Preventing misuse on home computer

[jacer]

i want to set up my computer at home for my mum and other relatives to use, how can i prevent misuse such as installing other programs, looking at the hard drive, limiting programs etc?

simply using the guest account is not enough. i also want to keep the computer usable without having to change a load of settings every time i want to use it.

would it be of any advantage to install windows xp pro 2 times, 1 install for them 1 for me?

any help is appreciated.

james

 

[wolluf]

James - just set them up as limited ('normal') users. Then they should be able to run apps - but not install any. Also, if your filestore is not ntfs, convert it to ntfs (convert /FS:NTFS from command prompt). With NTFS, you can assign security permissions to any files/folders you want kept private. XP is designed to do what you need.

 

[linney]

Assuming that your drive is formatted NTFS...

Open windows explorer, Tools, Folder Options, View tab. At the bottom of the Advanced section, uncheck 'Use Simple file sharing'.

Then read all of this information:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;304040

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308418

You will also find Help and Support has a lot of good information on "Setting Permissions"

 

[jacer]

thanks, guys, hdd is fat32, will convert it on my next clean install.

thread can be closed

 

[smah]

Or enable the guest account and let them use that. You'd still need NTFS though. Either way, make sure you password protect your account, otherwise your relatives will just use that.