Computer Tips & Tricks

A few "Hacking Secrets Ocean"

Almost all system administrators make certain changes and make the system restricted. System Administrators can hide the RUN option, the FIND command, the entire Control Panel, drives in My Computer like D: A: etc. They can even restrict activities of a hacker my disabling or hiding, even the tiniest options or tools.

Most commonly these restrictions are imposed locally and are controlled by the Windows Registry. But sometimes the smart system administrators control the activities of the hacker by imposing restrictions remotely through the main server.

Poledit or Policy Editor is a small kewl tool which is being commonly used by system administrators to alter the settings of a system. This utility is not installed by default by Windows. You need to install in manually from the Windows 98 Installation Kit from the Resource Kit folder. user.dat file that we saw earlier.

The Policy Editor tool imposes restrictions on the user's system by editing the user.dat file which in turn means that it edits the Windows Registry to change the settings. It can be used to control or restrict access to each and every folder and option you could ever think of. It has the power to even restrict access to individual folders, files, the Control Panel, MS DOS, the drives available etc. Sometimes this software does make life really hard for a Hacker. So how can we remove the restrictions imposed by the Policy Editor? Well read ahead to learn more.

You see the Policy Editor is not the only way to restrict a user's activities. As we already know that the Policy Editor edits the Windows Registry(user.dat) file to impose such restrictions. So this in turn would mean that we can directly make changes to the Windows Registry using a .reg file or directly to remove or add restrictions.

Launch Regedit and go to the following Registry Key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/CurrentVersion/Policies

Under this key, there will definitely be a key named explorer. Now under this explorer key we can create new DWORD values and modify it's value to 1 in order to impose the restriction. If you want to remove the Restriction, then you can simply delete the respective DWORD values or instead change their values to 0. The following is a list of DWORD values that can be created under the Explorer Key-:

NoDeletePrinter: Disables Deletion of already installed Printers

NoAddPrinter: Disables Addition of new Printers

NoRun : Disables or hides the Run Command

NoSetFolders: Removes Folders from the Settings option on Start Menu (Control Panel, Printers, Taskbar)

NoSetTaskbar: Removes Taskbar system folder from the Settings option on Start Menu

NoFind: Removes the Find Tool (Start >Find)

NoDrives: Hides and does not display any Drives in My Computer

NoNetHood: Hides or removes the Network Neighborhood icon from the desktop

NoDesktop: Hides all items including, file, folders and system folders from the Desktop

NoClose: Disables Shutdown and prevents the user from normally shutting down Windows.

NoSaveSettings: Means to say, 'Don't save settings on exit'

DisableRegistryTools: Disable Registry Editing Tools (If you disable this option, the Windows Registry Editor(regedit.exe) too

will not work.)

NoRecentDocsHistory: Removes Recent Document system folder from the Start Menu (IE 4 and above)

ClearRecentDocsOnExit: Clears the Recent Documents system folder on Exit.

Nolnternetlcon: Removes the Internet (system folder) icon from the Desktop

Under the same key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/CurrentVersion/Policies you can create new subkeys other than the already existing Explorer key. Now create a new key and name it System. Under this new key, system we can create the following new DWORD values(1 for enabling the particular option and 0 for disabling the particular option):

NODispCPL: Hides Control Panel

NoDispBackgroundPage: Hides Background page.

NoDispScrsavPage: Hides Screen Saver Page

NoDispAppearancePage: Hides Appearance Page

NoDispSettingsPage: Hides Settings Page

NoSecCPL: Disables Password Control Panel

NoPwdPage: Hides Password Change Page

NoAdminPaqe: Hides Remote Administration Page

NoProfilePage: Hides User Profiles Page

NoDevMgrPage: Hides Device Manager Page

NoConfigPage: Hides Hardware Profiles Page

NoFileSysPage: Hides File System Button

NoVirtMemPage: Hides Virtual Memory Button

Similarly, if we create a new subkey named Network, we can add the following DWORD values under it(1 for enabling the particular option and 0 for disabling the particular option):

NoNetSetupSecurityPage: Hides Network Security Page

NoNelSetup: Hides or disables the Network option in the Control Panel

NoNetSetupIDPage: Hides the Identification Page

NoNetSetupSecurityPage: Hides the Access Control Page

NoFileSharingControl: Disables File Sharing Controls

NoPrintSharing: Disables Print Sharing Controls

Similarly, if we create a new subkey named WinOldApp, we can add the following DWORD values under it(1 for enabling the particular option and 0 for disabling the particular option):

Disabled: Disable MS-DOS Prompt

NoRealMode: Disable Single-Mode MS-DOS.

