How was it done?

[Mark]

How was it done?



One computer has 4 users. One of them has password protected Admin
privilages, three others have so called limited accounts.

One day I (user in charge with Admin privileges) found out that another user
somehow changed his account from limited to Admin. Machine has Windows XP
Home with SP2.



I changed that user’s account back to limited. I am afraid that after coming
back from vacation he will be able to do it again.



I though that it was impossible. How did he do it? What can I do to prevent
it in the future?



Mark

 

[Michael Seidner]

If you are using XP Home Edition and start in Safe Mode there will a default
"Administrator" account that was created when XP was installed. If you have
never set a password for this "default" account, then anyone could logon as
"Administrator" and make system changes.

 

[Kerry Brown]

How was it done?



One computer has 4 users. One of them has password protected Admin
privilages, three others have so called limited accounts.

One day I (user in charge with Admin privileges) found out that another
user somehow changed his account from limited to Admin. Machine has
Windows XP Home with SP2.



I changed that user’s account back to limited. I am afraid that after
coming back from vacation he will be able to do it again.



I though that it was impossible. How did he do it? What can I do to
prevent it in the future?



Mark

Make sure the administrator account has a strong password. It is often setup
with no password. It is available if you boot in safe mode.

Kerry

 

[Mark]

Thanks. How can I set a password to that Safe Mode account?
Mark

 

[Pee Jay]

If you are using XP Home Edition and start in Safe Mode there will a default
"Administrator" account that was created when XP was installed. If you have
never set a password for this "default" account, then anyone could logon as
"Administrator" and make system changes.

Or you are using a simple password for your own account that is easily
guessable!


--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From: Pee Jay

At Fabulous Forresters Beach
Central Coast NSW
Australia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[D.Currie]

Thanks. How can I set a password to that Safe Mode account?
Mark

Start the computer in safe mode, and you'll see the Administrator account.
Log in. Set a password, just like you would for any other account.

Make sure you remember what the password is, because you may need to access
it some day.

Depending on how good this user is with computers....there are ways to reset
the default admin password. So when you get back, make sure your password is
still working.

 

[WTC]

Start the computer in safe mode, and you'll see the Administrator
account. Log in. Set a password, just like you would for any other
account.

No need to go into safe mode, When log on with an user with
Administrative Privileges, use the Run Dialog box and type

control userpasswords2

Then highlight the Administrative User account and click "Reset
Password", then simply enter a strong password.

 

[Mark]

Is Safe Mode admin password something diffrent than the admin password that
I already have?

 

[D.Currie]

Is Safe Mode admin password something diffrent than the admin password
that I already have?

You're using a user account, presumably with your name or something. When
you start is safe mode, you will see another account named "Administrator."

 

[D.Currie]

No need to go into safe mode, When log on with an user with Administrative
Privileges, use the Run Dialog box and type

control userpasswords2

Then highlight the Administrative User account and click "Reset Password",
then simply enter a strong password.

True enough, but most people will never remember that command the second
time they need it, while starting in safe mode is more common.

 

[Guest]

By using a "strong" password, we mean something like $Up{r/\/\@|\|2O01 (for
"superman2o01), or mix lots of upper and lower-case letters and numbers. The
longer the password, the harder it is to crack. Once you set your password,
do the same thing for your own "personal" user account (seperate from the
"admin" account).

Then go to Start>Settings>Control Panel>User Accounts and change the way
users logon. If you have the "old" view (where users have to type their name
in), just change the view to "Welcome Screen". That way, The Administrator
account won't even be an option for anybody to use to logon. Thus, there will
be no way he can type in the word "administrator" except in the Setup.

If your Motherboard is an Intel motherboard, you can even go into the BIOS
and set an option to tell you if the case to the computer has been opened
(re-setting the BIOS [and setup's admin password] by removing the battery...)
Since you have Admin priviledges, you can always change the Welcome screen
back to the "type it in" Classic logon screen and then logon into that
account if the need arises.

Like the previous users have stated, I suggest that you can go into the
Setup and creat an admin password there, too.

Good luck, and do a complete virus scan and backup before you leave. You
might want to even take the backup disks with you on your vacation...