Software to lock a computers use before payment?

[stooges44]

This is the story: A client purchased a golf simulator that runs off a laptop connected to a projector. They want to charge for using it. We thought that the simulator itself would have a feature like that but it seems they don't. (They suggested to physically lock the laptop and only allow access after payment is made which a purely manual process  )

I've googled and googled but I can't find anything yet. Does something like this not exist? We need something that can "lock" a laptop on a software level and only allow access after payment. Similar to an arcade that will only work after inserting the token.

I reached out to a place that makes internet cafe software figuring this is the same idea except we don't want to open/close internet access, we want to open/close the golf simulator. But, they weren't very helpful.

I hope I'm coming across clearly, anyone have any suggestions?

[yoshyosh]

FedEx has something similar this, not sure what software they use. It doesn't kick out the user but charges for the time they are logged in.

[Yehudaa]

When I was in yeshiva in Israel I used to use an internet cafe in beis yisroel where they had some sort of software that gave each person a username and password and you loaded it with money, and you used that username/password to log into a computer and it tracked usage, locked out if balance went to zero, etc. I think they also had one-time use cards which had a computer-generated username and password, which might be what you need.

Maybe that kind of software can help you? A quick google search shows tons of options:

https://windowsreport.com/internet-cafe-software/

[stooges44]

When I was in yeshiva in Israel I used to use an internet cafe in beis yisroel where they had some sort of software that gave each person a username and password and you loaded it with money, and you used that username/password to log into a computer and it tracked usage, locked out if balance went to zero, etc. I think they also had one-time use cards which had a computer-generated username and password, which might be what you need.

Maybe that kind of software can help you? A quick google search shows tons of options:

https://windowsreport.com/internet-cafe-software/

I reached out to a place that makes internet cafe software figuring this is the same idea except we don't want to open/close internet access, we want to open/close the golf simulator. But, they weren't very helpful.

The first entry in your link was the place that I had already asked. I'll see if any of the other 4 are helpful.

[Yehudaa]

The first entry in your link was the place that I had already asked. I'll see if any of the other 4 are helpful.

The one that I had seen did lock users out of the computer, not just internet access. When I googled there were also other articles listing many more than just those 5. I'm sure you'll find one that fits your needs.

[lcm]

I hope I'm coming across clearly, anyone have any suggestions?

https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/2129871-pay-per-use-business-kiosk-software

[Jojo202]

https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/2129871-pay-per-use-business-kiosk-software

After a quick scan of that page, the one looked to me like it may help you most is this: www.envisionware.com

[jfish227]

Based on the title it sounded like you were looking for ransomware