Top 5 Windows Vista Tips To Personalize Your PC

This one's quick, simple, and obvious -- though it's also very, very bad, if you hew reflexively to the philosophy that shutting off any security feature is a mistake. Unfortunately, as I've (previously pointed out Vista's User Account Controls (UACs) are counterproductive.

	(click image for larger view) The User Account Controls are managed via Vista's Windows Security Center. view the image gallery

They're intended as warnings -- Windows needs your permission to continue -- designed to prevent you from installing spyware and virus-laden programs on your PC. In practice, they distinguish not a whit between authorized apps from major vendors or worms written by the kid down the street (or in Eastern Europe). Furthermore, they pop up so frequently that the "Cry Wolf" factor quickly comes into play.

As several blogs have pointed out (e.g., TweakVista and Vista Rewired), shutting off Vista's security notifications is trivial in its simplicity. Both aforementioned blogs show you how to shut off the UACs using the taskbar's Windows Security Alerts icon as your starting point.

Alternatively, you can get to the Windows Security Center via the Control panel. Sequence through Start > Control Panel > Check this computer's security status. Next, click on the left-side link within the dialogue box, Change the way Security Center alerts me.

That'll open the Do you want to be notified of security issues? box. To kill the UAC notifications, select Don't notify me and don't display the icon.

While ditching the UACs gets rid of a nuisance, it still leaves unaddressed the very real problem of Vista security. For years, I've been down on the major PC security programs because I thought they created too much of a performance drag and protected too little against increasingly sophisticated threats like AIM-borne viruses (e.g., "Check out this photo: http://your_PC_is_screwed.com").

(click image for larger view) Archiving is much easier to accomplish than in Windows XP, via Vista's Backup and Restore Center. view the image gallery

With Vista, I've changed my stance. Mostly, it's because of my kids. The only time I've ever been blindsided by spy- or adware has been when I've gone to sites which I probably shouldn't have been visiting in the first place. (Of course, my readers would never do such things.) I can't say the same, though, about my children. Even if I wanted to ban them from the likes of MySpace and Facebook -- unlike many parents, I don't -- that's not enforceable in the real world. (Friends' houses and young peoples' computer expertise trump parental controls every time.) Hence, the need for a security program. I'm currently working my way through Symantec's Norton Internet Security, Trend Micro's PC-cillin, and Microsoft's Windows Defender to decide which one I like best.

Realistically, you can erect an electronic barbed-wire fence around your PC, and you'll still get whacked by malware every now and again. In this regard, no security feature is more important than System Restore. That's Windows' built-in capability to roll your installation back to its configuration on a prior date. It's accessed via Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Backup and Restore Center.

Windows Vista is much better at creating "restore points" -- rollback date options -- than is XP. That's a big plus; I never was much good at remembering to create XP restore points, and so often got stuck deleting working apps along with the bad stuff when I had to run a restore. So, while you no longer need to remember to set restore points, you'd be well advised to do frequent backups.

Aside from the obvious reason -- it's good practice -- I've still got the lingering suspicion that Vista may not be totally buttoned down when it comes to Restore's promise to only remove apps and systems software, not any docs or pictures. Fortunately, archiving is much easier to accomplish than in XP; Vista's Backup and Restore Center makes it simple.

Bottom Line:

Why not? (But only if you install a separate, heavy-duty security program.)

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