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Prevent users from running/installing software?

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9 replies

by wsiliezar

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The company that I work for is looking to prevent the users that are using Windows XP machines from installing and running unauthorized software. Such software will include messenger, installing spam, etc.

They are using Windows NT server. Each user on the XP machines have full Administrative rights over the machine. Is there any way to prevent users from installing certain software, but still be able to add/remove printers and run the authorized software on their machines?

9 replies

by bfilmfan

If they have full administrator rights, you cannot prevent them from installing software.

by allthegoodnamesweregone

if you want to leave them with admin rights, it gets a little bit more tricky.

to prevent them from installing certain applications, you would have to create the folder the application would create under program files, and set the permissions accordingly. this could probably be done fairly easily with a script. they would still be able to take ownership of the folder and edit the permissions, or change the install location of the app, but 95% of users won't think of that.

by wsiliezar

Yes, I thought about this, but this would kind of be impossible since I would have to know 100% of all the programs the user's would be installing. I have read something about Windows XP software restriction policies. Has anyone ever used these before?

by plewisgm

A normal user should be able to install printers. I have 250 users and they can all install printers just being a local user. Might have to adjust some rights for current applications, like give users full rights over certian folders. This is what I do.

by parthiv_13

Yeah try this. Get administrator rights with you. Make a super user by setting policies in XP.

Second thing there are 3rd party tools available which can help you. One of them is DeepFreeze. Try that and protect it with PASSWORD. Its possible cz it has inbuilt facility. It can prevent uninstall without PASSWORD. If someone tries to do that it will LOG it.

Find this type of other 3rd party tools avail in market.

Good Luck.

by info

deepfreeze is cool, but it's kind of complex to do windows update. Even there's an option in the setting, but some how it didn't work right for me with WSUS.

I would like to know if there's a way to prevent users to install software via gpo.

by jbltmua

I just found this software. Mind you I do not own it, nor have I ever used it, but it seems to answer your questions based on the website's description. It is a program that prevents executable files from being executed. Thusly, no software can be installed by your users. Check it out!

http://www.faronics.com/html/AntiExec.asp

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