Online Big Brother: Google
By Hammad Memon
Google is everything now on the internet, it is like a mega giant to cater everything from the social services to the personal and blogging platform to the basic searching needs to the video related need of a geek. Geek are also well pampered by it, by its Google Code. SEO techniques are also ON now to take care by webmasters. What else left ? an operating system ! but what if google is already done it or in a way to get that too professionally. Google is working OS with Ubunto and named it gOS.
What is to ponder is the tactic by google for its users in each and every service. It is google manipulated results in its search facility. One is very bad and one is something like good for some but bad for me. Good one first to understand the second one.
Google is very strong in its policies as it shares the main lead in searching, so it dont want to benefit its rivals or competing portals from it. The one most prominent example is of Bitvertiser, it is something not close to google to adsense but it is competant to google adsense in almost many ways as it offers ads in feeds also like google. Even google feed service feed burner can also be integrated with bitvetiser. But try to search this Bitvertiser from GOogle search, not only the bitvertiser pages are deleted even the main page listing is deleted. So pathetic. Consider how many services then be deleted from their search queries, which is altogether a bad user experience. It is against SEO (Search Enging Optimisation).
Second one is also something related to manipulated results. Google by default is now recording the habits of your search to offer you future results according to your searching habbits, it is fine for many users as they really follow their routine, even google depicts this in their yearly zeitgeist. Try to look Pakistan’s searching trends.
So, How it is not good ? Consider me, I user their search engine as the resource center for studying resource for my university assignments and on the other hand as a resource for blogging the tech news at my tech blog, which is although not new or lates but a few days old. What I am trying to say is that my blogging search comes mainly from blogs and from the deep internet websites, but when I search for my assignments I need results from the professional covering websites as well as the language should also be good enough to reckon the authenticity of the material or text content.
Reduce the Shutdown time of Windows 2000 and XP
You can reduce the shutdown time of windows 2000 and XP using some tricks. Actually windows XP take time to close all running programs and applications before shutdown, but you can minimize this time if you have little knowledge about editing windows registry.
Follow the given steps to reduce the shutdown time:
· First click on Start button then type Regedit in Run option. Here locate the location to:
HKEY_Current_User\Control Panel\Desktop
· Here in right side panel, double click on AutoEndTasks and here its default value is 0. Now change it to 1.
· Now in same side panel double click on value name WaitToKillAppTimeout. Its default value data is 20000; now change this value of WaitToKillAppTimeout to 3500.
· Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.
Speed Up By Closing Idle Services
This trick helps you increase your speed by closing all the idle background services. To enable this feature, you will need to be logged into your computer with administrative rights.
1. Click Start button and click on Run option.
2. In the Run box, type the command “Rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks” and press Ok buttHere system will take some time to end the background idle tasks.
DISABLE THE UNREAD EMAIL NOTIFICATION IN XP WELCOME SCREEN
1. Click on Start button and type “Regedit” in Run option.
2. Here locate to :HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\UnreadMail
3. In right side panel, double click on the key MessageExpiryDays and set its value to 0.
4. If MessageExpiryDays key doesn’t exist, then in right side panel, click right to create a key with the nameMessageExpiryDays and then set its value to 0.
Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.
Surf Blocked Sites
Are you frustrated because you are not able to visit your favorite websites in your school or college or any place where some sites are blocked? There are two methods to access these sites:
First Method:
Search the banned website, for example www.pctipsntricks.wordpress.com in Google or Yahoo! search engine. Then open the cached copy of that page to access the website. You can get also cache link of that website, if you search in Google with keyword cache:[URL] and get cache link to access the website.
Second Method:
Below are the list of various sites from which you can surf the blocked websites !
Restore Previously Open Folders After Shutdown
If you need to access lot of folders on your home computer or on the network regularly, then you can set them re-open automatically, when you will login, shutdown or restart your computer next time. There is no need to open regularly used folders manually, just configure the simple sitting, your computer will automatically reload all the previously opened windows.
By default windows XP disables this option to reload automatically all the previously opened windows, when you login on, shutdown or restart your computer.
Follow the given steps to configure your computer to reload previously opened folders automatically after shutdown.
- To edit this feature, you will need to be logged into your computer with administrative rights.
- First click on Start button then go to Control Panel.
- Open the “Appearance and Themes” option in control panel then click on Folder Options.
- A small windows dialog box will appear with the title “Folder options”, click on View tab.
