Disabling TaskManager and all kind of User Interactions

I have a Desktop Application which I wrote that has been ported from Windows XP through Windows 7 during the course of the years, it is like a Kiosk Application that is used to register sales and opening the Cash Register whenever a sale has been inserted.

The PC which used this Application is hosted in a generic user (for example: Kiosk), and starts automaticaly whenever the Person logs into that account, it completely locks out the OS, disabling the TaskManager, removing the StartMenu, removing all WinKey combinations and many other user interactions, to log out a button has been inserted in the Application UI where a password has to be inserted in order to close the session and restore all the OS settings.

This is where my issue starts:

The above was fairly easy to code in WinXP, in Vista and Win7 I started having my first problems, specialy with the start menu, I used the "Group Policy" instead to change the permissions and work around with it.

Windows 8 on the other hand is being a total trainwreck for me, I can not guarantee that my client will have Win8 Pro or higher installed, since Gpedit is not available in the Core Version, I can disable Metro by installing Classic Shell or anything else, but I would like to not do that since it would be a lot more user friendly to have all those registry edits in the application itself.

EDIT: I can not use Kiosk Mode, since my App is a Desktop Application and Kiosk Mode requires it to be a Modern Application.

TL;DR - So is there any possible way to disable TaskManager, TaskBar, CharmsBar, KeyCombinations and all of the sorts by editing the registry or another way without using Kiosk Mode?

Steven Borges

Posted 2014-05-21T12:50:05.717

Reputation: 101

What exactly is the question? You are aware that Windows 8.1 has a Kiosk mode right? This mode likely disables everything you need it to disable. There isn't a "Home Version" of Windows 8. Do you mean Windows 8 "Core" and/or Windows 8 Single Language by chance instead. – Ramhound – 2014-05-21T12:55:26.623

The question is the last line of text, the above is just an explanation. Yes, I meant the core edition that does not come with Gpedit.msc, Kiosk Mode requires the App to be a Modern Application which is not possible for my application, it is way too big, and it would cost too much money and time to develop a completely new version for it. – Steven Borges – 2014-05-21T12:57:56.487

I easily get bored when people ask a question but also express their views on an entirely different topic. So I found a third-party application that disables those shortcuts. The charms would be disable by capturing the keyboard shortcut and doing nothing with it. TaskBar and TaskManager have to be disabled through a group policy change nothing new there. Solutions to disable CTRL+ALT+DEL that works on Windows 7 would work on Windows 8. You can also research what http://www.mirabyte.com/en/products/frontface-lockdown-tool/ does exactly if anything to the registery enough to keep track of cngs

– Ramhound – 2014-05-21T13:04:29.637

Installing it, I'll check whatever they do to the reg. – Steven Borges – 2014-05-21T13:16:31.070

Sorry I forgot to mention on my question that I can not use the Kiosk Mode, I added it under the Edit, thanks for the suggestion though. – Steven Borges – 2014-05-21T12:59:47.710

Ah no worries :)

Well shot in the dark but all the group policy bits are stored here: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies please see this link for more information http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc962657.aspx

– CharlesH – 2014-05-21T13:05:45.817

Again this may not exist however not able to test this for you at present can do later though, thanks. – CharlesH – 2014-05-21T13:06:09.140

Disabling TaskManager and all kind of User Interactions

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