locking down a workstation

[wolf2x]

I am in the process of setting up a computer that the workers will use for general internet use during lunchtimes and breaks.

I'm using Red Hat 8.0 with Phoenix as the browswer, and I was wondering if someone has some pointers on how to lock down the machine.

I was thinking of making a group (InternetUsers) and bunch all of the users in there. I know they won't be able to change system stuff without being root but I would like to make the desktop "unconfigurable". Or, would that be too "anal"?

 

[krale]

I have an idea how you'd do it, but the actual guts you'll have to figure out. I'll assume that you're using KDE for your desktop.

The main gist is to secure down the K-menu, lock the Panel, but allow some settings to be changed. I'd head on over to KDE's website to find out what configuration data is stored in each file. Also, the directory you'll be working in is ~/.kde .
Make a group called default and add your appropiate users to it. Then I'd create a directory called /home/default owned by root:default with permissions of rwx for root, r-x for default group and nothing for everybody else.

Now you need to know what files control what settings in the .kde directory. Now, for any file you dont want edited, you copy the edited KDE directory in /home/default and symlink all the files to the user directories. That, in effect, should freeze the wanted settings so that concurrent users can be sure where files are.

If this is being used by people unfamilar with linux, I'd have the fstab be sync option for any removable drive (floppy, zip). Also configure the KDE settings so that they dont hurt the eyes. Sometimes, it uses too small of fonts. With your setup, only root would be able to change those settings for locked-in users.


Hopefully, I've gave you clues how to lock down linux desktop. Be aware that I havent attempted to do this to kde desktop. I'm just giving ideas that will probably work.

Krale Please let Tek-Tips members know if their posts were helpful.