- Under the Advanced setting section, scroll down to bottom and click the “Restore previous folder windows at logon” option and then click Ok button to save sitting.
- Now when you log off, restart or shutdown, your computer will automatically open the previously opened folders from the same location as before.
Prevent Users From Writing to USB
If you have windows XP with SP2, then you can disable the writing option to USB drives. This trick is very useful if you have virus in your computer and want to copy files from a USB Drive but don’t want to transfer virus to the USB. Follow the given steps to disable the USB writing option:
To edit the computer registry, first you should log onto your computer with administrative rights.
First click on Start button and type “Regedit” in Run option.
Here locate the location to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control
Here in right side panel, click right to create a key with the name “StorageDevicePolicies”.
Now in left side panel, select “StorageDevicePolicies” key, again right click to create new DWORD value then label it “WriteProtect”. Set its value to “1″. But again to enable writing, set its values to “0″.
Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.
Use Notepad As a Diary
Want to write your diary on your computer? You can do it without using any software.
1. Open Notepad
2. Type “.LOG”
3. Save it
4. Now every time you open this file notepad will automatically insert date and time to the last line of the file. You can type anything after that line and save it. In this way you can use it as a diary.
Change the Default Directory of Software Installation
You may want to change the location of your system default folder (C:\Program Files) from C drive to another system drives (D or E drive). By default software setup will attempt to install program in C:\Program Files directory. It is good practice to make the backup of the installed programs, if you installed all your programs in other than C drive. If you have little knowledge about editing windows registry then you can configure your computer for this purpose.
Follow the given steps to configure windows registry:
1. Click on Start button then type Regedit in Run option.
2. Here navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
3. In right side panel, double click on ProgramFileDir.
4. Now modify the value to any other drive (for example D:\Program Files).
Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.
Password Protect Your Excel Files
Password to open the document:
If it is applied then you have to give the correct password to open the workbook. Otherwise you cannot open the workbook.
Password to modify the document:
If it is applied then you have to give the correct password to modify the workbook. Otherwise your workbook is opened but you cannot modify the workbook. It means that your workbook becomes read-only.
To apply a password to MS Excel document, follow the given steps:
1. Open the file
2. Click on Tools menu and select “Options” from the menu.
3. Select the “Security” tab.
4. Enter “Password to Open”
5. Enter “Password to Modify”
6. Click On OK
7. Verify the passwords by re-entering both of them.
8. Save the document and close it
9. Re-open the document and check the passwords.
Disable and Delete thumbs.db file from Folders
Thumbs.db is is a cache file of the current thumb picture in that directory. To remove it, go for following steps:
1. Open Any Folder
2. Go to Tools Menu
3. Click On Folder Options
4. Go to “View” tab
5. In the section “Files And Folders” Click on “DO NOT CACHE THUMBNAILS”
Download Rapidshare Files Without Delay
Downloading from RAPIDSHARE often becomes a headache due to the time delay for FREE downloaders!!!
Well here comes a Solution @ pctipsntricks.wordpress.com
Do as follows :
———————————————————–
>> Click a Download link for Rapidshare !
>> Click the Free button on Rapidshare Page !
>> Now as usual the timer starts !!!
>> Now, go to the address box of your browser.
(Address Box >> Where you type the websites !)
>> In the address box type: javascript:alert(c=0)
>> Click OK on the alert box that arises.
Shutdown, Logoff or Restart a Computer On The Network
Windows XP has a built-in feature (shutdown tools) that is used to shutdown any connected computers from any one computer. Using this feature, you can log off, restart and shutdown any computer in your network. This tip is very useful for you, if you are a Network Administrator at your company, because if you have experience to shutdown all connected computers daily in your local area network one by one, definitely that job is annoying responsibility for you.Follow the given steps to configure shutdown tool on your computer:To use this feature, you will need to be logged into your computer with administrative rights.To perform this task, first make sure your both computers are directly connected or connected to network.Click Start button then type shutdown -i in Run option then press Enter for next.
A small windows dialog box will appear with the title “Remote Shutdown Dialog”.
Here first click on “Add” button to add computer, a small Add computers window will open, here type the name or IP address of the computer (you can add many computer for same action) that you want to turned off, then press OK for next.
Now select the action “What do you want these computers to do (log off, restart or shutdown)”. If you want to warn your users about this action, select the check box “Warn users of the action” then set time, display warning for 30 seconds or more.
