This document provides information about the Windows security system and what restrictions you can use to limit its functionality.
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Windows Security
Documentation Written by John Hall
Documentation
Notes
Improvements - Originally, I released this documentation in a
format that was a little odd/wild, so, as requested, I've cleaned it up and
added more notes about using it. Hopefully this new organization and these
notes will help you better understand how to use this information and its
limitations. I, however, have not added any additional information to this
documentation because of the limited amount of security information that is
redily available for the newer operating systems.
Known Limitations - This information does have some limitations of
use. Those are mentioned below:
Operating Systems - This information will most likely not
work with Microsoft Windows XP or Millennium Edition. It's not been tested,
so I don't recommend trying it. It's known that a lot of this doesn't work
with Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 and below, so I also don't recommend its
application there. If you do decide to try to use it, remember, I'm not
responsible for your actions and you are doing this on your own accord.
Setting Overrides - Some settings, none that are noted, have been
known to override other settings on certain operating systems. This is most
likely because Microsoft didn't spend the required amount of time making the
Windows 98 security system(probably the most vulnerable to this problem) a
high-performance or very reliable work. If you find that some of these
settings have "holes" or something and it bothers you, I suggest you switch
to a more securified operating system in the Windows class, such as
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional or greater.
Special Information - I've reviewed the comments that were posted
on the original copy of this documentation and this section is here to answer
some of the questions that I noticed.
Disabling these Settings - To disable any of the settings that
are shown in this documentation, simply reverse your process. Just delete
anything that you added to lock or disable a feature or you can make the
value the inverse. If it's a DWORD value, make it "00000000" instead of
"00000001", or a string value "yes" instead of "no" or vice versa.
Blocking Internet Applications - To disable an application's
internet access, I suggest you download any free firewall available. A
firewall will monitor what information is sent and recieved to your computer
through any network connection and filter it according to rules. The most
popular, free firewall that is available is ZoneAlarm, by ZoneLabs, Inc. It's actually the
most secure when it comes to application internet access prevention.
Reversing Application Lock - As far as I know, there's not a way
to reverse the application locking method. You might want to experiment with
it by making a seperate user account on your computer and applying the
settings to that user only. Basically, that's what I did throughout the
period that I wrote this documentation and it doesn't harm any of your stuff
and it helps you uncover the truth. Don't afraid to be creative with this
information, just remember my disclaimer about it from
above.
Windows System
Security Settings All the information that is included in this section affects the
main Windows system. These alter actual system functions and/or settings that it
uses to display certain items.
Special Notes - For this setting to work, you will need to make a
list of programs that you want to allow to run. You can do this by creating
a Key inside the Explorer Key and calling it RestrictRun and adding string
values as demonstrated below:
String Value Name "1" Value "mspaint.exe" This will allow any program named mspaint.exe to run on the
system
String Value Name "2" Value "iexplore.exe" This will allow any program named iexplore.exe to run on the
system
Internet
Explorer System Settings All the information that is included in this section affects the
operation of Internet Explorer. Please note that these only affect
Internet Explorer's operation and will not work with any other browsers that may
be installed on your computer.
Windows Media
Player System Settings All the information that is included in this section affects the
operation of Windows Media Player and components. Please note that these
only affect Windows Media Player's operation and will not work with any
other players that may be installed on your computer.
I can see lots of time and effort has gone into this. Very useful. Nice one! (If this comment was disrespectful, please report it.)
9/7/2003 3:43:59 PM:
How update registry without restart PC? (If this comment was disrespectful, please report it.)
4/21/2004 8:51:22 AM:
How update registry without restart PC? There's way, but i don't know, I.E. I can change the name of Recycle Bin, but i need restart, to see the modification, but My Norton A.V. 2003 change the name whithout restart, there's way, if you know share with us. (If this comment was disrespectful, please report it.)
This is very usefull, and looking on the contents, you did put a lot of time and effort into it. I voted excellent and hope you will continue with this terrific work. (If this comment was disrespectful, please report it.)
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