WinXP Security/User Passwords

[Banana]

I've been using Win2K and now have a 2nd system with WinXP home. What's the best way to secure the data in the hard drive? Are the user passwords in Home any good? Can a thief access my hard drive?

 

[WDCentral]

User passwords are useless if the attacker has physical access to the box. If your system supports NTFS encryption, your files will be safe unless the password is actually cracked. If you are operating in an NT-only network,

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=http://support.microsoft.com:80/support/kb/articles/q147/7/06.asp&NoWebContent=1

LanManager passwords are VERY insecure; I'd suggest disabling them. But again, if an attacker has physical access to your machine all he has to do is know how to overwrite the NT password hash in the SAM file.