Managing Your User Accounts

Introduction

Many people only have one user account (the "Computer Administrator" account) or if they have more than one, they always log in with the Administrator account. This is a poor practice because it increases their security risk.



Two Account Types

When setting up a user account, the system will ask you to choose between a "Computer Administrator" account and a "Limited" account. The "Computer Administrator" account gives you full access to and control over your system. The Limited" account as its name suggests gives you partial control of and restricted access to your system.


Use Your Accounts Wisely

The trick is that if you make it a practice to log in to your system with a limited account type, then if you forget to log off or step away from the computer for a brief moment, the risk of someone making system threatening changes to your computer deliberately or inadvertently is reduced. In other words you should have at least two user accounts: a "Computer Administrator" account that is password protected and a "Limited" account. Use the "Computer Administrator" account when you need to make changes that require you to have full access to the system. Then you should log off. Use the "Limited" account, preferably password protected, for everyday activities. You can create, modify and delete accounts under "User Accounts" which can be accessed from "Control Panel". The system doesn't allow you to have a limited account alone. There must be at least one Computer Administrator account. The best practice is to have both types.