Is there a way of pre-school proofing your computer?

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I am trying to set up a user account for a preschool child, and I do not want
them to be able to use any programs other than their games that have been
installed on the computer. Is this possible with Windows XP?
 
You could do the following:

Make the user as a LIMITED USER.

Limited User: By making a User as a Limited user, you can restrict the Child
from installing other programs on the computer.

Here is the procedure for making a Limited User Account.

1.) Go to Start
2.) Settings > Control Panel

(Alternatively you could click on Start > Run > Type "Control Panel"
without quotes.
Both these steps will take you to the Control Panel.

3.) Double click on Users and Accounts > Make a new user with your preferred
name. And in the Account type > Select Limited Account

(Or if you have already created the child account > make sure it is a
limited account).

With the help of the above steps the child cannot INSTALL .EXE programs.

Now We would like the child not to ACCESS the other EXE programs.
Note: I am not sure this part would work perfectly fine but you could give
it a try.

Implementing Group Policy:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/323525

The above article should work with Windows XP as well.

Let me know if it worked out for you.

Regards
 
Thank you, and yes, I did already create a limited user account. But I would
like to go farther than that and block the child from using specific
programs. I tried the link below, and it did not work in XP. I recieved an
error message.
 
Please try the Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit. I think you will find it
is what you are looking for.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sharedaccess/default.mspx

Read thoroughly first to determine if its capabilities are what you need.

--

Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!
 
OK!
What error message did you receive?

I am assuming that you are logged in as "Administrator" or an account with
Administrator prevelidges.

Could you give a brief of the error message you got. This would help me
solve your issue more quickly.

Regards
 
Ashley said:
Thank you, and yes, I did already create a limited user account. But I would
like to go farther than that and block the child from using specific
programs. I tried the link below, and it did not work in XP. I recieved an
error message.
Click to expand...

I am fortunate enough to have an xp machine specifically for my
soon-to-be 4 yr old granddaughter. What I did is remove all the icons
from the desktop other than those for the game/learning programs she
uses. Nothing else on the computer has been disabled, and I basically
let her have free reign with the computer. She is able start the
computer on her own, and to insert the cds of the games she wants to
play in the cd player if called for and then goes about her business
playing as long as she desires. I spent quite a bit of time with her
when I first set the computer up, teaching her the basics, but she uses
it at her leisure and I am there to help if the need arises. YMMV.
 
Ashley said:
I am trying to set up a user account for a preschool child, and I do not want
them to be able to use any programs other than their games that have been
installed on the computer. Is this possible with Windows XP?
Click to expand...


HOW TO Create and Configure User Accounts in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;279783

HOW TO Set, View, Change, or Remove File and Folder Permissions
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q308418

HOW TO Set, View, Change, or Remove Special Permissions for Files and
Folders
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];Q308419

HOW TO Set the My Documents Folder as Private in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;298399

Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit for Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sharedaccess/default.mspx

Doug Knox's Windows® XP Security Console
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_securityconsole.htm

For some requirements, you may find it easier to invest in a
3rd-party baby-sitting solution, such as NetNanny or CyberPatrol.

You need to be aware, however, that *NO* technical or software
solution is fool-proof, and _none_ can ever adequately take the place of
live adult supervision. If you cannot invest the time to monitor your
children, to ensure that they safely/properly use the computer, you
shouldn't let them use it at all.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell
 
For my 6 year old, besides the limited account, I deleted most icons.
Unfortuntately she knows about the "internet", and I had to install parental
controls just this week. Says she's BORED with the CD's.
 
This is what said:
I am trying to set up a user account for a preschool child, and I do not want
them to be able to use any programs other than their games that have been
installed on the computer. Is this possible with Windows XP?
Click to expand...

Many schools and librarys throghout the country use the following:

http://www.fortresgrand.com/products/f101/f101.htm

It's nomally priced and very effective. It's easy to install and setup
too. You can block programs and block or allow whatever websites as
well.



Respectfully,

Trev
 
Per Ashley:
I am trying to set up a user account for a preschool child, and I do not want
them to be able to use any programs other than their games that have been
installed on the computer. Is this possible with Windows XP?
Click to expand...

Besides the customized logon that you probably know about by now, I'd put one
more thing on my list: system backup.

Probably premature at the moment, but with my 12-year-old pounding on this PC
for a couple hours a day I'm *really* glad to have the system backed up on an
image that I can restore in about 20 minutes - painlessly.

You'll understand once she discovers the Internet....

The trick to making an image useful is to set up your PC so that the system and
the data are on different drives because a restore from image will clobber
*everything* on C:. Not too tricky. There are a couple of registry entries
that let you steer "Favorites" and "MyWhatever..." to the drive of your choice.
The rest is just remembering to always save your documents to the "Data" drive
and not to C:.
 
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