It can be a chore to use a limited user account in Windows XP. It is an even bigger task to get other people to run as a limited user. In the past I recommended MakeMeAdmin as a way to take care of administrative tasks while still logged in to a limited user account but, DropMyRights seems to be a better way to go.
Instead of using a LUA, DropMyRights starts internet aware programs (or any other program) with limited rights, so It is possible to use an administrator account as your primary login and run email clients and web browsers as a limited user.
After downloading, run the msi installer and then copy DropMyRights.exe from where it was installed to somewhere in your path (C:\WINDOWS in my case) and then uninstall it (all the other files are source code and the EULA).
Right click on the shortcut for the application you want to run with limited rights and in the Target field add C:\WINDOWS\DropMyRights.exe.
So:
"C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe"
Is now:
C:\WINDOWS\DropMyRights.exe "C:\Program Files\Mozilla firefox\firefox.exe"
Edit:
There is a DropMyRights clone called StripMyRights. It does the same job with some modifications like passing command line arguments and the ability to be called from the registry.
Tags: LUA, security
Posted December 29th, 2007 in WinXP | No Comments
With the help of BlackViper I was able to trim the number of services running on my machine to a bare minimum. Here’s what I have running:
- DCOM Server Process Launcher
- Event Log
- Network Connections
- Plug and Play
- Remote procedure Call (RPC)
- Themes
- Windows Audio
- Workstation
BlackViper is an excellent source for information on trimming services. He has recomendations for “Safe” and “Bare Bones”.
Tags: tweaking
Posted December 14th, 2007 in WinXP | No Comments
Back in the days before CSS when sidebars started to become popular they were done with tables. It wasn’t long after CSS came out that designers figured out how to make columns with CSS and now it seems like every web page has a sidebar or two, some still done with tables.
Sidebars can be an important organizational and navigational aid for moderate to large sites with widely varied content. They’re a great place for small navigational calendars and category lists.
For smaller sites a sidebar can be an expanse of white space that begs to be filled. Many blog authors feel compelled to fill that space with all sorts of useless gadgets, ads unrelated junk. I found myself in that same position. All that space just sitting there. I felt it had to be filled with something, anything, to balance the main content.
Tags: css, design
Posted May 20th, 2007 in Web | No Comments