If you have administrator credentials, you can change these properties for any user account. You can also change the account type from administrator to standard user (provided at least one administrator account remains on the computer) or vice versa. Windows 7 comes with many user account pictures, depicting a variety of animals, sports, and interests. You can personalize your user account by selecting the picture that most closely matches your personality or interests. If you don’t like any of the pictures provided, you can use one of your own. You can use .bmp, .gif, .jpg, or .png files as user account pic- tures. The original graphic can be any size, but the user account picture is always displayed as a square. If you select a graphic whose height and width are not the same, the graphic will be stretched or cropped to a square shape when displayed. In this exercise, you’ll change the type of the account you created in the previous exercise. You’ll change the account picture first to one provided by Windows 7 and then to a custom image. Finally, you’ll assign a password to the account. SET UP You need the Angel account you created in the previous exercise and the Angelic image located in your Documents\Microsoft Press\Windows7SBS\Accounts folder to complete this exercise. You also need administrator account credentials. Display the Manage Accounts window of Control Panel, and then follow the steps. 1. In the Manage Accounts window, click Angel. The Change An Account window opens. The Change An Account window displays the options for changing the selected account. Tip The user account picture assigned to your Angel account might be different than ours because pictures are randomly assigned. 2. Click Change the account type. Managing a User Account 51 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. 52 Chapter 2 Manage User Accounts The Change Account Type window opens. You can change a user account from Standard User to Administrator and vice versa. 3. With Standard user selected, click Change Account Type. In the Change An Account window, Standard user now appears under Angel’s user account name. 4. Click Change the picture. The Choose Picture window opens. The Choose Picture window displays the user account pictures that come with Windows 7, and any custom images you’ve used. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. 5. Click any picture that you want, and then click Change Picture. In the Change An Account window, the picture has changed. 6. In the Change an Account window, click Change the picture. Then below the thumbnails in the Choose Picture window, click Browse for more pictures. 7. In the left pane of the Open dialog box, click Libraries. Then in the center pane, double-click Documents, double-click Microsoft Press, double-click Windows7SBS, and then double-click Accounts. 8. Click the Angelic image, and then click Open to switch to that picture. The Change An Account window displays the selected user account picture for Angel’s account. 9. Click Create a password. The Create Password window opens. You can enter the password and a hint to remind you if you forget it. 10. In the New password box, type wOOfw00f! (with two capital letter Os and two zeros). Then press the Tab key to move to the next field. To ensure the secrecy of the password, the characters are displayed as dots as you type. Managing a User Account 53 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. 54 Chapter 2 Manage User Accounts 11. In the Confirm new password box, retype wOOfw00f! 12. In the Type a password hint box, type What does Angel say? 13. Click Create password to save the password as part of Angel’s user account profile. In the Change An Account window, Password protected appears under Angel’s user account type. CLEAN UP Close the Change An Account window. Limiting Computer Access Many children have access to computers. Some of these computers, such as those located at a school or library, are regulated by network domain controls or by the oversight of a teacher, librarian, or other concerned adult. Other computers, especially those located in private homes, might not be regulated. If you have a child in your home, that child has access to your computer. The child’s level of interest is a function of his or her age and of the computing behavior you model. The pretty lights on the computer case make it an object of fascination for a very young child. (Note to computer manufacturers: please stop putting pretty lights on the power button! They attract two-year olds who don’t care whether you’ve recently saved your work.) If you are a member of the ever-increasing population of “information workers” and your computer consumes your attention for several hours a day, your child might assume that he or she should also have access to it. Older children are attracted more by what they can do with the computer than by the machine itself. Many excellent computer-based educational programs are available for children of all ages, as are a plethora of entertainment options that are free if you don’t count the price of the Internet connection. Unfortunately, there is also a massive amount of easily available content that is inappropriate for children. You can control the functionality and content available to your child by setting up a restricted user account specifically for him or her. