Even though I wear the tech guru pants in our household, my wife insists on maintaining her own Vista system — she’s my toughest customer. Fortunately, she does take my advice when she is unsure of the necessary steps, and I was able to get her to use a Standard User account and then to provide the Administrator credentials at the UAC prompts, as a security precaution.

Because I’m always talking about security and passwords, she recently changed the Administrator password in order to keep her system safe. Unfortunately, a few weeks later when she needed to make a change to her system, she realized that she completely forgot the new password. Of course, this snafu was now my problem to fix.

Now, being a very customer-oriented tech, I calmly assured her that everything was going to be just fine. While she does have a password-reset disk for her user account, we never created one for the Administrator account.

Fortunately, I remembered seeing a Microsoft Help and Support article about being able to use System Restore to gain access to a system on which the Administrator account password was forgotten.

To my surprise, the procedure worked without a hitch, and I won the best-tech-of-the-year award. Seriously now, since this is a great technique to have in your tech support toolbox, and because it will work in both Windows Vista and Windows 7, I thought I would share it with TechRepublic readers.

In this edition of the Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report, I’ll show you how to use System Restore and a Windows DVD to revive a lost Administrator password.

This blog post is also available in PDF format in a free TechRepublic download.

Caveats

Of course, in order for this technique to work, System Restore must be enabled and there must be a recent restore point during which you were able to successfully log on to the system.

Also keep in mind that using System Restore and selecting a restore point will return the computer to a state where the logon was successful. If you have installed any programs or updates since the last restore point was created, you will have to reinstall them. You may also have to reset some personal settings. However, you will not lose any documents or e-mail messages.

Getting started

To begin, you’ll insert the Windows Vista or Windows 7 DVD into your drive and restart the system. When the system boots from the DVD, follow along with the prompts as you normally would. When you get to the Install Windows screen, shown in Figure A, click the Repair Your Computer link.

Figure A

When you get to the Install Windows screen, click the Repair Your Computer link.

You’ll then be prompted to select the operating system to repair, as shown in Figure B. Just select the operating system and click Next.

Figure B

You’ll need to select your operating system and click Next.

You’ll then see the System Recovery Options dialog box, shown in Figure C. To continue, click System Restore to load the System Restore wizard.

Figure C

Click System Restore in the System Recovery Options dialog box.

When you see the first window in the System Restore wizard, shown in Figure D, click Next.

Figure D

The first window in the System Restore wizard is introductory.

When the next window in the wizard appears, you’ll be prompted to select the restore point that you want to use, as shown in Figure E. On my example system, there is only one restore point; however, chances are that you’ll have more than one on your system.

Figure E

My example system has only one restore point to choose.

When you boot from the DVD, there will be a drive letter X, and System Restore will be prompt you to confirm that the correct disk is selected, as shown in Figure F.

Figure F

When you boot from the DVD, there will be an extra drive letter and you’ll be prompted to confirm the selection.

Finally, you’ll be prompted to begin the restore operation. When you click Finish, you’ll see one more confirmation dialog box, as shown in Figure G.

Figure G

When you click Finish in the wizard, you’ll see one more confirmation prompt.

To commence the system restore operation, click Yes. You’ll then see a progress dialog box, shown in Figure H, that will keep you apprised of the restore operation. The restore operation may take a while to complete, so sit back and be patient.

Figure H

The restore operation may take a while to finish.

Once the restore operation is complete, you’ll be prompted to restart your system, as shown in Figure I. Click the Restart button. Again, the restart operation may take a while to finish its work.

Figure I

After the restore operation is complete, click the Restart button.

When the system restarts, you can log in using a standard user account. Go into User Accounts, and then you can click Manage Accounts. When prompted by UAC, as shown in Figure J, you can enter the old Administrator password. At this point, you can then change the Administrator password.

Figure J

Once you use System Restore, you enter the old Administrator password.

What’s your take?

Now do you know how to use System Restore to access an Administrator account that you were locked out of by a forgotten password? If you have any questions or comments concerning this technique, please take a moment to drop by the TechRepublic Community Forums and let us hear from you.

TechRepublic’s Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report newsletter, delivered every Friday, offers tips, news, and scuttlebutt on Vista and Windows 7, including a look at new features in the latest version of the Windows OS. Automatically sign up today!

If you’ve used the latest incarnation of OpenOffice you may have seen or read about the addition of extensions. With the latest OpenOffice you can expand the capabilities of this outstanding office suite by adding various types of extensions. The types of extensions range from simple templates all the way to full document management systems (and everything in between). You can think of this in a similar way to the Firefox add-ons.

