User Management
This becomes an issue on any computer with multiple users, which is going
to be most home PC's. In the "Control Panel", you'll see a User
Accounts icon. Clicking on it brings up the management tool:
Here you can add users, change account settings and change the way users
log on and off. You can easily set up multiple user accounts. By default,
all users are administrators on the computer, which means they can do anything
they want. And that's not always a good idea.
Administrator vs. Limited Accounts
Administrators are free to do as they will on any given computer. And that's
great. Most of the time. As an admin, you're free to install software, make
system changes, and take full control of the PC. At least one account must
be an administrator account. But it also opens you up to a number of vulnerabilites.
It's easier for spyware to get into your computer via an admin account.
Limited accounts restrict what a user can do on a computer. Typically, limited
users cannot install programs or make system changes beyond changing passwords
and changing things like their desktop settings. Some programs designed
prior to Windows 2000 and XP may not work properly with limited accounts.
When you have a number of users on a computer, it often comes in handy to
limit some of them. In large businesses, very few users are typically made
administrators (aka local admins) because of the risks. If you've got problem
users at home, or in the office, that are often getting the computer infected
or making unwanted changes, making them a limited account is very handy.
Log Ons and Switching Users
With Windows XP, Microsoft made switching between users much easier with
what they call "Fast User Switching." It's a handy feature when
you step away from the computer. Somebone else can use it in your absence
without closing the programs you're running. But each additional user logged
in is going to eat away at overall performance, especially if resource intensive
programs are being run by multiple users.
In larger businesses, where computers and users belong to and are controlled
by domains, switching between users is usually done by completely logging
out before another user logs on. This is usually more secure, as it's more
difficult for one user to log in as another. Which brings me to one last
word for users: passwords. If you want to secure any privacy on a PC with
multiple users, secure your account with a password that only you know.
Setting a password does not make you totally secure, but it puts up a barrier
for any casual wannabe hackers.