How secure is a laptop with Windows 10 password protection?

ClarkeKent

I have some business docs on my laptop that would be a bit of a pain to sort if my laptop got stolen and a thief got his hands on them. I have backups too.

Just started using Windows 10 with a password enabled when it boots up? How secure is this against hackers etc should the laptop ever get stolen.

I recall from XP perhaps Windows 7 thatyou could actually bypass the password by doing some stuff.

Any advice on locking it down would be good to hear

wongataa

To make it secure you would need to use full disk encryption. If you have Windows 10 Pro it comes with Bitlocker to do this. If you have Windows 10 Home there are third party applications to do this. If the disk is encrypted you can't take the disk out of your machine and read it with a different one.

hans_2

Computeractive – Issue 499 – 12-25 April 2017 Page 50

http://magazinelib.com/?s=computeractive

emptybox

No the login password isn't particularly secure, as anybody could boot the computer up with a USB and access all your files, if they wanted to.
The login password is really to stop the kids (or others) getting in and changing or installing stuff to your desktop.

You wouldn't necessarily need to encrypt the whole drive.
I use Veracrypt to keep my business and financial files in encrypted folders.
Not sure if it's still in development? But it still works.

Frozen_up_north

I too use Veracrypt for file encryption. I am just using the computer for personal use, so no legal/commercial data protection issues in my case. While it’s easy to use and free for business use, whole disk encryption is a better idea as there can be temporary files scattered around the disk that aren’t secured.

Bitlocker in Windows Pro is used by many organisations to secure data, it is good enough for general business use.

For the official view see https://www.ncsc.gov.uk

ClarkeKent

hans_2 wrote: »

Computeractive – Issue 499 – 12-25 April 2017 Page 50

http://magazinelib.com/?s=computeractive

What a super site! Free downloads, thanks very much

Might have a look at the encryption route, perhaps even an encrypted USB stick

Riccardos_2

Windows 10 password can be bypassed easily with the sticky keys exploit, or a live cd:
https://www.top-password.com/blog/reset-windows-10-password-with-sticky-keys/
https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-remove-passwords-using-offline-nt-password-registry-editor-2626167

While the BIOS password can also be reset by jumper settings, or removing the cmos battery for a while. You can also find a backdoor password to enter into BIOS:
http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-easily-reset-bios-password-on-windows-10-pc/

So I recommend you enable BitLocker encryption on your whole hard drive or USB storage. BitLocker is available in Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise.
https://www.windowscentral.com/how-use-bitlocker-encryption-windows-10

Once your hard drive is encrypted with BitLocker, all your files remain encrypted and inaccessible even when someone can get your laptop to boot from a live cd.