And just like the Firefox add-ons, you will find plenty of extensions that could become invaluable to your day-in and day-out routine. You will also find extensions that have no value for you or your company. Your needs and demands will dictate what you will install.

To search the extension database, go to the OpenOffice Extension page and browse through the various extensions. You can search by Top rated, Highest downloads, Most recent, By application, etc.

The installation process isn’t complicated. In fact, there are multiple ways to install an extension for OpenOffice. In this article we will highlight each method. This article will assume you have a full OpenOffice installation greater than or equal to 3.0. That is all you need to get going on the extensions. And with that said, let’s move ahead.

This blog post is also available in PDF format in a free TechRepublic download. You can download Open Office from the TechRepublic Software Library.

The Extension Manager

If you go to the Tools menu, you will see the Extension Manager entry. When you open this, you will notice a fairly simple, straightforward interface (Figure A).

Figure A

Not only can you install extensions from within this window, you can update your currently installed extensions as well.

From within the Extension Manager you will find two of the easiest ways to install an extension: from a local file and directly from the Web. These are the two primary methods of installing. The former allows you to add extensions that you have downloaded by clicking the Add button and then locating the extension that you saved to your hard drive. The latter method takes you to the OpenOffice Extension page where you can search for an extension to install.

Let’s walk through the process of installing from the Web.

The first thing to do is to open the Extension Manager. You can either open it as described above, or you can open the main OpenOffice desktop. To open the desktop, go to the OpenOffice menu and select the OpenOffice.org entry. This will open the main OpenOffice window (Figure B), which allows you to open any type of OpenOffice document or template and install the extension.

Figure B

To open the Extension Manager, click on the icon second from the left.

Once you have the Manager open, click on the Get More Extensions Online link at the bottom left, which will open your default browser to the OpenOffice Extension page. For simplicity’s sake, we’ll install the Sun PDF Importer Extension. If you navigate to the extension page, you will see Get It buttons for various operating systems. Since we are working in Windows (in this case, Windows 7), click the Get It button for Windows. Once the file is saved, depending on your browser, either you will have to click it to start the process or the browser will automatically start the process for you.

Once the process is initiated, you will have to only OK the installation. In some instances, however, you might have to agree to the terms of a license. Such is the case with the Sun PDF Importer. Once the extension is installed, you will not have to restart OpenOffice to use said extension. The new extension will immediately show up in the Extension Manager (Figure C) where you can disable it or uninstall it. There are some extensions that also offer a Preferences button.

Figure C

It doesn’t hurt to check for updates now and then.

Now let’s install from a local file. When you download an OpenOffice extension to a local directory, all you need to do is click the Add button from within the Extension Manager window. After you click that, you will have to navigate to where you downloaded the file and then click Open. Next, you will be taken back to the Extension Manager where you will see the progress of the installation. After the extension is installed, you can delete the downloaded file.

Final thoughts

I have added numerous extensions to various OpenOffice installations. Some of these Extensions make your office life so much easier. And since these extensions are free and easy to install, it is a no-brainer that you should take advantage of this method to extend the capabilities of OpenOffice. And if you are a developer that has a functionality need that OpenOffice doesn’t offer, you can check out OpenOffice Extensions Developer Resource page and look into developing your own extensions.

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Head Blogs Editor Toni Bowers sent a link to the editorial staff here at TechRepublic today that made everyone cringe. Apparently Microsoft has launched a marketing campaign extolling the benefits of the soon-to-be-released Windows 7 that mimics the cheesy infomercials of late-night television fame. My initial response was, “What are they thinking?”

Now, two points of order here: (1) I like Windows 7, and I think it will sell well and make Microsoft tons of money. I have no doubt it will be my operating system of choice. (2) I am a very skeptical person (some would say cynical), and I just cannot believe this infomercial/launch party idea is good marketing. Heck, I cannot believe it even made it past the whiteboard from what must have been one lame brainstorming session.

Let’s party

But then I started to look closer at all the various videos that are available in this infomercial/party theme. And it occurred to me that the novice user, like my aunt who has been trying to decide whether to get a computer for years now, would actually benefit from these videos/parties because they are so nonconfrontational. The videos make everything seem so easy. I mean, look at these happy people, having a party, enjoying a new operating system — life is good and all is well with the world.

Then it hit me — my aunt and anyone else in the novice category will never attend one of these things, and therefore they are a waste of effort. Furthermore, for a skeptical (some say cynical) technical geek like me, the videos are downright painful.

