What Is An Access Level?

Date First Published: 17th October 2023

Topic: Cybersecurity

Subtopic: Security Mechanisms & Technologies

Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty: Medium

Difficulty Level: 4/10

CONTENTS

Examples Of Access Levels
Benefits Of Access Levels

Learn about what an access level is in this article.

An access level is a way of restricting access to specific users. Access levels are related to file permission, but go beyond just files. Users are assigned an access level that is related to their user profile login that defines what software, data, and services they can access. It can be known as the privileges a user account has.

Access levels can be changed at any time by someone with administrator access, but there is always at least one user with administrator access and any accounts added after that usually have standard access, by default. Someone with administrator access can give another user administrator privileges.

Examples Of Access Levels

Examples of access levels include:

Administrator access - Also known as root or superuser access, administrator access is the highest access level. This allows a user to access all folders with full control, alter the permissions of other users and install and uninstall software. They can make changes that will affect other users and have the authority to do almost anything.
Standard access - Users can only access a limited number of files and the software that they need to complete their job with. They cannot alter the permissions of other users or install and uninstall software. Standard access is most commonly used for users who need temporary access to a system. By default, standard access accounts have no special privileges.
Guest - The lowest access level. A guest account is a limited account that does not require a password and erases all user data once the guest logs out.

An example of an access level is on the Windows operating system. Accounts can have administrator access or standard access, which defines the privileges the user accounts have. Administrators can change security settings, install software and hardware, access all files on the computer, and make changes to other user accounts, whilst standard users can perform basic tasks they need for everyday use, which will not affect other users, such as running software, personalising the desktop, saving files, and more. But if they want to do something that affects other people using the PC, such as installing software or changing security settings, they will be asked to enter a password for an administrator account.

Access levels are not only used in operating systems. They can also be used in web-based services. For example, on Wikipedia, different users have different access levels. Administrators can restrict pages from being edited, block other users, and delete pages, whilst standard users do not have those permissions and can only access the basic functionality of Wikipedia, like editing most pages. Guests can edit without registering an account. However, some other wikis require users to register an account to edit pages and guests can only view pages and not perform any actions.

Benefits Of Access Levels

Access levels determine whether a user should have access to certain information or resources. They ensure that users granted access to a system only have the necessary permissions they need to perform their tasks.

This prevents unauthorised changes from being made to systems, unauthorised access to sensitive information, and malware attacks, keeping systems secure. For example, it would not be possible for someone with a standard access level to access all folders, take control of a computer, or install malware because they would not have a high enough access level to perform the requested operations.