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Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Bobboau on January 26, 2004, 11:49:58 pm

Title: limeting XP user acounts
Post by: Bobboau on January 26, 2004, 11:49:58 pm

is there a way to set a time limet on how long a user may use the computer in a given day,
so that I might limet my sister to a mear 5 hours of internet a night

Title: limeting XP user acounts
Post by: Turnsky on January 27, 2004, 12:02:53 am

you, evil, EVIL man...

just get a plug-in timer :drevil:

Title: limeting XP user acounts
Post by: Stryke 9 on January 27, 2004, 12:25:36 am

... meaning the kind that plugs into a wall, and shuts off the power to the cable after a set amount of time. No bypassing that one, less you're sister keeps a wire stripper handy.

Actually, the best solution if she's not computer-literate is to tell her there's a time-sensitive virus on the computer and that it starts randomly deleting software after five and a half hours. Then start *****ing loudly about how such-and-such file is missing whenever you think she's going over, and maybe delete one or two noncritical files she keeps. Fear is a powerful, powerful weapon to the uninitiated, and you'll soon find she'll be quick to get off at 3 hours.

Title: limeting XP user acounts
Post by: Liberator on January 27, 2004, 12:27:30 am

Home or Pro?

Either way it should be under the Users Mangement Console.  The real one, not the crap one for newbs in the contol panel, but the one where you can edit groups.  

Bear in mind that Home really limits  the amount of control an admin can have over their system.

Title: limeting XP user acounts
Post by: Arc on January 27, 2004, 11:26:02 am

It's not possible under Win2000 unless you've got a domain controller on the network, AFAIK it's the same for XP Pro (Home can't join a domain anyway). You'll need to get a third-party program to do it, but I don't know of one - of course I haven't gone looking...

Title: limeting XP user acounts
Post by: Liberator on January 27, 2004, 01:21:56 pm

Try this. (http://www.sharewareorder.com/PC-TimeCop-download-download-22106.htm)

Title: limeting XP user acounts
Post by: Bobboau on January 27, 2004, 10:18:24 pm

that looks good, but... costs money
/*shutters*/

so... your telling me, within the _VAST_ bloat that is XP incarnates there is no native way to simply kick someone off after five hours
for $200 I get... nothing /*we REALY need a shake's head smilie*/ god damn I hate Microsoft

Title: limeting XP user acounts
Post by: Jonathan_S47 on January 27, 2004, 10:32:51 pm

There is a group policy setting that should do that. Type in gpedit.msc in Run. After that you will have to do some hunting for the policy but there should be something there that allows you to do that.

Title: limeting XP user acounts
Post by: Bobboau on January 27, 2004, 10:51:45 pm

run says to me "what you talk'n bout Bobboau!?"
are you sure that is the comand?

Title: limeting XP user acounts
Post by: Liberator on January 27, 2004, 10:56:30 pm

Just edit the groups through the Control Panel.  It should be under Administrative Tools.  That's what I meant through my half-assed reply above.

Title: limeting XP user acounts
Post by: Bobboau on January 27, 2004, 11:03:57 pm

no groups,
Component Services, Data Sources (ODBC), Event Viewer, Services, Computer Management, and Performance are all I have in admin tools, so unless you meant one of them, it's not there
I have home eddition BTW, no reason to fork out another $100 for the stuff I should already have.

god damn somethng is realy screwed up when the single most expensive component of your system is the low end version standard operateing system software.

Title: limeting XP user acounts
Post by: Jonathan_S47 on January 27, 2004, 11:05:07 pm

Positive. I checked the command before I posted it to make sure I had it right. It might be your OS. I am running windows XP Pro. Also make sure you put the .msc after the gpedit

Title: limeting XP user acounts
Post by: Bobboau on January 27, 2004, 11:14:28 pm

copy and paste "gpedit.msc" from you'r post into the run comand... thingy,
windows responce; "quit this gpedit.msc Jibba Jabba and start obeying me. obey ME!!!"

Title: limeting XP user acounts
Post by: Liberator on January 27, 2004, 11:55:17 pm

Look under services.

Title: limeting XP user acounts
Post by: Arc on January 28, 2004, 02:15:40 pm

It can't be done through the local policy. I guess MS thought it's a buisness only type thing - anytime you can be near the computer when you want to kick someone off you can just, y'know tell them. With that way of thinking they didn't add it to workstation OSs cos as far as they were concerned all the buisness stuff is handled by the server.

To my knowledge the only native ways are: user objects in Active Directory and the user profiles for RAS and Terminal Services. Obviously not many home users are going to have any of these, so I took a quick look through the tucows 'parental control' bit and found these two that might help. They should both be freeware.  :)
http://www.tucows.com/preview/328213.html
http://www.tucows.com/preview/320513.html

Title: limeting XP user acounts
Post by: Flipside on January 28, 2004, 02:21:28 pm

Very thoughtful of you Arc :) Good stuff.

Title: limeting XP user acounts
Post by: Jonathan_S47 on January 28, 2004, 03:23:22 pm

The only other thing I can come up with is to ask Microsoft about it.

Title: limeting XP user acounts
Post by: Stealth on January 28, 2004, 03:32:38 pm

yeah i wouldn't mind finding out how to limit BANDWIDTH of a user... so my sister can't download at more than, ssay, 7 KBPS ;)

Title: limeting XP user acounts
Post by: Bobboau on January 28, 2004, 11:44:58 pm

well it will soon be irrelevent, I'm going to buy a router and she can be forever banished from my room, finaly