In our previous Notebooks.com article, we took a look at the encryption capabilities built into specific editions of Windows 7, Ultimate and Enterprise. For those not running these particular editions, the article might not have been as useful, but more of an incentive to upgrade to those editions if you need those capabilities. If you are running Windows 7 Professional, Home Premium or Home Basic and need BitLocker like capabilities, I am going to look at another option that might be just as handy. There is a healthy industry built around encryption solutions for Windows, both free and commercial. In this how-to article, we’ll take a look at TrueCrypt a well known encryption solution that is free and well regarded.

About TrueCrypt

TrueCrypt is a software system for establishing and maintaining on-the-fly-encrypted volume (data storage device). On-the-fly-encryption means that data is automatically encrypted or decrypted right before it is loaded or saved, without any user intervention. No data stored on an encrypted volume can be read (decrypted) without using the correct password/keyfile(s) or correct encryption keys. Entire file system is encrypted (e.g., file names, folder names, contents of every file, free space, meta data, etc).

Sounds like just the tool we need to secure a PC.

Setup

Installation is quick and easy, just go to the TrueCrypt Download page and download the small 3.3 MB file. The installation itself is a seven step wizard which installed very quickly. TrueCrypt is a little more involved than BitLocker, but one of the immediate benefits I realized about it was how informative and helpful the software is during the setup process. Throughout the encryption wizard, each option is carefully explained and recommended to you. The process is longer than BitLocker, but the benefit of telling you what to do and recommending the best option should make novices and persons new to encryption feel comfortable.

Accept End User License Agreement.

Select the default Install option

Accept the default and click Install

Installing TrueCrypt

Installation completed successfully

You can find the TrueCrypt tutorial here.

Next step is to launch TrueCrypt to encrypt the hard disk.

In TrueCrypt, click the System drop down menu and click Encrypt System Partition/drive. This will launch the encryption setup wizard.

Select Normal

If you have just a single drive, select Encrypt the whole drive. If you have multiple drives or partitions setup with your computer, select the second option.

If it detects you have a single drive, TrueCrypt will make the recommendation of encrypting the whole drive.

As noted by the wizard, some computers come with hidden partitions that might need to be accessed at boot time to help load the operating system or when you need to reinstall Windows or access system utilities that come with your computer such as diagnostics tools that are stored on hidden drives. If this is the case (which a lot of manufacturers do these days), click No.

If you have more than one operating system installed, select the Multi-boot option. Since I only have a single installation, I selected Single-boot.

There are different types of encryption methods you can use, if you click in the Encryption Algorithm list box, you will see additional ones, I decided to go with the default option, AES.

Create a password, make sure it is strong with a mixture of upper and lower case and does not use any complete word you can find in a dictionary.

TrueCrypt will detect if the password is not satisfactory. Of course, for someone with a bad memory, I am not going to  create anything in the 20 character range, just follow the previous suggestions and add a few memorable symbols. Like I said in my BitLocker article, its one thing to have your data secure, but not being able to access it can be a disaster.

Here you can harden the encryption even more by randomly moving your mouse around the window which will help to make the encryption algorithm even more complex. Click next when completed.

Click Yes when prompted

The algorithm for encrypting your drive has been created, click Next.

Just as a precaution, TrueCrypt requires that you create a backup disk, there is no way around this.

The TrueCrypt Wizard will generate an ISO file which you will use to burn to a CD to create the rescue disk.

The rescue disk must also be verified before continuing.

The next step involves doing a trial run to see if the drive can be successfully encrypted and decrypted.

Click the Test button to verify

Some disclaimer information, copy and paste into notepad and save so you can review it later.

Click Yes to restart the system.

Quite similar to BitLocker isn’t it? Enter your password to decrypt and load Windows.

So the trial run was successful, now we are ready to start the actual encryption of the drive.

Depending on the size of the drive, the encryption time will vary, this 20 GB drive took about 30 to 40 mins to complete.

Encryption Successful! Click OK then Finish.

When you open TrueCrypt, you will see your drive listed as Encrypted along with the type of Encryption algorithm used. If you would like to permanently decrypt the volume, just right click it and click Permanently decrypt:

I notice there is no option to pause encryption like BitLocker, but its a minor trade off for a product that is free and very easy to use. It works with all editions of Windows 7, Vista and even Windows XP/2000. The process is more involved than BitLocker, but its actually more friendly and easier to setup. So, if you can’t bother with the hassle of upgrading to Windows 7 Ultimate or Professional for encryption capabilities at the drive or file/folder level, this should be just as useful and convenient. As always, before using such software I strongly recommend you backup your system first using the handy System Imaging tool built into all editions of Windows 7.

