MANUAL.DOC - Page 1 S-S-S-S-S E-E-E-E-E N N T-T-T-T-T R-R-R-R-R Y Y S E N N N T R R Y Y S E N N N T R R Y Y S-S-S-S-S E-E-E-E-E N N N T R-R-R-R-R Y-Y-Y S E N N N T R R Y S E N N N T R R Y S-S-S-S-S E-E-E-E-E N N T R R Y M M A-A-A N N U U A-A-A L M M M M A A N N N U U A A L M M M M A A N N N U U A A L M M M A-A-A-A-A N N N U U A-A-A-A-A L M M A A N N N U U A A L M M A A N N N U U A A L M M A A N N U-U-U-U-U A A L-L-L-L-L SENTRY (S)ECURITY (ENTRY) SOFTWARE VERSION 1.02 COPYRIGHT THE WSA CONSULTANCY LTD 1990 - 1994 MANUAL.DOC - Page 2 - : S E N T R Y : - (S)ecurity (Entry) System. (C) The WSA Consultancy Ltd 1990 - 1994 The WSA SENTRY System is a useful tool, to prevent un-authorised viewing of sensitive material displayed on a screen and access to an unattended computers. Now that Personal Computers are used extensively in all walks of life, the information can often be sensitive or personal. Many computer systems offer a password protection facility when the computer is first switched on but this does not prevent unattended machines being tampered with. The software enables the user to clear the display in an instant, without having to save or exit an application, returning only when a password is entered. Thus offering a solution to the casual passer-by secretly gaining privileged information. The software consists of a terminate and stay resident program (TSR) which may be invoked while still running the primary application, the primary application cannot be returned to until the password has been entered. When typing the password it can be either viewed on the screen while typing or left invisible. With application software becoming more and more complex it can often take considerable time to exit an application and return to the same spot. A task that may have to be performed every time you take a natural break, or a visitor enters your work area. The Sentry Systems offers other interesting facilities, such as the ability to process an application with the keyboard disabled or both the keyboard and the screen disabled, thus sensitive data can be processed without the fear of being compromised and prevents printouts being accidentally interrupted. MANUAL.DOC - Page 3 Hardware Requirements. ---------------------- Listed below are the equipment requirements for the WSA SENTRY Package. IBM-PC, IBM-XT, IBM-AT, IBM-PS/2 or Compatible Computer. One 5.25 Inch or 3.5 Inch Floppy Disk Drive. MS-Dos, PC-Dos, Version 2.01 or Higher. Minimum of 128K Bytes of Memory. MDA CGA MCGA EGA VGA HERCULES Mono or Colour Screen. Optional Fixed Disk Drive (Any capacity). The WSA SENTRY Package Consists of the Following: SENTRY.EXE HOTKEY.COM FIXPASS.EXE SETPASS.EXE ASKPASS.EXE BEHONEST.TXT MANUAL.TXT INSTALL.EXE MANUAL.DOC - Page 4 Installation. ------------- The set of programs must reside in the same working directory path, which is normally c:\SENTRY for correct operation, and the program can be used directly, if unpacked from a single file obtained from a library or bulletin board. However this does not permit the hot key sequence to be changed, you will be stuck with Alt Enter. The install program CANNOT be used until a program/installation diskette has been made. A program/installation disk can be created by copying all the files to the root directory of a seperate floppy disk, this then becomes a program disk, and can be used to re-install or install on other machines. The directory path and hot key sequence can then be adjusted as required. This is a good way of keeping the program for future use should it be required, and is easier to pass copies to other computer users. When a program/installation disk has been created, the program can be installed using the following method: To install onto a Fixed disk, perform the following steps, If at any time you wish to abort the operation press the Esc Key and return to DOS after confirming . NOTE for a fixed disk installation the FROM and TO disk drive letters must be different. 1:- Place the PROGRAM disk in a floppy disk drive. Type INSTALL and then press ENTER A screen showing the WSA logo will appear. 2:- Is Your system fitted with a Colour Screen? Press Y if you are installing on a colour computer. Press N if you are installing on a Mono computer. 3:- Enter the Disk drive to install on ? Press the letter for the disk drive you wish to install on. For example press C if you wish to install on the C: drive. 4:- Enter The Disk drive that contains the program disk ? Press the letter for the floppy disk drive. Example press A if the Program disk is in A:drive. Are the Disk Drive letters Correct? If you look at the bottom of the screen it will tell you what is about to happen! Press Y if this is correct. Press N if you wish to change the Drive Letters. 