What Next?

• [EXPIRED] Get a FREE Licensed Copy of Driver Magician
• [EXPIRED] Get a FREE License for Coral Reef 3D Screensaver
• [EXPIRED] 10 Copies of Edraw Max Pro up for Grabs!
• Windows Sysinternals Suite AIO Available for Free Download
• Windows Guides Security and Administration Series

Another collection of Wallpapers chosen by Angad. (First Collection | Second Collection | Third Collection) Thanks for sharing! Full credit goes to the image authors.

Want More Wallpaper?

Check out more wallpapers in the the Wallpaper section of this site or learn how to use these wallpapers for your login screen too!

What Next?

• Want to Write an Article for Windows Guides?
• Pranks You Can Play on Your Friends in Microsoft Windows
• Official Windows 7 Wallpaper Pack (M3 Build 6801)
• Halloween Freebies: Wallpapers, Dock Icons, Fonts, and Themes
• Free Vista Wallpaper Pack (23 High Res Wallpapers)

You should protect young children when they are using the internet. Children learn best without you over their shoulders telling them what to do, but the internet is a scary place. In this guide you’ll learn how to control allowed websites in Windows Vista.

This guide is included as part of the Windows Guides Vista User Accounts and Parental Controls Series. Please visit the main page if you would like to learn why this guide may be useful.

Setting up Allowed Websites in Windows Vista

To allow specific websites, do the following:

1. Make sure you are logged in as the administrator of the computer
2. Press the Start button and select Control Panel
3. Under User Accounts and Family Safety, click Set up parental controls for any user



4. If prompted, (type your password and) select Continue
5. Click the account you want to add parental controls to



6. Ensure parental controls are on by looking under Parental Controls:and selecting On, enforce current settings



7. Click on Windows Vista Web Filter



8. You may now enforce web filtering or make a custom list of blocked websites



9. You also have the option of blocking file downloads
10. Press OK when you’re done

What Next?

• Vista User Accounts and Parental Controls Series
• Links
• Collect Information About Computer Usage in Vista [How To]
• Best Windows Freebies and Guides 03 [June 2008]
• Best Windows Freebies and Guides 02 [May 2008]

This week I’m giving away lots of prizes again; thank you to the respective software vendors. Just do the following to have a chance at winning them:

NOTE: You may enter all five competitions.

	Download the mintywhite browser toolbar (Already have it? Move to step 2.)
	Email me (Subject is listed below i.e. Type Booster is “TYPE”)
	Answer the question and click Send to be automatically entered into the competition for the prize.

NOTE: There is no right answer, so share your thoughts

Competition Information

Here are a few details you should know:

• If you email me, I wont sell your address–EVER… or give it away. Your privacy is guaranteed
• You can enter all five competitions; however, you can win a maximum of one (1) prize. This prize will be the first you qualify for
• The competitions end on Nov 23, 2008 at 7 P.M. MDT; the winners will be announced on this site on Monday Nov 24, 2008

Good luck everyone!

What Next?

• Freeware Applications for Your Every Need
• [EXPIRED] 5 Simple Competitions and $400 in Prizes This Week
• Top 5 Free Vista SP1 Sidebar Gadgets to Keep a Close Eye on Microsoft
• Top 10 Vista Sidebar Gadgets
• Safari for Windows: Only for ‘Apple-labeled’ computers?

With the many distractions available on a computer, you may want to monitor how your [insert account user type here] uses your computer. In this guide, you’ll learn how enable computer usage information collection and how to view usage reports.

This guide is included as part of the Windows Guides Vista User Accounts and Parental Controls Series. Please visit the main page if you would like to learn why this guide may be useful.

Enable Computer Usage Information Collection

1. Make sure you are logged in as the administrator of the computer
2. Press the Start button and select Control Panel
3. Under User Accounts and Family Safety, click Set up parental controls for any user
4. If prompted, (type your password and) select Continue
5. Click the account you want to add parental controls to
6. Under Activity Reporting:, ensure On, collect information about computer usage is selected
7. Press OK to save these settings

View Computer Usage Reports

To view computer usage reports, do the following:

1. Follow steps 1-5 in the previous example
2. Click View activity reports
   
3. Here you may view visited websites, file downloads, applications run and more

What Next?

• Vista User Accounts and Parental Controls Series
• Links
• Control Allowed Websites and Downloads in Vista [How To]
• Best Windows Freebies and Guides 03 [June 2008]
• Best Windows Freebies and Guides 02 [May 2008]

By setting up parental controls, you gain more control over what your children (colleagues, friends etc) can and can’t do on your computer. Parental controls are very useful as there is so much inappropriate content out there - whether it be on the internet, in games, or even in some software. You may also want to protect your computer from unauthorized changes. This guide will help you set up a user account with parental controls, or add parental controls to an existing account.

