Hidden in the bowels of Windows is a super-secret Administrator account. Here’s how to unlock it, in case you ever need to use it.

Deep inside Windows, there’s a secret Administrator account, and it’s different from the normal administrator account you most likely have set up on your PC. Oddly enough, this Administrator account is not part of the Administrator group. (Note the differentiation between the secret Administrator account, and the administrator account you’ve set up. In describing this hack, we’ll always use the capital “A” for the secret account, and a lowercase “a” for an administrator account you’ve set up.)

What’s the difference between the secret Administrator account and a normal administrator account? On Vista, the difference is more than the name: the Administrator account is not subject to User Account Control. So the Administrator can make any changes to the system and will see no UAC prompts.

For this reason, you may want to unlock the Administrator account, and use it only for those times when you want to make a series of system changes and don’t want to be bothered by UAC. True, you could instead simply disable UAC on your system, but it’s a pain to do this, and you may forget to turn it back on.

Turning on the Administrator account is pretty straightforward. On Vista, open an elevated command prompt by typing cmd.exe into the Search box on the Start menu and pressing Ctrl-Shift-Enter. Next, enter this command:

Net user administrator /active:yes

On XP Professional, fire up TweakUI, go to the Logon section, and choose “Show Administrator on Welcome Screen”.

On Windows XP Home, the Administrator account is only available when you boot into safe mode.

From now on, the Administrator account will appear on the Welcome screen. Use it like any other account. Be aware that it won’t have a password, so it’s a good idea to set a password for it by going to Control Panel -> User Accounts and Family Safety (Vista) or Control Panel -> User Accounts (XP). If you want to disable the account and hide it, enter this command at an elevated command prompt:

Net user administrator /active:no


Use WHOAMI To See Account Information - Windows Vista has a cool new command line tool called Whoami that shows plenty of information about the currently logged on user, including the account name, a list of group memberships, and much more as well. At any command line, type whoami, and you’ll be shown the name of the loggedon user. Type whoami /all to see a wide variety of information, including a list of groups to which the account is a member, user privileges, and much more. For a list of all parameters, type whoami /?.

Vista’s User Account Control is one of Vista’s new security tools—and is without a doubt, Vista’s most annoying feature as well. Here’s how to bend it to your will.

Quick, answer this: What’s the most maddening feature of Windows Vista? If you’re like 99% of the world, you’ll probably answer User Account Control (UAC). When you try to make any one of a variety of changes to Windows Vista, a UAC prompt appears, and you have to click the Continue button or enter a password before you proceed.

There’s some method to this madness. UAC is designed to stop your system and its files from being tampered with. If malware gets loose on your PC, the thinking goes, UAC will help stop it from doing damage because the malware won’t be able to click a Continue button or type in a password. You’ll get some warning before you try to make a change that will launch a UAC prompt.

The kind of UAC prompt that appears—either one that asks you to continue or one that asks you to type in your password—depends on whether you’re logged in as a standard user or an administrator. If you’re logged in as an administrator, you’ll only have to click Continue. If you’re logged in as a standard user, you’ll have to type in an administrator’s password. If there are multiple administrators set up on the computer, the prompt will include a list of all the administrators. You’ll have to type the password underneath the right administrator account.

UAC and Elevating Privileges
Before you hack UAC, you need to understand its guiding principle—that of the least-privileged user. Under it, an account is set up that has only the minimum amount of privileges needed in order to run the computer for most tasks. A standard user, in Windows Vista, is this least-privileged user.

But when a change needs to be made that can affect the overall operation or security of the operating system, the user’s privilege needs to be elevated. In other words, someone with greater privileges than the least-privileged user must make the change. That’s why a standard user will need to type in an administrator password to make a change, and why an administrator will have to confirm when wants to make a change.

