Hacking Windows III

Minimizing All Windows

To minimize all windows:
Press Ctrl-ESC ESC to bring up the Task Bar
Right Mouse Click on an open area of the Task Bar
Select Minimize all Windows
This makes it a lot easier to minimize windows when all your open applications are full screen.
With the Microsoft Keyboard, you can accomplish the same thing by pressing the Window-M key.

Removing the Shortcut Icon Arrows

Open REGEDIT.EXE
Open the Key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
Open the Key LNKFILE
Delete the value IsShortcut
Open the next Key PIFFILE
Delete the value IsShortcut
Restart the Win95

Turning on AutoArrange for Folders

To make all folders keep AutoArrange turned on:
Open up an existing folder
Select View / Arrange
Arrange the Icons the way you would like, (e.g. Name, Size,etc.)
Select View / Arrange again
Select AutoArrange
Press the Ctrl-key while you close the window.
This folder should now have AutoArrange always selected.
This should allow you to create new folders that have AutoArrange selected by default.
You only need to specify by Name, Size, etc. if you want to change it from the default you set above.

Creating Document Scraps

If you are using Microsoft Word 7.0,
you can highlight a section of the document then drag and drop the highlighted area to
your desktop. Windows will create a file for you with a name something like
"Document Scrap From..." followed by the first few words you selected

Quick Access to Your Desktop

How do you access your darn desktop when you have a ton of applications open?
Well you could right click on the taskbar and do a minimize all, but that can be slow.
Instead:
Open a browser window (double-click on "My Computer")
If there is no toolbar, select View from the menu and select Toolbar.
Then from the dropdown list-box in the toolbar select desktop.
Now minimize it and forget about it.
The next time you want to access your desktop just click the desktop window on the taskbar.
As long as you don't close the window when you shutdown, it will reopen when you start windows again.
Additional Note: You can also drag the Desktop folder to the start menu.
Then you just press Ctrl-ESC and click on Desktop

Restoring Corrupted Icons

If you use a graphic Card and you change the resolution, sometimes the icons are bad.
End Win95 and restart. When you see the starting message press F8 then type standard.
After this start of Win95 exit and restart.
Change back to your Resolution and restart.
The icons should be corrected.

Turn Off Window Animation

You can shut off the animation displayed when you minimize and maximize windows.
This tip makes navigating Windows 95 a lot faster especially for those that don't have
super fast video cards.
Open Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Control panel
Desktop
WindowMetrics
Right Mouse Click an empty space in the right pane.
Select new/string value.
Name the new value MinAnimate.
Doubleclick on the new string value (MinAnimate) and click on "Modify"
Enter a value of 0 for Off or 1 for On then hit
Close Regedit and all programs then reboot.

Renaming the Recycle Bin

Start the Registry Editor
Type Ctrl-F to bring up the Find Menu
In the Find What box type Recycle
Double click on the Recycle Bin in the right pane
Type in the new name under Value Data
Restart Win95

Turning off Desktop Icons

If you want to turn off all the icons on your desktop:
Start the System Policy Editor
Select File / Open Registry
Select Local User
Select Shell / Restrictions
Select Hide all items on Desktop
All Icons will now be hidden.
Note: One side effect is the your CD will no longer automatically play when it is inserted.

Adding in Old Windows Groups

If you are setup to dual boot between your old Win 3.x and want to add in the old groups, just click on the *.GRP file in your old windows directory. The programs will be added to your list under Programs in the task bar.
Note: Any DLL's the programs require will need to be copied.
To speed up the Start Menu
Start the REGEDIT program
Search for the word desktop
This should be in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT / CLSID / {00021400...
Right Click on the right panel
Pick NEW / String Value.
Name it MenuShowDelay, all one word.
Select a value from 1-10, 1 being the fastest.
Exit REGEDIT

Restart Windows

To change the My Computer or Recycle Bin icon
Open Regedit
Find My Computer or Recycle Bin
Tab to the left panel
Double click on the highlighted line
Double click on DefaultIcon in the left panel
Double click on DefaultIcon right panel
Type in the value for the new icon
Note: DLL files can be used. Specify the location of the new icon with the filename,#

Remove the tildes in short filenames

Open Regedit
Go to Hkey_Local_Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem
Right Click on the Right pane
Select New / Hex
Add the value NameNumericTail= 0
To remove the Network Neighborhood Icon
Start POLEDIT. It is on the CD in \Admin\Apptools\Poledit
Open Registry
Select LocalUser
Select Shell
Select Restrictions
Select Hide Network Neighborhood
To change the Startup and Logoff screens

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windows secrets- hacking your system to better performance and fun

Hacking Windows I

More Removing Shortcut Arrows

'lnkfile', 'piffle' and 'internetshortcut' are the three places that are seen in the isshortcut arrow.
The best way to deal with this is to rename the 'isshortcut' to 'isshortcutbak' by right clicking on the 'isshortcut' then
select rename and add 'bak' to the end.

Closing Nested Folders

If you have several nested folders (folders within folders) and want to close them all,
simply, hold the Shift key while closing the last folder
This will close all previous ones as well.

