PC Help Request

Question: I have a new laptop and it was set up with me as admin and no other account. Is there a better way and if I do need to create my own account, how do I do that and be sure that all the things I have access to now will remain accessible to me afterward?

This is one of the biggest hassles associated with Windows. Granted security with Windows in general is a very big concern; running as Administrator by default is a root of much of the problems with Windows (XP in particular). First, let me outline the reasons why you shouldn’t run Windows as Administrator.

1. Services can be started, stopped, and installed. Services are background tasks that can be run without user intervention. Good things are services, like USB detection and printer drivers. But bad things are too. Spyware can be installed as a service if and you’d never know it if you didn’t look.
2. Evil software can be installed. Spyware can more easily be installed on the system if you’re running as Administrator. With no restrictions, it can be installed into your Windows directory to make itself look legit.
3. You can break things. Uninstalling software that shouldn’t be uninstalled will break things. Software that manipulates system settings can also cause your system to break.

Well, knowing all of that, what are you to do? If, when you start Windows, you don’t have to log in or click on a user name, there’s a good chance that you’re running as Administrator. Let’s just add a user to make sure.

1. Start > Settings > Control Panel
2. Open the Users button.
3. Click ‘create a new account.’
4. Follow through with the steps, but MAKE SURE that you select the ‘Limited’ bubble. If you can’t select it, then you have to make a second Administrator account first.

1. Click Back
2. Change the account name to reflect that it’s an Admin account
3. Click ‘Next’ and then ‘Create Account.’
4. Same as step 4. above.

Now your new user is ready to go. Now on to the file issue.

Getting your old files is important. The best solution is to just copy the contents of the folder to your new limited account.

1. Open up ‘My Documents’ and also open ‘My Computer.’
2. In the My Computer window, open up the new user’s Documents folder
3. Highlight all of the files in the My Documents window, right click, and click ‘Copy.’
4. Go back to the window that now shows the new user’s Documents. Right click and click ‘Paste.’

That should do it! Click Start>Log off or Start>Shutdown and select ‘Log Off.’ Then just log in as the new user.

Here are some problems you might run into.

1. Some programs are old or are weird and will only run as Administrator. Rather than logging out and back in as the Administrator, do the following:
• RIGHT click on the icon that you run the program from and click ‘Run as…’
• Click the ‘The following user’ radio button. Select Administrator and then type in the password.
• Click ‘OK.’
2. Not every setting or file will get imported into the new user’s account. This is the biggest issue for people making the switch. It’s an unfortunate consequence and a big reason why people stop using the limited account. I will cover the most important in my next post, which is the Favorites from Internet Explorer.
3. Installing software might not always work right. To solve this, right click on the installer file and follow the ‘Run as…’ procedure above.

While it’s a HUGE hassle to deal with, running as another user other than Administrator is as equally necessary. With the threat of Spyware and Malware increasing, as does the need to increase security measures on our PCs. Hang in there, it’s doable.