7-49EXAM HIGHLIGHTSCHAPTER SUMMARY■ LOCAL USER ACCOUNTS ALLOW USERS TO...

7-49Exam Highlights

Chapter Summary

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Local user accounts allow users to log on at and access resources on only the com-

puter on which you create the local user account. Domain user accounts allow

users to log on to the domain and access resources anywhere on the network.

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Local user account names must be unique on the computer on which you create

the account, and domain user accounts must be unique to the directory. Pass-

words can be up to 128 characters long; a minimum of 8 characters is recom-

mended. Use a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters, numerals, and valid

nonalphanumeric characters in creating passwords.

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You can administer local user accounts using the following two tools:

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The User Accounts tool allows administrators to create a new user account,

change an existing account, and change the way a user logs on or logs off.

❑

The Computer Management snap-in allows you to create, modify, and delete

user accounts for the local computer on which you are working. If your com-

puter is part of a network, you can use the Computer Management snap-in on

a remote computer.

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After creating a user account, you can modify the properties for the account by

using the Properties dialog box for the user account in Computer Management.

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Groups simplify administration by allowing you to assign permissions and rights

to a group of users rather than to individual user accounts. Windows XP Profes-

sional creates local groups in the local security database, so you can use local

groups only on the computer on which you create them.

Exam Highlights

Before taking the exam, review the key points and terms that are presented in this

chapter. You need to know this information.

Key Points

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A domain does not recognize local user accounts, so do not create local user

accounts on computers running Windows XP Professional that are part of a

domain. Doing so restricts users from accessing resources in the domain and pre-

vents the domain administrator from administering the local user account proper-

ties or assigning access permissions for domain resources.

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Allow Guest access only in low-security workgroups, and always assign a pass-

word to the Guest account. You can rename the Guest account, but you cannot

delete it.

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You should understand the guidelines for creating strong passwords. In particular,

remember that a password should be a minimum of eight characters and should

include a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

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After you delete a user account, there is no way to recover the rights and permis-

sions associated with that user account. A better practice than deleting user

accounts is to disable them until you are sure they are no longer needed.

Key Terms

Computer Management A console that provides access to a number of manage-

ment utilities for administering a computer, including the ability to create, manage,

and monitor shared folders.

domain user account An account that allows you to log on to a domain to access

network resources.

group A collection of user accounts. Groups simplify administration by allowing you

to assign permissions and rights to a group of users rather than to each user

account individually.

local security database A database on a computer running Windows XP Profes-

sional that holds local user accounts and groups.

local user account An account that allows you to log on to a specific computer to

access resources on that computer.

naming convention An organization’s established standard for identifying users.

password reset disk A floppy disk that contains encrypted password information

and allows users to change their password without knowing the old password.

Permissions Permissions control what users can do with a resource such as a folder,

a file, or a printer.

Rights Rights allow users to perform system tasks, such as changing the time on a

computer and backing up or restoring files.

user profile A collection of folders and data that stores your current desktop envi-

ronment, application settings, and personal data.