How to Encrypt your Hard Disk with TrueCrypt is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

One of the biggest limitations of Windows 7 Starter is that users cannot, by default, change the wallpaper. Due to this restriction, most netbook owners are stuck with the standard Windows 7 logo background instead of a beautiful Windows 7 theme, family photo or awesome art. We’re going to show you how to change the wallpaper on Windows 7 Starter in just a few minutes.

The best thing about this hack is that all you have to do is install a small program to Windows 7 Starter and you’ll be able to change the wallpaper.

DownloadSquad runs through all the details of changing the wallpaper in Windows 7 Starter with a small program called StarterBackGroundChanger. This installer file is written in French but if you click next ‘Suivant’ a few times you’ll be changing wallpapers and setting up slideshows before you know it.

The program to change your wallpaper in Windows 7 Starter is free and only has one ad shown during the personalization screen.

How to Change the Wallpaper in Windows 7 Starter for Free is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

In addition to upping the number of individuals who enjoy computing on the go netbooks have done one thing that notebooks have largely failed to do; bring attention to what operating system you are using. While the majority of netbook owners still want that familiar Windows experience, netbooks have shown many individuals alternative operating systems based on some flavor of Linux.

While these open source alternatives had geeky edges on Windows XP, which most netbooks shipped with last year, the switch to Windows 7 Starter (which limits what users can do with Windows 7) makes installing an alternative OS more attractive for even the non-geeks interested in netbooks. Couple this with the fact that these OS’s are easier to use and install programs than in years past and users have more reason than ever to try a new operating system.

If you have been wanting to do more than Windows 7 Starter allows, or maybe you are sick of Windows XP on your netbook, you may find one of these operating systems more to your liking. All but OSX and Windows 7 allow you try before you buy thanks to the ability to run a Live-CD version, or in this case a Live USB version, so you can test drive your favorite applications and uses before you make it your daily driver.

LifeHacker rounded up what their users consider the Top 5 Netbook Operating Systems. These operating systems allow to do cool things such as running the Apple OSX, getting a leaner faster OS like Linux Mint or picking a small screen in mind Cloud OS like Jolicloud.

Top 5 Netbook Operating Systems:

• Jolicloud - Free – Linux
• Windows 7 – $165 Home Premium – Windows
• Ubuntu – Free – Linux
• OSX - $24 – Mac
• Linux Mint – Free – Linux

I’ve used all of these but Linux Mint and feel that this is a good showing of netbook operating systems; but I would add the  Moblin netbook OS as another popular Linux distro that has received a warm welcome among users and is compatible with the Intel AppUp app store.

My personal favorites are Windows 7 Home Premium and Jolicloud, thanks to the ease use. My HP Mini is currently running Windows 7 Home Premium and runs Jolicloud off of a thumbdrive when I want a different experience. I am also testing out a Sony Vaio W which comes standard with Windows 7 Starter and despite the limitations of Starter I am getting by alright so far; though I couldn’t use it every day thanks to the lack of multi-monitor support.

What’s your favorite Netbook operating system?

Top 5 Operating Systems for Netbooks is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Even though Microsoft backed off of some of their early Windows 7 Starter edition limitations, such as the number of programs that can run at a certain time, the low cost version of Windows 7 shipping on most netbooks still has some drawbacks that consumers aren’t happy with.

The biggest limitations in Windows 7 Starter, as compared to the other editions of Windows 7, are;

• No desktop personalization
• No DVD playback
• No Multi-Monitor Support
• No Aero affects
• And others

A recent survey by Retrevo, which revealed that 21% of respondents were planning on purchasing a netbook this coming year, found that many consumers don’t understand the differences in Windows 7 editions.

Specifically, 46% didn’t know about the different versions of Windows 7, and 64% didn’t know that the Starter edition lacked the above features already found in Windows XP.

When asked if they would be disappointed with a netbook that couldn’t support these common, and expected these days, features; 56% said they would be dissatisfied with the experience!

Unfortunately most new netbooks are migrating to Windows 7 Starter edition, Retrevo found 23 out of 28 sold at Amazon shipped with Starter edition, which means consumers will end up paying more for these features.

This will either come about in the form of higher priced Windows 7 netbooks or by taking advantage of the ability to do an Anytime Upgrade in Windows 7. While paying more for a new netbook or dropping $80 on an Anytime Upgrade from Starter edition to Windows 7 Home aren’t appealing there is a silver lining. Users who just want a simple computer to use on the go, as a secondary computer, will be able to save $50 to $80 on their netbook purchase.

