Timing Log On (VB6 with Windows 2K Pro)

[Wassim]

<img src=/S/hello.gif border=0 alt=hello width=25 height=29> Loungers

I maybe off here, maybe I should post this in the Software wants, but I want to write a VB program, that can be controlled from a consol for a Cyber Cafe.

What I want to do, is have a program run, the user will log on, and then when his/her time is up a message will flash... "Times up Save your work and exit".

If the user does not save and exit, a message goes to a PC where the cyber cafe owner is sitting and a message will flash saying PC # 6 is past due, and then the owner can send a message "LOG off Now! Or I will terminate your session"

Or maybe the owner can reset the timer and give the user an extra half hour or what have you.

All these parameters need to be flexible, so I guess they could be set by the owner and then adjusted as he goes along.

What ideas you guys may have will get me started. This is a network of about 25 PCs, and some clients stay on for ever with out paying for the extra time, and others are better they come up and pay for an extra hour.

Thanks.

Wassim

[jscher2000]

I don't know all the pieces to do this, but I can envision: a simple application on the PC that contacts a simple application on the server, fetching a "remaining time" value every so often; when the time reaches 5 minutes, it would flash up a "5 minutes to shut down" warning; when time was up, it would lock out the keyboard and mouse until released by the server application. Some people will figure out they can kill the process on the PC, but you can have the console report to the manager that one of the computers has stopped checking in and he can go nail the user.

[Wassim]

<img src=/S/thankyou.gif border=0 alt=thankyou width=40 height=15> jscher2000

This is exactly what I want to do. Have a timer application start when the user enters his log-in information, and then time him, and also send a message when needed to the "server" and have the owner deal with the people who extend their stay.

I am sure that many users will not know about killing the process, specially when they know that they are logging into a secure PC, or so it seems to the general public.

Now I think I will go dig around and see what I can find in terms of examples.

Have a great weekend.

Wassim