Help with Internet Cafe Setup?

B_Rabbit

I'm running an Internet Cafe and need to make sure the machines are all ready as they're being installed next week.

They're running windows 7 professional and CyberCafePro for time management. (Alternative suggestions welcome)

The programs that are currently installed are:

Firefox
Adobe Reader
Microsoft Office
Skype
Java
Flash
AVG AntiVirus

What others would be useful?

Another thing I would like to look into is preventing changes such as moving desktop items, installing programs, logging off or shutting down.

One last thing that Im trying to sort is automatically clearing the recycle bin and downloads folder on every login.

Thanks for any help.

same ol sh1te

AVG is a bloated POS now, was great about 4 years ago, no good for a cafe. Get Norton internet security (not 360 or other suites), you'll get a serial on Ebay or g2a.com for about €12 each, worth it.

B_Rabbit

same ol sh1te wrote: »

AVG is a bloated POS now, was great about 4 years ago, no good for a cafe. Get Norton internet security (not 360 or other suites), you'll get a serial on Ebay or g2a.com for about €12 each, worth it.

Thanks !

same ol sh1te

Here's a handy site for installing and updating software
http://ninite.com/

B_Rabbit

same ol sh1te wrote: »

Here's a handy site for installing and updating software
http://ninite.com/

That looks fantastic, thanks very much.

Mr. G

B_Rabbit wrote: »

.

Another thing I would like to look into is preventing changes such as moving desktop items, installing programs, logging off or shutting down.

One last thing that Im trying to sort is automatically clearing the recycle bin and downloads folder on every login.

Thanks for any help.

You should be able to do this with Group Policies. You don't need a windows server for this.

B_Rabbit

Mr. G wrote: »

You should be able to do this with Group Policies. You don't need a windows server for this.

Thank you. I have been looking into Group Policy alright, I'm not too confident with them yet but I'll try and perfect them on one of the machines and go from there. Thanks

Stuxnet

Im surprised how un-prepared and unknowledgeable you are about the whole thing, dont mean to sound harsh. But you haven't a clue about the basic IT stuff at all imo.

funk-you

Stuxnet, that post is un-necessary and not helpful to the OP. Please read the charter and amend your posting style if you want to continue to post in this forum.

-Funk

ressem

How many computers do you need to maintain, and are they all the same make and model or are they a mixed bunch of computer types.

There are programs like "Drive Vaccine" that let you 'freeze' the computers state and throw out changes that they might have made , downloaded after each log-out or reset.
http://www.horizondatasys.com/en/products_and_solutions.aspx?ProductId=2

Faronics "Deep Freeze" is similar, but only resets after a computer restart.
http://www.faronics.com
(There used to be a free Microsoft version called steadystate, but it's scrapped since Vista.)

Stuxnet

funk-you wrote: »

Stuxnet, that post is un-necessary and not helpful to the OP. Please read the charter and amend your posting style if you want to continue to post in this forum.

-Funk

Im sorry OP, I dont want to upset anyone, I know my post wasnt helpful, I just find it bizarre that someone setting up an internet cafe next week isnt very prepared, customers security needs to be a priority also. The potential for something very nasty to reside in a very unsecured environment can cause a lot of damage for both cafe proprietor and customer. Its an environment that should be setup by an experienced professional imo.

-IT pro

B_Rabbit

Stuxnet wrote: »

Im sorry OP, I dont want to upset anyone, I know my post wasnt helpful, I just find it bizarre that someone setting up an internet cafe next week isnt very prepared, customers security needs to be a priority also. The potential for something very nasty to reside in a very unsecured environment can cause a lot of damage for both cafe proprietor and customer. Its an environment that should be setup by an experienced professional imo.

-IT pro

I don't see why you think one would need to be "a professional" to set one up. I'm reasonably skilled in IT and am studying computer science, so I know a bit. I've malwarebytes installed which will scan weekly, this along with norton should be more than adequate protection.

B_Rabbit

ressem wrote: »

How many computers do you need to maintain, and are they all the same make and model or are they a mixed bunch of computer types.

