Quick overview:
Windows Me 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 will show you dozens of ways to make your Windows desktop, Explorer and certain Windows Me features more secure. Your computer will then be transformed into a secure desktop via the Windows registration into a high-security wing that not even the most cunning hackers 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 if you have several users. I have listed the most important options for protecting these parts below.
For each tip, there is a single step that you must perform beforehand:
1. Click in succession on Start/Execute and type regedit in. The registry editor appears and you will see a directory structure similar to Explorer.
2. Double-click to navigate through the keys one after the other HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies. This last Policies Order should contain the subfolder Explorer which you select.
If this is not available, select Policies and click on it with the right mouse button. Select New/key and baptize it with the name Explorer.
3. Now switch to Explorerso that you can see its contents. The right-hand pane now contains all the values described below. Here you can see 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 open the right-hand pane of Explorerunder the registry path mentioned above, and then click New/DWORD Value a new value appears, which you can set to the name NoClose baptize. Now double-click on this value and enter a 1 in the command line. As soon as the value has been created, Windows can no longer be shut down.
Prevent the installation of printers
Windows Me offers you the option of printer installation and setup in the Control Panel, for example. If you want to block this for your fellow computer users, you must follow the next instructions...
Click in the right-hand pane and select New/DWORD Value. You can now call this NoAddPrinter and double-click on it. After you have 1 you will not be able to use the printer setup wizard.
Now that you know the procedure, it is much more effective if I give you the individual values and a brief description.
- NoAddPrinter After creating the value, double-click on it and create a 1 you can no longer add printers.
- NoDeletePrinter If you set this value to 1, no more printers can be deleted.
- NoDesktop To switch off all icons from the user interface and the context menu that appears when you right-click on the desktop, simply double-click on the value you have created and, as with the other values, enter a 1 instead of 0.
- DisableRegistryTools To prevent users from tampering with the registry, set this value by double-clicking on 1. 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. After you have selected the correct location on your hard disk and clicked Ok, a file will appear there which you only need to double-click to undo the changes.
- ClearRecentDocsOnExit With this value (on 1 ) they prevent any snooping by other users who would like to know what they last opened. This means that these documents are deleted every time the system is shut down or restarted.
- NoDevMgrUpdate This prevents the user from accessing the Windows update. Simply double-click on it and a 1as for each value.
- NoSetFolders In the Start menu, you will see the Taskbar and Start menu entry under Settings. You can get rid of it after you have created the value in the registry and given it a 1.
- NoRun 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 a 1 the symbol for the Internet connection disappears.
- NoNetHood To prohibit other users from accessing the network, they must click on NoNetHood double-click and enter a 1 so that the Network Neighborhood icon disappears from the desktop.
- NoRecentDocsHistory You can also completely block access to recently used documents. To do this, set the value to 1 change.
- NoSMMyDocs This locks the Documents entry in the Start menu. It contains the files that you last opened. If this value is set to 1 is denied the folder.
- NoFavoritesMenu So that nobody snoops around in your favorites, you can ban the Favorites folder in the Start menu.
You can change any of these values again by double-clicking on them. To change the options rüaccessible they simply wear another 0 instead of the 1 in. You can achieve the same effect by simply setting the value to delete.
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!
