Having different accounts on a shared PC lets multiple people use the same device, all while giving everyone their own sign-in info, plus access to their own files, browser favorites, and desktop settings.
You can add a local user account (an offline account) or Microsoft account for a user to sign in to the PC with. These can be a standard user or administrator account type.
When you add an account in Windows, it will be a standard user account by default.
Standard User – Standard user accounts are good for everyday usage, and can be a local account or Microsoft account. Standard user accounts can use most apps and change system settings that do not affect other users. If any action that requires elevated rights is attempted while signed in as a standard user, Windows will display a UAC prompt for the password of an administrator for approval. If UAC is set to “Never notify”, then a standard user will automatically be denied the elevated action.
Administrator – Administrator accounts have complete access to the PC and can make any desired changes. Administrators can be a local account or Microsoft account. If any action that requires elevated rights is attempted while signed in as an administrator, Windows will display a UAC prompt for the administrator to confirm (Yes or No) using full administrator rights.
This tutorial will show you how to quickly determine if user accounts on the PC are an administrator or standard user account type in Windows 11.
Windows runs desktops apps and application files (ex: .bat, .cmd, .exe, and .msc file types) in user mode by default without elevated administrator rights unless it prompts you with UAC to run elevated (highest privileges).
Windows has standard user and administrator types of user accounts.
Standard User – Standard user accounts are good for everyday usage, and can be a local account or Microsoft account. Standard user accounts can use most apps and change system settings that do not affect other users. If any action that requires elevated rights is attempted while signed in as a standard user, Windows will display a UAC prompt for the password of an administrator for approval. If UAC is set to “Never notify”, then a standard user will automatically be denied the elevated action.
Administrator – Administrator accounts have complete access to the PC and can make any desired changes. Administrators can be a local account or Microsoft account. If any action that requires elevated rights is attempted while signed in as an administrator, Windows will display a UAC prompt for the administrator to confirm (Yes or No) using full administrator rights.
When you use Run as administrator on a desktop app or application file, you are allowing it to run with full administrator access to everything on the computer. This means you are giving it special permissions to access restricted parts of the computer that would otherwise be off-limits. This could be a potential security risk if not a trusted app or application file, but sometimes “Run as administrator” is necessary for a trusted app or application file to run properly if it requires elevated rights for full access.
This tutorial will show you how to determine if an app or process is currently running as administrator (elevated) or not in Windows 11.
Having different accounts on a shared PC lets multiple people use the same device, all while giving everyone their own sign-in info, plus access to their own files, browser favorites, and desktop settings.
You can add a local user account (an offline account) or Microsoft account for a user to sign in to the PC with. These can be a standard user or administrator account type.
When you add an account in Windows, it will be a standard user account by default.
Standard User – Standard user accounts are good for everyday usage, and can be a local account or Microsoft account. Standard user accounts can use most apps and change system settings that do not affect other users. If any action that requires elevated rights is attempted while signed in as a standard user, Windows will display a UAC prompt for the password of an administrator for approval. If UAC is set to “Never notify”, then a standard user will automatically be denied the elevated action.
Administrator – Administrator accounts have complete access to the PC and can make any desired changes. Administrators can be a local account or Microsoft account. If any action that requires elevated rights is attempted while signed in as an administrator, Windows will display a UAC prompt for the administrator to confirm (Yes or No) using full administrator rights.
This tutorial will show you how to change the account type of users to be either a standard user or administrator in Windows 11.
Windows 11 includes a hidden built-in Administrator account that serves as the system administrator with elevated rights by default without needing Run as administrator or UAC (User Account Control) for elevation approval.
The built-in Administrator is not protected by a password by default, but you can add a password to the account to help prevent unauthorized users from signing in to the account.
The Administrator account has full control of the files, directories, services, and other resources on the local computer. The Administrator account can create other local users, assign user rights, and assign permissions. The Administrator account can take control of local resources at any time simply by changing the user rights and permissions.
The built-in Administrator account cannot be deleted or locked out, but it can be renamed, enabled, or disabled.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable the built-in Administrator account in Windows 11.