Users accounts

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I have three user accounts on a laptop running XP is there a way i can check
who logged on and when, some kind of history log??
 
Trevor wrote:
|| I have three user accounts on a laptop running XP is there a way i
|| can check who logged on and when, some kind of history log??
|| --
|| Trevor

Which version of XP?
 
Trevor said:
I have three user accounts on a laptop running XP is there a way i can
check
who logged on and when, some kind of history log??
--
Click to expand...

Yes these successful logon events should be being logged to the Security
Event Log.
You can use the Event Viewer to view these
All of this assumes you are using Windows XP Professional.

--

Regards,

Mike
--
Mike Brannigan [Microsoft]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights

Please note I cannot respond to e-mailed questions, please use these
newsgroups
 
Mike Brannigan said:
Yes these successful logon events should be being logged to the Security
Event Log.
You can use the Event Viewer to view these
All of this assumes you are using Windows XP Professional.
Click to expand...


What if one needs the same information in XP Home?
 
Mike,

How do I restrict the creation of windows accounts on my PC. I have some
parental control software that is geared to existing windows accounts. The
problem I have is that the accounts can be easily created that can bypass the
parental control software (Symantec Internet Security 2005) that I have.

Thanks,

Jimmer
 
Jimmer said:
Mike,

How do I restrict the creation of windows accounts on my PC. I have some
parental control software that is geared to existing windows accounts.
The
problem I have is that the accounts can be easily created that can bypass
the
parental control software (Symantec Internet Security 2005) that I have.
Click to expand...

Only members of the Administrators and Power Users groups can create new
accounts.
So do not make untrusted accounts members of these groups.
--

Regards,

Mike
--
Mike Brannigan [Microsoft]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights

Please note I cannot respond to e-mailed questions, please use these
newsgroups
 
Thanks for the quick reply. Though I'm acting as the administrator of my PC
at home, any kid in the neighborhood is able to create their own account.
Can you point me to an area or doc that explains how an administrator can
limit the creation of new accounts?

Thanks,

Jimmer
 
You're misunderstanding what Mike explained to you.

'Administrator' is a type of account, not a person. There are different
types of account in Windows XP, and the differences between them are based
on what the accounts are permitted to do on the computer. Only Administrator
accounts are allowed to create other accounts. You can read about the
different types of account in the Help and Support Center.

Presumably, you are using your computer with an Administrator account, so
you can create other accounts. When you create accounts for other people,
don't make them Administrator-type accounts. That way, those other people
won't be able to create other accounts, and they won't be able to do all the
other things that can only be done with an Administrator account.

Modem Ani
 
Thanks for the reply. I made myself the administrator from the start but
must have neglected some step to restrict the creation of new accounts. I
applied a password to my admin account but new accounts still appear. Is
there any way that my password can be overridden?

Jimmer
 
As I explained in my earlier post, any account that you created that has
Administrator status can create other accounts.

Modem Ani
 
Thanks for the quick reply. Though I'm acting as the administrator of my PC
at home, any kid in the neighborhood is able to create their own account.
Can you point me to an area or doc that explains how an administrator can
limit the creation of new accounts?
Click to expand...

In addition to the information provided by others, XP has a builtin
Administrator account. It is hidden from the Welcome Screen in XP Home. It
is hidden from the welcome screen in XP Pro, if other user accounts exist
and at least one of them is an account in the administrator group.

In most setups, this account starts out without a password. The kids may be
smart enough to get to the hidden account and could then create new user
accounts.

To log on to this reserved account in XP Home, boot to Safe Mode and select
"Administrator" from the account names shown.

To log on to this account in XP Pro, while at the Welcome screen press
Ctrl+Alt+Del twice. The Win2000 style logon screen appears. Type in
Administrator and leave the password field blank.

Once logged on to the account, go to Control Panel> User Accounts and
assign this account a password. Caution: don't forget it and don't make it
something simple the kids can guess.

Log off. You've now locked the "back door." Keep this account in mind as it
is very useful for troubleshooting purposes. If your own administrative
account becomes corrupt, you have this reserve account to fall back on.
 
Great advice Sharon. Thanks.

Question: What if the neighborhood gang has found this hidden administrator
account and assigned a password? Besides getting them to 'fess up, can this
password be deleted or changed? If no, I guess the only way to really do
this right is to reload Windows XP from scratch. Hopefully I won't have to
go this route.

Jimmer
 
Great advice Sharon. Thanks.

Question: What if the neighborhood gang has found this hidden administrator
account and assigned a password? Besides getting them to 'fess up, can this
password be deleted or changed? If no, I guess the only way to really do
this right is to reload Windows XP from scratch. Hopefully I won't have to
go this route.

Jimmer
Click to expand...

You're welcome.

Log on with an account in the administrative group. Use Start> Run and type
in control userpasswords2

You can change the password of any account (without having to type in the
old one) from that screen.
 
Good I started Windows XP in safe mode and gave the administrator
account a password. With that accomplished, I'd like to disable the creation
of any new user accounts by anyone other than me, the administrator. There
must be a step I need to take because I restarted windows and was able to
create an account after logging into User Accounts from the Control Panel.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Jimmer
 
Jimmer said:
Good I started Windows XP in safe mode and gave the administrator
account a password. With that accomplished, I'd like to disable the creation
of any new user accounts by anyone other than me, the administrator.
Click to expand...

Only accounts with administrator rights can create new accounts AFAIK,
so make sure that YOU have control of any admin accounts. Turn any
accounts other than the ones you use into limited accounts and your
problems should be mainly over!
 
Thanks for the info Gordon.

Questions:

1. What does AFAIK mean?

2. How can I prevent a user from changing the account type from limited to
admin after I've revised them? I tested one last night and it was easy to
change it back to admin. I must have missed a step in the configuration.

Jimmer
 
Jimmer said:
Thanks for the info Gordon.

Questions:

1. What does AFAIK mean?
Click to expand...

As far As I Know!
2. How can I prevent a user from changing the account type from limited to
admin after I've revised them? I tested one last night and it was easy to
change it back to admin. I must have missed a step in the configuration.

Jimmer
Click to expand...

If the User is a *LIMITED* account, then the user can in NO
CIRCUMSTANCES change their account back to an administrator unless they
know the Admin password. Only an Administrator account can change the
status of Users. Hence you need to password-protect *ALL* admin accounts
that YOU use, and change *ALL* other accounts to "Limited"
 
Once I change the user accounts to Limited, does that eliminate their ability
to create new accounts?
 
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