How to Enable, Disable and Use Guest Accounts

How to Enable, Disable and Use Guest Accounts In Windows 7

 

1. Learn About the Guest Account

 If you have a computer at home that multiple people use and you wish to keep your digital locker safe you will definitely want to create user accounts for all those who have access to the PC.

 What about those users that don't merit their own user accounts? A guest or a family member who hangs out for the weekend or if you are lending out your computer to a friend for a short while?

 You are unlikely to create a user account for every person who lays a finger on your keyboard, so what are your options?

 Use the Guest Account In Windows 7! If you have no idea what I'm talking about then you've come to the right place, because in this guide I will show you how to enable the Guest Account and how to use it in Windows 7.

 However, if you do have the Guest Account enabled in Windows 7, but don't want random people to access your PC then I will also show you how to disable the Guest Account so that only individuals with ​user accounts can access your Windows PC.

How do you know if the Guest account is enabled? When you turn on your computer and the Welcome Screen appears, a list of available accounts should appear if you see Guest listed as one of the accounts then the Guest account is enabled.
If it doesn't appear then follow the steps below to enable the Guest account on your computer.

How to Enable the Guest Account in Windows 7

1. Click the Windows Orb to open the Start Menu and then click Control Panel.

2. User Accounts and Family Safety 

2. When the Control Panel window opens, click User Accounts and Family Safety.
Note: You may also access the Guest account option by clicking the Add or remove user accounts link directly below User Accounts and Family Safety.

3. Open to View User Accounts 

 3. In the User Accounts and Family Safety page click User Accounts to view your account settings.

4. Open Manage Another User Account

4. When you get to the account settings page click the Manage another account link.
Note: If you are prompted by User Account Control, click Yes to proceed.

5. Select the Guest Account

5. Click Guest from the list of accounts available.
Note: When the account is off it will state the following: "Guest account is off."

6. Turn On Guest Account 

6. When prompted click Turn On to enable the Guest account in Windows 7.
Note: If you turn on the guest account, people who do not have an account can use the guest account to log on to the computer. Password-protected files, folders, or settings are not accessible to guest users.
Once you enable the Guest account you will be redirected to the list of accounts currently active on your PC.
In the next step, I will show you how to disable the guest account if you wish to prevent unauthorized access to your computer.

7. Disable the Guest Account in Windows 7

If you find that the Guest account makes you a bit uneasy because anyone can access your computer, you have the choice of turning it off.
To turn off the Guest Account in Windows 7 simply follow steps 1-5 in this guide and the following step.
1. When you get to the What do you want to change about the guest account? page click the Turn off the guest account link.
Once the account is turned off you will be returned to the account list in Windows 7. Close the Control Panel window and proceed to the following step.

How to Use the Guest Account in Windows 7

You have two options to use the Guest Account in Windows 7. The first is logging out of your existing account in Windows 7 and logging back on using the Guest account.
The second option is using the Switch User option and selecting the Guest account as the account you wish to log onto.