[ubuntu] Locking down Ubuntu

[Gaz]

I've got some old but still good desktops I'd like to use. We don't have any licences spare for Windows so I was going to stick Ubuntu on them and keep them off the domain and just lock them down as much as possible.

 

Has anyone done such a thing? Is it worth it? At the moment its just an idea.

[unixman_again]

KDE has a kiosk mode which is great for locking machines down. I imagine Kubuntu has this although I've never used it so YMMV. Kiosk mode certainly works well on Fedora. If you look at alternative desktops, such as IceWM you can control exactly what is available to the user, mostly because IceWM has less features than KDE, etc. Don't be put off by that statement; I use IceWM on my machine at home, in preference to KDE as I find KDE4 too bloated. However, I do run KDE apps.

[Gaz]

All I really want them to be able to do is browse the web, use Openoffice and save to a pen drive. The Kiosk mode sounds ideal if it can be tweaked a bit. Thanks for your recommendations.

[jinnantonnixx]

The Guest mode in Ubuntu is restricted, and wipes its data when Guest logs off. Every subsequent Guest gets a clean slate. You can configure what apps are available on the dock for Guest.

[Gaz]

The Guest mode in Ubuntu is restricted, and wipes its data when Guest logs off. Every subsequent Guest gets a clean slate. You can configure what apps are available on the dock for Guest.

 

I've not really used Ubuntu so I didn't know it had that feature, that also sounds ideal.

[jinnantonnixx]

Just choose Guest logon right at the start screen. See how that works out for you, perhaps it's all you need.

 

Useful info, including a link about customising the Guest.

 

https://help.ubuntu.com/stable/ubuntu-help/shell-guest-session.html

 

 

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PasswordlessGuestAccount

 

 

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/CustomizeGuestSession

Edited March 19, 2014 by jinnantonnixx