Insider Power Techniques for Microsoft® Windows® XP

Sharing Your Computer Securely

If you’re the only person who uses your computer, you don’t have to worry all that much about "profile security," a phrase we use to describe the security of your user profile—that is, your files and Windows XP settings. However, if you share your computer with other people, either at home or at the office, then you’ll need to set up some kind of security to ensure that users each have their "own" Windows and can’t mess with anyone else’s (either purposely or accidentally). Here’s a list of security precautions to set up when sharing your computer:

• Create an account for each user. Everyone who uses the computer, even if they use it only occasionally, should have their own user account. (If a user needs to access the ...