Probably, today there is not a single person who would not be faced with a situation where several people work on one computer, each logging in with their own login and password (the so-called user account in Windows). But far from all users know what an "account" is and how to change or control its main parameters.
What is a user account?
The term for an account itself comes from the usual translation of the English phrase User Account. In other words, it is the identification of a user account by a computer system with different levels of access to information, parameters, personal settings, programs used, etc.
Needless to say, accounts are everywhere. Even a regular email address on a free emailserver - and that can be interpreted as a "user account". The same applies, for example, to online games, users working on computer terminals connected to a local network, programs like Skype, ICQ, etc. In general, in simple terms, this is user registration data. But all these types of "accounts" differ quite strongly. Now it will be considered the user accounts of Windows 10, as well as 8, 7 and other versions of the OS. Basically, their essence for all "OSes" remains the same.
What are the benefits of a user account?
So first let's see what are the benefits of an account. First of all, it is worth noting that any user who does not have access rights to information at the administrator level can be completely sure of his own security - from the point of view that no other person equal to him in terms of access rights will be able to view his personal files, browsing history, change personal data or do something else.
It turns out that the system simply hides all these files from prying eyes, but only if the folders and documents are not assigned the status of shared access, when absolutely all users of computers located, for example, in one local or virtual network. From a privacy point of view, this is very good, and only the administrator of a particular computer or the local network system administrator (sysadmin) has full access. Let's see what hisfunctions.
Administrator
As for the main (originally created) administrator account, such an “account” can be described as granting a single person full rights to access information, to change the configuration of system settings, to install or remove programs and applications, as well as to manage other accounts.
In simple terms, the administrator is the most important user for whom there are no restrictions on working with the computer and the operating system, and who has exclusive privileges to perform certain actions. And it is the administrator who performs full control of user accounts with the ability to grant rights or restrict the capabilities of any other user.
But the most interesting thing is that a computer system (if only one or more OSes are installed) can have one or more administrators. Better - if one. And of course, users with almost the same rights can also be present in parallel, but such a hierarchy can be compared, say, to an army.
Let's say there are two officers with the rank of colonel. But one of them is the commander of the regiment, and the second is the chief of staff. The title is the access rights, the position is the type of user. It is probably clear that within one unit (computer in our case), the regiment commander has the status of an administrator, and the chief of staff (lower in position) has the status of a user with slight restrictions inrights.
User types
Now let's go directly to the users and groups themselves. As a rule, all types of accounts in Windows are divided into three types: administrator, user with normal access (standard user account) and guest (“guest”).
As it is already clear, the administrator has absolutely all the rights, ordinary users are only allowed to work with a specific computer terminal. Guests are, roughly speaking, strangers with minimal rights (exclusively for logging in, but no more).
As for groups, the administrator himself can create them completely arbitrarily, and in an unlimited number. In fact, users can be combined into different groups using certain rights and permissions, or they can be grouped according to some other attribute, for example, by belonging to a certain structure in enterprise management (technical department, accounting, etc.).
User Account Control
As for control, the main functions are assigned to the administrator. The system in this case acts only as a means of enforcing the rights of users or maintaining a certain level of security.
It should be noted that user account control (Windows 7, for example) can only be performed when logging in using the administrator's login and password. No other user has the right to make changes to the settings"account", in granting rights to some actions or removing restrictions.
Here, one important point is worth noting. Despite the fact that the system itself provides for User Account Control, Windows 7 and other newer versions of the OS can grant users temporary administrator rights (unless this contradicts the security system and group policy settings). To do this, in the context menu for starting programs, there is a special line to run as administrator. This approach allows users, for example, to install their own applications or use the same portable versions of programs that do not make critical changes to the system registry or change security settings.
Access rights and restrictions on accounts
As for restrictions on rights, there can be quite a lot of them. The fact is that user account control of the 8th, 7th or 10th version of Windows provides for a fairly large range of what can be allowed or denied to a user with certain rights.
So, in most cases, the main restrictions for users below the admin level can be: imposing a ban on access to the registry and editing it, changing security settings or group policy settings.
At the same time, as a result, there is also a ban on installing certain programs, using already installed applications or working with certain types of files andfolders, reading removable media, etc. This is a reasonable step, since an inexperienced user can easily try to view files on a virus-infected flash drive or install a suspicious program, and if the computer terminal is connected to a local network, the virus can easily migrate to other machines and harm that absolutely all terminals will be inoperable.
