how to manage windows account?

[zenyora]

well the reson iam asking is because i never bother creating accounts on on this Pc because i am the only one that uses it,but recently i came across a thread that talked about why shouldn't you use the admin account(which i do) so i figured i ask what would be a better way? i mean iv been using this OS(windows xp 64) for a while and every time i format it just creates an account called administrator(which iam using) i have all my software and files under this account (which i don't think i can delete) do you think ill fine keeping this way or should i create a new one? should i give the new account admin privileges or just keep it as user? would i be able to migrate all my software and files from the admin account to the new account?
thanks for the help

 

[kmote]

You should definitely NOT be using an account with admin privilages let alone the admin account itself. What you should do is create a new account straight away, it will default to administrator privilages then rename the 'Administrator' account and then set your new account to user privilages.

 

[zenyora]

i created a new account now under accounts i have (1x2) which is the new created account and the administrator account, now how can i rename the account and reset the privileges ?
i know this is silly but i think iam going to have to create third account because one account should have admin privileges beside the administrator account(i think )..

 

[KSoD]

Why not use the Admin account? If you are the only user on the PC and you dont have to worry about anyone else accessing the PC why not use the hidden Admin account? I do it all the time.

Creating a new account will jsut create another account just like the one that was created during setup. So why bother to create yet another account that will be a power user with Admin rights? That is pointless to have 2 useless accounts.

There is no harm in using the Admin account. Yeah if you get hacked they have full rights to your PC. But the thing is. With a limited account you have to get rights to install stuff when it is your PC and no one else uses it. If it was in a Dorm or someplace where others can easily access it then yeah i would use the account created during the Vista install.

But my PC is in a room of its own and only me and the wife have access. I am protected behind a router and firewall. No one will get access to my PC. So why shouldnt I use the Admin account? I know more than well enough what i am doing.

If you have no worries like those i posted you will be just fine.

 

[DoubleHelix]

The risk in using the Administrator account as your primary account is that you cannot recover from a corrupt profile.

 

[KSoD]

Sure you can. Just back it up. I do a daily and a weekly backup of my profile. It would be jsut like taking data from a corrupt user profile. It can be done.

 

[zenyora]

i was actually just thinking the same thing, because creating a new account with admin right would be exactly as using the default administrator account(i just wasn't exactly sure ), and using a limited account would mean that everytime i want to install or uninstall something i would have log off then log in as admin do whatever then log back and log in as user , unless i am mistaken or misunderstood something ..i would like to rename the account if that's possible (instead of just having ((Administrator on the welcome screen )) ...is that possible)

 

[KSoD]

You can rename it easily. Control Panel>User Accounts. From there you would be brought to the Admin account. Just click the edit another account and you will see the accounts and names there. Just click the Admin one again to get the name change feature.

This is only cosmetic though. It will only change the name as it is displayed on the login and the start menu. Under Users you will still have to go into the Administrator folder to access your files.

 

[kmote]

Using a standard account for normal usage keeps you computer more secure.
If you left your newly created account with admin privilages then yes, it would be as bad as using any other admin account on a daily basis but an important part of what I said is that you should set your new account with standard user privilages.

 

[KSoD]

Your PC is only as secure as teh user. Not as secure as the stuff you have. Yeah UAC is a nice tool. It does help. But for people who know PC's and how to keep themself secure UAC is overkill.

To this day i still have yet to even get spyware on my PC. I have had no known virus in several years. I have always used the Admin accounts. I even have my wife on the admin accounts and she doesnt know much about PC's yet she is secure cause of the steps i have taken to secure the PC.

Using the right software for firewall/AV will always be better than using a Standard User account. I dont even have a firewall installed. Cause i took the steps to secure my network with my router so that the access doesnt get thru.

For a person who isnt all that knowledgeable i would agree. Yeah a standard user account is more times than not the way to go. But if you take the steps to protect yourself using a standard user account is just overkill. It wont really serve a purpose. Other than to be a annoyance when you want to do something.