Platinum Edition Using® Microsoft® Windows® XP

Securing Windows XP with Policy

The last section of this chapter lists all of the Local Computer Policy options available on a standalone Windows XP Professional computer. If you're not familiar with the policy options, I suggest that you skip ahead and scan through the listing to familiarize yourself with the scope of the available options—it's quite extensive.

The level of lock-down that you will need depends on the environment in which your computer will operate, as well as your tolerance for end-user configuration. For example, in a computer that is going to be made available for public access in a “kiosk” type setting, you would want to use the maximum level of control to prevent users from downloading software, obtaining access to the control ...