Renaming the Administrator account

As a security best practice, it is recommended that you rename the Administrator account on all computers in the Windows Small Business Server domain, or at least on the computer running Windows Small Business ServerĀ 2003. The built-in Administrator account is a well-known and powerful account. Malicious attackers often attempt to log on to computers by guessing the password of the Administrator account. Because the account is necessary for many functions in the operating system, the account cannot be locked. However, changing the name of this account prevents unauthorized users who try to discover the password from gaining access to the network.

Important

  • Rename the Administrator account only after completing all the tasks in the To Do List.
  • After changing the Administrator account name, you need to log off and then use the new name to log back on as an administrator on the server.

Renaming the Administrator account on the server

You can either manually rename the Administrator account on the computer running Windows Small Business ServerĀ 2003, or, using the Group Policy Management Console, you can automatically rename all the Administrator account names in the network (including the server).

Renaming the Administrator account on all client computers

You can either manually rename the Administrator account on each client computer in the local network, or, using the Group Policy Management Console, you can automatically rename all the Administrator account names. If you choose to rename the Administrator account manually, keep in mind that you must manually rename the Administrator account every time you add a client computer to the network.

For step-by-step instructions on how to rename the Administrator account by using the Group Policy Management Console, see To rename the Administrator account using the Group Policy Management Console.

For step-by-step instructions on how to rename the Administrator account manually, see To rename the Administrator account manually.