# Can someone bypass my Vista password?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-bypass-my-vista-password/459048
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 6, 2008, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-bypass-my-vista-password/459048 "2008-08-06T17:03:33Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@MizTina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizTina)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2008, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-bypass-my-vista-password/459048/1 "2008-08-06T17:03:33Z")
I have my computer password protected, but I think one of my kids, who is prone to going to virus laden places on the 'net is getting on despite my password. He is the reason I set up a password.
Is it possible for a not terribly computer knowlegable person to sneak by? And if so, how the hell do I block him from doing it?
Thanks much in advance!
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-bypass-my-vista-password/459048/2 "2008-08-06T17:11:16Z")
What makes you think he is doing that?
If someone truly isn’t 'terribly computer knowlegable" I wouldn’t bet on them bypassing the password unless they figured it out.
The easist way to block him though, just remove something. Hide the modem or keyboard or ethernet cord or router or one of the power cords (to the modem, computer, monitor, etc…) etc…
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### Author:  [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-bypass-my-vista-password/459048/3 "2008-08-06T17:25:51Z")
You could also set admin permissions to yourself only.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2008, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-bypass-my-vista-password/459048/4 "2008-08-06T17:30:44Z")
[QUOTE=MizTina]
Is it possible for a not terribly computer knowlegable person to sneak by? And if so, how the hell do I block him from doing it?
[/QUOTE]
Just from looking online, it looks like there are ways to do this, but the ways I’ve found involve creating a boot disk and changing the original password. I don’t know if there’s a way to do this and preserve the old password (maybe by backing up the old password file, if that’s even how Vista does things, because I have no idea) and changing it back when you log out.
However, more likely to me would be that he’s guessed your password. Is your password non-obvious? Change it and see what happens. Are there other accounts he can log in under on your computer? What makes you think he’s breaking in in the first place?
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### Author:  [@MizTina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizTina)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-bypass-my-vista-password/459048/5 "2008-08-06T18:06:08Z")
To answer the why I think questions:
On the days when he is home and I am not, the monitor is always in a different position, computer chair not where I have it. Just little things like that. He has a BIG history of getting on other peoples computers and once caused quite a few problems with viruses.
I try and change the password every time I find one of the above mentioned signs and make them not obvious.
And where I don’t believe he is too knowledgable, one of his friends might well be, and my kid has no problem with bringing his friends in my room to get on my computer.
I do have myself set up as the only user.
How do I set admin privileges only to myself?
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### Author:  [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-bypass-my-vista-password/459048/6 "2008-08-06T18:16:00Z")
Microsoft’s recommendations are to disable and rename the Guest account, and to be sure that this account aso has a strong password.
If your PC has Guest enabled, and without a password, it’s pretty mindless for someone to use the computer regardless of what your password is.
Keep in mind that what Microsoft recommends may match up with what us security mavens have been recommending for years, but that doesn’t mean they actually do it on a standard installation of Windows.
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2008, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-bypass-my-vista-password/459048/7 "2008-08-06T18:22:55Z")
I would stronly suggest you look into some key capture software. That will tell you for sure wheather or not someone has been messing with the computer when you’re not around.
Other then that, just take one of the cables with you when you leave.
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### Author:  [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2008, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-bypass-my-vista-password/459048/8 "2008-08-06T18:34:39Z")
Short of figuring out your password, I can’t think of a way that someone could get on your computer without, at the least, rebooting it. I was going suggest checking the system event log to see if it had been restarted without your knowledge, but I can’t figure out how to get to it…One thing he could be doing is using a bootable CD-ROM linux distribution, which wouldn’t leave any traces on the hard disk.
If you want to be absolutely sure that nobody but you uses the machine, set a boot password (this is done in the BIOS). While this can be overridden by resetting the BIOS, you’d know that it was done, since the machine would no longer prompt for password on bootup. To prevent having the BIOS reset, you’d have to have a physical lock on the PC’s cabinet.
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### Author:  [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-bypass-my-vista-password/459048/9 "2008-08-06T20:27:23Z")
Yeah, a bootable “Live” CD as suggested by **Running with Scissors** seems a likely possibility. All he would need to do is get the CD from a more knowledgeable friend with computer access who could have just downloaded and burned one. Then he could just put in the disc while the machine is booting up, and instead of loading Windows Vista off the hard drive, it would load some Linux distro from the CD.
Just out of curiosity, how old is this kid? That might go some way towards explaining the levels of ingenuity and persistence he is likely to employ.
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### Author:  [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2008, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-bypass-my-vista-password/459048/10 "2008-08-06T20:52:17Z")
[QUOTE=Stealth Potato]
Yeah, a bootable “Live” CD as suggested by **Running with Scissors** seems a likely possibility. All he would need to do is get the CD from a more knowledgeable friend with computer access who could have just downloaded and burned one. Then he could just put in the disc while the machine is booting up, and instead of loading Windows Vista off the hard drive, it would load some Linux distro from the CD.
