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Renaming the Admin Account

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9 replies

by sitizn wille 1 view

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We have to rename our admin account on our 2003 domain controller. We have several processes that run automatically under this account ie. Backup and such. If we rename this account to something else are we going to have to reconfigure those processes that run under the admin account?
Thanks
Sitizn Willie

9 replies

by bsod_420

Do you have to rename the admin account or just change the password? Why would you need to change the actual name?
I never change the admin's user name after initial server setup, but I do change the password often. Whenever I change the password I must change all related profiles in Backup, Security and other related software that is executed by the admin account.

by sitizn wille

We are suppose to rename the admin account, not just the password. Well they say that if someone were to try and hack your network the admin account would be the first name they would try. If it is not called administrator then it would make it a little harder to hack. But with all these process that run under the admin account, not sure what kind of trouble that this will cause?
Was not even sure you could rename it to be honest. I can see there point, but don't want to make a huge mess on the network.
Any ideas?
Cheers
Sitizn Willie

by bsod_420

Create a second admin account with the name of your choice(with full rights) and disable the administrator account.

If you have good security policies in place including frequently changing "strong" passwords, your server should be just fine regardless of the name of the admin account.

by sidvail

I've always been told to set up an additional account with all the privileges of Admin - then use that account for all your admin work. This tells me you're most vulnerable while logged in. Not sure of this - but even the common server management books tell you to do this. They say the administrator account cannot be removed or locked out. Made this way.

by esfd286

The admin account can also be renamed via group policy. As far as I know, this should leave all dependancies and permissions intact, allowing your processes to run just fine.

by sitizn wille

Thanks for all the ideas.
Cheers
Sitizn Willie

So you can do it through gourp policy, I will have to do some searching.
Thanks

by esfd286

Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Local Policies\Security Options

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