Feasibility Discussion For Running The Computer As

[~*McoreD*~]

After reading tubebuoy's post in Chit-Chat: Browser Hijack Lmcn.dll.bho, I thought if was he running the computer as Limited User, the BHO wouldn't be able to copy itself to System32 directory. I could've easily suggest him to run the computer as Limited User, but to what extent is running the computer as a Limited User pratical?

Well, this is what the Help & Support in Windows 2000/XP Says:

Why you should not run your computer as an administrator
Running Windows 2000 or Windows XP as an administrator makes the system vulnerable to Trojan horses and other security risks. The simple act of visiting an Internet site can be extremely damaging to the system. An unfamiliar Internet site may have Trojan horse code that can be downloaded to the system and executed. If you are logged on with administrator privileges, a Trojan horse could do things like reformat your hard drive, delete all your files, create a new user account with administrative access, and so on.

You should add yourself to the Users or Power Users group. When you log on as a member of the Users group, you can perform routine tasks, including running programs and visiting Internet sites, without exposing your computer to unnecessary risk. As a member of the Power Users group, you can perform routine tasks and you can also install programs, add printers, and use most Control Panel items. If you need to perform administrative tasks, such as upgrading the operating system or configuring system parameters, then log off and log back on as an administrator.

If you frequently need to log on as an administrator, you can use the runas command to start programs as an administrator.

***

Running the computer as a Limited User will not be practical if you encounter situations where you are forced to log in as an Administrator. There are some programs and tasks which forces you to log in as an Administrator. This thread is dedicated to all those who have decided to try running the computer as a Limited User, to discuss all the issues they encounter and try to find workarounds to these issues.

Cheers,
McoreD

[scant]

I used to run XPPro in Limited User mode and either using the runas @ the command prompt or runas when right-clicking or switching users.

I don't anymore, but I might do it again after a SP2 fresh install.

Being a gamer, a lot of games require write/modify access to their directory as well as the windows directory. To solve this and other issues, I would actually go through a lot of my directories giving read/write/modify access only when necessary. This in theory would be to protect my file-system from rogue programs. But it got very difficult and annoying to maintain.

One note, I had my system share data files for IE and OE which was one of the main issues. In order to run OE(maybe not IE) I had to run it has admin and I thought(I don't know for sure) that if OE ran a script it would be also run as admin and have full access and the protection would be moot. Maybe I should reverse it and have my IE/OE data files be my limited user and let my admin configuration share them. If you don't know how to share IE Favorites or OE mail databases, search google I guess...

I would also for some reason need to use IPCONFIG and wrote a batch file to runas admin.

I thought I would share my experiences and maybe some others who have done or do this will also. I believe as more programs become less invasive and aware of being run in limited user status this should become easier.

BetaNet/BetaOne used to be sooooo rampant, renegade, & great...

Gl0riS0ft is seemingly gone