BIOS Backdoors: Bypassing PC Passwords

What do ALLY, AWKWARD, and SKY_FOX have in common? They're all backdoor passwords that might unlock your computer's BIOS should you be unfortunate enough to have forgotten it.

The BIOS password is often considered the most reliable way to lockdown your computer. BIOS is embedded in your motherboard, so it doesn't rely on Windows or any other third-party software to secure the system. If you set a BIOS password (and every computer lets you do this), you'll have to enter it in or it simply won't boot. Never mind Windows utilities to recover the password. You can't run any software at all on a BIOS-locked PC.

This is dandy, but what if you forget the password, as people are often wont to do? The old advice used to be that you'd have to send it back to the manufacturer or remove the hard drive and install it on another computer to recover your data (though some computers can lock out this method, too). Fortunately, there now seem to be some options that are worth a try before you resort to those measures.

This handy website not only provides a lengthy list of backdoor and default BIOS passwords, separated by motherboard manufacturer, it also offers two additional tips to reset the BIOS password, in case those don't work.

The additional tips? Your motherboard might feature a dip switch or jumper to reset the password. Open up your machine and hunt around for the jumper labeled CLEAR or PWD (for example). You might also try removing the CMOS battery (looks like a quarter), which could erase the BIOS settings, including the password.

The tips work best with older PCs, but if you're in a real bind, they're all worth a shot.