Tricks of the Microsoft Windows Vista Masters

Tricks of the Microsoft Windows Vista Masters......Page 1
Table of Contents......Page 5
Introduction......Page 18
Who Are the Vista Masters?......Page 19
Where to Begin......Page 24
The Welcome Center......Page 25
Altering the Welcome Center......Page 26
Shortcut Keys......Page 27
Windows Key Shortcuts......Page 28
User Logging Shortcuts......Page 29
Creating Your Own Shortcuts......Page 30
Beyond Vista Tools......Page 31
Enhance Explorer Performance......Page 32
Changing the Boot Graphic......Page 33
Start Menu Configuration......Page 34
Command Prompt for Administrators......Page 36
Tweaking the Clock......Page 38
Vista DPI Scalings......Page 39
Using Shift to Slow Down Animations......Page 40
The Windows Sidebar......Page 41
Creating a Gadget......Page 42
Booting Up in XP......Page 43
The Vista Boot Process......Page 44
Editing the Boot Process......Page 45
Dual-Booting XP and Vista......Page 48
Removing Vista from Your Dual-Boot System......Page 49
MSCONFIG: The System Configuration Tool......Page 50
Boot......Page 51
Startup......Page 52
Tools......Page 53
Shortcut Menu: "Shift" Your Shortcuts......Page 54
Windows Explorer......Page 56
Saved Searches: What Are They, and How Can You Make Your Own?......Page 57
Enabling the Preview Pane......Page 58
Selecting Files with Check Boxes......Page 59
Search: The Next Generation......Page 60
Search Box Tips......Page 61
Natural Language Search......Page 62
File List Heading Tips......Page 63
Beyond the Standard Search: Advanced Search Options......Page 64
Some Final Search Points: Internet Search, Control Panel Search......Page 65
How Do You Add Metadata?......Page 66
Erasing Metadata Before You Share a Document......Page 67
Configuring the Control Panel......Page 68
Expanding Control Panel from the Start Menu......Page 69
Getting to Applets As Quickly As Possible......Page 70
Creating a Customized Control Panel Folder......Page 72
Add Hardware......Page 73
AutoPlay......Page 75
Default Programs......Page 76
Device Manager......Page 77
Folder Options......Page 79
iSCSI Initiator......Page 82
Pen and Input Devices......Page 84
Printers......Page 85
Regional and Language Options......Page 89
Sync Center......Page 91
Text to Speech......Page 92
Windows Update......Page 93
Color Management......Page 95
Indexing: Find the Needle in the Haystack......Page 97
Advanced Index Options......Page 98
Offline Files: Synchronizing Your World......Page 99
Sync Errors, Warnings, and Resolutions......Page 101
Parental Control......Page 102
Manually Configuring the Allow-Block Websites List......Page 104
Power Options: Don't Hibernate, Shutdown, Standby—Just Sleep......Page 106
Disable Hibernation......Page 107
Configuring Power Options......Page 108
Group Policy Settings......Page 109
Speech Recognition: You Talk, Vista Listens......Page 110
Start Listening......Page 111
Taking the Speech Tutorial......Page 112
Advanced Speech Options......Page 113
Tablet PC: The Flintstones Meet the Jetsons......Page 114
The Desktop Tech: A Modern-Day Hermes......Page 118
Literally Creating the Accounts......Page 119
Using Net User to Create Accounts......Page 121
Modifying Your User Accounts......Page 122
Additional Options from the Computer Management Console......Page 125
Computer Management......Page 126
Task Scheduler......Page 128
The Vista Event Viewer......Page 133
Services and the SC.exe Command......Page 136
Sharing System Resources......Page 137
Sharing Files Through the Public Folder......Page 138
Sharing Any Folder......Page 139
The System Window......Page 143
Computer Name......Page 144
Advanced......Page 145
System Protection......Page 148
Remote......Page 149
More Useful Tools......Page 150
4 Security Enhancements......Page 152
Windows Service Hardening......Page 154
Windows Integrity Control......Page 155
Windows Resource Protection......Page 156
Additional Features to Vista Security......Page 158
User Access Control......Page 159
How UAC Keeps Track of Privileges......Page 162
UAC and File and Registry Virtualization......Page 166
Configuring UAC Settings......Page 167
Protected Mode......Page 170
The Phishing Filter......Page 171
Some Additional IE Security Features......Page 174
CardSpace/InfoCard—Don't Leave Home Without It......Page 176
Windows Defender......Page 178
SpyNet......Page 179
Advanced Defender Information......Page 180
Beyond Windows Defender......Page 183
The Malicious Software Removal Tool—Postinfection Removal......Page 184
Windows Firewall......Page 186
Windows Firewall (Simple Settings)......Page 187
Windows Firewall with Advanced Security......Page 189