Now select the option that describes the reason to shutdown the computers and also type some comments for users.
Now when you press the OK button, the users will see a “System Shutdown Windows “with time and comments that you had been set.
Configure FAX Services In Windows XP
If you are using windows XP, you can use sending and receiving option for fax service built into windows XP. You can enjoy free facilities of fax from your computer, because buying a dedicated fax machine for home or small office may not be a feasible option. Using windows XP based fax services; you can read, save, forward, delete the fax messages. By default fax service is not installed in your windows XP, but if you have windows XP CD, you can install fax feature using Add or Remove Program option.Follow the gives steps to install fax components:
- To install this feature, you will need to be logged into your computer with administrative rights.
- Make sure, you have installed modem driver on your computer before running fax components setup.
- Now click on Start button and go to System Control Panel then double click on Add or Remove Program.
- Select the Fax services check box under Add or Remove Windows components.
- Now click Next to finish the fax installation wizard and close it.
After the fax components installed, now configure the fax setting before using it.
- First click on Start button, go to All Programs> Accessories> Communications then click on Fax Console.
- Now in fax configuration wizard, type the fax cover page information then click on Next.
- Select the suitable modem for fax and also enable others send and receive options.
- Now type the TSID (Transmitting Subscriber Identification) and click Next then type here CSID (Called Subscriber Identification) and again Next.
- At the end select the printer to be automatically printing the fax and click to finish.
Change Windows Default Identity
In windows XP, you can change the windows default identity (Computer Manufacturer Logo and other information’s) and share your own private identity there. First you right click on My Computer then click on Properties, here may be you will see computer manufacture logo or empty area. So add your own logo there to make your computer more private.Follow the given steps to change the system default Properties identity:
First click on Start button and type notepad in Run option then press Enter.Now type the following text in notepad.
[General]
Manufacturer=”Haseeb Haider Memon”
Model=” Computer Tips and Tricks!”
[Support Information]
Line1=”Free Computer Tips And Tricks by HASEEBHM”
Line2=”pctipsntricks.wordpress.com”
There are some standard keywords, for example Manufacturer, Model, Line 1, Line 2; you can not change these keywords. Now save this notepad file in c:/windows/system32 folder with file name, OEMINFO.INI.
Now choose your favorite picture to set as logo, using any picture editor resize the picture size approx. 150X150 pixels then save it in c:/windows/system32 folder with file name OEMLOGO.BMP.
Now close the all files and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect. To verify these changes, right click on My Computer and open Properties. 
Increase Browsing speed in Windows Vista
With windows Vista you have noticed the slow internet speed. The web browsing and downloading speed is very slow as compare to previous versions of windows. You can open the same sites in windows XP and server 2003 with the normal speed. Follow the given steps to increase the Vista browsing speed:
First go to Advance tab in Internet Options and turn off the TLS (Transport Layer Security) encryption option. Here to fix problem with some secure pages turn on the SSL 2.0 (Secure Sockets Layer) feature and click Ok button to close it.
In windows Vista, the TCP autotuning feature is enabled by default. Some web servers do not respond properly to this feature, so it appears that some sites open with very slow speed.
To disable this feature, you will need to be logged into your computer with administrative rights.First click on Start button and type CMD in Run option then press Enter.At Command Prompt, type the following command and press enter.netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel= disabledThis command will disable the TCP autotuning feature. Now close the command Prompt and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.You can easily restore these setting by typing the following command at Command Prompt.netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel= normalNow close the command Prompt and again restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.
Multiple Logins In Yahoo Messenger At the Same Time
To enable multiple logins in you Yahoo! Messenger, Follow these steps :
-
Click Start Menu And Click On “RUN”
-
Type “regedit” and click OK
-
You will see the REGISTRY EDITOR
-
Navigate to “ HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Yahoo/Pager/Test “
-
Here in right side panel, right click to create a new Dword value with name Plural and give it value 1.
-
Close the registry editor and enjoy multiple yahoo logins.
