Uses of Default Passwords Built-in userids and passwords have a number of uses. Operating systems, databases and applications software use built-in userids and passwords for initial installations or for upgrades. Defaults are often essential to the installation process. Vendors use built-in accounts for customer support. These logonids may be customized for specialized uses.
Vendors maintain and troubleshoot problems with pre-configured default accounts.
Sometimes, vendor support personnel will resist any suggestion to take the defaults away. A properly configured demonstration default account will permit a potential customer to try out software before purchase or permit a user to learn the software at his own pace using planned lessons. Defaults are used for Internet communications of file retrieval. Many vendors design defaults to segregate users from other parts of the application. Some ERP systems isolate the user from the database by having a default perform system accesses.