Secret Administrator? 2

[RayMunro]

I am running XP Pro SP2 and am now finding something strange. Ever since I first used XP Pro (when it first came out) on start up it has always logged on to my account. Now it has started logging on to another account and offers a Tour of Windows. It does not show any icons from progeams I have installed.

When I go to log off it shows itself as Administrator. When I log onto my own account And then try to log off Administartor is no longer an option.

Doc & Settings shows "Administrator" "All User" and "ray" (my account.

Logging off admin and onto mine brings back my desktop.

Any Ideas?

Thanks

Ray

 

[gpalmer711]

Hi Ray,

The administrator account is a default account that is setup by windows and is nothing in itself to worry about.

Why it has started logging into that account automatically I could not tell you. However changing the behaviour so it automatically logs into your Ray account is quite straight forward.

While logged in as administrator, Click on Start > Click on Run > Type control userpasswords2 > Click ok

Tick the box that says "Users Must Enter a User Name and Password to Use This Computer" > Click Apply > Click OK.

Now restart your machine. When the machine comes back up it will display either the welcome screen or a login box. Login to either the administrator account or the Ray account.

Click on Start > Click on Run > Type control userpasswords2 > Click ok

Remove the Tick in the box that says "Users Must Enter a User Name and Password to Use This Computer" > Click Apply > You will be prompted to enter a user name and password > Enter the details for your Ray account > Click OK

Now when you restart the machine should boot into the Ray account automatically.

Just to be on the safe side if you are not running Anti-virus and anti-malware software you should follow faq779-5240 to make sure it was nothing nasty that initiated this sudden change.

Hope this helps you.

Greg Palmer
Freeware Utilities for Windows Administrators.

http://www.palmersoft.co.uk

 

[RayMunro]

Thanks Greg

However I have already done this without success. I have run a range of Spyware engines and my system seems clean.

I think the easiest way may be to copy all my settings to Admin and use that as it comes up first.

Ray

 

[stduc]

Administrator is the default account for XP and cannot be removed.

Assuming you had the system set up to automatically log you into your account, somehow this has switched to auto logging on to the administrator account. Not a good idea and in theory that should fail with an error message.

To set up XP to log you in automatically - see here:-

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm

In Windows XP Pro you have two options for logging into the administrator account. One option is, after the XP log on screen has come up, click Ctrl+Alt, then click Delete twice. This little variation to the usual 3 finger salute makes XP switch to the classic log on screen. Here you just type in Administrator (case sensitive) and then type in the password you gave this account when you first installed the XP. That is of course if you can remember that password. And if you can't remember you won't be able to log on under this account -- but neither will anybody else.

The other way to access this account in XP Pro is to click F8 during the startup of the XP, and then choose to log on using the safe mode. If you choose safe mode, XP will then give you a log on screen that looks nearly identical to the log on screen in normal mode except for two differences. Any custom made account with limited privileges will not show up, though those with Admin privileges will. Also, the original Administrator account will come out from hiding and will show up. Still, you'll need the password to access it.

You need to think why this happened. It could be malware - so do full scans for virus's etc.

It is never a good idea to run day to day using an account with Admin privileges. Running as Administrator is even less secure, because if an ordinary account with Admin privileges is a god then the Administrator account is God.

Running as an ordinary user does make it a bit more difficult to install and configure software because you have to keep switching to an account with Admin privileges to do so. But it also stops malware from installing itself if the account it finds itself in doesn't have the necessary permissions.

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When I was single I looked for miss right. It wasn't until after I married her I discovered her first name was always.

 

[smah]

Are you sure you selected (or entered) the correct accout from within the 'control userpasswords2' dialog?

When first entering the userpasswords2 functions, 'Administrator' happens to be highlighted. If you then remove the check from 'users must enter a username...' & Apply or OK, you'll find that the dialog that pops up is populated with 'Admistrator'. If you don't change this, Administrator is who gets logged on automatically (asuming no password).

If this is the case, your options are to select the correct user in the lower half of the userpasswords2 dialog before unchecking the 'users must enter a username...' or manually typing in the correct user in the popup dialog.

 

[RayMunro]

Thanks stduc and smah,

Your tips worked. I unticked the box then ticked it and highlighted my account and unticked it again and is is now logging inbto my account.

Thanks

ray