Hack ur PC

Keep Folders And Files Secret And Hidden

2012-01-17T09:39:00.000-08:00

First create a new folder somewhere on your hard drive or select a folder u want it to b hidden and press f2 (rename option) and name it by pressing "Alt" and press "255" this will create and invisible.

space so it will appear as if it has no name.

then right click in and select "Properties" select the tab "customize" and select
"change icon" scroll along and you should a few blanc spaces click on any one and
click ok when you have saved the settings the folder will be invisible to hide all
your personal files.

~~~now keep ur folders and files safely hidden~~~

Command Prompt hacking Commands

2012-01-07T09:16:00.000-08:00

CMD HACKING COMMANDS

Useful Things to do on Command Prompt

First, open your Network Connection and right click and select Properties. Then Select TCP/IP and click on Properties again. Now Click on Advanced and WINS tab. Select Default for NeBIOS.

Now back to the main Local Area Connection window, select File and Print Sharing for Networks and hit enter.

This is just to make sure you have NetBIOS enabled. We will have some fun with NetBIOS on CMD.

First thing you need to know is some very helpfull commands to use on CMD(Command Prompt).

In case you don't know how to get CMD open in your box, then click on Start, then Run, then type "cmd" (no quotes, off course... you know the drill).

Back to commands:

nslookup
net view
net use
net user
ping
tracert
arp
route
nbtstat
netstat
ipconfig

In case you don't know some of them, then just type the command on CMD and hit enter. A little help will show up in your screen. Read it and understand what the command does.

Lets start easy...

1) ping : This command will allow you to know if the host you pinging is alive, which means if it is up at the time of executing the "ping" command.

ping x.x.x.x (x is the IP address)

or

ping www.whatever.com (www.whatever.com is the website you want to ping, but you don't know the IP)

OBS: Keep in mind that if the host you pinging is blocking ICMP packets, then the result will be host down.

2) nslookup : This command has many functionalities.
One is for resolving DNS into IP.
Lets say you know the website URL but you don't know its IP(and you want to find out).

nslookup www.whatever.com (www.whatever.com is the website you want to find out the IP)

Now, another really nice function of nslookup is to find out IP of specific Mail Severs

nslookup (enter)
set type=mx (enter)
yahoo.com

This command will give you the mail server IP of yahoo.com. You can use whatever server you want and if it is listed on DNS, then you get the IP. Simple, isn't it?

OK, now why would you want to have an IP of a mail server?
To send spoofed mail to your friends or even for SE.
In case you looking for "How to spoof email", then look for my "How to spoof email tutorial" http://www.infowar.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2360

3) tracert : This command will give you the hops that a packet will travel to reach its final destination.

OBS: This command is good to know the route a packet takes before it goes to the target box.

tracert x.x.x.x (x is the IP address)

or

tracert www.whatever.com (www.whatever.com is the website you don't know the IP)

4) arp : This command will show you the arp table. This is good to know if someone is doing arp poisoning in your LAN.

arp -a

5) route : This command will show you the routing table, gateway, interface and metric.

Code:
route print

6) ipconfig : This command will show tons of very helpful things.
Your IP, gateway, dns in use.

Code:
ipconfig
or

Code:
ipconfig /all

this command will give all that info but for all networks you might have it.

Also, in case you have a dynamic IP and want to change it, then type...

Code:
ipconfig /release (this will release your IP)

ipconfig /renew (this will renew your iP)

OBS: Keep in mind that those commands will change your IP, but the new IP will still be tighed up to you. So don't do anything stupid.

7) netstat : This command will show you connection to your box.

Code:
netstat

or

Code:

netstat -a (this will show you all the listening ports and connection with DNS names)
netstat -n (this will show you all the open connection with IP addresses)
netstat -an (this will combined both of the above)

net view x.x.x.x or computername (will list the available sharing folders on the target box)

Now some hints:

Code:

net use \ipaddressipc$ "" /user:administrator

(this command will allow you to connect to the target box as administrator)

Now if you want to connect to the target box and browse the entire C drive, then use this command:

Code:
net use K: \computernameC$
(this will create a virtual drive on your "my computer" folder)

OBS: Keep in mind that this will only works if the target box doesn't have an administrator password set.

And least but not last, the "help" command.

Quote:
whatevercommand /help

or

Quote:
whatevercommand /?

This command will help you to understand what it does and all the switchs available for each command.

Pin the Show Desktop to Taskbar in Windows 7

2011-08-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

Update: Fixed addresses so they now have proper forward slashes. If you don’t see these: \ then please make sure to insert one after each word. Internet Explorer is considered one word with a space in between it. I’m working on fixing the problem with disappearing slashes.

If you’ve just picked up Windows 7, you’re probably wondering where the Show Desktop button has gone. It’s actually now moved to the bottom right hand corner of the screen for quick access. Hovering your mouse over it will activate Aero Peek and allow you to preview the Desktop without actually going to it. This feature is good for taking a quick peek at any Gadgets you may have lying on your desktop.

But if you still want a “Show Desktop” icon in your taskbar, it’s possible. This guide will teach you how to pin Show Desktop properly into the taskbar, not the method that gives you a strange unaligned placement in the taskbar.

The Fail Pin

The Win Pin

The guide is actually not as long as it looks. I added a lot of pictures to guide you along the process.

How-to:

1) First, you need to pin an item you don’t actually want in the taskbar. I chose TweetDeck because it stays in the System Tray anyway.

2) Then you need to create your own Show Desktop icon. You can download the Icon here, or do it yourself.

To do it yourself, open Notepad and paste the following code:

[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop

When you save the file, select All Files from the drop down menu, and name the icon Desktop.scf

Whether you download or create the desktop file yourself, make sure to save it into this directory:

C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar

3) Right click the item you pinned earlier (in my case, TweetDeck) and click on Properties.

4) Edit the Target Field to the following. Change the field yourusername to your Computer name. You can find this by opening the Start Menu and looking at the first item in the darkened area.

Computer name is shown as the first item on the right side (win7 for me)

Paste this code into the Target Field. Make sure to change yourusername.

C:\Users\yourusername\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar\Desktop.scf

5) Now we need to change the icon. Click on Change Icon and paste the following code into the Browse field and press Enter:

%SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll

The Show Desktop icon is located somewhere near the middle. This was where mine was located:

6) You can also rename your icon to Show Desktop so you don’t get confused when editing the taskbar later on.

7) Your icon in the Taskbar will not change unless you log off and log back in or end the explorer.exe process in Task Manager. Regardless, the icon should function like the old “Show Desktop” icon.

If you’re a fan of keyboard shortcuts, Win+D shows the desktop too.

Disable and Remove Ads from Yahoo Messenger

2011-08-12T03:20:00.000-07:00

There are so many ways to remove these ads. I will suggest couple of them.

1>--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yahoo Messenger 9, follow these steps:

Run Registry Editor (regedit.exe).
Navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Yahoo\pager\Locale
In the right pane, locate a value named Enable Messenger Ad with default value as 1. Set the value to 0.
Restart Yahoo! Messenger 9.0.

The ads will be disappeared from Yahoo Messenger after restarting.

2>----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please note that if you run Yahoo Messenger from a FAT32 disk, this fix disables some features from Yahoo Messenger, like chat rooms and the plug-in manager. NTFS is the standard file system used in Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, so it's likely that you won't see these limitations if you use a recent version of windows.

Close Yahoo Messenger.
Create .bat file from below code, that edits most registry values related to the ads in Yahoo Messenger from HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ Yahoo\pager\YUrl, replacing the data with a dummy asterisk. Here's the list of string values:

Messenger Ad
Webcam Upload Ad
Webcam Viewer Ad
Webcam Viewer Ad Big
Webcam Viewer Ad Medium
Change Room Banner
Conf Adurl
Chat Adurl

bat file..

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

@ECHO OFF TITLE Remove ads from Yahoo Messenger 8-9  ATTRIB -R "%PROGRAMFILES%\Yahoo!\Messenger\Cache\urls.xml" ECHO "" >"%PROGRAMFILES%\Yahoo!\Messenger\Cache\urls.xml"  ATTRIB +R "%PROGRAMFILES%\Yahoo!\Messenger\Cache\urls.xml" cacls "%PROGRAMFILES%\Yahoo!\Messenger\Cache\urls.xml" /E /P  %username%:N  SET CONTENTPATH="" IF ERRORLEVEL 1 SET CONTENTPATH="*"  > %TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO REGEDIT4 >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO. >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Yahoo\Pager\YUrl] >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO "Messenger Ad"="*" >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO "Webcam Upload Ad"="*" >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO "Webcam Viewer Ad"="*" >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO "Webcam Viewer Ad Big"="*" >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO "Webcam Viewer Ad Medium"="*" >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO "Change Room Banner"="*" >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO "Conf Adurl"="*" >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO "Chat Adurl"="*" >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO "Y Content"=%CONTENTPATH% >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Yahoo\Pager\Locale] >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO "Enable Messenger Ad"="0" REGEDIT /S %TEMP%.\noYMads.reg DEL %TEMP%.\noYMads.reg

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The patch also makes the file C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Messenger\Cache\urls.xml read-only and it revokes all the permissions for the file, but only for NTFS disks.

If you install new versions of Yahoo Messenger, you'll have to repeat the steps above, as Yahoo setup rewrites the registry entries. New versions will most likely make removing the ads more difficult or even impossible.

3>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Block Ads By Blocking the Ad Server:

1. Open Notepad.
(In Vista/Win7, Run Notepad as an Administrator)

2. Open the following file:
C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

3. Add the following line at the end of the text file:

127.0.0.1 insider.msg.yahoo.com

What to do if Yahoo Changes Their Ad Server

I tested this since Yahoo Messenger 9.0.0.922 BETA. It worked.

This is because all ads come from "http://insider.msg.yahoo.com", which is the Ad Server.

Now, when you notice the ads coming back, it means Yahoo changed their Ad Server. To block them again:

1. Explore C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Messenger\Cache\

2. Open urls.xml

3. Internet Explorer will display the XML file.
From there you can see lines similar to these:

href=\"http://insider.msg.yahoo.com/client_ad.php?p=409640\" id="Messenger Ad"
href=\"http://insider.msg.yahoo.com/client_ad.php?p=81920\" id="Messenger Idle Ad"

In this case, the Ad Server Address is "insider.msg.yahoo.com"
If it's not, copy the new Ad Server Address,
and update the "hosts" file.

Automatically Download Files From Rapidshare In Firefox

2011-07-11T12:14:00.001-07:00

Users who download regularly from the popular file host Rapidshare usually use a download manager like JDownloader or Cryptload to do so. These download managers provide several benefits over downloading files from Rapidshare in a web browser like Firefox or Internet Explorer. The most important benefit being the ability to queue an unlimited number of files in the Rapidshare Download Manager which are then download sequentially without further user interaction.

Rapidshare AutoWait is a userscript that can be loaded in the Firefox Greasemonkey extension. It brings most of the benefit that is provided by download managers to the web browser. In short: It allows a user to open multiple Rapidshare links which get then downloaded sequentially without user interaction.

The script will automatically perform all required actions on the page after it has been opened in Firefox. It will also detect if a download is already in progress to loop the other Rapidshare downloads which are then started at a later time.

The script does detect network problems and handles other possible errors like expired sessions or the 15 minute limits as well. It is not a problem for the script to handle 10, 20 or even 30 tabs that all point to a file on the Rapidshare website. The only step that the script will not do is to close the tab once the download has been finished which is not that much of a problem though.

AutoWait is a very interesting option for users who download files regularly from Rapidshare. Check out our Rapidshare Search article for pointers on how to find links at the the file host. It is possible that the script will also work in other web browsers that provide userscript support such as Opera or Safari.

Windows 7 Login Screen Customization Without 3rd Party Software

2010-08-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

Instructions

1. Type regedit in RUN or Startmenu search box and press Enter. It'll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\Background

3. Now in right-side pane, change value of OEMBackground to 1

4. Now go to following folder:

%windir%\System32\oobe

Here %windir% represents "Windows" folder present in the system drive where Windows 7 is installed.

5. Create a new folder "info" inside oobe folder. Then again create a new folder "backgrounds" inside info folder. So the final path would be:

%windir%\System32\oobe\info\backgrounds

6. Now copy any desired wallpaper to this new "backgrounds" folder but following conditions must be followed:

The image name must be backgroundDefault.jpg.

The image size must be less than 256 KB.

The image format must be JPG.

7. That's it. Once you copy the wallpaper to "backgrounds" folder, your Windows 7 login screen will start using this new wallpaper as background. You can check the new login screen background by logging off or locking Windows.

Windows 7 GodMode

2010-04-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

Finally an Easter egg in Windows 7 !
A hidden "GodMode" feature that lets users access all of the operating system's control panels from within a single folder.
By creating a new folder in Windows 7 and renaming it with a certain text string at the end, users are able to have a single place to do everything from changing the look of the mouse pointer to making a new hard-drive partition.
The trick is also said to work in Windows Vista, although some are warning that although it works fine in 32-bit versions of Vista, it can cause 64-bit versions of that operating system to crash.

To enter "GodMode," one need only create a new folder and then rename the folder to the following:
GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
Once that is done, the folder's icon will change to resemble a control panel and will contain dozens of control options.

NirCmd - Free command line tool for Windows XP and Vista

2010-02-02T14:23:00.000-08:00

NirCmd - Free command line tool for Windows XP and Vista

Are you scared of using the Windows command prompt to accomplish tasks? If so, you’re definitely missing out on some cool stuff you can do on your computer. However, it’s understandable as the syntax can be quite technical and you really don’t want to mess something up if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Luckily, there is a free utility called NirCmd that you can use that extends the functionality of the command prompt and makes it a little bit easier to use DOS commands without having to know DOS.

NirCmd is a small command-line utility that allows you to do some useful tasks without displaying any command prompt user interface.

You can use it to do all kinds of useful stuff for you such as writing and deleting values registry keys, writing values into INI file, dialing your Internet account or connecting to a VPN network, restarting windows or shutting down the computer, creating a shortcut to a file, chaning the created/modified date of a file , changing your display settings, turning off your monitor (this we want ) , opening the door of your CD-ROM drive, and lots more!

The best thing about this program is that you can create a scheduled task to simple run any command you want at a set interval. So you can create a scheduled task to turn off your monitor or turn off your computer every day at midnight or to mute the volume on your computer every morning.

Now you could simply run any of the commands by going to the Windows command prompt and typing something in. For example, go to Start, then Run and then type in CMD. Now type in any command that was listed in the command list.

OR Just Create a Shortcut Like This.

Thats It ... Now You not only Tech Savvy ... Now You are Eco Savvy Too There is another utility called "WizMo" also serves the same purpose both are free, you can get them by (what I can say just ) google .

Here is High Tech Way - Recommended For Power Users only

PROGRAMMATICALLY

Code:

// console application
#include 

#define SCREENSAVER_START 1
#define MONITOR_OFF 2

int main( int argc, char** argv )
{
int cmd = SCREENSAVER_START; // default when run
// is to start screensaver.

// if passed command line argument (no matter
// what it is), just turn off the monitor instead.
if( argc > 1 )
{
// could check argv,
cmd = MONITOR_OFF;
}

switch( cmd )
{
case SCREENSAVER_START:
SendMessage( HWND_TOPMOST,
WM_SYSCOMMAND,
SC_SCREENSAVE,
0 );  // send message to top most window
// for screensaver to start.  that's just
// how you programmatically start the screensaver
// under windows!
break;

case MONITOR_OFF:
SendMessage( HWND_BROADCAST,
WM_SYSCOMMAND,
SC_MONITORPOWER,
(LPARAM)2 ); // turn off the monitor.
break;
}
}

Compile This and Make MonitorControl.EXE

Keep this Executable in Start Menu (or wherever you want ). And create 2 shortcuts:

One called “Monitor OFF” that has target

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Monitor Control\MonitorControl.exe” off

The other is called “ScreenSaver Start” and has target:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Monitor Control\MonitorControl.exe”

because running the executable with no arguments starts the screensaver.

How can I add a Command Prompt option to the Default Explorer Right Click Context Menu?

2010-01-06T14:22:00.000-08:00

If you find that you frequently open a Command Prompt window and change to a specific directory, you can add the Command Prompt to your shortcut menu. This option enables you to right-click on a folder within Windows Explorer and choose the Command Prompt - which opens a Command Prompt window with that folder as your active directory.