Here, in all its glory, is the introductory video. Note that there are quite a few more on the YouTube Channel:

Poll

So let’s put this to a vote. I have made my feelings obvious, how about yours. And, please expound on what you think of the videos, the launch party idea, and the whole marketing concept all together in the forum — am I wrong about this?

Save time, money, and frustration with this technique to create several virtual and bootable testing environments of Microsoft Windows 7.

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When you begin experimenting with Microsoft Windows 7, chances are good that you’ll want to have several installations of the new operating system on which to test various configurations, settings, and applications. While you could install Windows 7 on several machines for your test environment, wouldn’t it be great if you could quickly and easily create several installations on the same system?

You’re probably thinking that this idea is nothing new; you can set up a dual-boot system or use Windows Virtual PC to easily create several installations of Windows 7 on the same PC. Well, what if I told you that you can combine these two techniques and get the best of both without having to actually partition your disk for dual booting and without actually having to use a separate virtual management system such as Windows Virtual PC? And, best of all, because the hard disk is the only thing being virtualized, you can actually take advantage of all the power your hardware has to offer!

I recently learned that Microsoft has made available several techniques that you can use to create bootable Windows 7 virtual hard disks (VHDs) that run like a dual-boot setup. For example, you can convert a Windows 7 Windows Image Format (WIM) file to a VHD, you can Sysprep an existing Windows 7 VHD, or you can create a VHD using the Windows 7 DVD and the DiskPart command.

The technique that you choose will depend on what you have to start with. If you have a Windows 7 WIM file or an existing Windows 7 VHD file, you can easily use the first two techniques. If you don’t have either of those files, you can use the third technique. Each one of these techniques are relatively painless to perform once you know the necessary steps.

In this edition of the Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report, I’ll show you how to create a VHD using the Windows 7 DVD and the DiskPart command. (I’ll cover the other techniques in future editions.)

This blog post is also available in PDF format in a free TechRepublic download.

Caveats

Before you use one of these VHD techniques, you need to understand that there are some limitations. First, these VHD techniques are designed to work on top of an existing Windows 7 installation. (Supposedly, you can make it work in Vista, but you have to replace the Boot Manager with the one from Windows 7. However, I have not experimented with that option as of yet.) Second, you cannot use Hibernation on the VHD. Third, you cannot boot a VHD from a Windows 7 installation that is secured with BitLocker nor can you use BitLocker on the VHD.

(At this point, I’m going to assume that these techniques will be available only in the Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise.)

Getting started

As I mentioned, this technique is designed to work on top of an existing Windows 7 installation. You’ll begin by creating a folder in which you will create the VHD. I suggest that you create it in the root folder to make accessing it easy. On my example system, I created the folder win7vhd in the root directory, as shown in Figure A.

Figure A

Begin by creating a folder in which you will create the VHD.

Now, insert the Windows 7 DVD into your drive and restart the system. When the system boots from the DVD, follow along with the prompts as you normally would. When you get to the Install Windows screen, as shown in Figure B, click the Repair Your Computer link.

Figure B

When you get to the Install Windows screen, click the Repair Your Computer link.

While the next screen is loading, press [Shift]+[F10] to open a command prompt window.

The DiskPart commands

Once the command prompt window opens, you’ll use a series of DiskPart commands to create and prepare the VHD file. Keep in mind that when you boot from the CD and open the command prompt window, your host hard disk will be temporarily moved up one letter. On my example system, the host hard disk moved up from drive C to drive D. As such, I’ll path to the win7vhd folder on drive D.

To create and prepare the VHD file:

1. Type the command:
   diskpart
2. Once the Diskpart environment is ready, create a VHD file called win7 that is expandable up to 20GB, by typing the command:
   create vdisk file=”d:\win7vhd\win7.vhd” type=expandable maximum=20000
3. Next, select the vdisk by typing the command:
   select vdisk file=”d:\win7vhd\win7.vhd”
4. Now, attach the vdisk by typing the command:
   attach vdisk

This entire procedure is illustrated in Figure C.

Figure C

After each command, you should see a success message.

Installing Windows 7 on the VHD

Once the VHD is created, you can install Windows 7 on the VHD. To begin, type Exit to leave the Diskpart environment and then click the Close button the close the command prompt window. You may also have to close the Repair window by clicking the Close button.

When you return to the Install Windows screen, shown in Figure B, you can click the Install Now button. You’ll work your way thru the initial Installation wizard screens by accepting the license terms and choosing the Custom (advanced) installation.

