I've spent the better part of today trying various shareware/freeware and trial versions of programs which claim to be able to hide windows taskbar. What I need is a progam which has password protection which I can use a hot key to resume that will completely hide the WinXP Pro taskbar at startup. Noteable ones which I have tried so far are TaskBar Hide, Quick Hide Taskbar & Tray Service. The easiest & simplest one is Quick Hide taskbar but on restart it shows the taskbar for too long before it disappears. Tray Service is full featured but keeps dropping my disable taskbar settings on restart(don't know if it's my fault or if I need to register it) and Taskbar hide can only take 2 letters for the password. Not to mention that on restart I still see the taskbar. I would really welcome any advice here. Thanks in advance.
Set XP settings to auto hide the taskbar and use one of the programs you mentioned for the password protection. That way it won't show unless the Windows button is pushed. Not sure why you need to password protect the taskbar but that might be a way to do it. Jerry
Thanks Jerry but I already tried that. Let me clarify. I am setting up a small network(main computer & 4 terminals) and I want to deter any inquisitive employees from snooping. The plan was to let them access the database from a desktop icon and deny them any further access even if they do a hard restart. I know that I can use programs that can hide/mask or make files/folders read only but I thought that if there's no taskbar then the temptation & capability to snoop might just be less. I also realize that the task manager and the windows key are potential weak links but I'm avidly working to plug these leaks.
Since my last post I discovered a program called KeyTweak which allows almost any key to be disabled or reassigned. That takes care of the windows, context menu & other keys on a multimedia keyboard. I have also found a registry edit for disabling the windows taskbar manager. See link below. (http://www.windowsnetworking.com/kbase/WindowsTips/WindowsXP/UserTips/Customization/EnableDisableTaskManagerinWindowsXPHomePro.html). Now ALL I need is an task bar program that can perform the function as I mentioned at the start of the thread. So 2 steps forward but can't go any further.
EUREKA!!!. I have discovered the unholy grrrrrrail. Took me almost 48 hours of non-stop digging but HERE it is(drum roll & horns please)..........its called Security Administator from http://www.softheap.com/. OK, I know some of you are probably saying yeah, yeah I knew that. Well....ummmh, you could have spared me a whole lot of anguish :-( I exhausted Google, Yahoo & MSN searches. Well...more like they exhausted me, before I tried Altavista(which I rarely do) and guess what?. Yes sireee Bob!. There is was. It does everything that I wanted & then some. Even has a password protected desktop screen for when you want to step away in a hurry. It is really great and for 49 buckaroos, its well worth it. I didn't come out of this ordeal unscathed though. Lets just say that, like Columbus, my Pinta failed, my Santa Maria took a downward turn and there was no Nina around at the end either. Besides my red eyes I also got an Html Induced Virus(no pun intended since this abbrev has serious connotations). Norton's detected it but couldn't quarantine or remove it. Its a was in my System32 folder & for the life of me I couldn't find its precise location. So I uninstalled Norton & got a free version(1 yr free trial) of EZ Antivirus which detected 3 instances of the same virus each in a different folder. I researched it and its one of those denial of service viruses plus it also wrecks your HDD once you view text, etc from an infected computer. (Does anyone hear the sound of thunder or is it only me). Hey!!!, before you lose you marbles,I am only kidding. I removed it with the antivirus program but my system still behaved sluggish, so I formatted the HDD and reinstalled the OS. Thats on my laptop BTW & I'm writing this with my desktop(not networked) so you can breathe a sigh of relief. Anyways for all who gave the thread thought, thank you very much. You inspired me
