BC Windows Xp Tips And Tricks

The Best Antivirus in the World Of Computers

2009-01-02T02:35:00.000-08:00

KASPERSKY

Kaspersky Lab is a computer security company, co-founded by Natalia Kasperskaya and Eugene Kaspersky in 1997, offering antivirus, anti-spyware, anti-spam, and anti-intrusion products. Kaspersky Lab is a privately held company headquartered in Moscow, Russia with regional offices in Germany, France, the Netherlands, the UK, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Japan, China, Korea and the USA.

In 2005, Red Herring magazine listed Kaspersky among "Red Herring 100 Europe", a selection of the 100 private companies in Europe and Israel that play a leading role in innovation and technology.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus engine also powers products or solutions by other security vendors, such as Check Point, Bluecoat, Juniper Networks, Sybari (now acquired by Microsoft), Netintelligence, GFI Software, F-Secure, Borderware, FrontBridge, G-Data, Netasq, and others. Altogether, more than 120 companies are licensing technology from Kaspersky, which makes it one of the most widely used antivirus engines in the industry.

http://usa.kaspersky.com/products_services/anti-virus.php

Problem Fixed : Cannot change the desktop wallpaper

2008-10-07T08:40:00.000-07:00

Q: My desktop has a black background. Whenever i go to Desktop Properties, it won’t let me change any of my backgrounds. I’m able to select the images, but the background never changed. I rather just have it back to the Vista background.

To restore the ability to change the desktop Wallpaper in your system, download the file wallpaper_enable.reg for Windows 2000/XP/Vista systems, and save the file to your Desktop. Right-click wallpaper_enable.reg and choose Merge to apply the settings.

The REG file removes the Wallpaper Policy setting from the following registry locations

HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ System

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ System

Windows Vista specific setting

Click Start, Control Panel, Ease of Access, Ease of Access Center.

Under Make things on the screen easier to see, deselect the option:

Remove background images (where available).

Select Save.

You should be able to change the desktop background now.

Create and Save PDF Files From Office 2007 Programs Using Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS Add-in

2008-10-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

Ever wanted to create PDF files but don’t have a PDF writer application installed in your system? Microsoft has released a free Office 2007 Add-In named "Save as PDF or XPS Add-In" that allows you save files in PDF or XPS format from Office 2007 applications.

Download Office 2007 Add-in: Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS

This download works with the following Office programs:

* Access 2007
* Excel 2007
* InfoPath 2007
* OneNote 2007
* PowerPoint 2007
* Publisher 2007
* Visio 2007
* Word 2007

After installing the Add-In, the PDF or XPS option gets added to the Save As menu in Office 2007 applications.

(Courtesy The Office Insider Newsletter)
Earlier Versions of Microsoft Office

This Add-In is supported only in Office 2007. If you have an earlier version of Office (2003 or earlier), you need a third-party converter to create PDFs from Windows applications.

CutePDF Writer installs itself as a "printer subsystem". This enables virtually any Windows applications (must be able to print) to create professional quality PDF documents.

The Best Antivirus in the World Of Computers

2008-10-07T08:28:00.000-07:00

Slow Shutdown

2008-09-21T08:28:00.000-07:00

Some people have noticed that they are experiencing a really slow shutdown after installing Windows XP Home or Professional. Although this can be caused a number of ways, the most clear cut one so far is happening on systems with an NVidia card installed with the latest set of drivers. A service called NVIDIA Driver Helper Service is loading up on start up and for whatever reason doesn't shut itself down properly. The service isn't needed and can also increase the amount of memory available to your system. Here is how to disable it.

1: Go into your Control Panel
2: Select Administrative Tools and then click on Services
3: Right click on the file "NVIDIA Driver Helper Service" and then select STOP.
4: To stop this loading up every time you boot up your PC Right click it again and select properties - then where the option "Startup Type" is shown - make sure it is set at Manual like we have shown in the image below.

