Introducing Microsoft Windows Vista byWilliam R Stanek Microsoft Press 2006 (321 pages) ISBN:0735622841 A guided preview for IT professionals, business decision makers, early adopters, users, and developers, this book offers a comprehensive overview of the powerful new features of the Windows Vista family of operating systems Table of Contents Introducing Microsoft Windows Vista Introduction Part I - Getting to Know Windows Vista Chapter 1 - Introducing Windows Vista Part II - Essential Features in Windows Vista Chapter 2 - Working with Windows Vista Chapter 3 - Managing Information Chapter 4 - Using Internet Explorer 7 Chapter 5 - Collaborating, Connecting, and Sharing Chapter 6 - Managing Programs and Multimedia Chapter 7 - Working with Laptops and Tablet PCs Chapter 8 - Improving Accessibility Part III - Securing Windows Vista Chapter 9 - Protecting User Accounts and Using Parental Controls Chapter 10 - Protecting Your Computer Chapter 11 - Protecting Your Data Chapter 12 - Networking Your Computer Chapter 13 - Securing Your Network Connection Part IV - Supporting and Deploying Windows Vista Chapter 14 - Supporting Windows Vista Chapter 15 - Deploying Windows Vista Appendix - Installing Windows Vista Index List of Figures List of Tables List of Code Examples List of Sidebars Back Cover Your insider’s preview of the next release of Microsoft Windows What’s new and improved in the newest release of the Microsoft Windows family of client operating systems? Which versions of Windows Vista are right for you and your organization? How will the new features and capabilities in Windows Vista improve security, make users more productive, and make it easier for IT professionals to deploy, manage, and support Windows desktops and mobile clients? Popular author and MVP William Stanek offers expert insights in this first look into the latest generation of Windows operating systems Discover the new features and tools for deploying Windows Vista, help secure PCs and user accounts, migrate user settings and data, manage application compatibility, improve reliability, reduce support costs, develop applications, and help users achieve new levels of productivity and success at home or on the job It’s the guided preview for IT professionals, business decision makers, early adopters, users, and developers—and anyone else who wants to start planning and hit the ground running with Windows Vista About the Author William R Stanek has over 20 years of hands-on experience with advanced programming and development He is a leading technology expert, an award-winning author, and a pretty-darn-good instructional trainer Over the years, his practical advice has helped millions of programmers, developers, and network engineers all over the world He has written over 25 computer books Current or forthcoming books include Microsoft Windows Command-Line Administrator’s Pocket Consultant, Microsoft Windows Vista Administrator’s Pocket Consultant, Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Administrator’s Pocket Consultant, Second Edition, and Windows Server 2003 Inside Out Mr Stanek has been involved in the commercial Internet community since 1991 His core business and technology experience comes from over 11 years of military service He has substantial experience in developing server technology, encryption, and Internet solutions He has written many technical white papers and training courses on a wide variety of topics He frequently serves as a subject matter expert and consultant Mr Stanek has an MS with distinction in information systems and a BS magna cum laude in computer science He is proud to have served in the Persian Gulf War as a combat crewmember on an electronic warfare aircraft He flew on numerous combat missions into Iraq and was awarded nine medals for his wartime service, including one of the United States of America’s highest flying honors, the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross Currently Introducing Microsoft Windows Vista William R Stanek PUBLISHED BY Microsoft Press A Division of Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, Washington 98052-6399 Copyright © 2006 by Microsoft Corporation All rights reserved No part of the contents of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher ISBN-13: 978-0-7356-2284-5 ISBN-10: 0-7356-2284-1 Library of Congress Control Number 2006924470 Printed and bound in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 QWE 1 0 9 8 7 6 Distributed in Canada by H.B Fenn and Company Ltd A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Microsoft Press books are available through booksellers and distributors worldwide For further information about international editions, contact your local Microsoft Corporation office or contact Microsoft Press International directly at fax (425) 936-7329 Visit our Web site at www.microsoft.com/mspress Send comments to mspinput@microsoft.com Microsoft, Active Directory, ActiveX, Aero, BitLocker, DirectX, Encarta, Excel, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Press, MSDN, MS-DOS, MSN, Outlook, PowerPoint, SmartScreen, Windows, Windows Media, Windows Server, and Windows Vista are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners The example companies, organizations, products, domain names, e-mail addresses, logos, people, places, and events depicted herein are fictitious No association with any real company, organization, product, domain name, e-mail address, logo, person, place, or event is intended or should be inferred This book expresses the author’s views and opinions The information contained in this book is provided without any express, statutory, or implied warranties Neither the authors, Microsoft Corporation, nor its resellers, or distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused either directly or indirectly by this book Acquisitions Editor Martin DelRe Project Editor Karen Szall Technical Editor L J Zacker Copy Editor Jennifer Harris Indexer Patricia Masserman Body Part No X12-41775 Acknowledgments Introducing Microsoft Windows Vista provides a first look at the latest desktop version of Microsoft Windows Writing this book based on the beta product was challenging because there wasn't any documentation for anything I had to dig deep into the operating system to understand how everything works and then document what I found in this book I hope you find the resulting book a good start for learning about the new features of Windows Vista I'd like to thank everyone from Microsoft who contributed to this project Karen Szall, as the project editor for Microsoft, did a great job and I couldn't have completed this project without