Adding Network Connections to Vista’s Start Menu
The new Microsoft motto seems to be “make everything useful at least one extra step more difficult”. This certainly has been true for all but the most commonly used features with Office 2007’s Ribbon interface. It’s also true with many of the control panels in Windows Vista.
One control panel I use regularly is “Network Connections”.
Using Vista’s GUI interface in non-Classic mode, you have to go to Start > Control Panel > View network status and tasks > Manage network connections.
In Classic View, go to Start > Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Manage network connections.
You can also use the Search box (or the Run option if you have unhidden it) and enter ncpa.cpl.
I’m not sure which is the less appealing route—all that clicking or trying to remember a cryptic filename.
What I did to make life a little bit easier was use the search method, and when the control panel appeared at the top of the search results pane, I right-clicked it, chose “Send To”, then “Desktop (create a shortcut)”. A shortcut appeared on my Desktop, which I cut so I could paste it somewhere easier to find (like at the top of my Start menu). Depending on where you save it, Vista might require administrative rights to paste the shortcut.
Adding Folders and Programs to the ‘Send To’ Context Menu in Windows Vista
Special thanks to Andre De Costa’s Teching It Easy blog for this useful information.
I do not know why the developers at Microsoft felt the need to move already somewhat obscure and hidden features to even more obscure locations in Windows Vista. Maybe they figure that it’s helpful to techs to slow them down to stretch out their billable hours or build-in even more job security for system admins by making things more and more difficult for average users.
Under the Windows 9x family, to add programs or folders to the “Send To” context menu, you just plunked a shortcut into “C:\WINDOWS\Send To“.
This was far too easy, and the average user had no problem customizing Windows the way they wanted. When Windows 2000 (followed by XP and 2003) came along and moved user preferences to the “C:\Documents and Settings” folder, I thought that was a good idea. After all, the Windows folder gets very full, and the average user could cause him or herself problems by deleting the wrong thing. Thus, the Send To folder was moved to “C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Send To“. This was still pretty easy and intuitive for anyone who actually wanted to use this handy feature.
Along comes Windows Vista. The familiar “Documents and Settings” folder structure has been replaced by a shortcut (with more shortcuts from there). Security has been tightened to the point that a user with standard user permissions probably can’t even make changes to his or her own settings without a lots of frustration (I haven’t tried, because standard user permissions are SO limited as to make Vista barely usable for anyone who has even moderate experience with Windows.).
So how does one edit the Send To menu? (more…)
CRITICAL – Buffer overflow in VML used by IE and Outlook
Summary
Threat Level: Critical Zero-Day Vulnerability
This threat is currently active and spreading in the wild. Most Windows-based computers, even if fully up-to-date with all the official Microsoft patches, are vulnerable right now unless certain actions are taken to protect yourself (see below).
What it does: Various websites, including advertising sites that generate advertisements appearing on trusted websites, become infected. These sites use a specific type of attack to slip through your computer’s security, leaving a big hole for your computer to be further attacked. Since some versions of Outlook and Outlook Express use Internet Explorer to display some types of e-mail, you can become infected just by displaying infected e-mails you receive.
Outlook Express/Outlook Won’t Save Passwords
Symptoms: Every time you open Outlook Express or Outlook you are asked to re-enter your password even though the Save Password box is checked (or grayed out).
Problem: Generally this is caused by a problem in the Registry with the Protected Storage System Provider key.
Resolution: Follow the steps below to fix this problem or visit Microsoft’s Knowledge Base article 29684 for an even more detailed information.
look good