There are numerous ways to secure you computer and protect it from nosy bodies. All modern operating systems have the concept of user control and password protected logins. It’s an approach that is commonplace and accepted. Before this functionality though, the rest of us leaned on BIOS passwords. The BIOS is hidden quite well on computers today; it’s the brief flash of a black screen when you first boot your computer right before the operating system booting progress screen displays. With a BIOS password applied, the user can be forced to supply a correct password before anything is available on the computer – even before the operating system loads.
This sounds like a pretty solid and secure idea still right? Actually, it’s not as most professionals consider this as being pretty weak – most computer enthusiasts can bypass a BIOS password in minutes. Whether by shorting out a jumper on the motherboard or removing the CMOS battery, it’s little trouble for the pros. Still, a BIOS password can be pretty effective at keeping just about everyone else off your computer. One problem – and it’s a problem that affects every password protected system – what if you forget it? You talk to one of those professionals above! However, should you already be inside Windows there is a utility that will reveal or reset the BIOS password of most vendors. This is your computer right?
CmosPwd is a free utility for DOS (Windows) and Unix that decrypts password stored in CMOS used to access the BIOS and computer.
- Once downloaded and unzipped, you must install the kernel level driver by executing ioperm.exe -i
from a Windows Command Prompt. - With the driver now installed, cmospwd_win /k will reveal the password. The utility will reveal the password for all BIOS vendors – you will see output on the screen for each one. Only one line will look intelligent and contain a password – the line that happens to be your BIOS provider.
