Limiting pc time software ?

jane130

I desperatly need something I can run on my pc to limit the amount of time my family spend on it . My teens are driving me crazy , using it everytime my back is turned despite having time limits imposed .

what free or very cheap programmes are there to stop them using the pc without approval .

I have already limited their onlinetime to 1 hour a day so it needs to be something to stop all use of the pc .

Thanks in advance
Jane

Browntoa

if you have a wireless router you can set restraints in some on the time particular Pc's are allowed to access , sometimes the firewall software can do the same thing

what Router do you have ?? and what firewall software do you use (like Nortons etc)

startrekker

If its a desktop pc simply remove the power lead..... if its a laptop, remove the power lead and take the battery out...... or just password protect the pc in question and they will have to ask you to log on, then when their time is up....... close it down

benjus

While there is nothing built into recent versions of Windows to do exactly what you want, there are a couple of features that might help:

1. the shutdown.exe command:

Running the command:

shutdown.exe -l -f -t 3600

will cause the computer to log off the current user in 3600 seconds (1 hour). You could put this command in a batch file (a text file with extension .bat), and put the batch file in the StartUp folder - or go to Control Panel/Scheduled Tasks and schedule it to run every time the user logs on. Note that the command executed this way will force all applications to shut down and may result in work not being saved.

2. Restricting logon times

Assuming that every user has their own user id, you can restrict the hours at which each user is allowed to log on.

I don't think there's a graphical interface to do this, so unfortunately you need to type the commands into a command line window. The syntax is something like:

net user Hector /times:Monday-Friday,10-16;Sunday,13-17

Meaning that user Hector can only log on from 10am to 4pm Monday-Friday, and 1pm-5pm on Sundays. See this page for more details: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/251394

You can check the times at which Hector can log on by running the following command:
net user Hector

To enable unlimited time access, run the following:
net user Hector /times:all

I don't know which version of Windows you have or how computer literate you are, so I'm not sure if these suggestions are appropriate. However, they might help you to achieve something close to what you want. I'm sure there are software packages available to buy that would offer exactly what you want, although I can't offer any recommendations.

danmanchester

If you're using Vista then with you logged in as administrator you can limit other users computer/internet time using the built in Parental controls.

If you're using XP, then downloading and installing this free software from Microsoft called Windows SteadyState will do the same as the Vista parental controls...or like others have suggested - hide the router!:p