8.) User Settings / Feature Restrictions Tab

Feature restrictions will give you complete control over a user’s internet session. This will allow you to set what web pages they are allowed to access and even if they will be able to set bookmarks. If control over the internet is an important consideration, then make sure you effectively locked down a user’s ability to install new software under the Windows Restrictions tab. Since these options pertain specifically to Internet Explorer, if a user can simply download a new browser (even though it might be flushed after each session) your settings won’t accomplish much.  

For home users I would recommend low or no restrictions, but only if disk protection is enabled. Bookmarks can be enabled and disabled from here but If permanent storage of your favorites is important, and you are using disk protection, make sure you created the user profile on a separate partition as noted in step 5. This will allow bookmarks to persist between sessions. By enabling Prevent Internet Access (except web sites below) you can keep kids quarantined on the internet, but services such as OpenDNS will make for a more flexible solution to this problem. It also won’t force you to maintain a manual list of kid friendly websites.

9.) User Settings / Block Programs Tab

This tab is where Steady State will allow you to block access to individual programs which are preinstalled on the machine. This list will update as the administrator adds additional programs and using the browse feature at the bottom, can even seek out individual .exe files you wish to block. It’s a great way to limit access to productivity killers such as solitaire, minesweeper, and even hold ‘em if you sprang for Vista Ultimate (The Microsoft equivalent of I Am Rich). Simply highlight the file you wish to block on the left hand side of the window and click the block button to advance it over to the right side.  Once you have decided on your list go ahead and click OK which will return you to the main menu.

Conclusion

As you can see Steady State is a powerful tool and when configured properly can do wonders for your limited tech support schedule. As useful as it is, I wouldn't recommend power user’s put this on their primary machine if performance is of paramount concern. Since each file needs to be copied to the cache before it is modified, the OS can sometimes lag ever so slightly, but on modern machines it's hard to notice. Microsoft claims Steady State isn’t a replacement for anti-virus and recommends the two products be used together, but to be honest, AV is a bit redundant. This is especially true if you enabled disk protection. Anti-Virus software will only further bog down the system and has proven to be quite tricky when it comes to configuring it for automatic updates.

Finally I would urge anyone who is setting up a public machine to take a few extra minutes to tighten down the bios. It’s important to password protect the interface and make sure you remove any boot devices before the hard drive. Steady State will protect the machine from even the most sneaky root kitsl, but it can’t stop them from booting from a CD or thumb drive if you don’t tighten down every access point. For additional Steady State references check the links below.

Got any tips you would like to share? Did you find this article useful? Let us know in the comments section below.

Additional Steady State Resources

Windows SteadyState Handbook (PDF)

Windows SteadyState Handbook (XPS)

Windows SteadyState Readme File

Windows SteadyState Technical FAQ

Windows SteadyState Handbook