Password protect internet explorer?

[lilcriminal]

Hello, my name is Corey. I run a pool hall in Missouri. I use windows for my register network and I also have internet explorer on the registers. (They are all just windows pc's.)

I want to be able to use IE at the register, but I don't want my employees to be able to use it to surf the web. I want full access when I use it but I want it completely disabled for anyone else.

Having different windows users is not an option. I would like to be able to enter a password to unlock IE.

ANY IDEAS?

[jdharm]

Well, I'm going to do something I hate to see others do and give you an solution that has nothing to do with the question you asked. I'm going to do this not because I think I have a better solution, but because I have looked and have not found a way to do exactly what it is you want to do. So I offer an alternate solution.

I would suggest controlling internet access from your router rather than the local workstation that has a high security level user logged into it. You control access to the router via a non-Windows account that no one else need have access to.

You can change the WAN settings, such as PPPoE password or IP address, to a wrong setting. This would allow the internal network to continue unaffected but internet requests would fail. You could then put in the proper settings whenever you wanted access. The down side to this method is that everyone would then have access at the time you had the system enabled.

The better possibility, if available, is to change the access rules or schedules on the router. Most I have seen have some way to filter WAN/LAN access by IP. You could set the access control to refuse all WAN access from all LAN IPs. When you need access to the 'net you would then add a rule allowing access from the IP address you happen to be on at the time. Remove or disable the rule when you are done.

If your router understands XML methods then these procedures may even be scriptable for quick changes.

[djydjy]

Can I password protect Internet Explorer so that I am the only one that can use it on my machine?

Answers:
yes u can.. i did that once.. but then again, there are still other internet browser that can be installed and used by other users.. so not practical at all.. best is to protect the whole system.. via your bios settings
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i dont think you can do that. why not create a separate user account in windows?

for:
http://www.ieanswers.com/internet-explorer/1444-5-web-browser.html

[lilcriminal]

DJYDJY,

I don't worry about people installing other software. If I see that someone did so I could just delete it and repremand. You say you did it before... HOW?


JDHARM,

I like your creative solution as well, I don't know exactly which settings to change though. I have a Linksys WRT54G router, could you give me some more specific settings to change that would not interfere with my internal network?

Thanks guys/girls whatever,

Corey

[jdharm]

The WRT54G has settings for this specific purpose.

You can set 10 policies. The user guide doesn't say so specifically, but I believe the common convention is for the router to start with rule 1 and attempt to apply each rule till the conditions of one of the rules is met, at which time it takes the appropriate action and stops looking at any more rules.

So, you would want to set rule 1 to be the "Allow" rule that you will use for yourself and enter the IP of the machine that you want to have access to the internet. Rule 2 would be set to deny access from all IPs in the LAN. The result will be that when you try to access the internet from your machine the condition of rule 1 will be met (the IP you entered in the router rule table matches the IP of the machine wanting access to the internet) and it will allow access and will not even refer to rule 2, the 'all deny' rule. If any other computer tries to access the internet the condition of rule 1 (your IP) is not met so the router then moves to rule 2 (which is 'all deny') and access will be denied.

When you are done using the 'net you will then disable rule 1, which means the first rule the router will refer to is the 'all deny' rule 2. Any users on the machine you were just on will thereafter be denied access to the internet. When you need the net again, just log onto the router, enable rule 1, and specify the address of the machine you are on.


The following are the specific procedures for the WRT54G I have access to. Your version may be different, but this should get you started if it is. Create each policy one at a time in its entirety, save, and then move to the next rule.

Log into the interface. Click on the "Access Restrictions" heading.

Chose the number of the policy being configured in the "Internet Access Policy:" dropdown.

Chose Enable.

Enter the policy name, e.g. "Me" or "All Deny".

Chose the Allow or Deny radio button. Allow for yourself on rule 1, Deny for everyone else on rule 2.

Click the "Edit List of PCs" button.

In the resulting popup specify the pcs the rule applies to. For yourself in rule 1 enter the IP of the machine you want to access the internet from in the middle section labeled "Enter the IP Address of the PCs", box IP01:. For all machines in rule 2 enter 0~255 in the bottom section labeled "Enter the IP Range of the PCs", boxes IP Range 01:. Save settings.