user accounts (was: Malwarebytes queries)

In message , FromTheRafters
writes:
[]
Survey:

How many reading here get only one thing on the list when typing "net
user" at the command prompt?

I (XP here) was expecting more than one, but I actually got:

User accounts for \\G6JPG

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
Administrator ASPNET Guest
HelpAssistant me SUPPORT_388945a0
The command completed successfully.

("me" is me. Above is cut and pasted - so no, ASP.NET does not have a
dot in it.)

What _are_ all of them, should I be worried about any of them, and can
any be removed without danger (if so how)?

The "support" one in particular looks like something that may have been
created during a support session (not that I can remember indulging in
any such, but I've been running for years and might have).
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

science is not intended to be foolproof. Science is about crawling toward the
truth over time. - Scott Adams, 2015-2-2

J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In message , FromTheRafters
writes:
[]
Survey:

How many reading here get only one thing on the list when typing "net
user" at the command prompt?

I (XP here) was expecting more than one, but I actually got:

User accounts for \\G6JPG

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
Administrator ASPNET Guest
HelpAssistant me SUPPORT_388945a0
The command completed successfully.

("me" is me. Above is cut and pasted - so no, ASP.NET does not have a
dot in it.)

What _are_ all of them, should I be worried about any of them, and can
any be removed without danger (if so how)?

The "support" one in particular looks like something that may have been
created during a support session (not that I can remember indulging in
any such, but I've been running for years and might have).

http://www.ghacks.net/2007/10/31/che...n-your-system/

net user Administrator is a built-in account for administering the computer/domain
net user Guest a built-in account for guest access to the computer/domain
net user HelpAssistant is a Remote Desktop Help Assistant Account.
net user SUPPORT_388945a0 is a vendor's account for the Help and Support Service.

*******

https://web.archive.org/web/20110614...sXP/aspdot.php

The aspnet_wp or ASP.NET Machine Account is created
when the Microsoft .Net Framework 1.1 is installed

You can remove this account, but it is vital if you do
asp.net development work on your machine. By removing the
account you may find your ASP.net projects will no longer function correctly.

It is possible to recreate the user by issuing the following command
from the run dialog (changing the framework version number as appropriate)

%systemroot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v1.1.4322\asp net_regiis.exe /i

So that one is not absolutely necessary. The chances of you doing
ASP.NET development on an IIS server are pretty small (on your
desktop computer).

*******

There are also IUSR and IWAM accounts. Those may appear on your
machine, if you turn on the Windows Feature of having an IIS
server on your desktop computer. I did that for about ten minutes
once, then turned it off, but the accounts remain.

http://serverfault.com/questions/501...nts-for-in-iis

*******

There can also be an "Updatus" account, if you have an NVidia video card.
I have an NVidia video card, but don't have that account, and this is
likely because the driver version isn't high enough to have inherited
this feature. Modern NVidia drivers have quite a few items in them
now (bordering on bloat, for average users), and that would be
part of the fat undercarriage.

http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answe...er%E2%80%99%3F

"Reinstall the NVIDIA driver but do not install (deselect) the NVIDIA Update software"

As far as I know, this gives you yet another piece of software
that pesters you about updates. I've run into at least one
user, where every time the NVidia driver package is updated,
one of the components in the package keeps failing.

The video card companies take special delight in this stuff.
In Win10, I have a HD6450, and ATI has just announced it and
a bunch of other cards of that generation have gone out of
support. And the "MOM.exe" process still isn't fixed. Even
though Win10 has been out for four months. The video still
works, and I'm greeted by a nuisance message every time
the computer starts.

I'm not aware of the ATI package needing an account. But anything
is possible.

Remember that the ATI CCC package was a major
reason why users had to download .NET 2.0 in the day, when
otherwise it might never have been needed.

Paul

In message , Paul
writes:
J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
[]
User accounts for \\G6JPG
[---]
Administrator ASPNET Guest
HelpAssistant me SUPPORT_388945a0
[]
net user Administrator is a built-in account for administering the
computer/domain
net user Guest a built-in account for guest access to the computer/domain
net user HelpAssistant is a Remote Desktop Help Assistant Account.
net user SUPPORT_388945a0 is a vendor's account for the Help and
Support Service.
[]
The aspnet_wp or ASP.NET Machine Account is created
when the Microsoft .Net Framework 1.1 is installed

You can remove this account, but it is vital if you do
asp.net development work on your machine. By removing the
(I certainly don't!)
account you may find your ASP.net projects will no longer function
correctly.
[]
Once again, thanks for a comprehensive - and rapid! - reply!

