Running Windows Without Administrator Privs?

javacowboy asks: "For a while now, I've been advising friends who run Windows to try running as a regular user, as opposed to running as administrator, which is the default setting. However, I switched to Mac a year and a half ago and I haven't run Windows since, so I'm probably not the best person to be giving this advice. Still, on a philosophical level, *trying* to run Windows as a non-admin, given the prevalence of viruses, worms, trojans, and spy-ware, seems to make sense. Have any of you tried to run Windows as a non-admin, and how did it work out for you? Are there certain tasks or certain software you need to be admin to run? How realistic is it to expect a Windows user to run their OS as non-root?"

I could hear it now....

[Zanth_]

Considering most users like to install the latest kitchy program, I would assume it would be quite a trial in the current format, to have a user run without admin access. I could only imagine the calls the local techy friend would get, instead of "can you pleeeeease come and fix my malwared/spywared/virused/trojanned/fubar'd computer" it will now be "can you pleeeease come and install happybloggeryp2pdownloadmeforfreeporntoday.exe"

Re:The Problem is with Clueless Users

[Russellkhan]

So, you run XP as admin with no firewalls or antivirus despite having been hit by a virus in the past, and you don't reboot after updates, which means basically that your updates are not applied to your machine...

What is it exactly that the 'clueless morons' do that you don't?

Re:I could hear it now....

[Bert64]

To which you can say "NO!" and hang up... Much easier than trecking over there and spending a few hours reinstalling the whole system!

Re:one experience

[skinfitz]

Why, to sniff your network to send anything it finds to the government of course! ;)