Accepting (though not wanting to) that MS will not roll out SS for win7. And realising that I as a home premium user I cannot access gpedit.msc how the ____ can i lock down my pc as i did on xp to stop my kids from screwing it up? SS was free and I don't really want to be paying for anything unless i really have to.

To lock the computer under Windows 7, you can tryl Parental Control function. For detailed information, you can check the following link: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/features/parental-controls.aspx Hope this helps!Sean Zhu - MSFT

thanks, but it's just not the same as ss

This probably isn't a feasible solution for you, but still, the easiest way would be to get a separate laptop for your kids, and have them each have their own account without Administrator privileges, with a good free AV/AS solution, like Avast or Microsoft Security Essentials. Since I am assuming Mom and Dad's machine is important, keep the kids off it as much as you can by giving them their own laptop. You can get a netbook these days for very cheap ($200 - $300) and you can share the Internet connection (most home network cable connections have a router with built-in wireless, whether supplied by your ISP or sold retail) and keep any malware isolated to just their machines, and not have to worry about them messing with your machine. The kids netbook can have XP Pro on it and you can use SteadyState on it. No need for Windows 7, if it is just for your kids; of course it depends on what they need it for... I don't have kids but I do have a wife and this is why I gave her her own laptop. Also solves the problem of "ARE YOU FINISHED YET?" :D Philip Complexity is the enemy of Security -- Steve Gibson