Is there any _harm_ (other than, I presume, a microscopic amount of disc
space, and maybe registry entries) in those accounts being there? (Other
than giving a thief extra possible ways into the machine, but then since
I have it set to go straight in without a login screen, they'd get in
anyway.)

(Another vaguely-related question [XP]: I like to _try_ to keep my
software shortcuts in Start | Programs in folders, like #genealogy,
#internet, #disc, #hardware, and so on. But over the years, some
software shortcuts have been installed in C:\D&S\me\Start Menu\Programs,
and some in the same but \All Users\ instead of \me\; the Start |
Programs menu combines these for me, but actually finding the shortcuts
[say from newly-installed software] when I want to move them into one of
my category folders, is like herding cats. Is there any point in merging
these - i. e. getting rid of either \All Users\ or \me\ [obviously
moving any content to the other one first!], or will they just reappear
again next time I install some software [especially if it doesn't
_offer_ the "all users or just me" choice but picks one of those for
itself]?

Was there a way I could have avoided having both "All Users" and "me" -
I really just want one! - when I first turned on XP? [And probably a
similar question for 7, and later ...])
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

computers don't solve problems; they help humans solve problems - Colin Barker,
Computing 1999-2-18, p. 21

| Was there a way I could have avoided having both "All Users" and "me" -
| I really just want one! - when I first turned on XP? [And probably a
| similar question for 7, and later ...])

You can't avoid it, but you can ignore it for
the most part. I mainly use XP installed to FAT32,
so users are irrelevant. (FAT32 doesn't support
access restrictions.) Yet I still have several user
folders. They can be ignored. On Win7 there's the
further issue of file restrictions that you have to
deal with. You can't install to FAT32 so you
can't avoid file system restrictions. You can
circumvent those if you want to, by running as
Administrator and/or removing restrictions on a
per-file basis. But you need to be aware of them,
as does installed software.

I periodically move all Start Menu shortcuts from my
personal account to the All Users account, just for
the sake of orderliness. I sometimes like to back up
the Start Menu folder, as a way of keeping track of
installed software when I restore a disk image.
("Now what the heck was that DVD maker program
I used to have...?") So I like to have it orderly and
all in one place.

I also rework the whole thing, anyway. I create
folders in All Users\Start Menu\ with names like Utilities,
Office, Graphics, etc. Then when I install a new
program that gives me a submenu with 6 idiotic
links on it (visit online, help, uninstall, feedback, etc)
I just move the program link into the appropriate
folder and delete the rest. If one allows the installers
to have their way the result is a mess.

Windows displays a composite of All Users and
current user, but that doesn't matter if all shortcuts
are in All Users.

Most program installers won't give you a choice
as to where they put the links starting out. I think
Irfan View is one of the few that asks whether you
want to install for the current user or all users. So
it's a willy nilly kind of thing.

In the past, business users have generally
used Win NT on NTFS, set up to be limited
users on company machines, with a copy of
MS Office, or whatever. The normal user in that
scenario can't do much but write to their own
personal folder and print out the work they're
doing. So personal settings go to personal
App Data or HKCU. Global settings go to All
Users\App Data or HKLM. Most global settings
are only applied during installation, while running
elevated.

People who own their own computer never
needed to think about that. Whether a program
stored settings in the program folder, personal
app data, HKLM, or HKCU didn't much matter
because everyone was a real Admin and usually
had only one account on their computer. Whatever
program you used was free to write to any location.

Starting with Vista, especially, Microsoft started
pushing the corporate model for everyone. There's
no choice but to install to NTFS and by default no
one has write access to Program Files, so software
is forced to operate as though it were being run on
a corporate workstation. If software stores data in
the program folder it will usually be read-only for the
current user. Settings in HKLM will be read-only. So
the design has to be planned out, and most software
now just goes along with the multiple-users-running-
in-lackey-mode model -- saving settings to personal
App data folders and files to the personal docs folder,
with shortcuts going to the personal Start Menu folder
or, occasionally, All Users Start Menu.