When the Installation wizard prompts you to choose where you want to install Windows, select the new VHD. It will be designated as Unallocated Space and be the size that you specified in the DiskPart command. When you select the VHD, you’ll see a Warning message that says that Windows cannot be installed to this disk. You’ll also find a more detailed explanation of the problem, as shown in Figure D.

Figure D

While the Installation wizard will warn you that Windows cannot be installed to this disk, you can ignore the warning.

Even though the Installation wizard indicates that Windows cannot be installed to this disk, you can ignore the warning as the procedure does indeed function correctly. In fact, the installation procedure will progress quite rapidly and restart several times as it completes the installation on the VHD just like it would on a normal hard disk.

Booting the VHD

When you restart Windows 7, you’ll see the Windows Boot Manager menu and you’ll see that the Installation wizard names each installation Windows 7, as shown in Figure E. Now, by virtue of being the last installed, the VHD installation should be at the top of the list and be set to the default.

Figure E

Choose your installation of Windows 7.

If you want to rename and change the default start order, you can use the BCDEdit command. To change the name, boot into an installation, open an Administrator command prompt, and use the command:

BCDEdit /set description “New Name”

For example, you can boot into the VHD and use the command:

BCDEdit /set description “Windows 7 VHD”

To change the default, boot into the installation that you want to be the default and use the command:

BCDEdit /default {current}

What’s your take?

What do you think about being able to create bootable Windows 7 VHDs that run like a dual-boot setup? Will this be something that you will use to test Windows 7? If you have any questions or comments concerning this VHD technique, please take a moment to drop by the TechRepublic Community Forums and let us hear from you.

TechRepublic’s Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report newsletter, delivered every Friday, offers tips, news, and scuttlebutt on Vista and Windows 7, including a look at new features in the latest version of the Windows OS. Automatically sign up today!

The first installment of “Classic Microsoft Commercials and Videos You May Have Forgotten” was such a hit that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to revisit this topic. So without further ado, here are more classic Microsoft commercials and videos you may have forgotten.

Bill Gates & Steve Ballmer find an old IBM PC

In this commercial for Internet Explorer, which is a spin-off of a classic Volkswagen commercial, Bill and Steve drive around town while listening to the song “Da Da Da (I Don’t Love You You Don’t Love Me Aha Aha Aha)” by the German band Trio and along the way pick up an old IBM computer.

Bill Gates & Steve Ballmer do Night at the Roxbury

In a spin-off of the Night at the Roxbury movie, Bill and Steve mimic Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell of Saturday Night Live as they drive to and from a congressional hearing about Windows 98 / Internet Explorer while listening to the song “What Is Love?”

Letterman’s tribute to Bill Gates

In this classic David Letterman skit, the host pokes fun at Bill Gates soon after the June 15, 2006, Microsoft announcement that Gates will retire in July 2008.

The origin of [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Del]

For as long as you have been using a PC, you’ve been pressing [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Del]. It’s just a fact of life with PCs. In this clip from a computer discussion panel, Dave Bradley of IBM reveals that while he is the creator of [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Del], Gates was the one who made it famous.

Windows Media Center 2005 at CES

At CES 2005, Bill Gates endures a lengthy snafu while attempting to demo Windows Media Center as he sits with host Conan O’Brien.

Bill Gates gets pied-twice

In February 1998, Bill Gates was a entering a Flemish government building in Flanders to attend a meeting with government officials when a man jumped out and hit Bill in the face with a pie. The attack was caught on film by a news crew covering the event.

Steve Ballmer gets egged

At a presentation in Hungary, an angry student threw several eggs at Steve Ballmer as he protests the amount of money that Microsoft has made from its products. Burley Ballmer actually remains pretty calm about the whole matter.

This stuff is powerful

In this video collage, Microsoft pronounces that its software is powerful stuff.

The code in us all

In this well-done commercial, Microsoft touts the power of its innovative software to unlock the power of human potential.

The next three Windows 95 commercials appeared on the Windows 95 CD in the Funstuff folder.

Welcome to Windows 95 #1

In preparation for its big Windows 95 launch campaign, Microsoft contracted with famed animator Bill Plympton to create this unique commercial that features a butterfly which turns into a window.

Welcome to Windows 95 #2

Microsoft also contracted with famed animator Joan Gratz to create this unique commercial that begins with a cat jumping out of a window to explore an ever-changing landscape.

Welcome to Windows 95 #3

This interesting commercial begins with an image of Windows 3.x’s Program Manager, which gets blown away by a tornado-like introduction to Windows 95.

