Similar to previous versions of Windows, you can configure Windows 7 so logged on users are only permitted to run specific applications, which is particularly useful for public or shared computers. The steps to accomplish this are described below:
Note: The following steps do not apply to Windows Home.
- Open the Group Policy Editor by clicking Start and typing gpedit.msc in the Search field. Press Enter.
- Navigate to the following location: User Configuration | Administrative Templates | System.
- In the Details pane, double click Run only specified Windows applications.
- Click Show. From the window that appears, add the executable file name for each application you want logged on users to be allowed to execute.
- Click OK.
- Click OK to close the remaining window.
Once you’ve completed the steps above, logged on users are only permitted to run those applications you listed in Step 4. If a user attempts to launch an application not on the list, they will receive a message instead indicating that they are not permitted to run the application due to restrictions.
[Photo above by Dimitri N / CC BY-ND 2.0]
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