Managing shared computers

Whilst most companies nowadays have a locked down desktop environment, there are some unique requirements in scenarios such as libraries, schools and kiosk-type environment - e.g. addressing issues like cached data, preference privacy, etc.

There's an umbrella link at https://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sharedaccess/resources.mspx which contains a lot of resources to help deal with this type of situation, but I've been recently involved in using a less commonly-known resource, the "Shared Computer Toolkit".

The toolkit is a very comprehensive document outlining the issues to consider, and detailing how exactly to implement appropriate configurations to ensure the environment is fully secure and stable whilst maintaining usability.

You can read a brief overview of the toolkit, and download all the content, from https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=7256d456-e3da-42ea-857d-92b716077a84&DisplayLang=en. Whilst the content is written for XP machines, a lot of the concepts and configurations also are of relevance to Vista - a Vista-specific version should be available going forward.