Benefits of Vista's Hidden Administrator Account

The main benefit of activating this hidden Vista Administrator is so that you have access to an account, which does not suffer from the annoying UAC dialog box. Although it is possible to suppress the UAC with a local policy, there is a lingering fear that security is being weakened. Another worry is that rumours persist that some commands don't work properly if you turn of the UAC.
Linked to the benefit of suppressing the UAC dialog box is the fact that this Administrator account has elevated privileges. What this means is that if your run CMD you don't have to 'Run as administrator' before you get unrestricted access to the command line.
Another benefit of knowing this method is to keep the hidden Vista administrator account as a 'back door', for example, if you inadvertently lock out your main account. Sitting there at your computer, you can never believe that you will be so foolish as to lock yourself out, yet logic dictates that somewhere in the world, someone has just done that: locked themselves out of Vista. Would not they like to know how to activate the administrator account?
Naturally, it is a case of administrator by name and administrator by function, this super user is a member of the Local Administrator's group. In many ways this super Administrator account reminds me of the Unix root account. As I am not a 'professor' of Unix I do not know if you can hide root, but you can hide Vista's administrator account with this command:
Net user administrator /active:no.

Make your Vista's admin account works as Real Administror

For Windows Vista Ultimate /Bussiness/ Enterprise:

1- Click Start, and type "secpol.msc" in the search area and click Enter. (You may receive a prompt from UAC, approve/login and proceed)2- In the left list, choose "Local Policies", then "Security Options"3- Set "Accounts: Administrator account status" to Enabled.4- Set "User Account Control: Admin Approval Mode for the Built-in Administrator account" to Disabled.For Windows Vista Home Basic / Home Premium1- Click Start, and type "cmd" in the search area, right click on "Command Prompt" and select 'Run as Administrator".2- In the command prompt type "net users Administrator /active:yes" (Note the capital "A" in Administrator) and press Enter, you will get a confirmation as "The command completed successfully".3- Click Start, and type "regedit" in the search area and click Enter, navigate to: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]

Double click on "FilterAdministratorToken" and set it to "0"Now log off to take effect and login to Administrator a/c.

Enable or disable Secure Logon (Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete to login)

It's important to keep your computer as secure as possible. One way to do so is to enable Secure Logon so that you are required to press Ctrl + Alt + Delete to log on.

Press the Windows button or click on start, type netplwiz or control userpasswords2 and press Enter.
Click the Advanced tab, select the Require users to press Ctrl + Alt + Delete check box, and then click OK.

Enable support for 4GB of RAM (or more) in Vista 32-bit

On a computer that has 4 GB of RAM, the System Properties dialog box and the System Information dialog box may report less memory than you expect. This problem occurs because the address space is limited to 4 GB in a 32-bit hardware environment. Memory may be relocated to make room for addresses that the basic input/output system (BIOS) reserves for hardware. However, because of this limitation, Windows Vista cannot access memory that is relocated above the 4 GB boundary.

Solution: Open an elevated Command Prompt, type BCDEdit /set pae ForceEnable and press Enter.

The pae parameter enables Physical Address Extension (PAE). On 32-bit versions of Windows, PAE is disabled by default. PAE is an addressing strategy that uses a page-translation hierarchy to enable systems with 32-bit addressing to address more than 4 GB of physical memory. PAE also supports several advanced system and processor features, such as Data Execution Prevention (DEP; "No execute"), Non-Uniform Memory Architecture (NUMA), and hot-add memory, so it is also used on computers with less than 4 GB of memory. PAE must be supported by the processor.

On a computer that supports hardware-enabled Data Execution Prevention (DEP), PAE is automatically enabled when DEP is enabled and automatically disabled when you disable DEP. To enable PAE when DEP is disabled, you must enable PAE explicitly: Open an elevated Command Prompt.
Type BCDEdit /set nx AlwaysOff & BCDEdit /set pae ForceEnable and press Enter.

Open with Notepad

Do you use notepad very frequently to open all types of text files? This quick tweak will add "Open with Notepad" to all of your file context menus. Whenever you right click on a file, you will have the option to open it in Notepad.

