The university that I attend gave us Lenovo thinkpads with Windows 7. At the time i didnt notice but now I see that I am not signing in to the local machine, rather I am signing in via their Domain. The login that i use is shu/stanicmi as opposed to just signing in on my Windows 7 desktop. Is this a cause for concern?

What is the NetBIOS name of your domain? Is it shu? To logon locaaly on the computer you should can specify the name of your computer and your user name_of_computer\user_account

To log on manually I go to: 146611-R818CRW/stanicmi to log in (the default name for my laptop is 146611-R818CRW, however when i sign into that account it is empty. I can access the files and all of my programs but when I open those programs they behave as if I am opening them for the first time. I am not sure what logging into the domain does and how it affects my machine and my privacy. Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600] Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. C:\Users\stanicmi>ipconfig/all Windows IP Configuration Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : 146611-R818CRW Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . : shu.edu Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : shu.edu westell.com Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection 3: Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter # 2 Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-24-D7-0E-BC-C9 DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection: Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : westell.com Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) Centrino(R) Ultimate-N 6300 AGN Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-24-D7-0E-BC-C8 DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::edf6:a3f4:f6c0:cbe3%16(Preferred) IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.46(Preferred) Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0 Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Monday, 26 July, 2010 16:17:06 Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, 04 August, 2010 00:54:50 Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1 DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1 DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 402662615 DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-13-60-41-F5-00-26-2D-F3-D0-B6 DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1 NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection: Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : westell.com Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) 82577LM Gigabit Network Connecti on Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-26-2D-F3-D0-B6 DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes Tunnel adapter isatap.westell.com: Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : westell.com Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0 DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes Tunnel adapter isatap.{7B4FDB94-F513-45FE-AD15-A3C36916CC6D}: Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #2 Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0 DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 17: Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0 DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2001:0:4137:9e76:18c0:3b73:3f57:fed1(Pref erred) Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::18c0:3b73:3f57:fed1%12(Preferred) Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : :: NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled C:\Users\stanicmi>

To log on manually I go to: 146611-R818CRW/stanicmi to log in (the default name for my laptop is 146611-R818CRW, however when i sign into that account it is empty. I can access the files and all of my programs but when I open those programs they behave as if I am opening them for the first time. I am not sure what logging into the domain does and how it affects my machine and my privacy. That's because as far as the machine is concerned you are opening them for the first time. You (local account) and You (Domain account) are two entirely different entities as far as Windows is concerned. Logging on to the Domain gives you access to whatever Domain resources the school has allowed students to use; logging on locally you only have whatever resources are on your computer. Privacy-wise, if your computer is a Domain member and it's connected and turned on then any Domain Admin can pretty much look at whatever they want on it and do whatever they want with it; you have no privacy. The only way around this is to disconnect from the Domain - either un-join (you must be a Domain Admin to do this) or physically disconnect from the network. But then you're stuck with only local resources again, and in your situation that would probably mean no e-mail and no Internet while at school. If your computer isn't a Domain member, then you're pretty safe; others will only have access to what you let them have access to. Just because you're using a Domain account to login doesn't necessarily mean your computer's a Domain member, it may be just the way the school set up the accounts.

Appearently your profile is no longer existing for your local account. Try to restart your computer and check if the problem is persisting.

To log on manually I go to: 146611-R818CRW/stanicmi to log in (the default name for my laptop is 146611-R818CRW, however when i sign into that account it is empty. I can access the files and all of my programs but when I open those programs they behave as if I am opening them for the first time. I am not sure what logging into the domain does and how it affects my machine and my privacy. That's because as far as the machine is concerned you are opening them for the first time. You (local account) and You (Domain account) are two entirely different entities as far as Windows is concerned. Logging on to the Domain gives you access to whatever Domain resources the school has allowed students to use; logging on locally you only have whatever resources are on your computer. Privacy-wise, if your computer is a Domain member and it's connected and turned on then any Domain Admin can pretty much look at whatever they want on it and do whatever they want with it; you have no privacy. The only way around this is to disconnect from the Domain - either un-join (you must be a Domain Admin to do this) or physically disconnect from the network. But then you're stuck with only local resources again, and in your situation that would probably mean no e-mail and no Internet while at school. If your computer isn't a Domain member, then you're pretty safe; others will only have access to what you let them have access to. Just because you're using a Domain account to login doesn't necessarily mean your computer's a Domain member, it may be just the way the school set up the accounts. So the school has access over all computers and all data at any time? I know in the contract it states we are simply using the computers as a licensed user but upon graduation we sign the paperwork for ownership.

The school has access to all computers intergrated in your domain with the use of domain administrator accounts. If the remote access is not configured. The access will be possible only if you have physical access to the computers.

So the school has access over all computers and all data at any time? I know in the contract it states we are simply using the computers as a licensed user but upon graduation we sign the paperwork for ownership. You can check this: Start Orb->Control Panel->System. In the left pane click on Advanced System Settings. Click on the Computer Name tab. Under the computer's name it will either say Workgroup or Domain. If it says Workgroup then the school has no control beyond what you give them; if it says Domain you need to keep an eye out for Big Brother...

So the school has access over all computers and all data at any time? I know in the contract it states we are simply using the computers as a licensed user but upon graduation we sign the paperwork for ownership. You can check this: Start Orb->Control Panel->System . In the left pane click on Advanced System Settings . Click on the Computer Name tab. Under the computer's name it will either say Workgroup or Domain . If it says Workgroup then the school has no control beyond what you give them; if it says Domain you need to keep an eye out for Big Brother... Bob, it is indeed a Domain. What would happen if I changed the domain to workgroup under the same computer name tab.

You really can't without going to a lot of trouble. There's two ways to do this: #1. Only a Domain Admin can change the settings once the computer's been joined to a domain. So... become good friends with one of the school's IT people and have them change it. #2. Reinstall Windows from scratch. I think the school might frown on this though, since according to you they own the machine until you graduate. I doubt you'll have any problems though. As a former Network Admin for a small business college I can safely say that unless they suspect some illegal activity somewhere they really don't have enough time to go snooping through everyone's computer. Besides, if you're on their domain they probably have Group Policies in place to keep your computer fully patched and the AV software up-to-date. Best to let things be, really.

You really can't without going to a lot of trouble. There's two ways to do this: #1. Only a Domain Admin can change the settings once the computer's been joined to a domain. So... become good friends with one of the school's IT people and have them change it. #2. Reinstall Windows from scratch. I think the school might frown on this though, since according to you they own the machine until you graduate. I worked at the school IT department before and Im sure it would be possible. Regarding option 2, I cannot reinstall Windows 7 unless I buy myself a copy of Windows 7. Thanks for the help

The license agreement is listed here http://www.shu.edu/offices/technology/pcss-junior-senior-terms-and-conditions.cfm and it does not mention the domain connection and the ability to observe and/or control the laptop.

I doubt if the ability to "observe and/or control" is the reason behind it; more like what I said before: the ability to push software patches and updates without interaction from the user.