"Guest account"

[carrbowl]

Short story...I need to take the "guest account" off from our computer. Can you tell me how??


Long story, my kids have been kicked off the computer during the week. So all their passwords dont' work (good thing I know a little about computers!!!!). In the mean time, a guest account has showed up, so they can still get on the computer!!!

So I need to figure out how to get the guest user account out of the computer. Can you help!!

[Graydon]

I'm not an expert, but I think this will do it...

Assuming Windows XP system (any other Windows, may be similar?)

Go to control panel

Select User Accounts

Under "or pick an account to change"... if Guest account is shown "on" select it and choose to turn it off.

good luck.

[mjdmike]

Make sure you're logged in on an administrator account

• Right click on "My Computer", click on "Manage"
• Got to "Local Users and Groups", expand folder
• Click on "Users" to show the user accounts in the right pane
• Right click the "Guest" account, click on "Properties"
• Check the box "Account is Disabled" (wording may be different, depending on operating system)

That's it. If they know your administrator account password, or you're not logging in with a password, they can easily create a new 'guest' account.

[carrbowl]

Well Mike, I think this will work, but, when I look for the "local users and groups"I get this information"

This information is not availableThe information you are trying to locate is only available in the Windows XP Professional documentation, not in the Windows XP Home Edition documentation.

Click the Back button to return to the previous topic."


Graydon, I've already tried your method. All the other accounts allow you to delete them...but not the guest. It only allows you to change the picture or turn the account on or off. Both ways you can still open the guest account with out going in to the admin. account.


Any other ideas???

[mjdmike]

Renae,

I've never used the Home version of XP, but in reading, you cannot truly disable the "Guest" account in XP Home. When you turn it off or on from the Control Panel, it only disables the login ability from the Welcome screen, but it's still an active account.

The best thing you can do is assign the Guest account a new password -- and keep it a secret. Or upgrade to XP pro...

[rschramm]

Take the Keyboard to work with you.. that's what my BIL has had to resort to,, the kids know their way around the computer far better than him....

[DeLeon]

Originally Posted by rschramm

Take the Keyboard to work with you.. that's what my BIL has had to resort to,, the kids know their way around the computer far better than him....

I would NOT have thought of that one...I'm so scared! My little angel is only 3, but I can already tell its going to be FUN FUN FUN!!!

[Dobick]

yep -- take the keyboard -- or open the computer and take the ram (kinda the same concept as taking a sparkplug wire from a vehicle)

You could even take the VGA/DVI cable to the monitor...

I don't guess I was too bad of a kid, but I don't ever remember a time that I completely defied my mom or dad once I was already in trouble. I would have feared death at that point. If they told me that I was banned from xyz, it never crossed my mind that I could defy them.

[carrbowl]

Well I thought I had played with the guest off/on button, but apprently I didn't. You just off to turn the guest "off".


And yes these kids have access to way too much information. We resorted to having an indidvidal accoutn on the computer for each kid. That way no one can download stuff on the computer...only mom gets to do that. We can tell which sites they go to by the history and if they are using more than their allotted time on the computer. My 13 year old decided he would see what would pop up when he googled "sexy girls". I will say, it makes Playboys look like Better HOmes and Gardens.!!!! So a few days later the 8 year old does the same thing!!!!

So the dilema is do you filter the computer so they can't get to the sights, or do you teach them that whe one of those pop ups come on they have to "X" out of them and googling for these sights is unacceptable. So what do you do at your house??? and why??

[Dobick]

I don't have kids, so I can't really say what we do at my house (googling "sexy girls" is not only allowed on my home computer, but encouraged )

Here at work, I am pretty much in control of the filter that we use, and we try to take a non-draconian view of the filtering, but if it was my kids, I would definitely filter, as well as not allow unsupervised access to the computer while the internet is on.

Boys will be boys, and I can't even imagine how maddening it is to try to raise one of us, but the internet can be a crazy place, and I don't think I would want to turn a kid loose on it unsupervised.

I would think that one easy way to solve the problem of him knowing how wrong that stuff is, would be to call the oldest one in, and ask him to show you exactly what he was looking at, and make him retrace his steps in front of you. For me, that would be one of the most embarrasing things that could happen, much worse than when my mom found my dirty magazines. It won't cause him to stop wanting to look, but it will make him think about why it is wrong to objectify women that way.

I think the best thing that you can do is make certain that the internet is off when you aren't there. If you aren't sure how to accomplish that, you need to learn, because you can bet that they will. Keep the router in a locked closet, and when you leave the house, the router gets turned off. Also, don't allow them to have computers in their rooms, make them be in a community room that you can walk in or be in at all times, and make certain you check in on them constantly.