So you see if you have access to the Windows Registry, then you can easily create new DWORD values and set heir value to 1 for enabling the particular option and 0 for disabling the particular option. But Sometimes, access to the Windows Registry is blocked. So what do you do? Go to the Windows Directory and delete either user.dat or system.dat (These 2 files constitute the Windows Registry.) and reboot. As soon as Windows logs in, it will display a Warning Message informing you about an error in the Windows Registry. Simply ignore this Warning Message and Press CTRL+DEL+ALT to get out of this warning message.(Do not press OK) You will find that all restrictions have been removed.

The most kind of restriction found quite commonly is the Specific Folder Restriction, in which users are not allowed access to specific folders, the most common being the Windows folder, or sometimes even access to My Computer is blocked. In effect, you simply cannot seem to access the important kewl files which are needed by you to do remove restrictions. What do you? Well use the RUN command. (START >RUN). But unfortunately a system administrator who is intelligent enough to block access to specific folder, would definitely have blocked access to the RUN command. Again we are stuck.

Windows is supposed to be the most User Friendly Operating System on earth. (At least Microsoft Says so.)

It gives the User an option to do the same thing in various ways. You see the RUN command is only the most convenient option of launching applications, but not the only way. In Windows you can create shortcuts to almost anything from a file, folder to a Web URL. So say your system administrator has blocked access to the c:windowssystem folder and you need to access it. What do you do? Simply create a Shortcut to it. To do this right click anywhere on the desktop and select New > Shortcut. A new window titled Create Shortcut pops up. Type in the path of the restricted folder you wish to access, in this case c:windowssystem. Click Next, Enter the friendly name of the Shortcut and then click Finish. Now you can access the restricted folder by simply double clicking on the shortcut icon. Well that shows how protected and secure *ahem Windows *ahem is.

****************

HACKING TRUTH: Sometimes when you try to delete a file or a folder, Windows displays an error message saying that the file is protected. This simply means that the file is write protected, or in other words the R option is +. Get it? Anyway, you can stop Windows from displaying this error message and straightaway delete this file by changing its attributes to Non Read Only. This can be done by Right Clicking on the file, selecting Properties and then

unselecting the Read Only Option.

***************

There is yet another way of accessing restricted folders. Use see, DOS has a lovely command known as START. Its general syntax is:

START application_path

It does do what it seems to do, start applications. So in you have access to DOS then you can type in the START command to get access to the restricted folder. Now mostly access to DOS too would be blocked. So again you can use the shortcut trick to launch, c:command.com or c:windowscommand.com. (Command.com is the file which launches MS DOS).

Accessing Restricted Drives.

The problem with most system administrators is that they think that the users or Hackers too are stupid. Almost all system administrators use the Registry Trick (Explained Earlier) to hide all drives in My Computer. So in order to unhide or display all drives, simply delete that particular key.(Refer to beginning of Untold Secrets Section.)

Some systems have the floppy disk disabled through the BIOS. On those systems if the BIOS is protected, you may need to crack the BIOS password. (For that Refer to the Windows Hacking Chapter). Sometimes making drives readable (Removing R +) and then creating Shortcuts to them also helps us to get access to them.

Further Changing your Operating System's Looks by editing .htt files

If you have installed Windows Desktop Update and have the view as Web Page option enabled, you can customise the way the folder looks by selecting View > Customise this folder. Here you can change the background and other things about that particular folder. Well that is pretty lame, right? We hackers already know things as lame as that. Read on for some kewl stuff.