This guide is included as part of the Windows Guides Vista User Accounts and Parental Controls Series. Please visit the main page if you would like to learn why this guide may be useful.

Please Note: If you already have an account set up, read Adding Parental Controls to a Current Vista User Account

Setting up a Vista User Account with Parental Controls

To set up a Vista user account with Parental Controls, do the following:

1. Make sure you are logged in as the administrator of the computer
2. Press the Start button and select Control Panel
3. Under User Accounts and Family Safety, click Set up parental controls for any user
4. If prompted, (type your password and) select Continue
5. Click create a new user account
6. Enter and account name and decide whether or not the account needs a password.
7. Click Create Account

You are now ready to move on to the next guide (Collect Information About Computer Usage in Vista [How To])

Adding Parental Controls to a Current Vista User Account

If you already have an account set up, do the following:

1. Make sure you are logged in as the administrator of the computer
2. Press the Start button and select Control Panel
3. Under User Accounts and Family Safety, click Set up parental controls for any user
4. If prompted, (type your password and) select Continue
5. Click the account you want to add parental controls to
6. Under Parental Controls:, select On, enforce current settings
7. Press OK

You are now ready to move on to the next guide (Collect Information About Computer Usage in Vista [How To])

What Next?

• Windows Guides Security and Administration Series
• Vista User Accounts and Parental Controls Series
• Links
• Windows Guides File Organization Series
• Search Google, Wikipedia, and Yahoo from the Start Menu

For the next week, I’m going to run a series of guides that will help you manage user accounts and parental controls on your Windows Vista machine.

If you have younger children, I strongly suggest you set up a user account for them and follow the instructions in these guides. You’ll learn how to do the following:

• Set up a user account with parental controls
• Collect information about computer usage
• Control allowed websites, downloads, and other internet usage
• Set time limits on computer usage
• Control games by rating, content, or title
• Block specific programs on your computer

To get these guides, you can subscribe to the RSS feed (don’t know what RSS is?), or subscribe by e-mail.

Vista User Accounts and Parental Controls Guides

	Set Up a Vista User Account with Parental Controls [How To]
	Collect Information About Computer Usage in Vista [How To]
	Control Allowed Websites and Downloads in Vista [How To]
	Set Time Limits on Computer Usage in Vista [How To]
	Control Games by Rating, Content, or Title in Vista [How To]
	Block Specific Programs on Your Computer in Vista [How To]

Further Resources

Windows Guides Security and Administration Series

Complete Resource for Security & Privacy Protection Freeware

What Next?

• Windows Guides Security and Administration Series
• Links
• Make your Computer Boot Faster with Startup Delayer
• Best Windows Freebies and Guides 02 [May 2008]
• Best Windows Freebies and Guides 03 [June 2008]

I’m pleased to announce the winners as follows:

If you see your name here, but you didn’t get an email, let me know.

What Next?

• [EXPIRED] 5 Simple Competitions and $400 in Prizes This Week
• Links
• Best Windows Freebies and Guides 07 [October 2008]
• What is RSS?
• Top 5 Free Vista SP1 Sidebar Gadgets to Keep a Close Eye on Microsoft

Windows Tools, Help & Guides and Windows Forums is running a competition to find the ‘Best Windows Customization website’. A few months ago, Winvistaclub held a competition to find the best Windows Vista site. This was a great opportunity to bring some good websites out of obscurity; this competition aims to do the same.

Enter Here to win the title of the ‘Best Windows Customization Website’ (or read on for more information)

Criteria

If you run a blog/website/forum, which focuses on Windows customization, you are eligible to participate. If you run a website that focuses on other areas, you will be eligible if your website has substantial content aimed at customizing Windows.

Meet the Judges

Judges for this competition have been carefully selected and include:

• Ajay Pathak MVP - ReadersZone
• Onuora Amobi - Windows Vista News and Information
• John Barnett MVP - Vista Support
• James Stables - Windows Vista: The Official Magazine
• Vishal Gupta MVP - Tweaking with Vishal
• Kevin - Helping you get the most out of Vista
• Milo Riano - Windows Vista Weblog | Techticles
• Rich - Windows Tools, Help & Guides

Judging Criteria

Each judge will choose four (4) websites to be entered into the final rounds by assessing the following criteria:

• Original content
• Quality content
• Consistent content
• Website design is not necessarily a factor in the competition

Final Public Vote

Each judge will rank their four choices in order. The top eight (8) overall sites, by points, will be entered into the final rounds.

The final rounds will begin with a random slot assignment (1-8.) Two sites will go head to head at a time (think of the world cup finals.) The public will vote for the best site in each ‘match’ and the winner will go on to the next round. Polls will be held here on the main website; you do not need to register to vote.

