Using the guest account

Applies To: Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials

The Guest user account is a user account that you can use to allow temporary access to server resources for a user who does not have a network user account. Server installation automatically creates the Guest user account. The Guest account is not activated by default. However, some Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) deliver systems with the Guest account activated. We strongly recommend that you deactivate the Guest user account when it is not needed. If the server is a member of a domain, you should use active directory user permissions to secure shared folders.

To deactivate the Guest user account

1. Open the server Dashboard.

2. On the navigation bar, click Users.

3. In the list of user accounts, select the Guest account (or the account that you want to deactivate).

4. In the Guest Tasks pane, click Deactivate the user account.

5. Click Yes to confirm your action.

To assign or change shared folder permissions for the Guest user account

1. Open the server Dashboard.

2. On the navigation bar, click Users.

3. In the list of user accounts, select the Guest account (or the account for which you want to assign permissions).

4. In the Guest Tasks pane, click View the account properties.

5. In Guest Properties, click the Shared folders tab.

6. In the Shared folders tab, for each shared folder, select the access level that you want to allow for the Guest account.

7. Click OK to save your changes.

If you activate the Guest user account on the server, the account can be used to access only the shared folders on the server that the administrator specifies. Additionally, if you activate the Guest user account on the server and on a computer that is connected to the network, users who log on to the network computer as Guest can automatically access the shared folders on the server without being prompted for a password.

The server automatically assigns a blank password for the Guest account.

You can also use the Guest account another way. The Guest account can be used as a convenient method to turn on access to resources that are stored on your server (such as photos and music) for someone who is not a regularly using the storage server. You can activate and use the Guest account for temporary access to resources on the server, and deactivate the Guest account when the guest no longer requires access to the resources on the server. By default, the Guest account, when activated has Read only access. It is recommended that you think about what level of access to the server folders should be provided to the guest account, whether Read/Write access is required, or if a Read only access is sufficient. These considerations will provide maximum protection and privacy to your data. For more information about setting access to server folders, see How do I manage access to server folders?

To activate the Guest account

1. Open the server Dashboard.

2. On the main navigation bar, click Users.

3. In the list of user accounts, right-click the Guest account, and then click Activate the user account.