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Ask Slashdot: Protecting Home Computers From Guests?
An anonymous reader writes "We frequently have guests in our home who ask to use our computer for various reasons such as checking their email or showing us websites. We are happy to oblige, but the problem is many of these guests have high risk computing habits and have more than once infested one of our computers with malware, despite having antivirus and the usual computer security precautions. We have tried using a Linux boot CD but usually get funny looks or confused users. We've thought about buying an iPad for guests to use, but decided it wasn't right to knowingly let others use a computing platform that may have been compromised. What tips do you have to overcome this problem, technologically or otherwise?"
> We are happy to oblige, but the problem is many of these guests have high risk computing habits and have more than once infested one of our computers with malware,
Really? It's not that they started typing something into your browser and the browser history showed off all the sick and twisted porn you watch? :P
I'm god, but it's a bit of a drag really...
The guests, that is.
The moment your computer becomes public (however limited that "public" is), it is a goner. It is like asking how to secure your computer after it was compromised.
I don't even let my visitor plug into the same network my main computers are, and have both a separated WiFi network and a separated ethernet segment for them (1 port only in the guest room), that I treat as a DMZ. Ok, I'm paranoid, but still.
Maybe use removable HDs, and keep one for your own use, and swap it for an entirely different one (which you can restore from a Ghost image or something) for your guests. As in PHYSICALLY disconnecting your HDs when they are going to use.
Otherwise, it is like using band-aids to stop a leaking dam.
morcego
Get smarter guests
Just put Windows 8 on it. Nobody will be able to figure out how to launch anything besides Bing and Zune.
Table-ized A.I.
"Sorry, it's broken. Burned out some bits, radiation leak, 2.8 dead."
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
You could even have it just boot straight into Firefox. No-one would even know it was Linux.
Just tell them that it's the new version of Windows.
And when they decide that the GUI is all F-d up compared to what they're used to, they'll figure yup, it's a new version of Windows all right.
And when she has trouble, all she needs to do it call down to the basement.
How do you know what seat you're in ?
I look down. If I see my legs, that's the seat I'm in.