Hacking UAC
You’re not stuck with Windows Vista’s default behavior when it comes to UAC; you can change how UAC works on your PC. To do it, run Local Security Policy by typing secpol.msc in the Search box or command prompt and then typing Enter. Now go to Security Settings/Local Policies/Security Options. This lets you edit various security policies on your PC, including those related to UAC. To edit a policy, double-click it, and fill in a dialog box—for example, choosing Enable or Disable.

secpol.msc is not available in the home editions of Windows Vista. However, you can use the Registry to make changes to UAC’s behavior. Launch the Registry Editor by typing regedit at the Start Search box or a command prompt. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies System\EnableLUA, and give it a value of 0 to turn off UAC. You may need to reboot in order for the change to take effect. The rest of this hack includes registry keys for many of the settings you can change in UAC.

You’ll need to edit these policies to hack UAC:
User Account Control: Admin Approval Mode for the Built-In Administrator Account
Registry key: FilterAdministratorToken. This determines whether the main Administrator account is subject to UAC. Enabling it means that the account will be treated by UAC like any other administrator; the prompt will appear as normal. If it is not enabled, no prompt will appear for the Administrator account but will appear for standard user accounts.

User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for administrators in Admin Approval Mode.
Registry key: ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin. This determines what prompt appears for
administrators (members of the Administrators Group, not the built-in Administrator account). The default is Prompt for Consent, which means that a UAC prompt will appear, and the administrator needs to click Continue or Cancel. You can also choose Prompt for Credentials, in which case the administrator password will have to be typed in. If you choose No Prompt, a UAC prompt won’t appear, and you can make the change.

User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for standard users
Registry key: ConsentPromptBehaviorUser. This determines what prompt appears for standard users. The choices are Prompt for Consent, Prompt for Credentials, or No Prompt. The default is Prompt for Credentials.

User Account Control: Detect application installations and prompt for elevation
Registry key: EnableInstallerDetection. By default, this is enabled, and so before software can be installed, UAC will ask for a prompt or a password. Disabling it allows software to be installed without the prompt.

User Account Control: Elevate only executables that are signed and validated
Registry key: ValidateAdminCodeSignatures. When enabled, UAC allows programs to be installed without a prompt if those programs have been properly signed and validated by their creators. By default it is disabled, and all programs, whether signed and validated or not, require the prompt.

User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode
Registry key: EnableLUA. This setting requires all administrators (except for the built-in Administrator account) to give consent or supply credentials (depending on the setting of ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin). By default, it is enabled.

User Account Control: Switch to the secure desktop when prompting for elevation
Registry key: PromptOnSecureDesktop. This determines whether Windows Vista will switch to the secure desktop when the prompt appears. You’ll notice that when the UAC prompt appears, the screen first goes black, and that when the prompt appears, the rest of the screen is dark. That’s the secure desktop. By default, the secure desktop is enabled.

User Account Control: Virtualize fi le and Registry write failures to per-user locations
Registry key: EnableVirtualization. This controls whether changes to the Registry made by standard users should be written to a special, virtual area, rather than directly to the Registry. This protects the Registry. By default, it is enabled.

There is a great deal of confusion about administrator accounts in Windows Vista. There are in fact two different types of administrator accounts—the single, all-powerful, built-in Administrator account, and accounts that are part of the Administrators group. The Administrator account can do anything on the computer, while members of the Administrators group run much as standard users, except they can elevate their privileges by clicking a Continue button in a dialog box when prompted.

Turn Off UAC
If UAC prompts drive you around the bend, you can turn them off. Choose Control Panel -> User Accounts and Family Safety -> User Accounts, and click Turn User Account Control on or off.

Alternately, you can run the MSCONFIG tool by typing MSCONFIG at the command line or search box. When the tool runs, click the Tools tab, and scroll down until you see Disable UAC. Highlight it, and click the Launch button, then reboot. To turn it back on again, follow the same steps, except choose Enable UAC instead.

