This advice is wrong. In Windows 10 you CAN create a guest account which has limited access (as in earlier editions). After creating a local account, simply move it to the Guests group. Once this is done then they wont be able to change settings (they cant run the settings app at all!), or install or uninstall apps or do any of the other things which were “banned” in the old guest account. This works on all editions (including Home) and doesn’t require group policy.
You can turn on the Guest account under Windows 10, by using the Local Security Policy.
Press ⊞+R to open the Run Dialog box and type in “secpol.msc”.
From there, expand “Local Policies” and click “Security Options”
Double Click “Accounts: Guest Account Status” and select enabled, then click Okay.
Reboot and the guest account should show up on the welcome screen.
What happens if you upgrade Windows 7 or 8.1 to Windows 10 with a Guest account active on the older OS? Will Guest still be available as a user after the upgrade?
I read somewhere that the guest account was unsafe and so I created a Standard user account. But the default setup allows them to use File Explorer and see other users’ files. Will look up how to limit that. But what makes ‘them’ say that the guest account has risks?
The Guest account is not unsafe. It is even more limited than other user accounts. It cannot install apps on its own. It is safer than other types of user accounts. Not sure where you read that.
I read somewhere that the guest account was unsafe and so I created a Standard user account. But the default setup allows them to use File Explorer and see other users’ files. Will look up how to limit that. But what makes ‘them’ say that the guest account has risks?
11 Responses to “What is the Guest account and how do you turn it on?”
Actually, you can have a guest account in Microsoft Windows 10.
You just have to set it up from the cmd promt.
This advice is wrong. In Windows 10 you CAN create a guest account which has limited access (as in earlier editions). After creating a local account, simply move it to the Guests group. Once this is done then they wont be able to change settings (they cant run the settings app at all!), or install or uninstall apps or do any of the other things which were “banned” in the old guest account. This works on all editions (including Home) and doesn’t require group policy.
You can turn on the Guest account under Windows 10, by using the Local Security Policy.
Press ⊞+R to open the Run Dialog box and type in “secpol.msc”.
From there, expand “Local Policies” and click “Security Options”
Double Click “Accounts: Guest Account Status” and select enabled, then click Okay.
Reboot and the guest account should show up on the welcome screen.
Happy trails!
Miles
Nobody is truly reading what we say, and everyone’s an expert. 😐
Useful content
What happens if you upgrade Windows 7 or 8.1 to Windows 10 with a Guest account active on the older OS? Will Guest still be available as a user after the upgrade?
No, it will not be available. At least not with the exact set of permissions and limitations as the previous Guest account.
I read somewhere that the guest account was unsafe and so I created a Standard user account. But the default setup allows them to use File Explorer and see other users’ files. Will look up how to limit that. But what makes ‘them’ say that the guest account has risks?
The Guest account is not unsafe. It is even more limited than other user accounts. It cannot install apps on its own. It is safer than other types of user accounts. Not sure where you read that.
I read somewhere that the guest account was unsafe and so I created a Standard user account. But the default setup allows them to use File Explorer and see other users’ files. Will look up how to limit that. But what makes ‘them’ say that the guest account has risks?
I forgot my password to laptop how can i setup as a guest