steadystate

Kid-Proof Your PC with SteadyState

2:00AM Kevin Purdy | When you’ve got your Windows XP or Vista setup running perfectly, you don’t want to lose all your painstaking customisations to a reckless tot, an experiment-minded friend or spouse, or a rogue system-lousing program. Windows SteadyState, as we mentioned earlier this week, helps you to create a kind of virtual rubber room those types can play around in and not really harm anything. SteadyState can also restrict web site access for innocent eyes, set timer limits on user access, and get better control of those other folks who use your computer—in other words, SteadyState makes you the Grand Master Sysadmin of your single-unit empire. Let’s take a look at setting up SteadyState and get familiar with a few of its key features. More »

Windows SteadyState Creates a Wreck-Proof Space for Kids, Experiments

12:00AM Kevin Purdy | Windows XP/Vista only: SteadyState, a free Windows utility offered by Microsoft, is a handy tool to have if you’ve got kids, friends, or just a program or two that could possibly wreak havoc on your system. SteadyState basically creates new user profiles inside a disk section kept at arm’s length from your actual system, and can go a step further by locking down access to drives, putting tight restrictions on a user’s configuration access, and have the main user’s hard disk restored to its previous state whenever an interloper logs on and does their misdeeds. As commenter JBDaddy pointed out, it’s a great way to kid-proof your computer—but you can also try out potentially crash-prone or system-changing apps in a virtual blast container. SteadyState is a free download for Windows XP and Vista; it requires a Windows Genuine validation before downloading. Windows SteadyState [via Download Squad] More »