Well, you could also change the default that is stored in a Hidden HTML Template file (I think so..) which is nothing but a HTML document with a .htt extension. This .htt file is found at: %systemroot%webfolder.htt.

The %systemroot% stands for the drive in which Windows is Installed, which is normally C:

You can edit these .htt files almost just like you edit normal .HTM or .HTML files. Simply open them in an ASCII editor like Notepad. The following is a list of .htt files on your system which control various folders and which can be edited to customise the way various folders look.

controlp.htt Control Panel

printers.htt Printers

mycomp.htt My Computer

safemode.htt Safe Mode

All these files are found in the web folder in %systemfolder%. The folder.htt file has a line:

'Here's a good place to add a few lines of your own"

Posted by TEJASWI at 3:52 PM 1 comments



Customizing The Shortcut Arrow

All shortcuts have a tiny black arrow attached to it's icon to distinguish from normal files. This arrow can sometimes be pretty annoying and as a Hacker should know how to change each and everything, here goes another trick. Launch the Registry Editor and go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionexplorerShell Icons.

Now, on the right pane is a list of icons ( we found out that on some systems, Windows 98 especially, the right pane is blank. Don't worry, just add the value as required ). Find the value 29. If it isn't there, just add it. The value of this string should be C:Windowssystemshell32.dll, 29 ( which means the 30th icon in shell32.dll - the first one begins with 0 ). Now, we need blank icon to do this. Just create one with white as the whole icon. Go here to learn how to create an icon. Once done just change the value to C:xxx.ico, 0 where "xxx" is the full path of the icon file and "0" is the icon in it.

Now for some fun. If the blank icon is a bit boring, change it again. You will find that under shell32.dll there is a gear icon, a shared folder ( the hand ) and much more. Experiment for yourself!

Posted by TEJASWI at 3:51 PM 0 comments



Securing NT

By default, NT 4.0 displays the last person who logged onto the system. This can be considered to be a security threat, especially in the case of those who choose their password to be same as their Username. To disable this bug which actually is a feature, go to the following key in the registry editor:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsNTCurrentVersionWinlogon

Click and select the ReportBookOK item and create a new string value called DontDisplayLastUserName. Modify it and set it's value to 1.

As a system administrator, you can ensure that the passwords chosen by the users are not too lame or too easy to guess. NT has this lovely utility called the User Manager which allows the administrator to set the age limit of the password which forces the users to change the password after a certain number of days. You can also set the minimum length of passwords and prevent users to use passwords which already have been used earlier and also enable account lockouts which will deactivate an account after a specified number of failed login attempts.
______________________________________________________________

When you log on to Win NT, you should disable Password Caching, this ensures Single NT Domain login and also prevents secondary Windows Logon screen.

Simply copy the following lines to a plain text ASCII editor like: Notepad and save it with an extension, .reg

----------------DISABLE.reg-----------------

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesNetwork]

"DisablePwdCaching"=dword:00000001

----------------DISABLE.reg-----------------

To Enable Password Caching use the following .reg file:

--------------Enable.reg-----------------

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesNetwork]

"DisablePwdCaching"=dword:00000000

--------------Enable.reg-----------------

HOW TO Use multiple identities on Google Talk

Want to run Google Talk with multiple Gmail identities? If you have several Google Gmail accounts you also may want to run multiple instances of Google Talk This is especially important for families that share a single PC. Nothing worse than a family member signing you out so they can sign in under their own account!
Basically, to have "Google Polygamy" you need to run Google Talk with the following switch: /nomutex
Step 1: Right-click on the desktop
Step 2: Select New
Step 3: Select Shortcut
Step 4: Paste this into the text box:
"c:\program files\google\google talk\googletalk.exe" /nomutex
Step 5: Click Next and choose a shortcut name such as Google Talk1, Google Talk2, or something related to your Gmail account for easy remembering which account is which.
Step 6: Click OK a few times.

