Kiosk Security Software

Druckversion

By Stephanie Kropkowski, Director of Marketing and Sales, KioWare
 
Kiosk software secures your kiosk browser, displaying your application full screen and restricting user access from the OS, desktop and browser. These are key features of kiosk software, but what are the benefits?
 
It’s often assumed that these key features are programmed directly into the application. Sometimes the features are programmed in, but at an additional cost. And if there is a bug, it affects the entire application. Making changes to the app or switching app providers becomes difficult, time-consuming and expensive. Sometimes the features are  not programmed in at all.However, if separate kiosk software is used, making  those changes as well as tracking your kiosk’s health and usage can become more straightforward.
 
When you consider that the purpose of a kiosk is to reduce the workload on your staff, a kiosk that isn’t secured from hacking is more trouble than it’s worth. Having the settings changed and the screen set to the wrong page  can be disastrous for the user. Kiosk software takes care of this,   locking down the system and returning to the start page after every use. KioWare Kiosk  Software has been designed to allow the user to configure the kiosk software and then forget about it, knowing that the application will stay up and running.
 
In many kiosk deployments, it is  important to know an individual kiosk’s health and whether there are any current problems. Kiosk software uses a system that sends regular messages to a centralised server with performance statistics. The arrival of the message indicates that the software is running on the  kiosk, and the performance statistics indicate the kiosk’s current health. The software also actively monitors specified equipment, such as printers, and when an anomaly is noticed, such as low paper levels, a message is sent to the server and notification emails are also sent.
 
Kiosk software that tracks the pages users visit, both for an individual kiosk  and all of the kiosks in a project, can be very helpful. KioWare has the capability to take usage statistics  one step beyond standard web traffic reporting  programs. Since the software doesn’t display information contained in the HTML title tags, URL data and also title tag data are logged. This enables the application to be designed so that readable log information is stored. Rather than an incomprehensible URL, a straightforward description of the page can be stored in the title tag.
 
Reviewing this data helps in measuring the success of the project as well as formulating application changes to make it even more successful.