How To Disable Control Panel in Windows 7
If you have a shared computer that your family and friends can access, you might not want them to mess around in the Control Panel, and luckily with a simple tweak you can disable it.
Disable Control Panel with Group Policy
Note: This process uses Local Group Policy Editor which is not available in Home versions of Windows 7. Skip down below for the registry hack version that works on Home editions as well.
First type gpedit.msc into the Search box in the Start menu and hit Enter.
When Local Group Policy Editor opens, navigate to User Configuration \ Administrative Templates then select Control Panel in the left Column. In the right column double-click on Prohibit access to the Control Panel.
In the next window, select Enable, click OK, then close out of Local Group Policy Editor.
After the Control Panel is disabled, you’ll notice it’s no longer listed in the Start Menu.
