W2K User Accounts/Log In

[pop pop]

When I installed W2K originally I set it up so that it automatically logs in (non administrator). That means there are two (maybe three) accounts (administrator, me, and guest?). I need to change the auto log in now and don't know how (kids at home need to be controlled). I want ALL users to have to log in. How do I change it now? I don't really want to delete the auto login account (too many personal settings to recreate), I just want a login screen to come up on boot. I'll set their accounts up after.

Also, I have parental controls for internet access but I want total restriction on their account. I want to set NO INTERNET ACCESS, at least temporarily. How do I do that?

Finally, I just got a new notebook that has XP (all PCs are on a wireless home net). I want the same thing ... log in screen on boot and no web access except for me.

Any help appreciated. I'll research some more in the meantime.

Thanks.

[jlreich]

Hey pop pop, what kind of parental controls do you have?
I have Norton Internet Security. With that I have a NIS account for both of my kids and myself. You can control each account, let them use whatever programs to access the net you want them to or not. Which means you can block IE from using the internet for that account only. I had my youngest so blocked the only place she could go to on the internet was cartoon network.

Another alternative, if you have a firewall that you can set up a password on it and temporarily block the internet while the kids are on it.

I think these ideas would be better than using windows accounts. No logging off or switching users. That takes a lot of time.

I hope that might give you some ideas.

[pop pop]

Good ideas. I have NIS on the notebook and ZAP on the desktop. I've never used the password option. That sounds easy but couldn't they just shut the firewall down? I remember in the W95 days it was ridiculously easy to bypass passwords. Kids -- if there's a way around it they'll find it. Believe it or not, one morning my three year old had ... all by herself ... figured out how to start the PC, load a CD (BluesClues cartoons) and was boogying to the music. I calmly told her "only when adults are around" and powered down and even switched off the surge arrestor (when she was not there). Five minutes later, she was under the desk trying to turn it back on!


If they cannot shut the firewall down once I configure with a password, then that's the way I might go.

Thanks

[Paul Komski]

I want ALL users to have to log in.
Use TweakUI for XP or just change the settings at Control Panel >> User Accounts - (setting passwords or not as you so desire) and "Change the way users log on and of".

[jlreich]

I know on NIS you can set the main password so no one can make changes or shut it down without using the password. Is "ZAP" Zone Alarm Pro? If so I have E-Trust Firewall and AV from C.A. which I believe is actually ZoneAlarm firewall. If that's the case, they can just shut it down. But with NIS you have to have a password to shut it down.

If you don't want to put NIS on your other machine you will probably have to use TweakUI like Paul said. I just don't like having to change users every time to get different settings. If you use NIS, you can have one user on the OS and quickly change user on NIS which only takes a few seconds.

Good luck.

[pop pop]

ZAP is Zone Alarm Pro (4.5 ... still haven't done the update over again after the original 5.0 disaster). I like ZA too much (much more than NIS and I'm a Norton fan) to give it up.

As for TweekUI, I had it on my last XP desktop and loved it but it will not install on my W2K machine. I've tried multiple times. I download, unzip, install with no errors but when I try to run it I get an error that the file(s) are missing even though they are indeed there.

ZAP has a password function, I'll try that and see how good it works.

Thanks.

[jlreich]

Originally posted by pop pop
I like ZA too much (much more than NIS and I'm a Norton fan) to give it up.


I'm a NIS fan as well. But 2 out of 3 machines have EZ-Armor installed instead. It just easier to use. Like when I have a new game I want to play on the web, NIS will usually crash the program asking if want to allow it. Where EZ will not.

I don't use the parental controls with NIS anymore, I figured out they account for over 90% of memory usage in NIS. As much 121,000kB out of 128,000kb that the firewall uses on my machine that has 1GB of ram. Ouch! And my kids are getting old enough now that I don't have to worry about it as much any more.

Anyway, good luck pop pop.