This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Setting Up Additional Users
Chances are you’re not the only person using your computer; it’s likely that you’ll be sharing your PC to some degree with your spouse and kids. Fortunately, you can configure Windows so that different people using your computer sign on with their own custom settings—and access to their own personal files.
You should assign each user in your household his own password-protected user account. Anyone trying to access another user’s account and files without the password will then be denied access.
You can establish two different types of user accounts on your computer—computer administrator and standard user. Only an administrator account can make system-wide changes to your PC, install software, and access all the files on the system.
When you first configured Windows on your PC, you were set up as an administrator. The other members of your household should be set up with standard accounts; they’ll be able to use the computer and access their own files, but they won’t be able to install software or mess up the main settings.
Creating a New Account
Only the computer administrator can add a new user to your system. To set up a new account in Windows 7, follow these steps:
- From the Start menu, select Control Panel.
- When the Control Panel opens, select Add or Remove User Accounts (in the User Accounts and Family Safety section).
- When the next window appears, click Create a New Account.
- When prompted, enter a name for the new account; then select whether this account is for a standard user or an account administrator.
- Click the Create Account button.
Windows now creates the new account and randomly assigns a picture that will appear next to the username.
Changing an Account
If you don’t like the picture assigned to an account, you can change this picture at any time by opening the Control Panel and selecting Add or Remove User Accounts. When the Manage Accounts window appears, as shown in Figure 4.9, select the account you want to change; then select the Change the Picture option.
)
By default, no password is assigned to the new account. If you want to assign a password, return to the Manage Accounts window, select the account, and then select the Create a Password option.