Quick Online Tips

Download and Install Windows 7 Themes, Wallpapers on Windows Vista

Posted: 01 May 2010 08:22 AM PDT

How can you download and install Windows 7 Themes and Windows 7 Wallpapers on Windows Vista computers? Microsoft has released some amazing Windows 7 themes which I have installed on my Windows Vista Home Premium computer. Here is how …

1. Download Windows 7 Themes

First go to the official Windows 7 Themes gallery and then download the Windows Vista themes you need.

windows7 themes

2. Rename .themepack extension to .zip

Don’t get confused by the if you click the downloaded .themepack file and it does not open. .themepack is basically a .zip file. I simply rename the file from beaches.themepack to beaches.zip. Ok the alert window.

ename themepack files

3. Extract Windows 7 theme files

I use my free 7-zip software to open and extract the Windows 7 theme files. Usually these folder contain 2 folders - a .theme file and a DesktopBackground folder which has the Windows 7 Wallpapers.

Window 7 theme files

4. Install Windows 7 Theme

If your Windows Vista has the Aero power, simply click the .theme file and the pop window will ask you to install the Windows 7 Theme. Apply and your Theme is updated.

install windows7 theme

5. Install Windows 7 Wallpapers

Now browse inside the DesktopBackground folder – there are multiple images there. Simply right click the image of your choice and click “Set as Desktop Background”. If you want more customization Windows 7 Wallpaper custom options like stretching or tiling, then right click the desktop > Personalize > Desktop Background > Browse to your folder, select the image and choose the setting of your choice.

set desktop background

set wallpaper style

If you dont want the theme, you can always install the Windows 7 wallpapers only from the folder. You can also download Windows 7 wallpapers from the official gallery and simply install downloaded images as desktop backgrounds. Enjoy the new Windows 7 Theme and Windows 7 Wallpaper on your Windows Vista computer.

Original article: Download and Install Windows 7 Themes, Wallpapers on Windows Vista
Copyright 2010. Quick Online Tips. All Rights Reserved.

How to Filter Your Home Internet For Free With OpenDNS [Tutorial]

Posted: 01 May 2010 06:40 AM PDT

Guest post by Danny Archer.
Do you filter your Home Internet with OpenDNS? In my humble opinion, I don’t think the internet should be censor free. There are some contents that can be deemed harmful to our children. While we want them to have access to the internet, this does not mean “full” access together with p0rnography.

I’ve written a simple step by step tutorial on how to filter the internet for free. It is mainly graphic based with simple texts explaining the procedure. This enables those who are less knowledgeable in computers especially senior citizen the ability to filter the internet for their kids.

Step 1 – Visit OpenDNS (www.opendns.com)

Step 2 – Click on the yellow “SEE PLANS & PRICING” button

Step 3 – Choose OpenDNS Basic by clicking on the “Sign Up” button

Step 4 - Key in the relevant information in “I’m new to OpenDNS and I need an account”

Step 5 - When you’re done, click on “Continue”

Now is the part where you have to choose between setting up OpenDNS on a computer or router, if you need to filter more than one computer, go for the router setup.

Step 6a – Choose Computer
Step 6b - Choose Router (web filter shall be applied to all devices accessing the internet via the router)

A new page will load and a step by step tutorial will guide you on how to configure your router or computer.

Step 7 - When you’re done setting up your computer or router, hit the “Next:Test your new settings” link

If the test failed, repeat step 7 again. Something went wrong somewhere. If it is a success, proceed to step 8.

Step 8 - Click on the “OpenDNS Dashboard” link

Remember to confirm your email! If your account is still unconfirmed, many of the settings might not be available to you.

Step 9 - Click on the “ADD THIS NETWORK” button, this will add your IP address to OpenDNS.

When the IP address is successfully added to OpenDNS, a pop up will appear.

Step 10 – Give your network a name, I choose “Home”

Step 11 – Check the “yes, it is dynamic” box. Most of our IP addresses are randomly assigned by our Internet Service Provider.

Step 12 - If your IP is random/dynamic, you should download the ‘OpenDNS Updater for Windows/Mac”

Step 13 – When you’re done, click on the “Done” button

Step 14 – Click on the blue link as shown by the arrow. The IP address varies from computer to computer. It need not be the exact number as shown in the screen shot.

Step 15 – Depending on your knowledge, you are given 5 choices. I choose “Custom” by checking the radio button.

Step 16 - Remember to look for the “proxy/Anonymizer” check box and check it! When you’re done, click on the “Apply” button

P.S. Wait for 3 minutes for the settings to take effect. Run a simple test by visiting certain websites.

Guest author Danny Archer is a full time blogger and a graduate architect. He is the author of tech blog geckoandfly and architecture blog miragestudio7. Both blogs provide simple step by step tutorials on the latest software and troubleshooting. You can also guestblog on QOT and share your security tips.

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2010/05/01