LOCKING WINDOWS XP PRO -- INTERNET CAFE

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.customize (More info?)

I work at a small hotel with a couple of computers that I want to lock down.
Guests and staff are always messing around with the settings and breaking
things.

I want to lock down XP pro.

* forbid access to Internet Explorer, except for one site. Firefox 1.0 is
the default browser
* forbid access to any internet connection settings -- someone disabled the
wireless network connection last night.
* forbid access to as much as possible to reduce the amount of time I spend
fixing things.


Ideally, on the guest computer I only want them to have access to Firefox
browser, Yahoo Messenger, and MSN Messenger.

For the front desk computer, I want to block all access to IE, except for
one site -- our camera network requires IE to display on the computer.
On the guest internet computer, I want to block all use of IE except for
McAfee security center if possible.

The budget is zero so I cannot buy internet cafe software.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.customize (More info?)

"microsoft news" <jcnews@earthlink.net> wrote
| I work at a small hotel with a couple of computers that I want to lock down.
| Guests and staff are always messing around with the settings and breaking
| things.
|
| I want to lock down XP pro.
|
| * forbid access to Internet Explorer, except for one site. Firefox 1.0 is
| the default browser
| * forbid access to any internet connection settings -- someone disabled the
| wireless network connection last night.
| * forbid access to as much as possible to reduce the amount of time I spend
| fixing things.
|
| Ideally, on the guest computer I only want them to have access to Firefox
| browser, Yahoo Messenger, and MSN Messenger.
|
| For the front desk computer, I want to block all access to IE, except for
| one site -- our camera network requires IE to display on the computer.
| On the guest internet computer, I want to block all use of IE except for
| McAfee security center if possible.
|
| The budget is zero so I cannot buy internet cafe software.
|
| Thanks for any advice.

Step 1.

Start
Run
gpedit.msc
Enter

Go through *every* setting.

Step 2.

???

Step 3.

Profit!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.customize (More info?)

You may consider hiring better staff.

"microsoft news" wrote:

> I work at a small hotel with a couple of computers that I want to lock down.
> Guests and staff are always messing around with the settings and breaking
> things.
>
> I want to lock down XP pro.
>
> * forbid access to Internet Explorer, except for one site. Firefox 1.0 is
> the default browser
> * forbid access to any internet connection settings -- someone disabled the
> wireless network connection last night.
> * forbid access to as much as possible to reduce the amount of time I spend
> fixing things.
>
>
> Ideally, on the guest computer I only want them to have access to Firefox
> browser, Yahoo Messenger, and MSN Messenger.
>
> For the front desk computer, I want to block all access to IE, except for
> one site -- our camera network requires IE to display on the computer.
> On the guest internet computer, I want to block all use of IE except for
> McAfee security center if possible.
>
> The budget is zero so I cannot buy internet cafe software.
>
> Thanks for any advice.
>
>
>
>

 

[Stephen]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.customize (More info?)

gathered from:

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview

Using advanced file security settings in Windows XP Home
Windows XP is based on the same platform as Windows 2000, and shares that
operating system's robust file security options, at least when using the
NTFS file system. Unfortunately this security system, which enables an
administrator to decide exactly which files and programs any given user will
have access to, is not actually implemented by default in Windows XP. This
is a concession Microsoft made to avoid confusing basic users of XP Pro, and
to cripple XP Home.

The NTFS file security options can be enabled easily enough in XP Pro, but
are apparently non-existent in the Home version. Fact is, the tools are
there, you just need to look a little bit harder.

To enable NTFS file security in Windows XP Home: First you need to assure
that at least your main hard drive is formatted with the NTFS file system.
*See below for instructions on this. Restart your system. Just after the
memory and BIOS check screen, but before the Windows splash screen comes up,
press F8 a few times.

When the Windows boot menu appears, select 'safe mode' from the list of
options.

Once Windows has loaded in safe mode, right click the folders and files you
would like to change access to. You will notice that the 'security' tab now
exists, and thus you are allowed to assign or deny access to individual
users for each file, folder and program. Once you are done, restart Windows
normally, and your changes will be enforced.

*Convert Your drives to the NTFS file system

The NTFS file system is the default file system used by Windows NT\2000\XP
PRO\Server 2003. Unlike its predecessor, the FAT32 file system seen in
Windows 9x/ME, it allows for effective security settings on individual files
and folders by using ACLs or Access Control Lists. These are a list of
permissions placed on each and every file, listing which users are allowed
to access the file and what they are allowed to do with it.

On top of its security advantage, NTFS drives are also easier to recover
data from in the event of an emergency. NTFS drives are also a requirement
for several features of Windows XP. As there is no effective performance
difference between NTFS and FAT drives, it is recommended that you convert
your logical drives to NTFS. This can be done one way only, as NTFS drives
cannot be converted back to FAT 32.

If you are using Windows XP Professional, chances are your drives are
already formatted with NTFS, as this is the default. XP Home still defaults
to FAT32 however.

The only situation where it is not advisable to convert a drive would be in
situations where multiple operating systems reside on the same computer. If
one of these operating systems is unable to read NTFS (such as windows
9x/ME) it will lose access to the drive that has been converted to NTFS. If
the converted drive contained that operating system's files, it will no
longer be able to boot.

To convert your drives to NTFS: Right click on 'my computer' and select
'manage'. From the computer management window, expand storage and select
'disk management.'

Using the 'file system' column of the upper pane of this window, you can
easily check what file system each of your logical drives is using. Make a
note of this information.

Now open a command prompt window by going to 'start\run' and typing 'cmd'.
To convert a disk to NTFS, type: 'convert (driveletter): /fs:ntfs'.

So for example, if you were going to convert your C: drive, you would type:
'Convert c: /fs:ntfs' at the prompt.