Disable and Remove Ads from Yahoo Messenger

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

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Yahoo Messenger 9, follow these steps:

1. Run Registry Editor (regedit.exe).
2. Navigate to the following registry key:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Yahoo\pager\Locale

3. In the right pane, locate a value named Enable Messenger Ad with default value as 1. Set the value to 0.
4. Restart Yahoo! Messenger 9.0.

The ads will be disappeared from Yahoo Messenger after restarting.

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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..

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@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 

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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.

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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.

How to remove "Refresh" from desktop right click menu

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.

Disabling Run or Find from the Start Menu

Step to follow to do this..

1. Start Regedit

2. Go to HKey_Current_User \ Software\ Microsoft \Windows \ Current Version \ Policies \ Explorer

3. Right click on the right panel and add a New / DWORD

4. Name it NoFile or NoRun

5. Give it a value of 1

6. Logoff or Reboot the computer

How to prevent users from writing to USB drives?

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

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”.

Add Your Favorite Program Shortcut in Desktop Context Menu!

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

Registry Hacking III

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.

Registry Hacking

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

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!