MLCUG July 2008 Issue 314

Logon to Vista using your normal username and password.
Click on the Start button
Click on Start Search.
Type, cmd.
Right-click cmd, select 'Run as administrator' from the shortcut menu.
In the black 'DOS box', type the following at the command line: Net help user
The idea of the last command is just to observe the options for Net User. In particular, examine the syntax to set the password.
The next instruction is the crucial command. I have chosen password = p£ssworD, you may want to choose different characters!
Net user administrator p£ssw0rd
Net user administrator /active:yes
Check the message : The command completed successfully
Switch User, or logoff
Logon as Administrator - Password p£ssw0rD (Your password may be different!)

Trap1: There should be no space between the word 'active' and the colon.

    /active  :yes   is wrong.   
    /active:yes     is correct.

Trap2: You need a forward slash before /active

     Net user administrator active:yes    is wrong
     Net user administrator /active:yes    is correct

Benefits of Vista's Hidden Administrator Account The main benefit of activating this hidden Vista Administrator is so that you have access to an account, which does not suffer from the annoying UAC dialog box. Although it is possible to suppress the UAC with a local policy, there is a lingering fear that security is being weakened. Another worry is that rumors persist that some commands don't work properly if you turn off the UAC. Linked to the benefit of suppressing the UAC dialog box is the fact that this Administrator account has elevated privileges. What this means is that if your run CMD you don't have to 'Run as administrator' before you get unrestricted access to the command line. Another benefit of knowing this method is to keep the hidden Vista administrator account as a 'back door', for example, if you inadvertently lock out your main account. Sitting there at your computer, you can never believe that you will be so foolish as to lock yourself out, yet logic dictates that somewhere in the world, someone has just done that: locked themselves out of Vista. Would not they like to know how to activate the administrator account?

Naturally, it is a case of administrator by name and administrator by function, this super user is a member of the Local Administrator's group. In many ways this super Administrator account reminds me of the Unix root account. As I am not a 'professor' of Unix I do not know if you can hide root, but you can hide Vista's administrator account with this command: Net user administrator /active:no.

Summary of Vista Administrator - Super User (Hidden Account)

One reason to activate the hidden Vista Administrator account is so that you are no longer nagged by the UAC (User Account Control) prompt. The procedure is straightforward, just head for the cmd prompt and type:

  Net user administrator /active:yes.

The only trap is that many systems require a complex password so that you need to add a password to the command string thus…

 Net user administrator p£ssw0rd

Then…

 Net user administrator /active:yes

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DIRECTIONS FOR ST. AUGUSTINE CENTER MEETING ROOM Meetings are in the St. Augustine Center at Villanova University. The regular monthly sessions meet in Room 110. Enter from the ITHAN AVENUE main gate, then proceed to the upper level of the 2-level parking building adjacent to the St. Augustine Center, on the Ithan Avenue side of the building.

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      MLCUG Meetings 2008      Steering Committee Meetings
          July 12			July 16
          August 9			August 13
          September 13			September 17

EDITOR: Emil J. Volcheck, Jr. 1046 General Allen Lane West Chester, PA 19382-8030 ACTING EDITOR: John W. Deker, Jr. 2210 Lantern Lane Lafayette Hill, PA 19444-2211

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