To add the Command Prompt option to the default right click context menu in Windows Explorer you can do one of the following:

Method #1: Through the Registry

This is the simplest, easiest and most idiot-proof method.

Create a text file, type in the following lines and save it as addprompt.reg.

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\Command]
@="Command Prompt:"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\Command\Command]
@="cmd.exe /k cd %1"

Save this out and double click the file. Note this will modify the registry but I promise it is safe. Your anti-virus software might ask you to confirm the registry change and it is safe to allow it.

This adds Command Prompt to the Windows Explorer right click menu. Just right click on a folder, click Command Prompt and you will be at the command prompt in the selected folder. No need to type CD and the full path anymore.

Method #2: Manually add the context menu

In explorer, open Tools, Folder Options.

Select the File Types tab.

For Windows XP: Go to NONE / Folder.

For Windows 2000: Press n to scroll to the N/A section.

For Windows NT/98/95: Press f to scroll to the Folders section.

Select the entry labeled Folder

For Windows 2000/XP: Press Advanced button.

For Windows NT/98/95: Press Edit button.

Select New

In the action block type "Command Prompt" without the quotes.

In the app block type "cmd.exe" without the quotes.

Save and exit Folder Options.

Now right click on Start, you should have a new drop down option. Open explorer and right click on a folder, select Command Prompt and a command window opens in that folder.

Method #3: Through batch file

Begin by creating a batch file. For example, you could create a batch file named StartPrompt.cmd. Add the following commands to your batch file:
Code:
```
@echo off
cd /d %1
Title %~f1
```

Save this batch file to your Windows NT/2000/XP root directory (which is usually C:\WINNT or C:\WINDOWS for XP).

Open Windows Explorer.

Choose View | Options to display the Options dialog box.

Select the File Types tab.

In the list of Registered File Types, select Folder then click Edit.

Click New to display the New Action dialog box.

In the Action text box, type Command Prompt.

In the Application Used To Perform Action text box, type:
Code:
```
cmd.exe /a /k c:\winnt\StartPrompt "%l"
```

Click OK to close the New Action dialog box, then click Close twice.

What is svchost.exe And Why Is It Running?

2010-01-06T14:21:00.000-08:00

You are no doubt reading this article because you are wondering why on earth there are nearly a dozen processes running with the name svchost.exe. You can't kill them, and you don't remember starting them… so what are they?

So What Is It?

According to Microsoft: "svchost.exe is a generic host process name for services that run from dynamic-link libraries". Could we have that in english please?

Some time ago, Microsoft started moving all of the functionality from internal Windows services into .dll files instead of .exe files. From a programming perspective this makes more sense for reusability… but the problem is that you can't launch a .dll file directly from Windows, it has to be loaded up from a running executable (.exe). Thus the svchost.exe process was born.

Why Are There So Many svchost.exes Running?

If you've ever taken a look at the Services section in control panel you might notice that there are a Lot of services required by Windows. If every single service ran under a single svchost.exe instance, a failure in one might bring down all of Windows… so they are separated out.

Those services are organized into logical groups, and then a single svchost.exe instance is created for each group. For instance, one svchost.exe instance runs the 3 services related to the firewall. Another svchost.exe instance might run all the services related to the user interface, and so on.

So What Can I Do About It?

You can trim down unneeded services by disabling or stopping the services that don't absolutely need to be running. Additionally, if you are noticing very heavy CPU usage on a single svchost.exe instance you can restart the services running under that instance.

If you are curious what we're talking about, just open up Task Manager and check the "Show processes from all users" box:

Checking From the Command Line (Vista or XP Pro)

If you want to see what services are being hosted by a particular svchost.exe instance, you can use the tasklist command from the command prompt in order to see the list of services.

Code:

tasklist /SVC

XP Apps Secrets

2009-08-06T14:30:00.000-07:00

XP Secrets

Easter Eggs (Definition) - A hidden message or feature in an application. This guide covers the undocumented and hidden features in Windows XP. All of the following were tested in Windows XP only.

Notes - This is not a performance related guide.

Application Secrets

Defrag

Secret - Hidden Command Line Switch
Instructions - Go to "Start", "Run" and Type defrag c: -b to defragment the Boot and Application Prefetch information.

Notes - Windows XP will run this automatically every three days or so, during system idle periods. BootVis will evoke this when you run the "Optimize System" function. There is no need to manually run this unless you wish to immediately optimize a newly installed application's load time.

IExpress

Secret - Hidden Install Creator
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type iexpress

Notes - IExpress is a technology designed to simplify creation of a setup program. Using the step-by-step IExpress Wizard, you can create self-extracting files that automatically run the setup program contained inside. The setup program can be an .inf file or an executable program. IExpress technology automatically removes the setup files after installation, saving the user time and frustration.

Netmeeting

Secret - Hidden Internet Conference Application
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type conf

Notes - Windows XP is the last version of Microsoft Windows to include NetMeeting. NetMeeting delivers a complete Internet conferencing solution for all Windows users with multi-point data conferencing, text chat, whiteboard, and file transfer, as well as point-to-point audio and video.

Notepad

Secret - Create a Log File
Instructions - Launch Notepad, Type .LOG on the first line, and then press Enter to move to the next line. On the File menu, click Save As, type a descriptive name for your file in the File name box, and then click OK. When you next open the file, note that the date and time have been appended to the end of the log, immediately preceding the place where new text can be added. You can use this functionality to automatically add the current date and time to each log entry.

Paint

Secret - Image Trails
Instructions - Open an image and hold down Shift then drag the image around to create an image trail.

Secret - 10x Zoom
Instructions - Open an image and select the magnifying glass icon. Left-Click exactly on the line below the 8x.

Private Character Editor

Secret - Hidden Font Editor
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type eudcedit

Notes - You can use Private Character Editor to create unique letters and logos for your font library.

Windows Media Player 6.4

Secret - Hidden Windows Media Player
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type mplayer2 - Source

Notes - Windows Media Player 6.4 (Classic) is installed along with Windows Media Player 7. The only update is that it now supports the latest codecs

XP Game Secrets

2009-08-06T14:18:00.000-07:00

XP Game Secrets

FreeCell

Secret - Instant Win
Instructions - Hold down Ctrl + Shift + F10 during game play. Then you will be asked if you want to Abort, Retry or Ignore. Choose Abort, then move any card to instantly win.

Secret - Hidden Game Modes
Instructions - In the "Game" menu choose "Select Game". Enter -1 or -2 to activate the hidden game modes.

Hearts

Secret - Show All Cards
Instructions - Edit this registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Applets\Hearts and create a new String value named ZB with a Data value of 42. Start Hearts and Press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + F12 to show all the cards.

Background - This secret is a reference to Douglas Adams' book the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. 'ZB' is the initials of the character Zaphod Beeblebrox, the Galactic President. '42' is the answer to The Ultimate Question Of Life, the Universe and Everything.

Minesweeper

Secret - Reveal Mines
Instructions - Minimize or close all running applications. Launch Minesweeper, then type xyzzy. Next hold down either shift key for one second. Now when you move the mouse cursor over a Minesweeper square you will see a tiny white pixel in the top left corner of your desktop screen. This pixel will change to black when your mouse moves over a mine. You may need to change you desktop background to a solid color other then white or black to see the pixel.

Secret - Stop Timer
Instructions - Launch Minesweeper and start a game so the timer starts counting, then press the Windows Key + D to show the desktop. Now when you select minesweeper from the taskbar you can continue playing with the timer stopped.

Pinball

Secret - Extra Balls
Instructions - Type 1max at the start of a new ball to get extra balls.

Secret - Gravity Well
Instructions - Type gmax at the start of a new game to activate the Gravity Well.

Secret - Instant Promotion
Instructions - Type rmax at the start of a new game to go up in ranks.

Secret - Skill Shot
Instructions - Launch the ball partially up the chute past the third yellow light bar so it falls back down to get 75,000 points. There are six yellow light bars that are worth a varying amount of points:

First: 15,000 points
Second: 30,000 points
Third: 75,000 points
Fourth: 30,000 points
Fifth: 15,000 points
Sixth: 7,500 points

Secret - Test Mode
Instructions - Type hidden test at the start of a new ball to activate Test Mode. No notification will be given that this is activated but you can now left-click the mouse button and drag the ball around. While in test mode press the following keys for more secrets:

H - Get a 1,000,000,000 High Score
M - Shows the amount of system memory
R - Increases your rank in game
Y - Shows the Frames/sec rate

Secret - Unlimited Balls
Instructions - Type bmax at the start of a new ball. No notification will be given that this is activated but when a ball is lost a new ball will appear from the yellow wormhole indefinitely. Once this is activated you will be unable to activate other secrets without restarting the game.

Solitaire

Secret - Instant Win
Instructions - Press Alt + Shift + 2 during game play to instantly win.

Secret - Draw single cards in a Draw Three game
Instructions - Hold down CTRL + ALT + SHIFT while drawing a new card. Instead of drawing three cards you will only draw one.

Tip: Turn Off Delete Confirmation

2008-11-18T02:25:00.001-08:00

When you drag an item to the Recycle Bin, a pop-up window appears asking you to confirm the delete. This is can be a great feature for those of us who accidentally delete items, but if you don't suffer from mistaken deletes, get rid of it.

Right-click on the Recycle Bin.

Select Properties.

Select the Global Tab.

Uncheck the "Display delete confirmation dialog box."

Remember that if you accidentally delete something, you can always go into the Recycle Bin and undelete it there. Simply highlight the deleted item, go up to File, and select Restore.

Logon Screen

2008-11-18T02:25:00.000-08:00

If you're the only user on a computer, odds are you don't need a logon screen to appear every time you boot up.

Eliminate the need to input your user name and password with these steps.

   1.       Open Control Panel.
   2.       Double-click on the Network icon
   3.      In the Primary Network Logon, choose Windows Logon
   4.       Press OK
   5.       In the Control Panel click the passwords applet
   6.      Click Change Passwords tab.
   7.       Press Change Windows Password button
   8.       Type in your current password and in the Old Password Box.
   9.       Leave both the New Password and Confirm New Password boxes blank
10.       Click OK
11.       Select the User Profile tab and make sure the "All users of this PC use the same preferences and desktop settings" is selected.
12.       Click OK
13.       Restart Windows

Assign a CD-ROM Drive Letter

2008-11-18T02:23:00.000-08:00

Windows identifies each storage medium with a letter. Typically, a CD-ROM drive is assigned the first letter after the last hard drive's letter.

An example of a standard drive-letter scheme might look like this:

	A: Floppy Disk
	B: Second Floppy Disk (optional)
	C: Primary Hard Drive
	D: Secondary Hard Drive (optional)
	E: CD-ROM/CD-R/CD-RW

You can use as many drive letters as there are letters in the alphabet, if you'd like. You can also customize your computer by assigning a letter to a CD-ROM, CD-R, or CD-RW drive, if that letter isn't already assigned elsewhere.

To assign a drive letter to your CD-ROM drive, follow these steps:

Single-click the Start button, mouse-over Settings, single-click the Control Panel, and double-click the System icon.

When the System Properties box opens, select the Device Manager tab and make sure to check the "View devices by type" radio button.

Double-click the CD-ROM icon to expand the list of CD-ROM(s) installed.

When the list expands, double-click the CD-ROM you wish to assign a new letter to.

In the CD-ROM Drive Properties dialog box select the Settings tab.

To change the drive letter, go to the "Reserved drive letter" field.

You can assign a range of letters or a single letter by making the Start and End letters the same.

Select OK when finished making the change.

You must restart your computer to implement the new drive letter.

Tip: Directory Print

2008-11-18T02:21:00.000-08:00

We all have directories that we use all the time -- you know, the ones containing all your favorite files. Even though Windows Explorer doesn't let you do this, we've found a workaround to print this information quickly.

Open your start menu, and select Run.

Type COMMAND /C DIR directory_name>PRN.

Press Enter.

This brings up a list you can easily print out.

For example, if I want a list of every file in my Windows directory, I would type: COMMAND /C DIR C:Windows>PRN.

Tip: Cleaning the Temporary Folder

2008-11-18T02:20:00.000-08:00

Not all files get saved permanently to your hard drive. Internet multimedia files such as audio clips, pictures, and webpages often end up in the Windows temporary folder. Once the folder is full, new files overwrite old files.

If you're running out of storage space or can't get a favorite webpage to display correctly, try cleaning out the temporary folder. Here's how:

Open Internet Explorer

Highlight Tools and select Internet Options.

In Internet Options select the General tab.

In the middle of the General tab is the Temporary Internet files section. Click the Delete Files button.

On the pop-up window that appears checkmark "delete off-line content" and then select OK.

Select OK in the Internet Options dialog box.

You just deleted all content in the temporary folder.

Windows Tip: Auto Hide Taskbar

2008-11-18T02:19:00.000-08:00

You can find the Windows taskbar at the bottom of your screen (unless you've moved it). It stores your start menu, buttons for open programs, system tray icons, and clock. If you have a small monitor, you might want to hide the Windows taskbar to free up valuable monitor real estate.

To auto hide the taskbar, follow these directions:

Right-click any blank portion of your taskbar.

Click on Properties from the menu.

The Taskbar Properties box will appear. On the Taskbar tab check the "Auto hide" box.

Hit the Apply button at the bottom right.

You just selected to auto hide your taskbar. This will make your taskbar disappear until you mouse over its location.

How to Rename the Recycle Bin

2008-11-12T11:12:00.000-08:00

To change the name of the Recycle Bin desktop icon, open Regedit and go to:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/CLSID/{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

and change the name "Recycle Bin" to whatever you want (don't type any quotes).

How to make your Desktop Icons Transparent

2008-11-11T11:07:00.000-08:00

Go to Control Panel > System > Advanced > Performance area > Settings

button Visual Effects tab "Use drop shadows for icon labels on the Desktop"

10 things you didn't know about Windows XP - Part 2

2008-11-10T01:36:00.000-08:00

10 things you didn't know about Windows XP - Part 2

You've read the reviews and digested the key feature enhancements and operational changes. Now it's time to delve a bit deeper and uncover some of Windows XP's secrets.

11. You can run a program as a different user without logging out and back in again. Right click the icon, select Run As... and enter the user name and password you want to use. This only applies for that run. The trick is particularly useful if you need to have administrative permissions to install a program, which many require. Note that you can have some fun by running programs multiple times on the same system as different users, but this can have unforeseen effects.

12. Windows XP can be very insistent about you checking for auto updates, registering a Passport, using Windows Messenger and so on. After a while, the nagging goes away, but if you feel you might slip the bonds of sanity before that point, run Regedit, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Explorer/Advanced and create a DWORD value called EnableBalloonTips with a value of 0.

13. You can start up without needing to enter a user name or password. Select Run... from the start menu and type 'control userpasswords2', which will open the user accounts application. On the Users tab, clear the box for Users Must Enter A User Name And Password To Use This Computer, and click on OK. An Automatically Log On dialog box will appear; enter the user name and password for the account you want to use.

14. Internet Explorer 6 will automatically delete temporary files, but only if you tell it to. Start the browser, select Tools / Internet Options... and Advanced, go down to the Security area and check the box to Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed.

15. XP comes with a free Network Activity Light, just in case you can't see the LEDs twinkle on your network card. Right click on My Network Places on the desktop, then select Properties. Right click on the description for your LAN or dial-up connection, select Properties, then check the Show icon in notification area when connected box. You'll now see a tiny network icon on the right of your task bar that glimmers nicely during network traffic.

16. The Start Menu can be leisurely when it decides to appear, but you can speed things along by changing the registry entry HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Desktop/MenuShowDelay from the default 400 to something a little snappier. Like 0.

17. You can rename loads of files at once in Windows Explorer. Highlight a set of files in a window, then right click on one and rename it. All the other files will be renamed to that name, with individual numbers in brackets to distinguish them. Also, in a folder you can arrange icons in alphabetised groups by View, Arrange Icon By... Show In Groups.

18. Windows Media Player will display the cover art for albums as it plays the tracks -- if it found the picture on the Internet when you copied the tracks from the CD. If it didn't, or if you have lots of pre-WMP music files, you can put your own copy of the cover art in the same directory as the tracks. Just call it folder.jpg and Windows Media Player will pick it up and display it.

