Enable/Disable the Guest Account in Vista

The Guest user account, as mentioned, is sort of a catch-all account for guests, people who want to borrow the computer for a short time. Allowing such people to use the Guest account prevents them from accessing any other useraccounts.

The Guest account is built into Windows Vista, so you don't need to create it. Instead, you can just activate it, thereby making it an option on the Welcome screen, or deactivate it so it's not accessible at all. To activate or deactivate the Guest account.

Activating or Deactivating the Guest Account

1) Click the Start button and choose Control Panel.

2) In Control Panel, in the User Accounts and Family Safety section, click the Add or remove user accounts link to open the User Accounts window.

3) Click the picture that represents the Guest account.

4) If the account is not activated, you will be presented with a dialog box asking if you want to activate the account. If so, click the Turn On button.

5) When the account is active, then clicking the Guest account picture will take you to a dialog box that gives you the option to change the picture used with the account or to turn off the account. Click the Turn off guest account link to deactivate the account.

You won't see any change on your screen, and you won't be logged into the account. But when you activate the account, the next time you see the Welcome screen, an icon for the Guest account will be available.

Tags: control panel

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