Limited Account and Computer Security

  • Thread starter Thread starter Marshall
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Marshall

Does using a Limited Account improve security from
hackers? Or is it enough these days to use firewall,
virus check software, and keep critical updates current?
 
Marshall said:
Does using a Limited Account improve security from
hackers? Or is it enough these days to use firewall,
virus check software, and keep critical updates current?
Click to expand...


Limited accounts keep YOU from screwing up (intentionally or
unintentionally) - but does not block all the bad things that could happen.
Some software installs only in places that regular users have rights.. Some
need at least "Power User" status to affect things. Others still need full
rights to everything and some of the worst then go in and deny even the
administrator to remove them....
 
If you are using a Limited User account, then nothing you can do (and this
includes any viruses/trojans/spyware that you may load by mistake) can
affect the whole system. In theory, the worst case scenario would be that
you can log on as an administrator, trash the limited user profile (after
carefully backing up what you need) and then go back into a Limited User
account with a clean slate.
 
Opinions differ on this.
If the OS and its installed services had no exploitable errors
then certainly use of a limited account would have effect of
limiting any malware from surfing, email, etc. to being able
only to do what that limited account can do.
If you use an admin account there is no hurdle for the malware,
but using a limited is not a guarantee that there is a sufficiently
high hurdle, only that there is another hurdle.

I favor putting as many hurdles in the way to protect me/my
resources as is feasible.
 
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