Member Avatar for evilsilver

Operating System: windows xp

hey guys, i was playing around in the command prompt of my computer and started playing with the net user command and found the user support_388945a0 and saw how it was used by microsoft and was wondering, is there anyway that i can use this account to log on to my computer in case i lost my password or any other circumstances. just a fun thought that crossed my mind, i tried to login by disableing the easy login of windows xp (so it looks more like windows 2000) so that i can attempt to logon as it (yes i did successfully set it to active, and change the password and all other needs to make it a user, and yes i did set it back to the way it was after i was done playing with it just in case) but it didn't want me to logon as it saying i can't logon as that user (wasn't a incorrect password, was a different error, i will post it later i have to refresh my memory of it's exact wording.)

so what do you guys think, possible or not?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by dorkwad

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Quick, practical context rooted in the thread: ’s experiment (enabling the SUPPORT388945a0 account and trying to log on) is a common test people run, and ’s suggestion to keep a spare administrator is sound advice. That SUPPORT... entry is a special-purpose system/vendor support account and is not meant for normal interactive sign‑on; it is created and managed by Windows/help components and, in many installs, is disabled or lacks the rights needed for local interactive logon. (learn.microsoft.com)

If changes were made while experimenting, revert them rather than deleting the account. Quick checks and fixes:

  • Open Computer Management -> Local Users and Groups -> Users, locate SUPPORT_..., open Properties and re-enable “Account is disabled” if needed.

  • From an elevated command prompt you can inspect and disable with:

    net localgroup HelpServicesGroup
net user SUPPORT_388945a0 /active:no

Keep a restore point or backup of system state before making changes to built‑in accounts. If the SUPPORT_... account appears enabled unexpectedly, investigate installed vendor software and recent system changes; Windows Vista and later behave differently and remnants may appear after upgrades. For older systems the account is used by support/help components and should normally be left disabled rather than removed. ()

Recommended security steps: leave the account disabled, do not delete it (deletion can break scripted support functionality), maintain a separate admin recovery account stored securely as suggested, and run AV/malware scans if unknown support accounts or unexpected privilege changes are present. ()

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for chrisbliss18

I'm not certain, but I don't think just anyone can use that account. Guys, please correct me if I'm wrong. If you are concerned that you might lose/forget your password some day, create a secondary user account with a very complex password that you can keep somewhere secure (not on the system itself :)). Also, be sure to add that user to the Administrators group so that, after you log in as the secondary user, you can reset your main account's password.

Member Avatar for evilsilver

ya i'm not to conserned about loosein my password. it was just a situation i gave to you guys. i was just more curious if there was any use with it as an account but all my hopeful endevers to be able to log in on that account have failed for one reason or another. so was seeing if anyone else tried before or if anyone had knowledge on how. guess it can't be used as an actual account i believe it is used for administrative tools though so i wouldn't recomend deleteing it lol.

Member Avatar for chrisbliss18

I did some searching and found that it is an account that users in the Administrators group can assign rights to. When signed scripts get called from Help and Support Services pages, the scripts receive the rights of that account. So, in a nutshell, it cannot be used as a standard user. It is a very specific-use account. Got to love MS for that.

Member Avatar for dorkwad

thank you nıce

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