

Reset mac password bios how to#
They could use their physical access to reset the BIOS password - we’ll show you how to do that later. They could crack it open and remove your hard drive or insert a different hard drive. Of course, if someone has physical access to your computer, all bets are off.

Depending on how you configure the password, people will need the password to boot the computer or just to change BIOS settings. You could change the boot order to force the computer to always boot from its internal hard drive, but someone could enter your BIOS and change your boot order to boot the removable device.Ī BIOS or UEFI firmware password provides some protection against this.
Reset mac password bios install#
They could also boot from a Windows installer disc and install a new copy of Windows over the current copy of Windows on the computer. A Windows user account password doesn’t protect your files. They could boot from that device and access a live Linux desktop - if your files are unencrypted, they could access your files. The person could insert a removable device like a USB drive, CD, or DVD with an operating system on it. When your computer boots, someone will have to enter your Windows user account password to use it or access your files, right? Not necessarily. Let’s say you’ve followed good security practices and have a password set on your Windows user account. RELATED: Why a Windows Password Isn't Enough to Protect Your Data You can reset the BIOS password on a desktop PC that you can open fairly easily, but this process may be much more difficult on a laptop you can’t open. Warning: Be sure to remember any passwords you set. They allow you to restrict people from booting alternative operating systems on removable devices and prevent people from installing another operating system over the computer’s current operating system. BIOS and UEFI passwords are particularly ideal for public or workplace computers. If you’d like to protect your sensitive files, encrypting your hard drive is a better solution.

Most people shouldn’t need to set a BIOS or UEFI password. RELATED: What Does a PC's BIOS Do, and When Should I Use It?
