PCTips Box

Windows Vista is without a doubt the most user experience oriented operating system ever to come out of Redmond. Windows Aero, although not as revolutionary and innovative as Microsoft is applauding it to be, is a new design in terms of graphical user interface and a divergent visual perspective in comparison to Vista’s successor, Windows XP, for that matter. And in addition to the graphical UI, Microsoft has also revamped the logon process. Microsoft failed to deliver the same volume of eye candy to the logon visuals as it did to Windows Aero, but in terms of small details, it really hits the spot.

And speaking of small details, there are a couple of visual tweaks delivered by Andreas Verhoeven, that will really serve to pimp up your desktop. In the screenshots included at the bottom you will be able to observe the details added through the deployment of Glass Toasts, Thumbnail Sizer and 3D User Picture. Trust me, it’s the little things that count, and Verhoeven simply took a few basic elements of Vista and tweaked them. (more…)

If you set a computer for automatic logon, anyone who can physically gain access to the computer can also gain access to everything that is on the computer, including any network or networks that the computer is connected to. Additionally, if you turn on automatic logon, the password is stored in the registry in plain text. The specific registry key that stores this value is remotely readable by the Authenticated Users group. Therefore, only use this setting if the computer is physically secured and if you make sure that users who you do not trust cannot remotely see the registry.

You can use Registry Editor to add your log on information. To do this, follow these steps: (more…)