ACCESS DIFFERENT PROGRAMS THROUGH RUN COMMAND
- appwiz.cpl — Used to run Add/Remove wizard
- Calc –Calculator
- Cfgwiz32 –ISDN Configuration Wizard
- Charmap –Character Map
- Chkdisk –Repair damaged files
- Cleanmgr –Cleans up hard drives
- Clipbrd –Windows Clipboard viewer
- Cmd –Opens a new Command Window
- Control mouse –Used to control mouse properties
- Control –Displays Control Panel
- Dcomcnfg –DCOM user security
- Debug –Assembly language programming tool
- Defrag –Defragmentation tool
- Drwatson –Records programs crash & snapshots
- Dxdiag –DirectX Diagnostic Utility
- Explorer –Windows Explorer
- Fontview –Graphical font viewer
- Fsmgmt.msc — Used to open shared folders
- Firewall.cpl — Used to configure windows firewall
- Ftp -ftp.exe program
- Hostname –Returns Computer’s name
- Hdwwiz.cpl — Used to run Add Hardware wizard
- Ipconfig –Displays IP configuration for all network adapters
- Logoff — Used to logoff the computer
- MMC –Microsoft Management Console
- Msconfig –Configuration to edit startup files
- Mstsc — Used to access remote desktop
- Mrc — Malicious Software Removal Tool
- Msinfo32 –Microsoft System Information Utility
- Nbtstat –Displays stats and current connections using NetBIOS over TCP/IP
- Netstat –Displays all active network connections
- Nslookup–Returns your local DNS server
- Osk —Used to access on screen keyboard
- Perfmon.msc — Used to configure the performance of Monitor.
- Ping –Sends data to a specified host/IP
- Powercfg.cpl — Used to configure power option
- Regedit –Registry Editor
- Regwiz — Registration wizard
- Sfc /scannow – System File Checker
- Sndrec32 –Sound Recorder
- Shutdown — Used to shutdown the windows
- Spider — Used to open spider solitaire card game
- Sfc / scannow — Used to run system file checker utility.
- Sndvol32 –Volume control for soundcard
- Sysedit – Edit system startup files
- Taskmgr –Task manager
- Telephon.cpl — Used to configure modem options.
- Telnet –Telnet program
- Tracert –Traces and displays all paths required to reach an internet host
- Winchat — Used to chat with Microsoft
- Wmplayer — Used to run Windows Media player
- Wab — Used to open Windows address Book.
- WinWord — Used to open Microsoft word
- Winipcfg –Displays IP configuration
- Winver — Used to check Windows Version
- Wupdmgr –Takes you to Microsoft Windows Update
- Write — Used to open WordPad
Allow 10 simultaneous downloads in IE 6
1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
2. Locate the following key in the registry:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
3. On the Edit menu, click Add Value (a dword) , and then add the following registry values:
“MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server”=Dword:0000000a
“MaxConnectionsPerServer”=Dword:0000000a
Hide the Text Below Desktop Icons
Works on: All versions of Windows
Some icons you use so regularly that you don’t need that annoying text below the icon. A good example of this is Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. We all know what those icons look like. To remove that text, just follow these instructions.
Right-click on the shortcut icon, and choose Rename. Now hold down the Alt key and type in 255 on the keypad to the right of the keyboard. You can’t use the number keys right above the keyboard. If you have a laptop, you can turn on Numlock and then use the little number keys next to the regular letters.
The way this works is that the Alt+255 character is blank, so the shortcut filename is actually just named with a character that is completely blank. For the first shortcut on the desktop, you would use Alt+255, but for the next shortcut, you’ll have to enter the combination twice (Alt+255, Alt+255). For the third, three times… and so on. This is because you can’t name two different shortcuts or files the same thing. Entering Alt+225 twice would give you two blanks instead of one.
Now we have a beautiful icon, with no text underneath it!
Create a Shortcut to Lock Your Computer
Leaving your computer in a hurry but you don’t want to log off? You can double-click a shortcut on your desktop to quickly lock the keyboard and display without using CTRL+ALT+DEL or a screensaver.
To create a shortcut on your desktop to lock your computer:
Right-click the desktop.
Point to New, and then click Shortcut.
The Create Shortcut Wizard opens. In the text box, type the following:
rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation
Click Next.
Enter a name for the shortcut. You can call it “Lock Workstation” or choose any name you like.
Click Finish.
You can also change the shortcut’s icon (my personal favorite is the padlock icon in shell32.dll).
To change the icon:
Right click the shortcut and then select Properties.
Click the Shortcut tab, and then click the Change Icon button.
In the Look for icons in this file text box, type:
Shell32.dll.
Click OK.
Select one of the icons from the list and then click OK
Note: You can also lock the computer by pressing WinKey + Del
Speed Up Menus
1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. Type Regedit in the box, and then click OK.
