Tip

Disabling guest accounts

Sunitha Sunkara

Intended for temporary users, guest accounts are an easy point of entry for hackers. This is how you can permanently disable them:

Go to Start --> Settings --> Control Panel --> Users & Passwords.
In the Users & Passwords window, select the Advanced tab.
In the Advanced User Management section, click Advanced.
In the Local Users & Groups window, select the Users folder (left panel). All system users will be listed in the right panel.
Right-click Guest, then select Properties.
In the Guest Properties window, select Account is disabled. Click Apply, then OK.

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This was first published in May 2006

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