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Stopping ChatZilla Installs on FireFox Systems?

Posted by Cliff on from the limiting-user-abuse dept.

TonalSpeller asks: "I'm in charge of a language learning computer lab in an Asian university. We have Windows XP on all machines, but I convinced my superior that I needed to hide Internet Explorer on all student machines (can't remove it entirely because some proprietary software might need access to it). I'm counting on security through obscurity -- I know that a minority of savvy people can still access IE via the command line. I am running the latest version of Opera and Firefox 1.0 PR on all machines, but now I am faced with a dilemma -- extending Firefox is so easy that sooner or later, someone will try to install Chatzilla. Is there any easy way to block Javascript while keeping Firefox's superb usability? I will be running TrustNoExe, but that won't catch Mozilla extensions. Any ideas or suggestions?" "I have also removed all chat clients, games and Outlook Express so that people can concentrate on language learning (I don't want people using all this expensive hardware to goof off). I work hard to create interesting lessons, but I won't get a chance to teach anything if students are immersed in irrelevant conversations."

5 of 81 comments (clear)

  1. Software Firewall by Itsik · · Score: 3, Interesting

    How about a software firewall like zonealarm that would block chatzilla from accessing the Internet

  2. A version without the extension feture menu item by tmacc · · Score: 5, Interesting

    you should try to build / get someone to build you a version without Tools - Extensions menu item.

  3. File Permission? by RealityMogul · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Haven't tried this myself, but couldn't you just setup file permissions so the user accounts don't have permission to write to the config file and change the settings?

  4. firewall off destination 666x by dan_bethe · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If you can't control the software installations, set your firewall to block destination ports of 6660-6669 so no irc clients can connect from those systems. You should do that anyway. :)

  5. answering another thing in the article... by rogabean · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "I know that a minority of savvy people can still access IE via the command line"

    Why are you leaving the command line open as an option to them? Why not kill that [cmd, run] from being accessed as well?

    --
    "why don't you just slip into something more comfortable...like a coma!"