3. Expand the menu in the left panel and select the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop folder.
4. Scroll down in the right panel and double click on the MenuShowDelay file.
5. In the Value Data box, change to default value for the menu speed from 400 to a lesser number, such as 1.
6. Click OK.
Caution: Incorrectly editing the registry may severely damage your system. Before making changes to the registry, you should back up any valued data on your computer.
Do Not Highlight Newly Installed Programs
Tired of that annoying little window that pops up to tell you that new software is installed? If it gets in the way when you’re logging off, turn it off completely.
To do this Click Start, right-click at the top of the Start menu where your name is displayed, and then click Properties.
In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box, on the Start Menu tab, click Customize.
Click the Advanced tab, and then clear the Highlight newly installed programs check box.
Click OK, and then click OK again.
Now that message won’t be popping up when you least want to see it.
Close All The Open Windows At Once
If you just opened a number of separate, related windows (a folder inside a folder, and so on), there’s an easier way to close them all than one-at-a-time. Hold down the Shift key as you click the X caption button in the upper-right corner of the last window opened. Doing so closes that window and all windows that came before it.
Turn Off System Restore
Right click on My Computer and choose Properties. Click on the System Restore tab and check the box Turn off System Restore. (This will increase Windows performance & save disk space)
Reduce Temporary Internet File Space
he temporary internet files clutter your hard drive with copies of each page visited. These can build up over time and take up disk space. Even more bothersome is that instead of getting new pages each time IE often takes the page out the temp internet files. This can be a problem if you are viewing a website that is updated all the time. If you are on a slow connection such as a 56K or lower then this can be good but if you are on a fast broadband connection, like me, then you can get away with decreasing the size of your temp internet files to just one meg without any performance decrease.
Watch your cookies
In XP, the Documents And Settings folder holds all user information, including configuration settings, favorites, and cookies. The Documents And Settings\Username\Cookies folder is where XP stashes cookies. How do you control the number of cookies you allow on your system? Click Start > Control Panel > Network And Internet Connections > Internet Options. Click the Privacy tab, then use the slider bar to modify your cookie settings. For instance, you can block cookies from sites that use personal identification without your consent. To increase your security, try out the other privacy settings in this dialog. The lowest level is Accept All Cookies while the highest is Block All Cookies, with low, medium, medium-high, and high settings in between. (An explanation of each appears as you move between settings.) Keep in mind that rejecting cookies may limit your actions on some Web sites, and some sites use cookies to track how many times you see a popup, for example, on this website, if you blocked cookies, you would see a popup on every page.
Windows Shortcuts
Windows: Display the Start menu
Windows + D: Minimize or restore all windows
Windows + E: Display Windows Explorer
Windows + F: Display Search for files
Windows + Ctrl + F: Display Search for computer
Windows + F1: Display Help and Support Center
Windows + R: Display Run dialog box
Windows + break: Display System Properties dialog box
Windows + shift + M: Undo minimize all windows
Windows + L: Lock the workstation
Windows + U: Open Utility Manager
Windows + Q: Quick switching of users (Powertoys only)
Windows + Q: Hold Windows Key, then tap Q to scroll thru the different users on your PC
Speed Up Browsing
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.
Speed up viewing shared files across a network
Windows 2000 & XP machines delay as long as 30 seconds when you try to view shared files across a network because Windows is using the extra time to search the remote computer for any Scheduled Tasks. Here’s how to prevent this remote search for Scheduled Tasks:
Open up the Registry and go to :
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Software
Microsoft
Windows
CurrentVersion
Explorer
RemoteComputer
NameSpace
Under that branch, select the key :
{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}
and delete it.
If you like you may want to export the exact branch so that you can restore the key if necessary. This fix is so effective that it doesn’t require a reboot and you can almost immediately determine yourself how much it speeds up your browsing processes.
Speed Up internet
2. start – run – type gpedit.msc
3. expand the “local computer policy” branch
4. expand the “administrative templates” branch
5. expand the “network branch”
6. Highlight the “QoS Packet Scheduler” in left window
7. in right window double click the “limit reservable bandwidth” setting
8. on setting tab check the “enabled” item
9. where it says “Bandwidth limit %” change it to read 0
reboot if you want to but not necessary on some systems your all done. Effect is immediate on some systems. some need re-boot. I have one machine that needs to reboot first, the others didn’t. Don’t know why this is.
