On some XP Pro installations, when connected to a network (peer-peer in this case), the computer boot time is over 1:40. The system seems to freeze after logging in and the desktop may not appear or will freeze for a minute. As timed with the utility, Bootvis.exe, the problem was with the driver mrxsmb.dll, adding over 67 seconds to the boot time. Turning off and restoring file and printer sharing eliminated 65 seconds from the boot time. (more…)
The new Network and Sharing Center in Windows Vista is great for the average Windows user but can be a huge headache for advanced users. When I need to make a change to my network settings I don’t want to be forced to go through the networking interface for the average non-technical users. I want to go right to the settings screen and make the change.
I am a big fan of the old Windows XP network approach where I could modify all of the network settings and connect to wireless network from the Network Connections screen. In Windows Vista, the Network Connections screen still exists, (more…)
Changing the visual style of Windows is something that has become very popular over the years with Windows XP. In Windows Vista, this is just starting to gain momentum with the release of a few cool hacked visual styles. These alternative visual styles are replacements for the default Aero glass style and offer slight tweaks on the design. Over time there will be more and more higher quality visual styles released for Windows Vista.
If you want to get started, you will need to download the hacked visual style skinning engine files from Rafael Rivera’s site. Rafael has both x86 and x64 versions available. These modified system files remove the requirement for visual style files to be digitally signed by Microsoft. If you need help replacing the system files with the modified files, check out my article on working with system files in Windows Vista. (more…)
Apparently, the latest version of Windows Defender thinks that Alexa is a trojan, talk about false positives, unless, that is, Alexa has REALLY changed what they do. My guess is that it is detecting it as another piece of malware, as it shows in the screen shots, Win32/VB.BZ. I’m sure an apology is sure to come from Microsoft, and that they do not have something against Alexa.
This morning I discovered several PCs running Windows Defender and the Alexa Toolbar were receiving messages that the Alexa Toolbar was classified as a trojan. The name classification within Windows Defender was Win32/VB.BZ. (more…)
