Manage network logon credentials in Microsoft Windows

As you may know, Microsoft Windows 7 provides a new and improved version of a tool that also appeared in Windows Vista and Windows XP and is designed for managing network-based logon credentials (i.e. user names and passwords) from sources that adhere to Microsoft credential management standards. The Windows 7 tool is called Credential Manager and is more advanced than the simplistic tool called Stored User Names and Passwords that came with Windows Vista and Windows XP.

With credentials stored in these tools, you will be able to automatically log on to a server/site without first being prompted to provide a user name and password. For example, Windows 7’s Credential Manager can store credentials and automatically log you in to Windows Live services such as Hotmail and SkyDrive, Microsoft Office services such as Outlook Web Access for Exchange Server as well as Windows servers and Remote Desktop connections. Read more.

Change and customize Windows 7's Logon screen wallpaper

While experimenting with several Microsoft Windows 7 systems recently, I spent a lot of time staring at the Logon screen. During that time, I began to think about changing the Logon screen wallpaper. Now, I have changed the Logon screen wallpaper in just about every version of Windows I’ve used, so I knew that there had to be a way to do so.

However, when I began to investigate the procedure in Windows 7, I discovered that changing the Logon screen wallpaper in the newest version of the Windows operating system is easy, once you know the steps — and you don’t even need any third-party software to do it.

In order to make it easy for OEMs to customize Windows 7, Microsoft built the ability to change the Logon screen wallpaper right into the operating system. Read more.

Tweak Windows Vista's Logon screen to meet your needs

While testing some options that affect the start up and shut down speed on a Microsoft Windows Vista system recently, I spent a lot of time staring at the Logon screen. During that time, I began to wonder about the possibility of making some changes to that screen.

For example, I wondered if I could change the Logon screen wallpaper. I wondered about removing the shutdown button from the Logon screen. I also wondered if I could add a legal notice to Vista’s Logon screen. While pursuing these quests, I also discovered that I could display logon statistics on the Logon screen.

Most of these Logon screen configuration screen changes could easily be made with a few registry tweaks. Changing the Logon screen wallpaper, however, requires a separate but free program. In this edition of the Windows Vista & Windows 7 Report, I’ll show you how to tweak Vista’s Logon screen.