Quirky Idea: Locking up your PC/OS for a time?

[BoundUpAndSilent]

I have sort of an unusual idea for a program that would lock the user out of their operating system upon execution for an amount of time
specified beforehand, for whatever reason the user has; either to be locked out of a photo of a combination to a lock(though a program exists for
that purpose already. Kudos to the developer(s) for that one ) or simply for a bit of quirky "computer bondage" where you simply deprive yourself
of the various things you usually do on your computer or online.

I certainly would appreciate any ideas for an existing program, or concept for a program that would serve that purpose or a similar one.

[cooper1337]

The success of this kind of program is dependent on the knowledge of the slave and his/her motivation to do a lot of work to disable the program.
As long as the slave has physical control over the computer and enough knowledge, he will always be able to get it working again.
A simple (but very insecure) solution would be to shut off the computer immediately after startup. This can be achieved easily (at least under XP, I don't know about newer wins) by a simple program calling shutdown.exe
If you want something more sophisticated, this will need a lot of work and a separate locked room with the computer in it. There are some parental-control programs that maybe could be configured to achieve what you desired.
Some slave-control programs (e.g. VirMst) also allow execution of other programs that might shut down the computer. However, this will not be enough to only restrict the usage for certain sites. This would be very hard to do bullet-proof without a second computer.

[Blacky]

There are possible ways to get CyberMistress do the job.
It requires a vast load of scripting plus some further software like parental control progs etc. but it can be done.
I had some coding for this done on a Win XP machine. My basic idea was to have a non-admin user configured with only the absolute minimum access granted. CM put to autostart. The rest was intended to be run on a script basis. The necessary admin user account has to be password protected with someone else knowing the PW.

The script was supposed to assign tasks, scenarios... On completion it would give some sort of credit as a reward. Making use of this credit the sub could then make use of specific programs that were opened by batch scripts out of CM routines. After some time (known to sub) the programs were shut by additional CM routines.

As stated before, it's a vast load of script code that unfortunately died along with the machine it was run on. Except for very few snippets I don't have any of it left ( ) but once I find the time I'm going to try to implement it for younger WIN machines. I'll let you know about the outcome as soon as it's satisfactory to me (This WILL take a lot of time, don't expect it to be ready in 2012).

[cooper1337]

Maybe it would be a good idea to use two separate computers:

Computer A:

• normally accessible
• only browser and program like CM installed
• CM will by some routine create an RSA-key only stored in the program
• configured to disallow installations of other programs - this was at least possible on older wins for usage in publicly-accessible terminals
• network cable goes to the second computer

Computer B:

• is in a locked room
• has an internet connection
• is connected with the first computer with a second network adapter
• has a strict firewall installed which allows configuration only with the new config signed with the RSA key in CM

This way, you can control all surfing and maybe most offline-activities on the first computer. I guess this will be very much work, but if you really manage to do this, it will be nearly impossible to get out of it (except breaking the door ).
It doesn't require anyody else to know a secret password or similar.

[Blacky]

The problem of acessible websites can mostly be solved by available add-ins/programs that only allow acces to whitelisted websites.

The two major problems I have with helping your proposals, Cooper, become reality are:

a) I'm way too far from being a programmer to have the skills to create the code required for computer to computer interaction of any kind.
b) Personally, I don't have a separate room to install the "non-restricted machine" in. For those who have: Lucky ones, I envy you

Plus, I assume, most users here won't try to jailbreak the setup I outlined in my prior post as long as it adds to their fun/predicament?!

[cooper1337]

Hi,
of course this was the maximum-security setting for this problem.
There are linux-distributions that are created to be used as a firewall. The "only" part that would have to be added is the change of configuration
I'm not into computer-restriction at all, since I have to do a lot of work with it...

Plus, I assume, most users here won't try to jailbreak the setup I outlined in my prior post as long as it adds to their fun/predicament?!

I did very often. I don't have enough self-control to do what I planned... That's why I'm always looking for ways to force myself to to certain things. Who would have a use for things like the blowjob-trainer if I was the only one with this "problem"?
And your idea always involves a second person knowing the password and writing the relevant script-parts.
The next problem would be, that you'd have to be admin to install new programs or install updates.
Maybe I'm too much into computers to like such a "simple" solution, since it would be easy for me to get around it (e.g. with a live-cd).

[Blacky]

Who would have a use for things like the blowjob-trainer if I was the only one with this "problem"?

Agreed. Yet the programs qwerty provided are designed rather for short-term (read: Minutes to hours) sessions while my script was intended for permanent use.

And your idea always involves a second person knowing the password and writing the relevant script-parts.

The scripting can be done by the user. Especially as CM understands commands like e.g. random which gives the option of several different tasks / punishments etc. with fairly little predictability. Though, and that's true, you will of course know every script.

The next problem would be, that you'd have to be admin to install new programs or install updates.

Agreed.

Maybe I'm too much into computers to like such a "simple" solution, since it would be easy for me to get around it (e.g. with a live-cd).

