Making the Default User Exactly match my Model User

[Guest]

I have created a test user as a model. I set the Theme, the Wallpaper etc. I
have several websites that are password protected and that my company has
subscribed to, I have gone to them in Internet explorer and Firefox and told
both of them to save the login info. I have copied the model user's profile
to the Default User's directory just like it said to do in MSKB article
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/319974. I created a new user and logged in as
them and most of the defaults I had set seemed to be there but there were
some things missing. The wallpaper was not there, the file for it was in the
right place but it was not displayed. The logins I had saved in IE where not
there. They were there in Firefox. I need the default profile to be exactly
like the model user’s letter for letter word for word, image and icon, and
icon location exactly like the model’s. I have a bunch of new systems to
deploy and they all need to start out looking and acting 100% the same for
every new user. After that each profile can be customized by the individual
user. I am not using roaming profiles.

Any help will be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks,

Ralph Malph

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I have created a test user as a model. I set the Theme, the
Wallpaper etc. I have several websites that are password protected
and that my company has subscribed to, I have gone to them in
Internet explorer and Firefox and told both of them to save the
login info. I have copied the model user's profile to the Default
User's directory just like it said to do in MSKB article
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/319974. I created a new user and
logged in as them and most of the defaults I had set seemed to be
there but there were some things missing. The wallpaper was not
there, the file for it was in the right place but it was not
displayed. The logins I had saved in IE where not there. They were
there in Firefox. I need the default profile to be exactly like the
model user's letter for letter word for word, image and icon, and
icon location exactly like the model's. I have a bunch of new
systems to deploy and they all need to start out looking and acting
100% the same for every new user. After that each profile can be
customized by the individual user. I am not using roaming profiles.

The background should have stuck.
The logins should not - nor is that a good idea anyway.

 

[Hans-Georg Michna]

The background should have stuck.

An access rights problem perhaps.

Hans-Georg

 

[Guest]

Thanks Shenan and Hans for your response.

I also thought the background should stay. Perhaps it is an access problem I
will double check that. As for the stored password, I agree that that could
be a problem. However, the password is generated by the vender of the website
and it is not something the users can change. With it stored, when the prompt
comes up for username and password, it is already filled in and it is masked.
I am working at a college, we have 30 plus computers in the library. We have
subscribed to a service that offers course tutorials etc. The students are
able to log in to the computers using their student IDs etc. Each computer is
frozen so that at the end of the day the unit will automatically be restored
to its original form. This will erase all unique profiles and the next time a
student logs in they get a fresh start based on the default user. We do not
want the students to know the password. We need it to be stored in the
default user profile. Can anyone think of a work around.

Thanks,

Ralph Malph

 

[Hans-Georg Michna]

when the prompt
comes up for username and password, it is already filled in and it is masked.

Ralph,

you're still talking about Firefox only, right?

I don't use Firefox, but it seems as if the program stores the
passwords outside the user profile. That could be a security
hole in Firefox.

Perhaps don't use Firefox. Make do with Internet Explorer.

It could also mean that we're in the wrong newsgroup now, if it
is purely a Firefox problem.

Hans-Georg

 

[Adam Leinss]

However, the password is generated by the vender of the website
and it is not something the users can change. With it stored, when
the prompt comes up for username and password, it is already
filled in and it is masked. I am working at a college, we have 30
plus computers in the library. We have subscribed to a service
that offers course tutorials etc.

Did you talk to the vendor of the site at all? Most library setups
I've seen use a proxy service. Basically, the service will only accept
web requests from the library's external IP address. If someone trys
to access the site off campus it doesn't work. Usually, when this is
setup, you don't need a login or password to access the site.

The other problem with this is if the login and password are comprised
or if the vendor changes the login and password, you will have a major
headache on your hands trying to go around and changing the default
user back to the new login and password.

This is more of an administrative answer then a technical one.

Adam

 

[Guest]

Thank you for the response. The password is stored in the Mozzila area of the
users profile. Yes this could be a problem. But it is the way Firefox is
setup. The good part is that it is in a unique location for each system and
if left to its own devices for each user so it is not as easy to hack.
However in my case I want it to be stored in a place I can clone. My problem
is getting it done with IE not Firefox.

Thanks again for the help,

Ralph Malph

 

[Guest]

Adam,

Thank you for your reply. I wish it was a simple as having the vender link
the access to the college's external IP, but that is not how they do it. As
for the change of the password, yes it is an admin pain when it happens, but
its job security and there are only 30 PCs on my campus that I have to deal
with.

Thanks again,

Ralph Malph

 

[Guest]

Are these systems part of a domain? If so I think that a mandatory user
profile would fit your needs better. For example say you have 12 machines in
the library, Create 12 user accounts, restrict them to logging into specific
machines, customize your profile the way you need it to be, then specify the
mandatory profile

This KB shows the steps for a mandatory profile.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307800/en-us

This way you are not having to have your profiles recreated every evening,
and the users can save no profile changes.

Just my 2 cents but it may help.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the response JBrixey.

Your suggestion is a good one but will not work for our situation. My
organization has over 20,000 students, It has 7+ campuses spread out over our
entire county. We have several library locations. Each with anywhere from 10
to 100+ computers. Each student has their own set of credentials for loging
in. It would be inefficient to say the least to use roaming profiles or to
try to lock them into one as suggested. This is why the best approach is to
make the built in default profile do all the work. We just need to be able to
include some pre programed passwords available from within it.

Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again for your help,

Ralph Malph