Vista Tips - Assigning a Password and Renaming the Guest Account

One of the default accounts set up in Windows Vista is the Guest account. This account can be useful if your computer is in a public place such as a library and a low rights account is needed.

However, for most of us, this account is just another possible security hole because it cannot be deleted. It is disabled by default but it could be enabled again by a virus or malware if your computer ever gets infected. The best way to neutralize this account is to give it a random password and rename it to eliminate the chances that some script will be able to use it.

Follow these steps to protect this account:

• Click the Start menu, right-click Computer, and then select Manage.
• After Computer Manager loads, expand Local Users and Groups and select the Users folder. All the local computer accounts will be listed.
  
• Right-click the Guest account on the list and select Set Password.
• A warning screen will appear, telling you about what may happen if you proceed. Disregard this message and click Proceed.
• When the Set Password window appears, type in a completely random password that is a complex password and is also at least 20 characters long in both boxes and click OK. The new password will now be set.
• Rename the account to confuse any malicious scripts that might be looking for it. Right-click the Guest account again and select Rename.
• Type a new name for this account that has some random letters and numbers in it. You just want to make it different from Guest.
• When you are done renaming it, click Enter and you are finished.

Your Guest account is now more secure than ever.
Ultimate Links PC Tips™

Vista Boot Options

This Tip is for the First Time Windows Vista Users

Click Start-Run then enter "msconfig" without quotes and press enter.
Alternate way to take Windows Run
Press Win key+R

The Boot tab lets you configure boot options, including timeout settings and advanced
settings, such as these:

■ Safe Boot: Minimal—Boots to the Windows GUI but only running critical services.
Networking functions are also disabled. If you find your system is working at this level
then you might want to try turning on services to see if they cause any further issues.

■ Safe Boot: Alternate Shell—Boots to a command prompt. Critical services are running,
but networking and the GUI are disabled. From here you can perform command-line
diagnostics.

■ Safe Boot: Active Directory Repair—Boots to the Windows GUI running critical services
and Active Directory.

■ Safe Boot: Network—Boots to the Windows GUI, running critical services and network-
ing. If you don’t think your problem is in the networking services then having the
network turned on for your system will allow you to access resources you might need
on the network or Internet for diagnosis.

■ No GUI Boot—Does not display the Windows Vista splash screen when you are booting.
Instead, as mentioned earlier, the Aurora screen appears.

■ Boot Log—Stores information from the boot process in a log located in %systemroot%
called ntbtlog.txt. These logs can be sent to other technicians for their opinion on
what might be causing your system to crash.

■ Base Video—Just like VGA mode in times past, this mode loads the system with standard VGA drivers instead of those that specifically relate to your hardware. This option is good for eliminating problems with video drivers.

■ OS Boot Information—Shows all the drivers during the boot process as they load up.

■ Make All Boot Settings Permanent—Usually when you make changes, you can undo
them simply by selecting the Normal boot process from the General tab (as mentioned
earlier). But if you select this option, those changes can still be undone; however, the
caveat is you have to manually go back and uncheck the options you’ve checked.

■ Timeout Settings—You can configure different countdowns for your multiboot systems.
You can try to type in what you like, but it will ask for a number between 3 seconds
and 999 seconds.

■ Advanced Settings—These advanced options enable you to configure such things as the
number of processors, the amount of memory, and Global Debug settings. Keep in mind
that these options are last-resort choices to diagnose your systems and are usually used
under the direction of Microsoft support services.