Key Dates

The competition has the following time schedule:

• Oct 27 - Nov 27 (7 P.M. MDT) - Application window open
• Nov 30 - Judges Make final decision and submit four (4) sites each
• Dec 1 (7 A.M. MDT) - 3 (7 P.M. MDT) - Final eight (8) go head to head in quarter finals
• Dec 4 (7 A.M. MDT) - 6 (7 P.M. MDT) - Final four (4) go head to head in semi finals
• Dec 8 (7 A.M. MDT) -13 (7 P.M. MDT) - Final two (2) go head to head in final for the title of ‘Best Windows Customization Website’

Competition Prizes

First Prize

• SnagIt ($49.95)
• MultiSet 6.1 ($99.95)
• StarBurn Network ($495)
• A Squared Anti-malware ($39.95)
• Mamutu ($29.95)
• DemoCreator ($99.95)
• 3 month link on the Windows Tools, Help & Guides homepage
• 2 month link on the ReadersZone homepage*
• Website review on ReadersZone*

Second Prize

• A Squared Anti-malware ($39.95)
• Mamutu ($29.95)
• DemoCreator ($99.95)
• 1 month link on the Windows Tools, Help & Guides homepage
• 2 month link on the ReadersZone homepage*
• Website review on ReadersZone*

Third Prize

• A Squared Anti-malware ($39.95)
• Mamutu ($29.95)
• 2 month link on the ReadersZone homepage*
• Website review on ReadersZone*

Fourth Prize

• A Squared Anti-malware ($39.95)
• Mamutu ($29.95)

* ReadersZone, maintained by Ajay Pathak MVP, is a PR5 website and is recognized by NTY, WSJ, and Mozilla.

Rules

• Only one entry per person (even if you have multiple sites)
• Judges cannot participate
• Your website must be in English or have an English translation

How to Enter

1. Enter Here
2. List the following:

• Website Title
• URL of homepage
• Short description

Good luck everyone! Questions? Please leave a comment.

What Next?

• Links
• Freeware Applications for Your Every Need
• Best Windows Freebies and Guides 03 [June 2008]
• Best Windows Freebies and Guides 01 [March 2008]
• Top 10 Vista Sidebar Gadgets

FlexTk is an advanced file management toolkit allowing one to search and classify files, scan one or more disks or directories and apply rule-based, file organizing or data migration policies, synchronize files and directories, monitor one or more disks or directories, analyze storage utilization, copy large amounts of files in a fault-tolerant way, identify duplicate files and free-up wasted storage space. All file operations are available through a centralized and easy-to-use GUI application with a built-in file navigator allowing one to execute any required command in a single mouse click.

This guide is included as part of the Windows Guides File Organization series. Please visit the main page if you would like to learn why this guide may be useful.

Download FlexTK

FlexTK Features

• File Search, Classification and Organization
• Advanced, Multi-Stream File Synchronization
• Rule-Based, Fault-Tolerant Data Migration
• Advanced Storage Utilization Analysis
• High-Speed, Multi-Stream File Copy
• Duplicate Files Detection
• Disk Space Clean-Up

Screenshot of FlexTK

[Click to Enlarge]

Download FlexTK

What Next?

• Speed up Hard Drive Access Speed with Defraggler
• ReNamer Helps You Take Control of Your File Collection
• Links
• D-FileMU Renames Your Files Effortlessly
• Best Windows Freebies and Guides 02 [May 2008]

Batch Rename Files in Name(Number) Format

When browsing folders, do the following to rename a batch of files in Name(Number) format:

1. Select a group of files (hold the CTRL key and click individual files to select more than one.)
2. Right click the first file and select Rename
3. Type the name you want to add to the files and press enter

Now you files will be named in the following way:
Photo_Name(2)
Photo_Name(3)
Photo_Name(4)

Sequentially Raname Files with the Tab Key

When renaming a file in Vista (while in file name editing mode - right click the first file and select Rename) simply hit tab to move the next file name. No more arrow keys and F2 buttons.

More Renaming Guides

What Next?

• Windows Guides Security and Administration Series
• Best Windows Freebies and Guides 03 [June 2008]
• Best Windows Freebies and Guides 02 [May 2008]
• Windows Guides File Organization Series
• Links

Do you have thousands of photos, documents, songs etc on your hard drive? If you do, you’ll likely have duplicates all over the place. In this guide you’ll learn how to search for duplicates and delete them; thus, saving you space and keeping you organized.

Download Easy Duplicate Finder

This guide is included as part of the Windows Guides File Organization series. Please visit the main page if you would like to learn why this guide may be useful.