Hack the Elevated Command Prompt
When you try to run certain commands from the command prompt, you’re told that you don’t have administrative rights to run them, even if you’re currently logged in as an administrator.

The problem is that these commands are protected by UAC. So if you want to run them, you’ll have to run the command prompt itself as an administrator; what’s called running an elevated command prompt.

One way to run an elevated command prompt is to type cmd into the Search box on the Start menu, right-click the command prompt icon that appears at the top of the Start menu, then select “Run as administrator.” You can also type cmd.exe into the search box, and press Ctrl-Shift-Enter to launch it as an administrator.

Do you really want to have to do that every time you want to run an elevated command prompt? Most likely not. Instead, create a Desktop shortcut for an elevated prompt, or pin an elevated prompt to the Start menu.

To create a shortcut to an elevated prompt on the Desktop:
1. Right-click the Desktop, and select New -> Shortcut.

2. In the text box of the Create Shortcut dialog box that appears, type CMD, and then click Next.

3. On the next screen, type a name for the shortcut, for example, Elevated Command Prompt. Then click Finish.

4. Right-click on the shortcut you just created, and select Properties.

5. Click the Shortcut tab, and click Advanced.

6. Check the box entitled “Run as administrator”, and click OK, and then OK again.

If you’d like the elevated command prompt to appear on the Start menu, drag it from the Desktop to the Start button, and place it where you would like it to be.

When a user is asked to type in an administrator password, it’s called credential prompting; when an administrator is asked to permit an operation, it’s called consent prompting.

Just like Internet Explorer, Windows Explorer keeps track of the applications that you run and files that you open. It does this so that it can tailor your computer to your personal use with features such as the frequently run programs list on the Start panel. Features like this are designed to speed up the use of your computer. However, the side effect of the convenience is a loss of privacy.


Clearing Frequently Run Programs and the Open files list
One of the great new features of Windows Vista can also be a pain when you are concerned about your privacy. The capability to select the programs that you use frequently directly from the Start panel instead of having to navigate through the entire Start menu can save you some time. However, over time, this list can become cluttered with programs that you do not want to be there. Additionally, anyone who uses your computer can easily see what programs you use.

Windows Vista also does something similar with the files that you open. Every time that you open a Word document, a digital image, or any other file, an entry is created in the Recent files list. Although this feature exists, I never find myself using it and it just seems to add another privacy concern.

In Windows Vista, it is very easy to clear and/or disable these features. Just follow these steps:
1. Right-click the Start button and select Properties.

2. Clear the two check boxes under the Privacy section on the Start Menu tab.

3. Click OK to save and activate your changes.

Depending on what check boxes you chose to clear, you may have to go back in and check them again if you would like to use the frequently run feature again.


Removing temporary files from your hard drive
Over time, your hard drive can become cluttered with temporary files left behind from applications and the operating system. These files not only take up space, but they can be tracks of activity on your computer. Removing the temporary files is a great way to clean up any garbage information that is left behind, increase your privacy, and free up some disk space.

Windows has advanced greatly over the course of it existence. In the early versions of Windows, there was just one temp folder that all temp files were located in. With Windows Vista, temp folders are all over the place. To remove the files, you could go to all the different folders and manually erase the files, but there is a better way.

To clear my temporary files from my hard drive, I like to use Disk Cleanup. Disk Cleanup is a utility that comes with Windows Vista that makes it easy to remove your temporary files. It works by automatically checking the known temporary file locations for you and removing the files. With Disk Cleanup, you do not have to worry about where to navigate on your hard drive to delete the files. Instead, just execute the program.

To get started using Disk Cleanup, follow these steps:
1. Click the Start button, type Disk Cleanup in the Search box, and then press Enter.

2. You will be prompted to choose which files you want to clean-"My files only" or "Files from all users on this computer." I recommend selecting Files from all users on this computer.

3. If your computer has multiple hard drives, you will be prompted to select which drive you want to clean. Select the drive you want to clean and press OK.

