Locking down KDE with Kiosk

Lock Down

Article from Issue 159/2014
Author(s):

KDE Kiosk lets administrators control user environments, including settings, themes, and access to the command shell and designated peripherals.

KDE Kiosk [1] is a framework for restricting features on users' desktops. As a system administrator, you can use Kiosk for a variety of reasons, including restricting features on a public terminal, enforcing a uniform wallpaper and theme in a corporate environment, eliminating the need to reset desktops after a lesson in a teaching lab, or increasing security. Kiosk includes more than two hundred settings [2], as well as the ability to lock down basic KDE configuration files.

Kiosk was introduced midway through the KDE 3 release series. For a while, a Kiosk Admin Tool [3] allowed admins to lock down features from the desktop. However, with the start of KDE 4, changes in structure and file names rendered the original Kiosk obsolete.

A new version of Kiosk did not begin to appear until two years after the release of KDE 4.0, which was more than enough time for people to conclude that it was not returning. The situation is not improved by the need to explore different versions of the documentation to figure out which one is current. More confusion is caused by the use of similar concepts in the two versions of the framework that are not identical.

[...]

Use Express-Checkout link below to read the full article (PDF).

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

  • Webconverger 4.7 with Firewall and Adobe Reader

    Webconverger, a Linux distro to drive web kiosk systems, is now available in version 4.7. Some updates improve its security.

  • Sabayon and Pessulus

    Gnome version 2.14 includes new features for restricting the user’s access to the system. The Pessulus lockdown editor and the Sabayon profile editor help manage the Gnome user experience.

  • Fedora 35 is Shaping Up to Be an Impressive Release

    Although the beta version of Fedora’s upcoming release is behind schedule, the Linux distribution is still slotted for October and will include numerous bug fixes and some exciting new features.

  • Kitchen Kiosk

    Create a kiosk display from an old eReader to show data culled from Home Automation, Raspberry Pis, and Arduinos.

  • SE Linux

    SELinux provides a safer system through the powerful concept of mandatory access controls.

comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News