KubuntuKioskProfiles

Summary

Kubuntu will have available to install different Kiosk user profiles that include altered look and feel for the desktop and also restricted functionality in system and applications.

Rationale

For institutional deployment (e.g. schools, universities, companies, government offices) having lock down facilities is critical. KDE has excellent and extensive support for this which should be leveraged by providing a set of pre-defined profiles that can either be used out of the box ("Just Works") or used as a starting point for customisations. This would add great value to Kubuntu in these scenarios as it is often one of the primary requirements.

Use cases

  • An administrator in a communal administration migrates a department to Kubuntu. He uses the Kiosk tool to restrict the users' access to system settings and applications. As his users are rather basic he also wants to reduce the complexity of different applications such as file and web browser.
  • As some users don't find their way on the new system, the administrator changes the look and feel of their desktop to fit the Windows look and feel.
  • A teacher is setting up a public internet kiosk in the entrance hall of his school. It should allow no interaction except for using a web browser in fullscreen mode. Downloading files should not be possible.
  • A friend who shows up for the weekend wants to use my computer. To avoid him from messing up my system he gets a guest account which hinders him from harming my settings or installing a rootkit.

Scope

Move the kiosktool package to main and add to the supported seed. Include sample profiles with it.

Design

The profiles will be created to match user profiles as discussed in KubuntuUserProfiling and common Kiosk usecases. Profiles we will target include:

  • Users who should not be able to change system settings (Restricted, Windows)
  • WindowsXP users (Windows)
  • Computers for public use (kiosk, guest)

The profiles will be set up and applied using the Kiosk tool. The resulting files will be packaged in the kiosktool package under /usr/share the same as kubuntu-default-settings files currently are.

The guest profile should be used when creating guest users via the system settings instead of using the Kiosk frontend.

Implementation

Four initial Kiosk profiles will be created:

  • Restricted KDE
    • Restricted KDE is meant for administered environments. The system settings are cut down to minimal functionality such as changing the appearance, mouse settings or notifications. Only the most important applications are accessible via the KMenu and the application launcher. A Konsole cannot be accessed.
  • Windows Profile
    • Windows Profile resembles the WindowsXP look and feel as much as possible. This includes style, colours, folders, window decoration, fonts, mouse click behaviour, icons for the most common applications (file and web browser, mail, word processor, ...). It also includes Konqueror default views and simple desktop configuration.
  • Public Kiosk
    • Public Kiosk will provide a web browser in full screen mode which can neither be closed nor resized. Options to download or otherwise harm the system are disabled.
  • Guest Account
    • Guest account will have access to their own home directory only; system settings will be removed from the application menu.

Comments

Please also consider a central "KDE profile server". See: http://ubuntu.sun.ac.za/wiki/index.php/KDESysAdm#How_to_setup_a_central_KDE_profile_system

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KubuntuKioskProfiles (last edited 2008-08-06 16:27:52 by localhost)