use) for about 8 months. I was planning on using it again. I tried every password I have used in the past 5 years. None work. I have tried basic others like "password", "administrator", etc.

The person who built this pc for me is not reachable. He has moved with no forwarding info.

Is there a way to either reset the administrator's password, my password (I am an administrator), or upgrade the permissions of an existing user to be an/the administrator? I can login to an account that is not an administrator.

Or am I SOL?

Is it possible to bypass a bios password without me knowing? How safe is my data?

D Wiz — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 16:25:53 -0800

I have a desktop that is located in a semi-public place. I have a bios password and a windows password on it. Sometimes I leave it logged out of windows so that I can leave in the middle of a project without restarting everything again. I was wondering how hard it would be to get my data? Short of stealing the actual hardware, is there a way to get past a bios password and access my data without me knowing? (From what I understand, resetting the cmos would clear the password so I would know if someone got in.) Also, is it possible to get in if I leave it logged out of windows with a password? How safe is my data?

Setting Up Mom's XP Computer

DuckFOO — Sun, 14 May 2006 20:00:28 -0800

I am a Mac Geek and will be setting up a Windows XP Pro computer for my computer novice mother, but I am concerned about XP security. Her computer will be here next week and I will do a clean install to get rid of the junk Dell likes to install on new computers. After reinstalling, I intend to do the following:

a. Set Windows Updates to automatically download and install updates.
b. Rename the Administrated account and apply a long, secure, randomized password.
c. Create a regular user account for my mother to use.
d. Turn on XP's firewall.
e. Turn off all unneeded services (I understand XP has many).
f. Firefox will be her primary web browser.
g. A virus scanner will be installed.

Outside of these, can anyone recommend any further steps that will provide good security for a stand alone XP computer?

need a program that monitors employee logins, preferably freeware

titans13 — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 21:45:08 -0800

I have a client who has a Windows 2000 server and a LAN consisting of a whopping 3 other computers. He would like a program that lets him know when employees have logged onto the network...preferably by email notification. He doesn't care for anything as machine-centric or intrusive as Spectorsoft, but would like a small utility that does it's small job well for a small cost. All suggestions are appreciated.

What created that file?

bDiddy — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 11:46:14 -0800

How can I track the source of a file? I have a user who is reporting that something is creating a file in an area that it shouldn't. This folder resides on a Windows server and he is running Windows XP (or 2000, but I'm pretty sure it's XP). He is seeing a file created periodically but has no idea where it's coming from and is concerned that security might have been compromised.

The file is named "clientid.txt" and contains the string, "3145204-218057". The folder it's being created in can only be accessed by him and Domain Admins. The file shows that it was created by this user.

I am thinking that some job or some process is running on his PC that is creating this file, but when I checked he had no jobs running. Maybe a rogue process, but I can't find it. Is there a way to find out what caused a file to be created? If not on an existing file, maybe there's a way to catch a process when it writes a file to a folder?

Again, if I wasn't clear, this is a Windows OS accessing a file share on a Windows network. No Linux servers can access the folder where this is being written. I'd appreciate any help greatly.

PDFMaker: play nice with XP!

stopgap — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 15:49:54 -0800

Adobe PDFMaker and its attendant Word toolbars only work on an Administrator Account. Is there a way to make it work on a Limited User account? I'm on Windows XP. This information about a previous version seems to imply that what I want to do is impossible.

If users should have their day-to-day account be a Limited User for security, then programs should work properly under a Limited User account!

What are my options for installing a home security system?

DCTapeworm — Mon, 31 Oct 2005 07:43:50 -0800

What are my options for installing a home security system? Hi there,

After being a avid watcher of 'It Takes a Thief', I've been moving forward on researching my options for having a home security system installed.

I currently do best practices by locking doors and windows before leaving the house, and also have installed charley bars on the sliding doors on both the upper and lower floors.

What I'm interested in doing is either:

a) Taking the time to buy and install my own system, and finding a service in my area (Woodinville, WA) that can enable fire and police protection should the alarm be triggered... or

b) Go with a ADT or similiar system where I pay an installation and monthly fee charge for home security and fire prevention.

What I'd like to know is:

1. Are there websites online that review different security products, such as motion detectors, safes, or even reviews on ADT-like services and how well they fare?
2. If there are any forums online that are devoted to issues regarding home security and best practices?

Please post if you have any advice or suggestions, or even your own experiences. :)

Thanks in advance.

Automatically set XP folder permissions.

signal — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 08:49:48 -0800

I have problems sharing new folders on my home LAN. I have an XP pro box, my wife has a WinME laptop. I share my MP3 folder with her, mostly glitchfree. However, whenever I add new subfolders to the main MP3 one, she has problemas playing the files. She can see them both in explorer and winamp, but they refuse to play, sometimes locking up winamp or her entire system, forcing a hard reboot (I know, ME sucks). Usually, I go into the folders "security" settings, play around a bit, try to set everything to "full control", and after a few tries get it right.

Question: How can I make it so any new folders automatically have their permissions set so she can see/play the files in them?

Assume I know very little or nothing about how XP's security/user/etc model works, and managed to set up the network mostly by luck and blindly twiddling knobs.

Password protecting XP folders

nightocean — Fri, 25 Feb 2005 06:09:46 -0800

Is there some way within Windows XP or using 3rd party software that I can password protect individual folders on my pcs so that you cant see or get access to what is in them with out entering a password? Just to be super clear, I want to do this one folder at a time not as a general login.