[dan]

OK! I thought the guest account was the most limited. So how would I setup a
very limited account? I know how to setup an account, but I would want a
very limited one, is there an easy way to set limited privileges or set it
up the way I described? Thanks for your advice.

Dan

"Steve N." <Steve_N@nunya.biz.nes> wrote in message
news:eq7Q3dZVFHA.4056@TK2MSFTNGP15.phx.gbl...
> R. McCarty wrote:
>
>> Guest would work.
>
> I would not use the Guest account, it has more rights than a limited
> account does. I'd create a seperate account for the visitor.
>
> Steve
>
>>
>> Just one word of caution, if this person is a "Twiddler" then they may
>> be aware of the availability of the Safe Mode Administrator account.
>> Therefore, you might want to set a password for that account. But
>> be sure to note it somewhere - as it's handy for emergencies and it
>> usually is un-password protected.
>>
>> Most people like you describe just love to muck around and set up
>> things to their liking. If possible, get an imaging program and take a
>> system image before their arrival. Then if things do get "Twiddled"
>> you can restore your pre-guest image back to the machine.
>> Personally, I'd just casually ask them not to modify anything and if
>> they can't abide by that - tell them to make alternate arrangements
>> for email and PC access.
>>
>> "dan" <dm@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:%23WpJwWYVFHA.2560@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
>>
>>>Hello, I have Win XP Pro sp2, just installed it and it is working fine. I
>>>have an account for myself and one for my wife. What I need is an account
>>>for visitors to use but, I do not want them to install any programs or
>>>change anything on the computer that would damage it. We have a family
>>>member that comes to visit and will install programs that they downloaded
>>>from the internet and will change configurations to suit her. I do not
>>>have "Use Welcome Screen" or "Fast user Switching" enabled. I do want the
>>>folks that visit to be able to go to internet so they can check their
>>>mail from their ISP's web site. I also want them to use the programs we
>>>have installed. Microsoft Office. No one does the changing but one
>>>person. So I need to try and make an account to restrict. I noticed and
>>>read a little about the guest account. Would this do what I am looking
>>>for or is there a better way and give me more control over what can and
>>>can not be done with the account for the visitors. I also have "Use
>>>Simple File Sharing" disabled. I am a novice at configuring computers, so
>>>something easy but will do what I would like it to do. Thanks for any
>>>help or advice.
>>>
>>>Dan
>>>
>>
>>

[Malke]

dan wrote:

> OK! I thought the guest account was the most limited. So how would I
> setup a very limited account? I know how to setup an account, but I
> would want a very limited one, is there an easy way to set limited
> privileges or set it up the way I described? Thanks for your advice.
>
> Dan

Dan, since you have XP Pro you can set very fine-grained permissions.
Create a new user group called "twiddlers" or the like. Then create a
user account for the main twiddler. Add this account to the twiddlers
group and make sure that is the only group of which this user is a
member. Then set permissions/limits on the new group with the Group
Policy Editor (Start>Run>gpedit.msc [enter]).

You need to be very careful with the Group Policy Editor as it is
completely possible to lock yourself out. Look at the options, read the
Help file, do some research. Here is a newsgroup dedicated to the Group
Policy Editor:

microsoft.public.windows.group_policy

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

[dan]

Thank you very much for the information. I will try making a new group as
you suggested, but first I will read all I can about using the Group Policy
Editor, and will look in the news group you mentioned. Then I will try to
make it. Again thanks. This is just what I need.

Dan

"Malke" <invalid@not-real.com> wrote in message
news:O%23ym%23hiVFHA.3532@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...
> dan wrote:
>
>> OK! I thought the guest account was the most limited. So how would I
>> setup a very limited account? I know how to setup an account, but I
>> would want a very limited one, is there an easy way to set limited
>> privileges or set it up the way I described? Thanks for your advice.
>>
>> Dan
>
> Dan, since you have XP Pro you can set very fine-grained permissions.
> Create a new user group called "twiddlers" or the like. Then create a
> user account for the main twiddler. Add this account to the twiddlers
> group and make sure that is the only group of which this user is a
> member. Then set permissions/limits on the new group with the Group
> Policy Editor (Start>Run>gpedit.msc [enter]).
>
> You need to be very careful with the EdiGroup Policytor as it is
> completely possible to lock yourself out. Look at the options, read the
> Help file, do some research. Here is a newsgroup dedicated to the Group
> Policy Editor:
>
> microsoft.public.windows.group_policy
>
> Malke
> --
> Elephant Boy Computers
> www.elephantboycomputers.com
> "Don't Panic!"
> MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

[Malke]

dan wrote:

> Thank you very much for the information. I will try making a new group
> as you suggested, but first I will read all I can about using the
> Group Policy Editor, and will look in the news group you mentioned.
> Then I will try to make it. Again thanks. This is just what I need.
>

You're most welcome. Happy to help.

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