Howto.txt       SAFEPC VER 3.0 INSTRUCTION MANUAL     
       
               All rights under copyright reserved 

A QUICK OVERVIEW

SafePC 3.0 is the ultimate of all SafePCs and a bullet-proof password
protection utility for your system relative to any software. It is bound
to reshape your thinking of a typical Shareware quality.

Major improvement in this version is that users(intruders) will not be able
 to stop it from executing even if they break the autoexec.bat. The program
 will load itself as a TSR even BEFORE autoexec.bat is started, or any other
 TSR (if any) are loaded, then it will keep on intercepting Ctrl-C's and
 Ctrl-Breaks completely until a correct password is entered. The wonderful
 thing about this version is that it will NOT stay TSR (so there is no
 fight for space in memory with other TSRs). As soon as a correct password
 is entered, SafePC will unload itself from memory and Ctrl-Cs and Breaks
 will work as usual from that point onward.

In addition, SafePC 3.0 comes with a sophisticated installer that will
 auto-detect your operating system version and install accordingly. 
 The installer takes away all the pain some of you have experienced with
 installing complex software with mutiple files and configurations. 
 The installer create the directory if it needs to, update your config.sys
 file with parameters that match the DOS version you will be using, checks
 for redundant statements (very useful when you install more than once)...
 and more. All these are automatic, you need not ask a series of questions,
 just type INSTALL and see it take off. But before you do that, it is 
 important to read the manual thoroughly since few changes have been made.

SafePC 3.0 also is packaged with a utility that will safely and seamlessly
 uninstall any older version of SafePC you might have installed. You need
 not tell it, installer is smart enough to detect them and will delete the
 old installed directories completely without leaving debris around. It
 will also check for parameters that older SafePC have had installed in
 autoexec.bat and/or config.sys. For you there is no need to know where the
 old files are located let the utility handle it, and you run this utility
 whenver you wish. (more on this later)

SafePC 3.0 also allows you to display messages of your choice after you
 log on successfully and after an intruder is intercepted. These text
 messages are set in the PREF.INI file. If no messages are specified, or
 PREF.INI is missing, the default built-in message will still be intact; that
 is, when you log on you get "Welcome!" and when intruder is blocked off
 (s)he gets "INTRUDER INTERCEPT!" message (in addition to color and other
 graphic attributes, of course).

WHAT IS SAFEPC?

SafePC allows you to control access to your computer by providing you with
password protection round-the-clock. There is no need to manually run any
program to have this protection, all you do is turn on the computer and it 
will allow access only to you (or someone designated by you) and lock every 
one else out from your computer. 
This program is so easy to administer, virtually anyone can use it..Yet so
robust! 
Without requiring you to purchase fancy hardware, SafePC boldly continues to
protect your investment(s) from possible abuse or accidents on your software
and hardware. If your system is stolen, now you know how to prove your
ownership!!

Due to great demand of such a protection program, SafePC has come to your
protection in 3 versions in the past year. This version 3.0 is the best ever!
With constant support and suggestions from honest registered users like you,
I have been able to tailor this excellent software. I hope you continue to 
use it at office,home, or schools.
 
Before you forget, please register to get undocumented tricks,
(including how to prevent booting from floppy!), technical assistance, and
more savings in the future. This is NOT Freeware, but rather Shareware. And 
according to its terms, you must register a quality program such as this.

For registered users of SafePC 1.0, SafePC 2.0, and SafePC 2.1, the registra-
tion and legalization is just US $3 (I owe to my valued clients). 
For all others it is US $10.

At any rate, you are bound to find this program a steal and a gem. Just think
for a moment how much this few dollars is protecting for you.

SafePC 3.0, maintaining its tradition, abstains from altering your hardware 
and ROM setup--so you will be glad to know that this solid-protection is fully 
software driven.

In general SafePC 3.0 boasts the following features: 

         Easy and sophisticated installer.

         A professional looking user-interface. (You will have to almost
          remind yourself this is Shareware!)
        
         Greatly improved error-detection and critical-handling with complete
          interception of Ctrl-breaks even during boot up process.
        