19. Windows key + Break brings up the System Properties dialogue box; Windows key + D brings up the desktop; Windows key + Tab moves through the taskbar buttons.

20. The next release of Windows XP, codenamed Longhorn, is due out late next year or early 2003 and won't be much to write home about. The next big release is codenamed Blackcomb and will be out in 2003/2004.

Set up and Use Internet Connection Sharing

2008-11-09T11:09:00.000-08:00

With Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) in Windows XP, you can connect one computer to the Internet, then share the Internet service with several computers on your home or small office network. The Network Setup Wizard in Windows XP Professional will automatically provide all of the network settings you need to share one Internet connection with all the computers in your network. Each computer can use programs such as Internet Explorer and Outlook Express as if they were directly connected to the Internet.

You should not use this feature in an existing network with Windows 2000 Server domain controllers, DNS servers, gateways, DHCP servers, or systems configured for static IP addresses.

Enabling ICS

The ICS host computer needs two network connections. The local area network connection, automatically created by installing a network adapter, connects to the computers on your home or small office network. The other connection, using a 56k modem, ISDN, DSL, or cable modem, connects the home or small office network to the Internet. You need to ensure that ICS is enabled on the connection that has the Internet connection. By doing this, the shared connection can connect your home or small office network to the Internet, and users outside your network are not at risk of receiving inappropriate addresses from your network.

When you enable ICS, the local area network connection to the home or small office network is given a new static IP address and configuration. Consequently, TCP/IP connections established between any home or small office computer and the ICS host computer at the time of enabling ICS are lost and need to be reestablished. For example, if Internet Explorer is connecting to a Web site when Internet Connection Sharing is enabled, refresh the browser to reestablish the connection. You must configure client machines on your home or small office network so TCP/IP on the local area connection obtains an IP address automatically. Home or small office network users must also configure Internet options for Internet Connection Sharing. To enable Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) Discovery and Control on Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Millennium Edition computers, run the Network Setup Wizard from the CD or floppy disk on these computers. For ICS Discovery and Control to work on Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Millennium Edition computers, Internet Explorer version 5.0 or later must be installed.

To enable Internet Connection Sharing on a network connection

You must be logged on to your computer with an owner account in order to complete this procedure.

Open Network Connections. (Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double–click Network Connections.)

Click the dial–up, local area network, PPPoE, or VPN connection you want to share, and then, under Network Tasks, click Change settings of this connection.

On the Advanced tab, select the Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection check box.

If you want this connection to dial automatically when another computer on your home or small office network attempts to access external resources, select the Establish a dial–up connection whenever a computer on my network attempts to access the Internet check box.

If you want other network users to enable or disable the shared Internet connection, select the Allow other network users to control or disable the shared Internet connection check box.

Under Internet Connection Sharing, in Home networking connection, select any adapter that connects the computer sharing its Internet connection to the other computers on your network. The Home networking connection is only present when two or more network adapters are installed on the computer.

To configure Internet options on your client computers for Internet Connection Sharing

Open Internet Explorer. Click Start, point to All Programs, and then click Internet Explorer.)

On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.

On the Connections tab, click Never dial a connection, and then click LAN Settings.

In Automatic configuration, clear the Automatically detect settings and Use automatic configuration script check boxes.

In Proxy Server, clear the Use a proxy server check box.

Search For Hidden Or System Files In Windows XP

2008-11-08T08:11:00.000-08:00

The Search companion in Windows XP searches for hidden and system files differently than in earlier versions of Windows. This guide describes how to search for hidden or system files in Windows XP.

Search for Hidden or System Files By default, the Search companion does not search for hidden or system files. Because of this, you may be unable to find files, even though they exist on the drive.

To search for hidden or system files in Windows XP:
Click Start, click Search, click All files and folders, and then click More advanced options.

Click to select the Search system folders and Search hidden files and folders check boxes.

NOTE: You do not need to configure your computer to show hidden files in the Folder Options dialog box in Windows Explorer to find files with either the hidden or system attributes, but you need to configure your computer not to hide protected operating system files to find files with both the hidden and system attributes. Search Companion shares the Hide protected operating system files option (which hides files with both the system and hidden attributes) with the Folder Options dialog box Windows Explorer.

How to Remove Windows XP's Messenger

2008-11-07T08:59:00.000-08:00

Theoretically, you can get rid of it (as well as a few other things). Windows 2000 power users should already be familiar with this tweak.

Fire up the Windows Explorer and navigate your way to the %SYSTEMROOT% \ INF folder. What the heck is that thingy with the percentage signs? It's a variable. For most people, %SYSTEMROOT% is C:\Windows. For others, it may be E:\WinXP. Get it? Okay, on with the hack! In the INF folder, open sysoc.inf (but not before making a BACKUP copy first). Before your eyes glaze over, look for the line containing "msmsgs" in it. Near the end of that particular line, you'll notice that the word "hide" is not so hidden. Go ahead and delete "hide" (so that the flanking commas are left sitting next to one another). Save the file and close it. Now, open the Add and Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel. Click the Add / Remove Windows Components icon. You should see "Windows Messenger" in that list. Remove the checkmark from its box, and you should be set. NOTE: there are other hidden system components in that sysoc.inf file, too. Remove "hide" and the subsequent programs at your own risk.

Make your Folders Private

2008-11-07T06:13:00.000-08:00

•Open My Computer
•Double-click the drive where Windows is installed (usually drive (C:), unless you have more than one drive on your computer).
•If the contents of the drive are hidden, under System Tasks, click Show the contents of this drive.
•Double-click the Documents and Settings folder.
•Double-click your user folder.
•Right-click any folder in your user profile, and then click Properties.
•On the Sharing tab, select the Make this folder private so that only I have access to it check box.

Note

•To open My Computer, click Start, and then click My Computer.
•This option is only available for folders included in your user profile. Folders in your user profile include My Documents and its subfolders, Desktop, Start Menu, Cookies, and Favorites. If you do not make these folders private, they are available to everyone who uses your computer.
•When you make a folder private, all of its subfolders are private as well. For example, when you make My Documents private, you also make My Music and My Pictures private. When you share a folder, you also share all of its subfolders unless you make them private.
•You cannot make your folders private if your drive is not formatted as NTFS For information about converting your drive to NTFS

10 things you didn't know about Windows XP - Part 1

2008-11-07T04:29:00.000-08:00

You've read the reviews and digested the key feature enhancements and operational changes. Now it's time to delve a bit deeper and uncover some of Windows XP's secrets.

1. It boasts how long it can stay up. Whereas previous versions of Windows were coy about how long they went between boots, XP is positively proud of its stamina. Go to the Command Prompt in the Accessories menu from the All Programs start button option, and then type 'systeminfo'. The computer will produce a lot of useful info, including the uptime. If you want to keep these, type 'systeminfo > info.txt'. This creates a file called info.txt you can look at later with Notepad. (Professional Edition only).

2. You can delete files immediately, without having them move to the Recycle Bin first. Go to the Start menu, select Run... and type 'gpedit.msc'; then select User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Windows Explorer and find the Do not move deleted files to the Recycle Bin setting. Set it. Poking around in gpedit will reveal a great many interface and system options, but take care -- some may stop your computer behaving as you wish. (Professional Edition only).

3. You can lock your XP workstation with two clicks of the mouse. Create a new shortcut on your desktop using a right mouse click, and enter 'rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation' in the location field. Give the shortcut a name you like. That's it -- just double click on it and your computer will be locked. And if that's not easy enough, Windows key + L will do the same.

4. XP hides some system software you might want to remove, such as Windows Messenger, but you can tickle it and make it disgorge everything. Using Notepad or Edit, edit the text file /windows/inf/sysoc.inf, search for the word 'hide' and remove it. You can then go to the Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Windows Components and there will be your prey, exposed and vulnerable.

5. For those skilled in the art of DOS batch files, XP has a number of interesting new commands. These include 'eventcreate' and 'eventtriggers' for creating and watching system events, 'typeperf' for monitoring performance of various subsystems, and 'schtasks' for handling scheduled tasks. As usual, typing the command name followed by /? will give a list of options -- they're all far too baroque to go into here.

6. XP has IP version 6 support -- the next generation of IP. Unfortunately this is more than your ISP has, so you can only experiment with this on your LAN. Type 'ipv6 install' into Run... (it's OK, it won't ruin your existing network setup) and then 'ipv6 /?' at the command line to find out more. If you don't know what IPv6 is, don't worry and don't bother.

7. You can at last get rid of tasks on the computer from the command line by using 'taskkill /pid' and the task number, or just 'tskill' and the process number. Find that out by typing 'tasklist', which will also tell you a lot about what's going on in your system.

8. XP will treat Zip files like folders, which is nice if you've got a fast machine. On slower machines, you can make XP leave zip files well alone by typing 'regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll' at the command line. If you change your mind later, you can put things back as they were by typing 'regsvr32 zipfldr.dll'.

9. XP has ClearType -- Microsoft's anti-aliasing font display technology -- but doesn't have it enabled by default. It's well worth trying, especially if you were there for DOS and all those years of staring at a screen have given you the eyes of an astigmatic bat. To enable ClearType, right click on the desktop, select Properties, Appearance, Effects, select ClearType from the second drop-down menu and enable the selection. Expect best results on laptop displays. If you want to use ClearType on the Welcome login screen as well, set the registry entry HKEY_USERS/.DEFAULT/Control Panel/Desktop/FontSmoothingType to 2.

10. You can use Remote Assistance to help a friend who's using network address translation (NAT) on a home network, but not automatically. Get your pal to email you a Remote Assistance invitation and edit the file. Under the RCTICKET attribute will be a NAT IP address, like 192.168.1.10. Replace this with your chum's real IP address -- they can find this out by going to www.whatismyip.com -- and get them to make sure that they've got port 3389 open on their firewall and forwarded to the errant computer.

How to Import contacts from YahooMail to Gmail

2008-11-05T01:28:00.000-08:00

Gmail has been quite a success story, and lot of users have moved from yahoo and hotmail to gmail. For non techie's the most important task while switching over from yahoo to Gmail is importing contacts from yahoo to Gmail.

Well if you are planning to move from Yahoo mail to Gmail here is how you import contacts to your new gmail in 10 easy steps.

1. Login to your Yahoo Mail first.

2. Click on options on Right hand top.

3. Click on Address Book in left hand Panel.

4. In the management tab click on Import/Export

5. At the bottom of page Click on Yahoo CSV! Export now button

6.Save the CSV file to your desktop.

7. Login to your Gmail account.

8. Click on contacts in Left hand panel at bottom.

9. On the Top Right hand side of page click on Import

10. Browse for the CSV file you downloaded to your Desktop and click Import Contacs.

11. Once the Import is complete you will see a confirmation message.

I Love Gmail, Can I Use It At Work?

2008-11-05T01:27:00.000-08:00

The idea is, some offices and colleges block Webmail sites. You’ll find out soon enough. Even otherwise, it doesn’t “look good” if you’re often seen with a Gmail window open (and since Gmail integrates a chat facility, you might be tempted to visit www.gmail.com quite often). But remember that Gmail (for one) offers you the facility of downloading your mail via POP3 and/or IMAP to your mail program: in Gmail, just click on Settings, then go to the “Forwarding and POP3/IMAP” tab.

The choice is getting a bit hazy. For one, connection speeds are improving, so much of the virtue of IMAP is getting eroded. Second, many Webmail sites (notably the new Beta of Yahoo! Mail) are giving you the look and feel of a mail program. Third, you’re more likely than ever to see Webmail interfaces for, say, your office mail, or your domain mail. And then, you have the fact that, for example, Gmail as mentioned above, gives you free POP3 and IMAP mail (God alone knows why they do it; you don’t see any Google ads in your mail program when you use POP3 or IMAP for your Gmail).

How to Create Invisible Folder

2008-10-31T11:40:00.000-07:00

With this you can create and invisible folder that you can put on your desktop or withing another folder. You can’t see it but if you know where it is you can double-click it and view its contents.

1. Right click where ever you want the invisible folder to be, go to new, then click on folder.
2. Turn numlock ON, select the name, and hold Alt and press 0160, then release Alt. This should make a character that looks like a space, but it isn’t.
3. Now right click the folder you just made and go to properties. Then go to the Customize tab. Then press the Change Icon button. Scroll through the icons until you find one that has no image (a blank space in the icons, any one will do).
4. Hit OK and you have an invisible folder!

Now you can put anything you want in there… If you can’t find it, just select the entire folder/desktop and there will be a little blue rectangle below the invisible icon (the folder).

If you put it on your desktop it might show the folder for a second or two upon startup. For this reason I recommend putting it inside another folder.

3 Ways to Spped Up ur Boot time

2008-10-31T11:36:00.000-07:00

SPEED UP BOOT TIMES I

This tweak works by creating a batch file to clear the temp and
history folders every time you shutdown so that your PC doesn’t
waste time checking these folders the next time it boots. It’s
quite simple to implement:

1. Open Notepad and create a new file with the following entries:
RD /S /q “C:\Documents and Settings\”UserName without quotes”\Local Settings\History”
RD /S /q “C:\Documents and Settings\Default User\Local Settings\History” RD /S /q “D:\Temp\” <–”Deletes temp folder, type in the location of your temp folder”

2. Save the new as anything you like but it has to be a ‘.bat’ file e.g. fastboot.bat or deltemp.bat

3. Click ‘Start’ then ‘Run’

4. Type in ‘gpedit.msc’ and hit ‘ok’

5. Click on ‘Computer Configuration’ then ‘Windows Settings’

6. Double-click on ‘Scripts’ and then on ‘Shutdown’

7. Click ‘Add’ and find the batch file that you created and then press ‘Ok’

SPEED UP BOOT TIMES II

When your PC starts it usually looks for any bootable media in any floppy or cd-rom drives you have installed before it gets around to loading the Operating System from the HDD. This can waste valuable time. To fix this we need to make some changes to the Bios.

1. To enter the bios you usually press ‘F2′ or ‘delete’ when your PC starts

2. Navigate to the ‘Boot’ menu

3. Select ‘Boot Sequence’

4. Then either move your Hard drive to the top position or set it as the ‘First Device’

5. Press the ‘Escape’ key to leave the bios. Don’t forget to save
your settings before exiting

Note: Once this change has been made, you won’t be able to boot from a floppy disc or a CD-rom. If for some strange reason you need to do this in the future, just go back into your bios, repeat the steps above and put your floppy or CD-rom back as the ‘First Device’

SPEED UP BOOT TIMES III

When your computer boots up it usually has to check with the network to see what IP addresses are free and then it grabs one of these. By configuring a manually assigned IP address your boot time will improve. To do this do the following:

1. Click on ‘Start’ and then ”Connect To/Show All Connections’

2. Right-click your network adapter card and click ‘Properties’.

3. On the ‘General’ tab, select ‘TCP/IP’ in the list of services and click ‘Properties’

4.I n the TCP/IP properties, click ‘Use the following address’ and enter an IP address for your PC. If you are using a router this is usually 192.168.0.xx or 192.168.1.xx. If you are not sure what address you could check with your ISP or go to ‘Start/run’ and type ‘cmd’ and then ‘ipconfig/all’. This will show your current IP settings which you will need to copy.

5. Enter the correct details for ‘Subnet mask’, ‘Default gateway’ and ‘DNS Server’. Again if you are not sure what figures to enter use ‘ipconfig/all’ as in stage 4.

Vista Tip : See hidden Boot Screen

2008-10-18T13:40:00.000-07:00

Increase Broadband Speed (HACK)

2008-10-18T13:36:00.000-07:00

Before performing these steps you need to test your broadband speed
you can test your speed at http://www.2wire.com/

The broadband connection speed can be increased by clearing the route from modem to server. Number of packets sent by modem to server should be increased.Internet speed can be increased by increasing more number of incoming and outgoing packets.The main reason why your internet connection is slow is because of harmful virus.If your system is infected with virus your number of incomming packets will be decreased.This leads to your slower internet speed.Internet speed can be increased by by clearing the route to the server.
This can be done by upgrading costly sofwares and hardwares.This will optimize your system speed.And Increase your system speed.Internet tweak is the best software which increases your system speed for further applications.Another software Windows power tools which makes windows faster and increases your internet speed.And decreases downloading time.It optimizes LAN,CABLE,DSN etc.Another software "internet cyclone"which increases your internet speed from 64kbps to 120kbps.
This tip is designed for increased BROADBAND speed in Windows XP while using standard Network Interface cards (NIC) that are connected to ADSL modems, or when using any directly-connected USB ADSL modem.