4. After the utility has analyzed your computer, it gives you a report of various types of files that it can clean. Scroll through the list and make sure that only Temporary Internet Files and Temporary files are checked.

5. Click OK to run the cleanup.

6. Click Delete Files on the confirmation screen. The utility will now run and exit automatically when it is finished cleaning your hard drive.

Disk Cleanup is the perfect way to easily clean up your temporary files. Now that you know how to use it, I recommend that you run it at least once a month to keep your temporary files under control.


Removing saved passwords
When you visit a Web site that requires authentication or attempt to connect to remote computers, you are given the option to save your password so that the next time that you visit the page or attempt to access a remote resource you do not have to reenter your password. This feature can be a huge convenience, especially if you access a particular Web site or resource frequently. The downside to this convenience is the potential for horrible security and privacy problems that it creates. Essentially, you are taking the password off all the sites and resources for which you saved a password. Anyone who has physical access to your computer can get in using your username and password, even if they do not know your password.

Removing your saved passwords from your computer is a very good idea because doing so will protect your accounts. Removing the password is a little tricky in Window Vista because there is not an easy way to access a list of all the accounts that have passwords stored for them within Control Panel or any other user interface element. Fortunately, there is a great hack that will do just that.

Hidden away in the keymgr.dll system file is an interface for viewing stored usernames and passwords. To use this cool interface, follow these steps:
1. Click the Start button, type rundll32.exe keymgr.dll, KRShowKeyMgr in the Search box, and then press Enter.

2. The Stored User Names and Passwords window will load, showing you a list of all the accounts that are saved on your computer. To remove a saved password, select the account on the list and click the Remove button.

3. Click OK on the Confirm screen and the account is removed from the list, erasing your stored password.

4. Repeat the previous steps for any other accounts that you want to remove.

5. When you are finished, just click Close.

You can also use the Stored User Names and Passwords window to add more usernames and passwords to your computer. If you have a Web site or resource for which privacy isn't a concern, such as some news Web site, just click the Add button when the Stored User Names and Passwords window is loaded.


Setting file and folder permissions
Windows Vista runs on the NTFS file system, which allows users to set file and folder permissions. These permission settings enable you to specify the users that can view a particular file or a whole folder on your computer. In fact, file permissions in Windows Vista are so detailed that you can even specify if a person has the ability only to read your files while preventing them from saving any changes. For the sake of privacy, file permissions are very helpful because they allow you to prevent other users from even being able to gain access to your private folders.

Setting the permissions on files and folders is easy to do. Just follow these steps:
1. Right-click any file or folder for which you want to modify permissions and select Properties.

2. Click the Security tab and press the Edit button.

3. Make sure that your username is added to the list and that you give yourself Full Control. You can do this with the Add button.

4. Remove all users from the group or username list that you do not want having access to this file. It is a good idea to remove the Everyone group because this does include everyone that can access your computer, including guests. Make sure that you do not accidentally remove your username from the list. Also watch out for the SYSTEM account. This is one account that the operating system uses to access files but can be safely removed unless you experience any problems with its removal.

5. Now that you have the list of users and groups taken care of, set the specific permissions that the user has on the file or folder. Select the name of the user that you want to modify, and then check the corresponding boxes in the Permissions for list for the activities that you want them to be able to do.

6. When you have finished setting the permissions for all the users, click OK to exit the permissions screen.

When you have set the permissions for all sensitive directories, you will have greatly increased your security and privacy. Also keep in mind that file permissions are inherited. Every folder within a folder inherits the permissions of the parent folder unless they are specifically removed. Therefore, if you set the file permissions for a folder, all the subfolders and files will be automatically set with the same permissions. File and folder permissions can be very useful. If you have a program on your computer that you do not want anyone else running, simply set the permissions on that folder so that only you can read and execute it.

