In Windows XP and Vista, log-in passwords perform two important functions and they keep unwanted users off and they allow you to make use of the remote connection functionality that is standard on Windows XP Professional. Setting up a log-in password is extremely simple, but there are some people who will not have done it before and as it is a core part of the XP Ninja experience, it would be remiss of me to leave out this documentation.

Procedure after the jump.
Open up the Control Panel and in Classic View open User Accounts. Next, click Change an account then select your user name, and click Create a password. Here you can optionally enter a password hint and enter your password.

For security purposes, while it is annoying, it is generally better to make use of two user accounts; one with Administrator privileges and one without. If you only have one user account, then it is automatically set to administrator. With limited privileges, a user cannot always install programs, which makes it that little bit harder for malware to end up on your PC.

To create a reduced-privilege account, while still in the User Accounts menu, click Create an account. Then enter the user name that you would like to use and click Next. Select the Limited user radio button and click Create account. Next, create a password for the reduced-privilege account and you are ready to roll. [Microsoft]

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