5:- Is it Ok to install in C:\SENTRY ? Normally the SENTRY will be installed in a sub-directory called C:\SENTRY, However if for any reason you wish to install this package in a different directory, now is your chance. Press Y to use default C:\SENTRY Press N to enter another directory. Put Program Disk in Floppy Disk Drive A: This is just a reminder to put the program disk in the floppy disk drive, it should already be there! Press Space Bar 6:- Ready to perform installation? Press Y to proceed. MANUAL.DOC - Page 5 7:- Do you wish to alter hot keys ? Hot keys are the keys pressed to operate SENTRY when running another program, to interrupt the application and start SENTRY, if you are unfamiliar with this technique, press N and use the defaults, this will ensure the program matches the manual. If you press Y you can select a different combination of hot keys from a list, using N for Next, P for Prior and A to Accept the choice. You will be reminded of the key combination when you run SENTRY. It does not matter if you are installing from the 5.25 Inch disk or from the 3.5 Inch disk, when you are asked to put the program disk into the floppy disk drive. 8:- Operation Complete. The operation of installing on the fixed disk is now finished press any key to exit from the install program. You now have the package available for use on the fixed disk drive, with all the drivers and directory paths established. Floppy Disk only Operation 3.5 Inch Disk, 360K 5.25 Inch Disk or 1.2M 5.25 Inch Disk : All the programs and data fit onto one disk, therefore if you wish to use the SENTRY on a computer that only has a floppy disk, Install as above but use the same drive letter for both the FROM and the TO. This will build a working floppy disk. If required this would be the point to edit the AUTOEXEC.BAT File so that SENTRY would be loaded automatically. Before re-booting or attempting to run SENTRY, the password must be fixed using FIXPASS.EXE, the default password when first installed is SENTRY. MANUAL.DOC - Page 6 Operating Environment. ---------------------- The WSA SENTRY Security System is a memory resident, or terminate and stay resident program (TSR). TSR's generally are small applications that can remain in memory, ready to be called up at any time. They can be brought up over other active programs such as Lotus 123, WordPerfect, DBase, etc. Some TSR's like Sidekick give the facilities to use a notepad or a calculator over say a spreadsheet. SENTRY gives the facility to lock the computer temporarily without leaving the main application. TSR's if used correctly can greatly enhance the use of a system especially in the saving of time. However they can also be a source of problems, especially if there are more than one in your system. All of WSA's products are well designed and programmed to the accepted standards, so that conflicts are avoided, not all TSR's are programmed to the same level. SENTRY should have little, if any compatibility problems. TSR's don't allow you to do more than one job at a time, they still use the same processor as other programs. The only difference is that they suspend the main application while they do their work. Normally most users will place the loading of the TSR into the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, so that the program is loaded when the computer is first switched on. They can of course be loaded from the DOS prompt by typing the program name, in the case of SENTRY this would be SENTRY. However TSR's must NEVER be loaded after a system exit from an application that still leaves the application loaded. Once a TSR is loaded into memory it stays there until activated, this is normally achieved by a certain keyboard sequence (called a HotKey) in the case of SENTRY the default sequence is pressing the {Alt} and the {Enter} keys at the same time. Generally HotKey sequences are combinations of keys that would not normally be used in the main application, thus avoiding any keyboard conflicts with the main application. When the Hotkeys are activated the program comes alive, over the top of main application, and when quit the main program is restored. MANUAL.DOC - Page 7 Using the Software. ------------------- The Software has a number of features that are explained in the following sections. It is assumed that if SENTRY is required to be loaded when the Computer is first switched on, that SENTRY is added to the AUTOEXEC.BAT File. No changes are required to be made to the CONFIG.SYS file. Setting up the Password. ------------------------ Before running SENTRY for the first time, the password needs to be fixed in the program. This should be carried out before SENTRY is loaded as it has no effect on the current session. The program used is FIXPASS which should be found in the SENTRY directory. To run type FIXPASS with the required password after it (remember to put a space between FIXPASS and the password). When the password is defined it should be remembered that SENTRY does not differentiate between upper and lower case. Once the password has been defined SENTRY can now be executed. If SENTRY has been added to the AUTOEXEC.BAT then re-boot the machine to activate SENTRY with the New password. When SENTRY is first installed the current password will be SENTRY and if FIXPASS is run without a password it will default back to SENTRY as the password. Invoking SENTRY. ---------------- Before attempting to invoke SENTRY it must have been loaded. To activate the TSR at any time use the {Alt} and {Enter} keys simultaneously, (or the combination