Restrict A User’s Logon Hours On Windows XP

[Oju]

Restrict A User’s Logon Hours On Windows XP

This tip is probably most useful for family computers with kids who use the computer and want to monitor/restrict their computer usage to some degree. Basically, you have to define (via command line) the hours that the user is allowed to login.

Go to Start > Run and type cmd. You can specify the hours in the following ways:

First, this limits the user “bobby” to login Monday - Friday between 8am and 5pm using military time:

net user bobby /time:M-F,08:00-17:00

This does the same as above, but using a 12-hour clock:

net user bobby /time:M-F,8am-5pm

And here’s a more expressive command where you can mix and match and specify different times for different days:

net user bobby /time:M,4pm-7pm;T-TH,16:00-18:00;F-SU,11am-9pm

These commands restrict a user from logging on, however they do not force a logoff when a user is already logged in. These logon hours do not have an effect Administrator level accounts.

To remove the time restrictions, type this in the CMD window:

net user bobby /time:all

For the specifics, you can look at Microsoft’s http://www.microsoft.com/resources/d....mspx?mfr=true official documentation of the /time switch.

[Obadele Kambon]

Wow! I had no idea that this could be done without a special type of monitoring software. Ahsante!

/me

[Oju]

Greetings [ch390]kyeame Kwame!

Indeed it can be done. Microsoft has a way of holding out on
some vital information, until it 's ready to share if you know
what I mean.

Learning to tweak the operating system is key. It gives users a
lot more flexability. Caution must be taken of course, because
if a user does not know what they are doing they can create havoc
just the same.

Peace!