Advanced User Options??????????????????

[Guest]

I have a son who I want to setup parental controls for but I also want him to
be able to install programs w/o me having to enter in my password. Is there
any way that I could do this

 

[Guest]

No.

 

[Guest]

Any Microsoft people have an answer???

 

[Andrew McLaren]

Any Microsoft people have an answer???

Hi Philip

There are very few Microsoft people active in this newsgroup; almost none
(with a few honorable exceptions - Hi, Darrell!).

MVPs are not Microsoft employees. They're just ordinary folks, who have been
recognised by Microsoft for contributions to the user community in one way
or another (newsgroups, websites, user groups, speaking at events etc). The
fundamental idea behind microsoft.public.windows.vista.general and similar
newsgroups is "peer support" - users help each other out; as an alternative
to the PSS support model, where you pay Microsoft to get help from a
professional support expert.

I believe Mick's answer is correct (as usual).

To let your son install programs, you would need to make him a member of the
Administrators group. You can still enable and configure Parental Controls
on his account. And the Parental Controls will take effect (eg restrict
websites etc) But, as a member of the Administrators group, he can go and
turn Parental Controls off and on again.

You could solve this the way companies solve many security problems - via
policy rather than technology. That is, tell your son "as an administrator,
you could disable your own Parental Controls - but if I catch you doing it,
I'll beat your arse till it's red hot" (or similar motivating phrasing).

Also, the Parental Controls leaves a log of changes. You can inspect the log
to see if he has changed his own Parental Control settings, or
alternatively, if he has cleared the log (thus covering his tracks).

Is it really such a good idea to let him install arbitrary programs he
downloads from the Internet? That is the number one vector for viruses, and
the reason why standard users on Vista are no longer Administrators. I'd
configure a set of apps the machine needs, then leave it at that.

Hope it helps,

 

[Saucy]

Hi Philip

There are very few Microsoft people active in this newsgroup; almost none
(with a few honorable exceptions - Hi, Darrell!).

MVPs are not Microsoft employees. They're just ordinary folks, who have
been recognised by Microsoft for contributions to the user community in
one way or another (newsgroups, websites, user groups, speaking at events
etc). The fundamental idea behind microsoft.public.windows.vista.general
and similar newsgroups is "peer support" - users help each other out; as
an alternative to the PSS support model, where you pay Microsoft to get
help from a professional support expert.

I believe Mick's answer is correct (as usual).

To let your son install programs, you would need to make him a member of
the Administrators group. You can still enable and configure Parental
Controls on his account. And the Parental Controls will take effect (eg
restrict websites etc) But, as a member of the Administrators group, he
can go and turn Parental Controls off and on again.

You could solve this the way companies solve many security problems - via
policy rather than technology. That is, tell your son "as an
administrator, you could disable your own Parental Controls - but if I
catch you doing it, I'll beat your arse till it's red hot" (or similar
motivating phrasing).

Also, the Parental Controls leaves a log of changes. You can inspect the
log to see if he has changed his own Parental Control settings, or
alternatively, if he has cleared the log (thus covering his tracks).

Is it really such a good idea to let him install arbitrary programs he
downloads from the Internet? That is the number one vector for viruses,
and the reason why standard users on Vista are no longer Administrators.
I'd configure a set of apps the machine needs, then leave it at that.

Hope it helps,

Parental Controls cannot be applied on Administrators .. the user's account
must be a "Standard User". The whole idea of the thing is to watch over for
the sake of the young person's safety.

Saucy

 

[Andrew McLaren]

Parental Controls cannot be applied on Administrators .. the user's
account must be a "Standard User".

Doh! My mistake. You're totally correct, of course.

I was confused, because the administrator accounts are listed in the "Choose
a user and set up Parental Controls" panel. I hadn't actually *tried* to
turn on parental controls for an administrator; I just assumed you could,
because they were listed there. When I tried just now, I do indeed get
"Parental Controls cannot be applied to the account "foo" because it is an
administrator".

I guess the principle remains the same: parental controls and installing
programs don't go together.

Thanks for the correction.

 

[Saucy]

When I tried just now, I do indeed get "Parental Controls cannot be
applied to the account "foo" because it is an administrator".

LOL