Re: Linux Public Computers - time and ticket reservation system

From: Shawn Boyette ☠ <sboyette_at_nyob>
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2008 15:50:33 -0500
To: CODE4LIB_at_LISTSERV.ND.EDU
On Tue, Dec 30, 2008 at 3:37 PM, Darrell Eifert
<deifert_at_hampton.lib.nh.us> wrote:
>  a small
> program to set folder permissions may be able to lock down a Gnome or KDE
> desktop to prevent users from changing icons, menus, or wallpaper.

Option 1: Why lockdown?. Simply make a snapshot of the desktop As You
Want It, and everytime someone logs in, overwrite the dotfiles with
the stock ones. Everyone gets the default desktop everytime they
login, no matter what. Unix is all text files; take advantage of it.

Option 2: Why lockdown? If you have persistent user identifiers of any
sort, *stash* the user's desktop at logout and *restore* it at login.
If someone horks things beyond repair, log 'em out, nuke their config
set, and they get the default on next login. Everybody gets *their*
desktop, everytime they login, no matter what. Unix is all text files;
take advantage of it.

-- 
Shawn Boyette (feeling contrarian)
<sboyette_at_gmail.com>
Received on Tue Dec 30 2008 - 15:04:55 EST