Windows can be tweaked a fair bit, but there are many other alterations which would be useful. This is where programs such as Ashampoo PowerUp can come in handy.

Launch the program and you're presented with seven sections, each of which contain a huge amount of options. The sections are Windows, Drives & Files, Boot Options, Security, Network & Internet, Icons and Applications.

Click on a section and you're presented with all the available options in a list, with a checkbox next to each item. Simply check or uncheck each item to activate or deactivate it.

There are far too many options to go into here, but everything from changing the look and feel of Windows to hiding files and folders is possible. Some examples include emptying temp folder/deleting cookies on startup, and restricting access to Control Panel features.

Note that the review above was written for a previous version of PowerUp and will be re-written soon. This latest version of Ashampoo PowerUp 3 now contains support for Vista, so you can optimise, tweak and boost your Vista installation.