How to run application before explorer.exe?

Question

Windows

If I understand the windows interface correctly after logging in, it appears when the explorer.exe process starts.
How to run the program before explorer.exe, while disabling the response to pressing the alt + f4 and win + R keys and others? Is there such a built-in feature in the OS?

Answer 1

You need to run the application as a service, then it will be executed immediately after loading.
To disable the response to Alt + F4 - you need to use either the check in the code, or the launch in the "kiosk" mode (if such is provided).
Win+R - only works in explorer.exe
Here is the dock - configuration kiosk-single-app

A single-app kiosk uses the Assigned Access feature to run a single app above the lockscreen.
When the kiosk account signs in, the app is launched automatically. The person using the kiosk cannot do anything on the device outside of the kiosk app.

Answer 2

1. ALT+F4 is implemented by the windows API, if your program has a window rendered by standard means, then it will be closed.
Write a program to run in the background as a service without running the GUI - then ALT+F4 won't work.
2. Windows + R is the hotkey of explorer.exe itself, while it is not running, this combination will not work.
3. You can run your program instead of explorer.exe (in the registry), you can run it as a service (you can install a new service through the HKLM/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Services registry or the sc console utility)