For a Safer and Faster XP Close Unwanted Services

2008-09-21T08:19:00.001-07:00

To disable unneeded startup services for a safer, faster XP, use the "Services" Admin Tool (Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services). If you are a single user of a non-networked machine, you can disable the following items, with no ill effect.

Alerter
Clipbook
Computer Browser
Fast User Switching
Human Interface Access Devices
Indexing Service (Slows the hard drive down)
Messenger
Net Logon (unnecessary unless networked on a Domain)
Netmeeting Remote Desktop Sharing (disabled for extra security)
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager (disabled for extra security)
Remote Procedure Call Locator
Remote Registry (disabled for extra security)
Routing & Remote Access (disabled for extra security)
Server
SSDP Discovery Service (this is for the utterly pointless "Universal P'n'P", & leaves TCP Port 5000 wide open)
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Telnet (disabled for extra security)
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Upload Manager
Windows Time
Wireless Zero Configuration (for wireless networks)
Workstation

Disable CD Autorun

2008-09-21T08:18:00.000-07:00

1) Click Start, Run and enter GPEDIT.MSC

2) Go to Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates, System.

3) Locate the entry for Turn autoplay off and modify it as you desire.

How to Rename the Recycle Bin

2008-09-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

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

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

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

Make your Folders Private

2008-09-21T08:16:00.001-07:00

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

Note

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

How to make your Desktop Icons Transparent

2008-09-21T08:15:00.001-07:00

Go to ontrol Panel > System, > Advanced > Performance area > Settings button Visual Effects tab "Use drop shadows for icon labels on the Desktop"

Get New Sound Blaster Drivers For Windows XP

2008-09-21T08:10:00.000-07:00

With the loads of problems reported by users with Soundblaster cards on Windows XP Creative has stepped up and offered drivers for at least some models of their Sound Blaster cards, but check your particular model closely. I have downloaded the X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty Champion Series drivers and my sound problems have been resolved..! So they do work.

Click Here

Simple Way to Remove Windows XP's Messenger

2008-09-21T08:08:00.000-07:00

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

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

Here's How To place "Run" option On to Your Desktop

2008-07-10T08:22:00.000-07:00

Open the Start Menu and drag the Run option on to your desktop.

You may want to rename it to get rid of the ampersand. Now you will be able to double-click the "Run" icon on your desktop to go directly to the Run dialog.

Information About WinXP Background Images.

2008-06-08T23:05:00.000-07:00

For the Display Properties Background tab, Windows XP fetches the image files from the following locations:

BMP Files from %Systemroot% folder.

BMP, JPG, GIF, JPE, DIB, PNG, HTM files from the following locations:

%Systemroot%\Web\Wallpaper
%USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Pictures (& sub-folders)
%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer
%ProgramFiles%\Plus!\Themes (& sub-folders)

If you want to clear a file from the background tab listing, move the file away from the above mentioned locations. To access each of the folders above, type the Path in Start-Run dialog.

Note

%Systemroot% represents the folder where Windows is installed.
%USERPROFILE% represents the user profile home path
%AppData% represents the Application Data folder path
%ProgramFiles% represents the Program Files folde

Here its how to setup free dynamic DNS for your remote access to your PC

2008-05-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

What is Dynamic DNS you might be asking? Basically, dynamic DNS is a service provided by third-party providers in which a clients’ constantly changing IP address is kept track of and DNS servers are updated with the new IP address automatically. If you have a broadband Internet connection, you more than likely have a dynamic IP address.

A dynamic IP address is one that changes every so often, as compared to a static IP address, which never changes. Normally, a changing IP address does not cause any significant problem until you try to connect to your home computer from outside of your home network. With a constantly changing IP address, you will never be able to find your computer on the Internet.