To speed up the Internet connection speed we need to configure a special buffer in the computer's memory in order to enable it to better deal with interrupts made from the NIC or the USB modem.

This tip is only recommended if you have 256MB RAM or higher.

Step #1 - Identify the IRQ used by the NIC/USB modem

1. Open the System Information tool by running MSINFO32.EXE from the Run command.

2. Expand System Summary > Hardware Resources > IRQs.

3. Look for the listing made for your NIC (in my case - a Intel® PRO/100+ Management Adapter). Note the IRQ next to the specified line (in my case - IRQ21).

In case of USB modems you will first need to find the right USB device used by your modem. Follow these steps:

1. Open the Device Manager tool by running DEVMGMT.MSC from the Run command (or by right-clicking My Computer > Hardware tab > Device Manager button).

2. Scroll down to Universal Serial Bus controllers and expand it.

3. Right-click the USB Root Hub and select Properties. Note that you might need to do so for all listed USB Root hubs (if there are more than one) in order to find the right one.

4. In the Power tab, look for your USB ADSL modem.

5. In the Resources tab look for the assigned IRQ (in this case - IRQ21).

6. This is the IRQ we're looking for.

Note: IRQs and modem names might vary...

Step #2 - Modify the system.ini file

1. Run SYSEDIT.EXE from the Run command.

2. Expand the system.ini file window.

3. Scroll down almost to the end of the file till you find a line called [386enh].

4. Press Enter to make one blank line, and in that line type IRQX=4096 where X is the designated IRQ number we found in step #1, in my case it's IRQ21.

Note: This line IS CASE SENSITIVE!!!

5. Click on the File menu, then choose Save.

6. Close SYSEDIT and reboot your computer.

Done. Speed improvement will be noticed after the computer reboots.

Hack sify broadband

2008-10-18T13:30:00.000-07:00

So guys all those using sify broadband connection get happy here I am giving the way to hack it.

For this you need these applications.

1)Angry ip scanner

http://ipscan.sourceforge.net/ipscan.zip

2)Gentle mac

http://dl.phazeddl.com/793469/Gentle_MAC_Pro_4.0.0.1729/softrightnow

So here u go

First scan your ip range by

Angry ip scanner

for example the ip given to u by your internet guy is 10.13.195.124

Then scan for this 10.13.195.0 to 10.13.195.255 and see the results ,the alive users of your ip range will be shown as green right click any of them and view his MAC address

Now using gentle mac change your ip and mac address to his!! And voilla u are now leaching his bandwidth!! Believe me guys from months i am getting minimum of 256 kbps on my 64 one

Just make sure you logoff from your sify connection before doing this and when a user logs off you can scan again and get a new address

A few times u will see that a user is shown green but u can't use his connection this happens when his pc is on but he has not logged in to sify
You people just try all possible users and chose the one who is having fastest connection ! Read more!

MS Word Handy Tips

2008-10-13T11:20:00.000-07:00

Handy MS Word tips and shortcuts.

Adding Horizontal Dividers in Word

To add a variety of horizontal dividers in Word, type three characters and press enter.

Hyphens ( - - - )

Underscores ( ___ )

Equal Signs ( === )

Hash Signs ( ### )

Asterisks ( *** )

Tildes ( ~~~ )

Type Out a Table in Word

You can create tables in Microsoft Word by simply typing out a string of PLUS SIGNS (+) and MINUS SIGNS (-).

Start the row with a PLUS SIGN (+) and then type MINUS SIGN (-) until you have the column width you want. If you want to add a new column, type PLUS SIGN (+) again. When you’re done type a final PLUS SIGN (+) and press ENTER. Word turns your text into a table. To add more rows to your table, move to the last cell in the table and press TAB.

Filling Word Documents with Pretend Text

If you want to fill a page(s) with text to test something like printing, but don’t want to spend time pasting the same phrase over and over,

Type in =rand(x,y) and press “enter“ .

Where x and y are replaced by numbers.
X would be the number of paragraphs.
Y would be the number of sentences in a paragraph.
The text that gets generated is ‘The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.’

Select a vertical block of text

Press Alt + drag

Quickly Replicate Text or Graphics in Word

Here’s a quick way to make copies of text or graphics in Word:

Select the item or text you want to copy.
Press and hold down the CTRL key.
Then use the mouse to drag the item to the desired position.

A copy of the original item is made right where you want it. This is helpful when you’re creating a document that will include a lot of repeated text or images.

Quickly Change Font Size in Office

To quickly change the font size in your Office application (Word, Front Page, Publisher or PowerPoint):

Highlight the text you want to change
Press: CTRL+SHIFT+> - To Increase the size CTRL+SHIFT+< - To Decrease the size

Use your keyboard to quickly change the case of text in Microsoft Word

Select the text you want to change and press SHIFT+F3. Each time you press the F3 key, the text case switches between Title Case, UPPERCASE, and lowercase.

Insert Current Date and Time in Word

You can insert the current date or time in a Word document using keyboard shortcuts. Here’s how:

Position the cursor where you want to insert the date or time.
Do one of the following:

To insert the date, press ALT+SHIFT+D.
To insert the time, press ALT+SHIFT+T.

Close all word documents without closing Word

Shift + click the File menu then select Close All

Shift + clicking on the File menu give one more option Save All

Return to the last place you were working

Return to the last place you were working or the place before that or before that.

Press Shift + F5 repeatedly to return to last 5 cursor positions (even if one of those positions is in another open document).

This one’s even cleverer, when you first open a document, press shift + F5 to jump to the last place you or someone else edited before closing the document.

Cycle through all open documents

To cycle through all open documents press Ctrl + F6 +F6 +F6….

It works for Photoshop and others applications as well.

Whether you’re saving a file or opening a file try these shortcuts

Alt + 1 Go to previous folder

Alt + 2 Go up one folder level

Alt + 3 Search the web

Alt + 4 or Delete deletes selected file

Alt + 5 Create a new folder

Alt + 6 repeatedly Cycle through all views

Alt + 7 Display the Tools menu

Determining the Formatting in Word

To determine what formatting is applied to a particular paragraph in Word:

Go to Help / What’s This?
When the cursor changes to a question mark, click on the paragraph.
Information such as font and size, alignment, indent, spacing and margins will show.

Reducing the File Size of Word Documents

If you have make documents using MS Word and you make many formatting changes for the paragraph, fonts, page etc., you will see your file size gets bigger. Microsoft Word saves files by blocking, so any change you made for your document it will create a new block with the new formatting and disappear the old block without deleting it from the file.

You can solve this problem.

If you open your file and select File \ Save As and give your file a new name, it will save only the active blocks with out the old ones.
If you compare the two files you will see a difference in size

There is, however, a much easier way.

Choose Tools
Options…
Open the Save tab
Uncheck Allow Fast Saves

This makes Word rewrite the entire document file from scratch each time it is saved. The save command takes slightly longer, but your files can be drastically smaller (especially if you’ve done lots of formatting changes).

Vista Aero Glass for Firefox 3.0 with Glasser Installer (XPI) addon

2008-09-24T23:40:00.000-07:00

For all you people who have been looking for a way to get Windows Vista’s Aero glass effect in Firefox, look no further. Here is an extension for Firefox 3 that will do it. The extension is still in the early stages, but it work well.

Here’s are the steps:

Download: Glasser Installer (XPI)
To install Glasser, first download the file, then drag and drop it to your Firefox window.
If you want the Windows Explorer, Windows Media Player, or Windows Mail style background on the personal toolbar, download GlasserExtras.zip. You can install the CSS files with either the Stylish Add-on, or by edit your userChrome.css file.
If you want to remove the menu-bar, try either Personal Menu or Hide Menubar. Both support using the Alt key to temperately show the menu-bar and Personal Menu lets you keep a button on the toolbar to gain access to the menus.

How To: Change Office 2007 Product Key

2008-09-24T23:37:00.000-07:00

You may need to alter or change Microsoft Office 2007 (aka 2007 Microsoft Office System programs and suites) product license key or volume license key (VLK) which also known as serial number or CD key.

You can modify or change product key for 2007 Microsoft Office programs or suites by first uninstall or remove Microsoft Office and then reinstalling the business productivity suite. However, you can follow the following steps in order to reset and change the Microsoft Office 2007 product serial key without the need to uninstall or reinstall 2007 Office system suites.

Note: The following steps involve modification of registry key values, which may corrupt your Windows if done incorrectly. Backup registry first before performing the workaround.

1. Close all Microsoft Office programs.

2. Click on Start button, then click on Run.

3. Type “regedit” (without quotes) in the Run text box, and click OK or press Enter.

4. Locate and then click the following subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Registration

Inside, you will find another subkey that resembles the following subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Registration\{30120000-0011-0000-0000-0000000FF1CE}

5. Optional: Backup this registry branch by exporting the Registration subkey to a file, just in case the new product key does not work and you have to restore back the old product key. To export the registry, right click on the Registration subkey and click on Export, and follow the on-screen prompt to enter a file name for the registry file and choose a location to store it.

6. Under the Registration subkey, there may be several Globally Unique Identifiers (GUID) subkey that contain a combination of alphanumeric characters. Each GUID is specific to a program that is installed on your computer.
If you find additional subkeys that reference Microsoft 12.0 registration, then click and open each GUID subkey to view and identify the Office product version by the ProductName registry entry in the right pane. For example:

ProductName=Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007

7. After you find the GUID subkey that contains your Office product or program which you want to remove the existing product license key or registration details, delete the following registry entries by right clicking on the registry entry in the GUID subkey, click Delete, and then click Yes:

• DigitalProductID
• ProductID

8. Exit Registry Editor.

9. Run or open an Office application program, such as Microsoft Word or Excel or Outlook. Office 2007 will prompt you to enter a new 25-character product key.

10. Type in the valid and genuine product key, and then click OK.

11. Then when prompted to choose your preferred type of Microsoft Office 2007 installation, press on “Install Now”.

12. Microsoft Office 2007 will be updated with new product CD key or volume license key, and ready for activation (if it’s a non-VLK serial) or use.

Note: If you’re having problem with your new Office 2007 product key, simply double click on the backup registry .reg file created at the optional step above to restore the registry settings of the Registration subkey so that the original value can be imported back to the registry.

You may need to reset to change Office 2007 product key with the above steps if you don’t want to uninstall or reinstall Microsoft Office 2007 again in many scenarios, such as you have just bought a retail version of Office 2007, or receive Office 2007 as a gift, or win MS Office 2007 as a prize, or just get your MSN product key for Office 2007, or having problem with activation process online or via phone, or unable to step-up or convert evaluation copy of Office 2007 to full-use version, or having problem with Office Genuine Advantage (OG) validation.

On the other hand, if you manage to find a valid and genuine volume license key or VLK, you can change the product key of Microsoft Office 2007 with the VLK serial in order to bypass the Office 2007 activation process (as Office 2007 still using WPA 1.0 where corporate users need not to activate), without the need of crack or hack for Office 2007, for full use for unlimited period as long as you’re not caught by OGA.

Triple ur Internet Download Speed ..

2008-09-15T01:32:00.000-07:00

well i saw this on a site saying it will tripple your download speed well it didnt increase mine but it did keep the higher speeds more consistant and some of my friends have had there speed get higher so i spose its worth a try nuthing to lose hope it works for some ppl

open NOTEPAD Save this file as tweak.reg

Code:

REGEDIT4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters]
"TcpWindowSize"=dword:faf0
"Tcp1323Opts"=dword:0

If you want to undo it, incase it messed u up, save this file as undo.inf

Code:

[Version]
signature=$CHICAGO$

[DefaultInstall]
DelReg=Delete_Reg_Entries

[Delete_Reg_Entries]
HKLM,System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters,TcpWindowSize
HKLM,System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters,Tcp1323Opts

Right click on undo.inf and click install (to undo tweak)

Reboot ur comp for it to take effect

How to Download Books from Books.Google.Com

2008-09-13T01:36:00.000-07:00

How to Download Books from Books.Google.Com

This is, definitely, not a hack for Google to hate this post. This will just teach you how to copy and retrieve the files that Books.Google.Com temporarily saved in your computer before showing it to you through internet browser.

Just follow the steps bellow;

1. Open your Internet Explorer (Not Firefox). Make sure that you are the admin of your computer. Then, go to the page in books.google.com that you want to download.

2. Now, go to “C:\Documents and Settings\%your admin name%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\” of your computer. Delete all of the content of that folder.

3. In your Internet Explorer, refresh the page and browse-thru the pages of the books that you want to download.

4. Refresh the “Temporary Internet Files” folder. Copy all PNG files to another folder. You can distinguish PNG Files through its icon.

These files that you have just copied are, actually, the pages of the books that you have just browsed.

Enjoy!!!

Offline installer for Google Chrome

2008-09-03T02:23:00.000-07:00

Download Online installer for Chrome from Google

Online DOWNLOAD

Download Offline installer for Chrome from Google

Offline DOWNLOAD

Chrome: Google's Open Source Browser

2008-09-02T02:13:00.000-07:00

Google Chrome is a free and open source web browser developed by Google. The name is derived from the graphical user interface frame, or "chrome", of web browsers. The open source project behind Google Chrome is known as Chromium, and its source code is released under a BSD licence.

A beta version for Microsoft Windows was released on today in 43 languages. Mac OS X and Linux versions are under development and are scheduled to be released sometime in the future.

Coming Tuesday, June 17th: Firefox 3

2008-06-13T02:00:00.001-07:00

Set a Guinness World Record
Enjoy a Better Web

Sounds like a good deal, right? All you have to do is get Firefox 3 during Download Day to help set the record for most software downloads in 24 hours - it’s that easy. We're not asking you to swallow a sword or to balance 30 spoons on your face, although that would be kind of awesome.

The official date for the launch of Firefox 3 is June 17, 2008. Join our community and this effort by pledging today.

Download Day 2008

2008-05-30T04:09:00.001-07:00

Disable the UAC feature in Vista

2008-05-27T02:24:00.000-07:00

Are you tired of those User Account Control (UAC) prompts that appear whenever you're trying to run some admin tool on your Vista computer? They appear even if you're user account is a member of the Administrators group on your machine. That's because Protected Admins (PAs) normally run with the privileges of a standard user on Vista, which means to perform some administrative task or use an admin tool you have to first elevate your privileges to admin level, which is what the UAC prompt is designed to do.

Well, UAC is there for a reason--if your computer got infected by some malware and this malware tried to run an admin tool, the UAC prompt would appear to warn you that someone (you? malware?) is trying to run a tool designed only for administrators. And a UAC prompt when you don't expect it would be a sure sign that something's gotten into your machine's innards.

Still, some users (especially sysadmins) are likely to find these UAC prompts annoying at best, so here's how to disable UAC on your machine:

1. Open Administrative Tools in Control Panel

2. Double-click on System Configuration

3. Click Continue to accept the UAC prompt

4. Select the Tools tab

5. Scroll down and select Disable UAC

6. Click Launch

7. Reboot your machine

Note that you may not be able to disable UAC if Group Policy configured for enforcing UAC on your computers.

Note: This tip is based on a pre-release version of Windows Vista and may not reflect functionality in the final product.

Disable the Windows XP Startup Screen

2008-05-15T02:00:00.000-07:00

If you want to see what goes behind the Windows Startup Screen, you have to disable the Windows boot screen.

Right click “My Computer”. Select “Properties”. Select the “Advanced” tab. In the “Startup and Recovery” section, click “Settings”. In the “System Startup” section, click Edit to open the boot.ini file in Notepad. You will see a line that looks similar to the one below:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional"
/fastdetect

To disable the Startup Screen, change the line as below:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional"
/fastdetect /sos.

Note that there is a space between 'fastdetect' and '/sos'.
Close Notepad, click Yes when Notepad asks if you want to save your changes. Exit System Properties. Reboot computer and the Startup Screen will be gone.

How to Block Website without any Software

2008-05-07T23:55:00.001-07:00

Trick to block website without any software.

Block website without any Software

Go to C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc
Find the File named "HOSTS"
Open the said file with the help of Notepad
Under "127.0.0.1 localhost" just add the site you want to block

e.g.
0.0.0.0 www.orkut.com
0.0.0.0 www.google.com

Save the file & exit notepad. (Some antivirus may prompt you the changes, simple allow the changes to take effect.)

