Microsoft KB Archive/818720

= How to Prevent Users Who Are Not Administrators from Installing Drivers =

PSS ID Number: 818720

Article Last Modified on 11/6/2003

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional

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SUMMARY
This article describes how to prevent users who are not administrators from installing or from updating unsigned drivers on a computer.



MORE INFORMATION
To prevent users who are not administrators from installing or from updating unsigned drivers, change the file signature verification options to block installation of unsigned files.

To set the file signature verification options, follow these steps:
 * 1) Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
 * 2) In Control Panel, double-click System.
 * 3) Click the Hardware tab, and then click Driver Signing.
 * 4) Under File signature verification, click Block - Prevent installation of unsigned files, and then click OK two times.

Note If you are a logged on as an administrator or as a member of the Administrators group, click Apply setting as system default to apply the selected setting as the default setting for all users who log on to your computer.

If the .inf file of the driver is already on the user's computer, follow these steps to prevent a driver from being installed on the user's computer:
 * 1) Delete the .inf file from the WINNT\inf folder.
 * 2) Open the .inf file in Notepad, and add a semicolon at the beginning of the &quot;Signature&quot; line.

By adding a semicolon, the &quot;Signature&quot; line becomes a remark and makes the driver appear to be unsigned.
 * 1) Save the .inf file.

Keywords: kbhowto KB818720

Technology: kbwin2000Pro kbwin2000ProSearch kbwin2000Search kbwin2000Serv kbwin2000ServSearch

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