Windows guru requested - Securing Windows

[Roland Perry]

In article <20060610181114.70cb272a@peterson.fenrir.org.uk>, Brian 
Morrison <bdm@fenrir.org.uk> writes
>> >I have a "bootable" USB stick, which is giving me all sorts of ideas too.
>>
>> How does that work, then? I've never seen a PC BIOS that had "USB" in
>> the list of boot devices. Maybe it's a new thing, but all your customers
>> won't have the latest PCs.
>
>A lot of them do, often in a boot order menu that it can be added to.
>In several of the ones I've seen, or have on my machines, the USB
>option is not present by default.

I've had a bit of a poke around (not always easy, my laptop requires 
pressing the requisite F-key within a half second window) and discovered 
that my laptop and two year old desktop both indeed do have a USB boot 
option. I wonder if all the target market can be told how to find and 
configure these?

My most recently purchased desktops (I'm not the first owner, but is 
that very unusual?) don't have a USB option at all.

 From this straw poll I'd guess that a USB-boot is available on machines 
less than about three years old.
-- 
Roland Perry