Recommendations for locking a computer (parents want to know for my lil brother's computers)

[Cerb]

Change the password for the user.
ctrl+alt+del
click "Lock Computer"

Works great. Check out http://www.tweakxp.com if the XP install isn't using the NT4/Windows 2000 style logon.

 

[Cerb]

Originally posted by: HappyCracker
Get an old computer and put Linux on it. I'm sure most games they play won't even run on Linux. If they were smart enough to use WINE/Linux alone, the performance would be horrible. With the newer distributions, network setup is cake. Good luck!

And if the kid gets around this one, don't worry about the schoolwork

 

[Cerb]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
Easy. Dad says "You get your computer back when your grades go up" and takes it away.

Yeah, that'll do it

. Had that happen to me...guess what? My grades went down. Yeah--great idea. We don't all have the same responses to the same types of discipline.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Idea! What about a removable SCSI drive that has all the boot info? Sure, it'll cost a little more but I'm 99% sure his friends don't have spare SCSI drives lying around...

 

[Kaama]

Could you not just un-install the games and keep the CD's, take out the CD drive if necessary so they can't re-install. Or, install games on a removeable hard drive.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: Cerb

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
Easy. Dad says "You get your computer back when your grades go up" and takes it away.

Yeah, that'll do it

. Had that happen to me...guess what? My grades went down. Yeah--great idea. We don't all have the same responses to the same types of discipline.

Well, let's see the outcomes.

1) Grades rise. Desired effect. Computers reinstated slowly. Brothers gradually regain respect for authority. They start to help Mom with the dishes and give Dad a hand fixing the car.
Family happiness ensues.

2) Grades fall. Ah well. Ship em off to boot camp. Brothers quickly regain respect for authority as Drill Sergeant Smith beats the living crap out of them. They never mouth off again for fear of getting another well-deserved asskicking.
Family happiness ensues.

Either way, problem solved.

- M4H

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: AgaBooga
Idea! What about a removable SCSI drive that has all the boot info? Sure, it'll cost a little more but I'm 99% sure his friends don't have spare SCSI drives lying around...

Even if they don't (SCSI drives of less than 10GB are easy easy to come by and plenty)....just hook a drive up via IDE/EIDE....no real way to disable it permanently short of cutting the pins out.

With Linux and other techno stuff, realize that kids today probaly know more about these things than we did/do...they are growing up learning it since day one whereas us learned starting a little later.

Even with BEOS, LINUX, etc just swapping in my own HD with my own OS/proggies would be easy.

Without removing the HW totally, and even then if they have money to buy a cheap PC, kids will get on a pc somehow.

 

[seawolf21]

Get Partition Magic on a diskette and hide the boot partition.

 

[Cerb]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire2) Grades fall. Ah well. Ship em off to boot camp. Brothers quickly regain respect for authority as Drill Sergeant Smith beats the living crap out of them. They never mouth off again for fear of getting another well-deserved asskicking.
Family happiness ensues.

3) Child never had a problem with respect for authority, and will have a fractured parental relationship for the rest of his life.

The said person shouldn't not mouth off for fear of some whoop@ss, but because they care for their parents.

I was threatened w/ boot camp, and don't want to think of what would have happened if my parents had given in to it. It wouldn't have been good for any parties involved, definitely. I felt helpless at the time, and was being threatened for inadequacies(sp) I couldn't control at the time. If there is blatant disrespect and overal idiocy, like the mental misfits on the talk shows that get sent off afterward, sure, it's a great option. But it isn't always like that, nor that simple.

 

[Robor]

My ex wife's sisters kid had a problem with playing online role playing games too much/long. He was missing sleep and doing poorly in school as a result. They solved it by taking the computer away for a while. They gave it back to him with the understanding he'd lose it forever if he went back to his old ways. Solved the problem.

 

[peter7921]

I still think putting a password in the BIOS is the best option, the only way to bypass that is to clear the CMOS, or get the password by a push-over mother.

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: Kaama
Could you not just un-install the games and keep the CD's, take out the CD drive if necessary so they can't re-install. Or, install games on a removeable hard drive.

Actually, that's a good idea. Make a couple of Restricted User accounts for the boys, and make the Administrator password a very long hard-to-crack one. Restricted Users cannot install or remove software or perform other such tasks. Or enable the Guest account and make them use that. I'm assuming XP Professional or Win2000 Pro here, not WinXP Home.

 

[charlie21]

That's a really frustrating situation. Going through the same thing with my little bro. Hope everything works out.

 

[flashbacck]

Originally posted by: SithSolo1
Things tried:

Taking the modem

Taking the power cable

Taking the KB and mouse

Taking the power cable adapter

Taking the CDs

Shutting the power of at the breaker

Disconnecting the cable from the house

and most resently taking the computers out of their rooms and placing them in the den

All the above have failed.

They pick locks, break down doors, and borrow parts from friends.

If this lock thing fails the computers are gone.

so... is there any sort of punishment, when they do these things? I mean, they're physically breaking locks/doors. And really, how desperate do you have to be to break a lock, JUST to play computer games?!

 

[cmdrdredd]

best idea yet methinks...


remove the Power from the Mobo! Just pull the plug and they'll probably not figure out why it won't turn on with everything plugged in (power, KBD, Mouse, etc) hehe

you can even go sneakier and pull the memory out so it won't post at all and pop it back in when it's time to play. Easy enough and takes only 10 seconds.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

What about a Dell server case? Lol. I think that'll work since they have some very very tough metal cases used in mission critical operations in which they don't take the slightest chance of letting a guy in to steal something and mess up a project. Well, thats an extreme, but many of the server cases are built with very strong metal so I don't think their standard crowbar will let them in.

 

[MistaTastyCakes]

We have a great FS/FT forum here that you can put the computer on. It'll be hard for em to use it when it's halfway across the country.

 

[Mday]

• you can actually lock the computer case, this prevents anyone from opening the case
• you can buy a lock\wire thing that prevents the computer from being turned on without a key. ie, you have a key, you insert the key, turn, and the turning motion turns on the computer.
• you can password the system on teh bios level
• you can password the system at the OS level

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Maybe they need a talk about what they want to do after high school or something. If they want to live a lowsy life or if they want to make something of their lives which can include making their own games and what it would take to become that. Just a thought, don't flame me on this.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: Mday

• you can actually lock the computer case, this prevents anyone from opening the case
• you can buy a lock\wire thing that prevents the computer from being turned on without a key. ie, you have a key, you insert the key, turn, and the turning motion turns on the computer.
• you can password the system on teh bios level
• you can password the system at the OS level

1: He already mentioned that the first one is useless since they'll pop the cover off or use a crowbar.

2: You can just take a few screws of the side of the case, remove that system, and keep going as normal.

3: Reset the CMOS or take the battery out for a minute or so and its reset.

4: They could probably find a way around this but I can't think of it right now....

Actually, the fourth point may be able to work but I thi nk someone mentioed something against this earlier in this thread.

 

[Lonyo]

Stick on BIOS passwords, and system passwords, and set up restricted user accounts, and encrypt folders. Program here, never used it, only just found it

You could put games shortcuts in one folder and password it, same with the main folders for all the games.