Should I set passwords for the three accounts to enhance the security?

Should the three accounts, which are Guest, HelpAssitant,SUPPORT388945a0, be
configured strong passwords to enhance the security of OS?

Should I disable Guest & default Administrator to enhance the security?

Malke
Sun May 01 07:49:29 CDT 2005

cc wrote:

> Should the three accounts, which are Guest,
> HelpAssitant,SUPPORT388945a0, be configured strong passwords to
> enhance the security of OS?
>
> Should I disable Guest & default Administrator to enhance the
> security?

You haven't told us anything about your computer or your computing
environment, so we can't give you an exact answer. Security practices
in a company will naturally be different than in a home with one
standalone computer. That said, here are a few comments to help you:

1. *Never* mess around with the default Administrator account. Leave it
alone or there will be Tears Before Bedtime. Yes, it is a good idea to
set a strong password on the account. Make sure you remember it and
don't write it on a yellow Sticky Note and leave it on your monitor.

2. The other two accounts you mention sound like accounts put on your
computer by the OEM. Since you are probably never going to use those
accounts, just ignore them. If this isn't the case, then post back with
more details about your setup.

3. Disabling the Guest account is a good security practice, but if you
have XP Home Edition and want to share files/printers, you won't be
able to.

If you want more focused help, post back with a better description of
your computer, your computing environment, and your goals.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

Steven
Sun May 01 19:18:27 CDT 2005

Hi Malke.

Great advice. I just wanted to comment that in my opinion a home user
probably should write down their administrator password but store it in a
couple of safe places as usually a not used strong password will be
forgotten. Disabling the administrator account is not necessarily a bad
thing as long as the user remembers that he can access it in safe mode. As
you mentioned advice can vary depending on the situation. --- Steve


"Malke" <notreally@invalid.com> wrote in message
news:uaI1gwkTFHA.2520@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...
> cc wrote:
>
>> Should the three accounts, which are Guest,
>> HelpAssitant,SUPPORT388945a0, be configured strong passwords to
>> enhance the security of OS?
>>
>> Should I disable Guest & default Administrator to enhance the
>> security?
>
> You haven't told us anything about your computer or your computing
> environment, so we can't give you an exact answer. Security practices
> in a company will naturally be different than in a home with one
> standalone computer. That said, here are a few comments to help you:
>
> 1. *Never* mess around with the default Administrator account. Leave it
> alone or there will be Tears Before Bedtime. Yes, it is a good idea to
> set a strong password on the account. Make sure you remember it and
> don't write it on a yellow Sticky Note and leave it on your monitor.
>
> 2. The other two accounts you mention sound like accounts put on your
> computer by the OEM. Since you are probably never going to use those
> accounts, just ignore them. If this isn't the case, then post back with
> more details about your setup.
>
> 3. Disabling the Guest account is a good security practice, but if you
> have XP Home Edition and want to share files/printers, you won't be
> able to.
>
> If you want more focused help, post back with a better description of
> your computer, your computing environment, and your goals.
>
> Malke
> --
> Elephant Boy Computers
> www.elephantboycomputers.com
> "Don't Panic!"
> MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

cc
Sun May 01 19:50:44 CDT 2005

Thank you Malke.
My computer is a standalone one.
1. How can I remember the strong password on the administrator account?
2. Do you mean the two account only appear on the OEM version of windows not
a retail version ?
3. Could you please give me a checklist of windows security setup for home
user?
4. Could the diabling Server Service completely prevent files/printer from
being shared?


"Malke" <notreally@invalid.com>
??????:uaI1gwkTFHA.2520@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...
cc wrote:

> Should the three accounts, which are Guest,
> HelpAssitant,SUPPORT388945a0, be configured strong passwords to
> enhance the security of OS?
>
> Should I disable Guest & default Administrator to enhance the
> security?

You haven't told us anything about your computer or your computing
environment, so we can't give you an exact answer. Security practices
in a company will naturally be different than in a home with one
standalone computer. That said, here are a few comments to help you:

1. *Never* mess around with the default Administrator account. Leave it
alone or there will be Tears Before Bedtime. Yes, it is a good idea to
set a strong password on the account. Make sure you remember it and
don't write it on a yellow Sticky Note and leave it on your monitor.

