Firefox kiosk mode and lockdown questions.

[nelsonm]

Hi all,

I have downloaded and installed the kiosk addon r-kiosk for firefox - works great. Now i need to lock it down so users can't access the windows environment via keyboard shorts or task manager.

The only thing i can think of is the following...

1. modify firefox configuration parameters.

2. modify firefox entries in the registry.

2. modify windows group policies to prevent access via taskmanager and keyboard shortcutes.

Any other ideas other than purchasing commercial kiosk lockdown software?

[incrediBILL]

There's a free program, AutoHotKey [autohotkey.com], that gamers typically use to make hotkeys but you can also use to remove keys from the system.

Here's a site where David Stoker [davidstoker.org] did just that and published the script:

/*
Ignore attempts to launch multiple instances of the program
*/
#SingleInstance ignore
#InstallKeybdHook

/*
Disable a series of keys
*/

!F4:: ; Alt F4
!Esc:: ; Alt Escape
Lwin:: ; Left Windows Key
Rwin:: ; Right Windows Keyl
^Tab:: ; Ctrl Tab
!Tab:: ; Alt Tab
!+Tab:: ; Alt Shift Tab
F7:: ; F7
^+Escape:: ; Ctrl Shift Escape
!+Escape:: ; Alt SHift Escape
^A:: ; Ctrl A
^R:: ; Ctrl R
^P:: ; Ctrl P
^X:: ; Ctrl X
^C:: ; Ctrl C
^V:: ; Ctrl V
^T:: ; Ctrl T
!VK24:: ; Alt Home
SC135:: ; Firefox Quick Find
SC145:: ; Num Lock

SC03A:: ; Caps Lock
SC046:: ; Scroll Lock
!LButton:: ; Alt Left Click which starts download in Firefox
^LButton:: ; Ctrl Left Click which starts download
!MButton:: ; Alt Middle Click which opens a new tab in Firefox
^MButton:: ; Alt Middle Click which opens a new tab
+LButton:: ; Shift Left Click which opens a new window in Firefox
+MButton:: ; Shift Middle Click which opens a new tab
+VK0D:: ; Shift Enter which opens a new window
!+VK0D:: ; Alt Shift Enter which opens a new window
!VK0D:: ; Alt Enter which starts download
^VK0D:: ; Ctrl Enter which opens a new tab
^+VK0D:: ; Ctrl Shift Enter opens a new tab
^!VK0D:: ; Ctrl Alt Enter opens a new tab
^Escape:: ; Ctrl Escape
!Space:: ; Alt Space which opens menu bar
!+Space:: ; Alt Shift Space which opens menu bar
return

/*
Set Alt F9 to exit any open Firefox browser
*/
!F9::

IfWinExist, ahk_class MozillaUIWindowClass ; Firefox

{

WinActivate ahk_class MozillaUIWindowClass

WinClose, ahk_class MozillaUIWindowClass

}

return

You'll probably want to make sure the machine stays in the same state too, that the machine config doesn't change, but MS just phased out WindowsSteadyState last year. A couple of alternatives are Faronics Deep Freeze [faronics.com] and HDGUARD [hdguard.com] which take different approaches to the problem, you'll need to figure out which is best for your purposes.

[nelsonm]

Thanks for the info...

However, after reviewing the hodgepodge way i'd have to go to secure the windows 7 account...
0. create standard user account
1. modify windows group policies
2. install deep freeze
3. install and configure autohotkey
4. set parental controls (maybe)
5. enable kiosk mode in browser

I think it would be better to get the client to spend the $200 bucks to get and install SiteKiosk. I downloaded the trial version and it seems fairly easy to configure and maintain.

Also, it would be easier for the clients' technical IT guy to manage.

[incrediBILL]

That's probably true, but you said non-commercial which is why I suggested AutoHotKey ;)

Something else I'd suggest is setting the machine to use a custom DNS service like OpenDNS [opendns.com], which can automatically block the browser from going to known malware and phishing sites.

[nelsonm]

but you said non-commercial which is why I suggested AutoHotKey

Yes... however, while waiting for a reply, i found, downloaded and installed SiteKiosk. It was just timing. But thanks for the info anyway. It may come in handy in the near future for some other project.

OpenDNS is a good idea, i use DynDNS it to make it easier to access my clients computers using UVNC. However, I'm not sure it would work in this case since the kiosk will be housed at a museum that is using a hosting service.

Again, thanks.