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Restricting User Accounts to set of URLs

By zdnet ·
I've got multiple users on the same Win XP machine and I want to restrict where some of them are permitted to use a browser to surf. I don't want to manage this within browsers but at the user level.

e.g.

A) admin account - unlimited access to any URL
B) permit visiting any from list of 20 URLs (and subdirectories on those domains)
C) permit visiting any from list of 12 URLs (and subdirectories on those domains)

B's and C's list may have some overlap, but it's probably best to treat them independently.

I just uninstalled Norton Internet Security which could do this, but there were many problems outside of this feature requiring getting rid of NIS.

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by BFilmFan In reply to Restricting User Accounts ...

Use a proxy server and restrict the user accounts according to security group membership.

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by zdnet In reply to

Please provide a little more detail for someone who has never set up a proxy server. Do I need another computer? Will it affect performance? Is there nothing in XP Pro that could do this without a proxy server?

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by BFilmFan In reply to

Yes, you would need another computer to create a proxy server.

http://www.library.villanova.edu/vbl/proxy/howproxy.html

And no, Windows XP doesn't offer this option as a built-in choice.

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by jc2it In reply to Restricting User Accounts ...

You might try a desktop product like Web Washer.

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by zdnet In reply to

I'm astounded that this kind of control isn't part of the setup for creating user accounts. A business might want a User to have something like Office and access to a half dozen specific URLs that are limited to that business' needs. I don't want a third party's algorithms making decisions for me when I know exactly where I want to permit/deny.

Is WebWasher configurable by User on the same Win XP computer or is it all or nothing?

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by statykserver In reply to Restricting User Accounts ...

One thing you could do is configure the "Content Advisor". In IE go to "tools", "internet options" then click on the "content" tab and enable the content advisor. Then set your approved sites and when your all done there go to the "general" tab and set the password so there are no user changes.

Another cool useful tool is one found on the microsoft technet site found here
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/sct/scthch04.mspx

Hope you find this helpful.

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by Nacromancer In reply to Restricting User Accounts ...

I believe you need to set up your A, B, C,'s within the group policy editor as seperate groups and assign each group permissions first.
Then in the Administrator's Tools /system security policy you can create user / or group policies, and you should find that there is a way to creat and configure permissions for certain URL's in which each group are allowed to venture. It is pretty much the same way an Anti-Virus and or Firewall Application will allow URL blocking, but at the OS level instead. Course exactly what are the best steps tried and true I would ask a System Admin from your Local Library or somewhere there is public use computers that have this incorporated within their systems permissions to prevent problems. But I also recommend inquiring about how they set it up that the system restores the systems registry automatically every night so as to rid the the system of errors for the next days business, this is an invaluable means to have in place when your are running a business and allowing access to the internet in any way. Because no matter how much you try, there is always a means to get by what you set in place.

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by dwightp In reply to Restricting User Accounts ...

Good morning:

We had to do the same here; several users using same two pc's and we only wanted certain users to access the Internjet and use certain programs. Installed program called Winguard Pro which can be found at their website by same name. This program requires users to input a password to launch certain programs. If they don't have the password, they can use the program or access internet. As well, you can code in the sites certain users are allowed to visit and even set the times, etc. Very useful program and worth checking the program out.

Hope this works for you.

DJ

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