Effect of changing passwords

[pballard]

Hi all,

2 months ago I sent this post to this group:

I am the administrator on my PC running XP, and my (fairly young) kids
each have a limited account.

I wish to be able to change their passwords (to lock them out at certain times).
However if I change the password, then XP says that if I change the password, then:

"that user will lose all personal certificates,
and stored passwords for Web sites or network resources."

So I have some questions?

1. What does that mean? Does it mean it deletes any cookies they have?
Will it affect (e.g.) accumulated points on neopets.com?

2. Why is it like this? Why does changing the password do more than
just change the password?

3. Is there a way to change the password and change nothing else?

Rick Rogers helpfully replied:

Don't change the password, just temporarily disable the account (this is
what I do when my daughter's misbehave). Click start/run, type CONTROL
USERPASSWORDS2 and click ok. Go to the advanced tab, click the advanced
button to open the user manager dialog (lusrmgr.msc). Click on the Users
folder, then right click the account and select properties. You can disable
it here. Reverse the steps to quickly re-enable the account whenever you
wish.

Well it took 2 months for my kids to misbehave enough for me to try
Rick's advice (hey, they're good kids!)... alas, it doesn't work. When
I click on the advanced button inside the advanced tab, I get the
following message:

"This computer is running Windows XP Home Edition. This snapin may not
be used with that version of Windows. To manage user accounts for this
compuer, use the User Accounts tool in the control panel."

But using the control panel, I see no option to disable accounts, only
to change the password. Which appears to have nasty side effects, as I
said in my earlier post.

So... what if anything can I do? Is there any way to lock my kids out
of their accounts for a few days, without destroying anything important
to them?

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi,

Yep, the Home version doesn't have the lusrmgr.msc snap-in. You'd have to
change the password.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[PopS]

It sounded in an earlier post like you tried to delete the
accounts. Just changing the passwords shouldn't cause any loss
of anything except the old password, so give that a try. Don't
mess with the account NAME, just change the Password.
My sister has Home and changes her password just before the
grandkids come over. Every time <g>. Curious little runts,
aren't they? <G>

You're a good Dad.

Pop

 

[Robert Campbell]

I take away the power cable and with the quick release casings these days
disconecting the hard drive is easy too!

 

[PopS]

To add to what Jim Hall said, AND assuming you haven't paid
for/setup certificates, encryption, etc., since it's kids, and
more directly in answer to your question:
What that really means is, any password/s stored in memory (as in
auto-complete entries, etc) will be lost. That's understandable:
Those passwords become obsolete when a new one is assigned. So,
if windows automatically adds a password when they fill in a
username, say, the password will no longer be the right one:
They'll have to manually enter their new password, or ... wait
until you change the password back for them if they don't know
what it is, which is the way I think you wish to go if I read it
right.

It won't delete stored cookies. But, if the cookies should have
their password in them (unlikely), they would be asked for the
new password. So, when you switch the old password back, that
should all start working again, unless they try to guess
passwords and save them <g>.

It -shouldn't- mess up neopets; I looked at it and the cookies
look pretty innocous.

It doesn't change anything else. It's the LACK of changing
anything else it's telling you about. If the OLD password is
stored someplace, it will of course be no good when it's used.
Until you put the old password back, or give them the new
password to their accounts, they won't be able to access them.
Only the password changes. So, if something is looking for a
password, it finds the old one UNTIL and UNLESS the new password
is entered. And yes, it will be asked for in this case.
The password IS all that you're changing. MS isn't the best at
"layspeak" and never has been <g>. They're warning you about the
collateral damage, which is loss of access, which, if I
understand correctly, is exactly what you want to accomplish.

One last caveat: There IS a setting that can prevent you from
using an already-used (older) password after it's been changed.
I doubt you have it set but in case you do, you might want to
test first so you'll know.
Just create a new account with a password, REstart, and then
change the password, REstart again, and change it back. If it
lets you, you're all set.

Also, are you aware that even Limited Accounts can change their
own passwords? If they were so inclined, your kids -could-
change their password to something you don't know.
If they get that Savvy, then I'd consider going into Admin and
deleting their accounts and making them start over from scratch -
they likely wouldn't appreciate that.
IF they get TOO smart about it, you might need to learn more
about security, but it sounds like there's time. Hope they're
not reading this <g>.
Our kids are the biggest investment we'll ever make in this
world.

HTH,

Pop

It sounded in an earlier post like you tried to delete the
accounts. Just changing the passwords shouldn't cause any loss
of anything except the old password, so give that a try. Don't
mess with the account NAME, just change the Password.
My sister has Home and changes her password just before the
grandkids come over. Every time <g>. Curious little runts,
aren't they? <G>

You're a good Dad.

Pop