WiHi Shus

So what is it?
This is a simple application that performs a hack to the Windows Registry that enables you to hide or show users from the Windows logon screen. I wrote this program for me, as on this computer I have a user account set up for people to do audio editing and web browsing only, making sure that all my lovely documents stay hidden from view. The thing is that this user account is not used all the time, only on special occasions, which left me with two options. Either I could delete the account and reinstate it when the need arose, or I could put up with having two accounts on the computer, one a dormant one. Or there was a third option; thanks to the wonders of t'interweb, I had a bit of a search around and came across a Windows Registry hack that would hide users from the list. It said it was for Windows XP, but I thought I might as well try it with Vista also. It worked! So, I could switch this account on and off at will, and all it required was to dip into the registry each time I needed to. Bit I'm a lazy bastard, and decided that it would be so much easier if I could do this without having to go into the registry, which had the added disadvantage that if I needed to do something else in there, I would lose the right place. (Actually, I had already covered that eventuality by placing a text file with the key in it, but that's not the point I'm trying to make here.) So WiHi Shus was born. (Windows Hide Show users in case you were wondering, which, and lets be honest here, you were!)

Usage:
Using WiHi Shus is simple - all you have to do is type in the name of the user you wish to hide or show, check the box next to 'Hide' or 'Show' depending on what you want to do, and click the big button marked 'Do It'. Click 'Yes' to confirm, and hey presto, that user is how hidden or unhidden depending on which choice you made earlier on. IMPORTANT: It is quite obvious that you should not do this to all your users. The original article mentioned that you can get to the 'traditional' logon screen by ctrl+ alt+deleting a couple of times, but that is in Windows XP, and as the Vista I have is the 'Home Basic' edition, I am not sure how you get it to come up.

Troubleshooting
OK, there's only one problem I can think of while I write this, and that is that you will, or at least are extraordinarily likely to, receive an error saying that WiHi Shus could not write to the registry if one, both, or more of the following apply:

• Your user account does not have Administrator privalages
• You have not run this application as an administrator

One Final Warning:
The Windows Registry is a highly complex part of the Windows Operating System. Edit it at your peril! The website I took the hint from reads: "Before you start putting values in this key, I want to warn you. This tip is particularly dangerous. If you make the wrong move, you could make it nearly impossible to get back into your system. (Use safe mode if you mess up, to get back in)". I cannot, and will not take any responsibility if you lock yourself out of your computer through using WiHi Shus. It is a program intended for people who know roughly what they are doing when they go routing through the registry. Editing any part of the registry can cause your computer to f**k up, so please be careful, and use this program at your own risk.

Final Notes
WiHi Shus is © 2007 Richard Graham. It was written in Visual Basic 6, on a laptop running Windows Vista Home Basic. This readme file was written in Programmers Notepad 2. The website from which I got the original tip can be found Here and I suggest you have a look there so you know what the program is doing.

OK, I've read all that, let me download it!
OK, OK... no need to shout. Just Click Here to download it. It's a zip file, that weighs a nice 9.28KB. This is Version 1.0. The unzipped file is about 32KB. Which is quite miniscule really. It'll even fit on a floppy disc with room to spare if you so desired to do so.

What about things like licencing?
Well, I'm glad you asked (although I am going to digress slightly - have you noticed how the headings have changed from being headings to being questions from you, the user?). WiHi Shus is provided free of charge, completely free, no questions asked. No adverts, no dodgy nag screens, nothing like that at all. You are completely free to use it and distribute it, but may I make the following requests: Please do not use this program for malicious purposes - that is not what I wrote it for; and if you do distribute it, don't change it in any way, nor claim it as your own work. Do not sell it either, except should you wish to put it on a cover disk for a magazine or something. If you do distribute it, please let me know first - it's only nice to do that, and it doesn't cost anything to send a quick email (and while I'm on the subject of emails, should anybody need to email me about WiHi Shus, please put that somewhere in the subject line so I don't delete it thinking it's spam!)