Security and Accounts

Question

I would be grateful for some input on advice I am giving to a local user here with a MacBook (although that in itself is not relevant).
Like many who buy Macs in this part of the world, the computer is "set up" for the users before they take delivery. That entails installation of some extra software and creation of an account. That account has a simple name, the password is the Enter/Return key, and the automatic login is allowed. All of this gives the user perhaps the most insecure system possible (on a Mac anyway).
I have urged the man to use passwords and to have another account for day to day working. However, as the computer has been used for several months, there is much data in the basic account. I am suggesting that an Admin account be created (with a strong password) and, as the original account has that data, intend to guide the user into changing that to a Standard account (again with a sensible password). I will also advise, of course, against changing account name/short name for either account.
Any comments or other suggestions that might help this user to keep it all tidy, please?

Answer 1

For people getting new machines, I recommend that they immediately create a new admin user account, disable auto login, log into the new account, and delete the *account created by the reseller*.
If you want to have those users go through the setup assistant again, boot into single-user mode (command-S during startup) and, once the command-line prompt appears, type the following lines, following each with hitting the return key:
*mount -uw /*
*cd /private/var/db/*
*rm .AppleSetupDone*
exit
When you hit RETURN after typing exit, OS X will restart and the setup assistant will launch automatically. Once the users goes through that process, then delete the account the reseller created as outlined above.