Enable the Hidden Administrator Account on Windows 7, 8 & 8.1

Windows automatically creates an Administrator account with elevated privileges during the installation process. We mostly need to access it to perform tasks limited only to system Administrators. These are tasks performing which result in the UAC asking for confirmation even if you are using an account with administrative privileges. The elevated Administrator account is disabled by default in Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows Vista.

To activate it, you need to use any one of the the following simple methods.

Important: It is recommended to only use this account for troubleshooting purposes and disable it once the task is complete. Even if you do leave it enabled, protect it with a strong password to prevent unauthorized access. 

Enable/ Disable the Administrator Account Using the Elevated Command Prompt

1. If you are on Windows 7, go to Start>Programs>Accessories and right click on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator. Windows 8 and 8.1 users, search for CMD on the Start screen and in the results returned, right click on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator. 

2. In the Command Prompt, type and execute the following command.

net user administrator /active:yes

3. You should see a message indicating that the command was completed successfully.

4. Upon logging out, you will see the Administrator account available on the login screen.

Disable the built-in Administrator account

To disable the Administrator account, type execute the following command in Step 2.

net user administrator /active:no

This will disable the Administrator account and it will no longer appear on the login screen.

Enable the Administrator account using the Local Users and Groups Manager

1. Press Windows key+R to open the Run dialog box.

2. In it, type lusrmgr.msc and press Enter. This will start the Local Users and Groups Manager. 

3. In the Local Users and Groups Manager, click on Users in the left hand pane.

4. Then, in the work area on the right side, double click on Administrator.

5. In the following dialog box, uncheck the Account is disabled option and click OK.

6. Administrator account will be immediately available on the login screen. 

To disable the Administrator account, check the "Account is disabled" option in step 5.

This method will only work if you are using Professional or Enterprise editions of Windows 7 and Windows 8(.1). If you are using home and basic versions of these operating systems, this method will not work for you as Local Users and Groups manager is not available on them.

Enable or Disable the Administrator account using the Local Security Policy Editor

1. Press Windows key+R to open the Run dialog box. 

2. Type secpol.msc and press Enter. This will start the Local Security Policy Editor.

3. In the Local Security Policy Editor, navigate to Local Policies\Security Options.

4. In the work area on the right side, double click "Accounts: Administrator account status."

5. In the following dialog box, encircle Enable or Disable to respectively enable and disable the Administrator account.

6. Press OK. Log off to the login screen to see the Administrator account.

Local Security Policy Editor is not available on home editions of Windows.

Lock a Folder With Password Using Free Folder Protector - By tweakandtrick.com

All of us have some files and folders that we consider private. They can be anything from our business documents to pictures of friends and family. These are files that we don't want other people using our computer to know about. As Windows offers no way to protect our private information, most of us get in awkward situations when these files are discovered by unwanted people.

Surely, you can store this information in a hidden folder. The only problem is that anyone can easily search the contents of a hidden folder using Windows Search itself.

The only viable solution is storing this content in a password protected folder so that only those people knowing the password of the folder can access it. There are many folder locking programs available online but the problem is that most of the good ones are paid. Even if you do manage to get a good free one, you will be looked at suspiciously when people see a folder locker in the list of your installed programs.

If you too find yourself in a similar situation, you can try Folder Protector, a password protector for Windows folders that is not only free but is also portable meaning that it does not need to be installed. Just click on the exe file and the program will start running. I have created this program based on suggestions and feature requests that I have received by email over the last two years.

Folder Protector

Folder Protector offers each user a protected folder that can only be opened by entering the password in FolderProtector. Unlike most security programs, Folder Protector is small in size (nearly 58KB) and does not show the folder that it is protecting. This gives an additional advantage that people who don't know the password do not have a target to try and hack their way into. As the software is portable, you can hide it or even delete it after protecting your folder and no one will have a clue that it was used. Then whenever you need to access protected files, you can re-download the program from this page, enter the password and access your protected files.

Download Folder Protector

Download for Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Vista

Download for Windows XP

This program uses a simple method to lock files and should not be used to protect truly sensitive information. It is best to encrypt that kind of information.

How to use Folder Protector?
When you run Folder Protector for the first time, the program will ask you for a password that you want to use. Enter a password that you can remember as this will be the password to your protected folder.

After entering the password, the program will open a folder named SecuredFILES. This is your protected folder. You can add all your private files in this folder. This folder is located at the Desktop. After adding all your files, you may close this folder. 

Then, you can use the menu in the program to lock your folder. To lock the folder, type lock as your action. After successfully locking the folder, FolderProtector will display that the folder is locked.

Unlocking the protected folder is easy. Just type unlock as your action. Then the program will ask you to enter your password. Upon successfully entering the password, the program will display the contents of your protected folder.

Changing the Password: Just type change as your action. The program will ask you for your current password. Upon successful entry of the current password, the program will ask for your new password and change it instantly.

Acknowledgment: This software has been made possible only through the suggestions of readers of this blog, especially Ernell Albert Galido for his idea of using a menu based interface.

Windows Compatibility: This program has been successfully tested on Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP.

Make your Computer Welcome You

Do you watch movies? Have you always loved the way how Computers in movies welcome their users by calling out their names? I bet that you too would want to know how you can achieve similar results on your PC and have a computer said welcome. 

Then you are at the right place, this article describes exactly how you can make your computer welcome you like this.

With this trick, you can make your Computer welcome you in its computerized voice. You can make your Windows based computer say "Welcome to your PC, Username."

Make Windows Greet you with a Custom Voice Message at Startup

To use this trick, follow the instructions given below:-

1. Click on Start. Navigate to All Programs, Accessories and Notepad.
2. Copy and paste the exact code given below.

Dim speaks, speech
speaks="Welcome to your PC, Username"
Set speech=CreateObject("sapi.spvoice")
speech.Speak speaks

     3.  Replace Username with your own name. 
     4.  Click on File Menu, Save As, select All Types in Save as Type option, and save the file as Welcome.vbs or "*.vbs".
     5.  Copy the saved file. 
     6.  Navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup (in Windows XP) and to C:\Users\ {User-Name}\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup (in Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Vista) if C: is your System drive. AppData is a hidden folder. So, you will need to select showing hidden folders in Folder options to locate it.
     7.  Paste the file.

 

Now when the next time you start your computer, Windows will welcome you in its own computerized voice. 

Note: For best results, it is recommended to change sound scheme to No Sounds.
You can change the sound scheme to No Sounds by following the steps given below:-

1. Go to Control Panel.
2. Then click on Switch to Classic View.
3. Then Click on Sounds and Audio Devices.
4. Then Click on the Sounds Tab.
5. Select No Sounds from the Sound Scheme option.
6. If you wish to save your Previous Sound Scheme, you can save it by clicking Yes in the popup menu.
7. Click on OK.

Try it yourself to see how it works. In my personal opinion, this is an excellent trick. Whenever I start my PC in front of anybody and the PC welcomes me, the fellow is left wondering how brilliant a computer do I have.