asp.net??

[IKu]

under my user accounts, i have something called "ASP.NET Machine A..." what is this? can i just delete this account?

[doctorgonzo]

Do you have any .NET software installed, like Visual Studio .NET? If so, you may need it as a user to run software as.

[Mac Medic]

Lovely isn't it, you have to have a M$ created account with admin rights just to be able to use software. And who really knows what the account is doing in the background.

[IKu]

uh.... i dunno if i have any .NET software... but i never heard of Visual Studio .NET... and this account is limited. i didn't even know it was there until i looked in the user accounts thing in control panel, it's not there when i boot up.

[doctorgonzo]

Did a little searching, and it is created when you install the .NET framework (I have the .NET SDK on my PC, and that account is there).

According to Google's cache of this website (http://www.mvps.org/marksxp/windowsxp/aspdot.htm), this is the explanation:

"The aspnet_wp or ASP.NET Machine Account is created when the Microsoft .Net Framework 1.1 is installed onto a Windows XP computer. The user is created for the asp.net worker process used in Microsoft's Internet Information Services to fully support ASP.net on your web server (This is pretty much its only use, it is not used to run normal .net managed executables).

"Another user account is created for the ASP. Net Worker Process (Aspnet_wp.exe) so that it is not running with administrator privileges. This helps to increase security because if there was a breach the worker process is running as a lowly restricted user rather than having administrator privileges on the local machine."

[IKu]

yea, i have that framework thing on my computer i think... well i guess i'll leave it.... though i have no idea what it is... i don't want to screw anything up... thanks a lot.

[glc]

It was installed when you took the recommended Windows Update - the .NET framework. The critical updates are generally fine (with exceptions, unfortunately) but be a bit more discriminating in taking the recommended updates - read the blurb and see if you NEED it before blindly adding it to the download.

[IKu]

eh... i figured it was one of those... oh well, thanks.

[IKu]

wait, can i just uninstall this using "add/remove programs?"

[doctorgonzo]

You could uninstall it, but it might not remove the user.

However, I don't know if I would. .NET is M$'s Next Big Thing, and odds are that it will be required for some Windows components or utilities before too long. Other programmers (like myself) are creating programs with .NET that need the framework to run, too. It's not hurting anything by being on your PC, so why get rid of it now when sooner or later you will be downloading it again anyway?

[IKu]

i just don't like having things i don't need, but if you say i eventually might need, i'll leave it. thanks.