The whole "CM controlled machine" idea was never intended to be "inescapable". It's no surprise to me that it's easy to chicken out here.
It was intended to be a simple (leaving the sheer amount of code aside) way to reach the desired goal.

Of course your system is a lot better protected. Yet it seems to me, that it is way more complicated to set up as well.
And at least for me it is impossible to make use of it (see above).
I see a major advantage of my idea in having no further necessity than one single computer. This comes at the price of easy "workarounds".

The necessity of a second person remains unsolved in your setup as well. At least if I got you right. The problem will be, that you'll need a keyholder for the room you place your "firewall-computer". The problem of knowing the scripts / code granting acess to whatever applications on the "workstation" remains as well?!

To me it seems that both approaches are worth the time invested. The target users seem to differ...

Whatever,

just my 2ct

Regards,

Blacky

[cooper1337]

The scripting can be done by the user. Especially as CM understands commands like e.g. random which gives the option of several different tasks / punishments etc. with fairly little predictability. Though, and that's true, you will of course know every script.

There always has to be a part where a password is created both CM and the script controling the computer have to share. If you are using a hardcoded password, you could easily use it manually to change settings. I guess that would be easy enough to do for most people. This is where I remembered asymetric encryption/signatures, where one program could create a keypair and has the user deliver the public key to the other script.

The necessity of a second person remains unsolved in your setup as well. At least if I got you right. The problem will be, that you'll need a keyholder for the room you place your "firewall-computer". The problem of knowing the scripts / code granting acess to whatever applications on the "workstation" remains as well?!

One could install a remote-controlled opening-mechanism that opens the door only after a specified period. About the script-part see my comment above.

After reading again the whole text I wrote last evening, I now officially declare me having an electronics-fetish

[Blacky]

After reading again the whole text I wrote last evening, I now officially declare me having an electronics-fetish

Once more: Agreed

[Jadit]

I have made 2 different small software so far:

1) Night shutdown
- First assumption is that you have used Windows task scheduler to make computer shut itself down at 0:00 every day.
- This application is run once (and closed) when windows starts up.
- If time is between 0:00 - 4:00, it will force Windows to shutdown.
So all in all, Windows will be unable to stay open for more than 2 seconds while its night. This is useful for geek like me trying to fix sleeping schedule
With little modifications it could be put to stay hiddenly active all the time and shutdown for given time period, without Windows scheduler.

2) Mouse lock
- First asked time, then locks computers mouse in far upright corner.
User is unable to use mouse for anything until the time period is over. This app doesn't save anything at the moment, so if windows or computer is managed to get to reboot, it will work normally again.

[BoundUpAndSilent]

1) Night shutdown
- First assumption is that you have used Windows task scheduler to make computer shut itself down at 0:00 every day.
- This application is run once (and closed) when windows starts up.
- If time is between 0:00 - 4:00, it will force Windows to shutdown.
So all in all, Windows will be unable to stay open for more than 2 seconds while its night. This is useful for geek like me trying to fix sleeping schedule
With little modifications it could be put to stay hiddenly active all the time and shutdown for given time period, without Windows scheduler.

That sounds like the perfect idea for what i'm looking for. I've yet to manage it as I've never really used Windows Scheduler before,
but I'll figure it out.
Thanks

[not_theory]

All:

In the final analysis, unless you lock out an alternake boot method, and cast your
network connection in concrete, the human will succeed. Check out Knoppix CD's.
Don't tell your boss you know about this, many recently fired techies have sent
their work home.

not_theory

[nitro]

How about a low tech solution?
The original IBM PC had a key lock option. A small box added over the power switch which also covered the case screw to prevent opening the cover. Very hard to bypass unless you don't care about damaging the case.

The new machines are a bit harder to secure at a single point but you could put the PC and/or keyboard and mouse in a lock box. You still need a timelock or similar to secure the key. Maybe mail the key to yourself in the mail? Freeze the key in a large block of ice and toss it into a tree?

With any software only solution you can always boot to a live CD or USB key and you are back online. I suppose you could have someone else lock the BIOS (and not tell you the password) and turn off all other boot options. Protecting a system from yourself gets complicated.

[LoKiT]

Protecting a system from yourself gets complicated

Yeap!

[kittyfur]

I found that this was easy to do with my Android phone in order to keep me from seeing the pictures I took of a combo lock. I have successfully locked myself out of parts of my phone by using the App Protector program in combination with Tasker, which can automate various actions on your phone.

First, I set up App Protector to have a long password that I can't remember which I wrote down somewhere for safety. Then I configured it to block access to the App Store and Settings (so I can't remove it), The photo gallery app (can't see the lock combination), Tasker (so I can't deactivate it), my Mail (so I can't recover the password from the phone) and my Calendar. Then I set up Tasker to turn on App Protector whenever there is a calendar event with a particular name and turn off again when that event ends.

I can snap pictures of my combo locked key safe and create a calendar entry for, say, a half hour . I can then close a lock and can't remove it for a half hour when I can finally access the photos and retrieve the key. I don't recommend this without a backup release! I usually leave my phone plugged in