WinBubble

The options for customizing your Vista settings are endless with this free utility, but it lacks password-protection and a useful Help feature.

WinBubble has so many tweaking options that it could easily overwhelm users. The user interface uses tabs and check boxes to keep the multitude of options organized and easy to activate. The program lets you add more options to your context menu, including a Safely Remove Hardware icon, an encrypt/decrypt option, and a WinBubble icon. The Tweaking Toolbox clears your cache and resets folder views. You can even customize icons and add a custom screensaver. Security options are also plentiful and let you apply administrator alerts, disable Internet Explorer features, and even hide specific drives. Most of the tweaks that we applied took immediate effect, and others required either a log off or restart the computer. The main drawback to the program is that it isn’t password-protected. That means that anyone can go in and change your settings. We were also disappointed to find that it doesn’t come with a Help menu. Rather, you have to visit the publisher’s site, which holds only a blog that doesn’t offer much information.

Thanks to the easy-to-use design, though, even novices should have no problem figuring out how to use the program. We highly recommend it for Vista users looking for an easy way to tweak their machines.

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