Quote Originally Posted by shirteesdotnet View Post
Well, one thing I was concerned about regarding security (and Id consider myself an average computer user, but doing some photoshop and html too) was how simple it is to crack XP's logon password. I saw some video on the web how people burned a livecd to bypass the XP logon. Nifty stuff, yet I read a few weeks ago in the forums here (dont remember where) how people can just do a few lines in the terminal to bypass a linux password.

I have people I work with I dont trust and for all I know they have keyloggers on all the other computers in the business. I wouldnt put it passed them. No that I have linux I feel secure again, but once they get into linux themselves and start messing around, or just doing some random searches on google... they are going to (sooner or later) find how how to type a few things in the terminal and once again they can get back into my system.

What can I do?
Use the alt install CD stick a blank usb flash drive in and install an encrypted partition onto the hard drive and put the /boot onto the usb flash drive. This assuming the computer you're installing on will boot from usb. Use a strong passphrase and check the computer for hardware keyloggers before you boot it and you should be decently safe

I have the same type of setup on my laptop. I of course have backups of the usb boot stick.