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. If you want to allow or encourage your child to use the computer but also want to ensure that his or her computer use meets certain criteria, you can create a standard user account for the child’s use and apply restrictions to that account. By using the Parental Controls feature of Windows 7, you can limit the computer access of a user account in the following ways: l Time limits You can specify the time period during which the user account can be logged on to the computer. At the end of the designated time period, Parental Controls will cause the account to log off of Windows, and the account will be unavailable until the next designated time period. l Game restrictions You can restrict the user from playing specific games or games with ratings that fall into specific age or content categories. l Program restrictions You can restrict the user from using any installed program other than those you specifically permit access to. The Parental Controls feature is similar to User Account Control, in that a password can be entered to bypass the limits you set. For example, when a user attempts to start a program that is restricted by Parental Controls, a dialog box appears. You can allow one-time access to the program by clicking a link in the dialog box and entering your password. You can apply Parental Controls to any standard user account. Important Anyone with an administrator account on your computer can set up, alter, or remove Parental Controls. For the controls to be fully effective, ensure that all administrator accounts are protected with a password. See Also For information about restricting Windows Internet Explorer from displaying certain types of content and limiting access to objectionable Web content, see “Restricting Objectionable Content” in Chapter 8, “Manage Internet Explorer.” Limiting Computer Access 55 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. 56 Chapter 2 Manage User Accounts In this exercise, you’ll specify the hours during which a specific user account can be used to log on to your computer. Important Administrator account credentials are necessary to complete this exercise. SET UP You don’t need any practice files to complete this exercise. Use the Angel account you modified in the previous exercise. Display Control Panel in Category view, and then follow the steps. 1. In Control Panel, under User Accounts and Family Safety, click Set up parental controls for any user. The Parental Controls window opens. You can select the user account to which you want to apply Parental Controls. Tip To limit a user’s computer access in additional ways or to view reports of computer activity, click How Do I Install Additional Controls? at the bottom of the window. 2. Click the Angel user account you created earlier in the chapter, and then in the User Controls window, click On, enforce current settings. After you turn on Parental Controls, the restriction options become available in the User Controls window. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. You can specify the time period in which the computer may be used and whether games and specific programs can be accessed. 3. On the left side of the User Controls window, under Windows Settings, click Time limits. Then in the Time Restrictions window, drag diagonally from the Sunday 12 Midnight box to the Saturday 5 PM box. The selected time is designated in the window as blocked. During the blocked time, Windows 7 will deny access to the account and display a message that the user account is blocked. Limiting Computer Access 57 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. 58 Chapter 2 Manage User Accounts 4. Drag from the Sunday 12 Noon box to the Sunday 5 PM box to unblock those times. 5. In the Time Restrictions window, click OK. 6. In the User Controls window, click Games. The Game Controls window opens. You can block all games, block games based on their rating, or block specific games. 7. Click Set game ratings, and then scroll the window, noticing that you can select an age/maturity level or select check boxes to block specific types of content. Tip By default, the age/maturity ratings of the Entertainment Software Rating Board are used. You can select a different rating system by clicking Game Rating Systems in the left pane of the Parental Controls window. 8. At the left end of the Address bar, click the Back button to redisplay the Game Controls window. Then click Block or Allow specific games, and scroll the window to see the status of all the installed games. 9. Click Cancel to return to the Game Controls window, and then click OK to return to the User Controls window without blocking any games. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. 10. In the User Controls window, click Allow and block specific programs. Then in the Application Restrictions window, click Angel can only use the programs I allow. Windows searches your computer and displays a list of programs you might want to block. Windows 7 will deny access to the listed programs unless you select their check boxes. Tip You can add programs to the blocked list by clicking Browse and navigating to the program’s file. 11. Click Cancel to return to the User Controls window without blocking any programs. 12. In the User Controls window, click OK. CLEAN UP Turn off the Parental Controls if you don’t want to use them, and close the Parental Controls window. Limiting Computer Access 59 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. 