Now both website are blocked at all. Just add anyother website you want to block

e. g.

127.0.0.1 localhost
0.0.0.0 www.orkut.com
0.0.0.0 www.google.com
0.0.0.0 www.yahoo.com

Microsoft Windows XP SP3 RTM Available on Technet and MSDN NOW

2008-04-25T01:51:00.001-07:00

Microsoft has made Windows XP SP3 available for MSDN and TechNet subscribers today. Earlier it was announced to be available later on May 02, 2008.

Just login to TechNet/MSDN account and check “Top Subscriber Downloads” section.

The ISO file size is 544.86 MB.

Standalone EXE file size is 316 MB.

Object Desktop 2008

2008-04-17T04:13:00.001-07:00

Today, Stardock has officially launched Object Desktop 2008 asktop 2008, and Object Desktop 2008 Ultimate. The standard version is set at $49.95, with thend Object Desktop 2008 Ultimate. Object Desktop is a suite of utilities that enables users to completely personalize the Windows experience - change how Windows looks, feels, and functions to suit the user’s preference.

The 2008 version of the suite is split into two tiers: Object De Ultimate edition tagged at $69.95. Customers with current Object Desktop subscriptions will be upgraded to the Ultimate edition of the software for free.

Object Desktop 2008 will included the following core components:

WindowBlinds
IconPackager
DeskScapes
SoundPackager
DesktopX
New exclusive skins, wallpapers, gadgets, etc.

Object Desktop 2008 Ultimate will include everything above, plus the following components:

TweakVista
SkinStudio
IconDeveloper
6 other additional applications

More information can be found at www.objectdesktop.com.

Source: WinCustomize

Enjoy your Gmail with multiple account names

2008-04-10T05:27:00.001-07:00

Did you know that you can have multiple account names for your Gmail account? I'm not saying you can create multiple accounts on Gmail here. One Gmail account can be used by multiple names

I read an article from one of the Korean blogs (IF & Jack Pack), and it's very simple and creative! Of course, some of you may already know about this, but I'm sure most of you didn't know about this idea or tip.

Google has a naming issue with Gmail for a number of countries, so it is carrying two domains for Gmail which are gmail.com and googlemail.com. So, you can simply have two mail account names by this.

rocklife@gmail.com and rocklife@googlemail.com (both mail accounts aren't mine or exist. Don't try to send me spam.)

But this is not the idea that I would like to share with you guys today. Here's a theory for this idea.

1. acountname@gmail.com (standard way)
2. accountname+abc@gmail.com
3. accountname+0123@gmail.com

The above three email addresses are from the same single account. If you send email to no. 2 or 3, you will find emails for your no. 1 account. (original email account). The Gmail account will get your emails whether it contains additional letters or numbers or a mix after the "+" sign. You must insert "+" between account names and additional words or numbers.

Also, if your account name contains "." like rocklife@gmail.com, it is just same as rock.life@gmail.com. I don't know why, but it seems kinda funny that "." is meaningless. Maybe some types of programming require this to sort easily since I'm not a programmer. So no idea about this.

However, if you use this idea on your Gmail account, you may be able to label your account more efficiently.

Hope this has been a useful and nice tip to most of my readers!

The Gmail password hijacking incident: When so-called helpful apps hurt

2008-03-18T06:56:00.000-07:00

An application dubbed G-Archiver backs up your Gmail account to a hard drive with a not-so-nice twist: It swipes your user name and password.

I was looking for a way to back up my gmail account to a local drive. I've accumulated a mass of important information that I would rather not lose. During my search I came across G-Archiver, I figured what the heck I'll give it a try.
It didn't really have the functionality I was looking for, but being a programmer myself I used Reflector to take a peek at the source code. What I came across was quite shocking. John Terry, the apparent creator, hard coded his username and password to his gmail account in source code. All right, not the smartest thing in the world to do, but then I noticed that every time a user adds their account to the program to back up their data, it sends and email with their username and password to his personal email box! Having just entered my own information I became concerned.

I opened up a browser and logged in to gmail using his account information. It still worked.

Upon getting to the inbox I was greeted with 1,777 emails with account information for everyone who had ever used the software and right at the top was mine. I decided to go ahead and blast every email to the deleted folder and then empty it. I may have accidentally changed the password and security question to something I don't remember as well, whoops, my bad. I also contacted google to erase this account as I didn't see a way to delete it myself.

I come up with a different conclusion: You just can’t trust a lot of the software out there. What apps can you really trust? This G-Archiver thing sounds way helpful, but it isn’t by any stretch.

But what’s really worrisome is that Atwood’s tale shows how someone who actually knows code can take a hit. I couldn’t have deciphered that the application was hijacking my user name and password. A lot of people couldn’t.

If you add it up I can only come to one conclusion: Don’t trust software from companies you’ve never heard of. The problem: These incidents could have a big chilling effect on legit software companies.

Fixing The Firefox Memory Leak

2008-03-10T22:07:00.000-07:00

in case you didnt know Firefox has a small memory leakage problems that can cause your pc to freeze up. basically what happens is when you minimize Firefox it stops consuming memory, however when you maximize it again the memory usage will increase, sometimes even doubling. fortunately, there is a small fix that you can implement.
heres what you do:

1. Open Firefox and go to the Address Bar. Type in about:config and then press Enter.
2. Right Click in the page and select New -> Boolean.
3. In the box that pops up enter config.trim_on_minimize. Press Enter.
4. Now select True and then press Enter.
5. Restart Firefox.
Now Firefox will stop eating your memory..........

How to Really reduce the memory usage in Firefox

2008-03-10T06:14:00.001-07:00

After the release of Firefox 2.0, the memory leak has become an even more notorious problem than before. On average, FirefoxFirefox’s memorymemory leak problem in Firefox already. The reason why I’m writing another one on Vista Rewired is because none of those have worked very well for me. This one will be a little different because I’ve added a few of my ingredients in. should take up no more than 80MB of RAM. Any more than that and you can consider yourself a victim of leak. I’m sure you’ve probably already seen a ton of guides on how to fix the

Just to give you a heads-up, this guide is going to be quite long but it’ll cover everything you need to know.

Before we do anything, make sure you have the newest version of Firefox. If you don’t have the latest version, you can

1) Check your extensions and themes:
The most common cause for high memory usage for Firefox usually lies in the extensions and themes. If you overloaded your Firefox with extensions, you can expect high memory usage. Uninstall the ones you don’t need, and update all the ones you will be using. After that, you’ll first want to consult this list of problematic extensions that could be causing the problem. Make sure none of the extensions you are running are on that list.

After comparing with that list, if you still have the problem, it could be the result of a newly installed theme or extension. Experiment with shutting down suspicious extensions or switching themes.

2) Start Firefox in Safe Mode

If one of your extensions is not in that list, boot Firefox into Safe Mode to disable all extensions and themes. You can do this by going to Start > Run, and entering:

firefox -safe-mode

A box similar to the one below should appear.

Check Disable all add-ons, then select Continue in Safe Mode. Now, compare the RAM usage of when Firefox had it’s add-ons enabled and when they were disabled.
You can expect a difference of a couple megabytes since the extensions have been disabled. But if you notice a large difference in RAM usage, this may suggest a problem within your extensions or theme.

How To Recover Vista After XP Installation

2008-03-10T06:12:00.001-07:00

If you have installed, say, XP, on a Vista machine, in the Boot Menu, you may no longer be able to see Vista as an option. This occurs because when a different version of Windows is installed, it rewrites the MBR to call its own boot loader.

So if you install Vista on a PC where XP is already installed, the Vista boot menu incorporates the options from the older OS’s boot menu. But, on the other hand, if you install XP on Vista, it will overwrite the MBR with one that does not recognize the newer Vista’s Boot Loader.

So if you find that Vista is missing as an option in a multi-boot computer, you can resolve this issue, as follows :

Open cmd in XP.
Run :\Boot\ Bootsect.exe –NT60 All
Where is the Drive letter.
Reboot.

You will now be able to see the Vista menu option/s.

Now To restore the entry for XP, open an elevated command prompt and enter this:

Bcdedit –create {ntldr} –d “Put Description of Menu here”
Restart Computer.

Final goodbye for early web icon

2008-02-29T23:43:00.000-08:00

A web browser that gave many people their first experience of the web is set to disappear.

Netscape Navigator, now owned by AOL, will no longer be supported after 1 March 2008, the company has said.

In the mid-1990s, as the commercial web began to take off, the browser was used by more than 90% of people online.

Its market share has since slipped to just 0.6% as other browsers such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) and Firefox have eroded its user base.

The company recommends that users upgrade their browser to either Firefox or Flock, which are both built on the same underlying technologies as Navigator.

"I think we represent the hope that was of Netscape," Mitchell Baker, chair of the Mozilla Foundation which coordinates development of Firefox, told BBC News.

"We have picked up many of the things that Netscape launched but we've taken them further in terms of openness and public participation."

Ms Baker was one of the first employees at Netscape in 1994.

Web window

Netscape was created by Marc Andreessen who as a student had co-authored Mosaic, the first popular web browser.

Firefox uses the same technology as Navigator developers

His company Netscape Communications Corporation released the first version in 1994.

According to Shawn Hardin, President and CEO of Flock, Netscape played an important role in making the internet "a relevant mass market phenomenon".

"Netscape had a critical role in taking all of these zeros and ones - this very academic and technical environment - and giving it a graphical user interface where an average person could come online and consume information," he told BBC News.

"During its halcyon days it really felt like the internet and Netscape were really the same thing," he said.

Other companies capitalised on Netscape's success, notably Microsoft, which began to bundle IE with its Windows operating systems.

Netscape is a wonderful browser, and it will be so in the future

Although this led to legal wrangles over anti-competitive behaviour, IE now dominates the browser landscape with an 80% market share.

As a result, Netscape became unviable.

"While internal groups within AOL have invested a great deal of time and energy in attempting to revive Netscape Navigator, these efforts have not been successful in gaining market share from Microsoft's Internet Explorer," said Tom Drapeau on the Netscape blog last year, when the demise of the browser was first announced.

Future return?

For the past week Netscape users have been shown a message alerting them to the end of support for the browser.

"Given AOL's current business focus, support for Netscape browsers will be discontinued as of March 1st, 2008," the message reads.

Flock is designed to take advantage of web 2.0 sites

It then suggests users upgrade to either Flock or Firefox.

Firefox is the main competitor to IE, particularly in Europe where it has a 28% market share, according to some statistics.

The open source browser's development is coordinated by the Mozilla foundation, set up by Netscape staff made redundant in 2003.

It has had more than 500 million downloads worldwide and in countries such as Finland it is the most popular browser.

"Competition is what brings quality," said Ms Baker.

Flock describes itself as "the social web browser" and allows people to see feeds from community websites, such as Flickr and Facebook, and post to blogs without having to navigate to the page.

"There are lots of ways that people are engaging in having a conversation and Flock is very focused on making that as effortless and convenient as possible," said Mr Hardin.

However, not all Netscape users are happy about having to change browser.

"I'm sad. Flock still needs improvement and I am not happy with Firefox's interface. I'm [an] orphan!" read one post on the Netscape blog.

Others who posted comments on the blog predicted the browser will make a return.

"Netscape is a wonderful browser, and it will be so in the future," read one.

How to remove "Refresh" from desktop right click menu

2008-02-29T23:35:00.001-08:00

Open "Shell32.dll" file in Resource Hacker and goto:

Code:

Menu -> 215 -> 1033

In right-side pane, delete the following line:

Code:

MENUITEM "R&efresh", 28931, MFT_STRING, MFS_ENABLED

Click on "Compile Script" button and save the file.

Microsoft cutting price of Vista

2008-02-29T23:21:00.001-08:00

Microsoft is hoping more users will switch to Vista

Microsoft has said it plans to cut the cost of its Windows Vista operating system sold at retail outlets.

Although no exact date has yet been given, Microsoft said price cuts would be introduced in 70 countries.

In the US, the cost of the most expensive version, Vista Ultimate, will be reduced to $319 (£161) from the current retail price of $399.

Analysts said Microsoft was aiming to boost the number of customers upgrading to Vista, which was introduced in 2007.

'Greater opportunities'

The price cuts apply to the packaged versions of Vista, which account for less than 10% of its sales.

By contract, 90% of Vista sales are to PC manufacturers, where the operating system is pre-installed on their computers.

"We anticipate these changes will provide greater opportunities... to sell more stand-alone copies of Windows," said Brad Brooks, a Microsoft corporate vice president.

Microsoft says it has now sold 100 million Vista licences since it was launched.

13 Reasons To Use Firefox over IE

2008-02-27T03:02:00.001-08:00

Popup Blocking
In this day in age, an internet browser without a popup blocker is like having a broadband connection without a fireball. “Firefox stops annoying popup windows dead in their tracks”, according to Mozilla.org, and that’s exactly what it does. Visiting a popup blocker test page, Firefox’s built in popup blocker was able to close all popup windows while the page loaded and during the page's onload() event. At http://www.popup-blocker.info’s test page, several test can be ran to prove your popup blocker’s power. Mozilla Firefox’s built in popup blocker was able to handle the “Stress Test”, which according to pop-upblocker.info… “[Stress tests] attempts to overcome your pop-up killer by trying to spawn large numbers of windows as quickly as possible.” Firefox’s popup blocker was able to close all 200 popup windows without even breaking a sweat. Trying this with IE and no popup blocker would probably bring your pc to its knee’s. You can also easily access the list of websites that the popup blocker blocks and altering it’s state by a simple click.

Download Manager
A feature which I thought was going to be integrated in Internet Explorer 6 was a download manager. Download managers allow you to manipulate and take control of your downloaded files. Mozilla Firefox’s download manager contains just the essentials to allow you to control your downloads. You can pause your download and continue it a later time, something which is not possible with IE’s download manager. Apart from sporting a nice look, the download manager stores the information such as size and location of your downloaded file. When the download is complete, a small notification is displayed in the lower right side of the screen.

Tab Browsing
Because having too many windows open at a time can be a bit annoying, not to mention time consuming, Firefox features tab browsing. Here’s more on tab browsing from Mozilla’s homepage…”Tab-Browsing changes the way you use the internet by allowing you to open links on a page in background "Tabs" and then read them when you're ready. No confusing new windows, no need for context menus, just hold down Ctrl when clicking a link, or use your middle mouse button (if you have one).”

Integrated Search Engine
Now why didn’t the IE programmers think of this? Mozilla Firefox comes with a built in search engine. The default search engine is Google’s, of course, with the ability to add others. The search entry takes up a very small space, which is a plus when compared to those huge toolbars out there.

Options
Less confusing and cluttered than IE’s Internet Options is another factor in Mozilla’s Firefox. You can easily navigate through each setting. Deleting saved passwords is a snap and clearing any saved history. The “Downloads” section of the options allows the user to choose which program will automatically open a downloaded file.

Page Info
When right clicking on a page (PC users), selecting “page info” will pull up a window displaying vast amount of information for the webpage. General information as well as a Link tab showing all the links that the page contains.

Faster Response
A typical webpage will load faster on Mozilla Firefox than Internet Explorer.

Keeps HTML Formatting
Mozilla Firefox is able to keep the html format when copying from a webpage to a text file. For example, when copying html formatted text from a webpage and pasting it on a note pad, the text copied using Mozilla Firefox keeps the format yet the text copied from IE doesn’t.

Security
Because many of those malicious plug-in’s that cause your everyday web surfing into a trip to the DMV are mostly programmed for Internet Explorer, having Mozilla Firefox as your internet browser can save you tons of headaches.

Open Source Advantage
The Mozilla project is an Open Source project where thousands of independent programmers can work on finding security holes before they are exploited.

Cleaner Interface
Firefox isn’t filled with clutter such as a history button or other buttons that take up most of the area in Internet Explorer. Firefox offers 2% more space to web pages than Mozilla, 4% more than Internet Explorer, and a whopping 10% more than Opera.

Smaller Download
Ignoring the fact that Internet Explorer comes integrated with Windows, Firefox is almost half the size of Internet Explorer meaning half the time downloading.

Block Images
When right clicking on an image, the user is given the option to block all images from that webpage. This feature comes in handing when visiting a site that holds many pictures, many due to ads, which can be disabled for faster surfing.

Mozilla Firefox is an alternate browser to IE with features that, I believe, surpass the latter. Firefox has defiantly broken ground in the war of the browsers. I know there are many out there who would think otherwise and never settle for any browser other than IE. Think of it this way, if Mozilla Firefox was integrated by default into Windows besides IE, would you switch to another browser?