HOW TO Use Google Talk via a Web Browser

You want to use Google Talk anywhere ? Follow these guidelines :)
Step 1: Opens your favorite web browser at the following address :
http://www.webjabber.net:8080/jim/
Step 2: Follow the instructions of the Page.
Step 3: You can talk with your friends
Google's Secret Command-Line Parameters
There are a few secret parameters you can add to Google Talk and make it function differently.
The most important, I think, is /nomutex, which allows you to run more than one instance of GT. Here are the others:
/nomutex: allows you to open more than one instance of Google Talk
/autostart: when Google Talk is run with this parameter, it will check the registry settings to see if it needs to be started or not. If the "Start automatically with Windows" option is unchecked, it won't start.
/forcestart: same as /autostart, but forces it to start no matter what option was set.
/S upgrade: Used when upgrading Google Talk
/register: registers Google Talk in the registry, includig the GMail Compose method.
/checkupdate: check for newer versions
/plaintextauth: uses plain authentication mechanism instead then Google's GAIA mechanism. Used for testing the plain method on Google's servers.
/nogaiaauth: disables GAIA authentication method. The same as above.
/factoryreset: set settings back to default.
/gaiaserver servername.com: uses a different GAIA server to connect to Google Talk. Used for debug purposes only, there are no other known GAIA servers.
/mailto email@host.com: send an email with Gmail
/diag: start Google Talk in diagnostic mode
/log: probably has something to do with the diagnostic logging
/unregister: ?
/embedding: ?
To add these, open up your GT shortcut, and where it says "Target:" add one or more of these inside the quotations, but after the .exe part.


How To do Conference Calls

What you need to do to have conference calls:

Open up a copy of Google Talk on all computers with which you wish to conference.

After one copy is opened make a new shortcut for Google Talk but at the end of it add /nomutex.

If you installed it to the default folder then your shortcut should read "C:\Program Files\Google\Google Talk\googletalk.exe" /nomutex.

Open 2nd instances of the software on every user's computer.

After this start a chain: User 1 should connect on one instance to user 2. User 2 will connect on his second instance to user 3. User 3 will connect using his second instance back to user 1. With this chain everyone is connected to everyone.


Nickname & Status Message

You can't change your nickname in a way that other people will see it change. Every nickname in the Google Talk contact list is the part that is before @gmail.com (only the alphabetical characters are used) or the name you chosen for your GMail account.

To change the nickname need to go to your Gmail account and change the name there. Choose Settings, Accounts, and then Edit info. Click on the second radio button, and enter your custom name. As a result all of your emails will have that nick as well, there is no way to seperate the two. You can add a website in your custom message, it will be click-able when someone opens a conversation window with you.

Contacts

You don't need to say Yes or No when someone wants to add you as a friend; you can simply ignore it, the request will go away. (On the other hand, someone with whom you chat often will automatically turn to be your friend, unless you disable this).
The Gmail account 'user@gmail.com' can't be invited as your friend.

Play Music

It's possible to broadcast music, MP3, etc.. through Google Talk.
Unplug your microphone. Double click on the speaker icon in the lower right corner. This will open up "Volume Control". Select "Options" and then "Properties". Then check the button next to "Recording" then click OK. You may also have to change your setting under Mixer Device. Now the Recording Control screen should be up. On my computer I selected "Wave Out Mix". Click on the green phone in Google Talk and call your friend.

Keyboard Shortcuts

* Ctrl + E - It centralizes the selected text, or the current line.
* Ctrl + R - It justifies to the right the selected text, or the current line.
* Ctrl + L - It justifies to the left the selected text, or the current line.
* Ctrl + I - The same thing does that Tab.
* Tab - It is giving the area to each of the windows opened by Google Talk.
* Ctrl + Tab - The same thing does that Shift + Tab .
* Shift + Tab - The same thing does that Tab but in reverse.
* Ctrl + Shift + L -Switch between points, numbers, letters, capital letters, roman numbers and capital roman numbers
* Ctrl + 1 (KeyPad) - It does a simple space between the lines.
* Ctrl + 2 (KeyPad) - It does a double space between the lines.
* Ctrl + 5 (KeyPad) - A space does 1.5 between the lines.
* Ctrl + 1 (NumPad) - It goes at the end of the last line.
* Ctrl + 7 (NumPad) - It goes at the begin of the last line.
* Ctrl + F4 - It closes the current window.
* Alt + F4 - It closes the current window.
* Alt + Esc - It Minimize all the windows.
* Windows + ESC - Open Google Talk (if it's minimized, or in the tray)
* F9 - Open Gmail to send an email to the current contact.
* F11 - It initiates a telephonic call with your friend.
* F12 - It cancels a telephonic call.
* Esc - It closes the current window.


