Guest Account (Dictionary Entry)

Quotes

guest account

A local account used to allow limited access to system resources.

Overview

Popular computing platforms such as Microsoft Windows and UNIX include a guest account that can be used to provide anonymous users with access to system resources. Guest accounts should generally be disabled since they can often provide access to resources even for users who have not been authenticated. Best practices also indicate that the guest account should be renamed to make it more difficult for intruders to find once a system has been penetrated. Guest accounts should also have strong passwords that are difficult to crack, and in UNIX systems they should have a restricted shell.

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