SOURCE
http://www.flexbeta.net/main/article...ion=show&id=32

Windows XP Service Pack 3 RC

2008-02-27T02:31:00.001-08:00

Office XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) contains significant security enhancements, in addition to stability and performance improvements.
This update also includes a small number of new functionalities.

Download Source

Disabling Run or Find from the Start Menu

2008-02-25T22:19:00.001-08:00

Step to follow to do this..

Start Regedit
Go to HKey_Current_User \ Software\ Microsoft \Windows \ Current Version \ Policies \ Explorer
Right click on the right panel and add a New / DWORD
Name it NoFile or NoRun
Give it a value of 1
Logoff or Reboot the computer

How to remove the text from the Desktop icon?

2008-02-25T22:17:00.001-08:00

Desktop is the interface of Windows, which contain the icons, taskbar etc. that allow the user to interact with the computer to perform different operations. Usually the picture of icon represents its purpose so if you want your desktop looking very clean then you can remove the title under the desktop icons. May be you are thinking it is so easy, just go to rename option and set blank name or single spacebar entry but the problem is this, windows will not allow you to set blank name or name with single spacebar entry. Here interesting thing is this; window will allow you to use the ASCII code for a space, which is 0160.

First clear all the text from that icon

Now type the ASCII code, simply hold the Alt key, type the number 0160 from the number pad and release the Alt key then press Enter button to finish the process.

Before & After

But if you want to remove the text of multiple icons, then repeat the above process with adding one extra ASCII code for second icon, (for example for second icon you type the 0160 twice and for third icon type 0160 three times with Alt key and so on).

Trace people from their emails

2008-02-25T08:02:00.000-08:00

---------------------------------------------------
log on to following link and register to locate anyone frome their email id

http://www.shivampatel.net/trace/

---------------------------------------------------

How to prevent users from writing to USB drives?

2008-02-25T03:52:00.001-08:00

Today USB drive also known as keychain drive is becoming the most popular removable storage device to move data to different locations. USB drives are available in the market with different features, for example password protected, compatible with all windows versions and extra storage capacity (up to 65 GB).

A common security issue at organizations is how to prevent their workers to write data onto USB drives using their PCs, because a user can easily move confidential data for other location.

If you have windows XP with SP2, then you can disable the writing option to USB drives.

Follow the given steps to disable the USB writing option:-
1. To edit the computer registry, first you should log onto your computer with administrative rights.
First click on Start button and type "Regedit" in Run option.

2. Here locate the location to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l

Here in right side panel, click right to create a key with the name "StorageDevicePolicies".

3. Now in left side panel, select "StorageDevicePolicies" key, again right click to create new DWORD value then label it "WriteProtect".

4. Set its value to "1". But again enable this option set its values "0".

5. Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.

How to Deny other Windows XP Users to Access Your Folders and Files

2008-02-25T01:58:00.001-08:00

Sometimes the computer admin, or even the user, would want to protect the content of their folders and the files in it by setting the folder permission to disallow access of other users of that computer. Here’s how;

1. Log-in as an administrator. Then open the windows explorer.
2. Open Tools->Folder Options->View. Then uncheck “Use Simple File Sharing”.
3. Click on the folder that you want to protect. Right click, and then click “Properties”, then click “Security”.
4. Add users that you want to have access or permission and/or remove users that you want to deny access or permissions, and then check “Full Control”.
5. Click “Advanced”.
6. On “Permission” tab, uncheck “Inherit from parent the permission entries that….”
7. Click “Edit”. Uncheck “Apply These Permissions to Objects and …”
8. In the “Owner” tab, change the ownership to the Administrator and to your account.
9. Click “Apply”, then “OK”.

How to Download Books from Books.Google.Com

2008-02-25T01:55:00.001-08:00

This is, definitely, not a hack for Google to hate this post. This will just teach you how to copy and retrieve the files that Books.Google.Com temporarily saved in your computer before showing it to you through internet browser.

Actually, it’s the same stuff as this post, here..

Just follow the steps bellow;

1. Open your Internet Explorer (Not Firefox). Make sure that you are the admin of your computer. Then, go to the page in books.google.com that you want to download.

2. Now, go to “C:\Documents and Settings\%your admin name%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\” of your computer. Delete all of the content of that folder.

3. In your Internet Explorer, refresh the page and browse-thru the pages of the books that you want to download.

4. Refresh the “Temporary Internet Files” folder. Copy all PNG files to another folder. You can distinguish PNG Files through its icon.

These files that you have just copied are, actually, the pages of the books that you have just browsed.

Enjoy!!!

How to Download Slides in Slideshare.net

2008-02-25T01:53:00.001-08:00

Slideshare. net is like youtube where anyone can upload and share (through flash player) their useful and informative power point presentation. Unfortunately, most of these slides are not downloadable.

Though the presentation is not downloadable, you can, actually, have a copy; though not at its original file format of Microsoft Power Point but Flash (swf) format. This is how:

1. Log-in to the administrator account (just to make sure that you have access to anything) of your computer.
2. Go to “C:\Documents and Settings\%your admin name%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\
3. Make sure that your Internet Explorer is closed. Delete all the content of your Temporary Internet Files.
4. Now open your “internet explorer” and go to that slide presentation that you want to download.
5. Click through to the entire slide presentation (until to the last slide). This is a hassle if the presentation is lengthy. Anyway, we also have a solution to this.
6. In the Temporary Internet Files folder, search for the file with a prefix of the title of the slide presentation that you want to download and an extension of “.swf” (Make sure that you disabled hiding of file extension in your folder option).
7. Copy all of that file and your through. That’s actually the individual slides in the presentation. Just install Flash Player to view these files that you have just “downloaded”.

Now, if you are having a hard time clicking through the entire slide, we have this solution;
1. Install Mozilla Firefox explorer, in case you don’t have one. Then install “downthemall” addon.
2. Do steps 1-4 in the above procedure.
3. In the Temporary Internet Files folder, search for the file with a prefix of the title of the slide presentation that you want to download and an extension of “.xml” (Make sure that you disabled hiding of extension in your folder option). Copy this xml file to your desktop folder and rename it to any filename that you want but with a file extension of “htm”.
4. Open this file using “notepad” or “wordpad”. Then do the following “replace all” activities;

Replace “Slide Src” with “a href”.
Replace “/>” with “/> alfie< /a>” (no spaces)

5. Save this file. Then open this file, now, using Firefox explorer. You should see lots of hyperlinked “alfie” word in the page.
6. Right click on the page (not on the link), then click “DownThemAll!”.
7. In the “DownThemAll!” program set the directory where you want to download these flash files. In the “additional filters” put “.swf”, then click “Start”. Just wait for a few minutes until all files were downloaded in your computer.
8. You can use “super” (just type super in Google) to convert this into Mpeg file so that you will have more comfort of viewing these.

Enjoy!

How to Trace/ know any IP address from Domain

2008-02-25T01:14:00.001-08:00

From the window,

Go to start –> Run–> and in run Enter cmd

it open the command prompt

from the command prompt type ” ping” “Space” “your domain”

eg: “ping www.google.com” and press enter

it show the IP address of Domain

to trace a domin

Go to start –> Run–> and in run Enter cmd

it open the command prompt

from the command prompt type ” tracert” “Space” “your domain”

eg: “tracert www.google.com” and press enter

and then after entering it will show you the IP address of the Domain

Auto Shutdown your PC

2008-02-25T01:10:00.001-08:00

example you wish to shutdown at 11:35am. Type this in
start=>Run
Type Code: at 11:35 shutdown -s
to abort
Code:
shutdown -a

Take Note: All time are in 24hr, example u would like to shutdown at 8:30pm, you should type “at 20:30 shutdown -s” without quote…

Set A Pic As Background In Explorer

2008-02-23T14:16:00.000-08:00

If changing of background is not working using desktop.ini then

try this software..

hxxp://www.sodabush.com/products/windowpaperxp/downloads.php

with it u can change background of music folder with some musical theme.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Airtek Hack for Free internet

2008-02-23T07:59:00.000-08:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
cheers~You need a PC or a Laptop and the required connectivity tools ,ie.,Serial/USB cable OR Infrared Device OR Bluetooth dongle

1) Activate Airtel Live! ( It’s FREE so no probs)

2) Create TWO Airtel gprs data accounts (yep TWO) and select theFIRST as the active profile.

3) Connect your mobile to the PC (or Laptop) and install the driver foryour mobile’s modem.

4) Create a new dial-up connection using the NEW CONNECTIONWIZARD as follows
Connecting Device : Your mobile’s modemISP Name : Airtel (or anything you like)Phone Number : *99***2#Username and Password : blank

5) Configure your browser and download manager to use the proxy100.1.200.99 and port 8080.( My advice is to use Opera since youcan browse both wap and regular websites)

6) Connect to the dial-up account. You will be connected at 115.2kbps (but remember, that is a bad joke).

7) Pick up your mobile and try to access any site. You will get “AccessDenied…”(except for Airtel Live!). IT DOES NOT MATTER.Keep the mobile down.

8 ) On the PC ( or Laptop) open your browser, enter any address ,press ENTER and…….WAIT

9) After a few seconds the page will start to load and you have theWHOLE internet at your disposal.

Trick to lock your private folder

2008-02-22T08:01:00.000-08:00

-------------------------------------------------------
Suppose you want to lock the folder games in d: which has the path D:\Games.In the same drive create a text file and type

ren games games.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}

Now save this text file as loc.bat

create another text file and type in it

ren games.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} games

Now save this text file as key.bat

Now you can see 2 batch files loc and key. Press loc and the folder games will change to control panel and you cannot view its contents.Press key and you will get back your original folder.try it out!!!!!!!

Important note:How to rename your text files as bat files?Just go to my computer->tools->folder options->go to the view tab. Now uncheck the 'Hide extensions for known file types'. Press apply.Now rename ur text files as bat files.
-------------------------------------------------------

Getting Full Images Without Ads In ImageShack

2008-02-19T04:26:00.001-08:00

When u host a picture at http://www.imageshack.us/ And U Can't
Get The Full Image Instead u get codes like 340* 240 etc etc

and they post a link back see example here See The Above Ads and
the pop up.

And U Can't Post The Bitmap Here or other forum in full motion

Tutorials

Firefox

Host The Image Get The Direct Link Go there Like This

Go To The Image Center And Drag It To Adress Bar u will see the mouse
icon change leave the mouse (wait for the page to load )

Now U Will Get The Image Without Ads And U Can Put It Here Like

Internet Explorer

Host The Image Get The Direct Link Go there Like This

Go To The Image Center And Drag It To Status Bar below Now U Will
See Mouse Changed From Banned Icon To Mouse Icon +

Leave The Mouse (wait for the page to load )

Get The Image Without Ads And U Can Put It Here

Make Vista Start, Run and Shutdown Faster.

2008-02-19T04:26:00.000-08:00

For a general user the first three are usually more than sufficient to make your Vista faster. The remaining are some more which a tweak enthusiast may wish to consider. Utilities like WinPatrol or Tune-Up Utilities can help you in most of the cases.

1. Restrict the no. of start-ups. Why have programs starting up when you dont really use them. Even those you use can always be started manually by clicking on the. I personally prefer not to have ANY starups. I click on my Internet Defense Suite manually, before connecting to the Internet. So decide for yourself which one's you really need as start-ups.

2. Disable services which one may not require. For example, if your pc is a stand-alone one, there may be sevral services which you can disable or switch over to manual mode. Auto-starting and closing down of services takes time & resources. These can be saved. BlackViper's Vista Service Configurations is an excellent guide to follow.

3. Reducing visual effects (eye candy).

Right-click on “My Computer” > Properties > Advanced > Performance-Settings > Visual Effects > Adjust for best performance > Apply > OK.

To allow the themes and the glass effects, you may have to check on the boxes : enable transperant glass and use visual styles; this way atleast the spirit of Vista will be preserved- else be prepared for a really bland Vista ! Use your discretion. I know disabling all can actually negate the purpose of 'eye-friendly' Vista.

4. Ensure that boot defragmentation is enabled, so that files used during start-up are clubbed together.

Start Regedit. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction . Select Enable from the list on the right.

Right Click on it and select Modify. Change the value to Y to enable and N to disable. Reboot.

5. Disable : "clear page file on shutdown" option. Cleaning the page-file on every shutdown means overwriting the data by zeros, and it takes time.

To clear/not clear page file you can apply this reg tweak. Back up registry before trying this.

Start->run->regedit [enter]

Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session Manager\Memory Management

Modify (if not present, rt click in open space and create) the Value Data Type/s and Value Name/s :

Data Type: REG_DWORD [Dword Value]

Value Name: ClearPageFileAtShutdown

Setting for Value Data: [0 = Clear Page File Disabled / 1 = Clear Page File Enabled]

Exit Registry and Reboot.

6. Defragment your System Disk & Fine Tune your Registry. If you find the Vista's in-built defragger slow, you can try SysInternals Power Defragmenter which works on Vista too ! Use the freeware CCleaner to clear up your PC Junk and clean up the Registry. Compacting the Registry occasionally is a good idea too !

7. Generally people also recommend emptying the Prefetch directory once in a while. But Windows uses this directory to speed up launching

applications. It analyzes the files you use during startup and the applications you launch, and it creates an index to where those files and applications are located on your hard disk. Using this index, Windows can launch files and applications faster. Nevertheless clearing the Prefetcher say once a month is what I do !

8. Go to BIOS settings, by pressing del key during boot-up, and disable 'seek floppy drive' option. This saves time for those who do not use floppy drives. There are also some BIOS hacks like Enabling Quick Post, Disabling Boot Daly, etc but best to refrain from these.

9. Change Boot-Order Sequence : Normally, the bios is set to boot from floppy first, then CD and then Hard Disk. Changing the Boot-Order to be: Hard Disk first, then maybe CD/Floppy, could possibly "shave" a second, I guess !

10. Disable windows startup/shutdown/logon/logoff sounds. Go to control panel, sounds & audio devices, sound tab, in program events select 'no sound' for these events.

11. Disable the ScreenSaver if you dont need it. Rt-Click desktop>ScreenSaver>None>OK.

12. Fonts take time to load. Removing some can save on resources. But one must be careful in deciding which fonts to remove. If you delete some system fonts, you may b in for trouble. Tweak VI Pro is a good shareware to manage fonts. It uninstalls fonts without physically removing them. Open its help file. It lists down the system fonts which must not be deleted ! use the list; and then decide what to delete and what to keep.

13. To REALLY reduce your shutdown time.

Start Regedit. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control.

Click on the "Control" Folder. Select "WaitToKillServiceTimeout"

Right click on it and select Modify. the default value is ( i think) 12000.

Setting it to a lower 4 digit value,( say 1000) will make your PC shutdown faster, but you could end up losing data, so use this tweak judiciously.

14. Get rid of all the extra programs Windows Vista installs. You may not be using some like WLM, Calculator, Games, Meeting Space, Fax, etc. Go To Control Panel\Programs\Programs and Features > Turn windows On or Off and do the needful.

15. Go To Control Panel\System and Maintenance\Performance Information and Tools. On the LHS you will see options to Adjust Indexing options, visual effexts, power Settings, etc. These all help directly and indirectly.

http://www.winvistaclub.com/tips.html

Do remember that your Vista-based machine will tend to run a little faster, after the first few weeks after it's installed, thanks to its new feature called "SuperFetch"; which basically studies the programs that the user frequently runs and loads them into memory automatically.

Add Your Favorite Program Shortcut in Desktop Context Menu!

2008-02-17T18:21:00.000-08:00

The thing is, u can add a shortcut for ur favorite program, (like Windows Media Player, firefox, opera, winamp, etc) in Desktop context menu (which is also applied to explorer context menu)
So the method is as following:

1.) Copy ur favorite application's EXE file from its own folder (like winamp.exe, firefox.exe, etc) to following folder:

C:\WINDOWS\PCHealth\HelpCtr\Binaries\ (Assuming C: is ur system drive, otherwise change it to ur system drive).

2.) Now delete helpctr.exe file in that folder and give the same name to ur copied EXE file. (i.e., first delete helpctr.exe file and then rename ur copied EXE file (like winamp.exe) to helpctr.exe ).