This is more of a “counter what XP does” thing. In other words, XP seems to want to reserve 20% of the bandwidth for its self. Even with QoS disabled, even when this item is disabled. So why not use it to your advantage. To demonstrate the problem with this on stand alone machines start up a big download from a server with an FTP client. Try to find a server that doesn’t max out your bandwidth. In this case you want a slow to medium speed server to demonstrate this. Let it run for a couple of minutes to get stable. The start up another download from the same server with another instance of your FTP client. You will notice that the available bandwidth is now being fought over and one of the clients download will be very slow or both will slow down when they should both be using the available bandwidth. Using this “tweak” both clients will have a fair share of the bandwidth and will not fight over the bandwidth.
Remove shortcut arrow from desktop icons
1. Start regedit.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/lnkfile
3. Delete the IsShortcut registry value.
You may need to restart Windows XP.
Disable Error Reporting
1. Open Control Panel
2. Click on Performance and Maintenance.
3. Click on System.
4. Then click on the Advanced tab
5. Click on the error-reporting button on the bottom of the windows.
6. Select Disable error reporting.
7. Click OK
8. Click OK
WinXP Clear Page file on shutdown
- Go to Control panel
- Go to Administrative tools > local security policy > local policies > security options.
- Then change the option for “Shutdown: Clear Virtual Memory Pagefile”
This can speed up your computer.
Getting an Older Program to Run on Windows XP
2.Select the Run this program in compatibility mode check box.
3.From the list, select an operating system that the program runs in comfortably.
If necessary, also change the display settings and/or resolution, or disable the Windows XP visual themes.
Run the program again when you’re finished changing the settings. Adjust the compatibility settings again if the program is still not running smoothly: a program that’s unhappy on Windows 2000 may flourish on Windows 98.
For a Safer, faster XP Close Unwanted Services
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
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.
Create a password reset disk
If you’re running Windows XP Professional as a local user in a workgroup environment, you can create a password reset disk to log onto your computer when you forget your password. To create the disk:
1.Click Start, click Control Panel, and then click User Accounts.
2.Click your account name.
3.Under Related Tasks, click Prevent a forgotten password.
4.Follow the directions in the Forgotten Password Wizard to create a password reset disk.
5.Store the disk in a secure location, because anyone using it can access your local user account.
Convert FAT to NTFS file system
To convert a FAT partition to NTFS, perform the following steps.
1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd and then click OK.
2. At the command prompt, type CONVERT [driveletter]: /FS:NTFS.
Convert.exe will 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).
Remove Recycle Bin From Desktop
-
Click Start Menu
-
Click on Run
-
Type “Regedit” and click OK
-
Navigate to the following key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
SOFTWARE
Microsoft
Windows
CurrentVersion
explorer
Desktop
NameSpace -
Click on the “Recycle Bin” string in the right hand pane. Hit Del, click OK.
Set Permissions for Shared Files and Folders
Sharing of files and folders can be managed in two ways. If you chose simplified file sharing, your folders can be shared with everyone on your network or workgroup, or you can make your folders private. (This is how folders are shared in Windows 2000.) However, in Windows XP Professional, you can also set folder permissions for specific users or groups. To do this, you must first change the default setting, which is simple file sharing. To change this setting, follow these steps:
•Open Control Panel, click Tools, and then click Folder Options.
•Click the View tab, and scroll to the bottom of the Advanced Settings list.
•Clear the Use simple file sharing (Recommended) check box.
•To manage folder permissions, browse to the folder in Windows Explorer, right–click the folder, and then click Properties. Click the Security tab, and assign permissions, such as Full Control, Modify, Read, and/or Write, to specific users.
You can set file and folder permissions only on drives formatted to use NTFS, and you must be the owner or have been granted permission to do so by the owner.
Rename Recycle Bin
- Click On Start Menu
- Click Run
- Write “Regedit”
- Click OK
- Go to “HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/CLSID/{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}”
- Change the name “Recycle Bin” to whatever you want.
Make Your Folder Private
•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
•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.
SUBSCRIBE
Last 10- Online Big Brother: Google
- Reduce the Shutdown time of Windows 2000 and XP
- Speed Up By Closing Idle Services
- DISABLE THE UNREAD EMAIL NOTIFICATION IN XP WELCOME SCREEN
- Restore Default Desktop Icons
- Surf Blocked Sites
- Restore Previously Open Folders After Shutdown
- Prevent Users From Writing to USB
- Use Notepad As a Diary
- Change the Default Directory of Software Installation