So why would you want to find your computer on the Internet in the first place? Well there are several reasons why it’s good to know your IP address:

1. Connect to your computer via Remote Desktop Connection and access your files

2. Stream audio and video from your home media server to any location in the world

3. Setup your own FTP server or web server on your home PC

There are many more reasons why it could be useful to know your IP address. So why doesn’t everyone have a static IP address? Well, it’s basically a lot cheaper for Internet service providers to keep rotating IP addresses to their clients. If you want a static IP address, you will have to pay an extra monthly charge.
Dynamic DNS

That’s where dynamic DNS comes into play. Using this service, you can theoretically create a static IP address for your home computer. Here’s how it works. When you visit any web site on the Internet, you can either type in the IP address or you can enter in the domain name, like Online-Tech-Tips.com. There are DNS servers all over the world that keep track of which names correspond to which numeric IP addresses.

When you come to Online-Tech-Tips.com, your Windows computer first looks up the IP address from a DNS server and then requests the site. This is great for servers that have static IP addresses that never change, but it’s not well-suited for servers that are on home broadband connections. This means that your server is constantly “moving” on the Internet and it messes up the one-to-one relationship between domain names and IP addresses.

The solution to setup dynamic DNS, whereby your server keeps track of what its current IP address is, and notifies the DNS provider whenever it changes. In this way, you can give your home computer or server a virtual static IP address. When connecting to your computer, you would either type in the domain name or you would ping the domain name to find the current IP address.

Here’s a quick overview of how dynamic DNS service works in a real example. The dynamic DNS client can be considered your home PC or server and the SOHO Firewall/NAT appliance is your cable modem or router.

How to setup Dynamic DNS

The cool thing is that there are free dynamic DNS services that you can use to set all of this up. My favorite by far is DynDNS, a free service which allows you to create a hostname that points to your dynamic IP or static IP address or URL.

Step 1: Create an account with DynDNS and then login with your username and password once you receive the authentication email.

Step 2: On the Account Services page, click on Add Host Services and then Add Dynamic DNS Host.

Step 3: You’ll get to pick from about 88 domain names, including blogdns.com, gotdns.com, is-a-geek.com, and more. Pick a domain name and then come up with a sub-domain, so you have a unique domain name like aseem.blogdns.com or akishore.is-a-geek.com. You will use this hostname to access your server or home computer. Leave the IP address field blank.

Step 4: Download the DynDNS client tool onto your computer or server. This piece of software is what will automatically check to see if your computer has a new IP address and if so, will notify the DNS servers of the new IP address. Always keep it running in the background and you’ll always be able to access your computer.

How this helps you to setup remote desktop even if you have a dynamic IP address or setup an FTP server or Web server. Enjoy!

Win XP Won’t Completely Shutdown

2008-05-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

Win XP Won’t Completely Shutdown

- Goto Control Panel, then goto Power Options.
- Click on the APM Tab, then check the "Enable Advanced Power Management support."
- Shut down your PC. It should now successfully complete the Shut Down process.

Speed Up Your Browser ..It Works

2008-05-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

When you connect to a web site your computer sends information back and forth. Some of this information deals with resolving the site name to an IP address, the stuff that TCP/IP really deals with, not words. This is DNS information and is used so that you will not need to ask for the site location each and every time you visit the site. Although Windows XP and Windows XP have a pretty efficient DNS cache, you can increase its overall performance by increasing its size. You can do this with the registry entries below:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dnscache\Parameters]
"CacheHashTableBucketSize"=dword:00000001
"CacheHashTableSize"=dword:00000180
"MaxCacheEntryTtlLimit"=dword:0000fa00
"MaxSOACacheEntryTtlLimit"=dword:0000012d

Make a new text file and rename it to dnscache.reg. Then copy and paste the above into it and save it. Merge it into the registry.

The Best Way To Make your Folders Private

2008-05-19T12:31:00.000-07:00

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

Note

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

How to Show and Hide File Extensions in Windows

2008-05-06T10:26:00.000-07:00

By default the file extensions (like .txt or .doc) are not shown in Windows. And its sometimes necessary to change the extension to change the file format. For example, in my previous post, “Here's how you can Lock and hide folders in Windows without any Software". I asked to copy the codes to Notepad (i.e. .txt) and change it to .bat format.

