Creating user accounts is a good way to improve the security of your
PC, as well as manage what different users have access to on your
machine. For instance, it may not be wise to allow a young family
member access to system files and settings. After all, they only need
to find Control Panel and you could find yourself having all sorts of
problems!

If you set up your machine yourself, you may already have User Accounts
for each family member. However, adding a new account or modifying the
permissions of an existing one is relatively straight forward.

To create a new user, go to Start � Settings � Control Panel � User
Accounts, then select Create a new account. Fill in name and password
as required, then click next. Here, you need to select the type of
account you wish the user to have. The safest option is Restricted
User, whereby the user can save documents and use the machine normally,
but cannot make changes to system files, install any applications or
view other users documents.

Alternatively, if the user you are creating the account for is trusted
and knows their way around a PC, the Standard or Power User option may
be more appropriate. Users in this group have permission to install and
uninstall applications, add new hardware, run legacy applications and
so forth. The only real restriction with this group is the inability to
read other users documents. The Administrator group is completely
unrestricted, so it is wise to only give these permissions to users who
require access to every document on the machine.

To modify an existing account, go to Start � Settings � Control Panel �
User Accounts, then select Change an account. Choose which account you
wish to modify and then the option you wish to change. Most of the
options are fairly self explanatory, and from here you can change the
name, password, image and permissions associated with the user. You can
also remove an account entirely if you so wish.

The bonus of having individual user accounts is not just limited to
extra security. Each user has their own desktop, Start menu, visual
appearance and documents folder, meaning that if one user of the
machine chooses to alter the Windows theme, only they will see it.
Depending on the tastes of fellow users of the machine, this could be a
blessing!

You can also automatically log in to Windows, though this is only
advisable if your PC is secure and you do not mind sharing a user
account. To do this, to Start � Settings - Control Panel � User
Accounts. Select Change the way users log on or off, check the �Use the
Welcome screen for fast and easy logon� box and click ok. You can only
have one user account on the machine for this option to work, so you
must remove additional user accounts. Ensure that the account you will
be using has Administrator permissions, otherwise you may run in to
problems at a later stage should you want to modify applications or
system settings. Finally, ensure that the Administrator account has no
password by selecting the remaining user account, clicking remove my
password, typing in your current password and finally clicking remove
my password. You should now log on automatically each time your PC
boots up.

Creating user accounts is a good way to improve the security of your
PC, as well as manage what different users have access to on your
machine. For instance, it may not be wise to allow a young family
member access to system files and settings. After all, they only need
to find Control Panel and you could find yourself having all sorts of
problems!

If you set up your machine yourself, you may already have User Accounts
for each family member. However, adding a new account or modifying the
permissions of an existing one is relatively straight forward.

To create a new user, go to Start � Settings � Control Panel � User
Accounts, then select Create a new account. Fill in name and password
as required, then click next. Here, you need to select the type of
account you wish the user to have. The safest option is Restricted
User, whereby the user can save documents and use the machine normally,
but cannot make changes to system files, install any applications or
view other users documents.

Alternatively, if the user you are creating the account for is trusted
and knows their way around a PC, the Standard or Power User option may
be more appropriate. Users in this group have permission to install and
uninstall applications, add new hardware, run legacy applications and
so forth. The only real restriction with this group is the inability to
read other users documents. The Administrator group is completely
unrestricted, so it is wise to only give these permissions to users who
require access to every document on the machine.

To modify an existing account, go to Start � Settings � Control Panel �
User Accounts, then select Change an account. Choose which account you
wish to modify and then the option you wish to change. Most of the
options are fairly self explanatory, and from here you can change the
name, password, image and permissions associated with the user. You can
also remove an account entirely if you so wish.

The bonus of having individual user accounts is not just limited to
extra security. Each user has their own desktop, Start menu, visual
appearance and documents folder, meaning that if one user of the
machine chooses to alter the Windows theme, only they will see it.
Depending on the tastes of fellow users of the machine, this could be a
blessing!

You can also automatically log in to Windows, though this is only
advisable if your PC is secure and you do not mind sharing a user
account. To do this, to Start � Settings - Control Panel � User
Accounts. Select Change the way users log on or off, check the �Use the
Welcome screen for fast and easy logon� box and click ok. You can only
have one user account on the machine for this option to work, so you
must remove additional user accounts. Ensure that the account you will
be using has Administrator permissions, otherwise you may run in to
problems at a later stage should you want to modify applications or
system settings. Finally, ensure that the Administrator account has no
password by selecting the remaining user account, clicking remove my
password, typing in your current password and finally clicking remove
my password. You should now log on automatically each time your PC
boots up.