Altering Your Alter Ego

(June, 2006)

It seems like a person can’t pick up a computer magazine without seeing an article on viruses, spyware, and adware, collectively referred to as ‘malware’.  As important as these issues are, they’ve gotten to be a real collective downer for me.  Computing should be not only beneficial but, dare I say it, fun!  So in that spirit, this column is dedicated to one small aspect of your Windows operating system, a piece of eye candy called a user icon.

When Microsoft rolled out Windows XP as a home-user replacement for the short-lived and oft maligned Windows Millennium Edition which in turn replaced the venerable Windows 98 version, they introduced the concept of User Accounts.  As home computers often serve as family computers, Microsoft provided the ability for each user to set up his or her own session environment.  This meant each person could have their own desktop ‘wallpaper’, screen saver, event sounds, and My Documents folder.

When you boot up your XP-based computer, the system stops at what Microsoft refers to as the ‘friendly welcome log-in screen’.  If your machine was delivered with only one user account and no log-in password, then your machine boots right past the log-in screen directly to the desktop wallpaper.  To add a user account, simply go to Start, Control Panel, User Accounts, and select the option to Create a New Account.  Once you’ve done that, you’ll see the ‘friendly welcome log-in screen’ upon next boot.  Note too that this log-on screen is only applicable on a home computer, which Microsoft defines as one that does not specify a network domain.

At the log-in screen you are provided a list of all user accounts that have been set up in the system.  If you have established a password for each user, the screen will expect you to select a user account and enter the password – otherwise you just click the user account selection and proceed into Windows.  Alongside the user name is an icon, or little thumbnail picture, which represents the user.  If you don’t like the icon that displays, you can change it easily enough.  Just go to Start, Control Panel, User Accounts, pick an account to change, and select Change the Picture.  Windows will show you the available list, which as delivered is a very limited set of user icons – about two dozen.  Quite frankly I find most of these to be pretty boring.  Fortunately you are not limited to the selections Windows provides.  You can add additional user icons to the default list.  So the fact that no golf ball icon comes with Windows can be remedied.

            The only limitation on adding new icons is that they must be exactly 48 by 48 pixels in size.  This is going to limit your choices to something that will be clearly discernable in the space of a thumbnail without using a magnifying glass.  Additionally, if you want to use an image that has not already been sized by someone else to use as a User Icon, you’re going to have to get a little technical and resize the picture yourself using a graphics program. 

            You can search the web looking for ‘User Account Icons’ to find freely downloadable choices.  The problem is that, like sites that offer free screensavers, many such sites are common breeding grounds for adware and spyware (sorry for bringing that topic up again) so you’re going to have to be wary.  Here’s one site whose safety I can vouch for: http://www.accountpics.com.  If offers about 550 user icons, some of which are a little too bizarre for me, but hey, different strokes for different folks.  You’ll find Frank, Dean-O, Sammy, Marilyn, Bela, Boris, Mickey, The Girl With a Pearl Earring, and a host of cute Muppet characters along with a couple of weird Sith lords from Star Wars. 

            Want to make your own unique user icon?  A fellow named Jake Luddington has created a website that shows you the step-by-step process of doing this.  Go here: http://tinyurl.com/c3ony and follow the instructions.  If you don’t have a favorite photo manipulation program to resize your picture down to 48x48 pixels, Jake provides a link to a free program called IrfanView which you can download and use per his on-line guide.  I tried it and it was easy.  I made a golf ball icon with it.  If you want a copy, email me and I’ll send it to you.

While it is possible to drop new user icons in your My Pictures folder, I prefer to keep them in the location Windows expects to find them in.  This is a hidden folder located in the path C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\User Account Pictures\Default Pictures.  Luddington’s website has instructions on how to unhide the folder and copy your icon pictures there.

Be creative.  Be unique!    Be silly.    But whatever you do, have FUN!