her help I'd also like to thank Martin DelRe, Heather Stafford, and Sandra Haynes, who provided help at critical points of the project Jennifer Harris and Linda Zacker provided content and technical review of the project Thank you, Jennifer and Linda, for all your hard work Throughout this book, you'll find a new sidebar feature called "From the experts." This sidebar is meant to provide additional details and pointers about topics of discussion, and you'll find contributions from myself and various other Microsoft experts, including: Jerry Honeycutt, Tony Northrup, and Mitch Tulloch Thank you Jerry, Tony, and Mitch for your contributions to the experts’ sidebars I need more good friends like you guys About the Author William R Stanek (http://www.williamstanek.com/) has over 20 years of hands-on experience with advanced programming and development He is a leading technology expert, an award-winning author, and a prettydarn-good instructional trainer Over the years, his practical advice has helped millions of programmers, developers, and network engineers all over the world He has written over 25 computer books Current or forthcoming books include Microsoft Windows Command-Line Administrator’s Pocket Consultant, Microsoft Windows Vista Administrator’s Pocket Consultant, Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Administrator’s Pocket Consultant, Second Edition, and Windows Server 2003 Inside Out Mr Stanek has been involved in the commercial Internet community since 1991 His core business and technology experience comes from over 11 years of military service He has substantial experience in developing server technology, encryption, and Internet solutions He has written many technical white papers and training courses on a wide variety of topics He frequently serves as a subject matter expert and consultant Mr Stanek has an MS with distinction in information systems and a BS magna cum laude in computer science He is proud to have served in the Persian Gulf War as a combat crewmember on an electronic warfare aircraft He flew on numerous combat missions into Iraq and was awarded nine medals for his wartime service, including one of the United States of America’s highest flying honors, the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross Currently, he resides in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and children About the Experts Throughout this book, you’ll find small chunks of information “From the experts.” The following authors generously agreed to contribute to this book’s effort to provide early information about a product still in development—that’s not an easy task These three authors are currently coauthoring the Microsoft Windows Vista Resource Kit, which is scheduled for publication in 2007 Their contributions to this book are greatly appreciated Mitch Tulloch, Most Valuable Professional (MVP), is president of MTIT Enterprises, an IT content development company based in Winnipeg, Canada Mitch is the author of over a dozen books, including the Microsoft Encyclopedia of Networking and the Microsoft Encyclopedia of Security Mitch has written over a hundred articles, is a regular columnist and editorial writer, and contributes articles to several popular Web sites and industry magazines including NetworkWorld, BizTech Magazine, and Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine For more information about Mitch and his writing activities, see http://www.mtit.com Tony Northrup, CISSP, MCSE, and MVP, is a networking consultant and author living in the Boston area As a consultant, Tony has provided networking guidance to a wide variety of organizations, from Fortune 100 enterprises to nonprofit organizations and small businesses Tony has authored and coauthored a dozen books on Windows and networking For more information, see http://www.northrup.org Jerry Honeycutt has written more than thirty books, including Microsoft Windows Desktop Deployment Resource Kit and Microsoft Windows Registry Guide, Second Edition Jerry is a columnist for Microsoft TechNet, and he is the documentation lead for the Solution Accelerator for Business Desktop Deployment For more information, see http://www.honeycutt.com Introduction Chapter 1: Introducing Windows Vista From the experts: Security must be easy to be effective Chapter 2: Working with Windows Vista From the experts: New ways to change the system time From the experts: Using the command line Chapter 3: Managing Information From the experts: Control the search by using filters Chapter 4: Using Internet Explorer 7 From the experts: RSS feeds made easy From the experts: Navigating the security zones and levels changes Chapter 5: Collaborating, Connecting, and Sharing From the experts: Help is on the way Chapter 6: Managing Programs and Multimedia From the experts: The curse of digital cameras Chapter 7: Working with Laptops and Tablet PCs From the experts: Want to save money? From the experts: Using Snipping Tool for screen captures Chapter 8: Improving Accessibility From the experts: More than accessible Chapter 9: Protecting User Accounts and Using Parental Controls From the experts: Only legacy applications need the Power Users group Chapter 10: Protecting Your Computer From the experts: NAP: Finally wired networks can be as secure as wireless networks Chapter 11: Protecting Your Data From the experts: Should you use BitLocker? Chapter 12: Networking Your Computer From the experts: Configuring IPv4 and IPv6 settings Chapter 13: Securing Your Network Connection From the experts: The single biggest Windows Firewall improvement: Full Group Policy support Chapter 14: Supporting Windows Vista Ask the experts: Making the business case for Windows Vista Chapter 15: Deploying Windows Vista From the experts: The Solution Accelerator for Business Desktop Deployment ... Upgrade from Windows Vista Home Premium to Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade from Windows Vista Business to Windows Vista Enterprise or Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade from Windows Vista Enterprise to Windows Vista Ultimate Windows Anytime Upgrade (WindowsAnytimeUpgrade.exe) is stored in... the differences between Windows Vista versions only where necessary Overview of the Windows Vista Versions The five versions of Microsoft Windows Vista are: Windows Vista Home Basic Windows Vista Home Premium Windows Vista Business... http://www .microsoft. com/support Part I: Getting to Know Windows Vista Chapter List Chapter 1: Introducing Windows Vista In this part: Introducing Microsoft Windows Vista introduces Windows Vista and provides a comprehensive overview of the new features in Windows