HelpAssistant and SUPPORT user accounts -> ok to delete?

XP Guy

unread,

Feb 4, 2012, 10:46:24 AM2/4/12

to

What's the downside of deleting the "HelpAssistant" and
"SUPPORT_numbers" accounts from my XP-pro system(s) ?

I mean, do I _REALLY_ need them?

Paul

unread,

Feb 4, 2012, 12:03:14 PM2/4/12

to

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947296

"The Support_388945a0 account enables Help and Support Service
interoperability with signed scripts. This account is primarily used
to control access to signed scripts that are accessible from within
Help and Support Services. Administrators can use this account to
delegate the ability for an ordinary user, who does not have administrative
access over a computer, to run signed scripts from links embedded within
Help and Support Services."

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/300692/EN-US

"The Novice computer has a built-in local user account called HelpAssistant.
This account is disabled by default and has a randomly generated strong password.
The account has limited privileges and is used by the Expert to logon to
the Novice computer during the Remote Assistance session."

"The Novice Invites the Expert to Connect to Their Computer
When the Novice's computer creates the invitation file,
the following actions occur:

* The HelpAssistant account is enabled."

"When the Ticket Expires
Remote Assistance disables the HelpAssistant account and removes the Allow
logon through Terminal Services right in one hour. Remote Assistance also
turns off any port mapping on UPnP-compliant NAT devices."

HelpAssistant is also named along with "mebroot" malware. Which is
another angle to consider, if it won't behave itself.

http://forums.pcworld.com/index.php?/topic/64582-helpassistant-folder-keeps-appearing/

Paul

Iceman

unread,

Feb 4, 2012, 12:17:13 PM2/4/12

to

On Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:46:24 -0500, XP Guy wrote in message
<news:4F2D52D0...@Guy.com>:

> What's the downside of deleting the "HelpAssistant" and
> "SUPPORT_numbers" accounts from my XP-pro system(s) ?
>
> I mean, do I _REALLY_ need them?

I think it's unlikely you will need them, but deleting anything that is
generic to Windows is, generally speaking, not advisable.

XP Guy

unread,

Feb 4, 2012, 10:50:15 PM2/4/12

to

Paul wrote:

> > What's the downside of deleting the "HelpAssistant" and
> > "SUPPORT_numbers" accounts from my XP-pro system(s) ?
> >
> > I mean, do I _REALLY_ need them?

> "The Support_388945a0 account enables Help and Support Service
> interoperability with signed scripts. This account is primarily
> used to control access to signed scripts that are accessible
> from within Help and Support Services."

> "The Novice computer has a built-in local user account called
> HelpAssistant. This account is disabled by default and has a
> randomly generated strong password. The account has limited
> privileges and is used by the Expert to logon to the Novice
> computer during the Remote Assistance session."

If I routinely disable the "Help and Support Service", am I therefore
making the Support_388945a0 account redundant or irrelavent?

What is this service anyways? Is this a $paid service where you call up
microsoft and fork over your credit-card number to get some interactive
help with your computer?

The HelpAssistant account I can see nuking (at least in my case).

> HelpAssistant is also named along with "mebroot" malware. Which is
> another angle to consider, if it won't behave itself.

So basically, for your average "power user" in a home or soho situation,
there's no real downside to deleting those 2 accounts......

Mayayana

unread,

Feb 4, 2012, 11:38:40 PM2/4/12

to

| So basically, for your average "power user" in a home or soho situation,
| there's no real downside to deleting those 2 accounts......

I don't have either of those users on my system to begin
with. I just have my account, guest and admin. I would
never enable remote anything, either, for security reasons.
But some people do find it convenient to let Dell, a PC
shop, or others log on remotely to fix their PC. Do you
really need to remove the accounts? Can't you just disable
Remote Desktop, Remote Registry and file sharing?

XP Guy

unread,

Feb 5, 2012, 12:28:00 AM2/5/12

to

Mayayana wrote:

> I don't have either of those users on my system to begin with.

The XP that I have came from a System Builder CD - not from a name-brand
installation or retail CD.

I'm thinking that either XP-SP2 had these accounts by default, or they
came as part of upgrading to SP3.

> I just have my account, guest and admin. I would
> never enable remote anything, either, for security reasons.

If you think it's possible to install XP without these remote assistance
or help services being set to automatic by default, I'd like to hear
how. I'm always disabling when I'm got a fresh XP install up and
running.

> Do you really need to remove the accounts? Can't you just disable
> Remote Desktop, Remote Registry and file sharing?

I figure the fewer accounts, the better.

Mayayana

unread,

Feb 5, 2012, 11:15:03 AM2/5/12

to

| If you think it's possible to install XP without these remote assistance
| or help services being set to automatic by default, I'd like to hear
| how. I'm always disabling when I'm got a fresh XP install up and
| running.
|

There isn't any shortcut that I know of. Like you,
I clean up services after an install. One could write
a script to automate the process, (services can be
changed via WMI or via the Registry directly) but
that would only make sense for mass installing.

Char Jackson

unread,

Feb 5, 2012, 1:04:42 PM2/5/12

to

On Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:50:15 -0500, XP Guy <X...@Guy.com> wrote:

>So basically, for your average "power user" in a home or soho situation,
>there's no real downside to deleting those 2 accounts......

No real upside either, as far as I can tell.