Couple of Vista quirks I need help with

[MikeB]

I have a new laptop with Vista Ultimate SP1. I gave my daugther an
limited (user?) account on it so she could play some of the games.

Every program I install also installs its icons on her desktop. Today
I tried deleting the icons off her desktop and I get "Destination
Folder Access Denied" and "You need to confirm this operation." The
"Continue" button has a little shiedl sign on it, and it does
absolutely nothing if I click on it. I can't seem to find anything in
the help and Googling doesn't seem to turn up something specific.
What can be the problem here? How do I delete program icons off her
desktop?


Then, I have also noticed that there is a red shield in her taskbar
area. I click on it and it has Windows Security Alerts (that I don't
have on my userid when I log on to this computer).

One issue in the Security Center says "Malware protection - Check
Settings." There it says that Windows Live OneCare is active, but that
Windows Defender and Spyware Doctor reports that they are turned off.
FIrstly, I don't have this issue on my userid, secondly, I can't turn
it on, it says her userid doesn't have sufficient authority.

THe other issue is something I don't uderstand at all. Under "Other
Security Settings" there is a warning for somethig called "User
Account Control." What is this and what am I supposed to do with it?
Again, when I try to turn it on, it says her userid does not have
sufficient authority.

So what the heck is going on here?

Thanks for any advice on any of the above issues?

 

[Tyro]

You're installing programs in the "All users" group and not just your
daughter's account. The other things that are happening are telling you that
you need to be running under an administrator account to do what you're
trying to do.

Tyro

 

[MikeB]

You're installing programs in the "All users" group and not just your
daughter's account.

Frankly, I'm not choosing where to install this, and even if I do,
doesn't she have a say what goes on her desktop? Why does it matter
where the programs are installed when it ocmes to deleting icons off
her desktop? Surely the icons are on *her* desktop?

The other things that are happening are telling you that
you need to be running under an administrator account to do what you're
trying to do.

Duh. Not trying to be funny, but yes, I get that. I thought the big
idea behind Vista was that people did not have to be administrators.
So now she has to run without the anti-spyware that I as administrator
can run with? it doesn't, frankly, make any sense whatsoever.

 

[Tyro]

All things installed in the "All users" group apply to all. If you install
something in your own account, it applies only to you.

Tyro

 

[+Bob+]

Frankly, I'm not choosing where to install this, and even if I do,
doesn't she have a say what goes on her desktop? Why does it matter
where the programs are installed when it ocmes to deleting icons off
her desktop? Surely the icons are on *her* desktop?

Icons can be in/on her Desktop, or All Users. Some programs give you a
choice when you install, most don't. If you use Windows Explorer to go
into c:\users\username\Desktop you will find the icons for a
particular user. If you look in c:\users\All Users\Desktop you will
see the shared icons.

You can move them where you want them subject to one Vista issue: you
make not have the priv's to look at other user's Desktop. You can fix
that by changing the permissions on the Desktop folders so that you
have permission to see what's in them.

Duh. Not trying to be funny, but yes, I get that. I thought the big
idea behind Vista was that people did not have to be administrators.
So now she has to run without the anti-spyware that I as administrator
can run with? it doesn't, frankly, make any sense whatsoever.

Ah, you misunderstand the band-aid strategy. It's nearly impossible to
use Windows without being an Administrator some of time. In previous
versions, users just ended up running as Admin all the time since it
was impossible to function otherwise.

In Vista, they tried to correct this major deficiency by causing users
to run as non-Admins. To adjust the situation when you really need to
be an admin (which you will need, sooner or later), they gave you the
ability to right click on a program and "run as admin". That feature
is marginal, and doesn't always solve the problem. You can also enable
the built-in Admin account, which is a bit more powerful, and sign on
to that.

In addition to the Admin band-aid, MS tried to make the file system
more secure by globally denying you access to pretty much anything
other than the c:\users\you folder. It's a half assed global approach
that also makes it difficult to get work done quite often. You need to
compensate by learning to adjust file protections when needed. You may
run into this if you try to manage the icons as I previously
suggested.

As for your anti-spyware software, you should be able to install as an
admin and run under her account. You will often need to sign on as an
admin rather than a standard user to install software. Standard users
are not generally authorized to install software or change system
settings.