[TheZee]

Does anyone have an opinion on the usage of Open Firmware Password Protection ??? I have been utiliing it for awhile now but recently, people have advised me not to use it because of the difficulty of getting rid of it. Is it problematic to use ??? Are there other options that I can employ to achieve similar levels of security ??? I use a G3 iBook running OSX 10.2.8 Jaguar.

[CharlesS]

It's not difficult at all to get rid of it. You just turn it off the same way you turned it on. There's no way to get a similar level of security through any other method, and it's not problematic to use. Don't worry about it.

[TheZee]

Thanks for that vote of confidence and reassurance. Like I said, I have been utilizing Open Firmware Password Protection for awhile now and have been very satisfied with it. It wasn't until recently when certain keys on my keyboard got zapped and refused to work that the the issue of whether or not I should continue using Open Firmware. One of the letter keys that I needed in order to input my password became inoperable. Which, in turn, made it impossible for me to access my Mac. I then began hearing from others that situations like these exhibit how difficult it is for the administrator of a Mac to bypass the Open Firmware should the need arise. I agree with your assessment of the usefullness of this method of securty and until Apple comes up with something comparable, I intend on continuing my usage of it. Thanks for your shared knowledge. Peace out . . .

[CharlesS]

Originally Posted by TheZee

Thanks for that vote of confidence and reassurance. Like I said, I have been utilizing Open Firmware Password Protection for awhile now and have been very satisfied with it. It wasn't until recently when certain keys on my keyboard got zapped and refused to work that the the issue of whether or not I should continue using Open Firmware. One of the letter keys that I needed in order to input my password became inoperable. Which, in turn, made it impossible for me to access my Mac. I then began hearing from others that situations like these exhibit how difficult it is for the administrator of a Mac to bypass the Open Firmware should the need arise. I agree with your assessment of the usefullness of this method of securty and until Apple comes up with something comparable, I intend on continuing my usage of it. Thanks for your shared knowledge. Peace out . . .

Heh, I guess a bad keyboard is one thing that could make it hard to disable the OF password. But that's easy to get around - just plug in a working USB keyboard and go to town.

There are, of course, ways to get around the OF password completely by removing the battery and changing the RAM, but that wouldn't be necessary except in really extreme cases.