Windows 8 : Sharing and Securing with User Accounts - Creating and Managing User Accounts (part 4) - Changing a user account type , Password-protecting an account

Creating a local account

If you do not want to set up a Microsoft account to sign in to Windows, you can set up a local account. To set up a local account, click Add A User Account on the Manage Accounts page and then click Sign In Without A Microsoft Account link at the bottom of the page. The Add A User page appears.

Click Local Account to display the Add A User page. Enter a username, type a new password, re-type the password, and enter a password hint, such as a word or phrase that will help jog your memory in case you forget your password later. With a local account, you are not required to enter a password, but we recommend that you do. Click Next to create the user and then click Finish to return to the Manage Account page.

Changing user accounts

When you create a user account, you’re just giving it a name and choosing a type. After you’ve created a user account, you can change it to better suit your needs. Use the Manage Accounts page (refer to Figure 2) to make changes to accounts.

Changing a user account type

You can change an Administrator account to a standard account, or vice versa, from the main User Accounts page. For example, if you’ve been using an administrative account for your day-to-day computing since buying your computer, you might want to change it to a standard account for the added security that a standard account provides. At least one user account must have administrative privileges, so you can make this change only if you have at least one other user account on the system that has administrative privileges.

To change an account’s type, click the account’s icon or name in the Manage Accounts page. First, you’re taken to the Change An Account page. As you can see in Figure 8, that page lets you change the account in a number of ways, or even delete the account.

FIGURE 8 Change An Account page

Click Change The Account Type to change the account from an administrative account to a standard account, or vice versa. To change the account type, click Change The Account Type. You’re taken to the Change Account Type page. Click the type of account you want this user account to be, and then click Change Account Type.

Password-protecting an account

You have the option to set up local accounts without password protection (Microsoft accounts require passwords). If you share your computer with other people, chances are you’ll want to keep some people out of the Administrator account. Likewise, you’ll want to keep some users from having administrative privileges. This is especially important with parental controls. If the administrative account isn’t password-protected, it won’t take long for the kids to figure out how to bypass any controls you impose.

Password-protecting an account is easy enough. Just remember, you do not want to forget the password you set on the administrator account if it is the only one. otherwise, nobody will have administrative privileges, and that will cause a world of headaches. So think up a good password and password hint, and make sure you enter the password correctly while you’re setting it.

To password-protect a user account, go to the main page for the user account. For instance, if you’re in the Manage Accounts page, click the user account you want to password-protect. Then click Create A Password. You’re taken to a page like the one in Figure 9. If you’ve been using the account for a while without a password, heed the warnings. If it’s a brand-new account, you don’t have anything to worry about.

FIGURE 9 Password-protecting an account

To password-protect the account, type your password in the New Password text box. Then press Tab or click on the second text box and type the same password again. You won’t see the characters you type, just a placeholder for each character.

Next, type in your password hint. The hint should be something that reminds you of the forgotten password, but not a dead giveaway to someone trying to break into the account. Click Create Password after you’ve filled in all the blanks.

If you see a message indicating that your passwords don’t match, you’ll have to retype both passwords. Make sure you type the password exactly the same in both boxes. Then click the Change Password button again. You’ll be taken back to the main page for the user account when you’ve successfully entered the password in both boxes and provided a password hint.

You can repeat the process to password-protect as many accounts as you wish. If you’re creating user accounts for people other than yourself, set a default password for the account and then let them manage their own passwords. In our opinion, every account should have a password.