Chapter 13. Sharing One Computer with Several People
In This Chapter
Understanding user accounts
Setting up, deleting, or changing user accounts
Logging on at the Welcome screen
Switching quickly between users
Sharing files between account holders
Understanding passwords
Windows 7 allows several people to share one computer, without letting anybody peek into anybody else's files.
The secret? Windows 7 grants each user his or her own user account, which neatly separates that person from other users. When people log on using their own user account, the computer looks tailor-made for them: It displays their personalized desktop background, menu choices, programs, and files — and it forbids them from seeing items belonging to other users.
This chapter explains how to set up a separate user account for everybody in the house, including the computer's owner, family members or roommates, and even occasional visitors who ask to check their e-mail.
You'll also discover how to break down some of those walls to share information between accounts, letting everybody see your vacation photos, but keeping your love letters off-limits.
Understanding User Accounts
Windows 7 wants you to set up a user account for everybody who uses your PC. A user account works like a cocktail-party name tag that helps Windows recognize who's sitting at the keyboard. Windows 7 offers three types of user accounts: Administrator, Standard, and Guest. To begin playing with the PC, people click their account's name when Windows ...
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