* Dr. Internet columnist Steve Blass helps someone who forgot the admin password on their Mac. * Help Desk columnist Ron Nutter helps a user who is concerned about laptop security.
Resetting passwords on Mac OS X system
By Steve Blass
Q: I forgot the admin password on my Macintosh OS X system. How can I crack or reset the password?
A: Mac OS X is based on BSD Unix, so one way to crack Mac passwords is with Unix password-cracking tools. In particular, John the Ripper has a good reputation for being successful in cracking Mac OS X passwords. While this can be useful to systems administrators, it points out that password security can be broken fairly easily.
To read Steve’s reponse in its entirety, please click here.
Protecting data on laptops
By Ron Nutter
Q: With reading the news reports of stolen laptops from the Veterans Administration and the Red Cross, to mention just two, I am getting more concerned about the users my company has traveling that have laptops with sensitive company information on them. I don’t think that I can get support to not have company data on the laptops, so what are my options to protect the information?
— Via the Internet.
A: There are several methods that you can use. The first is some type of encryption on the laptop in the area where the sensitive information resides. You can use Microsoft’s Encrypting File System (EFS) to designate a area of the hard drive where all files that are stored there are encrypted. Depending on the level you want to take it, you can consider encrypting individual files.
To read Ron’s reponse in its entirety, please click here.