[/QUOTE]
That would be an unlikely source of viruses on the Windows boot drive, though, wouldn’t it?
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### Author:  [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2008, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-bypass-my-vista-password/459048/11 "2008-08-06T23:37:46Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow]
That would be an unlikely source of viruses on the Windows boot drive, though, wouldn’t it?
[/QUOTE]
Well, yes, but I’m guessing that the virus problems were the cause of, and therefore predated, the password lockdown.
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### Author:  [@Stan\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Doubt)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2008, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-bypass-my-vista-password/459048/12 "2008-08-07T01:37:53Z")
Does a vanilla Vista install have a default Administrator account with blank password like XP?
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### Author:  [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2008, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-bypass-my-vista-password/459048/13 "2008-08-07T02:31:37Z")
[QUOTE=Running with Scissors]
If you want to be absolutely sure that nobody but you uses the machine, set a boot password (this is done in the BIOS). While this can be overridden by resetting the BIOS, you’d know that it was done, since the machine would no longer prompt for password on bootup. To prevent having the BIOS reset, you’d have to have a physical lock on the PC’s cabinet.
[/QUOTE]
This would be my recommendation.
If your computer doesn’t show a “Hit F12 for Settings” or “Hit Enter for Settings” or something to that effect right when you turn it on, either look in the manual or try hitting F1, F2, F12, Enter, and Esc before you get to any of the Windows screens. One of these _should_ bring up the BIOS settings menu. It’s a bit wonky to navigate and make sure you choose “Save and Exit” instead of just “Exit”, and make sure you don’t change any other settings than the BIOS password setting, but it’s your best line of defense.
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### Author:  [@KRSOradio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRSOradio)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2008, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-bypass-my-vista-password/459048/14 "2008-08-07T02:41:24Z")
Vista has an event viewer. If the computer is turned off and you look at your event viewer you can see what’s going on.
I’m not the greatest at this but it should at least tell you if the computer is being used.
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2008, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-bypass-my-vista-password/459048/15 "2008-08-07T02:43:19Z")
[QUOTE=Sage Rat]
This would be my recommendation.
If your computer doesn’t show a “Hit F12 for Settings” or “Hit Enter for Settings” or something to that effect right when you turn it on, either look in the manual or try hitting F1, F2, F12, Enter, and Esc before you get to any of the Windows screens. One of these _should_ bring up the BIOS settings menu. It’s a bit wonky to navigate and make sure you choose “Save and Exit” instead of just “Exit”, and make sure you don’t change any other settings than the BIOS password setting, but it’s your best line of defense.
[/QUOTE]
Also try hitting DEL (not backspace, but the actual delete key).
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### Author:  [@MizTina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizTina)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2008, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-bypass-my-vista-password/459048/16 "2008-08-07T03:18:06Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Just out of curiosity, how old is this kid? That might go some way towards explaining the levels of ingenuity and persistence he is likely to employ.
Oh, I’m almost embarassed to say…but he is 26. All of my step and foster kids moved back in the past few months. I call them mine because I raised them since the step kids were 3 and 4. But he has issues, and not all his fault.
I have changed the password and am going through the emails gleaning all the good advice. I will most definitely look for the event veiwer and go with the Bios password.
Thank you all for the help! 🙂
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### Author:  [@MizTina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizTina)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2008, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-bypass-my-vista-password/459048/17 "2008-08-07T03:25:09Z")
[QUOTE=MizTina]
I have changed the password and am going through the **emails** gleaning all the good advice. QUOTE]
:smack: Posts, posts dammit, not emails!
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### Author:  [@MizTina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizTina)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2008, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-bypass-my-vista-password/459048/18 "2008-08-07T03:27:10Z")
[QUOTE=Stealth Potato]
Well, yes, but I’m guessing that the virus problems were the cause of, and therefore predated, the password lockdown.
[/QUOTE]
Yep, exactly right. $300 to Geek Patrol on a two month old computer. I was a bit put out over that.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2008, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-bypass-my-vista-password/459048/19 "2008-08-07T05:25:30Z")
> [@](#):
>
> To answer the why I think questions:
>
> On the days when he is home and I am not, the monitor is always in a different position, computer chair not where I have it. Just little things like that.
That _could_ just mean that he’s trying to log in, not necessarily that he’s succeeding. Just trying to cover all bases, here.
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### Author:  [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2008, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-bypass-my-vista-password/459048/20 "2008-08-07T05:33:53Z")
[QUOTE=Joey P]
Also try hitting DEL (not backspace, but the actual delete key).
[/QUOTE]
Or F8, or F10. I think I remember one using F5. Various BIOS makers have used pretty much every key imaginable. At this point, it wouldn’t surprise me if a BIOS said “Press Z, ESC, and NUMLOCK with the same hand to enter setup.” Or maybe “Say ‘Chicken’ in Aboriginal click language to enter setup.”
You’d think that somewhere along the way, BIOS makers would have gotten together and said, “hey guys, let’s pick a standard, easy-to-remember key for entering setup!” Nah, that would make too much sense. :dubious:
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