BleepingComputer.com: Admin Account and Passwords

Hello there, Bleepsters. This is security/hacker protection related, although not AV, firewall, or privacy. I hope it's OK to post it in this forum.

I'm running Win 7 Home Premium. Should I be using the admin account, or a standard user account? (I'm the only one with physical access to this computer.) And if/when I use the admin account, should I be using a strong password, or would that not protect me much from getting hacked? I do use CIS and Windows Defender for real-time protection, but I don't think those will prevent invasion upon Windows startup, correct? Oh I'm also on DSL, not wifi or any type of network, so that safety base is covered.

Many thanks, as always!

You should be using a regular user account with which you can use UAC to install things that require administrative rights.

Got it. No need to use a logon password with it for security's sake? Or does it not have the option of setting a password? (I'm rather new to 7, obviously.)

All your accounts everywhere should be password protected. I recommend 8 to 15 characters.

A good password is one that looks like this:

h4l1f()r|D|23s

that is HallforPres

This post has been edited by cryptodan: 25 July 2011 - 12:25 PM

I'll use (ry|D+0f()r|D|23s in honor of your quick and great faithful help.

Thanks a lot!

well edit that post so no one knows it.

It MIGHT be a smokescreen to throw people off. Just sayin.' Thanks again.

you are welcome

If you'd like some reading material in regards to your questions, here are a few suggested links:

• What makes a strong password?
  
• The Simplest Security: A Guide To Better Password Practices

• About Limited User Accounts
  
• Why use a standard user account instead of an administrator account?
  
• Use a Non-Admin Account (Limited User Accounts) for Malware Prevention
  
• LowerMyRights

floridaze, on 25 July 2011 - 12:21 PM, said:

If you set a password on your account, it will also be used at logon.
That is not only interactive logon, but other types of logon too, like network logon.

You perform a network logon when you access a remote share over the network. There exists malware that will propagate via shares and even perform dictionary attacks to try to access the share.
So you are best of with a strong password.

Thanks a lot, Quietman7 and Didier. I appreciate the advice and the links. I indeed have now created good passwords for my Windows accounts for logging on at startup.

My next question is (for anybody who may read this), I've been using "an" admin account which is the account I made when I installed 7, but not "THE" admin account, which I have disabled. Is it OK to switch what is right now my standard account to admin, and then what is right now my admin account to standard? I want to continue to use my current admin theme, libraries, and so on. I'm hoping I can do this, so I don't have to migrate everything over to the new standard account. But I want to ask a bleepin' expert first so that I don't create a lot of problems for myself.

Thank you!

Just keep using the account you are using. It is perfectly fine. No need to switch.

Ahh OK. I'm sorry that when I posted this yesterday I didn't discern between "an" admin, and "THE" admin. I was a little unclear on that myself. But I'm definitely only "an" admin AFAIK, as I do often have UAC queries pop up. Thanks for telling me that I'm safe with this time of admin account. Glad I don't have to do any troublesome switching.