60 Chapter 2 Manage User Accounts Playing Safely Windows 7 recognizes game ratings such as those assigned by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), which indicate the minimum age recommendation for the game. Content ratings include those listed in the following table. Rating symbol Recommended for Description EC (Early Childhood) Ages 3 and older Contains no material that parents would find inappropriate. E (Everyone) Ages 6 and older May contain minimal cartoon, fantasy, or mild violence; and/or infrequent use of mild language. E10+ (Everyone 10+) Ages 10 and older May contain more cartoon, fantasy, or mild violence; mild language; and/or minimal suggestive themes. T (Teen) Ages 13 and older May contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language. M (Mature) Ages 17 and older May contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content, and/or strong language. AO (Adults Only) Ages 18 and older May include prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and nudity. See Also For more information about software and game ratings, visit www.esrb.org. Additional content descriptors may indicate the specific reason or reasons for the rating. The ESRB employs many descriptors, including Alcohol And Tobacco Reference, Blood And Gore, Cartoon Violence, Crude Humor, Nudity, Real Gambling, Sexual Violence, and Strong Language. These descriptors can help you to determine whether a specific game is suitable. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. [...]... computer to a network that you haven’t previously connected to, Windows 7 creates a network profile with the network name specified by the network router, and prompts you to specify whether that network is a home network, a work network, or a public network When you physically connect your computer to a network by using an Ethernet cable, Windows 7 automatically creates the network connection To connect... Tip  Computers running Windows 7 can co-exist on a network with computers running earlier versions of Windows Other computers and devices on the network do not affect the available network connection types or their settings However, at the time of this writing, network connection types and homegroups weren’t available on a computer running a version of Windows earlier than Windows 7 Home and Work Network... computers and devices Network discovery and file and printer sharing are turned on by default for Home Network and Work Network connection types Tip  When network discovery is on, your computer is visible in Windows Explorer, in the Network group window on a Windows 7 computer or in the Network folder window on a Windows XP or Windows Vista computer When file and printer sharing is turned on, any resources... Windows 7 and are not accessible to computers running earlier versions of Windows or a non -Windows operating system 2 In the HomeGroup window, click Create a homegroup The Create A Homegroup wizard starts By default, all libraries other than the Documents library are selected for sharing See Also  For information about libraries, see “Understanding Files, Folders, and Libraries” in Chapter 4, “Navigate Windows. .. Folders.” 3 On the first page of the Create a Homegroup wizard, clear the Pictures check box, and then click Next Windows 7 creates the homegroup, and then the wizard displays the homegroup password Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark Creating a Homegroup   77 You will need this password to join other computers to the homegroup 4 Click the Print password and instructions... of all its users However, each user has control over the resources that he or she shares with other homegroup members Windows 7 does not actively notify you that another user has joined your computer to a homegroup, but if you display the HomeGroup window of Control Panel, Windows 7 alerts you to this fact and prompts you to specify your homegroup resource sharing settings Please purchase PDF Split-Merge... Homegroup wizard starts Windows 7 automatically detects an existing homegroup and gives you the option of joining it Tip  If you do not want to join the homegroup, you can click Cancel in the Join A Homegroup wizard Your network connection type will still be Home Network; you simply won’t be participating in the homegroup 6 On the Share with other home computers running Windows 7 page of the Join a Homegroup... connect to, and then click the Connect button that appears Windows 7 connects to the selected network If additional information is required, such as a WEP key or WPA password, Windows prompts you to enter it Tip  If you work in an organization that uses Active Directory Domain Services to authen­ icate t (confirm the credentials of) users on a Windows Server domain and your computer is connected to the... Instead, you will log on to the domain by using your domain user name and password When you select the connection type, Windows creates a network profile for that connection and applies the settings specific to that connection type to your computer Each network profile includes the following settings: l Network discovery  Determines whether the computer can see and be seen by other computers connected to... purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark 72     Chapter 3  Manage Your Network Network Information Depending on the environment you’re working in, you might not know the structure of the network your computer is connected to, or all the computers and devices that are connected to your network Windows 7 provides several tools for viewing information about your network and . versa. Windows 7 comes with many user account pictures, depicting a variety of animals, sports, and interests. You can personalize your user account by selecting. previous exercise. You’ll change the account picture first to one provided by Windows 7 and then to a custom image. Finally, you’ll assign a password to the