XP Home - Local Security Help

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Tim_Ver

I am trying to setup up a few PC's for people to use to just surf the
internet. How do I limit the access for the users so this is all they can do
on these pc's? I know I can create an account for them but I tried this and
some how they were able to get past it and gave themselves admin rights.
Please let me know.

Thanks
 
Tim_Ver said:
I am trying to setup up a few PC's for people to use to just surf the
internet. How do I limit the access for the users so this is all they can do
on these pc's? I know I can create an account for them but I tried this and
some how they were able to get past it and gave themselves admin rights.
Please let me know.

Thanks
Click to expand...


I'm guessing that when you create new accounts, you're changing them from
Computer Administrator to Limited. If that's the case, it sounds like they're
booting into Safe mode, logging on with the built-in Administrator account, and
changing the status of their accounts. By default, the Administrator account is
only available in Safe mode on a system running XP Home Edition. Also, it has a
blank password.

You could add a password to the Administrator account and see if that helps.
Personally, I'd look into using a program such as Windows SteadyState.

Shared Access Computing with Windows SteadyState
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/sharedaccess/default.mspx

Good luck

Nepatsfan
 
Nepatsfan;3136767 said:
"Tim_Ver" (e-mail address removed) wrote in message


I am trying to setup up a few PC's for people to use to just surf
the
internet. How do I limit the access for the users so this is all they
can do
on these pc's? I know I can create an account for them but I tried
this and
some how they were able to get past it and gave themselves admin
rights.
Please let me know.

Thanks-


I'm guessing that when you create new accounts, you're changing them
from
Computer Administrator to Limited. If that's the case, it sounds like
they're
booting into Safe mode, logging on with the built-in Administrator
account, and
changing the status of their accounts. By default, the Administrator
account is
only available in Safe mode on a system running XP Home Edition. Also,
it has a
blank password.

You could add a password to the Administrator account and see if that
helps.
Personally, I'd look into using a program such as Windows SteadyState.

Shared Access Computing with Windows SteadyState
http://tinyurl.com/ytknan

Good luck

Nepatsfan
Click to expand...
bios paswood they will not get that far,
 
Tim_Ver said:
I am trying to setup up a few PC's for people to use to just surf the
internet. How do I limit the access for the users so this is all they can do
on these pc's? I know I can create an account for them but I tried this and
some how they were able to get past it and gave themselves admin rights.
Please let me know.

Thanks
Click to expand...


westieben's comments reminded me of a few things I should have included in my
earlier response.

First, the computers should be configured so that they boot from the hard drive,
not the CD drive. That would prevent others from using a bootable CD to reset
the Administrator password. Next, go into the BIOS setup program and add a
supervisor password. The purpose of that is to prevent others from changing the
boot order. Finally, the computer's should have some sort of physical
protection. If you can't lock them up you could use a case lock.

Note: westieben's advice to add a BIOS password would be helpful if the users
are allowed to restart the computers. They shouldn't be able to restart the
computers.

Nepatsfan
 
Ok, Thanks.

I did install Steady state and it seems to be doing 90% of what I want but I
also want to stop them from downloading anything to the C HDD. I did test it
and I could not Download to the Desktop but it would let me to mydocuments.
Is there a way to fix this?

Also how do I setup to restrcit websites they can go to?

Also is there a good keystroke program to log everything users do and where
they go and save it some where that the users can not get to or see only an
admin when logged on to the PC?

Thanks for all the help
 
Keeping in mind that I'm far from an expert on this program, here's my take on
your questions.

I believe you can prevent a user from saving downloaded files by hiding the
drive where their My Documents folder is located. Click on the Windows
Restrictions tab and check off the drives you want to hide. You can also click
on "Set Computer Restrictions". Look under Security Settings for options to
prevent users from creating files and folders on the C drive and saving files to
USB storage devices.

As for restricting web sites, you can limit their access to only certain web
sites on the Feature Restrictions tab. If you're looking to allow general web
access but block certain sites, consider using the hosts file. Take a look here
for more info.

http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

For more info on configuring Windows SteadyState, take a look at this web site.

Windows SteadyState Manual
http://download.microsoft.com/downl...8b7a66beef8a/Windows SteadyState Handbook.pdf

Any other questions you have concerning the program should be posted to this web
site.

Windows SteadyState Forum
http://forums.microsoft.com/WindowsToolsandUtilities/ShowForum.aspx?ForumID=1660&SiteID=69

Since I've never had to configure a keylogger, I wouldn't know which program to
recommend. You might want to post a new question addressing that topic.

If you still find that SteadyState isn't working out, you should probably
consider purchasing some sort of software that will run Windows in kiosk mode.
And once again, I don't have one to recommend.

Good luck

Nepatsfan
 
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