of hot keys selected during the install process). Note that the boot-up screen reminds the user of the Hot Key sequence that has been selected. The combinations of keys that are available are shown below. You will notice that although SENTRY only occupies a small part of the screen, that the rest of the screen has been blanked. This is to prevent confidential information on the screen that was not covered by the SENTRY panel being shown. This panel will still be active until either the password is entered or the machine is turned off. The password can be entered in two ways, either being visible while being typed or invisible. To make the password invisible type {-} before entering the password. This facility is handy to prevent someone attempting to discover your password by watching the screen. Remember the password is not case sensitive. It is possible to leave a brief message in the password area MANUAL.DOC - Page 8 while the machine is unattended. This of course can be cleared by pressing the return key. There are a number of options available after entering the password they are detailed in the following sections: To return to the application just type {ESC}. --------------------------------------------- Remember that SENTRY will still be ready to invoke at any time by use of the Hot Key sequence. Disabling the Keyboard. ----------------------- After the password and been entered it is possible to exit back to the application with the keyboard disabled. This could be useful in preventing someone accidentally touching the keyboard while an application is printing out some documents. To exit back to the application with the keyboard disabled, simultaneously press the {Ctrl} and {PgUp} keys, the application will now continue to process. To re-enable the keyboard press the Hot Key sequence, enter the password and use the {Esc} key to return to the application. Although the Hot Keys are still active when the rest of the keyboard is disabled, if SENTRY is in keyboard disabled mode, the Hot Key sequence is initiated but the password is either not entered or entered incorrectly in a given time, SENTRY will return to the application with the keyboard locked. Disabling the Keyboard and Screen. ---------------------------------- After the password has been entered it is possible to exit back to the application with both the keyboard and the screen disabled. This could be useful in preventing the display of confidential information while some process is taking place or to prevent "Burn-in" on the display if a process is to take a considerable amount of time (say overnight) with the same screen displayed. To exit back to the application with the keyboard and the screen disabled, simultaneously press the {Ctrl} and {PgDn} keys, the application will now continue to process. To re-enable the keyboard press the Hot Key sequence, enter the password and use the {Esc} key to return to the application. Although the Hot Keys are still active when the rest of the keyboard is disabled, if SENTRY is in keyboard and screen disabled mode, the Hot Key sequence is initiated but the password is either not entered or entered incorrectly in a given time, SENTRY will return to the application with the keyboard and screen still disabled. MANUAL.DOC - Page 9 Disabling SENTRY. ----------------- If you no longer want to use SENTRY and wish to disable it for the current session. 1. Call up SENTRY by using the Hot Key Combination (Default being {Alt} {Enter}). 2. Enter the correct password. 3 Exit Sentry by pressing the (Ctrl} and {End} Keys as the same time, instead of the {Esc} key, which is normally used for exit. Having used this method to exit, the Hot Key sequence is disabled and the program is no longer available for use. Using this technique does not free the memory used, because this is not possible in all conditions. Advanced User. -------------- There are a number of functions available within the SENTRY System which should only be used once the operator has become familiar with the product and has a good understanding of DOS. Setting the Password for a Session Only. ---------------------------------------- Although the FIXPASS program fixes the password in SENTRY, it is possible to change the password for a particular session by use of the program SETPASS. This program is used in exactly the same way as FIXPASS, with the password typed after the program name with a space in between. SENTRY must be resident before attempting to run SETPASS, if SENTRY is not resident a warning will be given. If SETPASS is run without a password, it will return to the default pass word which is SENTRY. There is another program called ASKPASS which performs the same task as SETPASS, but does not take the password in on the command line but prompts for it. This program can be used for instance in the AUTOEXEC.BAT, to enable a different password for each and every session, as with SETPASS the password is only set for a single session. MANUAL.DOC - Page 10 Using SENTRY over Graphic Screens. ---------------------------------- So that SENTRY can be used over graphic screens without any problems, the two panels associated with