There are programs like "Drive Vaccine" that let you 'freeze' the computers state and throw out changes that they might have made , downloaded after each log-out or reset.
http://www.horizondatasys.com/en/products_and_solutions.aspx?ProductId=2

Faronics "Deep Freeze" is similar, but only resets after a computer restart.
http://www.faronics.com
(There used to be a free Microsoft version called steadystate, but it's scrapped since Vista.)

Thanks, there are 8 computers and they are all the same.

schadenfreude8

Just wonderting how you deal with the legalities in a internet cafe, who is liable for the users searches , downloads etc? Are you liable for illegal downloads? how do you plan to track users usb keys, file transfers , are you blacklisting any sites, any sort of proxy server?

Am very interested in what people think

B_Rabbit

schadenfreude8 wrote: »

Just wonderting how you deal with the legalities in a internet cafe, who is liable for the users searches , downloads etc? Are you liable for illegal downloads? how do you plan to track users usb keys, file transfers , are you blacklisting any sites, any sort of proxy server?

Am very interested in what people think

I'm not the manager, just an employee so Im not sure what his position is in those regards. Interesting question though

Mr. G

Regarding internet and virus filtering, in the short run, you could use something like Dyn internet guide or OpenDNS. Dyn use Barracuda and block ads etc and I cannot fault them. For €25 a year it's worth the money.

In the long run I would aim to use an internet filter like Untangle or Squid3 & Dansguardian with up-to-date blacklists. If budget permits take a look at Barracuda, Sonicwall and Fortinet.

In terms of Anti-Virus, I find ESET good. Of course, everyone has their preferences. Make sure you set a password on the settings section.

Set up one system with software and install that image on all the computers, so if a computer gets infected you can just install the image off a blank slate again.

B_Rabbit

Thanks for all the responses. Have Group Policy set up preventing most changes that I can think of. Have installed DeepFreeze. Will get either ESET, Norton IS or MSE tomorrow. OpenDNS will also definitely be going in. The Image idea is extremely helpful, thanks.

Two things on the top of my list right now:

1. Is there a system that will allow me to view current activity on each PC?

2. I would like to implement a warning for when users are printing. Something that would say "You are about to print X PAGES on X PRINTER"

The reason is, we've two printers, one for black and white and another for colour. In the past people have often printed without checking which printer, leading to errors in printing, lots of wasted ink and paper, etc.

Thanks

B_Rabbit

Mr. G wrote: »

Set up one system with software and install that image on all the computers, so if a computer gets infected you can just install the image off a blank slate again.

What software would you recommend for this? Thanks again!

Mr. G

B_Rabbit wrote: »

What software would you recommend for this? Thanks again!

Just create a system backup image and write it to a disk so if a machine gets a virus just reinstall it back and activate license codes again.

Or use WAIK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Automated_Installation_Kit

Personally I prefer Dyn to OpenDNS because it blocks ads. Have your secondary DNS server as Googles (8.8.8.8) for redundancy.

ressem

B_Rabbit wrote: »

Two things on the top of my list right now:

1. Is there a system that will allow me to view current activity on each PC?

2. I would like to implement a warning for when users are printing. Something that would say "You are about to print X PAGES on X PRINTER"

The reason is, we've two printers, one for black and white and another for colour. In the past people have often printed without checking which printer, leading to errors in printing, lots of wasted ink and paper, etc.

Thanks

What activity do you need to see, keeping in mind that the users will have some expectation of privacy.
You can technically view and capture everything that they do on the computer, but wouldn't be acceptable to most unless for the duration of training courses.

You might want to list out what services you'd like to offer.
Gaming,
Training,
Education,
Drop in office work / browsing / printing
as you might have a workflow and documented procedure for the differing requirements, and how you'll implement each. You might be running different computer and room setups to suit differing customer demands on weekends for example.

If you need to see the programs running on a computer at a point in time then powershell can list the processes running on remote computers if windows remote management service is enabled.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh849832.aspx

For printing, a common setup would be a print release station.
It's built into many heavy duty 3rd party managed printer / photocopiers, but assuming you're using lower volume hardware, either a mac /linux based CUPS print station or a commercial package like Papercut might be worth investing in. (papercut is only free for 5 computers though )
http://www.papercut.com/tour/print-release-stations/