Question

Secure Timer Control

Asked by: richweed

I have written a logon program that looks up the time left in your account (via TCP/IP) and then lets you use the PC for X number of minutes.

When your time is up the logon screen comes up again and blocks you from using the PC. The logon screen is quite secure (no ctrl- alt-del etc), but once you'ce logged in, it's possible to end the timer task.

Because the timer program sends message once a minute, the server knows very quickly, but I'd like to make it more difficult to shutdown the program. I've considered using a device driver - This is how I think it should work:

the device driver is loaded on startup.
when you press a certain key combination, the driver is invoked and brings up the logon box. you log in and when you run out of time, the driver brings up the logon box again.

Questions:
Does this sound like it can be implemented in this way?

Can you have a hotkey to bring up the logon box? How would this be done?

Would the logon box be part of the driver or a dll?

Would this driver be able to communicate via tcp/ip?

Thanks
Richard
PS. This is probably worth more points, but I'm a bit low right now!

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
1997-05-30 at 03:31:18ID10012606
Tags

control

,

security

,

timer

,

using

Topic

Delphi Programming

Participating Experts
2
Points
70
Comments
6

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. Timer Routine
    Where can I find, or what is the code for a routine that will allow a user to set a timer, and then receive notification that that timer has 'gone off' (possibly incorporating pthreads) -On a Unix Alpha machine
  2. TIMER
    My application makes a call to execute another application. The problem that I have is that I need to execute that call every 30 minutes, i.e. 2:00, 2:30, 3:00. How can I use the Timer component to do this, or is there a better way to implement this? Please give example. ...

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: sperlingPosted on 1997-05-30 at 12:05:33ID: 1336664

First of all... Is this Windows 3.1, 95 or NT

If we're talking win 95 and/or NT, I think I can give you some ideas on how to implement this, avoiding the driver which you can't write in Delphi anyway.

Regards,

Erik.

 

by: richweedPosted on 1997-05-31 at 05:41:44ID: 1336665

Win95

 

by: barddzenPosted on 1997-06-01 at 07:13:32ID: 1336666

If you are wishing to use this in a Cafe or Network environment, there is a program available called Cyber-Time that may do the trick.

It's URL is:  http://www.cybertimesoftware.com

Otherwise, I've written several applications that do not allow the user to close the application.  All you have to do it place some code into the:

QUERYUNLOAD() event of the main form.  Then you could set a conditional shutdown as you wish.  You'll notice there is a "Cancel" parameter that is boolean, to allow or disallow the application to close.

If you wish, I can also post some code to hide your application from the task list.  Let me know either way.

 

by: richweedPosted on 1997-06-02 at 07:37:54ID: 1336667

The program is an access control system similar to Cybertime, but not exactly the same. Cybertime looks good though!

Call me crazy, but do you mean the closequery event of the main form? That has the canclose parameter. This doesn't stop you doing an end task though?

The code to hide the program from the task list would be helpful, thanks.

Any idea where I can find out more about the Guardian Security system mentioned at cybertime?

 

by: richweedPosted on 1997-06-03 at 07:17:22ID: 1336668

barddzen

I need to repost this question as I need an answer soon.

Please feel free to answer again.

Thanks

Richard

 

by: sperlingPosted on 1997-06-03 at 07:31:50ID: 1336669

Create a small program, something like this:

program Project1;

uses
  whatever...

function RegisterServiceProcess (dwProcessID, dwType : DWORD) : DWORD; stdcall; external 'kernel32' name 'RegisterServiceProcess';

begin
  RegisterServiceProcess(0, 1);
  repeat
    if LoginAppIsRunning or UserHasMoreTimeLeft then begin
      Sleep (60 * 1000);  // Wait one minute, consumes no CPU
    end else begin
      StartLoginApp
    end;
  until false;
end.


RegisterServiceProcess is only available in Win 95.

This app will be completely invisible if you do not reference unit Forms.pas

the login app should simply take over the screen and disable C-A-D and alike, and terminate as soon as the user has logged in.

If you need some kind of user identity to look up minutes left, have the login app store it in registry.

Regards,

Erik.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...