Easy Duplicate Finder Features

• Search for true duplicates (files with same contents)
  Powerful search engine with fast files check
  Full binary (byte-by-byte) comparison
• Flexible Scan settings
  Search files by masks
  Size conditions & skip zero-length files option
• Find duplicates from selected folders or drives
  Add multiple folders/drives for scanning
• Safety
  Protect system files and folders
  Move files to Recycle Bin or delete duplicate files permanently
  Mark selected duplicates by renaming them with adding prefix to file names - to test which files is safe to delete
• Convenient user interface
• Duplicate file management - remove only unnecessary duplicates
  Select files manually (for deletion) or use flexible selection options
  Rename duplicate files with prefix/postfix
  Move duplicate files to folder
  Open folder containing selected file
  Show file properties
  Open file with associated program
• Full Unicode support
  Support for files with Chinese, Japanese, Arabian etc names
• Export list of duplicates to HTML document or to TXT file

Easy Duplicate Finder System Requirements

• OS: Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP/Vista
• CPU: 400 MHz or higher
• RAM: 128 MB or more
• Hard Drive: 5 MB of free space

Screenshot of Easy Duplicate Finder

[Click to Enlarge]

Download Easy Duplicate Finder

What Next?

• Best Windows Freebies and Guides 02 [May 2008]
• Make your Computer Boot Faster with Startup Delayer
• Install New Fonts in Windows Vista and XP [How To]
• Best Windows Freebies and Guides 03 [June 2008]
• Put User Account Control (UAC) in Quiet Mode [How To]

There are so many fonts out there - but it seems you have to pay for all the good ones. Put your credit card away and enjoy these free fonts. Available to you are many more sets - linked below.

Check out more font collections on Mintywhite.com

Most of these fonts have their copyrights in the zip file. Please respect the copyrights (if any) of these fonts, and be sure to thank the owners.

Bulldozer

Cheap Stealer

Hyerba

Lazy Day

Ledlight

Morgenstern

Origami

Peixe Frito

Positiv A

Wallrider

Want More Fonts?

Download more fonts here.

Unsure How to Use These Fonts?

Learn how to install a font here.

What Next?

• Typography: Free Stylish Fonts Collection [Set 1]
• Typography Feature: Exljbris Free Fonts [TTF]
• Typefaces: 30 Free Eroded Fonts for Windows
• Typefaces: 30 Free Distorted Fonts for Windows
• Free Video Game Fonts Collection (TTF)

ReNamer is a very powerful and flexible file renaming tool, which offers all the standard renaming procedures, including prefixes, suffixes, replacements, case changes, as well as removing contents of brackets, adding number sequences, changing file extensions, etc.

For advanced users, there is a PascalScript rule, which let users program their very own renaming rule. This program allows you to combine multiple renaming actions as a rule set, applying each action in a logical sequence, which can be saved, loaded, and managed within the program. In addition, it has an ability to rename folders, process regular expressions, is Unicode capable, and supports variety of meta tags, such as: ID3v1, ID3v2, EXIF, OLE, AVI, MD5, CRC32, and SHA1.

Screenshot of ReNamer

Download ReNamer

This guide is included as part of the Windows Guides File Organization series. Please visit the main page if you would like to learn why this guide may be useful.

What Next?

• Links
• Best Windows Freebies and Guides 02 [May 2008]
• Xpize Gives XP a Visual Makeover
• Undo Closed Folders, Access Frequently Used Folders, and More with FolderView
• Speed up Hard Drive Access Speed with Defraggler

A showcase of free wallpapers found on Nadula.info. I love this person’s work and I want you to enjoy his work too.

Want More Wallpaper?

Check out more wallpapers in the the Wallpaper section of this site or learn how to use these wallpapers for your login screen too!

What Next?

• Vista Visual Master - The Complete Windows Vista Customization Package
• Grunge Showcase - 42 Free Desktop Wallpapers
• Free Waterfall Desktop Wallpapers
• Free Vista Wallpaper Pack (23 High Res Wallpapers)
• Free Strobe Desktop Wallpaper Set (Pack)

I don’t remember when I first started using D-File Mu, but it is an invaluable tool for me. I use it all the time and I recommend it to anyone. It may take a little getting used to, but it’s not too complicated and works very well. In this guide, you’ll learn how to set rules and batch rename your files without going near the command prompt.

This guide is included as part of the Windows Guides File Organization series. Please visit the main page if you would like to learn why this guide may be useful.

Download D-FileMU

D-FileMU Features

D-File MU Performs the following changes:

• Adding strings to the beginning and end of the filenames
• Deleting specified number of characters from beginning or end of the filenames
• Adding numbers in sequence to the beginning or end of the filenames
• Changing to upper or lowercase
• Adding or removing the read only(+r) or hidden(+h) or archive(+a) file attributes
• Replacing strings with specified string
• Changing the file extension of filenames
• Capitalizing words
• and more…

Screenshot of D-FileMU

[Click to Enlarge]