Protect Your Laptop From Unwanted Use By Employing BIOS Password

Wondering how to protect your laptop from unwanted use? Typically, laptops come with better security as compared to desktop computers. Latest laptops boast features like face detection, fingerprint reader, etc. You can also set BIOS password and protect your computer. In this article we will discuss more about this.

Most of the laptops now come with a very strong BIOS password capability. This locks up the hardware of the computer and makes the notebook entirely unusable. You need to insert the BIOS password and then only the operating system will load.

The BIOS password is stored in a special chip in the laptop. And it is hidden under the CPU and it is not affected when the rest of the BIOS settings are reset. Due to this reason removal of a BIOS password on a laptop is almost impossible. So, there is no chance of accessing your laptop without the password.

Manufacturers (like Dell) generate a "master password" for a particular laptop. But for this you need to produce sufficient proof of ownership. On the other hand, manufacturers like IBM would advise replacing the motherboard of the laptop which is very expensive. If you are using old laptops like 4 – 5 years or older then setting the BIOS password is relatively easy. You can do it by shorting two solder points on the motherboard. You can also do it by plugging a special plug in the printer port. The best way is to consult computer repair services to perform the task.

Using BIOS password is very useful to protect your laptop from unauthorized use. Resetting BIOS password is either a big hassle or expensive. In fact, in some cases, it is even impossible to reset the BIOS password. So, if your laptop is stolen or if anyone wants to use the laptop without your permission, it is quite impossible.

But you need to remember some important things. You store files, documents, emails, pictures, etc. on the hard drive of the laptop. Due to the BIOS password your laptop might be completely unusable. There are ways to access to all your important data stored on the laptop's hard drive. What you need to do is just remove the hard drive from the laptop and connect it to another computer, and get the files retrieved quite easily.

On the other hand, desktop users can easily reset or remove BIOS password. You need to open up the computer casing and look for the battery. Remove the battery for some 5 minutes and then slot it back. This will clear existing data in BIOS. There are other ways too. You can also reset CMOS with software. Several software programs are available in the market that you can employ to perform this task.