Vista Firewall Versus Third-Party Solutions......Page 197
Vista File System Review......Page 198
The Rise and Fall of WinFS......Page 199
Transactional NTFS and Transactional Registry......Page 201
Disk Management......Page 202
Disk Terminology Review......Page 203
Converting a Disk to Dynamic and Back to Basic......Page 205
Moving Disks Between Systems......Page 206
Disk Repair and Preventative Management......Page 207
Understanding NTFS Permissions......Page 210
NTFS Permission Settings......Page 211
Permissions Are Cumulative, Deny Is Unforgiving......Page 213
Share Permissions Mixing with NTFS......Page 214
EFS and BitLocker......Page 216
BitLocker Overview......Page 218
BitLocker Planning and Recovery......Page 219
Previous Versions......Page 222
Advanced Configuration Options for Previous Versions......Page 224
The New Interface......Page 226
Terminology for Working with the New UI......Page 227
Customizing Your Interface......Page 228
The Mini Toolbar......Page 229
Saving Files As PDF (or XPS)......Page 230
Preparing Your Documents for Distribution......Page 231
The Document Inspector......Page 232
Full Screen Reading......Page 233
The Building Block Organizer......Page 234
Translation Tools......Page 235
Using Word 2007 As a Blog Editor......Page 236
Excel 2007......Page 237
Adding in the Analysis ToolPak Add-in......Page 239
Sharing Your Excel Data......Page 241
Using Google to Share Data......Page 242
Conditional Formatting......Page 243
Going Beyond the Highlights......Page 244
PowerPoint 2007......Page 245
Going Beyond the Highlights......Page 246
Outlook 2007......Page 247
The Network and Sharing Center......Page 250
The Network Connectivity Status Indicator......Page 251
The Network Map......Page 252
Customizing Network Settings......Page 255
Wireless Networking......Page 256
Getting Connected......Page 257
Ad-Hoc Wireless Networks......Page 258
Windows Connect Now......Page 261
Function Discovery......Page 262
Evolution of Windows Media Connect to Windows Media Player Network Sharing Services......Page 263
Setting Up Media Sharing......Page 264
Initiating a Diagnostic......Page 265
Command-Line Tools......Page 268
People Near Me......Page 270
Starting Windows Meeting Space......Page 271
Backup and Restore Center......Page 276
The Backup and Restore Center......Page 277
Accessing Backups with Virtual PC or Virtual Server......Page 278
Backup Status and Configuration......Page 280
The System Rating......Page 281
Windows System Assessment Tool......Page 283
Problem Reports and Solutions......Page 284
What Is Corporate Error Reporting?......Page 285
Reliability and Performance Monitor......Page 287
Reliability Monitoring......Page 288
Resource Monitor......Page 289
Performance Monitor......Page 290
Data Collector Sets and Reports......Page 293
What's New in Task Manager......Page 295
Memory Diagnostics Tool......Page 298
ReadyBoost......Page 301
SuperFetch......Page 302
Where Is My Memory?......Page 303
Advanced Boot Options in Vista......Page 305
The Windows Recovery Environment......Page 306
The Basic Tools of WinPE......Page 307
Bootable USB Keys......Page 312
Internet Explorer 7......Page 314
Quick Tabs......Page 315
Tab Groups: Grouped Favorites and Multiple Home Pages......Page 316
Additional IE7 Features......Page 317
New Features of Windows Mail......Page 318
Backing Up Your Windows Mail......Page 320
Windows Contacts......Page 321
Windows Calendar......Page 322
Windows Photo Gallery......Page 324
Windows Media Player 11......Page 327
Windows Media Center......Page 330
Windows DVD Maker......Page 331
Volume Control......Page 333
The Snipping Tool......Page 334
Group Policy Enhancements......Page 336
Number of Policies Increased......Page 337
ADMX Files......Page 338
The Central Store......Page 341
Additional Points to Remember......Page 342
Network Location Awareness......Page 343
Multiple Local GPOs: Some Animals Are More Equal......Page 344
Creating These Alternative Policies......Page 345
New Group Policy Settings......Page 346
Blocking Device Installation......Page 347
Security Settings with Advanced Firewall......Page 348
User Account Control......Page 349
Wireless and Wired Policies......Page 350
Windows Error Reporting......Page 351
Group Policy Tools: Carpenters Have Toolbelts, GP Admins Have USB Keychains......Page 352
A......Page 356
B......Page 358
C......Page 359
D......Page 362
E......Page 363
F......Page 364
G......Page 365
H......Page 366
J......Page 367
M......Page 368
N......Page 369
O......Page 370
P......Page 371
R......Page 373
S......Page 374
T......Page 378
V......Page 379
W......Page 380
X–Z......Page 382