         A new and clever method to store your password making it impossible 
          for anyone to sneak in even after you are logged on.
        
         Auto-detection of your operating system.

         Automatic update of your system files and rebooting.

         Auto-detection of your graphic card installed.
        
         Auto-detection of older version of SafePC. And installs accordingly.

         Removes (at your will) cleanly all older versions of SafePC (if
          installed) without fragments.
        
         Personalize your SafePC 3.0 with PREF.INI settings. For the first
          time in password protection, you can set what message will be 
          displayed to the user in two events: When user is successfully
          logged on, and When user attempted wrong password to get in.

         VGA animation. If VGA monitor is not installed, SafePC will safely 
          continue with Text-mode animation without aborting.
        
         A LOG MANAGER that keeps track of time, day-of-the-week, year, month
          and every UNsuccessful attempts to log on to your computer.
          For your safety reasons, correct passwords CANNOT be viewed by the
          log manager.
        
         Dynamic calculation of the size of the log file (as it'll grow over
          time) and it will remind you of its exact size--and provide you a 
          menu from where you can delete the file or print a report.
        
         Improved and a safer program to change your existing password in 
          the future.
        
         Free utilities and great flexibility provided to the owners.
          More on this will be revealed once you register.

         Bottom line:This software is optimal for people who are serious
            about protecting the integrity of their investment from 
                       skilled intruders and hackers.
           
                       



INSTALLING SAFEPC 3.0

Even though you are anxious to get on with installation, please take a few 
moments to read this manual to avoid unsightful errors.

No matter where you have placed your Safepc3.exe file, your installation
procedure will be just one. Safepc3.exe is a self-extracting file that
had been zipped using PKZIP (r) from PKWARE. So, you do not need not have
any unzipping program to install. Just type SAFEPC3 in whatever directory
you have downloaded it into. The program will expand itself and you will
see over 20 files unzipped before you. Do not worry about what they are for,
I will explain what you need to know to fully exploit Safepc3's potential.
Once the files are unzipped, you will get a file named INSTALL.exe in that
directory (MAKE SURE THERE IS NO MORE THAN 1 INSTALL.EXE IN THE DIRECTORY
IF YOU HAVE DOWNLOADED, IF THERE ARE 2 OR MORE FILES WITH THE NAME INSTALL.EXE
YOUR SYSTEM MAY HALT NOT KNOWING WHICH INSTALL.EXE YOU MEAN TO RUN!).

Typing INSTALL will start the installation process. However, for efficient
use of your time, you should print out this text file HOWTO.TXT since it
contains valuable information. When you start installation, you will be 
asked to enter a PIN (this pin appears in this document. This is done just
to make sure that you have really read the document). If the pin you enter
is incorrect, installer will display this manual with an option to print.
Before you print, make sure the printer is connected, and printer paper is
loaded. If you have difficulty printing at that point, don't worry, you can
print it out using any editor (MS DOS editor is good enough).

The installer also allows you to abort installation but it is not advisable 
to abort it, since at a later time, you may inadvertently dislocate some of
the program files and installer will not be complete.  

INSTALL will first check your DOS version. SafePC 3.0 requires DOS5.0 or 
above. If any older version of DOS is installed, SafePC 3.0 will safely
abort telling you why it ended. Users of older DOS versions are advised to 
upgrade in order to use many of the resources that today's programs need.
After version check is passed, INSTALL will check if you have a directory
named c:\SAFEPC3. If you don't it will be created. All program files will
be moved from whatever directory you ran install program from, to this
c:\safepc3 directory one-by-one. You will be happy to know that no debris or
duplicate will be left in the other directory. Install will also update your
config.sys file, but before doing do, it will save your original as config.$$$
It will also check your DOS version a second time to see if you have 6.x or
lower (5.x). To prevent users from bypassing config.sys in DOS6.x, Safepc3
will install "SWITCHES=/N/F" in the config.sys that instructs DOS6.x not to
bypass autoexec.bat or config.sys during bootup.  This should be the first
line of your config.sys if you are a DOS6.x user.

