3.9. Require Ctrl+Alt+Delete Before Logging On

You can configure Windows 7 to require users to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete before they can log on to your computer. This prevents a malicious program activated at startup from capturing your password.

Protecting your Windows 7 user account with a password (as described earlier in this chapter), though an excellent idea, is not foolproof. Hackers are an endlessly resourceful bunch, and some of the smarter ones figured out a way to defeat the user account password system. The trick is that they install a virus or Trojan horse program — usually via an infected e-mail message or malicious Web site — that loads itself when you start your computer. This program then displays a fake version of the Windows ...

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