Night Owl 6/Night Owl's Shareware - PDSI-006 - Night Owl Corp (1990).iso/011a/ddlk13.zip/MANUAL.TXT

Text File | 1992-01-20 | 19KB | 404 lines

                         DD_Lock ver1.3
                         Copyright 1992
                           David Davis


                          Introduction

     DD_Lock is a program that locks the computer keyboard and
blanks the screen to provide security for the computer.  It will
activate after a adjustable number of minutes or if a hot-key is
pressed.  Once the keyboard is locked, either the password or the
master password must be typed to make the keyboard functional
again.  If desired, DD_Lock can blank the screen after a shorter
interval than that selected for keyboard locking.  In this case,
any key will restore the screen.
     DD_Lock is being distributed as a shareware product.  Any
use of this program, beyond testing and evaluation, requires that
the program be registered.  Testing should not take more than a
few minutes, but periods up to a week are allowable.  Complete
information on how to register this program is located at the end
of this document.
     As with any program, we can not guarantee that DD_Lock will
not some day, some time, some where, with some combination of
software, cause some one to lose valuable data or worse.  We know
of no such problems but USE DD_LOCK AT YOUR OWN RISK.  We can not
be held responsible for such problems.


                           Quick Start

     For those people who never can never read the whole manual,
here are the minimum instructions for operating DD_Lock.  Reading
the whole manual is, however, highly recommended.

1)   Make sure DD_LOCK.COM is in the current directory.

2)   Run LOCK_CFG.COM, this is the configuration program.  The
     password and the master password should be modified at this
     time.

3)   Now run DD_LOCK.COM and your computer is secure. (Running
     "DD_lock L" will cause the computer to start out in a locked
     state.)


                             Purpose

     Personal computers have revolutionized the office by
allowing large amounts of data to be available at a few key
strokes.  Unfortunately, that same data is also available to
somebody wandering by and finding your computer unattended.  This
poses two threats.  One, they could see confidential information
and two, they could alter records.  DD_Lock is designed to
minimize the chance of these events happening.
     One hundred percent computer security is currently (and
probably always will be) an unattainable goal.  One could argue
that removable hard drives and other hardware gadgets come close.
Unfortunately all of these items are expensive, time consuming
and provide no protection for all situations.  For example,
sometimes the user "will just be gone a second" from the
keyboard.  That "second" can often stretch to minutes and then
hours before you get back to the unprotected computer.  No
computer security system can thwart a knowledgeable and
determined hacker.  Fortunately, such hackers are extremely rare.
DD_Lock was designed as a compromise between user-friendliness,
software compatibility and data security.

     DD_Lock is an inexpensive software solution to computer data
security problems.  DD_Lock performs two functions, it blanks the
screen and it locks the keyboard.  Technically speaking, it
effectively locks the keyboard by preventing keystrokes from
being processed by the computer.  To unlock the keyboard all that
is required is that you type in a password and hit the "Enter"
key.  DD_lock is designed to activate either after a programmable
length of time has passed without any keys being pressed, or
immediately if the proper hot-key combination is pressed.
     Ideally, anytime the computer operator leaves the computer
he should hit the hot-key and secure the computer.  If someone is
approaching who should not see your sensitive data, then the hot-
key can also be used to quickly blank the screen.  In the case
where the computer operator forgets to hit the hot-key, or gets
sidetracked and leaves sensitive data displayed, DD_lock will
automatically blank the screen and lock the keyboard to safeguard
your data.

                   Installation/Configuration

     Five items may be configured in DD_Lock; 2 passwords, 2
timers, and the hot-key.  All of these are set by running the
"LOCK_CFG.COM" program.  Before running LOCK_CFG.COM make sure
that the "DD_LOCK.COM" program is in the current directory.
LOCK_CFG.COM does not need be in the current directory.
     Upon running "LOCK_CFG.COM", you will first be asked for a
password.  If this is the original installation or if you have
not yet defined a master password, then all you need do is press
the <enter> key.  Otherwise type in either the current password
or the current master password.  If you wish to change the master
password, then you must type in the master password when
beginning the configuration program.  Once a password is typed
in, you will be given a list of options like these:

     1) Time in minutes before screen blanks: 05
     2) Time in minutes before keyboard locks: 10
     3) Hot key combination to lock keyboard and blank screen
        immediately is: CTRL+ALT+Z
     4) Password to unlock keyboard: ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
     5) Master Password to unlock keyboard: ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
     6) Save changes and quit.
     7) Abandon changes and quit.


To choose an option, type the number that appears before each
description.




     1) Time in minutes before screen blanks: 05

     Choose option "1" to set the duration of keyboard inactivity
that you wish to cause the screen to blank.  The shorter the time
selected the less likely the chance of leaving sensitive data on
an unattended computer.  Set the time to zero minutes if you do
not wish do have the screen blank.  This is handy for running
presentations or demos where no keys are pressed for long periods
of time, yet the screen is still being viewed.  The ideal setting
will vary with the individual and the software they are using.



