Windows Logon Inherent Security?

[DigitalMan]

Hello - first post, so please forgive me if this has been covered before. I did search but did not uncover anything to answer this question.

I know that creating a "guest" account in WinXP Pro can be done with a profile that prevents installing new software. I assume that the way Windows does this is not effective in blocking installation of viruses/worms/trojans, etc. - or it would be obvious and very easy to just use Guest accounts to avoid malware problems. Is this a correct assumption?

I understand that having a password protected login is good for the security of a PC that is unattended - but with only two people using my PC at home I was wondering if it was worth the hassle of using a login screen for the sake of security. How difficult is it to get around the WindowsXP Pro login prompt? I assume it is good enough to prevent the casual house guest, but not against a skilled hacker - is that a good assumption too?

[jag1967]

If I may, I'd like to add, is it worth setting up a guest account if I'm the only user of my pc? That is, just to use the adminstrator account, or is this a no no security wise?

rgds
jag

[DigitalMan]

Hmm, this is an interesting subject after all. See link for an exhaustive discussion on this topic:

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/rema...flat~days=9999