Administrator Account Pros/Cons

[krause734]

I have been using one administrator account on Snow Leopard on my iMac. I have read that it is better to run a standard account for whatever reason especially with this new MacDefender scare. Can anyone explain to me why this is necessary? I know that it is probably more secure.

Also, what is the best way to copy all of my settings, iTunes library, photos, etc. to a new standard account?

Thanks

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Standard account: requires admin password to install applications (such as the trojan malware)

Admin account: requires admin password to install applications (such as the trojan malware)

Just don't install anything shady / didn't download. Result = no malware in either case.

It doesn't matter if you're running as a standard or admin user. Yes, you can launch an app from the downloads folder, but it can't achieve privilege escalation and affect your OS X installation without entering your admin password. There are several threads where this is discussed in detail. If you want technical detail, pay special attention to posts by munkery. The bottom line is you can avoid all Mac malware by simply exercising caution in where you get software that you install or run.

Mac Virus/Malware Info

But as malware still needs an admin password to get access to system files and folders, be it in a Standard Account or Administrator Account, it still can't do anything. And most Mac OS X applications don't need to access system files and folders, thus no password is needed to execute it either way.

Mac Virus/Malware Info by GGJstudios
There are currently no viruses for Mac OS X in public circulation, only a handful of trojans and other malware, which have to be installed manually via entering the administrator password.
The only anti-virus you need to protect your Mac is education and common sense.​

from Malware vs mac user accounts

 

[Rowf]

I have been using one administrator account on Snow Leopard on my iMac. I have read that it is better to run a standard account for whatever reason especially with this new MacDefender scare. Can anyone explain to me why this is necessary? I know that it is probably more secure.

Also, what is the best way to copy all of my settings, iTunes library, photos, etc. to a new standard account?

Thanks

To create a standard user account:

Use your current admin account to create another admin account and then change your current admin account to standard user via the newly created admin account.

No need to copy anything, your current admin account will become the standard account.
There aren't really any benefits to it if you are the only user of your mac.

Follow the post by simsaladimbamba to find out why.

You might find this of use as well:https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1158324/

 

[Mal]

You've been told wrong. There is no inherent advantage to running as a standard user under OS X, and it creates unnecessary hassle when doing many tasks. Simply use your computer the way it was designed to run.

jW

 

[krause734]

Good info

Thanks for the responses, I will just stick with the Admin account then. I wasn't really worried about the MacDefender, but I was curious if there were any other advantages to using a standard login.

 

[GGJstudios]

I was curious if there were any other advantages to using a standard login.

There aren't any. It's perfectly fine to run as an admin user.

 

[CharlesShaw]

You've been told wrong. There is no inherent advantage to running as a standard user under OS X, and it creates unnecessary hassle when doing many tasks. Simply use your computer the way it was designed to run.

jW

Is this still true in 2020? I’d never questioned my old school decision to Always run a standard user (Nobody else shares my computer) until recently having a Mac mini setup with Apple Watch. My Apple Watch offers to authenticate admin activities but I have to use the password option because I’m a standard user. That got me thinking that Apple expects me to be an administrator. Agree?

 

[GGJstudios]

Is this still true in 2020? I’d never questioned my old school decision to Always run a standard user (Nobody else shares my computer) until recently having a Mac mini setup with Apple Watch. My Apple Watch offers to authenticate admin activities but I have to use the password option because I’m a standard user. That got me thinking that Apple expects me to be an administrator. Agree?

By default, your Mac account is an administrator account. There is no advantage in setting up an additional standard user account for everyday use. Just run the admin account and think before entering your admin password.

 

[CharlesShaw]

Thank you. Simpler will be nicer too.

 

[KALLT]

I disagree with the statement that a standard user has no advantages. Standard users are unable to use sudo to obtain root privileges and many system settings (e.g. in System Preferences) cannot be changed by a standard user. It is not that long ago that programs like sudo were preconfigured with unsafe defaults. The last time I checked, many settings panels in System Preferences were unlocked by default when opened by an admin user.

Apple also still recommends creating a standard user for day-to-day work as a precaution. Conversely, there are not that many hassles with standard accounts, the above-mentioned problem with the Apple Watch notwithstanding.

 

[GGJstudios]

Because no one shares the poster's computer, there is zero advantage in using a standard account, since there are no other user accounts on the computer. If the user thinks before entering the admin password, there is no disadvantage in using an admin account.