Do you run your computer as Administrator or as a Limited User? Please state your reason why in the comments as well as what operating system you use (XP, Windows 7, etc). Here are results from an older poll - https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=199713&highlight=limited user
I never run as administrator.Always in a standard user account with parental controls turned on.I feel safer this way.
I always run admin mode. Limited account is not worth the trouble since I install and remove programs often.
Mix depending on what I plan to do when I turn on the laptop. Usually, I start with casual stuffs like browsing the web so I log in as standard user first. If I find myself doing things that invokes UAC prompts often, then I know it's time for me to switch to admin (but still under Admin Approval Mode and UAC max).
I have UAC set to max (Which doesn't really makes that much of a difference) and i do RUN my pc as admin. I hope my HIPS catches anything that goes through that. LOL
Vista and Windows 8 always as admin (with UAC on it is like running standard) although Sandboxie is set to drop rights from admin. Same with XP always admin with Sandboxie set to drop rights.
Running as admin on Windows XP using AppGuard for policy restriction. All web browsing done using Sandboxie with Drop Rights enabled.
Windows 7: Admin + UAC + AppLocker (all at default) Effectively like Standard account, only more convenient.
Yes – on both Windows 7 and 8. I'm always trying new programs and changing settings and find running as a standard user too inconvenient. I'm aware of the consequences and am prepared for it!
No problem running as root. Depends what you're doing. Home desktop, no reason to be root. Server, why not. Mrk
Pretty amazing that those of you who run your pc's as admins are by numbers, (so far) twice as many as those who run as regular suers. And this is a security oriented forum.
No. I've run Windows as a non-Admin since Win2000 days, when it was actually somewhat difficult, so being a Standard User with maxed-out UAC on Win7/8 is a total cakewalk by comparison. I also apply that policy at work. Counting a 5-year stint as a sysadmin, plus my current SOHO fleet and home systems, I've racked up roughly a half-million machine-hours with no known malware infections, and that's with "average" users. Considering that record goes back as far as Win2000, that's pretty good. Non-admin accounts and executable whitelisting are the cornerstones.
running as a Standard user with UAC, although it can be quiet annoying sometimes to always type the admin Password.
Almost always. There was a time the opposite was true, and I ran admin only to update Windows once a month basically. But I realized I was just inconveniencing myself needlessly, and peeled a few layers back on a quest to balance security & usability. Now I have a LUA I log into to do online purchasing and a few other things. I think it's good to use separate accounts/browsers to do those things. Even make multiple LUA's if you do several "sensitive" things, like online banking too, etc... But yeah, I'm old school still on XP here. I admit 7's Standard Accounts are a very nice compromise that are like the best of both worlds. One of the improvements of modern OS's.
Always Not even possible to run a user account or any other type because they have all been completely striped out of the OS "modded XP" Admin has just been renamed and hardened, run it this way to have complete control of the system and this OS has been retooled for just a single operator
I always run as Admin, with UAC fully disabled. Yes, I'm aware that it is less secure this way, but I can't stand UAC prompts and find it more convenient to have admin rights. If I was paranoid about security things would be different. But I'm not, and probably never will be.
on Windows 8: Admin + UAC @ default, which i think is the default on install. the default setup on Ubuntu/Mint. not sure what that is exactly. lol
