[REQUEST] How to setup computers for business center

[tek9]

Hi all.
A client of mine has a rental property which they just finished renovating. One of the things they added was a "Business Center" for which they will be installing 2 computers and will allow residents to use to browse the Internet, pay they rent bills online, print documents etc. Basic, minor computer stuff, similar to a hotel's business center.
They do not have a domain on premises, since it's a small office with only like 2 or 3 computers for the office, plus these two new ones.
They would like to know if there's a way to restrict the usage of the computers to only allow limited Internet access, and to print some docs etc. They want to block the residents from saving anything to the machine, (though I assume this would cause issues with downloading whatever docs they need to print and such) from browsing questionable sites, etc.
What do hotels use to manage their business centers? Does anybody have any recommendations for this?
I've heard of DeepFreeze a few times on the forums, but I'm not sure this is what we need. They don't have any on site IT, and they don't really want to be busy rebooting the systems to get the back to normal. They just want to block people from using the machines for unauthorized uses.
Thanks in advance.

 

[nlinecomputers]

DeepFreeze would be what I would use. It can be set to nuke any changes on every reboot. Properly set up you can get AV and windows updates while deleting downloaded files, cookies or full-on malware attacks that some fool might pull down. Train the staff to reboot after people leave and you'll have no problems.

 

[Markverhyden]

@nlinecomputers is spot on. DeepFreeze works very well. But you also need to use filtering to keep the users off of questionable sites. So, absent a domain type environment, using DNS services will help.

 

[HCHTech]

So, absent a domain type environment, using DNS services will help.

That, and content/geo filtering in a firewall. Also VLAN those computers.....and make the screens face the public.....because, unfortunately, people suck.

Edit: And set the bios to power them down and up on a schedule - that will take care of the reboots.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Yep. Untangle with the web filter module.

 

[NOLA IT Pro]

You may want to check out Kiosk Mode in Windows 10. You have to have Windows 10 Pro at a minimum. I have used it at work for guest access. It is pretty easy to setup.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/configuration/kiosk-single-app
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/configuration/lock-down-windows-10-to-specific-apps

 

[Markverhyden]

That, and content/geo filtering in a firewall. Also VLAN those computers.....and make the screens face the public.....because, unfortunately, people suck.

Edit: And set the bios to power them down and up on a schedule - that will take care of the reboots.

You could set a task in the OS as well. I've done that with a few customers who can't be bothered to restart on their own and wait until they have problems, call me, I come out and restart the computer and everything starts working.

 

[Sky-Knight]

Deepfreeze + a logout script that triggers a reboot would be my weapon of choice here.

Though Win10's Kiosk mode does look like something I'd take a hard look at first, I haven't done anything with it yet personally.

 

[tek9]

I went with the Windows 10 Kiosk mode for now. We're going to try it out and see if it does the trick. If not, the next option would be DeepFreeze. Still working on getting them on Untangle, though....