Kid-proof your PC with SteadyState
source: http://www.sinlung.com/?p=2736
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When you’ve got your Windows XP or Vista setup running perfectly, you don’t want to lose all your painstaking customizations to a reckless tot, an experiment-minded friend or spouse, or a rogue system-lousing program. Windows SteadyState, as we mentioned earlier this week, helps you to create a kind of virtual rubber room those types can play around in and not really harm anything. SteadyState can also restrict web site access for innocent eyes, set timer limits on user access, and get better control of those other folks who use your computer—in other words, SteadyState makes you the Grand Master Sysadmin of your single-unit empire. Let’s take a look at setting up SteadyState and get familiar with a few of its key features.
Take Microsoft’s advice and do a little groundwork before installing and setting up SteadyState. Download the latest updates for your system from Windows Update, set a password for the main user, or “Administrator,” account if there isn’t one already, and make sure that other users only have access to the programs you want them to. To see if that’s the case, create a new user account (Control Panel->User Accounts->Create a new account) or log into an account other than your own if you’re already sharing a system. Peek into the Start menu, look around on the desktop, and if they’ve got access to stuff you don’t want them playing around with, regardless of any protections, head back to your account and uninstall the program. Some programs give you an option to install them for “Just this user,” so try re-installing the app with that option if possible.
Getting started
If you haven’t already done so, download your copy of SteadyState. You’ll likely be prompted to install or run a Windows Genuine Advantage tool or plug-in before downloading; go ahead and do so, install the program, then launch it from the Start menu. Close down the help window that pops up, and you’re at SteadyState’s main launcher:
From here you decide how you want to protect your system. Are you creating a long-term, super-locked-down account for adventurous young minds or accident-prone users? Are you trying out an app or system change that might throw everything into calamity? Let’s look at your options.
If your potential system-messers are going to be around for awhile, you’ll want to hit “Add New Account” in the lower right-hand corner, or choose one already there. Give them a name (or just “Shared” if you want everyone to use the same locked-down, guest-type account), password, and icon. If you’ve set up separate hard drives or partitions on your system, you could also have that user’s profile placed on one of them for easier portability (and fixing), but you’ll likely just be hitting “Next.” You’ll arrive at the main account dashboard. Here’s a few items you’ll want to look into:
* general.png“General” tab: The use timers are pretty helpful for parents who want to limit their young ones’ monitor-zoning, but the real power-tweak here is the “Lock profile” button, which makes the account something like a public terminal—nothing a user changes in their user profile is saved once they log off.
* windows_restrictions.pngWindows restrictions: Now we’re getting to the serious stuff. There’s a lot of buttons to toggle and explore, but the general High->Medium->Low category selectors are pretty good guidelines for getting started. In most cases, you’ll want to block off access to the Registry editor, Task Manager, Control Panel, and (these are important) prevent them from locking the computer or changing their passwords. You can also block off access to specific drives from this screen.
Take Microsoft’s advice and do a little groundwork before installing and setting up SteadyState. Download the latest updates for your system from Windows Update, set a password for the main user, or “Administrator,” account if there isn’t one already, and make sure that other users only have access to the programs you want them to. To see if that’s the case, create a new user account (Control Panel->User Accounts->Create a new account) or log into an account other than your own if you’re already sharing a system. Peek into the Start menu, look around on the desktop, and if they’ve got access to stuff you don’t want them playing around with, regardless of any protections, head back to your account and uninstall the program. Some programs give you an option to install them for “Just this user,” so try re-installing the app with that option if possible.
Getting started
If you haven’t already done so, download your copy of SteadyState. You’ll likely be prompted to install or run a Windows Genuine Advantage tool or plug-in before downloading; go ahead and do so, install the program, then launch it from the Start menu. Close down the help window that pops up, and you’re at SteadyState’s main launcher:
From here you decide how you want to protect your system. Are you creating a long-term, super-locked-down account for adventurous young minds or accident-prone users? Are you trying out an app or system change that might throw everything into calamity? Let’s look at your options.
If your potential system-messers are going to be around for awhile, you’ll want to hit “Add New Account” in the lower right-hand corner, or choose one already there. Give them a name (or just “Shared” if you want everyone to use the same locked-down, guest-type account), password, and icon. If you’ve set up separate hard drives or partitions on your system, you could also have that user’s profile placed on one of them for easier portability (and fixing), but you’ll likely just be hitting “Next.” You’ll arrive at the main account dashboard. Here’s a few items you’ll want to look into:
* general.png“General” tab: The use timers are pretty helpful for parents who want to limit their young ones’ monitor-zoning, but the real power-tweak here is the “Lock profile” button, which makes the account something like a public terminal—nothing a user changes in their user profile is saved once they log off.
* windows_restrictions.pngWindows restrictions: Now we’re getting to the serious stuff. There’s a lot of buttons to toggle and explore, but the general High->Medium->Low category selectors are pretty good guidelines for getting started. In most cases, you’ll want to block off access to the Registry editor, Task Manager, Control Panel, and (these are important) prevent them from locking the computer or changing their passwords. You can also block off access to specific drives from this screen.
