4

I don't like asking my (windows network) users for their passwords, it doesn't seem like a good security practice. I also want to train my users to never give their password to anyone if they ask for it. But there are certain things that I just need to do while logged into a person's account. How does everyone handle this situation? Do they inconvenience the users by resetting their password and making them come up with a new one? Or is the practice of asking for users passwords the best way to do this?

blsub6
  • 141
  • 2
  • 2
    What changes exactly are you trying to make that cannot be done under a separate administrator account. There is probably a way to do it without logging in with the end user's account. – Eric G Apr 15 '15 at 01:55
  • 1
    1) Setting up a person's profile on a new computer. 2) When troubleshooting an issue I'll give the user a loaner computer and need to reboot their computer multiple times. 3) any time I need to troubleshoot issues with their account or test permissions while the user continues to work on another computer – blsub6 Apr 15 '15 at 05:12
  • 3
    1) Group Policies, 2) Admin account, 3) create test user with same permissions. I can't say that I have ever needed someone else's account to administer and troubleshoot. If I need to see what happens when *they* do something, I use a screenshare program. – schroeder Apr 15 '15 at 05:24

1 Answers1

5

Firstly as per @EricG most of the administration should be handled using a network administrator account, using group policies and the like.

If you need access to a users logged-in session the best way to approach this is to have the user login to their machine and then hand you the keyboard. That way you never learn there password, and the user can observe the steps you take. As noted in the comments this can also be done by various remote support, screen and session sharing applications.

David Waters
  • 2,802
  • 2
  • 14
  • 14
  • 3
    I would make a modification to your answer to include remote desktop sessions instead of "hand you the keyboard". TeamViewer, LogMeIn, Citrix, etc. – schroeder Apr 15 '15 at 03:54
  • 1
    True that, people's keyboards are disgusting. We're using dameware, it's incredible – blsub6 Apr 15 '15 at 04:57