Hacking

[Guest]

I am the only account with a system administrator yet my son is able to enter
and creat new accounts with system administrator access. Any idea how he is
able to do so?

 

[Richard Urban]

Change "your" password to something he doesn't know.

--
Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Kevin]

I am the only account with a system administrator yet my son is able to
enter
and creat new accounts with system administrator access. Any idea how he
is
able to do so?

Did the little devil figure out your system password? Or do you even have
one? I don't. I never set up my systems with a password. But that's just
me. Go into Control Panel and then User Accounts. Delete all the accounts
you can find except yours and possibly the limited guest account. Set your
administrator account with a kick-ass password. About twenty or thirty
characters, mixed case and numbers should do it.

Here's an example: T4bu9PQc35ciNDsR826AvlM

Or use a pass phrase like this: The house on the hill is green and bright,
it marks the border of dark and light.

Pass phrases are considered to be way cool for protection.

Then threaten your son with bodily harm should he access your system again
without your permission.

 

[Fitz]

In addition to what Richard said, make sure the default Administrator
account has a password also.

***

 

[null2006]

And make sure your son isn't in the Administrator group.

 

[Guest]

The reason I asked is because I did change the password without a hint.
There must be another way he got in. I did look-up the "forgotten password"
feature and I am thinking he might have created a floppy from my account and
now can login without the need of a passowrd. Any thoughts.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I am the only account with a system administrator yet my son is able to enter
and creat new accounts with system administrator access. Any idea how he is
able to do so?

Is your system the *only* account, or is there also the default
administrator account? By default, the password for that (particularly on
XP Home) is blank. Once other user accounts are created, by default you
will not see the Admin account listed at startup. And on XP Home, you
can only see the Admin account in Safe Mode.

Many people forget about the Administrator account and that its password is
by defaut blank. I've fixed a number of systems this way - people lost
their passwords and didn't realize that account was there. It's like
locking your keys in the car when the sunroof is open.

So change the password for the built-in Administrator account to something
strong. Do *not* delete or disable it.

Use Explorer to view the c:\documents and settings folder structure.
You'll see subfolders for each user account that has been logged into.
This may help you see what other accounts exist.

Log in to the Administrator accounts and view the User accounts. Make sure
that the ones you expect to be there are there - no more. Add new passwords
to any Admin level accounts.

 

[Guest]

Patrick,

Thanks. This is what I was looking for. I was not aware of the admin
account, but I suspected that XP has something like a root passward.

Jim

 

[Paul & Colette Daigneault]

Did you set a password for your account? If yes, is it a really simple
password which your son figured out?