Stay on top of the latest XP tips and tricks with TechRepublic’s Windows XP newsletter, delivered every Thursday. Automatically sign up today!

As you know, Windows Vista has a built-in security feature called User Account Control (UAC for short) that is designed to reduce the potential for security breaches. UAC forces all users, even administrators, to request permission via the UAC prompt in order to perform tasks that require administrative privileges. Standard users must be able to provide an Administrator user name and password and Administrators must simply consent to the operation.

While this is all pretty familiar territory to Vista users, the fact that there are actually four types of UAC prompts, each with a different color scheme isn’t. Sure we’ve all encountered UAC prompts, but most of us think of them in generic terms. Seriously, who among us has actually taken the time to look at the color scheme of a UAC? We usually just click a button as fast as we can to move past the prompt. However, like the Homeland Security color levels, each of the successive UAC color-coding schemes is designed to convey a greater sense of warning.

I take a closer look at each type of UAC prompt in a TechRepublic Photo Gallery and point out the different color schemes. Check it out.

After building his Vista IP Configuration Tool, Greg Shultz responded to member requests and created this Sidebar gadget to make things even easier.

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The IPConfig command can be invaluable when troubleshooting TCP/IP connectivity problems. Unfortunately, this handy command is a command-line tool, which means that using it can be a painstaking operation that requires you to type the IPConfig command over and over again with a different switch for each operation.

To alleviate some of that tedious labor, I created the Windows XP IP Configuration Tool several years ago. Recently, I created the Windows Vista IP Configuration Tool for Vista, whose IPConfig command offers five more options than XP and requires working through a UAC prompt.

In the discussion thread for the Vista version, TechRepublic member jvdgijp suggested that I convert the tool, which is an HTML application, into a Vista gadget. Several other members echoed that request, so I got to work and created the IPConfig Gadget. Let’s take a closer look.

Using the IPConfig Gadget

The IPConfig Gadget runs from the Windows Sidebar and presents each of the IPConfig command-line tool’s options on a flyout menu, as shown in Figure A. All you need to do is select the option you want to use and click the OK button. The IPConfig Gadget then opens a Command Prompt window and runs the ipconfig command, along with the selected option. The default option will run the IPConfig Help command (ipconfig /?) so that you can see what each option does.

Figure A

The IPConfig Gadget displays each of the IPConfig command-line tool’s options on a flyout menu.

Because the Windows Vista IP Configuration Tool is an HTA, it requires that you install the Elevate HTML Application PowerToy and then access and use the Run As Administrator command to run the tool. However, the IPConfig Gadget works a bit differently. In fact, it runs more like a native Vista application, in that it displays a UAC only when elevated privileges are required.

In reality, not all of the IPConfig command’s options require elevated privileges. For example, the /displaydns option doesn’t require elevated privileges, but the /flushdns option does. So when you select the /displaydns option, the IPConfig Gadget runs the command immediately. When you select the /flushdns option, the IPConfig Gadget displays a UAC first. Once you work through the UAC, the command runs.

Installation

After you download the IPConfig Gadget Package, you’ll have a Zip file that contains two files:

• IPConfig.zip
• IPConfig Gadget Readme.doc

Simply extract both files to a folder of your choice. Then, rename the IPConfig.zip file to IPConfig.gadget. Next, right-click on the IPConfig.gadget file and select Windows Sidebar from the Open With submenu. When you do, you’ll see the Windows Sidebar - Security Warning dialog box, shown in Figure B. Just click the Install command. The IPConfig Gadget will be installed in the Windows Sidebar and will be ready to use.

Figure B

Select Windows Sidebar from the Open With submenu and choose the Install command in the Windows Sidebar - Security Warning dialog box.

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Disclaimer: The IPConfig Gadget was created for and tested in Windows Vista. Theoretically, the gadget could run in Windows 7, but I can’t guarantee that it will.

I’ve been receiving a lot of e-mail lately from Microsoft Windows XP users who are buying discounted Windows Vista computers now in order to get the free Windows 7 upgrade. Most of the questions revolve around how best to deal with Windows Vista’s User Account Control (UAC). As you know, going from XP to Vista and encountering UAC prompts for the first time can be very frustrating — especially if you consider yourself an experienced computer user who isn’t likely to fall into the kind of traps that UAC is designed to protect computer users from.

As such, many of these users have permanently disabled UAC in order to avoid what they perceive to be a regular onslaught of “Are you sure?” type of prompts. However, the reality is that over the course of a normal computing session, you don’t encounter UAC prompts all that much.

