Quick overview:
Windows 98 does not have nearly as many advanced features as Windows 2000/XP to secure parts of the operating system to protect you from other users. In this article, we'll show you dozens of ways to make your Windows desktop, Explorer and certain Windows 98 features more secure. Your computer will then be transformed via the Windows registry into a high-security wing that not even the most cunning hacker can bypass.
You can increase the security of Windows by blocking access to certain parts of the system or specifically disabling certain functions. This is particularly useful for multiple users. I have listed the most important ways to protect these parts below.
For each tip, there is a single step that you must perform beforehand:
1. Click on Start/Run and type regedit. The registry editor will appear and you will see a directory structure similar to Explorer.
2. Double-click through the keys HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies one after the other. This last Policies folder should have the subfolder Explorer, which you mark.
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If this does not exist, select Policies and right-click on it. Select New/Key and name it Explorer.
3. Now switch to Explorer so that you can see its contents. The right-hand pane now contains all the values described below. Here is an example:
Locking the shutdown of the computer
It is possible to completely disable the shutdown (this is what Windows shutdown is called) so that the computer can no longer be shut down in the conventional way.
If you click in the right-hand pane of Explorer, under the above-mentioned registry path, and then select New/DWORD value, a new value appears, which you name NoClose. Now double-click on this value and enter a 1 in the command line. As soon as the value is created, Windows will no longer shut down.
Prevent the installation of printers
Windows 98 offers you the option of printer installation and setup in the control panel, for example. If you want to block this for your computer users, you must follow the next instructions...
Click in the right-hand pane and select New/DWORD value. Now name this NoAddPrinter and double-click on it. After you have entered 1, you will not be able to use the printer setup wizard.
Now that you know the process, it is much more effective if I give you the individual values and a brief description of them.
- NoAddPrinter After you have created the value, double-clicked on it and typed 1 into it, no more printers can be added.
- NoDeletePrinter If you set this value to 1, no more printers can be deleted.
- NoDesktop To disable all icons from the desktop and the context menu that appears when you right-click on the desktop, simply double-click on your custom value and enter 1 instead of 0, as with the other values.
- DisableRegistryTools To prevent users from tampering with the registry, set this value to 1 by double-clicking on it. You will NOT be able to edit the Windows registry to make this change. Unless you export this value as a .reg file. To do this, change the value back to 0. This is how it works: Click on File > Export and activate the option Selected substructure. Once you have selected the correct location on your hard disk and clicked Ok, a file will appear that you just need to double-click to undo the changes.
- ClearRecentDocsOnExit With this value (set to 1) you prevent any snooping by your fellow users who would like to know what you last opened. This means that these documents are deleted every time the system is shut down or restarted.
- NoDevMgrUpdate This denies the user access to the Windows update. Simply double-click on it and enter a 1, as with any value.
- NoSetFolders In the Start menu under Settings, you will see the Taskbar and Start menu entry. You can get rid of it after you have created the value in the registry and given it a 1.
- NoRun Entered with a 1 after double-clicking on it, this value prevents the Run command from being displayed in the Start menu. You must start regedit and other commands manually from the Windows folder.
- NoInternetConnection If you create this value and double-click to enter 1, the symbol for the Internet connection disappears.
- NoNetHood To prohibit other users from accessing the network, you must double-click on NoNetHood and enter 1 in the line so that the Network Neighbourhood icon disappears from the desktop.
- NoRecentDocsHistory You can also completely block access to recently used documents. To do this, change the value to 1.
- NoSMMyDocs This locks the Documents entry that you find in the Start menu. It contains the files that you last opened. If this value is set to 1, the folder remains locked.
- NoFavoritesMenu You can ban the Favorites folder from the Start menu so that nobody can snoop around in your favorites.
You can change any of these values again by double-clicking on them. To undo the options rü, simply enter 0 instead of 1. You can achieve the same effect by simply deleting the value!
NOTE FOR NEW PUBLICATION: This article was produced by Sandro Villinger and comes from the Windows Tweaks archive, which has been built up since the late 1990s.
On Windows Tweaks you will find time-saving tech guides for PC, software & Microsoft. For a stress-free digital everyday life. Already we have been "tweaking" Windows since 1998 and just won't stop!