This does apply to DOS 5.x users, so the installer will not insert this line 
if DOS version is below DOS6.x (since users cannot bypass config.sys in DOS5.x 
anyway.

Regardless of the DOS version, the installer will insert a line 
"INSTALL=C:\SAFEPC3\pwd3.exe" as the first line of your config.sys to load
itself as a TSR. 

Installer also checks redundancy therefore if you run installer twice (for
some reason!), it will first check if the above lines are already there. If
not, only then will it insert them. That way, you need not worry about side-
effects resulting from redundancy.

All these (and few other detections) are accomplished by installer very
quickly and automatically so you need not do anything other than type
install and watch it unfold.

After installation is completed successfully, you will be taken to c:\safepc3
directory and asked to confirm reboot. Reboot (i.e. restarting your computer)
will be done through the installer (you need not manually power off the switch
unless an error occurs). Rebooting is necessary because the new config.sys
and autoexec.bat need to be updated. 


WHAT HAPPENS AFTER REBOOT?
Immediately after computer restarts, you should see the introduction of
SafePC3.0 with a dialog box asking you to record a password. (If you have
already older versions of SafePC, you still need to record a password, since
the older password will not be enforced by SafePC3.0. This is done for few
security reasons). In the empty dialog box, type in a 6 char long password
that you know you can remember (write your choice of password on paper and 
keep it in a safe place to avoid confusion). The valid characters that will
be accepted as a password are explained below in section CHOOSING YOUR
PASSWORD. Do NOT record a new password unless you have read that section.
Once a password is recorded, you will asked to retype the same selected 
password for double verification (only the first time). Then it will be
permanently stored. If you wish to change it, see section WHAT'S IN SAFEPC3.0
below (see file description for CHNG3.exe).

A SPECIAL NOTE TO CURRENT USERS OF SAFEPC2.0/2.1/1.0:

If you have installed an older version of SafePC, your autoexec.bat will
contain a line "c:\safepc2\pwd.exe" or "c:\safepc\password.exe" depending
on the version installed. If that is the case, you must read this section,
otherwise, skip it. If your autoexec.bat contains any of the above lines,
your computer will execute them as well. However since Safepc3.0 is resident
in memory before autoexec.bat is even processed, you will see the SafePC 3.0
dialog box first on screen after reboot following 3.0 installation. This is
not a crisis, but yet you some could wonder hence the explanation. If this is
the case, record a new password for Safepc3.0, and your system will then
process autoexec.bat. And autoexec.bat will start the older version of 
SafePC that you have installed. Simply log on to them as you always do, the
password for the older version is still intact...so need to worry. 
You should also read carefully the section titled UNINSTALLING AN OLD SAFEPC
below.
                        


WHAT'S IN SAFEPC 3.0

All files included are vital for running this program. You should under no
circumstance attempt to isolate them from where they are installed.
You will find about 20 files under C:\SAFEPC3. However, you need to 
know of just a few executable files.


RIDOLD.exe:This program is designed to cleanly remove old versions of SafePC
 ======     installed in your system. It will detect 1.0 and 2.0 with or 
            without 2.1 and remove their complete directories. It will also
            check your autoexec.bat and config.sys and remove lines that
            were inserted by older versions of Safepc. If you do not have
            any older version installed, you need not run this program 
            (although running it won't harm anything).
            You should run this program only when you are sure that your
            new program is installed properly and executed fine.

           This program is meant to be run manually whenever you wish. 
            To remove an old version or more than one old version, simply
            goto c:\safepc3 directory and type RIDOLD and hit enter. 
            You can safely abort this process by pressing Esc when asked.
            
 PREF.INI :This is a text file that holds some of your preferences for 
  =====     SafePC 3.0. By default, SafePC 3.0 will display "Welcome" in 
            VGA font and color on the top of the animating opening door when
            you log on successfully. You can change it, by putting the text
            you want to display (at that event) in this .INI file. 
            Also, when an intruder is intercepted, the default message that
            appear on display is "INTRUDER INTERCEPT" (with some ANSII 
            graphics). You can also set your text to display (for that event)
            in this .INI file.