     2) Time in minutes before keyboard locks: 10

     Option "2" is used to tell DD_Lock how long to wait, if no
key is pressed, before locking the keyboard.  Setting the
keyboard to lock only after long periods of time, or disabling
keyboard locking all together, decreases DD_Lock's effectiveness
at preventing unauthorized computer activity.  The ideal setting
will vary with the individual and the software they are using.
     Note: In standard text modes, DD_Lock will place a message
on the screen if a key is pressed while the keyboard is locked.
This message will only appear if the screen is already been
blanked by DD_Lock.  Thus if screen blanking has been disabled or
set to a time longer than the setting for the keyboard to lock,
then the computer operator will have no indication of when the
keyboard is locked (other, of course, than that his keystrokes
have no effect, and that typing the password corrects the
problem)


     3) Hot key combination to lock keyboard and blank screen
        immediately is: CTRL+ALT+Z

     The default hot key to lock the keyboard and blank the
screen is to hold down the <Control> and the <ALT> keys, then,
while still pressing the first two, press the "Z".  If this
keystroke combination is already being used, or if you simply
would prefer to use a different one, you may do so.  Valid hot
keys are formed by holding some/none/all of the following keys
{<CTRL>, <ALT>, <LEFT SHIFT>, <RIGHT SHIFT>} and then pressing
any other key.  While any other key will work, we recommend using
the standard typewriter keys (A-Z) or function keys (<F1>-<F12>).
The arrow keys, insert, delete, print screen, etc... keys can be
used but are much more likely to cause conflicts with existing
software.  Also we recommend avoiding using the numbers on the
numeric keypad (using the number keys above the letters work
fine) as they act unpredictable especially when used with <ALT>.
The <F11> and <F12> keys are seldom used by most software and
therefore make good one-key hot keys to allow DD_Lock to activate
quickly.



     4) Password to unlock keyboard: ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

     Passwords for DD_Lock consist of up to twenty keystrokes
with the last key being <ENTER>.  Keystrokes can consist of any
key on your keyboard.  This means that the backspace key counts
as a keystroke, not as a correction key, and if it is part of
your password it must be typed each time same as any other key.
We recommend sticking to the standard typewriter keys (A-Z) as
they can be typed quickly, are easily remembered, and avoid the
possibility of software incompatibilities.
     The reason we feel it important that you be able to type
your password quickly is that sooner or later someone will be
watching you as type in your password.  Some other suggestions
regarding passwords;
     Longer passwords are better than short ones.
     Avoid using names of family members, birthdays or nicknames.
     Don't write down your password.
     If you must write it down, don't write it on anything near
     the computer.
     Use two or more short unrelated words and type them without
     the spaces.

     IMPORTANT: PASSWORDS ARE CASE SENSITIVE.  This means that
upper case and lower case letters are different; i.e. "password"
and "Password" are different passwords, because the latter starts
with a capital "P".



     5) Master Password to unlock keyboard: ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

     Everything said above regarding passwords applies also to
the master password.  Master passwords are intended to be used by
supervisors, technicians, or other people who need to have access
to several computers while still allowing each computer to retain
an individual password.  Knowing the master password allows both
passwords to be changed.  The master password can only be changed
if the operator knows the previous master password.



     6) Save changes and quit.

     Once you have made your desired changes and wish to make
them permanent, choose this option.  If there is currently a copy
of DD_Lock running on the computer, the configuration program
will attempt to locate it and adapt it as well.  If a currently
memory resident version of DD_Lock is found you will be notified
that it was found and updated.  If no resident version is found
you will also be informed of that.  If you know that DD_Lock is
running on the computer but the configure program fails to find
and update it, then you should reboot the computer to make the
changes active.  We have never had the configuration program fail
to find a memory resident version of DD_Lock, however, with the
wide variety of memory managing software on the market it may
happen.




     7) Abandon changes and quit.

     If you decide you do not wish to change the configuration of
DD_Lock, then you should choose this option.  This will leave
DD_Lock configured in the same manner as before "LOCK_CFG.COM"
was run.


                          Graphic Modes

     This version of DD_Lock is not designed to support graphics
modes other than standard text modes and VGA.  Most businesses
and business applications use either the standard text modes or
use the high quality graphics that VGA offers.  By not supporting
some lesser used CGA, EGA and Hercules hardware systems, we were
able to create a smaller, faster keyboard locking program.  If
you find that you do use an application that runs in a graphics
mode/hardware combination DD_Lock does not support, you can do
one of the following:

          Disable or set to a longer time the screen blanking
     option.  This avoids the problem by never asking DD_Lock to
     blank or restore the graphics screen.  Screen blanking can
     then be re-enabled when finished running that application.

