Staff saving files to desktop

[genesis]

Hi

 

We have many staff who save files and folders to the laptop desktop. They have the home drive and one drive to save the documents and despite this they save to their laptop desktop.

They realise the importance of the file when the hard disk becomes faulty and data is unrecoverable and have experienced this couple of times.

It is a matter of saving the documents to a safe location or having a copy on the desktop.

Would like to send a strong email to staff not to save files on the laptop desktop. Any ideas with GDPR are they allowed to save files to the laptop desktop?

 

Any suggestion much appreciated.

Thanks.

[PotNoodleTech]

You can use a GPO to make the desktop folder "read only" to staff, that way it will not let them save anything at all to the desktop.

[CHiLL]

We do two things:

 

1) For most staff and all students - we use GPOs to redirect their desktop to a fixed place, so that they all get the same icons and nobody can save/delete anything from it.

2) For some admin staff and our own technician workstations, we use GPO to redirect their desktop to their home folder, so their desktop icons are actually saved in H:\Desktop rather than C:\Users\\Desktop. That way they can save items on their desktop and nobody needs to worry when the machine dies because it's all saved on the network share.

[pooley]

I just use folder redirection and don't worry about it. Gave up a long time ago trying to educate staff and using homedrives, just redirect My docs and desktop to the server and let them make a mess.

[jthompson]

Any ideas with GDPR are they allowed to save files to the laptop desktop?.

 

It would only be a data protection issue if the laptop wasn't encrypted, at which point it's not users' habits that are the problem, it's the fact that their laptops aren't encrypted.

[6Foot2]

Folder redirection here. One icon on the desktop that I use to identify which desktop I am looking at when connected remotely (admin, finance, teacher, student) No other desktop icons or files allowed, everything from the Start Menu.

 

[FishCustard]

Yep, we just redirect the Desktop to their home folder. That way they can put whatever they want there and nobody cares!

 

If they want to use it for icons, fine. If they want to save every file they ever use there, okay.

[6Foot2]

Yep, we just redirect the Desktop to their home folder. That way they can put whatever they want there and nobody cares!

 

If they want to use it for icons, fine. If they want to save every file they ever use there, okay.

 

I like to keep the desktop clear to cut down logon times/desktop build time. We used to have a fairly busy desktop and large(ish) wallpaper. Staff complained, so we stripped everything back as far as we could.

 

[bicky]

We moved away from Folder Redirection to OneDrive Known Folder Move that redirects Desktop/Documents to the OneDrive. You can do this via GPO

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/onedrive/redirect-known-folders

[KevinB]

We've done as @bicky suggests; redirected known folders to Onedrive. Works like a charm.

[dobbyit]

You can use a GPO to make the desktop folder "read only" to staff, that way it will not let them save anything at all to the desktop.

How do you do this please