Member Avatar for Gollum1

Ok... I work in hotel and one of my designated tasks is maintaining our guest computers. I would like a to implement a system of accounts so I can manage who used the computer when. Is there anyway of setting something like this up?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by jbennet

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Builds on what asked for and the pointers from and , while also taking into account ’s note about XP Home’s reduced admin tooling. For a single XP Home desktop the most practical, low-cost solution is to create separate local user accounts (one per guest or a small numbered pool) and have tiny log scripts record each session to a central file. That avoids relying on the Group Policy / Local Security GUI that Home doesn’t expose. (itprotoday.com)

Create the accounts (name them Guest01, Guest02, etc.), then drop a simple logon script into the All Users Startup so it runs whenever anyone logs in. Example batch file (save as C:\Scripts\logon.bat and place a shortcut in the All Users Startup folder): 

@echo off
set LOG=C:\GuestLogs\guest_log.txt
if not exist C:\GuestLogs mkdir C:\GuestLogs
echo %DATE% %TIME% - %USERNAME% - Logon >> %LOG%

The All Users Startup location is the standard way to run something for every login on XP. Test by logging in to a test account and inspecting C:\GuestLogs\guest_log.txt. (guides.wmlcloud.com)

Logoff is harder to capture automatically on XP Home without audit policies; a practical workaround is a desktop “Logoff” shortcut that runs a script which appends a Logoff line then calls shutdown -l. Example:

@echo off
echo %DATE% %TIME% - %USERNAME% - Logoff >> C:\GuestLogs\guest_log.txt
shutdown -l

Put that shortcut prominently and train staff/guests to use it; it’s not perfect but it gives reliable paired timestamps. For a tamper-resistant or centrally audited trail (and to use Security log events), enabling Windows auditing and viewing the Security log is the proper approach—XP Professional exposes those controls; XP Home makes the GUI harder to use. (flylib.com)

If a more polished history tool is wanted, small utilities can parse activity traces (NirSoft has a set of log/last-activity tools), but some log-parsers only target Vista/7+ and won’t work on XP—verify compatibility before relying on them. Also consider privacy/house policy: only collect what’s necessary, secure the log file, rotate/delete old entries, and document retention. (nirsoft.net)

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Member Avatar for Monte

You can setup a Guest Account.

Member Avatar for MAD_DOG

Did that answer your question?

Member Avatar for Gollum1

Maybe I wasnt clear enough. I want to be able to see individual logon user accounts. such as "# 5:logon 2:30pm, # 22:logon 3:45am, # 1, ect... I imagine I would need some kind of special software to do this I just dont if I do. And if I do, what kind.


Thanks

Member Avatar for MAD_DOG

It's called the event viewer.

Member Avatar for techahbeng

You may need some hardware firewall like sonicwall or a proxy server to monitor these traffic.

Member Avatar for MAD_DOG

Yeah but, you can also "monitor" this in event viewer.

Member Avatar for techahbeng

Yes. I didn't read his second post properly. If he is only concern with the logon and logoff, auditing via policies will be sufficient.

Member Avatar for jackster

im sure there is software available to do this.. give google a try

how many computers are we talking about? how many users? desktops or laptops.. any netowrk?

Member Avatar for Gollum1

Its just one desktop. There could be as many as 72 different guests that could log onto the computer.

Member Avatar for Gollum1

Thanks Mad Dog I had no idea what the event viewer was used for. I guess it's name should have given it away.

Member Avatar for MAD_DOG

Sorry for not being in more detail I was tired as I am now.

Start / Settings / Control Panel / Administrative Tools / Event Viewer

Member Avatar for jbennet

may be a bit hard in XP home. It has no local security policy tool

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