Administration Strategies

By Author: Henry Brown
Total Articles: 58
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For optimum security, Microsoft recommends that you do not assign administrators to the Administrators group and that you avoid running your computer while logged on as an administrator. This lesson examines reasons why you should not run your computer as an administrator and the actions you should take to ensure security for administrators.
After this lesson, you will be able to Explain why you should not run your computer as an administrator;Explain the groups free CompTIA exam questions administrators should use to log on;Explain how to use the Run As program to start a program as an administrator;
Estimated lesson time: 15 minutes
Why You Should Not Run Your Computer as an Administrator
Running Windows Server 2003 as an administrator makes the system vulnerable to Tro?jan horse attacks and other security risks. The simple act of visiting an Internet site can be extremely damaging to the system. An unfamiliar Internet site might contain Trojan horse code that can be downloaded to the system and executed. If you are logged on with administrator ...
... privileges, a Trojan horse could possibly reformat your hard drive, delete all files, create a new user 70-297 account with administrative access, and so on.
Therefore, you should not assign yourself to the Administrators group and you should avoid running your computer while logged on as an administrator. For most computer activity, you should assign yourself to the Users or Power Users group. When you log on as a member of the Users group, you can perform routine tasks, including running programs and visiting Internet sites, without exposing your computer to unnecessary risks. As a member of the Power Users group, you can perform routine tasks and also install programs, add printers, and use most Control Panel items. If you need to per?form an administrator-only task, such as upgrading the operating system or configuring system parameters, you should log on as an MCSE Exam administrator, perform the task, and then log off. If you frequently need to log on as an administrator, you can use the Run As program to start programs as an administrator.
Using the Run As Program
The Run As program allows a user to run specific tools and programs with permissions other than those provided by the account with which the user is currently logged on. Therefore, you can use the Run As program to run administrative tools with either local or domain administrator rights and permissions while logged on as a normal user. The Run As program can be used to start any program, Microsoft Management Console (MMC) tool, or Control Panel item, as long as You provide the appropriate user account and password information
The user account has the ability to log on to the computer.
The program, MMC tool, or Control Panel item is available on the system and to the user account.