How to unlock desktop location. How to prevent desktop changes

Every user has their own confidential folders and files on their computer that they would like to protect from prying eyes. For example, at home it is necessary to protect a child from information not intended for him, and at work, for one reason or another, it may be undesirable to show other employees some of your work materials. Well, besides, tell me, hand on heart, do you always calmly allow your colleagues to use your work computer or your household members to use your home computer? Hardly... And the reason here lies not only in the desire to limit access to confidential information, but also in the subconscious fear of losing your own materials due to the illiterate actions of other users - that is, for example, when your own child actively begins to master the art of working with files and folders with all the ensuing sad consequences for you. It is worth noting that the need to protect confidential information from prying eyes is relevant not only if such data is constantly stored on a work or home computer, but also when transferring it to other users via e-mail on either various media(CD/DVD disks, USB drives, floppy disks, etc.). It often makes sense to also think about protecting folders and files of the operating system and applications from changes, deletion or movement in an unknown direction, which is often managed by insufficiently prepared users. If this is your case, then it is wiser to hide such folders altogether, say, from the eyes of household members, and this action alone can significantly extend the performance of your computer, since hidden folders can be used in the usual way (for example, by running application programs from the Start menu), but you won’t be able to delete them, rename them, or move them. As for confidential information, it is better to block it - blocked folders will be inaccessible either for viewing or editing, and therefore the documents contained in them will be reliably protected from any changes. If you don’t want other users to be aware that some information is being hidden from them, then you should combine blocking with hiding. Well, if this doesn’t seem enough to you, then no one forbids you to also encrypt the most secret materials.

Protect folders and files with built-in Windows tools

A more reliable option for data protection built-in using Windows is to use the EFS encrypted file system (Encrypting File System, EFS), which allows you to encrypt files by enabling the "Encrypt contents to protect data" option for them in Explorer (Properties > General > Advanced). It is impossible to read files encrypted in this way without knowing the password, but the EFS system allows you to protect folders and files only in file system NTFS.

Therefore, to protect personal folders and files, it is much better to use specialized utilities. These solutions will allow you to more securely hide folders and files (they will not be visible if you disable the "Do not show hidden files and folders" checkbox), as well as block access to them and even encrypt the data itself.

Programs for hiding, blocking and encrypting folders and files

Table 1. Functionality of solutions for hiding, blocking and encrypting folders and files (click to enlarge)

Universal Shield 4.3

Securing your files by encrypting them requires a little more time and effort. First, in the same way as discussed above, the basic protection parameters are configured (the Protect button). And then the protected object that appears in the utility window is additionally encrypted (Encrypt button) indicating the encryption algorithm and password. Decryption is performed by clicking on the Decrypt button, and, of course, is impossible without knowing the password.

Additionally, Universal Shield allows you to restrict access to special Windows folders (My Documents, Favorites, Control Panel, etc.), protect the desktop from changes (so that users cannot delete, add or change shortcuts and icons on the desktop), restrict access the control panel and prevent the date and time on your computer from being changed. This can be done through the wizard, or by using the File > Security tricks command.

There is a cheaper, simplified version of Universal Shield, Lock Folder XP (1.38 MB; $24.95), which limits the ability to protect drives, folders and files to hiding them. In addition, this utility does not support trusted processes and the use of hot keys is limited (however, the main function of quickly enabling/disabling protection is present), as well as limited functionality in terms of regulating access to special Windows folders and system settings. Setting up data protection in Lock Folder XP is possible through a wizard or manually - in both cases you will need to determine the type of data to be hidden and indicate which, for example, folders you want to hide. The Locked/Unlocked button or pressing the Ctrl + Win key combination is used to temporarily enable/disable protection.

Folder Guard 8.1

You can protect your data using a wizard that starts automatically when you load the program (of course, it’s easy to disable the wizard from starting), or manually. When working with the wizard, specify a folder with documents, determine whether to set a password for access to the folder, set the visibility option for the folder (visible, hidden or empty) and determine the level of access to it ( full access, no access, "read only"). To control the level of access to files of a certain type, the use of file masks is additionally allowed. When protecting manually, the procedure will be the same, with the exception that you will have to perform them yourself - first select the folder of interest in the program window, and then set all the required settings by clicking on the corresponding buttons in the program window (Read-Only, No Access, Visible, etc.) or by selecting the necessary commands in context menu. To remove the protection, you will have to perform the same set of actions, but in reverse order.

