security vs. accessibility

This is kind of a general security question rather than a networking question sensu strictu. Apologies if I failed to find the correct forum and apologies in advance for my verbosity problem-- hopefully the fact that it is likely to be an interesting problem at least partially makes up for the defects in my writing

As you may have guessed, I have a somewhat unusual problem.
I am inclined to be moderately* careful about security, but my ability to type is now fairly seriously impaired due to a new health problem, and it is no longer feasible to type in a password every time I turn on my machine or check my e-mail. I cannot afford a fancy fingerprint recognizer or anything like that but I do, of course, have a microphone connected to my machine. If you know of any inexpensive and/or open-source voice recognition programs, that could be an option, but it would have to work with the microphone that I have now (specs) (Although I am likely to have a very nice microphone connected to my machine as soon as I can get an adapter for it, I am likely to continue using the Logitech any time that I am out of the house). ...or anything else you know about-- anything that's come on the market in the last 10 years or so is likely to be news to me.

My system specs are:
HP Pavilion DV 5-1150 US
processor: # Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 / 2 GHz
memory: 4 GB
OS: Windows Vista 64-bit (I am working on fixing that last one-- I actually initially came here to consult your information on backups because it has been at least 10 years since I touched a registry, but Vista sure makes it necessary, especially when running something as resource-hungry as speech recognition software.)
My speech recognition software is Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 preferred. I am currently using a Logitech Clear Chat USB headset noise-canceling microphone and will be upgrading to my boyfriend's very nice studio mic and a Shure x2u adapter as soon as I find the latter on sale.

My security needs are: I do not exactly work for the NSA but I still cringe at the thought of abandoning passwords without replacing them with something, especially since this is a laptop, and I attend, as an off-campus student, a school that is really not interested in providing for the needs of off-campus students (and that is not just my opinion, it is more or less word for word what the school told me). I am particularly concerned about theft, as a number of laptops were stolen from the campus last term. Don't get me wrong -- most of the students are good kids but they are pretty affluent, which means that the bad apples tend to be bad in a particular way (the words "spoiled little $#!^s who will steal anything that is not nailed down" spring to mind). As such, I would like to have some modicum of security, at least against theft.

In addition to my natural inclination in that direction, not to mention the fact that I don't know about it, I think that my solution is likely to be more towards the voice recognition software end of things then towards the padlock end. While a physical lock may be a partial solution, a combination lock has the same problem as a password for me (I am pretty sure I can still operate a combination lock, but I doubt I could do it on the first try, and if I get a fever or, heaven forbid, get worse on a more permanent basis, there is no way) and a keyed lock is only marginally easier. On the other hand, most of the people that I am trying to protect my machine against are young, rich, and smart, which does seem to be an argument for going crude. It's a poser.

Thanks all, and please disregard any homonyms, speech recognition software commands, or *&#$! computers that might have slipped by me. I am still getting the hang of this. Again, thanks, and I hope this made some kind of sense.

*I try to use good practices and was, at one time, a very technical girl, but I am no longer studying physics with a minor in computer science (I am studying anthropology. Hence the name), and no longer living in the heart of silicon valley at the height of the .com boom. In short (well, short for an anthro student--sorry about that), my antivirus software is up-to-date but my skills are not. By about 10 years.

 

First off, welcome to the forums

I understand where you are coming from that you want sometype of software that you can use as Speech Recognition software to input your passwords, but them still being secure.

I don't necessarily use Vista often, but what I may try tonight is using it to see if I can enable speech software before the login prompt to allow me to say my password to let me login, and i'll get back to you. Beyond that, I do believe there is software out there. Its just a matter of finding it

 

Check out KeePass password safe. (http://keepass.info/) Free open-source password manager that lets you keep all your passwords in a secure database. It also has a bunch of neat features like auto-type which will input the username/password into a website for you.

 

Thank you both so much, you have given me some good leads.

On the Windows speech recognition, I did not think of that. I had not had much luck doing that with Dragon but that may be one thing for which Vista's speech is actually more useful. Vista speech, incidentally, is actually written by the same people who wrote Dragon (the fact that it's still worth buying Dragon tells you something about Microsoft--- not something new, but something), so I know how to use it. I have had problems accessing websites with Dragon, because it is hard to tell if it registered the "cap" or "shift" command, and which number it heard. Letters are less of a problem because both recognize the (NATO/aviation) radio alphabet.

As for database, that also looks quite promising. I am looking at their website now to find out if it can work for me.

I am also looking at voice biometrics. I have not yet found anything that is available on a retail basis, but my Google-Fu is extremely weak on account of being 10 years out of date (I plan on taking a class at the university library this fall). However, I did find something about Nuance Communications (the aforementioned people who wrote Dragon), so that is hopeful. I have a call in to them and will keep you posted. Although I have not yet had much luck finding anything geared towards the end user (which is really what I am at this point, unfortunately). I am gratified to learn that it exists in some form. I would have been really sad to learn that Neal Stephenson was completely wrong. (I suspect that some kind of Fourier analysis would be the most plausible way of doing it too, but that is pure speculation based solely on a few experiences playing with ProTools with a view to music production rather than security).