Copy and paste the code below into Notepad. Then save it as a .reg file and import it by clicking on it.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\Open with Notepad]
@=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\Open with Notepad\command]
@="notepad.exe %1"

Fix for 2 Boot Menus When Dual Booting With Another OS

This will get you down to only 1 boot screen.

It is really easy: On my system my main drive has two partitions. One for XP
and the other for Vista.

My XP installation is on C: and my Vista installation is on F:

I copied the F:\Windows\System32\winload.exe (Vista Installation) file to
C:\Windows\System32 (XP Installation)

Then I edited the boot.ini file as follows:

Original boot.ini:
[boot loader]
timeout=10
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home
Edition" /FASTDETECT /NOEXECUTE=ALWAYSOFF
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows Longhorn"
/NOEXECUTE=ALWAYSOFF /FASTDETECT /USENEWLOADER

New Boot.ini:
[boot loader]
timeout=10
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home
Edition" /FASTDETECT /NOEXECUTE=ALWAYSOFF /USENEWLOADER
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows Longhorn"
/NOEXECUTE=ALWAYSOFF /FASTDETECT /USENEWLOADER

As you can see I just added the /USENEWLOADER switch to the XP Installation.

Create an Elevated Command Prompt shortcut

Right click on your Command Prompt shortcut and select Properties.Click on the advanced button (at the Shortcut tab), check "Run as Administrator" and click on OK (twice).

Make your Vista's admin account works as Real Administror

For Windows Vista Ultimate /Bussiness/ Enterprise:
1- Click Start, and type "secpol.msc" in the search area and click Enter. (You may receive a prompt from UAC, approve/login and proceed)
2- In the left list, choose "Local Policies", then "Security Options"
3- Set "Accounts: Administrator account status" to Enabled.
4- Set "User Account Control: Admin Approval Mode for the Built-in Administrator account" to Disabled.

For Windows Vista Home Basic / Home Premium
1- Click Start, and type "cmd" in the search area, right click on "Command Prompt" and select 'Run as Administrator".
2- In the command prompt type "net users Administrator /active:yes" (Note the capital "A" in Administrator) and press Enter, you will get a confirmation as "The command completed successfully".
3- Click Start, and type "regedit" in the search area and click Enter, navigate to: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]Double click on "FilterAdministratorToken" and set it to "0"

I have accidentally deleted my "Recycle Bin", how can I restore it?

1. Right click your desktop.
2. Click "Personalize"
3. Select "Change desktop icons".
4. Place a checkmark in the Recycle Bin checkbox.
5. Apply the change and click OK to exit.

Automatically Log On a User Account

If you are the only user on Windows XP, you could save some time by having Windows XP log you into your user account automatically.

There are a few reauirements for this to work:

* The Welcome screen must be available

1. Select Start > Control Panel and click User Accounts
2. Click Change the way users log on or off
3. Check to make sure that Use the Welcome screen is selected

* Guest account access must be turned off

1. Select Start > Control Panel and click User Accounts
2. Click the Guest account
3. Click Turn off the Guest account

* There must be only one user account on the computer
* The user account must not have a password

1. Select Start > Control Panel and click User Accounts
2. Click the user account
3. Click Remove the password

Watch your cookies

In XP, the Documents And Settings folder holds all user information, including configuration settings, favorites, and cookies. The Documents And Settings\Username\Cookies folder is where XP stashes cookies. How do you control the number of cookies you allow on your system? Click Start > Control Panel > Network And Internet Connections > Internet Options. Click the Privacy tab, then use the slider bar to modify your cookie settings. For instance, you can block cookies from sites that use personal identification without your consent. To increase your security, try out the other privacy settings in this dialog. The lowest level is Accept All Cookies while the highest is Block All Cookies, with low, medium, medium-high, and high settings in between. (An explanation of each appears as you move between settings.) Keep in mind that rejecting cookies may limit your actions on some Web sites, and some sites use cookies to track how many times you see a popup, for example, on this website, if you blocked cookies, you would see a popup on every page.

