when i installed w8 i'm almost certain that i set it up with just one user account, which had administrator privileges, in fact i believe my user accounts in control panel looked like this:
1. myaccount (local administrator, administrator privileges)
2. guest account (turned off)
recently i noticed that i seemed to get uac prompts whenever i tried to do even simple tasks, like install a trusted application. this led me to look at my settings in user accounts again where i found:
1. myaccount (local administrator, standard privileges)
2. administrator (local administrator, administrator privileges)
3 guest account (turned off)
myaccount no longer had administrator privileges nor was i able to switch from standard to administrator using the settings buttons (change account type) - apparently administrator privileges were assigned to the administrator account, which i discovered is a windows "built-in" account after reading shawn's excellent tutorial on the subject.
so i ended up disabling the administrator built-in account (lusrmgr.msc) which removed it from the list of accounts in control panel and returned administrator privileges to myaccount - control panel now shows what i remembered after my install:
1. myaccount (local administrator, administrator privileges)
2. guest account (turned off)
fwiw, before i disable the built-in admin account i decided to check it out by switching to it, wanted to see what it was all about and what it looked like, but this appeared to launch a reinstall of windows 8. in a moment of panic i powered down my pc during this process (real smart, i know) thinking that all of the settings in my other account would be lost, wiped clean. in retrospect i'm sure this was not the case at all and that w8 was just setting up the built-in account for its first use - i had to do a system restore thanks to my rashness, but all is good again.
anyway, a few questions:
1. by default does w8 automatically enable the built-in admin account during a clean installation and list it among other user accounts in the control panel, and i just didn't notice it? if not, could a third party av install (or other application install) have enabled it, or perhaps an sfc /scannow or dism health check?
2. i'm the only one that uses my computer, however it is connected to a wireless router that i grant password access to on occasion so others can share the internet connection - am i asking for trouble by disabling the built-in admin account and instead using just one account, with admin privileges?
any input would be very much appreciated.
1. myaccount (local administrator, administrator privileges)
2. guest account (turned off)
recently i noticed that i seemed to get uac prompts whenever i tried to do even simple tasks, like install a trusted application. this led me to look at my settings in user accounts again where i found:
1. myaccount (local administrator, standard privileges)
2. administrator (local administrator, administrator privileges)
3 guest account (turned off)
myaccount no longer had administrator privileges nor was i able to switch from standard to administrator using the settings buttons (change account type) - apparently administrator privileges were assigned to the administrator account, which i discovered is a windows "built-in" account after reading shawn's excellent tutorial on the subject.
so i ended up disabling the administrator built-in account (lusrmgr.msc) which removed it from the list of accounts in control panel and returned administrator privileges to myaccount - control panel now shows what i remembered after my install:
1. myaccount (local administrator, administrator privileges)
2. guest account (turned off)
fwiw, before i disable the built-in admin account i decided to check it out by switching to it, wanted to see what it was all about and what it looked like, but this appeared to launch a reinstall of windows 8. in a moment of panic i powered down my pc during this process (real smart, i know) thinking that all of the settings in my other account would be lost, wiped clean. in retrospect i'm sure this was not the case at all and that w8 was just setting up the built-in account for its first use - i had to do a system restore thanks to my rashness, but all is good again.
anyway, a few questions:
1. by default does w8 automatically enable the built-in admin account during a clean installation and list it among other user accounts in the control panel, and i just didn't notice it? if not, could a third party av install (or other application install) have enabled it, or perhaps an sfc /scannow or dism health check?
2. i'm the only one that uses my computer, however it is connected to a wireless router that i grant password access to on occasion so others can share the internet connection - am i asking for trouble by disabling the built-in admin account and instead using just one account, with admin privileges?
any input would be very much appreciated.
My Computer
System One
-
- OS
- windows 8 pro
- Computer type
- PC/Desktop
- System Manufacturer/Model
- hp z1
- CPU
- xeon 1245
- Memory
- 16gb
- Graphics Card(s)
- gtx 675m
- Monitor(s) Displays
- 27"
- Screen Resolution
- 2560x1440
- Hard Drives
- several: ssd, hybrid, ide, etc.
- Case
- aio
- Browser
- maxthon
- Antivirus
- defender/ mbam pro