JSI Tip 0484 - How do I disable the the Windows key on my Kiosk?

Jerold Schulman

April 2, 1998

1 Min Read
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In various tips on these pages, you learned how to really lock down that desktop. You have eliminated everything except the allowed applications, removed the taskbar, elimated right click context menus, removed the run command, and you even removed all desktop icons. You're sitting pretty.

Then you observe junior press the WIN + E keys and launch Explorer (see tip 061) and all your hard work is down the tubes.

You were about to commit Hara-kiri when out of the blue, JSIman comes to the rescue. He gentley brushes junior aside, navigates to Regedt32.exe, and edits:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlKeyboard Layout

He uses Add Value to add Scancode Map as a type REG_BINARY and enters

00000000000000000300000000005BE000005CE000000000

Then he reboots the Kiosk and junior is foiled, no Windows key. He hands me a Regini script


   RegistryMachineSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlKeyboard Layout
       Scancode Map = REG_BINARY 24
         0x00000000 0x00000000 3
         0xE05B0000 0xE05C0000
         0x0

and a winkey.reg file

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlKeyboard Layout]
"Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,00,00,5b,e0,00,00,5c,e0,
  00,00,00,00

and shouts, use whichever you prefer, as he disappears in a flash before you can thank him and order a resource kit (his costume was looking a little tattered).

Relieved, you figure out that if you every want to enable the Windows key, you can just delete the Scancode Map value name and reboot.

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