Creating a Decoy Administrator Account

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2

This procedure adds an additional layer of protection when you hide the default Administrator account. An attacker planning a password attack on the Administrator account can be fooled into attacking an account with no special privileges.

Requirements

  • Credentials: Domain Admins

  • Tools: Active Directory Users and Computers

To create a decoy Administrator account

  1. Log on with Domain Admins credentials, and then open Active Directory Users and Computers.

  2. In the console tree, right-click the Users container, click New, and then click User.

  3. Type the following information:

    • In First name and User logon name, type Administrator.

    • Type and confirm a password.

    Your new account appears in the Users container.

  4. In the details pane, right-click Administrator, and then click Properties.

  5. On the General tab, in the Description box, type Built-in account for administering the computer/domain, and then click OK.