Majority Of Users Would Be Dissatisfied With Windows 7 Starter is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

If you have decided to upgrade to Windows 7, you have one other thing to to do, choose an edition. This will depend on a number of factors, whether you are doing a clean install, upgrading from a previous version of Windows, or you have multiple PC’s in your home. Microsoft has made choosing an edition of Windows 7 a little easier in comparison to Windows Vista. Instead of 6 editions, you will now see 3 editions in mainstream markets. Cost is also a factor and users need to evaluate their needs. Do I need all the features of Windows? Am I really using all the features of Windows? This article takes a look at whats included, hopefully you will be guided in the right direction.

Editions

I mentioned that Windows 7 is available in 3 editions, true, but there are still 6 editions. No, I wasn’t lying, its just how Microsoft is marketing the editions. If you go into a Best Buy or wherever software/computer products are sold you will see only 3 mainstream editions in pretty product boxes, but Windows 7 is available in the following 6 editions:

Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate.

Starter: Broad app and device compatibility, unlimited application support, Safe, reliable, and supported. Ability to join a Home Group, Improved taskbar and Jump Lists. Windows 7 Starter will be distributed only on new systems that meet a certain requirement: 10.1″ screen display with 1024×600 resolution, 1.66Ghz Intel Atom N280 processor, 1 GB of RAM, and a 250 GB hard disk – otherwise known as Netbooks.

Home Basic: Another OEM only version of Windows 7 will available on new systems in emerging markets. Microsoft describes this edition as a product for cost concious consumers. Users should note, that Home Basic is 32 bit only, (Vista Home Basic had a 64 bit edition). Home Basic includes enhanced visual experience, Advanced networking support (ad-hoc wireless networks and internet connection sharing), Mobility Center.

Home Premium: Now this edition is probably the sweet spot for many consumers who decide to move to Windows 7. You get all of the cool user interface features: Aero Glass & advanced windows navigation, Easy networking & sharing across all your PCs & devices through HomeGroups, Improved media format support, enhancements to Windows Media Center and media streaming, including Play To, Multi-touch and improved handwriting recognition. Windows 7 Home Premium is available in both 32 and 64 bit editions supporting up to 16 GBs of RAM if you have such a configuration (both disks are included in the product box too). If you have multiple PC’s, you can purchase the Windows 7 Home Premium Family Pack Upgrade for 3 PC’s. This entitles you to upgrade 3 computers for just $149.99, great value. Learn more here

Professional: If you consider your self an advanced user, then Professional would be the right choice for you. Windows XP Professional or Windows Vista Business users, if you are running those editions, its most likely you will need this one. Professional gives you the ability to join a managed network with Domain Join, Protect  data with advanced network backup and Encrypting File System, Print to the right printer at home or work with Location Aware Printing. In addition to this, Windows 7 Professional includes Group Policy Editor for controling access and behavior of your computer. Windows 7 Professional supports up to 192 GBs of Random Access Memory and includes support for multiple physical processors and its also available in 32 and 64 bit editions.

Enterprise: This is a unique edition of Windows that you won’t find in stores. It is sold to businesses who need Windows licenses in volume to install on hundreds or thousands of computers. Basically, Windows 7 Enterprise is like Windows 7 Professional on steroids, you will find all the features of that edition along with some additional tools called BitLocker Drive Encryption and BitLocker To Go for encrypting your laptop hard disk or an external storage device such as Thumbdrive, in addition to this, Enterprise features World Wide Language support (Multi-Lingual User Interface or MUI’s) support, with up 35 available languages. Enterprise edition also works best when deployed with Microsoft’s Windows Server 2008 R2 network operating system to provide unique features such as AppLocker support, Direct Access, BrancheCache, features that protect what type of applications employees have access to, speedy access to network resources and faster access to Virtual Private Networks.

Ultimate: Combining all the features of Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Enterprise, this edition of Windows 7 gives you every single feature available. Microsoft dubs it, ‘the most complete edition of Windows’. Feautures such as BitLocker data protection on internal and external drives, DirectAccess provides seamless connectivity to your corporate network.  (requires Windows Server 2008 R2), Decrease time branch office workers wait to open file across the network with BranchCache. (requires Windows Server 2008 R2), Prevent unauthorized software from running with AppLocker are all available in Windows 7 Ultimate. If you want it all, this is the Windows for you.

Ultimate, Professional and Home Premium, are the editions you will see in stores this October.

How much will Windows 7 cost?

Windows 7 will be available in 6 editions, but primary emphasis is being put towards Home Premium and Professional for mainstream markets.