On the other hand, when you are performing certain types of operations, you are encountering UAC prompts every step of the way. That’s when they become annoying.

Now, I know that the easiest way to deal with UAC prompts is to simply disable the UAC feature. The problem with permanently disabling UAC is that once you turn it off, the doors are wide open for inadvertent mistakes or unauthorized changes that can destabilize your system — both of which can happen to even the most experienced computer user.

Because of this potential to accidentally fall victim to a disastrous event, I normally recommend leaving UAC in place and suffering the indignities of the prompts. Better safe than sorry.

However, I recently discovered a technique that will allow you to temporarily disable UAC during those times when you know that you will be performing operations that generate a lot of UAC prompts and then re-enable UAC when you are done. That way you will be able to avoid UAC prompts when they are most likely to occur, yet leave the UAC protection in place when it will most likely save you from disaster.

In this edition of the Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report, I’ll explain this technique and show you how to use it to your advantage.

This blog post is also available in PDF format in a free TechRepublic download.

A security policy setting

The crux of this technique relies on a security policy setting called User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for administrators in Admin Approval Mode. This setting, which is accessible in the Local Security Policy console in Vista Business and Ultimate, yet actually tied to a key in the registry that is available in all versions of Vista, is designed to allow you to configure how the UAC prompts are to appear for an Administrator-level user account.

This setting has three levels:

• Prompt for Consent: An operation that requires elevation of privilege will prompt an administrator in Admin Approval Mode to click either Continue or Cancel. If the administrator clicks Continue, the operation will continue with the administrator’s highest available privilege. (This is the default level.)
• Prompt for Credentials: An operation that requires elevation of privilege will prompt an administrator in Admin Approval Mode to enter a user name and password. If valid credentials are entered, the operation will continue with the applicable privilege.
• Elevate without Prompting: This value allows an administrator in Admin Approval Mode to perform an operation that requires elevation without providing consent or credentials.

Of course, the Prompt for Consent level is the default, and the Elevate without Prompting level is the one that we will employ in this technique.

The beauty of the User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for administrators in Admin Approval Mode setting is that changing it doesn’t dramatically affect the UAC feature and as such doesn’t require you to restart. (When you completely disable UAC, you are required to restart Vista.)

The registry edits

As I mentioned, the User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for administrators in Admin Approval Mode security policy setting is actually tied to a key in the registry. As such, you can easily switch between the Prompt for Consent level and the Elevate without Prompting level, with a pair of simple registry edits.

While you can use the Registry Editor to make these changes, it is much easier to make them via a couple of Reg files, which you can easily create. One of the Reg files changes the setting to the Elevate without Prompting level while the other one changes the setting back to the Prompt for Consent level. Let’s take a closer look.

To begin, click the Start button, type Regedit in the Start Search box, and press [Enter]. When you do, you’ll encounter a UAC and will need to respond accordingly. Once the Registry Editor launches, locate the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_Machine\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

Once you open the System Key, locate the

ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin

setting. Now pull down the File menu and select the Export command. When you see the Export Registry File dialog box, locate the folder of your choice and set the file name to EnableUACPrompt, as shown in Figure A, and click the Save button. Then, close the Registry Editor.

Figure A

Name the file that you export from the registry EnableUACPrompt.

At this point, locate the EnableUACPrompt.reg file in Windows Explorer, right-click on it, and select the Edit command to open the EnableUACPrompt.reg file in Notepad. The file will contain the entire contents of the System key, which in this case is unnecessary. You can whittle the contents of the file down to three lines, as shown in Figure B, and save it.

Figure B

You can remove all but three lines from the EnableUACPrompt.reg file.

Now, change the last number in the third line to 0 and save the file as DisableUACPrompt.reg. As you do, make sure that you select All Files from the Save As Type drop-down menu, as shown in Figure C.

Figure C

After you change the last number in the third line to 0, you can save the file as DisableUACPrompt.reg, making sure that you select All Files from the Save As Type drop-down menu.

Using the technique

Now, when you know that you will be performing operations that generate a lot of UAC prompts, just right-click on the DisableUACPrompt.reg file and select Registry Editor from the Open With menu. (If Registry Editor is the default program associated with Reg files, you can simply double-click the Reg file.) When you do, you’ll encounter a UAC prompt and will need to respond accordingly. Once you do, you will encounter a warning message from the Registry Editor. When you click Yes to continue, you’ll see a confirmation message from the Registry Editor. These steps are shown in Figure D.

Figure D

When you run either of the Reg files, the Registry editor will display these messages.

