Windows 8.1: The Missing Manual

The Guest Account

Believe it or not, Administrator and Standard aren’t the only kinds of accounts you can set up on your PC.

A third kind, called the Guest account, is ideal for situations where somebody is just visiting you for the day. Rather than create an entire account for this person, complete with password, hint, little picture, and so on, you can just switch on the Guest account.

To find the on/off switch, open the Start menu and type guest; click “Turn guest account on or off” in the results list. Authenticate yourself if necessary.

In the Manage Accounts window, click Guest, and then click Turn On.

Now, when the visitor tries to log in, she can choose Guest as the account. She can use the computer but can’t see anyone else’s files or make any changes to your settings.

When the visitor is finally out of your hair, healthy paranoia suggests that you turn off the Guest account once again. (To do so, follow precisely the same steps, except click “Turn off the guest account” in the final step.)