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The danger of using Administrator accounts - DEFCON level?
Hello. Just been reading stuff concerning Administrator accounts. Microsoft and others warn about logging in as an Administrator due to damage potential from trojans, etc., and suggesting that internet access is safest using a reduced-rights User account. Makes sense, but...
When I first got 7 I largely ignored it, preferring to boot into XP instead, infuriated by the continual messages telling me I couldn't do this, that, or the other - didn't have "sufficient privileges". It only became my preferred Operating System (OS) after discovering the Hidden Administrator, after which all those messages went away, and what was mine actually became, and felt like, mine.
I'm not talking here about trying to do damaging things, just simple everyday tasks - deleting stuff, installing, making various changes, even, one time, just copying a file to the root directory of C:. I found, and find, such control quite ridiculous, given that I had full control in all previous OS's (DRDOS, MSDOS, Win95, 98, 98SE, XP), and nothing bad ever happened.
I'm not prepared to go back to that kind of control, but if any invader does, as I have read, automatically gain my access rights, that is worrying. Truly, I would prefer to have to reinstall 7 often rather than go through that frustration again - it was relentless, and seriously reduced the pleasure I have always got from messing about with computers.
I spend a lot of time online, and am (slightly) considering creating a reduced-rights User Account for that purpose alone. I currently don't have any other User Accounts, and I don't Log On with a password - after invoking the Hidden Administrator I delete the User Account created during installation, and don't enter a password. It will mean going to back to Logging On and entering passwords, and changing User Accounts, though, which appeals not a lot.
So, given that I am the only user of my computers, and that I've been working this way (with 7) for just over two years without a single problem, is it really worth it to return to even the minor hassle of Login routines again? Is it that dangerous? I can see it is potentially dangerous, but in practice all is and has been fine. If my machines were attacked, even by ransomware, it would only be inconvenient; I have disk images ready to reinstall, and all my own files are saved to an external drive. Damage to BIOS or hard drive would be a different matter.
Oh, and there is no element of Windows bashing here. I like Windows a lot, and 7 is the best yet. I just require freedom, including the freedom to screw up, though I am very secure in my own skills and experience not to do so. External events, though...