Disable Internet Access for Users in Windows

To disable Internet access for users in Windows, you can apply the following tricks. By applying the following tweaks, you should be able to disable Internet access in Windows. To enable the access again simply revert back the tweaks.

You need to set up a false proxy configuration and any application which rely on Microsoft Proxy server like Internet Explorer, Office, outlook Express, Opera browser and many other applications will not be able to access the Internet. Simply users will not be able to use Internet anymore.

Note: The following tweak rely on Registry editing, and if you have never tweaked Windows' Registry before, I suggest you read, how to safely edit Windows' Registry.

Set up a false proxy server using Windows Registry to disable Internet access:

• Start Registry Editor.(Start->Run->"regedit")
• Go to, HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
• Set the value of "ProxyEnable" to 1. (if doesn't exists, create a new DWORD value)
• Change the value of "ProxyServer" and set it to an IP address and port that is invalid on your network such as "0.0.0.1:2222" (i.e. "IP:Port"). (if doesn't exists, create a new STRING value)

However, users can still make changes to Internet configuration and may access the Internet by disabling the proxy server. To make sure, users cannot modify the proxy server configuration, do:

• Start Registry Editor.(Start->Run->"regedit")
• Go to, HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Control Panel
• Create two new DWORD values and name them as "Connwiz Admin Lock" and "Connection Settings". Set the values of both to 1.

To remove the restrictions, set the proxy settings back to their original values and delete the policy values.

Truly Enable/Disable Run Dialog in Windows

Most people think that run dialog in Windows can be easily disabled or enabled by using the Start menu properties. You can right click on the Taskbar, click on properties and then click on the Start Menu tab, click customize, click advanced, and from there you can remove the run dialog from the Start Menu in Windows XP and Vista.

Why it will not work from Taskbar Properties?

However, this is not full proof. Why? Because users can still press Windows' Key+R to open the run dialog. Or they can open Task Manager and click on file, then on to new task (run) to open run dialog box. Additionally they can open Internet Explorer or Windows Explorer and use the address bar as run dialog. No kidding!

Truly disable run Dialog from Start Menu, Internet Explorer/Windows Explorer, and Task Manager

To truly disable run dialog from running or should I say disable users from running any program from command line, do this:

• Start Group Policy Editor. (Start->Run->"gpedit.msc") (Ironically we are using run dialog box!)
• On the left, go to User Configuration->Administrative Templates->Start Menu and Taskbar.
• On the right, enable this setting "Remove run from Start Menu". (see figure below)

If you enable this setting, the following changes occur:

1. The Run command is removed from the Start menu.
2. The New Task (Run) command is removed from Task Manager.
3. The user will be blocked from entering the following into the Internet Explorer Address Bar:
4. A UNC path: \\\
5. Accessing local drives: e.g., C:
6. Accessing local folders: e.g., \temp>

Users will no longer be able to display the Run dialog box by pressing the Application key (the key with the Windows logo) + R.

If the user tries to open run dialog using any method, he'll get a message saying that the run dialog is disabled by Administrator.

Disable right click for Windows

The following tricks will let you disable right click for Windows, which means completely disable right click for files, folders, explorer, desktop etc. Since, the first trick doesn't stops right click access for Taskbar and Start Menu, but the second trick will let us disable right click access for Taskbar, Start menu and the clock. However, both the tricks will not disable the system menu (i.e. restore, move, size, close etc when you right click on title of any application).

Disable right click for Taskbar and Start Menu

• Start Group Policy Editor. (Start->Run->"gpedit.msc")
• On the left, go to User Configuration->Administrative Templates->Start Menu and Taskbar.
• On the right, enable this option "Remove access to the context menus for the taskbar".

The above setting hides the menus that appear when you right-click the taskbar and items on the taskbar, such as the Start button, the clock, and the taskbar buttons. This setting does not prevent users from using other methods to issue the commands that appear on these menus.

Disable right click for Desktop, Files, Folders and Windows Explorer

• Start Group Policy Editor. (Start->Run->"gpedit.msc")
• On the left, go to
• User Configuration->Administrative Templates->Windows Components->Windows Explorer.
• On the right, enable this option "Remove Windows Explorer's default context menu".

The above setting removes shortcut menus from the desktop and Windows Explorer. Shortcut menus appear when you right-click an item. If you enable this setting, menus do not appear when you right-click the desktop or when you right-click the items in Windows Explorer. This setting does not prevent users from using other methods to issue commands available on the shortcut menus. Which means, users can still press F2 to rename a file or folder and press Delete to delete a file.

Disable Access to Task Manager in Windows

The task manager in Windows XP and Windows Vista can be disabled in two ways. You can disable the task manager either by making a registry entry or by using the Group Policy Manager. I would prefer the latter since it is much more convenient and you don't have to worry about backing up the registry in case something goes wrong.

Note: Before making any changes to the Windows registry, make sure you do a backup, in case something is messed up and so that you can restore things to normal. For any help, read How to safely edit, backup, and restore Windows registry.

Disable the Task Manager using Windows Registry

• Start Registry Editor. (Start->Run->"regedit")
• To disable Task Manager for current user logged in, go to
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\system
• or
• To disable Task Manager for the whole system, go to
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\system
• Create a new DWORD value named "DisableTaskMgr".
• Set its value to 1 do disable Task Manager or 0 to enable Task Manager. (see below figure)

(click on image for larger preview)

You may need to restart your system for this setting to take effect.

Disable the Task Manager using Group Policy Editor

• Start Group Policy Editor. (Start->Run->"gpedit.msc")
• On the left, go to User Configuration->Administrative Templates->System->Ctrl+Alt+Del Options.
• On the right, enable this setting "Remove Task Manager".

If this setting is enabled and users try to start Task Manager, a message appears explaining that the Task Manager has been disable by the Administrator.

by thegrchet