The up side of that is better security. The down
side is complications and hassles:
For instance, most people don't know about App
Data, so when Windows crashes and they have to
reinstall, they don't realize they've lost all personal files
and settings until it's too late, because they never knew
to back up the App Data folders. Even if they had the
foresight to back up the program folder, that does no
good. Software no longer defaults to saving work files
in the program folder.
You think you're using your own computer, but Windows
design no longer allows that. The only configuration option
is to be set up as though you're a visitor at the local
library, or an employee using a company computer. Your
only options are in how you deal with that.

There can also problems with "virtualization", whereby
Windows, in order to reduce problems with software
designed in the old ways, will just reroute writes to
HKLM or Program Files, without telling you. So you
could think you just made a system-wide adjustment
when actually Windows just let you believe that.

This ties into the discussion about whether one
should run normally in lackey mode. It does provide
a slight improvement in security, and people in
business settings tend to think of it as the "normal"
way to use a computer because in a business setting
you're just borrowing a company tool. It's not your
computer to access. But there's a bigger reason
why Microsoft has shifted from optional lackey
mode to enforced lackey mode:

The corporate approach provides a handy way
for Microsoft to shift the overriding paradigm, turning
your computer into a services device. By now most
people are used to the idea that they're locked out
of most of their computer's files and folders, running
in semi-kiosk mode. And people are used to having
to sign on to Windows with a password, even if they
only use one account. Microsoft has gradually redefined
that as the normal way that one uses a computer.
MS Office and Photoshop are two programs that now
run as online services. And now with Win10 it's normal
that you can't control what gets installed or when/how
the system is updated/changed. Microsoft controls what
goes in and what goes out, including their monitoring of
your activity. So it no longer seems so odd to suddenly
see ads or have a message pop up saying something like,
"Hi there, [username], would you like to sign on to your
online services account now?"

In message , Mayayana
writes:
| Was there a way I could have avoided having both "All Users" and "me" -
| I really just want one! - when I first turned on XP? [And probably a
| similar question for 7, and later ...])
[]
I periodically move all Start Menu shortcuts from my
personal account to the All Users account, just for
the sake of orderliness. I sometimes like to back up

I might have to do that.

the Start Menu folder, as a way of keeping track of
installed software when I restore a disk image.
("Now what the heck was that DVD maker program
I used to have...?") So I like to have it orderly and
all in one place.

I also rework the whole thing, anyway. I create
folders in All Users\Start Menu\ with names like Utilities,
Office, Graphics, etc. Then when I install a new

Likewise: disc, genealogy, images, hardware, internet, PDF, registry,
sound&video, search ...

program that gives me a submenu with 6 idiotic
links on it (visit online, help, uninstall, feedback, etc)
I just move the program link into the appropriate
folder and delete the rest. If one allows the installers
to have their way the result is a mess.

Well, I just move the app.'s folder into the relevant category folder -
unless it only has one link in it (I hate that!).

Windows displays a composite of All Users and
current user, but that doesn't matter if all shortcuts
are in All Users.

Yes, I've figured that out.

Most program installers won't give you a choice
as to where they put the links starting out. I think
Irfan View is one of the few that asks whether you
want to install for the current user or all users. So
it's a willy nilly kind of thing.

I agree many don't, though I think I've encountered others that do give
you the choice. Of the ones that don't give you the choice, have you
found they tend to favour all users, or current user?

In the past, business users have generally
used Win NT on NTFS, set up to be limited
users on company machines, with a copy of
MS Office, or whatever. The normal user in that
scenario can't do much but write to their own
personal folder and print out the work they're
doing. So personal settings go to personal
App Data or HKCU. Global settings go to All
Users\App Data or HKLM. Most global settings
are only applied during installation, while running
elevated.

Yes, my works machine resets my Word (etc.) _templates_ to the company
default ones whenever I log in. (Soon fixed that, of course!)
[]
[rest of paranoid rant deleted, though I mostly agree with it, and they
_are_ out to get you/us!]
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

.... although we regard it as undesirable for children to drive cars, own
credit cards or enter public houses, we don't prevent grown-ups from choosing
to do so. (Quoted by Paul Bray in Computing, 3 October 1996.)