3.) Now the final part.:yes: Open Shell32.dll file in Resource Hacker and goto: Menu -> 215. here add the following line to anywhere, u want to add the shortcut (like u can add this line just below the "Refresh" menu, as I hv done in my screenshot):

MENUITEM "Title", 28785, MFT_STRING, MFS_ENABLED

In "Title", give the Label which u want to be appeared in context menu (like Winamp, Media Player, Firefox, etc.)

4.) Now compile the file and save it, and finally replace Shell32.dll file with this hacked one.

And Voilla! Now after restarting the system, u can see a new shortcut in the context menu for ur desired application

Screenshot:

PS: The above method might cause Help Centre to not work properly, coz we hv replaced the helpctr.exe file with some other EXE file, so apply this method if u don't want to use help centre, though I hv not checked it coz I hv removed the HElp Centre from windows

Convert Your Old Optical Mouse CCD into a Scanner !

2008-02-14T17:41:00.000-08:00

Are you using an optical mouse right now? Ever wanted to see your desktop through the eye on the bottom of it? Me neither, I already know I have to clean my desktop

People get bored sometimes, and when I get bored I sometimes open up stuff to find out what makes it tick. One time, I did this with an old optical mouse. Well, a mouse only has 2 chips inside: the optical sensor and a chip for the usb/ps2-interfacing. I looked up the datasheet of the optical sensor (which is an ADNS2610) and it told me the sensor has a tiny 18x18 CCD, which can be read out using the serial port (the one which normally interfaces to the PS2/USB-chip).

So I start Visual Basic (I usually do my stuff under Linux, but I'm no star at using anything graphical like QT or GTK, so for this quick'n'dirty project I fell back in my old habits) and hack something up using a few wires to the trusty ole parallel port. The result: crisp lo-res b&w imaging

IMAGE
http://sprite.student.utwente.nl/~jeroen/projects/mouseeye/e.png

As you can see, the mouse was over some text with an 'e' in it.

One of the more obvious features of a mouse, however, is that it can detect movement. Combine this with the just-aquired imaging features, and we have a ghetto b&w handscanner. This is a 'scanned' piece of a receipt:

IMAGE
http://sprite.student.utwente.nl/~jeroen/projects/mouseeye/boodschappen.jpg

I can understand you can't wait to have such a handy scanner yourself. And now, you can! The software is downloadable here.

http://sprite.student.utwente.nl/~jeroen/projects/mouseeye/readmouse.zip

The software works on mice which use an ADNS-2610 optical sensor, recognisable by the eight pins, the sun-like mark and the text 'A2610'. I've seen this sensor in most cheap optical mice that aren't too old. To hook it up, check out the pinout in the datasheet, then on the PCB cut the traces running from the sensors SCK- and SDIO-pins to the rest of the mouse. Then connect the sensor, using a diode, to a parallel port, like this:

pp: adns-2610:
25-----------------GND

12----------+------SDIO
5 -----<--+

9 -----------------SCK

Plug in the USB/PS2-plug (or apply 5V to the Vcc-pin of the sensor), run the software and you should be OK

_________________

Source: http://sprite.student.utwente.nl/~jeroen/projects/mouseeye/

Danger of "Ctrl + C" while browsing Internet

2008-02-13T14:44:00.000-08:00

We do copy various data by ctrl+c for pasting elsewhere. This copied data is stored in clipboard and is accessible from the net by a combination of Javascripts and ASP.Just try this:1) Copy any text by 'ctrl+c'2) Click the Link:

http://www.sourcecodesworld.com/special/clipboard.asp

You will see the text you copied on the Screen which was accessed by this web page. (Check it out !!)Do not keep sensitive data (like passwords, reditcard numbers, PIN etc.) in the clipboard while surfing the web. It is extremely easy to extract the text stored in the clipboard to steal your sensitive information.

Be cautious ...

To avoid Clipboard Hack Problem, do the following:
1) In Internet Explorer, Go to Tools -> Internet options -> Security
2) Press Custom level.
3) In the security settings, select disable under Allow paste operations via script and click on 'OK. (Now the contents of your clipboard are safe.)

Please use this to save urself from online frauds & hacking!

http://www.chip-india.com/townsquare/viewtopic.php?t=13898

.

Registry Hacking III

2008-02-13T06:09:00.000-08:00

Registry Hacking

Create a Shortcut to Lock Your Computer
Leaving your computer in a hurry but you don’t want to log off? You can double-click a shortcut on your desktop to quickly lock the keyboard and display without using CTRL+ALT+DEL or a screen saver. To create a shortcut on your desktop to lock your computer: Right-click the desktop. Point to New, and then click Shortcut. The Create Shortcut Wizard opens. In the text box, type the following: rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation Click Next. Enter a name for the shortcut. You can call it "Lock Workstation" or choose any name you like. Click Finish. You can also change the shortcut's icon (my personal favorite is the padlock icon in shell32.dll). To change the icon: Right click the shortcut and then select Properties. Click the Shortcut tab, and then click the Change Icon button. In the Look for icons in this file text box, type: Shell32.dll. Click OK. Select one of the icons from the list and then click OK You could also give it a shortcut keystroke such CTRL+ALT+L. This would save you only one keystroke from the normal command, but it could be more convenient.

Speed up Internet Explorer 6 Favorites For some reason, the Favorites menu in IE 6 seems to slow down dramatically sometimes--I've noticed this happens when you install Tweak UI 1.33, for example, and when you use the preview tip to speed up the Start menu. But here's a fix for the problem that does work, though it's unclear why: Just open a command line window (Start button -> Run -> cmd) and type sfc, then hit ENTER. This command line runs the System File Checker, which performs a number of services, all of which are completely unrelated to IE 6. But there you go: It works.

Aspi
WinXP does not come with an Aspi layer. So far almost 90% of the problems with WinXP and CD burning software are Aspi layer problems. After installing WinXP, before installing any CD burning software do a few things first: 1. Open up "My computer" and right click on the CD Recorder. If your CD recorder was detected as a CD recorder there will be a tab called "Recording". On this tab uncheck ALL of the boxes. apply or OK out of it and close my computer. 2. Next install the standard Aspi layer for NT. Reboot when asked. That's is. after the reboot you can install any of the currently working CD recording applications with no problems. If using CD Creator do not install direct CD or Take two as they are currently incompatible but Roxio has promised a fix as soon as XP is released.

Hiding Your Secret File in a picture

2008-02-12T06:20:00.000-08:00

Hiding Your Secret File in a picture

$ You will need winrar$

1. Gather your image and the files you wish to hide into it. Here I have a deepak.txt which I will hide inside my ashish.jpg.

2.Add the files( deepak.txt) you want to hide into a new RAR archive. In
the archieve name box type deepak.txt and hit enter. Now your file is
in format deepak.txt.rar

3. Open Command Prompt and go to the folder where your files are located, for example, ‘C:\new folder’.

4. At command prompt type ‘copy /b ashish.jpg + deepak.txt.rar anurag.jpg’ (without quotes).
(ashish.jpg
is the picture I want to show, deepak.txt.rar is the file to be hidden,
and anurag.jpg is the file which contains both).

5. Now double on anurag.jpg . it still opens.

6. Now opening that same anurag.jpg file . openwith->WinRar archiever. It will show the original hidden file deepak.txt.

anurag.jpg is a simple JPEG file, but it contains a secret file deepak.txt

Registry Hacking

2008-02-11T06:05:00.000-08:00

Registry Hacking

Display legal notice on startup:
Wanna tell your friends about the do's and dont's in your computer when they login in your absence. Well you can do it pretty easily by displaying a legal notice at system start up.
REGEDIT
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\system]
"legalnoticecaption"="enter your notice caption"
"legalnoticetext"="enter your legal notice text"

Automatic Administrator Login:
Well here's the trick which you can use to prove that Windows XP is not at all secure as multi-user operating system. Hacking the system registry from any account having access to system registry puts you in to the administrator account.
REGEDIT 4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
"AutoAdminLogon"="1"

No Shutdown:
Wanna play with your friends by removing the shutdown option from start menu in their computer.
Just hack it down !!!
Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
"NoClose"="DWORD:1"

Registry Hacking

2008-02-08T06:08:00.000-08:00

Menu Delays:
Another minor and easy tweak to remove any delay from menus sliding out. For this you will need to use regedit (open regedit by going to Start -> Run..., then typing 'regedit' and pressing enter). The key you need to change is located in HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktop. The actual key is called MenuShowDelay - all you have to do is change the value to 0. Remember, you will have to re-boot your computer for this tweak to take effect.

GPEDIT.MSC And Autoplay
A great tweaking file that comes with XP is gpedit.msc. Go to Start -> Run... and then type in 'gpedit.msc' and press enter. This is effectively the Policies Editor, and it comes in handy often. For example, if you hate CD autoplay like I do and want to permanently disable it, you can use this tool to do so. Just run gpedit.msc, then go to Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System. In here you can see the value 'Turn Off Autoplay'. Right-click on it and then click 'Properties'.

Increasing options in add/remove programs:
Not a fan of MSN Messenger? don't want Windows Media Player on your system? Fair enough, but if you go to Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel, by default none of Windows XP's 'built in' programs are visible. it's fairly easy to change, though... just open the file X:\Windows\inf\sysoc.inf (where X: is the drive letter where Windows XP is installed) in Notepad. You should see a section of the file something like this:
[Components]
NtComponents=ntoc.dll,NtOcSetupProc,,4
WBEM=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,wbemoc.inf,hide,7
Display=desk.cpl,DisplayOcSetupProc,,7
Fax=fxsocm.dll,FaxOcmSetupProc,fxsocm.inf,,7
NetOC=netoc.dll,NetOcSetupProc,netoc.inf,,7
iis=iis.dll,OcEntry,iis.inf,,7
com=comsetup.dll,OcEntry,comnt5.inf,hide,7
dtc=msdtcstp.dll,OcEntry,dtcnt5.inf,hide,7
IndexSrv_System = setupqry.dll,IndexSrv,setupqry.inf,,7
TerminalServer=TsOc.dll, HydraOc, TsOc.inf,hide,2
msmq=msmqocm.dll,MsmqOcm,msmqocm.inf,,6
ims=imsinsnt.dll,OcEntry,ims.inf,,7
fp_extensions=fp40ext.dll,FrontPage4Extensions,fp40ext.inf,,7
AutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,au.inf,hide,7
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
RootAutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,rootau.inf,,7
IEAccess=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,ieaccess.inf,,7
This is a list of all components installed at the moment. I've taken the example of MSN Messenger - the program entry called 'msmsgs', third-last line. You can see the word 'hide' highlighted - this is the string which tells Windows not to display the component in the Add/Remove Programs list. Fix this up by simply deleting the word 'hide' like so:
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
To this:
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,,7
Now, after restarting, you should be able to see MSN Messenger in the Add/Remove Programs list. If you want to be able to quickly view and remove all components, simply open the sysoc.inf file and do a global find and replace for the word ",hide" and replace it with a single comma ",".

Automatically Kill Programs At Shutdown:
don't you hate it when, while trying to shut down, you get message boxes telling you that a program is still running? Making it so that Windows automatically kills applications running is a snap. Simply navigate to the HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktop directory in the Registry, then alter the key AutoEndTasks to the value 1.

Speeding Up Share Viewing:
This is a great tweak. Before I found it, I was always smashing my head against the table waiting to view shares on other computers. Basically, when you connect to another computer with Windows XP, it checks for any Scheduled tasks on that computer - a fairly useless task, but one that can add up to 30 seconds of waiting on the other end - not good! Fortunately, it's fairly easy to disable this process. First, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace in the Registry. Below that, there should be a key called {D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}. Just delete this, and after a restart, Windows will no longer check for scheduled tasks - mucho performance improvement!

Convert FAT disks to NTFS

2008-02-03T13:26:00.000-08:00

This article describes how to convert FAT disks to NTFS.

See the Terms sidebar for definitions of FAT, FAT32 and NTFS. Before you decide which file system to use, you should understand the benefits and limitations of each of them.

Changing a volume's existing file system can be time–consuming, so choose the file system that best suits your long–term needs. If you decide to use a different file system, you must back up your data and then reformat the volume using the new file system. However, you can convert a FAT or FAT32 volume to an NTFS volume without formatting the volume, though it is still a good idea to back up your data before you convert.

Note Some older programs may not run on an NTFS volume, so you should research the current requirements for your software before converting.

Choosing Between NTFS, FAT, and FAT32

You can choose between three file systems for disk partitions on a computer running Windows XP: NTFS, FAT, and FAT32. NTFS is the recommended file system because it’s is more powerful than FAT or FAT32, and includes features required for hosting Active Directory as well as other important security features. You can use features such as Active Directory and domain–based security only by choosing NTFS as your file system.

Converting to NTFS Using the Setup Program

The Setup program makes it easy to convert your partition to the new version of NTFS, even if it used FAT or FAT32 before. This kind of conversion keeps your files intact (unlike formatting a partition).

Setup begins by checking the existing file system. If it is NTFS, conversion is not necessary. If it is FAT or FAT32, Setup gives you the choice of converting to NTFS. If you don't need to keep your files intact and you have a FAT or FAT32 partition, it is recommended that you format the partition with NTFS rather than converting from FAT or FAT32. (Formatting a partition erases all data on the partition and allows you to start fresh with a clean drive.) However, it is still advantageous to use NTFS, regardless of whether the partition was formatted with NTFS or converted.

Converting to NTFS Using Convert.exe

A partition can also be converted after Setup by using Convert.exe. For more information about Convert.exe, after completing Setup, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then press ENTER. In the command window, type help convert, and then press ENTER.

It is easy to convert partitions to NTFS. The Setup program makes conversion easy, whether your partitions used FAT, FAT32, or the older version of NTFS. This kind of conversion keeps your files intact (unlike formatting a partition.

To find out more information about Convert.exe

After completing Setup, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then press ENTER.
In the command window, type help convert and then press ENTER. Information about converting FAT volumes to NTFS is made available as shown below.

Converting FAT volumes to NTFS

To convert a volume to NTFS from the command prompt

Open Command Prompt. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Command Prompt.
In the command prompt window, type: convert drive_letter: /fs:ntfs

For example, typing convert D: /fs:ntfs would format drive D: with the ntfs format. You can convert FAT or FAT32 volumes to NTFS with this command.

Important Once you convert a drive or partition to NTFS, you cannot simply convert it back to FAT or FAT32. You will need to reformat the drive or partition which will erase all data, including programs and personal files, on the partition.

Terms

File Allocation Table (FAT)
A file system used by MS-DOS and other Windows-based operating systems to organize and manage files. The file allocation table (FAT) is a data structure that Windows creates when you format a volume by using the FAT or FAT32 file systems. Windows stores information about each file in the FAT so that it can retrieve the file later.

FAT32
A derivative of the file allocation table (FAT) file system. FAT32 supports smaller cluster sizes and larger volumes than FAT, which results in more efficient space allocation on FAT32 volumes.

NTFS File System
An advanced file system that provides performance, security, reliability, and advanced features that are not found in any version of FAT. For example, NTFS guarantees volume consistency by using standard transaction logging and recovery techniques. If a system fails, NTFS uses its log file and checkpoint information to restore the consistency of the file system. In Windows 2000 and Windows XP, NTFS also provides advanced features such as file and folder permissions, encryption, disk quotas, and compression.

C Drive, D Drive, Gmail Drive....

2008-01-29T02:38:00.001-08:00

STRIKES AGAIN... "GMail DRIVE" ......Making People 2 Rock in a wonderful way.....

Things you need to have:
1.) Gmail account

2.) Internet Connection

3.) Gmail Drive software Process:

i) Download Gmail Drive from (takes seconds to download):
http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/GMail-Drive-shell-extension-Download-15944.html

ii) Install the software.

iii) After installing, a drive named Gmail drive will be created in My Computer (just like C: D :)

iv) Double click on this drive, login to Gmail account. You will get a space of 3.61 GB . Whatever content you copy to this drive will be sent to your mail account directly to which you have logged in.

The copy is pretty faaaassssssssttttttttttttt.

HATS OFF 2 Simply Innovative....

GMail Drive

GMail Drive is a Shell Namespace Extension that creates a virtual drive in the Windows Explorer, allowing you to use your Google Gmail account as a storage medium. It allows you to do basic file manipulation, such as copy and delete, on files inside the GMail folder. Because it is a Shell Extension, the interface you work in is Windows Explorer itself. GMail files are physically stored as e-mails on your Google Gmail account. The files are stored in mail attachments, and the filename and file information (such as file size)
is stored in the message subject line.

