Do the following.
Go to Control Panel and double click System.
In System Properties, click on the Advanced tab.
On the Advanced page, click on the Settings button in the Performance section.
On the Visual Effects page of Performance Options, click on Custom.
In the box beneath Custom, remove the check mark from the box next to "Use drop shadows
for icon labels on the Desktop".
Click OK.

To change the color of the boxes go back to Control Panel and double click Display.
In Display Properties, click on the Desktop tab.
On the Desktop page, click on the down arrow next to the Color box.
Select the color you want.
Click OK.

Good luck

Nepatsfan