Windows XP Pro ???

[drm7]

I run Windows XP Pro at home. I have the following sign-ons:
* myself as administrator, requires password
* my wife as administrator, requires password
* "guest" as limited user, no password

I used to have my wife's account set up as limited user but I ran into file access errors when she used our internet provider's windows dialer software. I switched her to administrator and the problem went away. When I install new software I install it on my account. My questions are: 1) Should I install software from the WinXP administrator sign-on instead of my account? 2) How do I grant different accounts access to software that I want them to be able to use? It seems that any package that is installed anyone can get to even if they can't get to my "My Documents" folder to view files I've created. For example, TurboTax. Too much personal information that I don't want my "guests" getting to.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

drm,
You can't grant application-level access to people in XP. You can really get into the nitty-gritty by finding out what registry settings are being disallowed for non-admin accounts, but that's tricky and can lead to unexpected results.

This has been a bone of contention of mine since dealing with Windows NT 3.1 & NT 3.5 years ago. You can setup special folders/shorcuts (remember the old "Program Manager"?) and such but without necessary registry-level permissions that a program needs, a non-admin isn't allowed to run many things. For us mere mortals to FIND what to change in order to make that happen is difficult at best. Software writers need to do a much better job at this. Microsoft Office is a good example of a program that works A-OK with only "user" rights. Of course, it needs to be installed by an admin of the box...

It doesn't matter if you install software from the original admin account or another account that has admin privledges...it's all the same.

Also, this is what spyware creators have known for some time! Most people run their systems with admin level access because of the very problem you described. With admin access, spyware or a virus can wreak instant havoc. By following your way of thinking in locking down a machine, it makes it much more difficult for major catastrophies to occur. Like my 5 year old accidentally deleting system files from the kids Win 98 computer. Thank God for imaging software!

 

[tmorris1]

I had to make my kids administrators or their games won't work. I took everything out of their start menus that I don't want them to run and put shortcuts to the apps they use on their desktops. This works until they are old enough to be able to navigate using Windows Explorer, but at least it keeps them from "accidently" running something they shouldn't.
If you know what you are doing you can restrict access to folders by individual users by setting the NTFS permissions. Be carefull with NTFS setting because you can lock yourself out of things you need.

 

[Razl]

Regarding TurboTax. Yes, other users will be able to run TurboTax. However, as long as you save the .TAX file in your "My Documents" folder and are not logged in as you, they will not be able to access your personal information.

Some programs are aware of Window's limitations and give you the option at the time of installation to choose access privileges to just you or everyone.