Disable 'save as background' in IE?

[OverWorked]

@tarquel

Thanks for that. Another little problem that's been bugging me for the past three years has just been solved.

I already had a GPO with the active desktop settings, but didn't know about the other bit:-

-=- Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Display -=-
Prevent Changing Wallpaper = Enabled

The little darlings were using IE and My Pictures to set their own unsuitable pictures, even though they could only see them at logon and logoff.

Now they can't even do that! Wonderful!

[ICTNUT]

I Have had the same set of problems but I went the whole hog and disabled the right click context menu in IE.

This was ok for a while until the blighters found that if you go into My Docs -> My Pics then double click on a picture this opens M$'s wonder Picture and Fax viewer which if you right click the image, guess what, "Save as Desktop Backgound"

I have hunted high and low and to date can not find a way of disabling it regardless of GPO.

So at the moment to get around it I use the following at user Logon:

' Script to change desktops back to the original corp/school image.
'
' This script runs each time the user logs onto the machine and resets the desktop.
'
' Author: Ozan Pakyuz, 16-09-2005

Option Explicit

Dim RegKey, WshShell, FSO

' Declare variables and enumerate existing printer connections
Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
Set FSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")

' Step 1 Delete The Key
WshShell.RegDelete "HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop\Wallpaper"
WshShell.RegDelete "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\Wallpaper"

'Debug Line MsgBox "Key Has Been Deleted"

' Step 2 Add the new key
WshShell.RegWrite "HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop\Wallpaper","C:\Windows\image.BMP","REG_SZ"
WshShell.RegWrite "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\Wallpaper","C:\Windows\image.BMP","REG_SZ"

' Debug Line MsgBox "Key Has Been Added"

' Step 3 Copy the background over (1024*768)
If FSO.FileExists("c:\Windows\imae.BMP") Then
	FSO.DeleteFile "C:\Windows\image.BMP"
	FSO.CopyFile "\\UNC Path to image file\imgae.bmp", "c:\Windows\"
Else
	FSO.CopyFile "\\UNC Path to image file\imgae.bmp", "c:\Windows\"
End If

Now you can either call this from your logon.bat file or like I do apply via GPO as Logon Script.

This seems to have done the trick so far by replacing the users desktop backgrounds and replacing the logon screen background to so even when no user is logged in you still get the desktop visible.

Enjoy

[Geoff]

Why not just change the ACL on the registry key?

[E1uSiV3]

The problem we have here is the kids change the desktop pics constantly during lesson, so resetting it makes no odds to them, its the "ability" to change the desktop that causes the issue for us.

[OverWorked]

Am I missing something?

I've just set up GPO's as recommended by tarquel, and logged on as a pupil. I can't see any way they can change the wallpaper now.

They just get the blue html wallpaper I set for them.

Yes, the 'set as desktop background' is still on Explorer's context menu and Picture and Fax Viewer, but it no longer has any effect.

I haven't used any registry hacks, scripts or the like, just GPO. As far as I can see, it works.

[OverWorked]

Forgot to add:

What I've also done is wait until the end of the day, and delete all their roaming profiles from the server. I've also used delprof in a computer shutdown script to delete the locally cached roaming profiles.

This will remove all their existing wallpapers and the GPO's will (I think) stop them from reappearing.

[tarquel]

Shared Computer Toolkit for WinXP related discussion posts moved to new topic located:

http://www.edugeek.net/index.php?nam...ewtopic&t=1061 - Shared Computer Toolkit for WinXP

Nath

[jonny_valentine]

I used gpo's to stop as much as poss, then used reg.exe with reg.ini to change permissions to the user registry so they cant change the background.

[Kitt]

Am I missing something?

I've just set up GPO's as recommended by tarquel, and logged on as a pupil. I can't see any way they can change the wallpaper now.

They just get the blue html wallpaper I set for them.

Yes, the 'set as desktop background' is still on Explorer's context menu and Picture and Fax Viewer, but it no longer has any effect.

I haven't used any registry hacks, scripts or the like, just GPO. As far as I can see, it works.

Yes, but it still technically sets the wallpaper when they do that, so it will show up upon logging on/off. My kids got really crafty and, using that knowledge, found a really nice way around it... The use task manager to end explorer.exe and re-run it a few times. After that it somehow braks the active desktop, and no desktop shows, just a white error screen. At this point, anything you set as your desktop stays your desktop =/ After this i finally cracked down and disabled task manager, but they just went online and found a proprietary version of the task manager and ran it from there USB drives. I still havn't found a way to stop this from happening...

I must hand it to them though, these kids are rather bright and resourceful, i simply wish they'd use there intelect to go places and do things rather than focus on getting around stupid things like default backgrounds.

[russdev]

Hi kitt welcome

anychance of putting your location in your profile even if it is just a genreal area if you want to remain anonymous just useful if people know were you from mainly as different areas have different rules and regs when it comes to goverment policies like those funny buggers up north in scotland

and yes kids are..

Russ

[RobC]

Now, now Russ. Can't make life too easy for you... :P

[GrumbleDook]

Now, now Russ. Can't make life too easy for you... :P
[hr]
Views expressed in my posts are my own, and in no way endorsed by Elgin Academy or The Moray Council. Contents may settle in transit. This drink may stain. The value of your investment may go down as well as up. Caution, this coffee is hot.

I agree ... that's not very fair of you to single out those to the north of civilisation (eg anywhere above Liverpool) ...

I still reckon it is that lot over in Wales that will casue problems.

And can you please change your sig Rob ... you failed to mention that any posts may contain nuts or be made by one. I once almost had an allergic reaction to a coconut ... nothing actually related to you or your posts ... in fact it wasn't really an allergic reaction ... it was being knocked out by someone throwing a wooden ball at one on a coconut shy at a fair ...

erm ... I'll get my coat.

[jonny_valentine]

Am I missing something?

I've just set up GPO's as recommended by tarquel, and logged on as a pupil. I can't see any way they can change the wallpaper now.

They just get the blue html wallpaper I set for them.

Yes, the 'set as desktop background' is still on Explorer's context menu and Picture and Fax Viewer, but it no longer has any effect.

I haven't used any registry hacks, scripts or the like, just GPO. As far as I can see, it works.

Yes, but it still technically sets the wallpaper when they do that, so it will show up upon logging on/off. My kids got really crafty and, using that knowledge, found a really nice way around it... The use task manager to end explorer.exe and re-run it a few times. After that it somehow braks the active desktop, and no desktop shows, just a white error screen. At this point, anything you set as your desktop stays your desktop =/ After this i finally cracked down and disabled task manager, but they just went online and found a proprietary version of the task manager and ran it from there USB drives. I still havn't found a way to stop this from happening...

I must hand it to them though, these kids are rather bright and resourceful, i simply wish they'd use there intelect to go places and do things rather than focus on getting around stupid things like default backgrounds.

hehe, kids are damn clever sometimes.. anyway, you should look up reg.exe and reg.ini to set permissions on the control panel registry key for local user. This works for me, since they dont have access rights to change the background. GPO's are bypassable in oh so many ways.