Task Manager is an extremely powerful tool in Windows, from diagnosing problems or closing stuck programs/services, even accounts that are limited have access to this program. While this might sound like a good thing it can cause huge headaches for system administrators if there are trouble makers in the company.

To Disabling Task Manager, click the Start button and go to Run and from there type gpedit.msc and press the ok button. The Group Policy Editor window should open and from there follow this path User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Ctrl+Alt+Delete options. From there on the right hand window find the Remove Task Manager option and change its value to enabled. Now on Task Manager will be disabled.

Though System Restore is a very useful feature, you might not want it to back up everything. If there’s a specific folder or location that you’d like system restore to pass over, you’ll have to do a bit of registry editing.

Click on Start then select Run and from there type "regedit" then follow this path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> System -> CurrentControlSet -> Control -> BackupRestore -> FilesNotToBackup. From there create a new multi-string value and name it something descriptive so you know for the future. From there double click on the value to open it up and type in the full path of the directory you do not want to restore.

From now on when you create a restore point, System Restore will bypass any folders you mentioned in the registry under FilesNotToBackup.

When you want a computer to stay on 24/7 no matter who’s using it, take away the ability for other users to shut down the computer. This is an easy task. But before doing that, you must have administrative access.

Go to Start -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Local Security Settings and in the right hand window expand the Local Policies branch then click on the User Rights Assignment tab. On the right hand window now find the "Shut down the system policy" and double click on it that will open up a new window. Now simply add or remove the user groups that you want to have shut down power and you’re set!

If you don’t want others on the LAN to access your computer, passwords are the first step. But what about hiding the PC completely so that it’s not even visible on the network?

To hide a computer from the network neighborhood you first must load up a command prompt (Start -> Run then type CMD and press enter). From there type ‘net config server /hidden:yes’ and then press the enter key. After that’s done the PC you’re working on should disappear from the browser list (note it can take up to 30 minutes). If you want the computer to show up again, simply replace the ‘yes’ with a ‘no’.

Windows XP Pro has a limited variety of user privileges available to choose from, and at times the default choice of ‘Administrator’ or ‘Limited’ user privileges falls far short of the situation. But whether you know this or not, there are a few more privilege levels hidden away from view; such as ‘Power Users,’ ‘Backup Operators’ and ‘Network Configuration Operators’ to name just a few. To enable these privileges types is a bit trickier, but here’s the low down on how to access all the different accounts available to Windows XP.

First right click on the "My Computer" icon and go to "Manage". The "Computer Management" window will open and follow this path Local Users and Groups -> Users. In the right hand window, right click and select "New User…" Enter the user name and description to remind you of this account’s powers then press the "Create" button, then "Close". Right click on the new account and go to "Properties" then click the "Member Of" tab and the "Add…" button. From here click "Advanced…" and then the "Find Now" button and a list of all different user levels will appear. Select the one you want this account to have, then press the "Ok" button three times. Now that newly created account will have intermediate powers between a full Administrator and the base limited option.

This tip is useful for those times when you want to give someone more capabilities without requiring the administrator to baby-sit everything. For instance ‘Network Configuration Operators’ can adjust the networking properties like assigning IP addresses, configuring the DNS, etc., yet they do not have the ability to install programs (think Spyware). Power Users can install and run non-essential OS affecting programs, but cannot delete or modify someone else’s account or data without permission. Assigning Privileges are also a great way stopping kids from messing up the family computer too.

This tip is applicable for Windows 2000, 2003, Vista & 7.