Hide MY DOCUMENTS and Files Island Grannie 12/22/2008 12:42:00 PM I am going to allow another person to use my pc. I do not want them to be able to acess my files and my document or msn or windows live accounts. How do I block this info from the new user. Using windows xp.

Re: Hide MY DOCUMENTS and Files Malke <malke[ at ]invalid.invalid> 12/22/2008 1:36:02 PM Island Grannie wrote: [Quoted Text] > I am going to allow another person to use my pc. I do not want them to be > able to acess my files and my document or msn or windows live accounts. > How do I block this info from the new user. Using windows xp. You forgot to tell us whether you have XP Home, Pro, or Media Center Edition. I recently wrote a short article for my clients about this issue. Take the bits that are applicable to you: ***** This is the time of year when it is common to have holiday guests visiting. If you are a hospitable sort and want to let them use your computer but are concerned about security, here are a few tips. They are applicable to both XP and Vista. a. Do not use the Guest account you see in the User Accounts applet in Control Panel. The Guest account is a special system account, not one meant for when you are feeling hospitable. It is disabled by default in Windows XP, Vista, Linux, Unix, and OS X for a reason. If you want the technical explanation: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb418978(TechNet.10).aspx b. Instead, create a new user account called "Visitor" or "my precious mother-in-law" or the like. In XP, make this user a Limited Account. In Vista, make this user a Standard account. c. If you are concerned about the visitor being able to see your personal files (maybe Grandma shouldn't see your collection of "playful pictures"), you can make your My Documents private in XP. HOW TO: Set the My Documents Folder as "Private" in Windows XP http://support.microsoft.com/kb/298399 In Vista, only an administrative account can see inside your Documents folder. d. Some people will get the bright idea to encrypt the files. Encryption is not available natively in XP Home and Vista Home Basic/Premium but it is in XP Pro and Vista Business/Ultimate. If you decide to do this, read about encryption and really understand what you are doing. I can't tell you the number of newsgroup posts I've seen over the years where people are wailing about not being able to get their encrypted files back because they didn't take the necessary precautions. e. You could move any "sensitive" files to a USB thumb drive or an external hard drive and hide that device in a Really Good Place. ***** In addition to the above, if you have XP Pro/MCE you can also set very fine-grained permissions. Only allow access to your files by you, the Administrator, and Administrators. The new Visitor account will be denied access. Malke -- MS-MVP Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic! FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

Re: Hide MY DOCUMENTS and Files Leonard Grey <l.grey[ at ]invalid.invalid> 12/22/2008 1:52:55 PM Have them login to an account with Limited User privileges. --- Leonard Grey Errare humanum est Island Grannie wrote: [Quoted Text] > I am going to allow another person to use my pc. I do not want them to be > able to acess my files and my document or msn or windows live accounts. How > do I block this info from the new user. Using windows xp.

Re: Hide MY DOCUMENTS and Files Bruce Chambers <bchambers[ at ]cable0ne.n3t> 12/23/2008 1:47:00 AM Island Grannie wrote: [Quoted Text] > I am going to allow another person to use my pc. I do not want them to be > able to acess my files and my document or msn or windows live accounts. How > do I block this info from the new user. Using windows xp. HOW TO Create and Configure User Accounts in Windows XP http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;279783 HOW TO Set, View, Change, or Remove File and Folder Permissions http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q308418 HOW TO Set, View, Change, or Remove Special Permissions for Files and Folders http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];Q308419 HOW TO Set the My Documents Folder as Private in Windows XP http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;298399 -- Bruce Chambers Help us help you: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375 They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers. ~ Denis Diderot