Program to secure computer from changes by employees?

[presto]

Our small business has 8 computers running windows 98 which are used as cash registers (they track inventory).

Most employees ask for help when there is a problem but the more computer savy ones attempt to fix things themselves. This means that by the time I find out about a problem I don't really know what has been done to the system. There is also the occasional problem of people playing games or cruising the internet.

We also hire a lot of temps for 6 weeks or so at a certain time of year. We want people to have access to anything on the computer that they don't need.

I'm looking for a program that locks out things like installing programs, exploring certain folders, connecting to the internet etc.

there would need to be a password so that managers could gain access to these functions when needed.



Thanks

[Faustus]

Windows 98? Gonna be a little tough. Let me take a quick look brb

[Faustus]

Crap remember seeing some software to do it but cant remember or find it. Maybe something with the policy editor and user accounts but beyond that it will require some research.

edit: or check out a program called WinForcer (http://www.winforcer.com) and see if that does what you need. I remember one called like Armor something or another but can't quite remember the full name.

[glockjs]

ah man..no games? no internet? you sound like my employer(to bad it's hard to enforce this one on me )...i say bah! to you. bah! you make life boring at work slave driver :P

you might need to take the much needed plunge into xp. more reliable and i hate to say it more control for slave driving bosses like u

[rallynavvie]

Even Win2k. You could create a user/guest account and lock pretty much everything except POS functions, make the desktop read-only, etc.

[SLK001]

Win98? Come on, there is no reason for a business to be that far behind the curve (unless surviving isn't one of your goals). You should have nearly the latest operating systems and applications. These OS have all the necessary security/control/nanny features that you want.

[waheed]

Win98? Come on, there is no reason for a business to be that far behind the curve (unless surviving isn't one of your goals). You should have nearly the latest operating systems and applications. These OS have all the necessary security/control/nanny features that you want.

you think Win98 is bad. Where im currently working, we're still using DOS

Only a few computers have Windows 2000 (for mainly managers).

[Lucifers_Ghost]

We dont even have computers .. they gave us Etch-a-Sketch's

[glockjs]

We dont even have computers .. they gave us Etch-a-Sketch's

hold on ma'am, my computer is running a little slow.....well let me reset it, hold on just a sec *shake shake shake* ok there we go. what can i help u with today

[presto]

Win98? Come on, there is no reason for a business to be that far behind the curve (unless surviving isn't one of your goals). You should have nearly the latest operating systems and applications. These OS have all the necessary security/control/nanny features that you want.

Remember, these computers are being used as cash registers. We are not really using windows. We are using the Point Of Sale program. I don't agree with the idea of having the latest operating system UNLESS it is the only way to get the security/control/nanny features I want. Also these computers are a few years old. At some point we may bite the bullet and buy a whole new fleet of computers with the latest OS but I don't think it makes sense at this point.

[presto]

Flaystus, Winforcer looks pretty good. Thanks

[ViRaL1]

A lot of schools use a program called Deep Freeze from Faronics.

http://www.faronics.com/

FreezeX might work for you also.

[guns1inger]

If they are only used as front ends to the POS system, and don't store data locally, the best way is to use something like ghost to make a self installing image on CD. Get the box stable, ghost it, and if an employee ever screws it up, reimage.

I used to work for one of the top 3 professional services companies. We all had pretty good quality laptops, and we had local administrator rights. We could do pretty much anything we wanted, but if we screwed it up and had to have it looked at by IT, they would backup My Documents, then reimage whole machine. It was the quickest solution as there was no trouble-shooting required. So long as your employees know the policy, it's the best way.

[presto]

That sounds like a good idea gunslinger. I had also thought about using GoBack which can automatically restore your computer every night.