            To be able to set your preferences, you should first know two 
            commands: [ONSUCCESS] and [ONFAILURE].
            These are events and the first one refers to the welcome
            message and the second one refers to the intruder intercept 
            event. These commands should be included in brackets [ and ]
            and spelled exactly as they are above. They appear on a line on
            its own..but it doesn't matter which appears first. You can
            have [ONFAILURE] first and then on the second line, you can
            have [ONSUCCESS]. The text you want to display for that event
            is typed on the same line with a space between the command and
            the text. For example, to display "Good Morning, Bob!" for the
            onsuccess event, simply type this line in PREF.INI :
            [ONSUCCESS] Good Morning, Bob!
            Note that there's no need to enclose text within ""s. Same applies
            for onfailure event. Uses of this feature is proportional to your
            imagination, conservative users would like to display some infor-
            mative messages, while a 'liberal' users would..who knows what!
            There is some limitation to this, though. The text for [ONSUCCESS]
            should not be more than 20 characters (if longer, only first 20
            characters will be shown)..this is to ensure that the text in VGA
            large fonts appear in its entirety. On the other hand, text for 
            onfailure event can be upto 43 characters (Reason for this liberty
            is because onfailure event message is not a VGA font and is 
            smaller in size as well).
            A sample PREF.INI is provided to guide you. You can delete this
            file, if you like, then the built-in default messages will prevail
            You can also create it (after deletion) simply by typing:
            EDIT PREF.INI (make sure you place it in C:\safepc3) and record
            the event preferences. If you leave the file blank, or comment the
            commands, default messages prevail. 
            
            TO COMMENT: To comment (or disable a command without deleting it)
            a command, place a colon ':' INSIDE the brackets. For example,
            to comment onfailure event, you would put the colon as follows
            [ONFAILURE:]. When commented, the following text will not be
            displayed, instead the default will prevail.
            
            ADDING NOTES to PREF.ini: You can add notes or long comments any
            where below the lines that have commands and texts. That is, you
            can have comments from line 3 (if you have occupied first 2 lines
            with commands) and down of unlimited length and size.

            SEEING THE CHANGES:To see how your text appears in VGA font in 
            onsuccess event, you can type DOOR3. However, to see the onfailure
            event preference text, you need to actually assume the role of an
            intruder and input incorrect passwords 3 times to get the message
            box. Note that both owners of EGA/VGA monitors owners and
            monochrome monitor owners can implement onfailure event 
            preferences; but only EGA/VGA owners can implement onsuccess 
            preferences (for monochrome users, the built-in message will 
            always prevail).
            Safepc3.0 communicates with PREF.INI everytime the SafePC is 
            run, so any changes will be effective immediately.


 PWD3.exe :This program is installed in your config.sys to ensure no one
  ====      else breaks into your system.
            It records your password for the first time, and from then on
            compares every attempt with that password any time, all the time.
            In addition, it finds if you have a VGA card installed or not.
            If you do, and your password is correct, it runs animation in
            VGA graphics mode.
            If you don't have a VGA card installed, it will run text 
            animation.

            You will NOT see any character of your password as you type in
            even for the first time (unlike ver 1.0) for maximum security.
            Instead of showing you the characters the first time as you 
            record your password, it will ask to re-enter the new password
            for verification.

            You do NOT need to run this program manually, it is set to be run
            as a temporary TSR--it will be run everytime you start your 
            system.
            You can however, run this simply from the prompt as well if you 
            wish. For example, you are going off to lunch and you would like
            to ensure that your crucial files are unmodified by others,in that
            case simply goto DOS prompt and c:\safepc3 directory and type in
            PWD3 and hit enter and take off to lunch. This will wait for a 
            correct entry until you come back--very handy feature. 
            Window users can run it from a DOS box in windows, however the
            VGA animation will be very slow (since Windows require huge 
            memory for itself!).

        Remember: PWD3 gives you at most 3 chances to get your password
        correct. If 3 attempts are unsuccessful, computer will simply lock
        up which requires cold booting. After it restarts, pwd3.exe program
        will be automatically started and user is prompted again for proper
        password. The process continues forever giving you solid protection.