Protect your identity

Like many other audio players, Windows Media Player rushes out to the Internet to find information for you when you play a CD. Some of this information, such as song titles and album art, is useful, but Media Player also identifies your copy of Media Player to the site where it's getting data. Why? According to the help file, "The server uses this unique identifier to monitor your connection. By monitoring your connection, the server can make adjustments to increase the playback quality and to alert you about events that occur when receiving streams over the Internet."
If you're disturbed by this exchange of information, here's how to stop it. In Windows Media Player, click Tools > Options and go to the Player tab. Notice the option that says "Allow Internet sites to uniquely identify your player?" Turn it off.

Tips & Tricks window vista

1. If you hate the look of Aero, click Start/Control Panel/Themes and you can choose a non-Aero theme, such as Windows Classic.
2. Windows Vista's installer can detect serial-ATA (SATA) drives without the need to provide a driver diskette. Don't bother creating a diskette for your SATA drives before you install Vista.
3. If, for some reason, the Vista installation gets interrupted due to an unintentional shutdown or reboot, start the computer without booting the Vista DVD. Windows Vista's installer should pick up where it left off. If it does-n't, then restart the installation over from scratch.
4. When you perform a search with Vista's new, instant search feature, you can save the search in a special folder. This powerful feature allows you to create a virtual folder which, by default, is saved in your \\Searches\ folder. Every time you open such a folder, the search results are updated.
5. In Windows Vista, you can add additional clocks to the system tray. Click the clock, and then click Date and Time Settings. Click the Additional Clocks tab. You can add one or two additional clocks to the tray and select their time zones.
6. You can save your progress in most of the games included with Windows Vista—even the carry-overs from earlier versions of Windows.
7. You can create XML documents, which are more secure than regular text files or even word processor docs. Just create a document in a word processor, print it via the options menu, and select the XPS printer.
8. If you upgrade your graphics card in preparation for Windows Vista, be sure to get a new card with as much local memory as possible. Since Windows Vista renders everything—even the desktop and windows them-selves—as 3D surfaces, local 3D memory greatly improves performance...sometimes even more than a more powerful GPU.

Change Default Folder Locations

You can change or delete the Windows mandatory locations of folder like My Documents:

1. Open RegEdit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Explorer\ Shell Folders
3. Change the desired folder location, My Documents is normally list as "Personal"
4. Open the Explorer and rename or create the folder you wish.

To change the desired location of the Program Files folder
1. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion
2. Change the value of "ProgramFiles", or "ProgramFilesDir"
Now when you install a new program it will default to the new location you have selected.

Changing Windows' Icons

You can change the Icons Windows uses for folders, the Start Menu, opened and closed folder in the Explorer, and many more.

1. Open RegEdit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Explorer\ Shell Icons
3. Add a string value for each Icon you wish to change.
Example: "3" ="C:\Windows\Icons\MyIcon.ico,0" This will change the closed folders in the Explorer to "MyIcon.ico". Here is a complete list for each value.

0= Unknown file type 1= MSN file types 2= Applications Generic 3= Closed Folder 4= Open Folder 5= 5.25" Drive 6= 3.25" Drive 7= Removable Drive 8= Hard Drive 9= NetWork Drive 10= Network Drive Offline 11= CD-ROM Drive 12= RAM Drive 13= Entire Network

14= Network Hub 15= My Computer 16= Printer 17= Network Neighborhood 18= Network Workgroup 19= Start Menu's Program Folders 20= Start Menu's Documents 21= Start Menu's Setting 22= Start Menu's Find 23= Start Menu's Help 24= Start Menu's Run 25= Start Menu's Suspend 26= Start Menu's PC Undock 27= Start Menu's Shutdown

28= Shared 29= Shortcut Arrow 30= (Unknown Overlay) 31= Recycle Bin Empty 32= Recycle Bin Full 33= Dial-up Network 34= DeskTop 35= Control Panel 36= Start Menu's Programs 37= Printer Folder 38= Fonts Folder 39= Taskbar Icon 40= Audio CD

You need to reboot after making changes. You may need to delete the hidden file ShellIconCache if after rebooting the desired Icons are not displayed.

