User Accounts

Every person who uses a computer has their own user account, sometimes called a profile. The account identifies that person to the operating system, and it holds their own settings and permissions.

The operating system keeps a store of every account on the computer, together with each one's login details. When somebody logs on, the operating system uses the username to find that person's account. The username is the name that identifies which account is being used, so the operating system knows whose settings and permissions to apply.

Why separate accounts matter

Because each person has an account of their own, settings and permissions belong to a person rather than to the machine. When a user logs on, the operating system applies the settings saved for that account, so the computer looks and behaves the way that user set it up. It also applies the permissions attached to the account, which limits what that user is allowed to do.

For example, a computer in a community centre office is used by Sam and by Dawn. When Sam logs on, his account opens his own desktop shortcuts and his preferred display size. When Dawn logs on, her account opens her own shortcuts and her preferred display size, which is larger. The permissions attached to each account are also different, because the two people do different jobs.

This is what makes it practical for one computer to be shared: everyone gets their own space on it, set up for them.

So an account ties a person's settings and permissions to them, and the username tells the operating system which account to load.