The default dark blue text highlight color in Windows has always bothered me a touch, and not just because of problems with Swing. I'd found how to change it once before "on my own", but forgot. Here goes:

Want to change the color it uses? For example, if you're using the Windows Standard scheme, you may want to change that dark blue to red for some real contrast. Whatever your taste in colors, right-click on the Desktop, select Properties, and click on the Appearance tab. Click on the down arrow under Item, select Selected Items, and then choose a Color. Click on Apply to try out your change without closing the dialog box, or click on OK to make it stick. There, much better. Who ever heard of a dark blue highlighter anyway?