When you are finished with the operations, you can right-click on the EnableUACPrompt.reg file and select Registry Editor from the Open With menu. When you do, you’ll encounter the warning and confirmation messages from the Registry Editor, UAC will be re-enabled, and you’ll be protected.

Caveats

While you have the UAC prompt disabled, the Other Security Settings section in the Windows Security Center will indicate that UAC is turned off. Eventually, a red shield icon will appear in the notification area, warning you that UAC is turned off. However, once you re-enable UAC, those warnings will disappear.

What’s your take?

Have you completely disabled UAC? If so, are you likely to re-enable it and begin using this technique to temporarily disable the UAC only when you need to and be protected the rest of the time? If you have any questions or comments concerning the disabling UAC feature, please take a moment to drop by the TechRepublic Community Forums and let us hear from you.

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Laptops are stolen all the time. And recovering a stolen laptop is made very difficult when steps have not been taken to help this task get accomplished. Prey is an open source application, available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, that can help you out when your laptop is stolen. Prey takes an ingenious approach to laptop recovery, because once it is installed, it will send timed reports to a configured e-mail address containing information describing its whereabouts. The information collected includes:

• Status of the computer
• List of running programs and active connections
• Detailed network and WI-FI report
• Screenshot of running desktop
• A picture of the thief (if the stolen laptop is equipped with a Webcam)

Of course you are probably thinking that this is a lot of information to be sending out, especially since, with this setup, your laptop will be sending out this information even when the laptop isn’t stolen. Ah, but the creators have thought of that as well. You can configure Prey to send out the information only if it finds a certain Web URL that you created in the event of the laptop being stolen. We’ll address that in a bit. First, let’s look at how to get the program and install it.

This blog post is also available in PDF format in a free TechRepublic download.

Getting and installing

Before we start, you should know that Prey requires the .NET library. If your laptop does not have this installed, you will have to install it before you can work with Prey. First download the zip file from the Prey Download Page. Once you have that on your hard drive, unzip the file and open the resulting folder. Within this folder you will see a few executable files. The file you need to concentrate on is PreyConfig.exe.

Configuring Prey

Here is the information you will need to set up Prey:

• URL: More on this later
• E-mail address: This will be the address Prey sends all information to.
• SMTP Server: The SMTP server Prey will use to send e-mail.
• Port: The port the SMTP server will use.
• SSL: If your SMTP server uses SSL, you will have to check this box.
• Username: This is the username for the SMTP server.
• Password: This is the password for the SMTP server.

In order to configure Prey, double-click on the PreyConfig.exe file. When the configuration window opens (Figure A), enter the necessary information, but do not enter a URL.

Figure A

If you don’t want to create an account with Prey, you can go the simple e-mail route.

One thing to note is that if you use Google’s SMTP server you will need to set the port to 587 and click the SSL checkbox.

Before you activate Prey you have to locate the PreyAgent executable command. To do this, click the Activate checkbox, which will open an Explorer window where you can locate the PreyAgent.exe file.

Once you have entered all the information, click the Activate button and you are good to go. Prey will begin to send information to the configured e-mail address in the time increment you have configured.

Setting up a URL

As stated earlier, the developers have created a way for you to pseudo-activate Prey should your laptop be stolen. What you do is create a URL that Prey can check for (it will do so at the time increment configured). When Prey finds that URL, it will then begin to send out the information to the configured e-mail address.

The URL you create is up to you, but make sure you have the capability of creating that URL from anywhere at any time. Say you own the domain http://www.mydomainishere.com. You can configure Prey to check for the URL http:///www.mydomainishere.com/STOLEN.html. If your laptop is, in fact, stolen, create a Web page with that address (you can just create a blank STOLEN.html file as Prey checks only for the existence of the address) and then you will begin to receive information at the configured e-mail address.

When you click the Activate button, a new window will pop up with a message telling you the configuration is OK.

Using the Prey Control Panel

If you choose to create an account on Prey’s site, you can take advantage of their Control Panel for more granular control of your stolen hardware. After you sign up for the service, you will get an activation key, which you will enter in the configuration screen. You will also have to add a new device in the Control Panel. Click the Add New Device button once you have logged in. In this new screen (Figure B), you enter a name, select the device type, select the OS, and then click the Create button. When you create the device, you will be given a device code that you will then enter into the configuration screen.

Figure B

You can add numerous devices here.

Problem

In order for Prey to actually work, it will have to be booted up and connected online. This can be avoided unless the first thing a thief does is format your hard drive. If that is the case, you are out of luck.

