- It’s a good idea to disable access to Settings on shared or network PCs.
- There are two methods for disabling access: Local Group Editor and Registry.
- You’ll need to have Administrator privileges to make these changes.
Not every user should have or needs access to Windows settings that could potentially damage the software. This is especially true for multiple Windows users on a network. Think of the havoc a random, untrained user could do if they altered Settings for an entire network. Thankfully, there are several ways to disable access to the Settings app to keep one administrator firmly in control.
This article will explore them.
The Two Main Ways to Disable the Settings App in Windows
The two major methods of keeping the Settings app from being adjusted without permission are through the Registry and the Group Policy editor. We’ll be covering both approaches.
Local Group Policy Editor
Of the two methods, making changes in the Group Policy Editor is definitely the simpler approach. It’s ideal for use on a shared machine with multiple user profiles. You’ll need to have Administrator privileges to make this adjustment. Here’s how to disable the Settings app in Windows:
Start by opening the Run command window, either by typing it in the Search Bar or using the keyboard shortcut (Win + R).
To open the Local Group Policy Editor window, type “gpedit.msc” into the window and hit (Ctrl + Shift + Enter) to open the Editor as an Admin.
- In the new window that pops up, navigate to “Administrative Templates” under the “User Configuration” header in the sidebar.
- Under this, choose “Control Panel” from either the sidebar or main window.
Double-click on “Prohibit access to Control Panel and PC Settings” to open a new window.
By default, this setting is disabled and not configured. In the new window, change the option to “Enabled.”
Hit the “Apply” button to confirm this change and then “OK” to exit.
The setting should now read as “Enabled” in the Control Panel menu.
Changing the Group Policy Editor in this way will remove the Control Panel option from Explorer, the Start Menu, the Search, and more. If a user tries to access the Control Panel, they’ll receive a popup that a setting is denying them access. As an administrator, you can change this setting back at any time by switching the option back to “Not configured.”
Registry
If you’re going to access the registry, you need to be careful and know how it operates. It contains settings crucial to the smooth running of Windows, so any unwitting tampering can cause system instability. Still, it can also be used to restrict access to Settings. If you’re familiar with the Registry, here’s what to do:
- Open the Run window via the Search Bar or (Win + R).
Type “regedit” and hit OK. To open the Registry in Admin mode, use (Ctrl + Shift + Enter) instead.
In the Registry window, choose “HKEY_CURRENT_USER” from the sidebar.
- Navigate to the following subfolders: Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.
- You’ll need to create a new value. Right-click in the main window, choose “New” from the context menu, and then “DWORD (32-bit) Value.”
- This will create a default value. Double-click it to open a popup window and edit.
Rename the value to “NoControlPanel.”
Double-click the value and change “Value data” to “1” (i.e. On).
Hit “OK” once done to finalize.
Users without admin privileges will now be unable to access the Control Panel and any settings and they will be told so through a pop-up. If you would like to reenable access for a user to Settings at any time, navigate back to this Registry subfolder and, rather than deleting the value, change its value from “1” to “0,” effectively disabling it.
