I need to run a special program 24h on an older PC (W7).
the PC is in a very remote location and is sometimes used by other people (it's the only PC there).
They sometimes close that program or worse, mess with it.
So I was thinking to use a virtual screen and lock it in with that special program, so nobody there can access it.
Would this be possible with your nice program?
I would need to control/check that PC once in a while with VNC (UltraVnc), I know how to switch UVNC to a secondary screen.
I can't try your program out myself since I don't have that special program/license and don't want to mess with that remote PC yet.
Thank you!
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I need to run a special program 24h on an older PC (W7).
the PC is in a very remote location and is sometimes used by other
people (it's the only PC there).
They sometimes close that program or worse, mess with it.
For the problem of them closing the program, maybe a scheduled
task that runs every n minutes and restarts it if it has been stopped
would help?
--
Jeremy Nicoll - my opinions are my own.
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Hi there,
Yes, I had done that but they keep closing it when they're at the PC
When started, that program cannot be minimized unfortunately and will stay on top until either closed or entered with a login.
I tried some keyboard macro, but that had it's own issues.
I really hope I can force that program to launch into a hidden screen that is tucked away.
Thanks!
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Hi Sue and same to you!
It does not sound like a perfect fit to me. I guess if your issue is that they see an app window and close it, then running virtuawin here and hide the window by moving to another desk could help, as long as they do not figure that out of course.
But feels easier to try and talk to the persons messing with you IMHO.
Regards
/Johan
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Thank for your reply.
I tried many times, big notes and passwords and whatnot, it simply doesn't work.
Notes are ignored, password is taped to the monitor, and they tap into that PC.
The users are totally computer illiterate, they don't even know how to minimize.
They often start typing their email or URL into a field of that program, the more knowledged just close that program.
So yes, the goal is to hide that program window away, from being visible/accessible to them.
Is there a way to password protect that virtual screen?
In case your fine program is really not a match, could you please recommend another that could do this?
It should be preferably open source but must be free in any case (this is for a non-profit).
Thanks!!
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Sorry to hear about your situation, been in the IT business for over 22 years and never heard of such thing.
Well, you cannot lock a screen but guess you can setup some freaky hotkeys to switch screen to make it very unlikely that they figure out how to switch.
Still not sure this is the right tool, but can't you test a bit on your own PC to get a feel if it could work?
PS. Not aware of any other "hiding tools", but haven't looked for it either.
Regards
/Johan
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I'm sure you haven't been to Ghana.
Resources are scarce, internet is expensive, 20% still don't have simple access to clean water.
Yes, I will try out your program, hope it works!'
Freaky hotkeys sounds great.
Thank you!
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Wow, baffled!
Community center far from Accra, in the hinterlands along the Black Volta.
Wish they could get SpaceX internet there.....
My biggest problem are the youth, they constantly hack and crack.
And stuff gets stolen.
The center cannot pay the police, so there is nothing we can do.
Thankfully in a way the old PC is meanwhile too old even for those kids.
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You can use Visual Basic to start a program running without any visible window. Let's say you want to run C:\Users\MyUsername\MySpecialProgram.exe; then create someNameOrOther.vbs containing:
Dim WinScriptHost
Set WinScriptHost = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
WinScriptHost.Run Chr(34) & "C:\Users\MyUsername\MySpecialProgram.exe" & Chr(34), 0
Set WinScriptHost = Nothing
then just run that vbs file to start the program. Or if you want it to run hidden away whenever the PC starts then go to the system Startup folder (probably C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs) and add a shortcut to the full path of your someNameOrOther.vbs. I hope this all makes sense and helps.
Last edit: Marky Mark 2022-01-20
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Hi there,
Happy(er) and Healthy(er) New Year all!
I need to run a special program 24h on an older PC (W7).
the PC is in a very remote location and is sometimes used by other people (it's the only PC there).
They sometimes close that program or worse, mess with it.
So I was thinking to use a virtual screen and lock it in with that special program, so nobody there can access it.
Would this be possible with your nice program?
I would need to control/check that PC once in a while with VNC (UltraVnc), I know how to switch UVNC to a secondary screen.
I can't try your program out myself since I don't have that special program/license and don't want to mess with that remote PC yet.
Thank you!
On Sun, 16 Jan 2022, at 21:47, Sue Renti wrote:
For the problem of them closing the program, maybe a scheduled
task that runs every n minutes and restarts it if it has been stopped
would help?
--
Jeremy Nicoll - my opinions are my own.
Hi there,
Yes, I had done that but they keep closing it when they're at the PC
When started, that program cannot be minimized unfortunately and will stay on top until either closed or entered with a login.
I tried some keyboard macro, but that had it's own issues.
I really hope I can force that program to launch into a hidden screen that is tucked away.
Thanks!
Hi Sue and same to you!
It does not sound like a perfect fit to me. I guess if your issue is that they see an app window and close it, then running virtuawin here and hide the window by moving to another desk could help, as long as they do not figure that out of course.
But feels easier to try and talk to the persons messing with you IMHO.
Regards
/Johan
Thank for your reply.
I tried many times, big notes and passwords and whatnot, it simply doesn't work.
Notes are ignored, password is taped to the monitor, and they tap into that PC.
The users are totally computer illiterate, they don't even know how to minimize.
They often start typing their email or URL into a field of that program, the more knowledged just close that program.
So yes, the goal is to hide that program window away, from being visible/accessible to them.
Is there a way to password protect that virtual screen?
In case your fine program is really not a match, could you please recommend another that could do this?
It should be preferably open source but must be free in any case (this is for a non-profit).
Thanks!!
Sorry to hear about your situation, been in the IT business for over 22 years and never heard of such thing.
Well, you cannot lock a screen but guess you can setup some freaky hotkeys to switch screen to make it very unlikely that they figure out how to switch.
Still not sure this is the right tool, but can't you test a bit on your own PC to get a feel if it could work?
PS. Not aware of any other "hiding tools", but haven't looked for it either.
Regards
/Johan
I'm sure you haven't been to Ghana.
Resources are scarce, internet is expensive, 20% still don't have simple access to clean water.
Yes, I will try out your program, hope it works!'
Freaky hotkeys sounds great.
Thank you!
Well, actually I have, Accra 2017 doing some hardware upgrades ;-)
Wow, baffled!
Community center far from Accra, in the hinterlands along the Black Volta.
Wish they could get SpaceX internet there.....
My biggest problem are the youth, they constantly hack and crack.
And stuff gets stolen.
The center cannot pay the police, so there is nothing we can do.
Thankfully in a way the old PC is meanwhile too old even for those kids.
You can use Visual Basic to start a program running without any visible window. Let's say you want to run C:\Users\MyUsername\MySpecialProgram.exe; then create someNameOrOther.vbs containing:
then just run that vbs file to start the program. Or if you want it to run hidden away whenever the PC starts then go to the system Startup folder (probably C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs) and add a shortcut to the full path of your someNameOrOther.vbs. I hope this all makes sense and helps.
Last edit: Marky Mark 2022-01-20