Pricing:

• Windows 7 Starter Entry-level OEM SKU in all markets for cost conscious consumers.
• Windows 7 Home Basic Value SKU in emerging markets for cost conscious consumers on value PC’s.

Windows Anytime Upgrade makes it easier to get more features.

Anytime Upgrades allow you to move from one edition of Windows 7 to another without the need to reinstall from scratch or purchase the desired edition at retail upgrade pricing. Its great if you have exhausted the features of the current edition of Windows 7 installed and you need more. Another great thing about Windows Anytime Upgrade under Windows 7 compared to Vista’s, you don’t need a special disk and you don’t need to be online to do the upgrade, just have a key for the edition you want and you are good to go. Microsoft will be offering Windows Anytime Upgrades online in 13 countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK or the US. While the Windows 7 Home Premium Family Pack will be available in the US and 8 European countries (UK (£149.99), Ireland (£149.99), Germany (€149.99), France (€149.99), Switzerland (€149.99), Austria (€149.99), the Netherlands (€149.99), and Sweden (€149.99) on October 22nd 2009 while supplies last.

Which should you choose?

I have been reading through a number forums, and persons keep asking, which edition is right for me? Other questions that pop up, I have xyz amount of PC’s, how do I get to upgrade all of them. First of all, you need to evaluate your needs. A person who has 6 PC’s in his house hold used by four individuals in his family with 4 PC’s running Windows XP Professional SP3 and one system Vista Home Premium and the other Vista Ultimate would have to invest in a lot of licenses if they wanted to upgrade to corresponding editions of Windows 7. Considering that 4 of the PC’s are being used at home, do most of the PC’s running Windows XP Professional need the unique functionality of Professional (most of which are business oriented)? You probably could reduce the expenditure by investing in two Windows 7 Home Premium Family Pack Upgrade Licenses for 3 PC’s. Home Premium features easier networking and sharing of resources such as Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos and even Printers. You can do things like stream music and videos to other PC’s and you get all of the major user experience features in that edition.

Windows 7 Home Premium Family Pack provides an affordable way to upgrade multiple PC’s to Windows 7.

Another way to reduce the cost of licensing, if you have a student enrolled in college with a valid .edu, you could let them take advantage of Microsoft’s Student discount offer that gives you the option of purchasing either Windows 7 Home Premium or Professional for just US $30. Please note, these are upgrade licenses, meaning, you need to have a qualifying operating system such as Windows 2000 Professional, XP or Vista. Learn more here and here

Microsoft is putting less prominence towards Windows 7 Ultimate with this release too and you can see the reason why when you compare it to the Professional edition. The Windows Team has made each successive edition a subset of the other. So for instance, Professional is a subset of Home Premium including all its features and more. Unlike Vista Business which only included business only features, users will be pleasantly surprised to know functionality like Media Center is now available in Professional. The pricing is also another factor. Windows 7 Professional cost $300 (upgrade $200) for the full version, while Ultimate cost $320 (upgrade $220), this probably should be a time for reevaluating the need to upgrade from Windows Vista Ultimate to Windows 7 Ultimate or choose an edition that is more inline with your needs.

Upgrade paths

This is probably the tough part. Users of Windows XP and prior versions of Windows must understand you cannot do an in place upgrade to Windows 7. Windows Vista users too must also evaluate their upgrade paths, because certain editions cannot do in place upgrade to certain editions of Windows 7. An in place upgrade allows you to upgrade to Windows 7 while preserving your personal files, settings, applications and installed drivers.

Don’t let this surprise you, if your are running Windows 2000, XP or Vista you are eligible for upgrade pricing to any edition of Windows 7. Customers who are running Windows Vista that can do in place upgrades to respective editions of Windows 7 must ensure they have Service Pack 1 or later installed.

Netbooks

Prior to Windows 7 users had two choices for operating systems on Netbooks, Windows XP or Linux. Microsoft has really improved the performance in areas such as disk and memory foot print, making any edition of Windows 7 suitable for that form factor. Most manufacturers might pre-load their Netbook devices with Windows 7 Starter, but you will have the option of using Windows Anytime Upgrade to move to a more feature rich editions such as Home Premium.

Conclusion

The information provided in this article might come across a bit overwhelming, but that really is the case when it comes to choice. Microsoft develops multiple editions to meet different needs and market trends. Hopefully with a simplified retail line up and more value added features available in Home Premium and Professional, users can make better choices without feeling there are trade offs in the process.

Resources:

Windows 7 Compare Editions

Windows 7 System Requirements

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor

Purchase Windows 7 at the Microsoft Store

A Look at the Windows 7 Editions is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.