Internet Connection Sharing

To enable Internet Connection Sharing on a network connection:

1. Open Network Connections.
2. Click the dial-up, local area network, PPPoE, or VPN connection you want to share, and then, under Network Tasks, click Change settings of this connection.
3. On the Advanced tab, select the Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection check box.
4. If you want this connection to dial automatically when another computer on your home or small office network attempts to access external resources, select the Establish a dial-up connection whenever a computer on my network attempts to access the Internet check box.
5. If you want other network users to enable or disable the shared Internet connection, select the Allow other network users to control or disable the shared Internet connection check box.
6. Under Internet Connection Sharing, in Home networking connection, select any adapter that connects the computer sharing its Internet connection to the other computers on your network.

Windows Vista Task manager for troubleshooting

The Windows Task Manager gives you a lot more troubleshooting information in Vista.Click ctr+alt+del, Flip to the Processes tab, and in the View menu, click “Select Columns” and add Description, Command Line, and Image Path Name. Moreover, when you right-click a process, you can select either “Go to Service(s)” or “Open File Location.” These are all long overdue options.

Windows Vista Tips to allow Network access without password

In windows vista you can access computer locally without password but it does not permit to access other network computer to access it without password. But you can change this default setting.
Go to run and type there “gpedit.msc”.
It will open group policy now go to computer configuration- vista setting- security setting -local policies(here you can set many local policy as per your security demands).-security options.
Now you need to find and disable following options

Double click on accounts: limit local account use of blank password to console login only.

Increase Available Disk Space

One of the improvements that Microsoft has improved upon over the other Windows releases are Vista's backup features that are incorporated in to System Restore. The backup features are turned on by default so with all of the automatic backing up Vista does, it won't take long to lose quite a bit of disk space. It may not be a bad idea to go in and delete the old backup files and restore points to increase your available disk space. Vista makes this task a very simple one. here's how:
1. Go to Start
2. In the Instant Search text box, type: disk cleanup
3. Open the disk cleanup tool and select the option titled: Files from all users on this computer
4. Select the drive that you would like to cleanup.
5. Select the "More Options" tab.
6. Click the option titled: Clean Up under System Restore and Shadow Copies
7. In the confirmation screen, click "Delete".

Increase your Graphic Cards Performance

When you purchase a new computer system. All of the default drivers should create a pretty stable and functional
environment. However, if there are those that need much higher performance from their graphics card, perhaps for gaming purposes, then the default driver isn't going to be good enough. Find out which graphics card is installed in your system, then visit the graphics card manufacture and install an updated driver (if available). This should help speed things up rather nicely!

Disable Vista's Welcome Center and Sidebar

Two moderately annoying default settings that Vista deploys are the Welcome Center and the Sidebar features. If you get tired of seeing these two features every time you boot your system, here's how to disable them:
First, to disable the Welcome Center:
With the Welcome Center showing, uncheck the checkbox titled: "Run at startup", located at the bottom of the Welcome Center window.
Next, if you do not have any use for the Sidebar feature and would like to disable it, here's how:
1. Right click the Vista Sidebar icon that resides in the system tray.
2. Select Properties from the resulting window.
3. Uncheck the checkbox titled: "Start sidebar when Windows starts".
4. Click OK.

Watch your cookies

In XP, the Documents And Settings folder holds all user information, including configuration settings, favorites, and cookies. The Documents And Settings\Username\Cookies folder is where XP stashes cookies. How do you control the number of cookies you allow on your system? Click Start > Control Panel > Network And Internet Connections > Internet Options. Click the Privacy tab, then use the slider bar to modify your cookie settings. For instance, you can block cookies from sites that use personal identification without your consent. To increase your security, try out the other privacy settings in this dialog. The lowest level is Accept All Cookies while the highest is Block All Cookies, with low, medium, medium-high, and high settings in between. (An explanation of each appears as you move between settings.) Keep in mind that rejecting cookies may limit your actions on some Web sites, and some sites use cookies to track how many times you see a popup, for example, on this website, if you blocked cookies, you would see a popup on every page.