Source of Information : Hacking Windows Vista ExtremeTech 2007

Internet Explorer is one of the most difficult parts of Windows to clean because it stores data all over your drive, which makes clearing the data more difficult than just deleting one folder. Every time you want to clean all your Internet Explorer history, you need to clear recent addresses, remove history files, erase temporary Web files, and remove cookies. The below are some suggestion:

Removing address bar suggestions
Windows Vista, like other versions of Windows, includes a feature called AutoComplete that is always activated for the address box. This can be a convenient feature because it can help you when typing in an address by presenting you with various suggestions you already used. The suggestions are based on your address box history. Although this feature offers a great convenience, it also will risk your privacy. When I start typing http://www.Twea in my address bar, it automatically suggests http://www.tweakvista.com because I have visited that site. Anyone who uses my computer and starts typing addresses in manually can see sites that I have visited. If they just type in www.s or www.t, they will be presented with a small list of all the sites that I have visited that have URLs that start with s or t.

How do you stop the suggestions? You have to go after the source. Unfortunately, this effort can be a little tricky. The file that stores this information is called the URL cache and is named index.dat. This file resides in your Cookies directory within the root user folder. To remove the information that Windows records, you just have to delete the file. However, deleting this file is not as easy as deleting normal files. The URL cache file is always in use when the operating system is running. And because it is impossible to delete files that are in use, the only way to delete this file is to delete the file in Safe mode or when the system is loading. One solution to this dilemma is to boot into Safe mode with Command Prompt and delete the file. That works because when you boot into Safe mode with Command Prompt, the file is no longer in use.

Follow these steps to delete the index.dat file by booting into Safe mode:
1. Reboot your computer and press F8 repeatedly right after the BIOS power-on test finishes to get the Safe mode boot menu.

2. When the Advanced boot menu loads, select Safe Mode with Command Prompt and press Enter. Windows will now load into a repair environment called Safe mode that has only the core Windows components running.

3. When the logon screen appears, log on with your username and password.

4. When Command Prompt loads after you sign in, you are ready to get started deleting the file in DOS. You are going to want to navigate through C:\Users\ Your Username \AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies. In Command Prompt, you will start out in the C:\Users\ Your Username \ folder. Type cd AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies and press Enter to navigate the rest of the way.

5. When you are at the right folder, you are ready to delete the file. Type del index.dat, and press Enter.

You are now finished and can reboot your computer. The index.dat file has been deleted and cleared out.

After you reboot the computer, the file will have been erased. Do not be surprised if you see a new index.dat file generated after you reboot. A new empty file will be generated again to replace the existing file.


Clearing temporary Internet files, history, and cookies
Every time that you visit a Web site, the files for the Web page (such as the HTML and the images) are downloaded and stored in a temporary directory known as Temporary Internet Files. Over time, this directory can become full of images and HTML from various Web sites that you have visited. This directory can end up taking up a lot of space on your hard drive. Additionally, a user can browse your Temporary Internet Files directory and find out exactly what sites you have been visiting just as if they were looking at your browser history. If you are concerned about your privacy, or just concerned about disk space, then clearing the temporary Internet files is a must.

The web browsing history is another area that users often like to clear. Internet Explorer, by default, is configured to record all the Web sites that you visit for a 30-day period. If you are concerned about your privacy, your browsing history should be cleaned frequently and history settings configured best for your privacy. Doing so will ensure that any user of your computer will not be able to easily see exactly what you have been doing.

Cookies are also created on your computer when you visit Web sites. Contrary to popular belief, cookies are really not that bad. Most Web sites use them to save user data to a browser. An example of this is site preferences or automatic logon when you visit a Web site. A Web site you visit can detect if the Web site has given you a cookie already that has your user ID stored in it. If it finds one, then it knows exactly who you are and logs you on automatically. Advertisers also use cookies to store personal data. Instead of showing you the same advertisement 50 times, they use cookies to keep track of how many times an advertisement is displayed on your screen.