Command Line stuff

There are a few secret parameters you can add to Google Talk and make it function differently.
The most important, I think, is /nomutex, which allows you to run more than one instance of GT. He Talk is run with this parameter, it will check the registry settings to see if it needs to be started or not. If the "Start automatically with Windows" option is unchecked, it won't start.

/forcestart: same as /autostart, but forces it to start no matter what option was set.

/S upgrade: Used when upgrading Google Talk

/register: registers Google Talk in the registry, includig the GMail Compose method.

/checkupdate: check for newer versions

/plaintextauth: uses plain authentication mechanism instead then Google's GAIA mechanism. Used for testing the plain method on Google's servers.

/nogaiaauth: disables GAIA authentication method. The same as above.

/factoryreset: set settings back to default.

/gaiaserver servername.com: uses a different GAIA server to connect to Google Talk. Used for debug purposes only, there are no other known GAIA servers.

/mailto email@host.com: send an email with Gmail

/diag: start Google Talk in diagnostic mode

/log: probably has something to do with the diagnostic logging

/unregister: ?

/embedding: ? To add these, open up your GT shortcut, and where it says "Target:" add one or more of these inside the quotations, but after the .exe part. ere are the others:

/nomutex: allows you to open more than one instance of Google Talk




Emotions

All these emotions appears in color in a conversation :

:-|
:-O
:-x
:-P
:-D
;-)
:-(
:-)
B-)
:'(
:|
:O
:x
:P
:D
:)
:(
:)

You can edit most settings by opening regedit (start -> regedit),
and navigating to the key

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\Google Talk

The "Google/Google Talk" key has several sub-keys that hold different option values:

Accounts: This one has subkeys for each different account that has logged in on the client. These keys have different values that store the username, password and connection options.

Autoupdate: Stores the current version information. When the client checks for updates it compares Google's response with these values. If an update is needed, it will download and update the new version.

Options: This is the most interesting part, where most of the current hacks should be used

Process: Stores the process ID. Probably used by Google Talk to detect if it's already running or not.
*
1.) HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\Google Talk\Options\show_pin
If 1, shows a "pin" next to the minimize button that keeps the windows on top of all the other open windows when clicked.
*
2.)HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\Google Talk\Options\view_show_taskbutton
If 0, hides the taskbar button, and leaves the tray icon only, when the window is shown
*
3.)HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\Google Talk\Options\away_inactive
If 1, status will be set as Away after the specified number of minutes.
*
4.)HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\Google Talk\Options\away_screensaver
If 1, status will be set as Away after the specified number of minutes.
*
5.)HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\Google Talk\Options\inactive_minutes
Number of inactive minutes to become away if auto-away is on.


Tips & Tricks

Change the font size - While holding the control key, move the scroll wheel on your mouse either up or down. This trick works while being focused in either the read or write area.


Insert line breaks - If you want to have a message that spans multiple paragraphs, just hold shift and hit enter. You can add as many new lines as you want to create.

Bold Text - To write something bold, you can use an asterisk before and after the word, like *this* .
Italic Text - To use italics, use an underscore before an after the word,
like _this_ .


Switch windows - Hitting tab will cycle through open windows. It will select minimized conversations, to expand them just hit enter. If you just want to cycle through IM's and don't care about the buddy list, control-tab will do that and will automatically expand a minimized conversation if you settle on one.


Invitation Tips - You don’t need to say Yes or No when someone wants to add you as a friend; you can simply ignore it, the request will go away. (On the other hand, someone with whom you chat often will automatically turn to be your friend, unless you disable this in the options). ]


Show Hyperlinks - You can show your homepage or blog URL simply by entering the it in your away message (at the top of the main window). It will automatically turn to a link visible to others.