Internet Connection Sharing

To enable Internet Connection Sharing on a network connection: Open Network Connections. Click the dial-up, local area network, PPPoE, or VPN connection you want to share, and then, under Network Tasks, click Change settings of this connection. On the Advanced tab, select the Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection check box. If you want this connection to dial automatically when another computer on your home or small office network attempts to access external resources, select the Establish a dial-up connection whenever a computer on my network attempts to access the Internet check box. If you want other network users to enable or disable the shared Internet connection, select the Allow other network users to control or disable the shared Internet connection check box. Under Internet Connection Sharing, in Home networking connection, select any adapter that connects the computer sharing its Internet connection to the other computers on your network.

Access Denied error in windows vista

When you trying to access some windows folder like document and setting you may get error message that “access denied”. you need to change ownership of this folder. So open properties by right click on it. In security button select advance tab and click edit button. Now change ownership to your account by highlighting your account and also select replace ownership to sub containers and apply changes.

TOP 10 Tips & Trick Windows Vista

Security & Protection

1
Overall Security
All of your computer’s security needs are now bundled in one easy-to-find, easy-to-monitor location. The Windows Security Center helps make your PC more secure by alerting you when your security software is out of date or when your security settings should be strengthened. The Security Center also tells you whether your PC is set up to receive automatic software updates from Microsoft. Windows Vista, along with Internet Explorer 7, contains many security features to safeguard you and your organization from threats, while keeping your intellectual property protected.

2
Windows Defender
One of the key tools in the Security Center is Windows Defender. It works with Internet Explorer 7 to help protect your computer against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software, often defined as malware. By leveraging superior platform enhancements in Windows Vista, which include improved caching technology for faster scans and removal technologies, using up-to-date spyware definitions created by Microsoft, Windows Defender provides an always-on protection that monitors key system locations, watching for changes that signal the presence of spyware. The "Scan on execute" functionality provides an added layer of Protection by scanning downloaded files before they are saved and executed, reducing the chance that spyware might be installed by accident.

3
BitLocker
BitLocker Drive Encryption protects the information stored on your computer from hackers or thieves who might obtain access to your machine. It is a full disk encryption feature included with Microsoft's Windows Vista designed to protect data by providing encryption for entire volumes. By encrypting the entire Windows system volume, data is better protected. Ideally a v1.2 Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip is the preferred method of encryption key storage. BitLocker Drive Encryption is tightly integrated into Windows Vista and provides a seamless, secure, and manageable data protection solution for you.

4
Automated Backup
The new backup and restore functionality in Windows Vista makes it easier to keep your data and computer safe from user error, hardware failure, and any other issue that could result in data loss. The Windows Backup and Restore Center gives you one place to manage all backup and restore features. Two particularly useful Automatic Backup features are the ability to do a scheduled backup and the ability to back up your files to an external hard drive, secondary hard drive, writable CD or DVD, or to a network location. Search & Organize

5
Instant Search
Looking for specific applications, Web sites, and e-mails is faster than ever with the streamlined Windows Vista Start Menu. To find a specific application or file, click the Windows key on the keyboard (or open the Start menu) and enter the file name in the Instant Search field. As you type, Windows Vista dynamically searches filenames, metadata, and the full text of all files and displays the choices by file type. For example, to find the Calculator application, simply type “cal” in the Instant Search field, and Windows Vista would display a shortcut to all applications that start with “cal”. Calculator will be the top option. Part No. 099-94776

6
Integrated Search
Every explorer window in Windows Vista contains an integrated Instant Search field in which you can enter a word, part of a word, or a phrase. Try filtering by type using the Search Pane and selecting “Documents.” Next choose to see your files in another way, via the new Stack view. Select the author column header control drop down menu, and choose the option to “Stack by author”. Explore all the documents by a particular author by double clicking on an author’s stack. Now, save that search as a new Search Folder. Choose the option “Save Search” found on the top Command Bar and name and save your Search Folder. In the future, to re-run it, simply select the “Searches” folder link on the left side Navigation Pane, and double click on your Search Folder.