A common myth about cookies is that they allow Web sites to track what other sites you visit. That is just not true. The only cost of having cookies on your computer is a privacy concern for local users. Any user that has physical access to you computer can browse to the directory that the cookies are stored in and view what Web sites you visit because the cookies are named after the Web site that instructed your browser to put them on your computer.

Clearing the temporary Internet files, history, and cookies is a very simple task. Just follow these steps to clear these files:
1. Open Internet Explorer 7.

2. Click Tools and select Delete Browsing History.

3. When the Delete Browser History Window loads, click Delete All on the bottom of the window to clear all temporary files, history, and cookies from your computer.

3. On the confirmation screen, select Also delete files and settings stored by add-ons, and click Yes. All your browser data will now be cleaned.

Now users will no longer be able to see what Web sites you visit from the cookies and temporary Internet files that are stored on your computer. Additionally, you will have freed up some disk space by deleting these files.


Adjusting your cookie security policy
As mentioned, cookies are not as bad as some people in the computing world would like you to believe. Instead, the only real risk they present is a loss of some privacy, as I mentioned previously. If you allow your browser to be instructed to create cookies on your computer, over time your PC would have quite a collection of them. Anyone who used your computer would then know what sites you visited, if they knew where the cookie files were located.

The latest version of Internet Explorer includes many new enhancements. One of the enhancements includes a new way of accepting cookies. Now you have the capability to specify if you would like your browser to block all cookies or just certain types of cookies. To be able to use this new feature, you need to understand the two different types of cookies:

First-party cookies: Placed on your computer by the current site that you are visiting.
Third-party cookies: Placed on your computer by remote sites, such as advertisement servers.

If you do not want your computer to accept third-party cookies that are often used for online marketing or if you just want to adjust your cookie acceptance settings, follow these steps:
1. Open Internet Explorer.

2. Click Tools and select Internet Options.

3. When Internet Options loads, click the Privacy tab.

4. You will see the up-and-down slider that allows you to select different levels of cookie security. I recommend that you bypass this and just click the Advanced button instead.

5. After you have clicked the Advanced button and see the Advanced Privacy Settings window, select the box that says Override Automatic Cookie Handling.

6. Your settings for first-and third-party cookies will now be available for adjustment,. I recommend that you always accept first-party cookies. You can decide if you want to block all third-party cookies or be prompted to accept them. If you select the Prompt option, a dialog box notifies you that a cookies request has been received.

7. When you are finished with your settings, click OK to save your changes and return to Internet Options.

8. Click OK once more to close Internet Options.

Now that you have set the cookie privacy setting manually, you can eliminate cookies from being stored on your hard drive in the first place. Doing so will allow you to protect your privacy and still be able to use Web sites that need cookies.


Saying no to encrypted Web pages
If you manage your finances or shop online, then you probably have had experience with using secure Web connections, otherwise known as SSL. These secure connections encrypt the data that is transferred from a Web server to your computer. When the data gets to your computer, your browser has a special key that decrypts the information and displays it on your computer. During this process, when the file is decrypted, it is saved in the Temporary Internet Files directory so that the browser can display it.

This default appears to be harmless because the Web page is saved on your computer only. If no one has remote access to your computer, the data would be safe, right? Not necessarily, because your data is now vulnerable to anyone who has physical local access to your computer. If that person is clever and lucky enough, he or she can sort through your Temporary Internet Files directory and just might find some confidential information such as your online banking information. All this information is saved by default on your hard drive for anyone to look at who knows how to get to it. They do not even need to know your password or even log onto your account on the bank's Web site because a snapshot of the Web page is stored locally on your computer.

