How to disable access to the Control Panel in Windows 8

Dear Geek - Is there a way to disable access to the Control Panel in Windows 8? I ask this because I do not want my guest's kids tampering or fiddling with my computer's settings and I cannot give them guest user access since that would mean I would have to re-install some big software program all over again. Thanks in advance.

Nithish Rane, Aurangabad.

________________________________________________________________________

Dear Nithish - Yes. The answer to your question is positive and there is a way to do it. Just follow these steps and you are good to go.

• Press the Windows+R key combination to open the “Run” box or click on the Run command in the start menu (if you have it enabled).

• Type gpedit.msc in the Run box, and press the Enter key. This will open a Group Policy editor window.

• Go to User Configuration>Administrative Templates>Control Panel.

• Double-click on - Prohibit access to Control Panel and PC settings. A dialog box will open up on your screen.

• Select Enabled, and click the OK button.

________________________________________________________________________

That is it. Whenever someone tries to access the Control panel they will get the message that access has been disabled.

Whenever someone tries to access the Control panel they will get the message that access has been disabled.