7
Aero
Windows Aero offers you a premium user experience. The glass windows create an open, energizing environment, and enable you to better focus on your content, rather than on the surrounding interface. If your PC supports the Windows Aero user experience, open multiple files and see how easy it is to locate the right open window using the breakthrough Windows Flip (simply ALT+TAB) or Flip 3D (Windows key+TAB). Mobility & Collaboration

8
Mobility
Windows Vista has multiple tools and features to help you be productive when you’re on-the-go. It provides a centralized location to access all of the relevant information you will need within the Mobility Center. You no longer need to go to various menus and folders. This tool provides options for handling your wireless connection and synching your devices, along with various choices needed for presenting.

9
Meeting Space
Windows Meeting Space enables face-to-face collaboration among small groups of Windows Vista users—virtually anytime, anywhere. Useful for both business and personal purposes, this tool enables you to share work on computerbased projects with other people more easily and comfortably. With Windows Meeting Space, you can collaborate with one person or as many as nine others over a wired network, a wireless local area network (WLAN), or an ad hoc (PC-to-PC) wireless network.

10
XPS
XPS Documents are a new archiving format perfect for preserving content and for securely sharing information in an application independent way. To create an XPS Document, open any document in virtually any application, and select the print option. In the printer selection menu, choose “Microsoft XPS Document Writer” and save the file. Double click on the file, which should open it in the XPS Viewer, which is hosted by Internet Explorer 7. The XPS Document is a pixel perfect rendition of the original source material.

Other Windows Vista Tips
Share a folder or file directly from your PC. Windows Vista improves on the Windows network folder sharing experience first introduced with Windows XP by giving you more flexibility in what you can share with other people and improving the setup process. With Windows Vista you can now share folders and individual files with any other user on the same corporate network. From any Explorer, select a file or folder and on the Command Bar choose the option to Share. Enter the name of another user on the same network, and give them appropriate rights of access – reader, co-owner, etc.

PC Performance
SP1 will contain changes focused on addressing specific reliability and performance issues, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards. SP1 also continues to improve upon the IT administration experience.

What is SuperFetch?

This is a new memory management tool designed to allow your frequently used programs additional memory by making better use of your systems random access memory (RAM). Over time, Vista can anticipate your program usage based on past experiences and makes sure that you have enough memory preloaded when needed. By utilizing the RAM more efficiently programs will launch much quicker because the system does not have to load them from the hard drive. They are in fact, preloaded to main memory. SuperFetch works with another tool called ReadyBoost. ReadyBoost makes SuperFetch's memory management expandable by drawing available memory from a USB 2.0 flash drive. Both of these tools working in tandem ensure that enough memory is available for optimum system and program performance.

Remove program entries in the "Open With" list

The following tip requires editing the Windows Registry. Be sure to make a backup copy of the registry prior to making any changes to it.
The "Open With" list can be found in one of the following registry keys:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\<>\OpenWithList
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\SystemFileAssociations\<>\OpenWithList

Force users to login with a user name and password

In order to remove the list of user accounts and have users login using a password and user name. The following settings must be changed:
1. Go to Start
2. In the Search box, type: local security policy
3. Double click the local security policy entry
4. Open "Local Policies"
5. Select "Security Options"
6. Double click the entry titled: "Interactive Login: Do not display last user name"
7. Place a checkmark in the "Enabled" checkbox
8. Click OK

Change Windows Security Center Alerts

By default, Windows Vista is extremely security minded. The frequent notifications of expired security definitions, Anti-Virus
updates and others can quickly become annoying. If you would like to change the way Vista alerts you, here's how:
1. Go to Start>> Control Panel>> Windows Security Center.
2. Once in the Windows Security center, click the link on the left pane titled: "Change the way Security Center alerts me".
3. Modify your preferences as you see fit.
4. Click OK when finished.

Deleting Browsing History Feature

With the new version of Internet Explorer (7.0) due to ship with Vista. Users will now have the ability to delete five categories of data:
- Temporary Internet Files
- Cookies
- Browser History
- Form data
- Passwords
Here's how:
1. Open Internet Explorer 7.0
2. Go to Tools
3. Select Delete Browsing History
From here, you will have the ability to delete all of the aforementioned categories or delete each individually.