What can you do to protect your computer from this vulnerability besides setting up better computer security such as complex passwords? There is a cool feature of Internet Explorer that you just have to turn on that will eliminate the problem completely. Simply called Do Not Save Encrypted Pages to Disk, this feature, when enabled, solves your problems. To enable it, follow these steps:

1. Open Internet Explorer.

2. Click Tools and select Internet Options.

3. Click the Advanced tab.

4. Scroll down though the list toward the bottom of the window until you see the Security section.

5. Locate Do Not Save Encrypted Pages to Disk, and check the box to the left of it.

6. Click OK to save and activate your changes.

Now you will no longer have to worry about pages that were encrypted being saved to your drive for anyone who has access to your computer to see.


Disabling AutoComplete
AutoComplete also tries to give a helping hand when you are filling in text boxes on Web pages. In this situation, AutoComplete works exactly the same as it does with the address bar. As you begin to fill in the text box, several suggestions will appear based on information that you have already typed in.

To get an idea of how this works in action, visit a search site such as Google (http://www.google.com) and start to type in words for which you want to search. When you do so, words similar to the ones you have typed in the box on other visits to the site will appear. This capability allows anyone that uses your computer to be able to see what other users of the computer have searched for on the site, even if the browser history was cleared.

Clearly, having this feature enabled would be a big concern if you were concerned about your privacy. Disabling the AutoComplete feature is not very difficult and will completely take care of this privacy concern. Follow these steps to put an end to AutoComplete:

1. Open Internet Explorer.

2. Click Tools and select Internet Options.

3. Click the Content tab and then Settings button under the AutoComplete section.

4. After the AutoComplete Settings window loads, clear all the boxes.

5. When you are finished, just click OK to save your changes.

6. Click OK once more to close Internet Options and activate your changes.

AutoComplete is now a thing of the past. You no longer have to worry that people who use your computer will be shown all the things that you type into your address and text boxes.


Clearing temporary Internet files automatically
Earlier I showed you how to clear your temporary Internet files so that they will not be a privacy concern. Over time, your Temporary Internet Files folder will fill up again and will once again become a privacy concern. One easy way to fix this is to use a cool hidden feature of Internet Explorer that automatically deletes these files every time you close Internet Explorer. This way, you will not have to worry about clearing all the files every time that you use Internet Explorer. Follow these steps to activate this cool feature:

1. Open Internet Explorer.

2. Click the Tools menu bar item and then select Internet Options.

3. Click the Advanced tab and scroll down to the bottom of the screen.

4. Locate and select Empty Temporary Internet Files Folder when browser is closed.

5. Click OK to close Internet Options and activate your changes.

Enabling the automatic empty feature is a great way to easily maintain a clean PC. Keep in mind that this will delete only your temporary Internet files, not your cookies.

When you hover your mouse pointer over something such as a button on the taskbar and text materializes, often explaining what you’re about to click. But is there a way to turn that off? Turns out that there is. It’s a registry edit, but as long as you follow these instructions carefully, you should be OK. We’ve edited the registry plenty of times together with no ill effects, right?

Follow these instructions to remove Vista’s tool tips:

1. From the Start menu, type regedit and then launch the corresponding application from the Program list.

2. From the Registry Editor, navigate to the following key, HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

3. Now, set the DWORD value called ShowInfoTip to 0 (i.e., off). Exit the Registry Editor. You must now reboot Vista for the changes to take effect.

To reenable the tool tips, set the ShowInfoTip DWORD value back to 1.

There’s an easy way to configure a specific user account to always log on when starting Vista. If you’re not concerned about anyone else using your computer, or what he might see or access if you got up for a latte after booting your machine, this can help smooth the startup process.

1. From the Start menu, type netplwiz and then launch the application of the same
name. The User Accounts dialog box appears.

2. Uncheck the “Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer” checkbox, and click Apply.

3. You’ll now see the “Automatically log on” dialog box. From here, type the name of the account and the password for the account for which you want to enable auto-logon.

4. Click OK and then OK again to commit the changes.

To reverse course, just open the same netplwiz application once again and recheck the checkbox.