Windows XP and 2000 Tips & Tricks UPDATE brought to you by the Windows & .NET Magazine Network and the Windows 2000 FAQ site http://www.windows2000faq.com
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August 5, 2002—In this issue:
1. COMMENTARY
2. FAQS
Q. How can I quickly jump to a new Web address in Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE)?
Q. How can I suppress the standard machine beep noise in Windows 2000 and later?
Q. How can I disable the Secure Desktop Restriction setting in Windows 2000 Service Pack 1 (SP1) and later?
Q. How can I prevent services from interacting with the desktop in Windows 2000 and later?
Q. What administrative permissions do I need to upgrade a system from Windows 2000 to Windows .NET Server (Win.NET Server)?
3. ANNOUNCEMENTS
Become Part of Our MEC 2002 Focus Group!
The Backup and Recovery Solutions You've Been Searching For!
4. CONTACT US
See this section for a list of ways to contact us.
1. COMMENTARY (contributed by John Savill, FAQ Editor, jsavill@winnetmag.com)
This week, I look at how to use a keyboard shortcut to quickly jump to a new Web address in Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE), how to prevent Windows' system beep noise, and how to disable Windows 2000 Service Pack 1's (SP1's) Secure Desktop Restriction setting. I also explain how to prevent services from interacting with the desktop, and I outline the permissions you need to upgrade a Win2K Server machine to Windows .NET Server (Win.NET Server).
My new book, "The Windows XP/2000 Answer Book: A Complete Resource from the Desktop to the Enterprise" (Addison-Wesley), is now available for preorder on Amazon.com at the URL below. The book will be available at the end of September. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/0321113578/windowsntfaq
2. FAQS (brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine and its partners)
Q. How can I quickly jump to a new Web address in Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE)?
A. To navigate to a new Web page in IE, you can either select a Web site from the Favorites menu or select the Address bar, highlight the current address, then type in a new address. To quickly jump to a new Web address, you can skip the first two steps of this second procedure by pressing Alt+D, which automatically highlights the current address in the Address bar. Type in a new address and press Enter.
Q. How can I suppress the standard machine beep noise in Windows 2000 and later?
A. Even if you mute your system, certain events will still trigger the system beep. To suppress these system-level beeps, perform the following steps:
Start a registry editor (e.g., regedit.exe).
Navigate to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Sound subkey.
Double-click Beep, set the value to "no", and click OK.
Close the registry editor.
Log off and log on for the change to take effect.
Q. How can I configure Microsoft's Secure Desktop Restriction setting in Windows 2000 Service Pack 1 (SP1) and later?
A. Users who interactively log on to a computer running Windows 2000 or later can perform tasks that might be security risks, such as gaining access to display and input devices that a computer process with wider-reaching privileges owns. These users then can create a process to capture passwords or sensitive data. For more information about the problem, see Microsoft Security Bulletin MS00-200, (Patch Available for "Desktop Separation" Vulnerability,) at the following URL:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/bulletin/ms00-020.asp
Win2K SP1 corrected this vulnerability by adding a Secure Desktop Restriction setting, but the new locked-down functionality might adversely affect certain applications. If your application vendor advises you to disable this security setting, perform the following steps:
Start a registry editor (e.g., regedit.exe).
Navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows subkey.
From the Edit menu, select New, DWORD Value.
Enter a name of SecureDesktop.
Double-click the new value, set it to 0 to disable the setting (you can set the value to 1 to reenable the default configuration), then click OK.
Restart the machine for the change to take effect.
Q. How can I prevent services from interacting with the desktop in Windows 2000 and later?
A. Certain services directly interact with the desktop (e.g., to display messages). To stop an individual service's ability to interact, open the Computer Management console (go to Start, Programs, Administrative Tools, Computer Management), open the Services branch (go to Computer Management, Services and Applications, Services), select the service, and clear the "Allow Service to Interact with Desktop" check box. To stop all services (services will still be able to display errors), perform the following steps:
Start a registry editor (e.g., regedit.exe).
Navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Windows subkey.
Double-click NoInteractiveServices, set the value to 1 to stop interaction (the default setting of 0 enables interaction), and click OK.
Close the registry editor.
Restart the computer for the change to take effect.
Q. What administrative permissions do I need to upgrade a system from Windows 2000 to Windows .NET Server (Win.NET Server)?
A. The permissions required to upgrade a server from Win2K to Win.NET Server vary depending on the server, its position in the forest, and which domain users use to log on to the network. For all upgrades, you need the ability to
back up files and directories
modify firmware environment values
restore files and directories
shut down the system
The following tables show which administrative roles have access to domain controllers (DCs) and member servers, depending on whether the administrator is logged on to a root domain or a nonroot domain.
Logged On to the Root Domain
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Role Server in Root Domain | Server in Child Domain
--------------------- ----------------------
DC Member Server | DC Member Server
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Enterprise administrator Y N Y N
Domain administrator Y Y N N
Built-in administrator Y N N N
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Logged On to Nonroot Domain
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Role Server in Root Domain | Server in Child Domain
--------------------- ----------------------
DC Member Server | DC Member Server
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Domain administrator N N Y Y
Built-in administrator N N Y N
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
3. ANNOUNCEMENTS (brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine and its partners)
BECOME PART OF OUR MEC 2002 FOCUS GROUP!
If you're attending MEC 2002 and work at a company with more than 3000 employees, join our focus group on October 9, 2002. We'll give you a free lunch and $100! To be considered for this focus group, please email us at
mailto:research@winnetmag.com by August 23. Please include your full name, job title, and email address.
THE BACKUP AND RECOVERY SOLUTIONS YOU'VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR!
Our popular Interactive Product Guides (IPGs) are online catalogs of the hottest vendor solutions around. Our latest IPG highlights the backup and recovery solutions and services that will help you recover your data and your network when disaster strikes. Download the IPG for free at:
http://www.itbuynet.com/pdf/0802-backup-ipg.pdf
4. CONTACT US
Here's how to reach us with your comments and questions:
ABOUT THE FAQS — jsavill@winnetmag.com
ABOUT THE NEWSLETTER IN GENERAL — warren@winnetmag.com (please mention the newsletter name in the subject line)
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