Chapter 21. What Is a Privilege?

In our society, policemen are granted privileges. Think of the lightbar on a squad car and how the world around the policeman changes when he turns it on. People get out of his way, and he can drive through red lights as long as he's cautious. But he doesn't drive around all day with his lightbar on, because he knows that it's safer to drive normally.

A privilege in Windows is a lot like that lightbar. The benefit isn't available to you unless you've been granted the privilege via security policy, as a person can be granted a position on the police force. We generally do our best to hire good people as police, because it's a position of trust that can be abused. A good policeman uses his privilege only when it's ...

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