Re: Good practices for setting up admin and user accounts on WinXP Pro


"Newsgroup Reader" <NewsgroupReader@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
message news:B07A4544-11F4-4BB0-BC27-996DD508DAAB@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
First, I'll confess: I've used a Win XP Pro PC with just one
administrator
account, and have used the admin account for everyday use. Bad practice,
I
admit. I want to stop doing that, and have *finally* gotten around to
reading up on configuring user accounts. I read through 'Local Users
and
Groups overview,' at

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/lsm_overview_01.mspx?mfr=true

and have the appropriate snap-in installed in MMC.

This is how I think it's supposed to be done, for configuring a new Win XP
Pro machine for single user use. PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG! That's
why
I'm posting:

Strategy #1
-------------

1. Create Administrator account.
No. Create an account which is a member of the administrators group. The
default installation provides an account called "administrator".

2. Get all Windows Updates and install all software as Administrator.
OK with the proviso above.

3. Create Everyday User account and use it for everything else.
OK

4. Save all document files in a Everyday User's subdirectory of
Documents
and Settings. Don't scatter them around the hard disk, if possible.
OK

5. Log-in as administrator only to install/remove software, and other
essential administrative tasks. Nothing else.
Add this:
6. Rename the built in administrator account to something else. Add a
password to this account.
7. Rename the built in Guest account to something else. Add a password to
this account.

In experimentation so far, however, Norton anti-virus seems pretty
confused
to have a new user introduced on my system. When I log in as the new
user,
it reports that I have to be an administrator to complete configuration.
No, it isn't confused at all. Unless you install it using an account with
administrator rights, the installation will fail.

Which leads me to wonder if I should take another approach:

Strategy #2
--------------

1. Create Administrator account and get all Windows Updates as
administrator.
No

2. Create Everyday User account.

3. Put Everyday User account in the Power Users group using the MMC snap
in, to allow it to install software.
No.

4. Install all software as Everyday User. This will provide a measure of
security, as Everyday User won't have administrator rights -- and also
will
allow all software to be installed the first time the way I want it to be
installed on the system
No. You may not be able to install most software without administrator
rights..
You need to add the same steps that I mentioned above.

This is new to me, so I'm sorry if I show any obvious blundering or
misunderstanding. I admit, I should have done this a long time ago -- as
in,
when I first got the PC!
There aren't very many of us who didn't attend the school of hard knocks.
Jim


.

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