Reduce Windows security vulnerabilities

[Steve]

Perhaps I miss understand but the suggestion here makes a lot of sense even though it might be slightly inconvenient at times. Is it any different a suggestion to what other minority OSs have been doing for years

[Rik]

No it isn't, Steve, and will inevitably be the way of the future, imo.

[Steve]

Apparently software would need redesigning to work better for the standard user .I suppose the other machines i.e Unix/Linux were primarily  designed as networked machines so user accounts,functionality and security were built in from the ground upwards so to speak whereas Windows originated on isolated desktops with network capability added on.

[Rik]

Very much, Steve. Until v3.11, networking was hard to impossible with Windows.

[zappaDPJ]

Those statistics are quite interesting. Unfortunately I'd go insane not running in admin mode, it was bad enough with Vista where I had to run as admin and still got denied functionality by UAC 

[john]

Naively I thought most people ran Windows in Standard User mode, I don't normally need to login as an administrator.

Perhaps it's because I originally used UNIX and similarly rarely used the superuser (root) account that I do the same with Windows.

If I do have to execute something as an administrator I can usually use the 'run as' option.

[Inkblot]

Wasn't this the reasoning behind the 'power users' group in xp and later? Maybe 2000 as well, I forget now, the idea was more rights that standard user but less than administrator so members of the power users group could install printers, install (Most) software and so on without being a full admin.

[Rik]

It was, Inky. Trouble is, I suspect most people got tired of being unable to do things, so created an admin account.

[esh]

It is far better these days.

I don't let *any* of the standard workstations log in as an admin and UAC just upgrades the user account when needed via a password. Older games still have trouble integrating but if you just run them specifically as an admin (they won't ask) then it seems good to go.

Linux runs very well without admin in general. Windows is getting there.

I *think* you could do some arcane DOS networking and wrap it through Windows 3.1 but it was really really.... arcane. I'm glad we don't have to go there anymore. The perpetual choice of deciding whether on this reboot I load my network driver or sound card... 640KB was so cruel

[Rik]

32k was crueler. 

[Technical Ben]

But I need to be able to run and install software. I don't want to have to log out/in to different users just to get an update to Firefox. I practically disabled all the warnings and logged on as admin, mainly because it kept locking me out of my own "my documents" folder!!! 

[Dangerjunkie]

Hi,

When I run Windows (which I admit isn't that often now - Linux is just so easy and trouble free) I run as a standard user. If I want to install something I usually right click and "Run as" and give the admin user's password. I very rarely have to log in as admin as most "system" settings don't change often - I've got the machine how I like it.

Cheers,
Paul.

[esh]

You don't have to log out/in again anymore with Windows 7 up, at least if the software supports the OS properly. Insert your password (a la 'sudo' on linux) and off you go.

[Ted]

But I need to be able to run and install software. I don't want to have to log out/in to different users just to get an update to Firefox. I practically disabled all the warnings and logged on as admin, mainly because it kept locking me out of my own "my documents" folder!!! 

Sorry to say it but this is a perfect example of why (most) windows users will never have a secure OS. They just don't, or won't understand the core principals behind user\root privileges.

Never run an account as root\admin unless you have to. If you don't understand why, then its even more important that you don't do it.

(hint) if you can install software\programmes, without escalating privileges, then so can other people\spyware\viruses etc.