Help with User Accounts in Windows 7

Juanita

Is it best to create a separate standard user account for myself, in addition to the Administrator account I already have?  I read somewhere that it is best (safer from hackers) to set up a standard user account so you can spend the majority of your time logged into that account rather than logged in the majority of time as an administrator.  The logic is that if you are logged in as an administrator and a hacker gains access, then the access is as an administrator.  So, is it advisable to set up L4 in a standard user account?

Rich DeRuiter

Is it best to create a separate standard user account for myself, in addition to the Administrator account I already have?  I read somewhere that it is best (safer from hackers) to set up a standard user account so you can spend the majority of your time logged into that account rather than logged in the majority of time as an administrator.  The logic is that if you are logged in as an administrator and a hacker gains access, then the access is as an administrator.  So, is it advisable to set up L4 in a standard user account?

This is really a Windows security question (not a Logos question per se). Therefore you will get a wide variety of replies.

IMHO, the hacker who gains access to your system, if you're not logged in as administrator is not likely to be slowed down much by that fact. If he or she has already found you and gotten past your firewall, etc., he/she is probably good enough to get past that bit of security as well.

The only reason to run as a non-administrator (IMHO) is to prevent someone who can gain physical access to your computer from doing any damage. While a hacker, who gains access to a non-administrator account can have hours/days to hack the administrator account, a walk-in may have only minutes to do whatever it is they want to do. For those who travel, a laptop offers additional security issues that may warrant running on a non-administrator account.

Safety from hackers is really more about safe practices than anything
else (be very, very cautious about email attachments - even from people
you know, be careful which web-sites you visit, never click a message
that says you have a virus unless it comes from your own anti-virus
program, etc.). Second a good firewall and anti-virus are a must
(opinions on what are good vary). Third (or farther down the line) is
running as a non-administrator. The bottom line is that if you do the 2 most important things well, the concern you have is negligible, if you don't do them, it doesn't matter you may be hacked already.

Bottom line: I think that the level of security gained by not running on the administrator account is negligible for most people. It might make you feel better, but it really doesn't gain you much, if anything. It certainly gains you nothing against a determined hacker. So, just practice safe computing and run Logos 4 on your administrator account.

But, as I said, you will get responses here (and elsewhere, if you search the web for an answer to this question) that will disagree with me. Listen to their reasons. If you are convinced follow their advice, if not, follow mine, and continue to spend most of your Windows time running as administrator.