That is why in the same "locals" quite an interesting system configuration is often used. In the standard version, each terminal has its own "OS" (no matter what modification it is), which works independently of the central server.
In the second case, there is no operating system as such on the computer at all (sometimes there is not even a hard disk), and the network OS is loaded from a single remote server for all terminals. This type of boot can be seen in the BIOS settings (usually referred to as PXE Boot or Network Boot). The advantages of such a start of Windows are obvious, because the user, no matter how much he wants to, will simply not be able to change any parameters, even the simplest ones.
Creating a Windows account
Now let's leave User Account Control alone for a while and consider how to create an "account" of one type or another. As mentioned above, after a clean installation of the system, the user receives admin rights, and it is he who has the exclusive right to create, delete or change any account present insystem.
To create a new entry on the local computer in the simplest version, you need to go to the appropriate section of the "Control Panel", then select the creation of a new "account", enter the name ("Petya", "Vasya" - it does not matter) and determine the type of entry (normal access or administrator), and then confirm your actions. After that, in the same section, you can create a login and password that will be used when logging into the system. You can also change the picture and other parameters available for this registration record. And, of course, passwords and user accounts can be changed by the administrator even without the intervention of the users themselves. Actually, in some cases (restriction of rights, for example) their consent is not required. But most often this applies to local networks and system administrators, when the user was guilty of something and harmed the system.
Manage your personal account settings
In terms of management, a user account of any level is controlled directly by an administrator. However, the user can change some system settings, such as the desktop wallpaper, resize windows, etc.
As for the rights to change more serious parameters, they can be granted by the administrator through the control menu, in which the specified account is located. Another user cannot change anything. Let's see what settings can be made in this case.
Change basic account settings
First of allthe administrator can configure access rights to system settings, programs and some types of files. All this is set either in the above section or in the Group Policy client.
However, you can first use the local users and groups section to add a user. To do this, the command lusrmgr.msc is entered in the "Run" menu, and already in the computer management menu - it is the users section, where a menu with the ability to add a new person is called up by right-clicking. You can add it to a group either through the properties menu, where membership in groups is selected, and then the name of the working group and the search for names are entered, or through the search for groups itself, using the Advanced button first. It remains only to confirm the choice.
If we talk about access rights to certain functions, it is best to use the control options in the "Control Panel" or in the system configuration (msconfig) with the choice of the service menu and control settings, but more on that later. In the Group Policy Editor, you can also set the appropriate priorities (there are enough settings).
Deleting account
Deleting or disabling any "account" can be done from the same "Control Panel", where the delete line is simply selected in the control menu for another account (naturally, when logging in as an administrator). Only and everything.
Then the user, when trying to log in, may then receive a notification that the user account has been disabled. Restore herafter deletion it will not work, so on behalf of the admin you will have to create a new one. However, when deleting an entry, you can save user files that will be available after the procedure is completed.
Disabling User Account Control via Control Panel
If we talk about how to disable User Account Control, the first thing to do is use the Control Panel.
Here you need to select the options menu, and in the window where the vertical slider is located, just move the latter to the lowest position corresponding to the “Never notify” parameter, which only means that the system will not issue warnings regarding the passing application configuration changes.
Disabling User Account Control via command line
As mentioned above, in the "Run" menu, you can use the msconfig command with the transition to the "Tools" or "Tools" section, where the setting is selected, which corresponds to User Account Control.
Select this line, then click the "Start" button, after which we perform the steps indicated just above. However, access to disable can be simplified if you immediately enter the string UserAccountControlSettings.exe as a command. Further, everything is the same.
You can, of course, use the registry editor with a change in the EnableLUA parameter (changing the value to"0"), which is located in the Policies\System branch of the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software main tree and beyond, or using the Windows command handler (in both cases, the user account will remain unchanged, and control over it will be disabled). However, these methods will be somewhat complicated for the average user.
Instead of afterword
That's all in a nutshell about what constitutes an "account" and user account control on a local computer. Topics related to similar actions of the local network administrator were not considered here, but, in principle, one could say that all the basic procedures are practically the same, except that sometimes some changes and settings may affect internetwork protocols. But that, as they say, is another matter.
