4850 EP (250-5143) Password Faxback Doc. # 1015 Passwords help protect your computer from unauthorized users by enabling you to restrict the use of the computer, keyboard, and mouse. Your computer supports two passwords: * Power-On Password--Prevents unauthorized use of your computer. If you set up a power-on password, you must enter it each time you turn on the computer or press the RESET button. Use the PASSWORD.COM utility to create a power-on password. * Keyboard Password--Temporarily locks and unlocks your keyboard (and mouse if you have one) without your having to turn off the computer. The keyboard password is cleared when you turn off the computer or press RESET. Use the KP.EXE utility to create or change a keyboard password. Each password can have up to seven characters, consisting of any characters on the keyboard. The system does not distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters. Use a word or number that has special meaning to you but is difficult for anyone else to guess. For example, do not use your name. The password utilities record the exact keys you press as you create a password. For example, if you use the 6 from the typewriter keys when you create the password, you cannot substitute the 6 from the numeric keys when you enter the password. When you create a password, the characters are displayed on the screen as you type them. When you change a password, or enter a password to access your computer or keyboard, the password characters are not displayed. The computer will not accept input from the mouse or the keyboard if you cannot supply the correct password. CREATING A POWER-ON PASSWORD 1. At the system prompt, type password and press ENTER. 2. Type the password, using the backspace key to correct any errors. Press ENTER. The following prompt is displayed: Is this correct? (Y/N)__ 3. If the password is correct, type Y and press ENTER. If the password is incorrect, type N, press ENTER, and enter the correct password. You will be prompted to enter the correct password each time you turn on the computer or press the RESET button. ENTERING A POWER-ON PASSWORD If you have specified a power-on password, the following prompt is displayed when you turn on the computer: Enter Password:__ Type the complete password, and press ENTER. The computer permits three attempts to enter the correct password. If the correct password is not entered by the third attempt, the computer will not accept further input from the mouse or the keyboard. To try again, turn the computer off then on again, or press the RESET button. CHANGING OR REMOVING A POWER-ON PASSWORD When the computer prompts you for the power-on password at startup, you can change or remove the existing password. To change the password, type the current power-on password, followed immediately by a forward slash (/), followed immediately by the new password. Then, press ENTER. For example, if the current password old and you want to change it to new, type old/new and press ENTER. To remove the current password without assigning a new one, simply press ENTER after the slash. The password prompt is no longer displayed when you turn on the computer. CREATING AND USING A KEYBOARD PASSWORD A keyboard password enables you to lock the keyboard and mouse. By default, the keyboard password is the same as the power-on password. Use KP.EXE to specify a keyboard password that is different from the power-on password. To further protect your data, you can use KP.EXE to clear the screen before locking the keyboard. Follow these steps to lock the keyboard: 1. To use an already created keyboard password: type kp and press ENTER to clear the screen and lock the keyboard, or type kp /b and press ENTER to clear the screen and lock the keyboard. To specify a new keyboard password: type kp /c and press ENTER. The system prompts you to enter a new password, and then locks the keyboard. Or, type kp /b /c and press ENTER. The system clears the screen, prompts you to enter a password, type the password, using the backspace key to correct any errors, and press ENTER. The following prompt appears: Is this correct? (Y/N/ESC)__ To accept the password, type Y and press ENTER. To correct the password, type N, press ENTER, and type the correct password. To cancel the utility, press ESC. You will return to the MS-DOS prompt. To unlock the keyboard and the mouse, type the keyboard password and then press ENTER. (smm 08/05/93)