How to see hidden files in Microsoft Windows

All Microsoft Windows Operating Systems hide certain files from being seen. These files are normally system files and they are hidden so that they cannot be accidentally deleted or changed by the person using their computer. Deleting or changing these system files will cause your computer not to function correctly or indeed not at all. Unfortunately Hijackers and the authors of viruses and spyware hide files in the same manner so that they cannot easily be found, modified or deleted.Below are the steps that will enable you to see hidden files in each version of the Microsoft Windows Operating System.Please remember that these hidden files are hidden for a purpose and you should not delete or change anything unless you know exactly what you are doing or been advised to do so by someone who does.
To enable the viewing of Hidden files follow these steps:
Close all programs so that only your desktop is displayed.
1. Click the Start button, and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.
3. Click Folder Options.
4. Click the View tab, click Show hidden files and folders, and then click OK
5. Under the Hidden files and folders section select the radio button labeled Show hidden files and folders.
6. Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide extensions for known file types.
7. Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide protected operating system files.
8. Press Apply followed by OK and close all open windows.

Windows Vista User Account Control (UAC)

Microsoft's continuing focus on security has taken great strides in the development of the User Account Control in Windows Vista. This new feature is very helpful to both business and home users. It gives greater flexibility for a standard user while maintaining the integrity of the operating system. By default, standard user permissions in Windows Vista are as
follows:
*View system clock and calendar
* Change time zone
*Install Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) to connect to secure wireless networks
*Change power management settings
* Add printers and other devices that have the required drivers installed on computer or have been allowed by
an IT administrator in Group Policy
* Install ActiveX Controls from sites approved by an IT
administrator
*Create and configure a Virtual Private Network connection l Install critical Windows Updates In addition, since the disk defragmentation task is now Automated by default, standard users will no longer have the need to invoke this tool. As you can see from the permissions list, there isn't anything a standard user can do to change the configuration of the system nor is there any chance that a standard user can accidentally download a virus. For even greater flexibility, system administrators have the ability to remove any of the preset permissions that they see fit from a standard users account.

The UAC feature was created to help IT Administrators keep standard users productive while keeping the network available

Troubleshooting with Windows Vista

The new Windows Operating System formerly code named "Longhorn" is now named Vista. This new operating system is due out in the middle of 2006. I am going to be writing a great deal about it here at Support 4 Vista so that you all can become familiar with it before it comes out. In this tip, I will discuss a little about what you can expect from Vista from a troubleshooting stand-point.
Vista promises to have great troubleshooting features built in to aid users in quickly diagnosing computer issues. For instance, Windows Vista diagnostics can automatically detect and diagnose failing hard disks, faulty memory, degraded performance, loss of a network connection, and problems shutting down. Having the ability to detect a failing Hard Disk
before any loss of data occurs, makes this an extremely valuable feature! But, nothing takes the place of good backup practices.
The Windows XP Remote Assistance feature is a huge time saver for all support centers. Vista promises to enhance this feature and make it better by having the ability to remotely connect faster and use less bandwidth. It will even have the ability to function through Network Address Translation (NAT) firewalls. Remote assistance will incorporate its own built-in diagnostic tools available with a single click. You will also be able to reconnect to a Remote Assistance session automatically after restarting your computer. One last enhancement worth a mention is that two administrators will now be able to connect at one time. This will be valuable on those hard to troubleshoot problems that could use a second set of eyes.

Does mixing Windows XP and Windows Vista on a network matter?

Vista uses a new technology called Link Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD), which is something that Windows XP does not have. If you want Windows XP to show up on the Network Map, you'll need to download the update that Microsoft has available.
Here's how to install the update:
To install the LLTD Responder to a computer running Windows XP
1. Download the update for Windows XP from: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=70582
2. Run the update on the computer running Windows XP that you want to appear on the Network Map.
3. On the Software Update Installation Wizard, click Next.
4. On the License Agreement page, read the license agreement, and if you agree to the terms, click I Agree, and then click
Next.
5. On the final page of the wizard, click Finish.
6. If you are prompted to do so, restart your computer.
7. After your computer running Windows XP restarts, generate a new Network Map with the computer running Windows XP included.
For further information visit here.

