Chapter 5: Configuring Users and Groups

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Chapter 5 Configuring Users and Groups
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Types of User Accounts

• Administrator
• Unrestricted access to performing administrative
  tasks
• Use sparingly
• Standard User
• Can perform most day-to-day tasks
• Administrative credentials required to make
  system-wide changes

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Logging on to Windows Vista

• Before a user can use a Windows Vista computer,
  he/she must authenticate by providing a Username
  and Password that match whats in the Local
  Security Database

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Working with User Accounts

• Use the Local Users and Groups snap-in in the MMC

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Creating New Users

• Rules
• Usernames must be between 1 and 20 characters
• Usernames must be unique among all user and group
  names stored on your computer
• Usernames cant contain the following characters
• Usernames cant consist of only periods or spaces
• Conventions
• Choose a consistent naming format, i.e. First
  Initial Last Name

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Options for New User Accounts
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Disabling and Deleting User Accounts

• Accounts that are not in use should be disabled
  or deleted
• Why disable?
• User on vacation
• User left job, job will be filled again soon
• Why delete?
• User of account left long ago, has been unused
  since then
• Why not delete?
• Deleting an account destroys its SID, and loses
  any permissions assigned to it

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Renaming Users and Changing a Users Password

• When you hire a new person into the position
  vacated by a former employee, rename the user
  account, change the password, and re-enable the
  account. This preserves the SID, and the new
  employee has all the rights and permissions
  granted to the former one.
• To rename, highlight the User account in Local
  Users and Groups, click the Action button, and
  choose Rename.
• To change a password, highlight the User account
  in Local Users and Groups, click the Action
  button, and choose Set Password.

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Managing User Properties

• Managing Group Membership

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Setting Up User Profiles, Logon Scripts, and Home
Folders

• Profile Path Storage place for user environment
  settings
• Logon Script Set up drive mappings or printer
  mappings, or run executables at logon time
• Home Folders Where users store personal files
  and folders

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Creating Groups

• Group name should be descriptive (ex. Account
  Data Users)
• Group name must be unique to the computer
• Group names can be up to 256 characters