It is possible to set different restrictions for different users (the corresponding users will first have to be added using the Protect > User List command) - this is very convenient, since there will be no need to regularly remove protection in case of manual work on the computer. It is possible to configure a list of “trusted programs” (Protect > Trusted Programs) - that is, an antivirus, backup program, etc., which will allow you to carry out the corresponding operations without removing protection. The key combination Ctrl+G and the Toggle Protection button are responsible for switching from protected mode to normal mode. In addition to protecting folders and files, Folder Guard can also protect basic settings OS from adjustment (command Protect > Permissions). In particular, block access to the properties of the taskbar, Start menu and a number of other windows, prohibit saving display properties (if they have been changed), block changes to folder properties and settings Internet Explorer, do not show icons on the desktop. And also prevent changes in parameters critical to the operation of the system by closing access to the control panel and setting a series of bans: on access to system registry, adding/removing printers, using the Run command, etc. You can also hide it in My Computer, Explorer, and standard dialog boxes Open/Save certain drives and block burning of CD/DVD discs. Different users may have different sets of such restrictions.

There is a cheaper version of Folder Guard - MySecretFolder (1.35 MB; personal license - $24.95, business license - $3.95). This utility easier to use than Folder Guard, but its capabilities are limited to hiding and locking folders, and installed settings protection will be the same for all users. Setting up data protection in MySecretFolder is quite simple - you just need to specify a folder, select a protection option for it (hiding or blocking) and click on the Protect button. Temporary disabling of protection is carried out using the Unprotect button.

How to prevent desktop changes?

Master's answer:

There are cases when a person who is responsible for the PCs of other users needs to install the same screensaver for all desktops. The main condition for this is the impossibility of changing this picture. To do this, you need to use the Registry Editor.

Before you start editing registry keys, you need to create them backup copy. To launch Registry Editor, you need to open Start, then Run. The Start menu can also be launched using the Win + R combination. In a new window, you need to enter the Regedit command and confirm the operation. If you were unable to launch the application in this way, then select “My Computer” on the desktop, right-click on it and select “Registry Editor” there. It can also be launched using " Windows Explorer", to do this, go to the path C:\Windows\ and double-click the regedit.exe icon.

In the main window of the program you will see two columns, the keys are written on the left side, and their values ​​are on the right side. In order to open a branch, you need to click on the “+” next to it. Now go to the path HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\ActiveDesktop and create new parameter named NoChangingWallpaper. To do this, right-click on an empty area on the right side of the programs and select New and DWORD Value. Now write the above name, press Enter and your parameter is created. Click on it twice and set one (1) as the value. Confirm the operation.

Now let's go back to the desktop. Go to background image settings. To do this, right-click on the desktop, select “Properties”, and then click on “Desktop” and try changing the picture. But the list with images will not be available to you. To return to the original desktop settings, you need to delete the NoChangingWallpaper parameter or change the value in it from “1” to “0”. To close the program, use the “File” menu, selecting “Exit” from it.

Xiaomi smartphones under MIUI control have a number of features that you can notice just by looking at the phone’s desktop. There's nothing familiar here Android users application menu - instead, there are many third-party working platforms that host all installed applications. This allows you to sort programs into folders and customize work panel for yourself.

Let's figure it out together!

*By the way, this instruction was written based on MIUI 9. In other versions of the shell, visualization and capabilities may differ.

In order to make desktop settings, you need to move two fingers to the center of the screen or hold down the “Menu” button. A menu will open with three shortcuts “Wallpaper”, “Widgets” and “Settings”.

In the “Wallpaper” section you can set a screensaver for your desktop: choose from one already existing on your smartphone or download it to your taste from Internet resources.

By clicking on “Widgets” we see a list of widgets (small independent software modules) that can be added to the smartphone’s desktop. Available as quick switches, and widgets from third-party applications.

By going to Settings, you can find the following options:

• “Screen changing effect” - setting animation when flipping between desktops. You can choose from 7 animations - “Slide”, “Fading”, “Mill”, “Flipping”, “Cascade”, “Rotation”, “3D cube” - the one that you like the most;

• “Default screen” - select the main desktop to which the smartphone will go when you press the “Home” button;

• In the " Appearance"You can set the number of cells on one desktop (“4x6” or “5x6”), but this function is not available on all Xiaomi smartphones;
• “Fill empty cells” - automatic filling function empty cells on the desktop;
• “Protect from changes” - this function blocks any changes (deleting/moving) on ​​the desktop;
• “More” - will open a menu in the settings with all the possible changes that can be installed on the desktop;

To combine icons into shared folder you need to hold one icon and point it at another. Do the same for any other shortcuts you want to add. You can also rename a folder - go to the selected folder, click on its name and change it.

You cannot delete an icon without deleting the application itself; you can combine little-used ones in the same way as discussed earlier. The deletion itself is quick; just hold the application and drag it to the trash can icon, which appears at the top of the screen. Then we confirm the deletion by clicking on the “Delete” button.

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