Deleting/renaming a local user account.

[Justin]

What is considered the "industry standard" or "best
practice" regarding the deletion/renaming of local user
accounts in Windows XP Professional? Should it be a last
resort or the first thing a tech should try? What are
the consequences of deleting/renaming a local user
account?

 

[Miha Pihler]

Hi Justin,

Built in accounts (e.g. Administrator, Guest, etc...) can't be deleted, but
these accounts can be disabled or renamed. I usually rename Administrator
account and create new account with name "Administrator" and disable it.
This way I can easily monitor any attacks.

Other local accounts (accounts that YOU create locally) don't play any
special role unless you assign it to the account (e.g. create service
account). Good guide line for ALL accounts is use strong, long and hard to
guess password.

I hope this helps,

Mike

 

[Justin]

What I am researching is that some of out techs as my
place of employment immediately delete/rename a users
local account rather than try all other alternatives. I
feel that taking such steps should be the last resort,
but I have been asked to confirm what the "best practice"
or "industry standard" is in that sort of situation.
When you mess with their profile it messes with certain
applications and such.

Thanks, for the advice though, Mike