"user" security issues with Win2k Pro and Win XP Pro?

[willbill]

"user" security issues with Win2k Pro and Win XP Pro?

with all the new security issues for M$ OS's,
Office Products, and especially I.E. ...


1. i see you can still be a "power" user under
Win 2000 Pro, but i don't see it as a choice
under Win XP Pro

does anyone know of security issues with being
a "power" user when surfing the web with Win 2000?

(vs. being a more restricted "normal" user)


2. what about "fast" user switching being on/off?
(a choice under Win XP Pro)

"If you select this option (i.e. "on"), programs
do not shut down when another user logs on to
the computer. For example, if you are typing
a report and your child wants to check e-mail,
you can log off using Switch User, the child
can log on, check e-mail, and then log off.
You can log on and return to your report
without losing your place.

Important

When Fast User Switching is turned on, Serial Keys
will not work. Serial Keys is an accessibility
feature that provides support so that alternative
input devices (such as single_switch or puff_and_sip
devices) can be used in place of the computer's
standard keyboard or mouse."


any and all thoughts on 1/2 above, and anything
else on how to minimize chances of an attack
while on the web are welcome (by me)

on XP Pro, my current user ID is a "limited account"

that idea showed up quite a few months ago by
either chrisv or The little lost Angel,
and i finally got off my butt this morning
and am now surfing the web as a limited user

on a side note, will the new Win Vista really help
minimize web browsing risks?

or is it still too early to tell?

i mean, the acid test is when it (Vista) finally
gets released into the cold cruel world.

T.I.A., bill

on a side note, i've moved to a two monitor setup.
last time was on a Sun Unix platform in '97

wow, is this grrrrreat or what?

using a cheap nVidia 6600GT, with an 19" CRT
(that does 1600x1200 ok) and a 20" LCD that
also does 1600x1200 ok. in Dualview, one
of several 2 display options within nView
(clone, horizontal span, and vertical span
are the others)

 

[Tony Hill]

"user" security issues with Win2k Pro and Win XP Pro?

with all the new security issues for M$ OS's,
Office Products, and especially I.E. ...


1. i see you can still be a "power" user under
Win 2000 Pro, but i don't see it as a choice
under Win XP Pro

It's still there. Not really hidden or anything actually. Of course,
the actual names are rather arbitrary, you could create a group called
"Monkey Users" if you so chose and get it set up with all the security
options you wish.

does anyone know of security issues with being
a "power" user when surfing the web with Win 2000?

(vs. being a more restricted "normal" user)

Under a default Windows configuration the "Power Users" group has
write access to the Program Files directory while the "Users" group
does not. So yeah, there is a potential security issue there.

2. what about "fast" user switching being on/off?
(a choice under Win XP Pro)

Nice feature, makes it easier to run the OS properly, ie log in as
either a normal User or Power User (or Monkey User ) for your main
account and then do a Fast User Switch over to an Administrator
account for installing applications, changing settings, etc. Of
course, a lot of this can actually be accomplished simply by using the
"Run As" context menu option. However where that fails and you really
need a full administrator account, this allows you to switch over
without logging out and then back in.

"If you select this option (i.e. "on"), programs
do not shut down when another user logs on to
the computer. For example, if you are typing
a report and your child wants to check e-mail,
you can log off using Switch User, the child
can log on, check e-mail, and then log off.
You can log on and return to your report
without losing your place.

Really all this means is that you are running in more of a multi-user
environment. Nothing new to anyone from the *nix world, but a bit of
a first for the Windows world. Two (or more) users both logged in at
the same time using different virtual terminals. Obviously the big
security risk here is you forget which user you're logged in as.
Otherwise though, it's all good.

any and all thoughts on 1/2 above, and anything
else on how to minimize chances of an attack
while on the web are welcome (by me)

on XP Pro, my current user ID is a "limited account"

Good idea!

that idea showed up quite a few months ago by
either chrisv or The little lost Angel,

Smart folk them two!

and i finally got off my butt this morning
and am now surfing the web as a limited user

on a side note, will the new Win Vista really help
minimize web browsing risks?

or is it still too early to tell?

Still too early to tell, though I don't expect much of a change one
way or the other. Security holes exist for all operating systems out
there. You can do a lot to keep them to a minimum and especially to
reduce the effects of these holes, however eliminating them altogether
is damn near impossible.

As always, your best defence is a bit of common sense. Keep up to
date with the latest patches, disable services you don't need, ALWAYS
stay behind some sort of firewall (at the very least a NAT router,
though I personally recommend both a NAT router and a desktop software
firewall), but more importantly, don't just go around blindly
installing software from untrusted sources and clicking "Yes" to all
security warnings. If you follow these steps, most current OSes will
be pretty secure and none will be perfect.

 

[nobody]

As always, your best defence is a bit of common sense. Keep up to
date with the latest patches, disable services you don't need, ALWAYS
stay behind some sort of firewall (at the very least a NAT router,
though I personally recommend both a NAT router and a desktop software
firewall), but more importantly, don't just go around blindly
installing software from untrusted sources and clicking "Yes" to all
security warnings. If you follow these steps, most current OSes will
be pretty secure and none will be perfect.

Or have a throwaway box that you can format c:/u without regret. Used
to keep an old k6-2+ box alive just for that - testing downloads,
visiting iffy sites (like astalavista.com and links thereof), and run
edonkey nonstop (yes I share). When it finally died I picked from a
junk pile some parts and put together a P3-933 box, stuffed to the
limit with RAM (512MB). Good enough to run XP, if you don't do
anything serious with it. Once a download in question tested on this
box, I either do a cleanup job (have to sometimes) or copy it to main
Opty rig.
NNN