A message can be 32767 characters long.

As is normal with Windows, Microsoft has provided a huge number of keyboard shortcuts to make interaction with the product easier for those who enjoy the productivity that almost 100 percent keyboard use can supply. I’ve provided a list of Vista keyboard shortcuts that are available when you're working on the Vista desktop, in Windows Explorer (not Internet Explorer), in the Vista Sidebar, in dialog boxes, and in Vista Help.


Vista Desktop Shortcut Function

Windows key Opens or closes the Start menu
Windows + D Displays your desktop
Windows + E Opens the Computer window
Windows + F Opens the Search window
Ctrl + Windows + F Searches for computers (if you're on a network)
Windows + L Locks your computer or switches users
Windows + M Minimizes all windows
Shift + Windows + M Restores minimized windows
Windows + R Opens the Run dialog box
Windows + T Cycles through programs on the Taskbar
Windows + U Opens the Ease of Access Center
Ctrl + A Selects everything in a window
Ctrl + C Copies selected items
Ctrl + X Cuts selected items
Ctrl + V Pastes cut or copied items
Ctrl + Y Redoes an action
Ctrl + Z Undoes an action
F1 Displays Help
F2 Highlights the label of a selected item for editing
F3 Opens the Search window
Ctrl + F4 Closes the current document
Alt + F4 Closes the current item or program
F5 Refreshes a window
F6 Cycles through elements in a window or on the desktop
F10 Activates a program's menu bar
Shift + Windows + F10 Displays the shortcut menu for a selected item
Delete Deletes selected items to the Recycle Bin
Shift + Delete Deletes selected items permanently
Alt + Enter Displays the properties of a selected item
Ctrl + Esc Opens the Start menu
Alt + Esc Cycles through items in the order you opened them
Ctrl + Shift + Esc Opens the Windows Task Manager
LeftAlt+LeftShift+NumLock Turns the Mouse Keys feature on or off
Hold for 5 seconds+NumLock Turns the Toggle Keys feature on or off
Windows+Pause Displays the System Properties dialog box
LeftAlt+LeftShift+PrintScrn Turns the High Contrast feature on or off
Right Shift for 8 seconds Turns the Filter Keys feature on and off
Press Shift five times Turns the Sticky Keys feature on or off
Alt + Spacebar Opens the shortcut menu for the current window
Alt + Tab Switches between open items
Windows + Tab Cycles through open items with Flip 3-D
Ctrl + Alt + Tab Displays open items (use the arrow keys to switch between them)
Ctrl + Windows + Tab Displays open items with Flip 3-D (use the arrow keys to cycle through them)



In Windows Explorer Shortcut Function

Alt + D Moves to the Address bar
F4 Displays the Address bar drop-down list
Ctrl + N Opens a new window
F11 Maximizes/minimizes the current window
Left arrow Collapses a selection or selects its parent folder
Alt + Left arrow Shows the previous folder
Right arrow Displays the current selection or selects its first subfolder
Alt + Right arrow Shows the next folder
Asterisk (keypad) Displays subfolders within a selected folder
End Displays the bottom of the current window
Home Displays the top of the current window
Minus Sign (keypad) Collapses the selected folder
Plus Sign (keypad) Displays the contents of the selected folder


In the Vista Sidebar Shortcut Function

Windows + G Cycles through gadgets
Windows + Spacebar Brings all gadgets to the front; selects Sidebar
Tab Cycles through Sidebar controls


In a dialog box Shortcut Function
F1 Displays Help
F4 Displays items in a drop-down list

Backspace In Save As or Open dialog, opens a folder one level up from a
selected folder

Enter Works like a mouse click for some selected options

Spacebar Selects or deselects an active check box

Tab Moves forward through dialog box options

Ctrl + Tab Hops from tab to tab

Shift + Tab Moves backward through dialog box options

Ctrl + Shift + Tab Hops backward from tab to tab



In Vista Help Shortcut Function

Alt + A Displays the customer support page
Alt + C Displays the Help And Support Contents
Ctrl + F Opens Find dialog box for the current topic
Alt + N Displays the connection settings menu
Ctrl + P Prints a help topic
F3 Moves to the Search box
F10 Displays Options menu

1>> Minimizing: If you want to use several programs at the same time then minimize those you are not using. This helps reduce the overload on RAM.