 CHNG3.exe:You should be able to change your password whenever YOU wish.
  =====     This program handles that. It allows you to change existing
            password only if you know the existing password.
            It dynamically interacts with PWD3.EXE program, so that if you
            change your existing password, pwd3 program is immediately 
            notified of the updated password, discarding old password and only
            considering the new password.

           This program is meant to be run manually whenever you wish. 
            To change your existing password, simply goto c:\safepc3 directory
            and type CHNG3 and hit enter. 

            When you type in the new password, it will NOT show any characters
            you type on the screen for maximum security, instead it will ask
            you to re-enter the new password for verification.


LOGMAN3.exe:This is a very effective and interesting program. It will display
 =======     in a report format with complete date,month,year,time, all the
             password attempted on your system any day.
             Cleverly, it will put a tick marks () for your valid password
             in the report and other attempts will appear as they were typed
             in. This way, no one can steal your report or peek into it to
             find out your actual password!
             Logman3.exe (LOG MANAGER) also dynamically computes exact size of
             the log file (don't worry about which one is log file!) and will
             show you the size in bytes and provide you a menu bar from which
             you can PRINT, DELETE the log file whenever you wish.
             The print out (like on-screen display) will be nicely formatted
             into columns and rows to create the report.

           This program is meant to be run manually whenever you wish. 
            To run the logmanager, simply goto c:\safepc3 directory
            and type LOGMAN3 and hit enter. 

  Each program provides on-line instructions even a beginner can master.

 You may notice many other executable files in c:\safepc3 directory. 
 You should not concern yourself with those since they are called by programs 
 described here and not meant to be run manually.



CHOOSING A PASSWORD (SAME RULES AS PREVIOUS VERSIONS OF SAFEPC)

SAFEPC 3.0 requires you to type in 6 characters as your password---
NO MORE! NO LESS!
These 6 characters must be printable characters. For example, all characters
from: a to z , A to Z , 0 to 9 are printable. 
                                                    
In addition, following also are valid:!@#$%^&*()_+-=:'"{}[]|\/?.>,<~`
AND a space is also a printable character (generated by pressing space 
                                                              bar once).
Safepc will inteligently weed out the possibilty of entering bad characters
by testing for Function, Alt-, and Control- characters when you record a 
password.

PITFALLS TO WATCH OUT FOR!

Your password will be case-sensitive. That means letter 'a' is NOT same as
letter 'A'. When you type/record a password, be sure to remember which letter
was UPPERCASE and which was lowercase. Also, REMEMBER, each time you hit the
space bar, it is considered one character. 
The way, Safepc is programmed, if you type in all 6 characters as blank, that
is when you are recording a new password, you pressed space-bar 6 times, it
will NOT be considered as password! But as long as your spaces are less than
6, it will be stored as a password.

Provided with all these possibilities, you can choose a password from a 
combination of 735,091,890,625 possibilities. That is over 735 billion!
{an intruder virtually needs a miracle to guess your password correctly!}

COMPATIBILITY
 =============
 Operating system: DOS 5.0 or above
 Monitor:Monochrome or EGA/VGA
 Animation Resolution:640x200
 DOS TEXT MODE: 80x25 (other resolutions work also)
 Internal Speaker:Optional
 Tested with: Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups (3.11)
 Should work with:Netware and in Unix.
 Hard Disk:Keep about 600 kilo bytes for SafePC


TIPS & TROUBLESHOOTING
 ======================
Before beginning installation, please make a system boot up diskette. That
way, your command.com,autoexec.bat, and config.sys will be saved as original.
SafePC3 installation does nevertheless backs up your config.sys as config.$$$
in C:'s root directory. But it never hurt anyone being too careful.

