Big Book of Windows Hacks: Tips and Tools for Unlocking the Power of Your Windows PC

Bigger, better, and broader in scope, the Big Book of Windows Hacks gives you everything you need to get the most out of your Windows Vista or XP system, including its related applications and the hardware it runs on or connects to. Whether you want to tweak Vista's Aero interface, build customized sidebar gadgets and run them from a USB key, or hack the "unhackable" screensavers, you'll find quick and ingenious ways to bend these recalcitrant operating systems to your will.

The Big Book of Windows Hacks focuses on Vista, the new bad boy on Microsoft's block, with hacks and workarounds that also work for Windows XP. You can read each hack in just a few minutes, saving countless hours of searching for the right answer. The step-by-step instructions let you apply the solutions in no time. This book takes you beyond the operating system with hacks for applications like Internet Explorer 7 and Office 2007, and hardware such as the Zune, your wireless router, and the PC itself.

The Big Book of Windows Hacks includes:

• Expanded tutorials, new background material, a series of "quick hacks", and informative sidebars
• Security hacks, including protection at wireless hotspots, hacking Vista file permissions and user account protection, and more
• Efficiency hacks, such as tweaking your PC hardware, troubleshooting hardware problems, and speeding up system performance
• Fun hacks, like building a custom Media Center PC or turning a PC into a digital video recorder
• "Beyond Windows" hacks for running Linux inside Vista, dual-booting Linux/Windows or XP/Vista, or emulate classic video games on your PC

In all, this remarkable book contains more than 100 hacks so that the power user in you never again needs to be at the mercy of systems and hardware run by Microsoft's omnipotent Vista and XP operating systems.

Preston Gralla is the author of more than 40 books that have been translated into 20 languages, including Galaxy S 5 The Missing Manual, Windows 8 Hacks, NOOK HD: The Missing Manual, Galaxy Tab: The Missing Manual, The Big Book of Windows Hacks, How the Internet Works, and How Wireless Works. He is a contributing editor to Computerworld, a blogger for ITWorld, and was a founding editor and then editorial director of PC/Computing, executive editor for CNet/ZDNet, and the founding managing editor of PC Week. He has written about technology for many national newspapers and magazines, including USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Dallas Morning News (for whom he wrote a technology column), PC World, and numerous others. As a widely recognized technology expert, he has made many television and radio appearances, including on the CBS Early Show, MSNBC, ABC World News Now, and National Public Radio. Under his editorship, PC/Computing was a finalist for General Excellence in the National Magazine Awards. He has also won the “Best Feature in a Computing Publication” award from the Computer Press Association. Gralla is also the recipient of a Fiction Fellowship from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with his wife (his two children have flown the coop). He welcomes feedback about his books by email at preston@gralla.com.