The TrusteeMan Sample Application

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The TrusteeMan sample application ("09 TrusteeMan.exe") demonstrates the use of the Net functions and the LSA functions for creating and managing user and group accounts, as well as for assigning and revoking system privileges. The source code and resource files for the application are in the 09-TrusteeMan directory on the companion CD. Figure 9-2 shows the user interface for the TrusteeMan sample application.

Figure 9-2. User interface for the TrusteeMan sample application

Usability was an overriding goal for the TrusteeMan sample application. This is because security, in many ways, must be explored to be understood, and a usable tool can help you explore the features of the system. This sample application allows you to create user and group accounts to your heart's content. It also allows you to modify membership of groups, as well as grant and deny privileges to trustee accounts on the system. You can administer trustees on any system to which you have sufficient rights by entering the name of the computer that you want to use.

NOTE

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When creating User accounts using TrusteeMan, the application uses the text "Pass2000" as the password for your new account. This password is used to simplify the user interface and focus on the topics of importance. You can use the MMC snap-in to manually set the password for a User account if you are an administrator of the system.

I suggest that you spend some time with the TrusteeMan sample application just to familiarize yourself with how trustee management works on Windows 2000. Also, the remaining chapters in this book assume that you are comfortable using TrusteeMan, the MMC snap-ins, or some other tool for administering user accounts and assigning privileges.

In addition to the TrusteeMan sample application being a useful tool, its source code provides a reference for much of the capabilities of the Net and LSA functions regarding trustee administration. The sample application uses the Net functions to perform the functionality of the left pane, or trustee side, of the application, while using the LSA functions to implement the right pane, or privilege side, of the application.

The sample also implements a reusable common dialog for editing a trustee list. The sample uses this dialog for managing group accounts and holders of a specific privilege. The system does not provide a built-in interface for this, so one was included with the sample.