2>>Drivers: Update your hardware drivers as frequently as possible. New drivers tend to increase system speed especially in the case of graphics cards, their drivers are updated by the manufacturer very frequently!

3>>Start Up Programs: Windows can be slowed down when programs run on start up. To eliminate this, check your Start up folder. You can access it from the start menu: Start, Programs, Start Up. Another way to eliminate programs from loading even before Windows actually starts is by doing the following: Click on Start, then Run. Type msconfig. It will take quite a long time for this program to load, but when you finally see it on your screen, explore the different tabs. They all have to do with how quickly your PC boots, so select what you want, and uncheck what you don't want!

4>>Refresh the Taskbar without restarting: If you in some way change the taskbar, either in Regedit or elsewhere, you can refresh the task bar without restarting. Hold down Ctrl Alt Del, and double click on Explorer. Say Yes to close Explorer, but no to closing Windows. This will refresh the Taskbar and system tray.

5>> Faster Start-Menu Access: Go to the Start menu and select Run. Now type Regedit and hit Enter. The Registry Editor will appear on the screen. Now, open the folder HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop. You should see a MenuShowDelay value. If you don't then do the following: right click on a blank space in the right pane and select New\String. Change the name in the new value to MenuShowDelay. Now that we have the MenuShowDelay value, double click on it and enter 0 in the value data field. This sets the start menu delay to 0 milliseconds.

6>>Restart only Windows: When restarting your PC, hold down Shift to only restart Windows rather than the whole system which will only take a fraction of the time.

7>>Defragment Often: defragment your drive, data is physically arranged on the drive so that applications will load faster.

8>> Wallpapers: They slow your whole system down, so if you're willing to compromise, have a basic plain one instead!

9>>Fonts: When Windows starts, it loads every single font in the Fonts folder. Therefore, the more fonts you have, the slower the booting process. To get rid of unwanted fonts, simply go to the Fonts folder under c:\windows and remove whatever you don't want. Fonts that have a red letter 'A' as their icon are system fonts, so don't delete them.

10>> Quick CD Eject: Instead of pushing the button on your drive, right-click your CD drive letter in My Computer and click on Eject. This will also remove any icons that have become associated with the CD drive

█ Change Your Ip In Less Then 1 Minute █
█ Change Your Ip In Less Then 1 Minute █


How To?
Here r some steps to do...

1. Click on "Start" in the bottom left hand corner of screen
2. Click on "Run"
3. Type in "command" and hit ok

You should now be at an MSDOS prompt screen.

4. Type "ipconfig /release" just like that, and hit "enter"
5. Type "exit" and leave the prompt
6. Right-click on "Network Places" or "My Network Places" on your desktop.
7. Click on "properties"

You should now be on a screen with something titled "Local Area Connection", or something close to that, and, if you have a network hooked up, all of your other networks.

8. Right click on "Local Area Connection" and click "properties"
9. Double-click on the "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" from the list under the "General" tab
10. Click on "Use the following IP address" under the "General" tab
11. Create an IP address (It doesn't matter what it is. I just type 1 and 2 until i fill the area up).
12. Press "Tab" and it should automatically fill in the "Subnet Mask" section with default numbers.
13. Hit the "Ok" button here
14. Hit the "Ok" button again

You should now be back to the "Local Area Connection" screen.

15. Right-click back on "Local Area Connection" and go to properties again.
16. Go back to the "TCP/IP" settings
17. This time, select "Obtain an IP address automatically"
tongue.gif 18. Hit "Ok"
19. Hit "Ok" again
20. You now have a new IP address

With a little practice, you can easily get this process down to 15 seconds.

P.S:
This only changes your dynamic IP address, not your ISP/IP address.