" Its not a matter how fast u solve a problem....Its how Smartest Easiest way u solve a problem "

Windows Important Commands

2008-01-22T01:53:00.001-08:00

Removable Storage Operator Requests - ntmsoprq.msc
Resultant Set of Policy (XP Prof) - rsop.msc
Scanners and Cameras - sticpl.cpl
Scheduled Tasks - control schedtasks
Security Center - wscui.cpl
Services - services.msc
Shared Folders - fsmgmt.msc
Shuts Down Windows - shutdown
Sounds and Audio - mmsys.cpl
Microsoft Movie Maker - moviemk
Microsoft Powerpoint (if installed)- powerpnt
Microsoft Word (if installed)- winword
Microsoft Syncronization Tool - mobsync
Mouse Properties - control mouse,main.cpl
Netmeeting - conf
Network Connections - control netconnections
Network Connections - ncpa.cpl
Network Setup Wizard - netsetup.cpl
Object Packager - packager
ODBC Data Source Administrator- odbccp32.cpl
On Screen Keyboard - osk
Outlook Express - msimn
Paint – pbrush
Keyboard Properties - control keyboard
Accessibility Controls - access.cpl
Add Hardware Wizard - hdwwiz.cpl
Add/Remove Programs - appwiz.cpl
Administrative Tools - control admintools
Bluetooth Transfer Wizard - fsquirt
Calculator - calc
Certificate Manager - certmgr.msc
Character Map - charmap
Check Disk Utility - chkdsk
Clipboard Viewer - clipbrd
Command Prompt - cmd
Component Services - dcomcnfg
Computer Management - compmgmt.msc
Date and Time Properties - timedate.cpl
DDE Shares - ddeshare
Device Manager - devmgmt.msc
Direct X Troubleshooter - dxdiag
Disk Cleanup Utility - cleanmgr
Disk Defragment - dfrg.msc
Disk Management - diskmgmt.msc
Disk Partition Manager - diskpart
Display Properties - control desktop,desk.cpl
Display Properties (w/Appearance Tab Preselected) - control color
Dr. Watson System Troubleshooting Utility - drwtsn32
Driver Verifier Utility - verifier
Event Viewer - eventvwr.msc
File Signature Verification Tool - sigverif
Folders Properties - control folders
Fonts - control fonts
Fonts Folder - fonts
Game Controllers - joy.cpl
Group Policy Editor (XP Prof) - gpedit.msc
Iexpress Wizard - iexpress
Indexing Service - ciadv.msc
Internet Properties - inetcpl.cpl
IP Configuration (Display Connection Configuration) - ipconfig /all
IP Configuration (Display DNS Cache Contents) - ipconfig /displaydns
IP Configuration (Delete DNS Cache Contents) - ipconfig /flushdns
IP Configuration (Release All Connections) - ipconfig /release
IP Configuration (Renew All Connections) - ipconfig /renew
IP Configuration (Refreshes DHCP & Re - Registers DNS) -ipconfig /registerdns
IP Configuration (Display DHCP Class ID) - ipconfig /showclassid
IP Configuration (Modifies DHCP Class ID) - ipconfig /
SQL Client Configuration - cliconfg
System Configuration Editor - sysedit
System Configuration Utility - msconfig
System File Checker Utility (Scan Immediately)- sfc /scannow
System File Checker Utility (Scan Once At Next Boot)- sfc /scanonce
System File Checker Utility (Scan On Every Boot) - sfc /scanboot
System File Checker Utility (Return to Default Setting)- sfc /revert
System File Checker Utility (Purge File Cache)- sfc /purgecache
System File Checker Utility (Set Cache Size to size x)-sfc/cachesize=x
System Information - msinfo32.
System Properties - sysdm.cpl
Task Manager – taskmgr
User Account Management- nusrmgr.cpl
Windows Address Book Import Utility - wabmig
Windows Backup Utility (if installed)- ntbackup
Windows Firewall- firewall.cpl
Windows Magnifier- magnify
Windows Management Infrastructure - wmimgmt.msc
Windows Media Player - wmplayer
Windows Messenger - msmsgs
Windows Picture Import Wizard (need camera connected)- wiaacmgr
Windows XP Tour Wizard - tourstart
Wordpad - write
Performance Monitor - perfmon.msc
Phone and Modem Options - telephon.cpl
Phone Dialer - dialer
Power Configuration - powercfg.cpl
Printers and Faxes - control printers
Printers Folder – printers
Private Character Editor - eudcedit
Regional Settings - intl.cpl
Registry Editor - regedit
Remote Access Phonebook - rasphone
Remote Desktop - mstsc
Private character editor = eudcedit.exe (allows creation or modification of characters)
Windows Media Player 5.1 = mplay32.exe (Retro version of Media Player, very basic).
Microsoft Synchronization Manager = mobsync.exe (appears to allow synchronization of files on the network for when working offline. Apparently undocumented).
ODBC Data Source Administrator = odbcad32.exe (something to do with databases)
Object Packager = packager.exe (to do with packaging objects for insertion in files, appears to have comprehensive help files).
Program Manager = progman.exe (Legacy Windows 3.x desktop shell).
Remote Access phone book = rasphone.exe (documentation is virtually non-existant).
Network shared folder wizard = shrpubw.exe (creates shared folders on network).
File siganture verification tool = sigverif.exe
Volume Control = sndvol32.exe
System Configuration Editor = sysedit.exe (modify System.ini & Win.ini just like in Win98! ).
Syskey = syskey.exe (Secures XP Account database - use with care, it's virtually undocumented but it appears to encrypt all passwords, I'm not sure of the full implications).
Microsoft Telnet Client = telnet.exe
Driver Verifier Manager = verifier.exe (seems to be a utility for monitoring the actions of drivers, might be useful for people having driver problems. Undocumented).
Windows for Workgroups Chat = winchat.exe (appears to be an old NT utility to allow chat sessions over a LAN, help files available).
Certificate Manager - certmgr.msc
Component Services - dcomcnfg
Regional Settings - intl.cpl
Telnet Client - telnet
User Account Management - nusrmgr.cpl
Utility Manager - utilman
Windows Address Book - wab
Windows Management Infrastructure - wmimgmt.msc
Windows Media Player - wmplayer
Windows Messenger - msmsgs
Windows System Security Tool - syskey
Windows Update Launches - wupdmgr
Windows Version - winver
Windows Address Book Import Utility - wabmig

Amazing XP Tips 3

2008-01-22T01:49:00.001-08:00

11.)Use system restore when you cannot boot your system

If your system has failed to the point where you cannot access the Windows GUI either through booting normally or through safe mode, you may still have the chance to use the System Restore feature if you have it enabled, by running it form the command prompt. To do this:

Restart your computer and press F8 after the POST screen to bring up the Windows XP boot menu. Choose 'boot in safe mode with command
prompt.'

If your system gets to the command prompt successfully, type '%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe' and then press enter. Follow the
onscreen instructions to restore your computer to a previous saved point.

--------------------------------------------------------

12.)Change your windows font...

-first right clcik on your desktop ,go to properties
-den go to the appearnce tab and select advanced
-den scroll down to the part icon
-you can change your windows font there...

--------------------------------------------------------

13.)GETTING BACK MISSING FOLDER OPTIONS

Open Run and then type "gpedit.msc".
Now goto User Configuration > Administrative templates > Windows Component > Windows Explorer.
Click on Windows Explorer you will find the 3rd option on the right side of screen "Removes the Folder Option menu item from the Tools menu"
Just check it, if it is not configured then change it to enable by double clicking on it and after applying again set it to not configured.

I hopes that you will find the option after restarting windows.

----------------------------------------------------------

14.)Make ur Windows Genuine using notepad!!!!

1. Copy and Paste the following code in the Notepad.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WPAEvents]
"OOBETimer"=hex:ff,d5,71,d6,8b,6a,8d,6f,d5,33,93,fd
"LastWPAEventLogged"=hex5,07,05,00,06,00,07,00,0f,00,38,00,24,00,fd,02

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion]
"CurrentBuild"="1.511.1 () (Obsolete data - do not use)"
"InstallDate"=dword:427cdd95
"ProductId"="69831-640-1780577-45389"
"DigitalProductId"=hex:a4,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,36,39,38,33,31,2d,36,34,30,2d,\
31,37,38,30,35,37,37,2d,34,35,33,38,39,00,5a,00,00,00,41,32,32,2d,30,30,30,\
30,31,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0d,04,89,b2,15,1b,c4,ee,62,4f,e6,64,6f,01,00,\
00,00,00,00,27,ed,85,43,a2,20,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,31,34,35,30,34,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,ce,0e,\
00,00,12,42,15,a0,00,08,00,00,87,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,94,a2,b3,ac
"LicenseInfo"=hex:9e,bf,09,d0,3a,76,a5,27,bb,f2,da,88,58,ce,58,e9,05,6b,0b,82,\
c3,74,ab,42,0d,fb,ee,c3,ea,57,d0,9d,67,a5,3d,6e,42,0d,60,c0,1a,70,24,46,16,\
0a,0a,ce,0d,b8,27,4a,46,53,f3,17

2. Save the file with the .reg extension.

3. If you run the file means it will ask you the confirmation to add the value to your Registry.

4. Press Yes.

5. Reboot your System.

6. Start Downloading from Microsoft Site.

----------------------------------------------------------

15.)Disabling Balloon Tips:

1. Start Regedit

2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\

3. Create a DWORD value of EnableBalloonTips

4. Give it a value of 0

enjoy................

Amazing XP Tips 2

2008-01-22T01:37:00.001-08:00

6.)Hidden Star Wars Movie in Windows XP

Microsoft has hidden a version of Star Wars done entirely with ASCII characters in the Windows XP operating system.But you must be connected to internet to view it.When online,go to start->run.Now type ' telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl ' without the single quotes.See it for yourself.

------------------------------------------------------------

7.)How will u die ( Very Funny )

1] http://evil.berzerker.net/death_predictions.php

2] http://www.deathclock.com/

----------------------------------------------------------

8.)TO CHANGE THE NAME OF RECYCLEBIN....

open notepad and paste this following matter there and now save this as recyclebin.reg and now click on the created file and then click yes........now rename the recyclebin as u wish....

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder]
"Attributes"=hex:50,01,00,20

"CallForAttributes"=dword:00000000

--------------------------------------------------------

9.)Removing Multiple Boot Screens:

If you are getting unwanted multiple boot screen
Then Follow these Steps.
1> Right Click on My Computer
2>Select Properties
3>Select Advanced Tab
4>Select Settings In the Startup & Recovery Section(3rd grp)
5>Select the operating system which u want.
6>And Click OK.
7>Further again press the setting and click on Edit.
8>It will open boot.ini File.
9>Now u can delete those o/s which you don't want to be displayed.

Note: For deleting operating systems from boot.ini file, keep it mind that you can't
delete that o/s which is selected by default there. Before
making any changes make a copy of boot.ini file.

------------------------------------------------------------

10.)To Increase the Internet Speed:
Open Notepad and paste the below code in it.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters]
"SackOpts"=dword:00000001
"TcpWindowSize"=dword:0005ae4c
"Tcp1323Opts"=dword:00000003
"DefaultTTL"=dword:00000040
"EnablePMTUBHDetect"=dword:00000000
"EnablePMTUDiscovery"=dword:00000001
"GlobalMaxTcpWindowSize"=dword:0005ae4c

Now save this file as speed.reg. Execute it and observe the change!

-----------------------------------------------------------

Amazing XP Tips 1

2008-01-22T01:35:00.001-08:00

Amazing XP Tips

1.) TO INCREASE INTERNET BANDWIDTH...

just Click Start then Run and type "gpedit.msc" without quotes.This opens the group policy editor. Then go to:
Local Computer Policy
then Computer Configuration
then Administrative Templates then Network then QOS Packet Scheduler and then to Limit Reservable Bandwidth.

Double click on Limit Reservable bandwidth. It will say it is not configured, but the truth is under the 'Explain' tab i.e."By default, the Packet Scheduler limits the system to 20 percent of the bandwidth of a connection, but you can use this setting to override the default."
So the trick is to ENABLE reservable bandwidth, then set it to ZERO. This will allow the system to reserve nothing, rather than the default 20%......

----------------------------------------------------------

2.)TURN ON UR PC IN JUST 10 SECONDS........

so u wanna know how to turn the pc on in 10 seconds (may vary)here's what u have to do to turn ur pc on in 10 seconds

Click on the start button then press R it will take u to Run well go to run
n type Regedit
press enter
this will open Registery Editor
now look for the key

HKEY_LOACAL_MECHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contr ol\ContentIndex

now there find the Key Called
"Startup Delay"
Double Click On It
Now where its Base
Click Decimal
Now its Default Value Is 4800000 (75300:hexadecimal)
Change The Value To 40000
here u go u have done it
now close the Registery Editor and Restart Your Computer
You'll See The Result

------------------------------------------------------

3.)Go ahead, do this little trick to impress and amaze your friends
For Microsoft Windows XP.
Go to:
Start.
Control Panel.
Regional and Language Options.
Click the Customize button.
Select Time tag.
Highlight AM and type the name you want to display . Repeat with PM.
cliKl apply and than ok

----------------------------------------------------

4.)Bill Gates still doesn't know why it happens:

Try out yourself...
Open Microsoft Word and type
=rand(200,99)
and then HIT ENTER....see what happens.
it won't hurt ur system!!

--------------------------------------------------------

5.)You can lock any folder without using any software. Follow these steps.

1.Suppose you have a folder named abcd in D:\abcd.

2.In the same drive next to the folder create a new notepad file with the exact statement
ren abcd abcd.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}

3.Now save this text file as loc.bat

4.Create another notepad file and type
ren abcd.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} abcd

5.Save this as key.bat

6.Now there are two batch files . Double click loc.bat and your folder will change into Control Panel and its contents cannot be viewed .

7.To open the folder double click key.bat and you get back your original folder .

8?For more safety keep the key.bat in another location .Only for unlocking copy paste to the original location and double click .

Google processes over 20 petabytes of data per day

2008-01-17T22:33:00.001-08:00

Google currently processes over 20 petabytes of data per day through an average of 100,000 MapReduce jobs spread across its massive computing clusters. The average MapReduce job ran across approximately 400 machines in September 2007, crunching approximately 11,000 machine years in a single month. These are just some of the facts about the search giant's computational processing infrastructure revealed in an ACM paper by Google Fellows Jeffrey Dean and Sanjay Ghemawat.
Twenty petabytes (20,000 terabytes) per day is a tremendous amount of data processing and a key contributor to Google's continued market dominance. Competing search storage and processing systems at Microsoft (Dyrad) and Yahoo! (Hadoop) are still playing catch-up to Google's suite of GFS, MapReduce, and BigTable.

MapReduce statistics for different months

	Aug. 2004	Mar. 2006	Sep. 2007
Number of jobs (1000s)	29	171	2,217
Avg. completion time (secs)	634	874	395
Machine years used	217	2,002	11,081
`map` input data (TB)	3,288	52,254	403,152
`map` output data (TB)	758	6,743	34,774
`reduce` output data (TB)	193	2,970	14,018
Avg. machines per job	157	268	394
Unique implementations
`map`	395	1,958	4,083
`reduce`	269	1,208	2,418

Google processes its data on a standard machine cluster node consisting two 2 GHz Intel Xeon processors with Hyper-Threading enabled, 4 GB of memory, two 160 GB IDE hard drives and a gigabit Ethernet link. This type of machine costs approximately $2400 each through providers such as Penguin Computing or Dell or approximately $900 a month through a managed hosting provider such as Verio (for startup comparisons).
The average MapReduce job runs across a $1 million hardware cluster, not including bandwidth fees, datacenter costs, or staffing.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 RC

2008-01-17T02:33:00.000-08:00

The Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Release Candidate (RC) is now available to the public. In addition to previously released updates, SP1 contains changes focused on addressing specific reliability and performance issues, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several new technologies. SP1 also addresses some management, deployment, and support challenges.

Get Windows Vista Service Pack 1 RC

Reset WinXP Admin Pass

2008-01-11T06:04:00.000-08:00

Reset WinXP Admin Pass with ONLY DOS
note : quotes (") are just for highlighting the word

1. click on start, enter "cmd" and press enter

2. enter "net user" or "net users"

you will see the list of users that are created on current running os

3. type "net user" "user name" "*"

you will see that windows will now ask you to enter new password for that
particular account!

magic! no any type of super user privileges needed!

see the commands below:

If the administrator account user name is "admn" then command to change
it's password will be...


net user admn *


OR see this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTPxdG2j5FA

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