What is Shadow Copy?

The Shadow Copy feature is an amazing new recovery feature in Vista that is available in the Business, Ultimate and Enterprise editions. Shadow Copy is turned on by default and is a very useful tool when recovering a previous version of a file or folder. Here's an example of how Shadow Copy works:
Say you are editing a file and you accidentally make an error and save the file. With Shadow Copy, all you need to do it right click the file and select "Restore previous versions" from the resulting menu. Since Shadow Copy makes "points in time" snap shots of your files and folders you can easily restore any of the available versions of your file. To restore it, simply browse the available versions of your file, click the version you would like to restore and select "Restore". It will then place that file version automatically back to its original folder. Or, you can drag the selected version of the file to a folder of your choosing.
Since Shadow Copy only creates copies of files that have actually changed, it uses only a minimal amount of disk space.

Change your Product Key

All of the Vista Operating System products are all on one disc. It is the product key information that activates the Vista
product you've purchased. If you eventually would like to upgrade to a different Vista OS, Vista makes changing the product
key a simple task, here's how:
1. Go to Start>> Control Panel>> System.
2. At the bottom of the System applet, you'll see a link titled: "Change product key". Click this link.
3. Click Next, then in the resulting window, enter your new product key ID information.
4. Click OK.

Windows vista tips to add Internet Explore7 Icon on desktop

In windows vista you can not find IE7 icon on desktop by default.

But you can add it by registry editing.
Take back up of registry before making any changes
Go to run and type regedit
And expand to Hkey-current user> software >Microsoft> windows > current version> explorer>HideDesktopIcons>NewStartPanel. And give value” {871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000.If you not find HideDesktopIcons then create new dword and give value as above.
Now close regedit and restart the computer.

disable large icons problem:

Right click on the Start Button and select Properties.
Click on the Customize button.
Scroll to the bottom of the list and remove the check from Use large icons.
You can now also increase the number of recently run programs in vista that are displayed to something larger than 9.
Hit OK when you are finished.

windows Vista adiitional clock

Windows Vista, you can add additional clocks to the system tray. Click the clock, and then click Date and Time Settings. Click the Additional Clocks tab. You can add one or two additional clocks to the tray and select their time zones.

Access Denied error in windows vista

When you trying to access some windows folder like document and setting you may get error message that “access denied”. you need to change ownership of this folder. So open properties by right click on it. In security button select advance tab and click edit button. Now change ownership to your account by highlighting your account and also select replace ownership to sub containers and apply changes.

Kill Security center notification problem in Windows Vista Home Basic

Troubleshooting tips 2: windows vista security center remind you all the time about anti virus. Solution guide:- new easy way to disable the security center messages.Click on the Security Center/Windows Security Alerts logo in the system tray.Click Change the way Security Center alerts me.Select I do not want notification messages from Security Center.

Instant Search

Looking for specific applications, Web sites, and e-mails is faster than ever with the streamlined Windows Vista Start Menu. To find a specific application or file, click the Windows key on the keyboard (or open the Start menu) and enter the file name in the Instant Search field. As you type, Windows Vista dynamically searches filenames, metadata, and the full text of all files and displays the choices by file type. For example, to find the Calculator application, simply type “cal” in the Instant Search field, and Windows Vista would display a shortcut to all applications that start with “cal”. Calculator will be the top option.

Vista's word and notepad document more secure

You can create XML documents, which are more secure than regular text files or even word processor docs. Just create a document in a word processor, print(not print out ) it via the options menu, and select the XPS printer.Thats it u have secure document.

Vista Home Basic Internet Explorer Problem

If you’re annoyed by Internet Explorer’s incessant barking that you’ve lowered your security settings , launch “gpedit.msc” from either the Run command or Start Search field, navigate through Local Computer Policy / Computer Configuration / Administrative Templates / Windows Vista Components / Internet Explorer. In the rightmost pane, double-click “Turn off the Security Settings Check feature” and set it to Enabled.