Local User Management in Windows XP and Windows 7
The professional versions of Windows XP and Windows 7 allow for local user management and local management groups, unlike Windows 9x. To differentiate from Windows 9x, user validation on the system is necessary. This is handled by the user with privileges on the computer: the administrator. Once created, the user can log into the computer locally.
Local User
A custom setting that lets you start a work session on a local computer. In the NT family, this is provided that the installation is performed to install a specific configuration. This allows a person to log on to the computer and set up what they need. In this case, the credentials are created for the local computer administrator user who has privileges for most operations. This is the user that logs in for the first time.
The administrator user does not need to register; it is created automatically and cannot be deleted. However, it can be customized. This user can add, delete, or modify other users and local groups.
Discharging to a New User:
- Administrator computers to users
- Local groups to users
- Users created after the OS installation
Administrator: Has total control over the computer.
Guest: Can log in to use part of the system but may not install hardware or software, change system settings, or manage users or groups. They can work with installed software.
Initial User: Entered during the OS installation, with nearly the same privileges as the administrator.
High of Local Users
The administrator can register users or users with sufficient privileges (created with administrative privileges). The accounts serve only to log on to the computer locally, not to log in on remote computers.
Management of Passwords
Passwords are essential for security, preventing unauthorized users from accessing the system. It is convenient, or better, required for all user accounts so that users are validated at login. Passwords are managed in the screen that hosts the user.
Options for Managing Passwords:
- User changes the password at next logon: The first time the user logs in, they have to change their password.
- User can change the password: Select this check box to disable the previous option. The user can log in with the system password but cannot change it. They use the password provided by the administrator.
- Password never expires: Having selected some of the above options, if you deselect this box, the password will expire in 42 days.
Disabled Accounts
Used to avoid removing the credentials of a user’s computer who does not want to connect, temporarily. It is reversible and does not delete the account. Disabling it prevents the user from logging in. Custom settings are often used when the user is going to spend time without logging into the machine.
Profiles of Local Users
When a user registers on their computer and logs in at least once, a personal profile is generated with a specific configuration, especially for the desktop, Control Panel, applications, and use within the installation root directory. There is a folder called “Documents and Settings” in Windows XP and “Users” in Windows 7. It contains several subfolders for users.
Each folder has options to customize the login for each user: desktop, screen background, screen saver, installed programs. Any modifications a user makes in their folder do not affect other users. A user may not delete any of the folders of other users unless they have administrator privileges. Within the user profiles, there is a folder called “All Users” that contains information common to all users in the system.
Characteristics of a User:
-windowsvista2/paco à belongs to the user known to win paco view, has a size of 26.4 MB, the local profile is being used, and the date on which it was created.
Modification and Low Users
We can change the parameters for a user: access to the profile path, script logon, local path, connecting a network drive.
Groups of Users
All users must necessarily belong to a group to be recognized in the system.
- Local group: An administrative entity able to include a set of users or other groups, so that all privileges granted to this group will be inherited directly by the users and groups that depend on it.
All users generated in the OS installation process belong to a particular group: administrator, guest, local users to give high. We can make settings in the system for specific users and a group of users. We can create different groups to give more or fewer privileges on the system.
User Groups Generated After the Installation of Windows XP and Windows 7:
- Administrators: The admin user belongs to this group, along with other authorized users, to manage the local system.
- Duplicators: Can duplicate files on a domain.
- Guest: Have the same default access as members of the users group, except the guest account, which has more restrictions.
- Network Configuration Operators: Can have privileges to manage the network.
- Backup Operators: Can perform backups.
- Users: All discharged users belong to this group. They cannot make accidental or intentional changes in the system.
- Power Users: They have more administrative rights but some restrictions.
- Remote Desktop Users: Can log on remotely.
Start and Closing Session
When you log in to Windows XP, you log in directly to the user that was introduced in the list that appeared on the screen during installation. It does not ask for any kind of password. Windows 7 is different; we start a session with the password of the user created in the installation process. In both cases, you can customize the start of the session to be more comfortable. In Windows 7, customization is lower since the classic start is not contemplated. To log in, you only have to indicate the user name if you want to start the session in local mode.
Storage Devices
Once installed, you can perform some management tools for hard drives and storage units.
- Disk Manager: Start à Control Panel à Administrative Tools
Administrators manage teams.
Task Manager
To control processes (start, stop, change the priority of enforcement), we use the Task Manager tool.
Services
Within the system, background processes are continuously running. These processes are called services and are very useful. Services make communication possible.
Performance
When you install the OS, it is automatically configured with some default options. These determine system performance, which may be higher or lower depending on visual settings, allocated virtual memory, and storage device management. We can monitor the resources:
- Windows XP: Control Panel à Administrative Tools à Performance
- Windows 7: Control Panel à System and Security à Reliability and Performance Monitor
This tool is for supervision and configuration.
Local Printers
Local printers can connect to serial, parallel, or USB ports. Depending on the type of printer, the most common today being USB, the installation is simpler due to plug-and-play technology. When installing the printer drivers, you have three options:
- Select from the list that the system has.
- Use the manufacturer’s CD.
- Access the Internet to locate the drivers for your model.
Although no physical hardware has been installed, a simulation has been carried out. There are different ports where we can add the printers on our team, often used when the local printer will be shared by other computers on the network. After selecting the type of port, you can assign a name so that the rest of the computers on the network can identify it.
Ports:
“additional port: allows customers to print on available local-port: printers connected to a parallel or serial port, a specific file, a name of universal naming convention or the NUL port. By default, TCP / IP port: TCP / IP printers connected to the network directly, by default, lpr / port: TCP / IP printers connected to a unix server, when they are installed print services for unix