Yes but... Under standard Windows "idiot" mode users can download and install executables in user space and those apps can read, subvert, or destroy anything i

Yes but... Under standard Windows "idiot" mode users can download and install executables in user space and those apps can read, subvert, or destroy anything in user space. I don't really see how the way admin rights typically work in any way addresses this. Valuable stuff is generally in user space, not admin space. (I can get a copy of your OS anywhere, but your banking details and personal documents are in user space.) One way to address this is to change the computing model away from file/folder-based to use-based (which is what Apple has done with iOS and is moving towards in Lion). I'm sure there are others, but I don't see anyone attempting to implement them at scale.