Restore Windows policy lockdowns for Task Manager, Shutdown, and Log Off - disabled by kiosk, exam, or parental-control software.
Kiosk and exam-management software (e.g. Safe Exam Browser, MDM profiles, GPO scripts, parental-control tools) lock the Windows shell by writing policy values to the registry. When the session ends, these values are sometimes not cleaned up, leaving the user unable to:
- Open Task Manager (
Ctrl+Shift+Esc) - Shut down or restart the computer
- Log off / sign out
lockdown-restore detects and deletes these four registry values, restoring normal Windows behaviour:
| Feature | Registry hive | Key | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Task Manager | HKCU |
...\Policies\System |
DisableTaskMgr |
| Log Off / Sign Out | HKCU |
...\Policies\Explorer |
NoLogoff |
| Shutdown / Power | HKCU |
...\Policies\Explorer |
NoClose |
| Shutdown / Power (machine) | HKLM |
...\Policies\Explorer |
NoClose |
The full key path is
Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\...
Just double-click lockdown-restore.exe.
A console window opens, runs the restore, prints a status table, and waits for you to press Enter before closing.
Lockdown Restore v0.1.0
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Status Feature Detail
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
[OK] Task Manager restored (was DisableTaskMgr=1)
[OK] Log Off / Sign Out restored (was NoLogoff=1)
[SKIP] Shutdown (user policy) already enabled
[OK] Shutdown (machine policy, needs Admin) restored (was NoClose=1)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
[+] Done! Windows restrictions have been lifted.
Sign out and back in if the changes don't appear immediately.
Press Enter to exit...
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
[OK] |
Value was found and successfully deleted |
[SKIP] |
Value was not set - nothing to do |
[FAIL] |
Could not delete - usually requires Administrator |
The machine-wide HKLM shutdown policy requires elevated privileges. To restore everything:
- Right-click
lockdown-restore.exe - Choose Run as Administrator
Download the latest pre-built .exe from the Releases page.
No installation - single standalone executable, no runtime dependencies.
Prerequisites: Rust toolchain (stable, Windows target)
git clone https://github.com/trfi/lockdown-restore
cd lockdown-restore
cargo build --release
# Binary: target\release\lockdown-restore.exe| Software | Task Mgr | Log Off | Shutdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safe Exam Browser (SEB) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Windows MDM / Intune kiosk mode | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Group Policy (GPO) kiosk profile | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| NetSupport School | ✅ | — | — |
| Parental controls (various) | ✅ | — | — |
If a tool you use isn't listed but sets these same registry values, lockdown-restore will still work.
lockdown-restore uses the Windows Registry API (RegOpenKeyExW, RegDeleteValueW) to delete the policy values rather than setting them to 0. Deletion is preferred because it leaves no trace of the restriction - the OS behaves as if the policy never existed.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
└── Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies
├── System
│ └── DisableTaskMgr ← deleted
└── Explorer
└── NoLogoff ← deleted
└── NoClose ← deleted
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
└── Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies
└── Explorer
└── NoClose ← deleted (requires Admin)
src/
main.rs - entry point: run restores, print table, pause
restore.rs - one function per Windows feature (task mgr, logoff, shutdown)
registry.rs - low-level Win32 registry helpers (read_dword, delete_value)
Q: Do I need to be an Administrator?
A: For the three HKCU keys - no. For the HKLM machine-wide shutdown key - yes. The tool runs either way and reports which keys it could not access.
Q: Will this affect anything else on my system?
A: No. It only touches the four specific policy values listed above and does not modify any other settings.
Q: The changes didn't take effect immediately.
A: Sign out and sign back in (or restart Explorer) for policy changes to fully apply. Task Manager is usually available immediately.
Q: Is it safe to run while the locking software is still active?
A: The restore will work, but the locking software may re-apply the restrictions. Run this tool after the locking software has exited for best results.
MIT - see LICENSE.
Issues and pull requests are welcome. If you find a tool that uses different registry keys to lock the same features, please open an issue with the key path and value name so support can be added.