When you take your new PC out of the box, the Windows setup that you first see varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Some use the standard Windows setup, which allows you to configure new logons, the administrator ID, your PC name, etc. Other manufacturers must think that this is too much for the newbie to do, and just set defaults for everything. If you have an individual PC, not on a network, and don't care about security, the defaults are probably OK. Here is what to do if they are not.
Windows has long had the capability to have different logons for different users. But in Windows 98, it really didn't do much at all, and only in Windows ME that it had any real functionality. But Windows XP was made to be a multi-user system, and implements full logons and user protection (if you select it).
If you get the Windows Welcome screen when you start your PC, then you have one or more logons with a password. If you do not get the Welcome screen, then your manufacturer has probably setup a default one. To find out, just right click on My Computer, click Properties, and then Computer Name and you will see your PC name, a description (optional) and a workgroup name. The workgroup name is only used if you are going to network PCs together. You can change the name by clicking on the Change button and the description by just typing it in and clicking OK. You can also change this information if you are going to use the Network Setup wizard to set up a computer network.
Before we continue, the questions now are: Why do I want to have more than one logon, and should I use passwords? The advantage of multiple logons is that each user gets his or her own "space". Your documents are kept in a separate place (i.e. each gets his own My Documents), your desktop is different (different background and icons) and many other things such as Internet Favorites are separate.
With respect to passwords, Windows really likes you to have them. There are things that won't work properly if you don't have them, and you can use the same password with your screen saver to lock up your PC when you are away. You can add new logons from Start / Control Panel / User Accounts. Give the account Computer Administrator privileges if you want it to have full access, or Limited if you just want an account that relatives or kids can use to access the Internet when they come to your house (hint: not a bad idea).
Which brings us to the issue of a "backdoor" logon. It is certainly possible that you may forget your logon password at some time, or perhaps a system error may occur preventing logon. It is VERY difficult to get around this - Microsoft has taken much criticism on security, and they have tightened it up significantly in XP. To handle those situations, create a new account, perhaps called Admin or Administrator, give it a different password, and SAVE THAT INFORMATION. If you wish to hide that logon so that nobody knows about it, you can use the free Microsoft utility TWEAKUI (available at www.microsoft.com, search for PowerToys) to hide it. To see hidden logons at the Welcome screen, hold down Ctrl+Alt and press Del twice.
One final issue in creating new logons is that you are asked if you wish to make your settings private or not. This option does not always appear (depending on how your PC security settings are configured) but be aware that if you do make your stuff private, it is much more protected and your files can't be read by someone else even if you remove your hard drive and put it in another PC. I have seen this issue before, and it's difficult to get around. The failing scenario is that you have privacy on, your PC crashes, and we need to put your hard drive into a new PC to retrieve your data. Your new PC will recognize that the data is secure and still inhibit your ability to copy it to your new PC.
If you have more than one logon, you should realize the difference between the "Log Off" and "Switch User" options. Log Off terminates all active work on your current logon, and then prompts you for a new user to log on. Switch User leaves all of your work still running. Switch User does have its uses, but sometimes there can be file lockout situations when multiple users try to access the same data. Use Switch User sparingly and only when you need it.
(Bob Seidel is a local computer consultant in the Southport - Oak Island area. You can visit his Website at www.bobseidel.com or e-mail questions or column ideas to him at bsc@bobseidel.com. For specific inquiries, please call Bob Seidel Consulting, LLC at 278-1007.)