Final thoughts

Is Prey a perfect solution? No, but it is an interesting and well-executed solution that just happens to be open source and cross-platform. This enables pretty much anyone to have at least a slight chance of recovering a stolen laptop. And even the slightest assurance is better than none.

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Accelerators can shave tons of time off your everyday browser tasks. Greg Shultz introduces this feature and explains how to get the most out of it.

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I’ve been using Windows 7 Ultimate exclusively on my laptop for close to five months and now find it more and more difficult to go back to my Vista Ultimate desktop, where I do most of my work. My desktop is a very responsive system, and I’ve not had many problems with Vista. A glitch here and there, but no show stoppers. However, after using Windows 7, Windows Vista leaves a bit to be desired.

One thing I have really grown to love in Windows 7 is Internet Explorer 8 and the Accelerators feature. While Internet Explorer 8 has been available for some time now, I have resisted putting it on my Vista system for purist motives. The other day, I caved in and added Internet Explorer 8 to my main Vista system. Boy, am I ever glad that I did, because I never realized how handy the Accelerators feature was until I began using it more regularly.

In this edition of the Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report, I’ll explore Internet Explorer 8’s Accelerators feature and show you how to get the most out of it.

Note: This article is also available as a PDF download.

What are Accelerators?

Accelerators do just what their name implies — they accelerate your ability to gain access to the various types of Web-based searches you use every day. You just highlight the text you are interested in, click the Accelerators icon, and off you go.

For example, the default Accelerators will allow you to quickly send a term to a search engine or a translator site, send a paragraph to your blog or via e-mail, or send an address to a mapping engine.

While the preconfigured Accelerators are, of course, all Microsoft related, they are by no means all that’s out there. Hundreds of third-party Accelerators are available for you to choose from.

Let’s take a look at how you can take advantage of some of the preconfigured Accelerators. Then, we’ll look at adding and managing Accelerators.

Using the preconfigured Accelerators

The best way to explain how and what Accelerators are all about is to just jump in. So, let’s suppose that you are looking for a new job and you come across a great sounding position in a city you are not familiar with. To find out where it is, you first highlight the name of the city. You’ll then see the Accelerators icon. When you click it, the list of Accelerators will appear. Just point to the Map with Live Search Accelerator item and a small map will pop up, as shown in Figure A. If you want more detail, click the little map and a larger map will appear on a new tab.

Figure A

The Map with Live Search Accelerator will instantly show you a map, which is actually provided by Bing, of the selected city.

As another example, suppose that you are reading about the new Beatles Rock Band game and want to learn more about the Beatles. Just highlight The Beatles, click the Accelerators icon, and then click the Search with Live Search Accelerator item, as shown in Figure B. A new tab will appear and display the search results, provided by Bing.

Figure B

You can instantly search for any term you see using the Search with Live Search Accelerator.

As you can see, this Accelerator saves you multiple steps. No more copying the text, opening a new tab, accessing the search engine, pasting the text, and clicking the search button.

Adding Accelerators

As I mentioned earlier, there are hundreds of third-party Accelerators available for you to choose from, and you can replace the preconfigured Accelerators with those for your favorite sites. To access the list of Accelerators, open the All Accelerators submenu and select the Find More Accelerators command, as shown in Figure C.

Figure C

You’ll find the Find More Accelerators command on the All Accelerators submenu.

Once you select the command, a new tab will open and the Internet Explorer 8 Add-ons Gallery: Accelerators page will appear, as shown in Figure D. You can then locate the Accelerators you want to use and install then simply by clicking the Add to Internet Explorer button.

Figure D

You can find hundreds of third-party Accelerators on the Internet Explorer 8 Add-ons Gallery: Accelerators page.

Configuring Accelerators

If you choose the Manage Accelerators command on the All Accelerators submenu, you’ll see the Manage Add-ons dialog box with the Accelerators Add-on Type selected, as shown in Figure E. Here, you can remove Accelerators, disable Accelerators, and set the default Accelerator for each category.

Figure E

From the Manage Add-ons dialog box, you can alter the selected Accelerators.

Document-only Accelerators

Although the majority of the Accelerators are designed to function with selected text, some are designed to function only with the entire page or document. So if you add an Accelerator to IE8 but don’t see it on the Accelerator list when you select some text, try right-clicking on the page itself. If the Accelerator is designed to function with the document, you’ll find the Accelerator item on that menu instead.

What’s your take?

Have you used the Accelerators feature? If so, which ones are your favorites? If you have any questions or comments concerning the Accelerators feature, please take a moment to drop by the TechRepublic Community Forums and let us hear from you.