Subject: FVWM: fvwm2 kiosk mode?

From: L Granroth <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 14 Jul 1998 14:34:23 -0500

Greetings.  I didn't find this in the FAQs:

Can someone point me toward information on "dumbing down" fvwm2 for
use as a window manager for a public web-based (netscape) kiosk.
The users will have access to the keyboard, mouse, netscape and helper
applications, but I'd like to limit access to any other applications.
(I don't have to implement total security through fvwm2.)

I suspect an appropriate .fvwm2rc would do the job.  (Do I just
need to remove menus?)

Please cc any replies directly to me since I'm not on the list.

Thanks in advance.

[email-masked]
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From: Michael M Han <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 14 Jul 1998 13:04:13 -0700

I had good luck with this kind of thing using fvwm95. I chose fvwm95
because it require less configuration to make it provide a nice
Windows-like interface for our non-technical users. Here are some
hints that apply to either, working from the ground up:

Use xdm (on linux that'd be runlevel 5 default in your /etc/inittab)
Remove the entry for honoring CTR-ALT-DEL as a shutdown (can't
    remember where this is) if you're on an Intel-architecture
If your users know what they're doing w/ XFree, you'll probably want
    to turn off the CTR-ALT-BS option in your X server (didn't bother
    with this myself)
Once in FVWM, turn off all the menus except a minimal window-ops, a
    Start menu, and maybe a Start menu mirror accessed by a
    root-window click. Don't allow access to the shell. Once someone
    gets a shell prompt, game over. You lose.
With Netscape, fiddle with the .Xdefaults or app-defaults for Netscape
    so access to undesirable items isn't permitted: setting geometry
    to something like +1+1+1x1 for undesirable dialogs; commenting out
    menu entries in app-defaults; that kind of thing.
Be *very* careful about how your helpers are setup and *make sure*
    access to those configurations isn't permitted! Oh, telnet
    handling might be a good thing to get rid of, since a
    telnet://127.0.0.1 would normally be honored, with fairly bad
    consequences I imagine.

Really, there's not a lot you need to do to fvwm other than stripping
out some configurations. A lot of the work needs to be done in other
places. I never got to go into production with my kiosks, but I felt
like I'd at least put together a real solid proof-of-concept. I'd
offer to share the .fvwm95rc and resources settings with you but the
machine I setup has been mothballed.

Previously...
>Please cc any replies directly to me since I'm not on the list.
_________
mike ([email-masked])
I will not sell miracle cures
 - The collected wisdom of Bart Simpson
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From: Kendrick Vargas <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 14 Jul 1998 16:25:27 -0400 (EDT)

> I suspect an appropriate .fvwm2rc would do the job.  (Do I just

yes to everything... If you are building something for public use (kiosk
or otherwise), you should go through all the configuration files and make
sure everything meets your needs. 

Here's an idea... make the default styles and decorations so that the
windows don't show up or something. Then create a seperate theme (style
group, etc) and add it rams to it.
			-peace

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