Authenticated User?

I have searched high and low for a clear explanation of exactly what the Authenticated User account is in Windows 7 but I still don't fully understand it!

I understand that "users" are accounts created by an administrator and that "Authenticated Users" is automatically created by the OS. But as I understand it, all the user accounts created on the computer by an administrator are also automatically included in Authenticated Users? That seems to mean that every user on your system is able to access, read, write to (as in delete) and modify any other user's documents etc.!!!

Example: I have 2 hdds divided into 5 partitions on my system. I have one administrator account (mine) and two user accounts (mine and one for visitors). And if I log in to the "visitor" account, I can go to Computer and freely navigate to and open any file I like - and I do not like this one little bit!

So how can I prevent standard users from seeing any other users' files?

You can simply turn on the guest account for them to use, and there's also parental controls that you can set. You can find this information on the Control Panel. There's also some other options, such as permissions, but I've not messed with them, or the Parental controls.

But normally, a Guest cannot make changes to your system, nor "see" your documents. I once had one created for when company comes over, so if someone needed to check emails, or whatever.

However, it became a habit for some, who didn't even own a computer, to drop by just to use it. That was not my intent, my intent was to provide hospitality to my legit company, not be a magnet for freeloaders. So because of the abuse of a few, I no longer provide access to my desktop, period.

But as I understand it, as you setup each user, there's controls for you to set, as to what each can do.

This may not be the answer that you're looking for, but you can allow as many as you want to use the guest account, without placing your data in jeporday.

Best of Luck,
Cat