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Password Protecting And Privatizing Windows XP User Accounts
By Matthew EltonCopyright 2007 Matthew Elton
This Document Will Teach You:
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How to password protect a Windows XP user account.
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How to change the password of a Windows XP user account.
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How to make a Windows XP user account private.
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How to make a Windows XP user account that is private no longer private. 
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Part One:
How to password protect a Windows XP user account.First, log on to Windows XP through an account with administrative privileges. Onceyou are logged on, you need to access the Control Panel to make changes to User Accounts. You can get to the Control Panel by clicking on Start and then clicking onControl Panel, or you can do it this way:Click on Start. Then click on Run. The Run window will appear. Click on the textbox inthe Run Window all type in the following text:
Control Panel
Then press Enter or click on OK. The Control Panel window will appear.Once you have the Control Panel window open, double click on the User Accounts iconto access the User Accounts Properties window. If you don’t see this icon, click on“Switch to Classic View” on the left side of the Control Panel window. The User Accounts icon will appear. If it’s still not there, then try maximizing the Control Panelwindow or scrolling up and down by clicking on the little blue arrows at the top and bottom of the scroll bar on the right side of the Control Panel window until you find theUser Accounts icon. Double click on the icon and the User Accounts Properties windowwill appear.In the User Accounts Properties window, click on “Change an Account.” Then click onthe account you want to create a password for. Then click on “Create a password.”You’ll see a textbox underneath the text “Type a new password.” Click on the textbox.Then type in the password you want for the account. You’ll also see another textboxunderneath the text “Type the new password again to confirm.” Click on that textbox.Then type in the same password you typed into the first textbox. If you want, you can
 
add a “password hint” that will help you remember what the password is. Keep in mindthat everyone that uses the computer will be able to read your password hint by clickingon the “?” symbol next to your User Account on the Windows XP Login Screen. Irecommend making a password hint that will help you remember your password as longas it won’t give away the password. If you want to make a password hint, click on thetextbox underneath the text “Type a word or phrase to use as a password hint,” then typein your password hint.Click on “create password,” and the user account will become password protected withthe password you typed in.
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Part Two:
How to change the password of a Windows XP user account.First, log on to Windows XP through an account with administrative privileges. Onceyou are logged on, you need to access the Control Panel to make changes to User Accounts. You can get to the Control Panel by clicking on Start and then clicking onControl Panel, or you can do it this way:Click on Start. Then click on Run. The Run window will appear. Click on the textbox inthe Run Window all type in the following text:
Control Panel
Then press Enter or click on OK. The Control Panel window will appear.Once you have the Control Panel window open, double click on the User Accounts iconto access the User Accounts Properties window. If you don’t see this icon, click on“Switch to Classic View” on the left side of the Control Panel window. The User Accounts icon will appear. If it’s still not there, then try maximizing the Control Panelwindow or scrolling up and down by clicking on the little blue arrows at the top and bottom of the scroll bar on the right side of the Control Panel window until you find theUser Accounts icon. Double click on the icon and the User Accounts Properties windowwill appear.In the User Accounts Properties window, click on “Change an Account.” Then click onthe account whose password you want to change. Then click on “Change my password,”or “Change the password.” You’ll see a textbox underneath the text “Type your current password,” or “Type the current password.” Click on that textbox. Then type in the old password for the account. You’ll see another textbox underneath the text “Type a new password.” Click on that textbox. Then type in the password you want for the account.You’ll also see another textbox underneath the text “Type the new password again toconfirm.” Click on that textbox. Then type in the same password you typed into the firsttextbox. If you want, you can add a “password hint” that will help you remember whatthe password is. Keep in mind that everyone that uses the computer will be able to readyour password hint by clicking on the ? symbol next to your User Account on the
 
Windows XP Login Screen. I recommend making a password hint that will help youremember your password as long as it won’t give away the password. If you want tomake a password hint, click on the textbox underneath the text “Type a word or phrase touse as a password hint,” then type in your password hint.Click on “create password,” and the user account will become password protected withthe password you typed in.
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Part Three:
How to make a Windows XP user account private.To make a Windows XP user account private, first apply a password to it using the stepsshown in Part One. If the account is already password protected, follow the steps in PartTwo to change the password so you can make the account private (an account can only bemade private when creating or changing a password). You can change the password back after the account is made private.When you click on “create password” you may be asked if you would like to make theaccount “private.” If you make the account private, then you will have to login to theaccount to access your files. You will not be able to access files from your account inanother account or from another computer over a network. If you do not make your account private, then anyone can access your files from any account on your computer. Irecommend not making your account private unless you have “top-secret,” files that youdon’t want other users on your computer accessing. Click on “Yes, make private,” tomake the account private. Or click on “No” to not make the account private.
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Part Four:
How to make a Windows XP user account that is private no longer  private.Log on to an account with Administrator privileges, then try going to My Computer, rightclicking on your hard drive, click on Properties, and click on the Sharing Tab. It lookslike this:Then uncheck the box for "Make This Folder Private." Apply this to all subfolders andfiles if it asks if you'd like to do so.
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summer08

I have a laptop that I wanted to remove from a network. I right clicked on my computer and clicked on properties. I went to the computer name tab. I clicked on 'network id' to access the network identification wizard. When the wizard opened, I selected 'this computer is for home use and not a part of a business network'...well, I was prompted to restart the PC in order for the change to take place....now I am unable to use my old password to login to the computer. What can I do the fix this?

reply02 / 22 / 2008
emina8474

hi! how can i delete my own user account on a shared computer?

reply11 / 20 / 2007
Jedi Ninja

A.G.Abeysekara - don't use Internet Explorer. There are millions of viruses and spyware which target Internet Explorer, making it the slowest and least secure internet browser ever made. Download the Firefox 2 browser from www.mozilla.com and use that instead. You'll notice an immediate difference in the speed of your internet connection. Not only is Firefox more secure than Internet Explorer, but it can load webpages in about half the time.

reply11 / 19 / 2007
Jedi Ninja

Frank John and Mooi, I get this question a lot. See here for the solution: http://www.scribd.com/doc/463626/

reply11 / 07 / 2007
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