Before you record your password, it is good idea to premeditate of one.
Then write it down in a very secured place away from your computer and other
frequently accessed locations.
Also, even though space characters are valid, I recommend that you avoid using
spaces altogether {this way it's simpler for you to remember---and you still
have 689.87 billion combinations to choose from!}

After a successful installation, you should find your config.sys file contain
the following lines:
If you have DOS 5.x, first line will be INSTALL=C:\safepc3\pwd3.exe 
If you have DOS6.x, first line will be SWITCHES=/N/F
and second line will be INSTALL=C:\safepc3\pwd3.exe
If for any reason (if your config.sys was in different location) these do not
appear, you can type them manually.

If you have several TSRs that are loaded in config.sys, they should be loaded
after safepc's pwd3.exe; that way, safepc3 will unload itself completely after
its job is completed (during boot up) leaving your memory free for use by 
other TSRs.

If you download several programs, or have several programs to install on a 
given session, it is wise to install one program, check its performance
thoroughly (run it several times), restart the computer, run it again to make 
sure it does not violate your system integrity. Once done, go on to install 
another and repeat the process.
That way, if system error occurs you know what to blame exactly.


ͻ
 There are few more important tips that I will be obliged to disclose only  
 those who register!                                                        
 For example, how to prevent booting from a floppy without writing anything
 on your hardware!                                                         
ͼ
THE PIN THAT YOU WILL BE ASKED FOR INSTALLATION IS: bulletproof

REINSTALLING SAFEPC

You must register every copy you download separately. 
If you need additional copies re-download or write to the author.

WARNINGS

You may NOT rename any file or SAFEPC3 directory or try to edit any component 
of Safepc. 
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RUN ANY FILE (OTHER THAN EXPLAINED ABOVE) MANUALLY
EVEN IF THEY HAVE *.EXE EXTENSIONS. DOING SO CAN PERMANENTLY CONFUSE YOUR
SYSTEM.

   
    Failure to comply with this will surely result in corrupted data and 
    unfortunate outcomes which cannot be undone without losing data!     
   
Under SHAREWARE program you must register downloaded programs that are 
identified as of type Shareware (which is different than FREEWARE).

THE REGISTRATION FORM IS LOCATED IN C:\SAFEPC3 AND NAMED REGFORM.TXT.
PLEASE TAKE A FEW SECONDS TO FILL IT OUT, THROW IN YOUR COMMENTS, AND
MAIL IT BACK TO ME. YOU WILL BE ENTERED INTO A CUSTOMER DATABASE AND ASSIGNED
A UNIQUE CODE FOR YOUR FUTURE CORRESPONDENCE.



DISCLAIMER

Safepc3.0 is provided on as-is basis. 
Substantial amount of time and resource were allocated to ensure trouble-free 
operation of this software.
Under no circumstance, will the author or the supplier(s) will be liable for
any damage incurred directly or indirectly to the system this software is 
installed on or any component of it.
However, questions and comments are welcome, and this facility is provided
not as obligation but merely as a courtesy to registered users. 
For correspondence, please write to:
                Ŀ    
                   T. Rahman               
                   33 Union Square.Apt.622 
                   Union City, CA 94587    
                   U.S.A                   
                
Phone:(510)475-7475. E-mail at America Online is TANMAN1129

                          FINAL WORD
                          
This software was developed by a student of California State University,
Hayward majoring in CIS and CS. Idea was to provide users with very useful
programs at extremely low price without compromising the quality and useful-
ness of programs. Being an enthusiastic programmer, I develop software of
various kinds and am eager to share those with millions of others. 
To develop further programs, that YOU require, it is my pleasure to know your
comments and suggestions. I request that you fill out the registration form
provided below and spent few cents to mail it back to me. Registered users
really DO get additional great deals! To understand user trend,I also enclosed
a questionnaire.        

Please look for other uploaded programs by the author--that may be greatly
useful to your everyday operations. (I regularly upload programs to AOL, so
you may want to check for them everytime to log on)
To search for other programs, follow these steps:

 Once you are logged on to AOL, from GoTo menu, pick KEYWORD.
 Type FILESEARCH
 In the bottom box (that will be given on screen), instead of a file name
  type in my screen name TANMAN1129
  Then hit enter.
This will show you a list of all programs uploaded as of date, you can "Read
Description" on any from the list.

                      Thank You For Supporting Shareware
                      **********************************

                                       
