Windows Small Business Server 2011 : Adding a New User Account, Adding Multiple User Accounts

1. Adding a New User Account

User roles are essentially templates that make the adding of user accounts remarkably simple. To add a new user account, open the Windows SBS Console, select Users And Groups, select Users, and then follow these steps:

1. In the Tasks pane, select Add A New User Account to start the wizard. On the Add A New User Account And Assign A User Role page shown in Figure 1, enter the full name, user name, email address, and other relevant information. Choose the user role to base the new account on. Click Next.

   Figure 1. Adding a new user account

   

2. Enter and confirm a password for this account. (See the sidebar, Making Secure Passwords for more information on creating a strong password.)

3. Click Add User Account to finish the wizard and create the account.

REAL WORLD: Making Secure Passwords

By default, SBS requires a password at least eight characters in length. In addition, a password must contain at least three of the following four elements:

• Uppercase letters

• Lowercase letters

• Numbers

• Non-alphanumeric characters

For example, a password such as JuxCLNU1 satisfies the requirement. It has eight characters and among them are uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and a number. Similarly, tuidqx!7*5 is also a valid password, consisting of nine characters including lowercase letters, numbers, and non-alphanumeric characters.

The problem with these passwords is their complete lack of memorability. They’re the sort of passwords that get written on sticky notes and left around for anyone to find. A solution is to encourage users to be imaginative when creating a password.

Among the best passwords are alphanumeric acronyms of phrases that have a meaning to the user but are not likely to be known to others. This makes the password easy for the user to remember, while at the same time making it hard for an outsider to guess. For example, a password that meets all requirements is ThinkOT[] (for “Think outside the box”). Or [Thinkit] (“Think inside the box”).

Even better are passphrases—entire phrases or sentences, complete with spaces (which count as non-alphanumeric characters) and punctuation. “A picture is worth 1000 words” is an example of a passphrase that meets all requirements: length, uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and non-alphanumeric characters.

Users should also be advised to avoid catchphrases that they themselves use a lot and certain patterns that would be easy for another person to guess, such as

• A rotation or reuse of the characters in a logon name.

• The user’s name or initials, the initials of his or her children or significant other, or any of these items combined with other commonly available personal data such as a birth date, telephone number, or license plate number.

It pays to educate your users about passwords and password privacy, but most of all, it pays to heed your own advice: Make sure the password you select for administration is a good password, and change it frequently. Doing so will help you avoid the consequences of having somebody break into your system and wreak havoc in your very own kingdom.

2. Adding Multiple User Accounts

Rather than add users one at a time, you can group similar users together and add their accounts simultaneously. To add multiple user accounts, open the Windows SBS Console, select Users And Groups, select Users, and then follow these steps:

1. In the Tasks pane, click Add Multiple User Accounts to launch the wizard.

2. On the first page of the Add Multiple New User Accounts Wizard, choose the user role these accounts will be based on, and then click Add to begin adding new users based on the user role selected, as shown in Figure 2.

   Figure 2. Adding multiple user accounts

   

3. Enter the general information about the user and a password, just as you would when adding a single user. Click OK when finished.

4. Click Add again to add another user. When you’ve completed adding the multiple user accounts, you can highlight a user account to edit or remove it.

5. Click Add User Accounts. The Adding New User Accounts To The Network page opens, as shown in Figure 3, and the users are added.

Figure 3. New accounts are added to the network

3. Giving Users Access to Computers

To log on to a computer on the network, users need a user account and permission to access the computer. So after you create a user account, the next step is to allow access. From the server, open the Windows SBS console, click Users And Groups, and then follow these steps:

1. Click the Users tab and then double-click the user account.

2. On the Properties page, click Computers.

3. Select the computers that you want to allow this user account to access, and grant the user account the appropriate level of access.

4. If appropriate, select the Can Remotely Access This Computer check box. Click OK when finished.

You can always return to this page to change or update computer access for a user.