ZEDEX The
School Networking Solution!
As
Schools purchase the latest technology, they end up with a
variety of computers over time. This causes problems for
networking. But not with Zedex. Zedex will work on Windows 98, Windows
95, Windows Me, Windows 2000 , and Windows XP. It even has a version
which will work on Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups. The latest
version of Mac's can login to the Zedex server, and older Mac's can do
so also with additional software, called Dave. Imagine all of
those systems all being networked into the same server at the same
time. And this server only has to be a Windows 95 or 98(recommended)
computer.
Watch
Zedex in action:
Download
and run the following Camtasia video:
ZEDEX_INTRO.exe
|| Zedex || Installing Zedex || Installing a Peer to Peer Network|| Windows for Workgroups || Download
Installing Programs on Workstations || Zedex and Mac's ||
||
Mozilla and Zedex ||
Contact || Running programs
from a server
How to install Policy Editor (poledit.exe)
Ask questions or offer comments in our new discussion group at Google Groups:
http://www.groups.google.com/group/zedex?hl=en
This program is available on your Windows 95 disk.
Use with caution. You could lock yourself out of your own
system.
Please not that there may be variations to how Poledit works for the newer
versions of Windows, such as, 98 ME or XP.
To install the program go to Add/Remove Programs in the
Control Panel
Select the Windows Setup tab
Select Have Disk ... type in
d:\admin\apptools\poledit ( or whatever the drive letter is for
the CD)
Select OK
Select the System Policy Editor check box
Select Install
Poledit will be placed in your Windows directory
Cancel out of Add\Remove Programs
Using Explorer, go to your Windows folder and drag poledit.exe
to the desktop. This will place a shortcut to Policy editor on
the desktop
Right click on this Icon and select Properties and then the
Shortcut Tab
Click the cursor into the Shortcut Keys box
Select the shortcut keys that you want to use to run the
program. i.e. Ctrl + Alt + Shift + P They are selected by
typing them. If they are not already assigned, they will show up
in the Shortcut Keys box.
It is very important that you have
these key strokes to run Poledit, so that you will be able to get
back in to disable your system protection so that you can make
changes.
Try the key strokes a few times to see
that they do work and that the Policy Editor Program does come
up.
You need a way to get to it considering
that you have not put it on your Start Menu
to be available to others.
Run Poledit
Select Open Registry from the File Menu
Double click Local User
Select Control Panel
Select Display
Check mark Restrict Display Control Panel
Select Shell
Select Restrictions
Check mark Remove run command
Check mark Remove folders from “settings” on Start Menu
Check mark Remove Taskbar from “settings” on Start Menu
Check mark Remove “Find” command
Check mark Hide all items on Desktop
Select System
Select Restrictions
Check mark disable MS-DOS prompt
It is important to select "No 'Entire Network' in Network
Neighborhood and "No workgroup contents in Network
Neighborhood" if you don't want users to be able to browse
the drives.
Exit and Save Settings
You will have to reboot to have these restrictions take place.
On Shutdown, select "Close all programs and log on as a
different user", as this will get you back the
fastest.
Please note that this selection of restrictions prevents users
from making changes to the desktop and from browsing the network
(that explorer and network neighborhood are not available). This
is assuming that the only programs that you want others to use
are in the Start menu. Other programs have been removed from the
Start Menu. Consider putting folders right on the Start
menu, one for each age group. i.e. Primary Programs, Junior
Programs, Intermediate Programs and CD-ROM's Required Programs.
Note that this is just one scenario. You may choose to protect
the system differently.
To make changes to your system, you must run Policy Editor and
unselect the items that were checked (or just some of them. You
will need to save and reboot.
The F3 Key Problem
The F3 key has been a major flaw in Windows 95 security. There
are programs out there that can assign the F keys, but the
simplest solution is to place a shortcut to a harmless program
(like Works or Notepad) on the desktop. Right click on the
shortcut, select properties, and then the shortcut tab. Click the
cursor into the box for the shortcut key and then press F3. What
will happen now is that when the user hits the F3 key, they will
get Works (or what you have selected) instead of Find.
But you're not done yet. Users can get to run any program from
the "Open" or "Save as" dialogue boxes in
Windows 95 programs, like Notepad. They need only browse to the
directory the program is in, view all files, then right click on
the program. The right click will allow them to open
the program rather than select it. They will be
able to run any program, including Explorer or Winfile and any
program on the A: drive, or whatever they have downloaded from
the internet. The only way to stop them from running programs
this way is to disable the right click. The only way I have found
is to install Logitech MouseWare 7.5 as a mouse driver. It is the
mouse driver that comes with their scrolling mouse (it may come
with some of their other mice). It also works with the standard
Microsoft mouse. With this driver installed, the right click can
be changed from "context/menu" to
"click/select". This effectively makes the right button
do the same as the left button. Users can no longer run programs.
But they can still delete files (using the delete key) or move
them by drag and drop.
If your looking for a small program to protect your Win 3.1
Program Groups, try Secure Group.
Secure Group for Windows 3.1
With this program you can set up a program group of applications
to which only teacher have access, or to which administrators
have access. You can put File Manager in one of these protected
groups and run setups from File Manager without having to remove
protection. Put your uninstall icons in one of these protected
groups!
For peer to peer networking go to: Zedex
Peer to Peer Networking
The best protection I have experienced is the
following:
For excellent protection consider:
Or browse to: http://www.deepfreezeusa.com/
for Deep Freeze
