control panel lock out

[Dan]

is there a way to effectively lock out the use of the control panel ??
(a friend of mine's 6 year old finds this a fun place to "play")....

[Tim M]

I'm not certain if Windows will allow that feature to be blocked.

The best way that I have found to work (and it worked with both of my children) is -

A D U L T S U P E R V I S I O N

[ktkendall]

Hey Dan;;
Which OS are you runnin there, I believe with XP, you can let kids have a limited account and though they will be able to get ControlPanel to come up, they can't do any real damage there if they are logged on as limited, nor can they install or uninstall anything. With Win9x or ME it can be done but I don't know how. My daughter has a school provided laptop and Control Panel is not accessable and it has win95 on it... I solved the problem of being suprised every time I go to use my PC after they have been on by building them their own PC.. best PC investment to date.. Havn't had to reload , reformat mine since...

[Dan]

thanks kt
He is running win98...I think if he built his (5) kids a computer to run free on, it would be fully out of commision is just a few hours...

[padawan]

Win2k's policy editor will let you lock out just about everything, including taking buttons off the menu bars. I've never locked down 98, since I never considered it a secure OS.

Here is some shareware/freeware:

http://www.adkinssoftware.com/products/disablepro.html

[pillainp]

On the Win98SE CD, you will find a tool called "poledit.exe", in the tools folder somewhere. Right click the ".inf" file an dselect Install to install it. You will then be able to invoke the System Policy Editor from the Run dialog by typing poledit.exe and clicking Ok. It lets you define access policies for users, much like the Computer management console in Win2K.

[Dan]

thank you pillainp,
I have been watching your posts....while you haven't been here long, you have proven to be a valuable resource at PCMechanic!!
keep up the good work!

[pillainp]

YOu flatter me. But seriously, I learn far far more than I could ever have hoped. I owe this forum for a lot of what I know.

Hope you found that last post helpful.

[Dan]

thanks again, it did what I needed

[pillainp]

BTW, Dan, while you're at it, why not try out the Resource Kit Sampler on the CD? Lots of helpful tools in there. (Folder reskit)

[Dan]

thanks I never knew it exsisted...I'm sure there a a lot of resources, like this, that many of us never realise.