If you are using Vista, Go to Control Panel -> Appearance and Personalization -> Click Folder Options.

If you are using Windows XP, Go to Control Panel and Under Classic View, Click Folder Options.

Click ‘View‘ tab, and Uncheck ‘Hide extensions of known file types‘.

Click ‘Apply‘ and ‘Ok‘

Another option to change file extensions when the extensions are hidden:

If you want to save a file in a format which is different from its current format, open the file in the editor and Click File -> Save As.
You will be given a pop-up box to enter the file name. Click the drop down in ‘Save as type‘ and select ‘All Files‘. Now enter the file name along with its new extension and save it.

Here's how you can Lock and hide folders in Windows Without any Software

2008-05-06T09:54:00.000-07:00

So, Here's how you can Lock and hide folders in Windows by following these steps:

1) Open Notepad and copy the code below.

cls
@ECHO OFF
title Folder Locker
if EXIST "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}" goto UNLOCK
if NOT EXIST Locker goto MDLOCKER
:CONFIRM
echo Are you sure u want to Lock the folder(Y/N)
set/p "cho=>"
if %cho%==Y goto LOCK
if %cho%==y goto LOCK
if %cho%==n goto END
if %cho%==N goto END
echo Invalid choice.
goto CONFIRM
:LOCK
ren Locker "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"
attrib +h +s "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"
echo Folder locked
goto End
:UNLOCK
echo Enter password to Unlock folder
set/p "pass=>"
if NOT %pass%==type your password here goto FAIL
attrib -h -s "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"
ren "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}" Locker
echo Folder Unlocked successfully
goto End
:FAIL
echo Invalid password
goto end
:MDLOCKER
md Locker
echo Locker created successfully
goto End
:End

2) now chnage the password ( in red fonts) where its written in the code as - type your password here.

3) Save it as XYZ.bat

4) Close the file if it is still opened and double click XYZ.bat

5) It will create a new folder called ‘Locker’ automatically.

6) Place the contents inside and double click XYZ.bat, it will ask whether you want to lock. Say ‘Y’ and now your folder will disappear. :)

7) To view again, double click XYZ.bat again and enter your password.

Please note :- This trick can be done by anyone by creating XYZ.bat file , It doesnt provide security, As i have mentioned above that try keeping this file in a system root directory so that nobody gets a chance to find it.

Update :- How to Show and Hide File Extensions in Windows

Different Folder Types on Windows XP

2008-05-04T12:24:00.000-07:00

There are many different types of folders, each one best for its type of contents.

There are separate image folders that serve as an album, music that have an alphabetical playlist and document folders which display a table of the documents within. The tools and options on the left sidebar are also different for each type of folder.Folder Types - Cool Windows XP tips & tricks

Your XP looks at what types of files there are in a folder and turns the folder into what it thinks is best for the content, but sometimes it can make mistakes. To specify which type you want the folder to be, right-click it, select properties and choose the customize tab. Select the type you want from the list of templates.

If you want to simplify visual navigation, press the change icon button in the same window and choose a suitable icon for the type of folder it is.

Source :- Xptricks

Here is how u can bypass a website block

2008-05-04T12:03:00.000-07:00

Have you’re favorite sites been blocked at your school or work network? I will show you a few easy methods how you can still access them.

1) Go to proxy list (or http://ninjaproxy.com) and get yourself one proxy (preferably in a country close to you) and copy the IP. (Note! This works for Mozilla Firefox 2.0 and above!)
Go to Tools -> Options -> Advanced -> Network -> Settings and set it to “manual proxy configuration”. Copy the IP in the first slot and after that copy the port number. (Note! Not all of them work perfectly so you might have to a few of them until you get a good one!)
2) The second method works like that that you just enter the url of the website you want to visit to this site, http://www.ninjaproxy.com . A bit easier but you have to surf trough the proxy site (for blocked sites).

Source :- http://www.xptricks.net