Locking other users out of certain programs.

Ferret · Sep 27, 2004

Is there anyway to lock out my games and partition for my guest account on my PC?

Also if there a way that it can switch any quicker? I could just switch user ever time it is used by others but my brother (and friends) can get impatiant. Is there an option to lock certain privilages if the password on the screen saver isn't filled in (rather then locking it down)?

I'd like that every time someone else uses my comp', they can but can't do wack things like get to my files, or mess with my background image.

There was something else (I think) but I can't remember though....

I'm using WinXP.

Plane Sailing · Sep 28, 2004

If you are using WinXP Pro it is pretty easy, if you are using WinXP home it is more difficult (or at least less straightforward).

Which are you on?

drothgery · Sep 28, 2004

"Fast User Switching" (where one person can log in without the other formally logging out) speed is very depnedent on free memory; adding more will amost certainly help your computer switch faster.

Ferret · Sep 28, 2004

Professional. I was looking around in Contol panal and found a folder call administrative tools. It looks likethe right thing but I don't want to go and lock myself out of my own computer.

Plane Sailing · Sep 29, 2004

xpPro is great (but you are right to worry about locking yourself out of your own machine!)

The place where you want to do things is in explorer

1. right-click on the folder you want to protect and select 'properties'

2. select security tab

3. There will be a bunch of 'group or user names' at the top and permissions for each of those in the panel below it.

What happens next depends upon how you are currently set up.

It might just have 'Everybody' in the top group and full control for everybody in the bottom group. I don't know whether your own userid is part of the administrators group or not, but the easiest thing to do is to make sure your username is in the list.

1. click on the Add button and add your username (the check names button in the dialog can be used to confirm you've got your login name exactly right)

2. Select your username in the top half of the security tab and then click on 'full control' in the bottom half of the security tab.

3. Apply (confirm that you want it to apply to all subfolders and files)

4. Do the same thing to give SYSTEM full control

then once this has been completed

1. Remove 'Everyone' group from the top of the security tab via the remove button.

This should now mean that you and the system can get access to this folder and all its files, but anyone else (e.g. anyone with the guest account) cannot even look into the folder.

(DON'T ever do something like "Everyone - deny full control", since NTFS takes the most restrictive interpretation of the options available and will lock you out! That is why you just remove the 'everyone' group from the list)

If you're not sure about this process, create a temporary folder with some junk files in and practice on that until you get the results you expect before trying it on your real folders.

Cheers

Plane Sailing · Sep 29, 2004

Another possibility using the same technique might be to add Guest to the list for those folders but set their priveliges to 'deny' everything. That might be a simpler and better way of handling it.

Ferret · Sep 29, 2004

Ok, no tab. So I must be using Home (but in contol panal/system it says

Microsoft Windows XP
Professional
Version 2002
Service pack 2

which is odd)

Any idea why I wouldn't get a tab if I was using Professional? Or why it would say professional?

I do get a greyed out 'make this folder private' in the sharing tab though.

Plane Sailing · Sep 30, 2004

Hmmm. The only thing that I can think of is that maybe you have Simple File sharing ticked?

From Explorer, do Tools/Folder Options and then select the View tab.

Scroll down the list to the bottom - is "Use Simple File Sharing (recommended)" ticked or not? If it is ticked, untick it and restart the machine.

I'm not sure whether or not this is the issue, but it is worth a try.

If that doesn't solve the issue, and you are willing to take the risk of a little registry editing, you could backup your registry (and set a system restore point) and then check to see if this registry entry is set

Hive: HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Key: Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
Name: NoSecurityTab
Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 1

If it is, delete it.

Ferret · Oct 2, 2004

That worked, I'm going to try it now, restart, login as Guest and try it. Don't worry If I'm gone for a while.....

Edit: Nope it didn't work. I'll look over your instructions, I reaadthem before then skimmed them this time. Going to check them now.

Double edit: Added a system allowence, I went into Guest and started playing IWD II, something I shouldn't have been able to do.

I've gone back and permisionised the entire partition, gunna re-recheck.

Tribble: Grr, restarted no luck! Dagnabit!

Ferret · Oct 7, 2004

Ok to summerise, I've done what Truth seeker said and it does not work. Or at least it doesn't seem to. I unchecked the Guests abilities (forgotten the terminolgy) and put the administrator's (mine) to all. But there is no change. I can log in as guest and access the forbidden partition.

Does anyone have any idea what is wrong?