I have a serious concern about an unwanted and unknown password on my new Windows XP computer. When I was checking through the local services, I found that some of them do not log on manually but via an account called NT AUTHORITY\ LocalService. This service appears to use an encrypted 15-character password. I do not know what this is or where it came from. I certainly did not enter it myself. Robert Milton
This is a relatively recent security feature. Windows' internal services could be unsecured or run with the same powers as you, probably an administrator, but this might be a problem if your PC was hacked.
Microsoft therefore introduced a built-in Local Service Account, which runs with limited access and fewer privileges. The idea is to give internal services no more power than they really need. Click here for a technical account of this approach to services.
