Exploring Windows 7 account types

Windows 7 provides three types of user accounts: standard, administrator, and guest. Each offers a different level of access to the computer:

• Standard: The standard account provides you with a lot of control over how you use the computer, but not enough to affect other users. For example, a standard account lets you access personal files and customize many operating system settings, but it doesn't allow you to use other people's files, change security-related settings, or install new hardware or software.
• Administrator: The administrator account provides complete and unrestricted access to all Windows 7 settings (including those of other users) and all of a computer's files and folders. You can also use an administrator account to create, delete, or change accounts that belong to other users.
• Guest: The guest account is a special type of limited-access account that's primarily designed for infrequent or temporary users.

Windows 7 requires the computer to have at least one administrator account, but the standard account is appropriate for most users because it limits the amount of control they have over the operating system while still allowing them to get things done.

Even if you're the person in charge of controlling and maintaining the computer (that is, the administrator), you should still use a standard account for day-today computing because it can keep you from accidentally making potentially undesirable changes to Windows and can help prevent similarly harmful modifications from being made without your knowledge by malicious programs or websites.

If you use a standard account and try to make a change that requires an administrator account, such as creating a new account, as described next, you'll still be able to do it, but Windows 7 will pop up a window confirming the action and requiring you to type an administrator account password to proceed.