about online security on XP Pro

[Wigwam]

okay i have XP Pro, ZA Pro firewall and NAV2003; i used IE and kept it upto date.
after "use firefox" on every thread about IE i gave it a whilr yesterday and like it.

my question is bout the repeated coments abotu dangers of not surfing online as an administrator...
i am on the only admin on the system - is the problem really so bad that if i want to go online i shold swap out to a limited account?

more iinsight/solutions into this issue is appreciated

 

[MrChad]

If you're truly paranoid, you can use a limited account for surfing. However, with a firewall, antivirus software, and a little bit of common sense, you can surf with Internet Explorer or any other browser as an administrator and not worry about infection or hacking.

 

[UmneyDurak]

Just make sure you put a password on that account.
Also double check that your guest account is disabled. I think it's disabled by default on XP Pro, but never hurts to double check.

 

[cleverhandle]

Basic security wisdom says to use the least privileges possible to accomplish a task. There's no reason to do day-to-day work in XP Pro under an administrative account. Most programs work fine in a limited account, requiring, at most, a permission change on a directory. For the rare program that simply must be run as an admin, use runas w/ savecred.