2. The other two accounts you mention sound like accounts put on your
computer by the OEM. Since you are probably never going to use those
accounts, just ignore them. If this isn't the case, then post back with
more details about your setup.

3. Disabling the Guest account is a good security practice, but if you
have XP Home Edition and want to share files/printers, you won't be
able to.

If you want more focused help, post back with a better description of
your computer, your computing environment, and your goals.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

Malke
Mon May 02 07:41:58 CDT 2005

cc wrote:

See my responses inline:

> Thank you Malke.
You're welcome ;-)

> My computer is a standalone one.
> 1. How can I remember the strong password on the administrator
> account?

As Steve suggested, write it down somewhere. Since this is a home
computer, you don't have the same security issues as you would with a
workplace computer. I keep all my passwords and other security
information for our home computers in a file in a fireproof filing
cabinet.


> 2. Do you mean the two account only appear on the OEM version
> of windows not a retail version ?

I mean that if you have an OEM computer - a Dell, HP, Sony, eMachines
etc. - these accounts may have been set up by the computer
manufacturer. Since you haven't told us anything about your computer,
this is a guess on my part. If you are able to log into those accounts,
it can't hurt to set up passwords for them. Again, write them down and
don't lose them.

> 3. Could you please give me a checklist of windows security setup for
> home user?

Here's a link to Microsoft's At Home Security site:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/default.mspx

Most people don't realize the wealth of information provided by
Microsoft - freely available to them. Believe me, Microsoft *wants* you
to use and enjoy their products! Here's the main At Home page:

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/default.mspx

> 4. Could the diabling Server Service completely prevent files/printer
> from being shared?

Don't go disabling services randomly. You will inevitably be sorry. The
simplest way for you to disable File & Printer Sharing is to start XP's
Help & Support and type in "disable file and printer sharing". You will
get several articles that will completely walk you through this.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

cc
Mon May 02 14:40:39 CDT 2005

Hi, Malke. I found an article from internet. What do you think of it?

http://labmice.techtarget.com/articles/winxpsecuritychecklist.htm

Any comments and advice are much appreciated.:)

"Malke" <notreally@invalid.com>
??????:ufrG1OxTFHA.2096@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
cc wrote:

See my responses inline:

> Thank you Malke.
You're welcome ;-)

> My computer is a standalone one.
> 1. How can I remember the strong password on the administrator
> account?

As Steve suggested, write it down somewhere. Since this is a home
computer, you don't have the same security issues as you would with a
workplace computer. I keep all my passwords and other security
information for our home computers in a file in a fireproof filing
cabinet.


> 2. Do you mean the two account only appear on the OEM version
> of windows not a retail version ?

I mean that if you have an OEM computer - a Dell, HP, Sony, eMachines
etc. - these accounts may have been set up by the computer
manufacturer. Since you haven't told us anything about your computer,
this is a guess on my part. If you are able to log into those accounts,
it can't hurt to set up passwords for them. Again, write them down and
don't lose them.

> 3. Could you please give me a checklist of windows security setup for
> home user?

Here's a link to Microsoft's At Home Security site:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/default.mspx

Most people don't realize the wealth of information provided by
Microsoft - freely available to them. Believe me, Microsoft *wants* you
to use and enjoy their products! Here's the main At Home page:

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/default.mspx

> 4. Could the diabling Server Service completely prevent files/printer
> from being shared?

Don't go disabling services randomly. You will inevitably be sorry. The
simplest way for you to disable File & Printer Sharing is to start XP's
Help & Support and type in "disable file and printer sharing". You will
get several articles that will completely walk you through this.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

Malke
Mon May 02 19:16:57 CDT 2005

cc wrote:

> Hi, Malke. I found an article from internet. What do you think of it?
>
> http://labmice.techtarget.com/articles/winxpsecuritychecklist.htm
>
> Any comments and advice are much appreciated.:)

Labmice is a respected site. However, the article is from 2003 so
doesn't take Service Pack 2 into account. I think I'd spend some time
at Microsoft's site first.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User