Windows 7 Annoyances

Chapter 8. Users and Security

There’s no such thing as a totally secure system. Even if you never share files over a network nor let anyone else sit down at your keyboard, Windows is designed to function in a multiuser world. Because of the nature of the beast, you sometimes have to make concessions when trying to balance security and day-to-day convenience. Windows doesn’t always make this balance easy, but where’s there’s a will, there’s a hack.

For instance, you’ll need to choose a password for your account to share files, but that means typing your password every time you power on your PC. But a hidden dialog—uncovered in this chapter—allows you to log in automatically and still protect your account with a password.

And separate user accounts are great for sharing a PC with family members or coworkers, but that requires being mindful of file permissions and encryption if anyone cares about his or her privacy. But if you do it right, you can use a set-it-and-forget-it approach with file security.

Next, Windows 7’s new Homegroups feature aims to make at least file sharing easier. But easier isn’t always better: with Homegroups, you have less control over precisely what you share and with whom, and if you’re not careful, you may give away the farm. So Homegroups doesn’t make traditional file-sharing obsolete just yet.

But probably the biggest concession is to live with User Account Control (UAC). In the past, the purpose of having separate accounts was to make it easy for more than ...