Thursday, March 6, 2008

Free XP Tweaks, Free Vista Tweaks Too

For some reason, people pay good money for tweaking software packages that offer "unparalleled access" to hundreds of hidden XP or Vista settings and allow you to customise the Windows environment without getting lost in the registry editor. Companies are charging anywhere between $US25 and $US100 for something that is already built into the operating system; the Group Policy Editor (GPEdit).

GPEdit gives you full control over Startup/Shutdown Scripts, Password Policy, Account Lockout Policy, Audit Policy, User Rights Assignment, Security Options, Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS), DNS Client, Link-Layer Topology Discovery, Microsoft Peer-to-Peer Networking Services, Peer Name Resolution Protocol, Network Connections, Windows Firewall, Offline Files, QoS Packet Scheduler, SNMP, SSL Configuration Settings, Windows Connect Now, Printers, Credentials Delegation, Device Installation, Disk NV Cache, Disk Quotas, Distributed COM, Driver Installation, Folder Redirection, Group Policy, Internet Communication Management, iSCSI, Kerberos, Locale Services, Logon, Net Logon, NTFS Filesystem, Performance, Control Panel, Power Management, Remote Assistance, Remote Procedure Call, Removable Storage Access, Shutdown Options, System Restore, Troubleshooting and Diagnostics, Trusted Platform Module Services, User Profiles, Windows File Protection, Windows HotStart, Windows Time Service,
expand the functionality of Internet Explorer or lock it down securely, prevent certain applications from running or force them to run when a user logs on, customise the Start menu, prevent access to hard disks, stop users from installing software via removable media, allow RDP users to shut a remote system down, customise the windows desktop and control panel, specify password complexity, restrict logon times and more.

There are well over 1,000 settings that can be applied to users or to the whole machine, and it's all there in the OS, complete with a graphical user interface and extensive help text.

All you have to do is run gpedit.msc from the Start menu's Run box. Best of all, it won't cost you any extra money.

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