Kiosk mode setup in Windows

With the advent of the eighth, and then the tenth version of Windows, the user policy has changed. Now computers have become more personalized and work on the principle of “one PC - one owner”, like smartphones. Of course, you can add multiple accounts, but logging out and logging on to them is pretty complicated, and one person will have administrative rights. And if theoretically different people can work under the same account, then in practice with some applications problems arise (for example, with Skype) - they require separate accounts for different users. Each account can be restricted in rights: for example, the kiosk mode provides “Guest” with only one program that it can use, and the choice of available software remains with the owner of the computer.

Setting up kiosk mode in Windows.

Why do you need kiosk mode in Windows

Windows 10 users often don’t even know about the kiosk mode or don’t understand what it is for — it only gives access to one application. But sometimes it really can be useful. For example, you allowed a child to use the browser or player to play the game, but you do not want him to fit anywhere else. Or if elderly relatives are accustomed to watching the weather forecast and nothing more, the presence of many labels can only confuse them.

How to enable kiosk mode

After the October updates, released this year, the principle of connecting the kiosk mode has undergone some changes, so first we will tell how to install it in the new version, and then what to do in the old ones.

  1. Click "Start" and the icon with a picture of a cog wheel or type in the word "Options" in the "Search" Windows.
  2. Find “Accounts” - “Family” - “Set up a kiosk” - “Restricted access”.

  3. Create a name for the user or use the existing one. Only this should not be a new Microsoft account, but simply a nickname for a specific computer. This is called “local recording”, which can confuse any average user. The difference is that an account in Microsoft allows you to save all settings in virtual storage, and then apply them to any computer from which you are logged in, and local recording is just a way to identify a PC administrator or guest.
  4. Now select the program that your guest will use. If you have “Windows 10 Professional”, then, most likely, you can only choose from the pre-installed software. In other builds, the list includes third-party applications too.

After applying all the settings, restart the PC and check how the kiosk mode works. If something does not suit you, you can make changes.

Enabling Kiosk Mode in Early Versions of Windows 10

If you have not yet installed the autumn updates, the process of connecting the kiosk mode will look a little different.

  1. First you need to create a local account. We follow the same path: “Start” - gear icon - “Accounts” - “Family” - “Add new user”.

  2. You will be prompted to enter the e-mail address of this person, but you must press a button that says that he is unknown to you.
  3. The next step is to select a guest who does not have an account with Microsoft.
  4. Now think up a nickname for the user and, if you want, a personal password for entry with a hint to it.
  5. Now we return to the settings of limited access in the “Family” section. We enter the newly created account, and below we select the program available to the guest.

After a reboot or shutdown, an account selection will appear. When someone logs in as a guest, they will immediately open an accessible program window. He will not see any more applications, files or folders on this PC / laptop. To exit the guest post, you can press the Ctrl + Alt + Del combination or press Win - “User change” several times. You can change access settings only from the administrator account.

Kiosk mode blocks key combinations that usually open the windows of system settings, “Command line”, “Run”, etc. It is also impossible to download files and, moreover, install programs. Information panels, ATMs, terminals, etc., have a similar operating principle, although they operate on other operating systems. Whatever the user tries to press, he returns to the available application again and again, and even his work cannot be adjusted depending on his preferences. Only the keys for switching the screen brightness and sound level, as well as those with which you can move the page content up and down, remain open.

If such restrictions seem unnecessary to you, you can choose not a kiosk, but other modes, for example, “Parental Control”.