Starting a service before login and removing a user from a group

Question

I want to create a windows service that would start before user can login. I want it to start before login so I can remove a user (windows user) from group (HomeUser to be precise), so I dont have to re-login.

So I want to:

1. Create a service that starts before user can login
2. Remove a user from group.

Any idea how this can be accomplished in C#?

Edit

For part-2 of question; Here the link on how you can do this: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.directoryservices.accountmanagement.groupprincipal.members.aspx

Answer 1

Starting at boot is something any service can do, as long as it doesn't need any GUI to operate. It is one of the startup options for a service. Just set it up that way, and you are good to go.

As for making a C# program a service, I'm not too sure. Perhaps they have something, but I'd imagine you'd need to at least wrap it in some unmanaged C++ to interface with the Windows Service API.

Answer 2

How to do it:

Use the Windows Service (not WCF service!) project type in Visual Studio.

Put your implementation in the OnStart´ method. Add a projectInstaller and configure it to install the service in theStarted´ mode.

compile your project, run `installutil.exe -i´ on your projects.exe

That should install your service, and on next boot have it start.

Why to do it?:

Tbh, it sounds to me like something that is done once, not every boot ´removing a user from a group´. Unless someone else puts the user back in the group, its going to stay the way you set it last.. So, doing it every cold-boot sounds redundant.

Also remember, modifying security settings is a pretty high privilege. Not many accounts are allowed to do this. Make sure your service is installed with an identity which has permission to these levels.