SENTRY, the password entry panel and the exit panel are not displayed. SENTRY can still be invoked and used, with particular sound being associated with particular functions, the screen is of course blanked once SENTRY is activated. Hotkey Invoke 1 beep at 1000 hz Right Password 2 beeps at 3000 hz Wrong Password 1 beep at 500 hz Esc 1 beep at 2000 hz Ctrl End 1 at 1000 hz 1 at 500 hz Ctrl PgUp or Ctrl PgDn 3 beeps at 5000 hz The audio interface will become familiar as the product is used, and is active in text mode to assist the user in learning what each sound means. It is preferable to activate SENTRY while the main application software is in a text mode, however if this is not possible, the audio user interface is available for use with graphic screens or if the application works purely in graphics such as with PaintBrush. Using the HOTKEY Program. ------------------------- The use of the program HOTKEY enables SENTRY to be invoked without pressing the Hot Keys. To try using the program change into the SENTRY directory and just run the program. This program may be used by either batch files or by programming languages. It may well be useful to have a certain area of a batch file password word protected and by including the HOTKEY program into the batch file at the appropriate place, this can be simply achieved. To run in a language the file just simply has to be executed. For example in BASIC (GW & MS- BASIC, QUICKBASIC and PDS BASIC) to initiate SENTRY the command would be :- SHELL "C:\SENTRY\HOTKEY" MANUAL.DOC - Page 11 Changing the HotKey Sequence. ----------------------------- The hot key sequence is defined when the package is installed, to change the key sequence re-install the package from the program disk as previously described, the following is a list of available sequences: Ctrl & Enter Ctrl & Space Ctrl & Tab Ctrl & S Key Ctrl & F1 Key Ctrl & F10 Key RightShift & Enter RightShift & Space RightShift & Tab RightShift & S Key RightShift & F1 Key RightShift & F10 Key Ctrl & Alt Ctrl & LeftShift Ctrl & RightShift Alt & LeftShift Alt & RightShift LeftShift & RightShift Alt & Enter Alt & Space Alt & Tab Alt & S Key Alt & F1 Key Alt & F10 Key LeftShift & Enter LeftShift & Space LeftShift & Tab LeftShift & S Key LeftShift & F1 Key LeftShift & F10 Key Always attempt to select a Hot Key combination that is unlikely to conflict with either the applications that are to be used or other TSRs that are already loaded in the system. Common Problems. ---------------- Most TSRs by their nature are useful and well written, but despite this, they may conflict with certain applications or with each other. Some of the common problems and their solutions are here described. MANUAL.DOC - Page 12 TSRs conflicting with each other. --------------------------------- If a new TSR is installed and a problem occurs it will probably be due to other TSRs that are already in the system. Some of the problems that may occur are :- 1. TSR does not appear when the HotKey sequence is pressed. 2. On entering or exiting a TSR the System hangs. 3. The System fails to boot and hangs. Generally the way to approach solving this problem is to either re-arrange the order in which the TSRs are loaded, as for some the loading order is critical, or to remove them from the AUTOEXEC.BAT. Some TSRs may be conflicting due to the HotKey Sequence being the same for two TSRs check the documentation and (If the function is available) change the HotKey Sequence for one of them. With SENTRY if the program is re-installed the HotKey sequence can be changed TSRs conflicting with applications. ----------------------------------- Sometimes problems can occur between a TSR and an application, with either the TSR not activating over the top of the application or the application not loading into memory with the TSR loaded. One of the reasons that sometimes TSRs will not load is that the application is in a graphics mode which the TSR does not support, generally this is because there is some difficulty in resetting the screen upon exit. To solve this make sure the application is in a text mode before invoking the TSR. This is not a problem for SENTRY, as the product has been designed so that it does not overwrite a graphics screen, but will still be active. The most common problem nowadays with TSRs is that they take up memory that the main application requires, particularly as the primary application takes the vast majority of memory after DOS has been loaded. When this problem occurs the primary application will normally give the error of OUT OF MEMORY. One way to solve this would be to remove all the TSRs not required and attempt to just run the TSRs required and the applications. Some application packs use complex key sequences, there is always the possibility that the HotKey sequence selected for the TSR conflicts with the application. Either change the TSR HotKey keystrokes or the application keystrokes. The keystrokes selected for the TSR should be those that are unlikely to affect any application. - : .................. : - The WSA Consultancy Ltd. 257 High Road Broxbourne Hertfordshire EN10 6PZ - : .................. : -