4sysops - FREE: Tweak Windows Vista - Ultimate Windows Tweaker -

Windows Vista has lots of bells and whistles. With these come even more switches and handles. The good thing about it is that everyone can tweak the desktop to her or his liking. The downside for administrators is that the number of service desk calls by users who have configured their desktops so well that they are hardly usable anymore, is increasing with every newly deployed Vista machine. One way to solve this problem is disallow end-users to change their configuration. The other, friendlier, option is to be prepared when a desperate user who has messed up his desktop calls you.

The Ultimate Windows Tweaker can be helpful here because it unites the most common switches and handles into one tiny tool. Many of Vista’s important configuration options are hidden deep in the system. It usually costs you quite a few mouse clicks to reach them. You also need a good memory, because it is often not obvious where to find the right switch. Are the UAC settings in the User Account applet? Do they belong to the Security Center? – Or do you need the Local Security Policy snap-in?

Ultimate Windows Tweaker offers 150 tweaks in the following categories: Personalization, User Accounts & UAC, System & Performance, Security, Internet Explorer (IE7 / IE8), Network Optimization, and Additional Options. See the screenshots below for all available options. For most settings, you will only need two mouse clicks to configure them. Because Ultimate Windows Tweaker is a standalone tool of only 235KB, you can always bring it with you on your memory stick or easily launch it remotely when you log on via RDP on the user’s desktop.