Windows XP Permissions...

[Jason Dunn]

User Permissions is something I know next to nothing about, so you'll have to excuse my massive ignorance here. :oops:

Windows XP has two permission modes: Administrator, and Limited. Here's what I want: I need to be able to stop users from installing programs onto their PCs, but I need them to be able to share out local drives as well. When I put the profile into Limited mode, it kills the drive shares. :?

Does anyone know how I can tweak the user permissions? Any good tools to manage this?

[SassKwatch]

User Permissions is something I know next to nothing about, so you'll have to excuse my massive ignorance here.

My knowledge of this stuff falls squarely in the "just enough to be dangerous" category, so take with the proverbial grain of salt. :wink:

Have you looked at 'Group Policies'? I've only recently started becoming acquainted with them, so not sure if you can accomplish all your objectives with them, but might be worth a look.

'C:\WINDOWS\system32\gpedit.msc' will get you there. And I was advised when I first started using them to make sure the first thing I did was put a shortcut to that file on the desktop of the administrator. After looking at some of the things that can be controlled, I see why. It wouldn't be difficult to create a situation where the only way to undo the policies would be a complete Windows re-install.

[Ed Hansberry]

I hate XP's "simple" mode. I always put it in advanced so I have admin, power user, regular, guest, etc. Also gets rid of simple file sharing and allows normal share permission management.

[Jason Dunn]

Anyone know for sure what the solution to my problem is? :|

[Steven Cedrone]

Not sure if this is what you are looking for:

Open "My Computer"
Go to "tools", "folder options", "view"
In advanced settings: uncheck "Use simple file sharing"
Go to the drive you want to share: right click, properties, sharing
Create a new share, set share permissions
Log on as limited user
Go to "My Computer"
No shares visable
Go to "My Network Places"
You should see the share available for other users to access

HTH...

Steve

[PetiteFlower]

Hm, I'm guessing that's an option only available for XP Pro, right?

[Steven Cedrone]

Hm, I'm guessing that's an option only available for XP Pro, right?

Yes, XP Pro...

Steve

[Janak Parekh]

Anyone know for sure what the solution to my problem is? :|
Do you need users to create shares, or can you create them yourself?

If it's the latter, use the systemwide Administrator account or create an Administrator account and use that to create the shares. Those should hang around even with a logoff. While you're at it, I'd also turn off simple file sharing.

--janak

[ctmagnus]

Dumb Qs: How does one access the Administrator account in Windows XP? And what is the out-of-the-box password?

I created an account, called Admin, for myself on a new XP Pro box over the weekend but then I decided I wanted to rename it to Admininstrator. XP threw up a warning saying the account already exists, at which point I remembered reading something to the effect that the account is created automatically and hidden by default.

[Janak Parekh]

Dumb Qs: How does one access the Administrator account in Windows XP?
You mean using the "pretty" logon screen? Do CTRL-ALT-DEL, but double-pump the DEL while holding the other two down. You then get a classic WNT/W2k/WXP logon screen, and can log in as Administrator. I assume this only works in XP Pro...

And what is the out-of-the-box password?
I believe the out-of-box setup process asks you to set one, right? I can't remember anymore. :| You can certainly use Administrative Tools => Computer Management => Local Users and Groups => Users to reset it.

--janak

[Jon Westfall]

Out of box password for win xp Home is just blank (Yep, that's right, go up to a friends XP Home box and you have free reign... Administrator / nopassword!) On an XP pro box, you set the password during the install.

Jason, what exactly do you need users to be able to do? The first step is getting out of simple mode and playing around with the local security policy. Play with mmc.exe's various snap-ins (most only work on an XP Pro box), and you'll probably pick up enough to be dangerous.

[PetiteFlower]

Well the majority of home computers have one user; if there are more then one it's really easy to add logins and also passwords if you need them. What kind of friend are you to go poking into someone else's computer anyway! I don't know about you but if I can't trust someone not to do that, they're hardly my friend!

As far as I can tell, with Home you can create admin users and limited users but there doesn't seem to be any way to specify what limited users can and can't do. The first user created is automatically an admin.