                               or

          Run DD_Lock as normal.  While DD_Lock does not support
     all possible graphic mode/hardware combinations, the worst
     that will normally happen is that DD_Lock will fail to
     restore or blank your screen properly.  The application and
     the data it holds should not be affected in any way.  If you
     are familiar with the application you were running it is
     often simple to have the application restore the screen.
     Changing screens, paging up/down, and redraw options all
     will probably work.

                         Starting Locked

     DD_Lock can be run such that upon running, your computer
starts out with the keyboard locked.  To do this, at the command
line type "DD_Lock.com L".  While this may sometime come in handy
the real reason for the option was so that it could be employed
when the computer boots.

d:\path\DD_Lock.com L

     By placing the above line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file (where
"d"  and "path" are the drive and path DD_Lock is located at)
your computer will start locked.  This greatly enhances your
computers security as otherwise anyone can evade DD_Lock by re-
booting your computer.  If you have DOS 4.0 or higher, use the
following line in your CONFIG.SYS file as it provides greater
security than installing DD_Lock via AUTOEXEC.BAT.

                  Install=d:\path\DD_Lock.com L

     Regardless how "DD_Lock L" is loaded into your computer,
DD_Lock will immediately lock the keyboard but is will not blank
the screen.  The screen is not blanked so that boot information
may be viewed prior to unlocking the computer with the password.
DD_Lock will, however, blank the screen except for a message
saying the keyboard is locked, upon the user pressing any key.
Note: Some keyboard utilities (usually keyboard speed-up
utilities, or keyboard macro utilities) have the keyboard send a
key as if one was pressed, if one of these programs is in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS, then DD_Lock will respond as if the
key were pressed.  In other words, DD_Lock will restore the
screen that was present when the first "key was pressed",
regardless of whether that key was pressed by a human hand or
some program.


             Screen Blanking and Screen Restoration

     DD_Lock will blank the screen, however that does not
guarantee that it will stay blank.  DD_Lock was designed to allow
your computer to continue running its programs even if the screen
is blanked and keyboard is locked.  Some programs, particularly
clock programs, write to the screen constantly.  If you are
running one of these programs do not be surprised if your "blank"
screen has something on it.  This should not cause any problems,
but when DD_Lock restores the screen, it restores it to the
screen that it blanked.  Anything your program outputs to the
screen while the screen is being kept blank, may be lost.
     The exception to this is if you are using an application
that does not run in a standard text mode and you have a VGA card
in your computer.  In this case, when active, DD_Lock will keep
the screen perfectly blank until it restores the screen, and then
it will update the screen to include any changes made while it
was "blank".  While this allows large, complicated, processor
intensive applications to preserve their screen output, it
disables the ability to place the "Computer Locked" message on
screen where it would otherwise be able to.


                     Customizing and Support

     User-friendliness versus functionality is only one of the
tradeoffs being balanced in this program.  We are proud of this
program and believe it to be the best balance of size, speed and
power for most users.  You or your company, may however, have
special needs.  Particular software/hardware requirements,
additional password levels, added security measures, all might
make DD_Lock a better program for your circumstances.  At D.C.D.
Computing, we specialize in custom software.  Small changes in
one of our existing programs are easily accomplished, and if it
is a common request, there would be little or no additional cost.
We also can write completely original programs in virtually all
computing fields.  Contact us for more details.  Furthermore, if
you have any trouble, questions or suggestions about any of our
products, please feel free to contact us.
     We can be reached by mail, phone, fax, or modem.  Our
address is:
             DCD Computing
             2974 S. Country Club Way
             Tempe, AZ 85282

Our phone number is [phone].  To send the a fax, dial that
same number [phone].  Once our switchboard has answered,
dial extension 22 and send your fax.  For modem communications,
call our BBS.  Dial our number [phone], and dial extension
33 once our switchboard has answered.  You can have your modem
dial our number by telling it to dial 1-602-897-8653,,,,,,,33.
The commas before the 33 tell your modem to pause.  The number of
commas may need to be adjusted to insure the pause was long
enough for our switchboard to answer.
                       Order Information


     To register DD_Lock, send a check to DCD Computing for
$17.50 per computer DD_Lock will be used on.  Discounts are
available for quantity purchases.  Please contact us for details.
     For your (and our) convenience, just fill in this page and
send it with your check.



     Your Name:_________________________________________________
  Company Name:_________________________________________________
Street Address:_________________________________________________
   City, State:_________________________________________________
      Zip Code:___________________________

Type of Computer(s): ___________________________________________
Graphics Adapter(s): ___________________________________________
    Size Disks Used: _____________________________


  _____   Please send me information on other products by DCD
          Computing.

  _____   Please send me only information concerning updates to
          DD_Lock.

  _____   Please save the our forests by not sending me any
          information that isn't going to be read anyway.


Number of computers your company has  ___________
                                        x $17.50
                                   ==============
                            Total due ___________

Note: If in Arizona, please include an additional 6.7% for sales
tax.

Please send to:  DCD Computing
                 2974 S. Country Club Way
                 Tempe, Az  85282