Boot Controller V1.0 - By D.Piper 1994 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **************************************************************************** * DISCLAIMER * * * * Neither I Derek Piper or whoever supplies this program can take any * * responsibility for any damage caused whether caused by this program or * * errors in this documentation. If anything untoward should happen then the* * user can seek no recourse against myself, Derek Piper or the supplier of * * this software. * * * **************************************************************************** Phew, :-) Features of Boot Controller V1.0 * Case-Sensitive Password up to 20 Characters. * Ability to Write-Protect hard drive partitions. * Hard Drive Boot locking on/off. * Optional Timeout setting for uninterrupted booting. * Invisible password entry for extra security. * 12 / 24 Hour clock and written or number date styles. * 1.3, (2.0 ?) & 3.0 Compatible Plus * Password and data encryption so good that your password and options cannot be decoded by hacking the configuration file !! For registered users * System Vector Checking (CoolCapture,ColdCapture etc.) * Optional display of last alert (Guru) for debugging purposes. * Generation of 'Failed Attempts' log file with time and date. First of all if you don't have a hard drive then stop reading, after all who the hell only wants to protect only one floppy of information ? Sorry but it just ain't worth it guys !! This program should be compatible with 2.0 it's just that I don't know so as nobody I know has a 2.0 machine. I myself have an 1.3 A500 and a 3.0 A1200 120Mb HD. Installation ~~~~~~~~~~~~ To install BootController put it in your C: directory under a name like BPatch, Extra_Dir or something that helps disguise it in your startup. The filesize gives it away in the C: dir anyway ! For proper usage the first few lines should look like this : If Not Exists Ram:T - The Ram: disk is needed as MakeDir Ram:T workspace so set it up like this. Assign T: Ram:T EndIf C:SetClock Load - Get the current time. C:BPatch - Or whatever you want to call the Boot Controller program. ........... - The next lines will only be reached if the user makes it through the program. This assumes that you are booting from DH0: only and C: and S: are available. You should have no problems getting it to work. If you do not know what partitions and directories are then you probably don't need this program anyway. Introduction ~~~~~~~~~~~~ I wrote this program as an attempt to produce a useful and usable startup protection program for myself. I experimented with passwords and encryption and as I added features I realised "Hey, this isn't too bad" and so I decided to smarten up the program and add more features. As you can see this program has quite a lot of features which I will go through in a minute. First of all I have to say that although this program is very difficult to break, it is possible to remove the protection it provides without too much hassle (if you know what you are doing) but it keeps prying eyes from accessing your data too easily. If you use it you are advised to lock away all bootable disks as they can provide a means of getting into your system. Well , with all that over with I will tell you what this program CAN do. The password allows you to change preference settings (explained shortly) and to change the password itself. The password is a code with NO spaces or punctuation in it that can be up to 20 characters in length (although I recommend about 8 characters for ease of typing !!). This password controls access to the preferences, the system locking toggle and the change password items. When the system is 'Locked' the password will have to be input before the program will let you carry on booting. If you do not know the password the only way to exit is to reset. The change password option is self explanatory (I hope !). The preferences are explained below. Preferences ~~~~~~~~~~~ The different options that were highlighted above can be altered with the preferences mode. The program will allow you to go through the preferences with the left and right arrow keys and change the flags from true to false as required. Some options when 'True' is chosen will ask for more information. This is very self explanatory and is better found by user experimentation. As to the effects of the options they are explained below. Option 1 : Invisible password entry True : When entering a password or changing to a new one the text cannot be read even though it can be edited. False : Password is visible while editing. Option 2 : Write protect hard drive partitions The write protection of partitions relies on you calling them DH0:, DH1: etc. in the standard manner. Obviously this is only the Device name so the Volume name can be whatever you like. You can change the device names with HDToolBox. True : Partitions (up to the maximum available) will be write protected with the current system password. False : Partitions will be left write-enabled. The number of partitions is remembered though. Option 3 : Use 12 Hour clock display True : The clock display will be in 12 Hour mode. False : The clock display will be in 24 Hour mode. Option 4 : Use written date format (DD MMM YYYY) True : The date will be in written form eg. 23rd Jul 1994 etc. False : The date will be in number form eg. 23 / 07 / 94 etc. Option 5 : Use Timeout when unlocked True : The timeout setting (which can be changed from here) will be used when the system is unlocked and the program will choose 'Boot from HD' after the set number of seconds. False : The timeout will not be used but the number of seconds will be retained. Option 6 : Enable System Vector checking (Registered versions only) True : The vectors CoolCapture, ColdCapture, WarmCapture, KickMemPtr, KickTagPtr and KickCheckSum will be monitored for change from the standard $00000000. The program can be made to accept the change after alerting you. False : The vector checking is turned off. Option 7 : Display Last Alert (Registered versions only) True : The last alert (Guru Meditation) will be shown in the normal format. ie. (32 Bit Index).(Address) False : The alert display is not shown. Option 8 : Use 'Failed Attempts' log file (Registered versions only) True : Whenever an incorrect password is entered then the time and date as well as the password itself will be added to the log file. False : Turns off the password log for failed attempts but does not erase the file. Well done if you're still reading !, but the amount of features I put in is quite large (but may increase if I have good input from users). The rest of the program should be straightforward enough but remember the only way to quit is to choose BootHD (after all that's where it will be used, right ?) The other 'option' is to choose 'Boot from disk' even though all it tells you to do is put a disk in and reset. You will be assured though that the hard disk will not be accessed at this point so it is safe to reset here. This was only included to make booting from floppies easier when the hard drive boots automatically as you do not have to 'beat the drive' at the start to get a disk in. See the Destroy_Me.txt for information on the default password and options. If the configuration file is damaged then the password maybe altered unexpectedly so if you think tampering might occur then set the write protection on your DH0: partition at least to prevent anyone changing the file. The program can sometimes detect whether the file is damaged or not and will use the defaults and re-write the old file. As for compatibility with other machines I can only say that it works on my A1200 but I can't check it fully on my A500 (KS 1.3) as it does not have a hard drive but it seems to load OK. Under 3.0 (I don't know about 2.0) the AmigaDOS window does not pop up straight away and this means that the Startup-Sequence cannot be halted straight away by holding Ctrl-D like it can under 1.2/1.3 so the program is more secure under the later revisions of the operating system I think. Also the default Topaz 8 font is a nicer sanserif font under 3.0 rather than the old 1.3 serif version. Right, that's it I think so if you have any other problems don't hesitate to contact me. (SAE will ensure reply). If you like and use this program on your system then send £5 and an SAE to me and you will receive the registered version. The registered version (If you had not noticed has three other (very useful) options and of course has no 'Unregistered' statement at the front. If you supply the default password you require I will encode a unique version for you. :-) If you have any ideas as to features or (constructive) criticism then don't hesitate to get in touch ! For any bug reports X-( or registrations :-) send to : Derek Piper, 63 Hadley Rd., New Barnet, Herts EN5 5QU **************************************************************************** * SHAREWARE * * * * This unregistered version cannot be used after April 1995 and has had * * 3 features removed because I have had such a poor response from previous * * programs that I am forced to cripple this version to try and encourage * * users to support the ShareWare scheme. It's a shame that it is necessary * * to do so. * * * **************************************************************************** PS : If anyone can retrieve the password from the BC.Conf file please let me know what miracle you performed !!