Why you shouldn’t have administrator rights

“I need administrator rights, so I can install what I like…” the fatal last words of someone not realising that not having administrator rights is probably the single most important thing you can do to stop viruses and malware from getting onto your computer.

Yes, it’s a little bit of an inconvenience getting the prompt for the admin details when you want to install “Zoom”, but the minor inconvenience far outweighs the potential issues if you use admin rights all day, every day.

Whilst most computer viruses and malware are super smart in what they do, most also require some form of administrator rights to wreak their full havoc. Without any admin rights, you’ve just potentially stopped a large portion of potential threats to your computer.

By default, our position when setting up computers is for the main user not to be an admin – and basically, the number one reason for this is to stop people accidentally trashing their computers with malware.

This approach is by far the most secure. It’s such a shame though, that certain software for unnamed accounting providers, still requires administrator access to fully run, here is 2021 – seriously people, move with the times. It actually begs the question again, if you require the local software on your computer at all, is the solution actually the right one at all? Would a pure Cloud-based system accessed via a web browser be much more productive and secure?

As part of the Cyber Essentials (more on Cyber Essentials here) guidelines, a key area is around control and access, specifically not using admin accounts for day-to-day operations. It’s not just us strongly advising not using admin accounts, it’s certifications such as Cyber Essentials which are also conveying this message as well.

So whilst it may cause a few little niggles not being an admin, the safety it provides is such a huge win, it’s something you really must have in place to keep yourself, and your business secure online.

If you’ve not put in place this level of access as yet, don’t delay, put this in place today!

This article was written by Gavin Moorhouse, owner of Lucid Computer Solutions, a Cyber Essentials certified business, located in Redditch, Worcestershire.