A list of ten or so of the most aggravating things about Windows Vista, but also ways you can fix them.
1. I Can’t Stand Those Nagging Permission Screens
You can take either of two approaches to Vista’s nagging permission screens:
Microsoft’s preferred approach:
Before automatically clicking the Continue button, ask yourself this question: Did I initiate this action? If you deliberately asked your PC to do something, click Continue for the PC to carry out your command. But if the permission screen pops up unexpectedly, click Cancel, because something’s wrong.
The easy way out:
Turn off the permission screens. Unfortunately, that leaves your PC more susceptible to viruses, worms, spyware, and other evil things tossed at your PC during the course of the day.
Neither option is perfect, but that’s the choice that Microsoft’s given you with Vista: Listen to your PC nag you or turn off the nags and instead trust your own antivirus and antispyware programs. I recommend Microsoft’s preferred approach — it’s much like wearing a seatbelt when driving: It’s not as comfortable, but it’s safer. Ultimately, though, the choice lies with your own balance between comfort and safety.
Vista Keeps Asking Me for Permission!
When it came to security, Windows XP was fairly easy to figure out. If you owned an Administrator account — and most people did — Windows XP mostly stayed out of your face. Owners of the less powerful Limited and Guest accounts, however, frequently faced screens telling them that their actions were restricted to Administrator accounts. But with Vista, even Administrator accounts get the nag screens, and often for the most innocuous actions. Vista’s more secure than Windows XP, so you’ll constantly brush up against Vista’s barbed wire fence. Standard account holders see a slightly different message that commands them to fetch an Administrator account holder to type in a password.
Of course, with screens like this one popping up constantly, most people will simply ignore them and click Continue — even if that means they’ve just allowed a piece of spyware to latch onto their PC.
When Vista sends you a permission screen, ask yourself this question:
Is Vista asking permission for something I did? If your answer is yes, then click Continue to give Vista permission to carry out your command. But if Vista sends you a permission screen out of the blue, when you haven’t done anything, click Cancel. That keeps the nasties from invading your PC.
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