Want to childproof my computer

[Guest]

Hi, I'm running XP Pro and will soon have an 8 year old darling little girl with access to it. What is the best way to chlidproof XP? Meaning she can't wander around and poke her nose into places and settings she shouldn't. Plus I'd like to set her desktop in a certain way but not allow her to change it. Look into creating a "Child" group, but couldn't figure where to build the policy for a new group
Thank you

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

Basics - Set up a limited user account for her, and make sure you have a
good password set on your account, and also on the built-in administrator
account. Make sure you're using NTFS, not FAT, on your hard disk(s)....

Note that a lot of games & educational software are developed by companies
who assume that all users will have local admin rights (arrrgh), which can
be a PITA to get around...

You can use policies to control which programs she can run by specifying the
executable names, but you'll need to know them all -

You might also want to look into Content Advisor
(http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310401&Product=winx
p ) or a third party program (NetNanny? but there are plenty).

Remember, the surest way to ensure everything is secure is to control
physical access to the computer itself. By the time the little darling is
10 or so, she may be able to bypass whatever roadblocks you have put in
place....kids are usually smarter about technology than their parents are -
I know my parents often called me after I moved out of the house to ask me
how to program their VCR! ;-)

 

[D.Currie]

Hi, I'm running XP Pro and will soon have an 8 year old darling little

girl with access to it. What is the best way to chlidproof XP? Meaning she
can't wander around and poke her nose into places and settings she
shouldn't. Plus I'd like to set her desktop in a certain way but not allow
her to change it. Look into creating a "Child" group, but couldn't figure
where to build the policy for a new group.

Thank you

Save yourself some pain and get the little darling her own computer. At 8
years old she doesn't need much, so you'd probably be able to find something
cheap and used that would be just fine for basic typing and some kiddy
games. In two years, if she likes/needs/uses the computer, you can give her
yours and get yourself a new computer.

Besides the fact that curious kids can get into things that adults would
never dream of trying, there's also the physical aspects. Kids are more
likely to stuff interesting things into the drives or to be a little rough
with the CD tray or to accidentally kick the computer, or to do something
else that could damage the machine.

The other plus is that if you need to restrict the kiddie's access to the
computer, you can simply remove a cable or lock up the computer somewhere
and the problem is solved, while you still have access to your machine. Same
with internet access. You can cut off that computer without affecting yours.

 

[Doug Knox MS-MVP]

And you may want to see www.dougknox.com, Win XP Utilities, Windows XP Security Console. With this application, you can apply a large number of restrictions, on a per-user basis.