Changing Application Icons

To have a wider choice of application icons:

1. Right click on the icon shortcut
2. Chose Properties
3. Click on the Program tab
4. Chose Change icon
5. Click on Browse
6. Select Files of type All Files
7. Browse to the directory where your icon files are kept
8. You can even use some bitmap files for you icons

Moving and Resizing the Taskbar

You can move the taskbar by pointing on a corner panel and dragging it
It is easier to move if you close all your windows first

You can also resize it by moving the mouse to the edge and dragging it larger or smaller.

Correcting Corrupted Fonts

If you have a problem with your non-true type fonts, here's what you do:

1. Open the Control Panel
2. Double click on Fonts
3. Search for the "Monotype Sorts" font
4. Delete this Font

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 windows secrets- hacking your system to better performance and fun

Hacking Windows II

Changing Desktop Folders - With No Registry Changes

1. From the Explorer, create a folder somewhere OTHER than the desktop, and call it something like "Desktop Folders."
2. Move all your desktop folders into that folder.
3. Create shortcuts to all of those folders on your desktop.
4. Now, you are free to change the icons of each shortcut individually, to anything you like!

Updating the Desktop without restarting it

If you want to update the desktop, for example after you've been changing the registry.

1. Right-Click anywhere on the desktop
2. Press F5

Adding the Desktop to your Start Menu

Create a shortcut to the Explorer on your Desktop

1. Right click on the Start button
2. Choose Open
3. Go into the Programs Folder
4. Drag the Windows Explorer Icon on your Desktop using the RIGHT Mouse button
5. Choose copy here

Change the command line switch

1. Right click on the Shortcut you created
2. Choose Properties
3. Choose Shortcut
4. Type in following command line as target:
   • C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /n, /root,
   • The last "," is vital!
5. If you want the two pane Explorer view ad the switch ,/e
6. Then rename the Shortcut to "Desktop" or whatever you choose and drag the icon onto the start button.

Removing shortcut arrows

One problem when removing shortcut arrows is that
if you delete a desktop item, it will remove it.
If it is a shortcut it will just remove the icon.
If it is not a shortcut, then it will remove the program.
Having the little icon arrow is one way to tell the difference.

Getting rid of Click Here to Continue

1. Start the Registry Editor
2. Open HKEY_CURRENT_USER / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Policies / Explorer
3. Create a binary value and call it NoStartBanner
4. Double-click on it and give it a value of 01 00 00 00
5. You will need to repeat the same steps for HKEY_USERS / .Default / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Policies / Explorer

Changing the Desktop and Explorer Folder Icons

The following steps will change the icon that is displayed as the default Folder icon.

1. Start the Registry Editor.
2. Search for "Shell Icons".
3. This will bring you to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SOFTWARE / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / explorer / Shell Icons.
4. Double-click on the one has the value name of "3" in the right pane.
5. Type in the new icon you want to use.
6. If you have a DLL file specified, you need to count for the location of the particular icon you want to use, starting at 0.
7. To reset the icon cache, use a program such as Tweak with comes with the PowerToys from Microsoft.

Note: Please, be cautious when editing registry values lest your system could undergo serious problems.

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 windows secrets- hacking your system to better performance and fun

windows secrets- hacking your system to better performance and fun III

Adding AnyFolder and Mail to SendTo

An easy way around this is to use the following methods. <Without editing REGISTRY>

To add ANYFOLDER:

1. Open the Explorer
2. Go to \Windows\SendTo
3. Right click in the right hand panel
4. Select New / Text Document
5. Name it anything with a .otherfolder extension

When you want to send files to another folder:

1. Select the files with Explorer
2. Right Click
3. Select Send to and the name you just created
4. You them have the option of copying or moving the file to a folder of your choice

To add Mail:

1. Open the Explorer
2. Go to \Windows\SendTo
3. Right click in the right hand panel
4. Select New / Text Document
5. Name it anything with a .MapiMail extension (ignore any warnings about the file extension)

When you want to Mail files as attachments:

1. Select the files with Explorer
2. Right Click
3. Select Send to and the Mail name you just created
4. This allows you to easily mail multiple files

Adding Shortcuts to Desktop Without "Shortcut To" text

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to:HKEY_USERS \ .Default \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer
3. Add binary value to Explorer:link="00,00,00,00"
4. Now You can make Shortcuts to desktop without Shortcut To" text.

Easier User Interface

Add a menu item named "Open THIS folder!" to each of your cascading menus off of the Start menu.
This makes it easier to put items wherever you want them!

1. Go to Windows \ Start Menu \ Programs \ (etc.) in the Explorer
2. Start right click/dragging folders to the desktop, one by one.
3. Rename them and left click/drag them back to the same folder.

It takes a little while, but when you are finished you have a much easier interface to work with.

Removing the Start Button

1. Click on the start menu button twice, so there is a dashed line around the button
2. Press Alt and the minus sign
3. Choose Close to make the start button disappear, or move to move it to the right!

Note : - You have to re-boot to get it back again, or:

1. Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete
2. Highlight Explorer
3. Click on the End Task button
4. Select No to doing a full shutdown
5. Wait a few seconds and the click on the End Task button

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windows secrets- hacking your system to better performance and fun

windows secrets- hacking your system to better performance and fun II

Customizing Individual Folder Icons

To change a folder's icon:

1. Open Notepad and enter two lines,

   [.ShellClassInfo]
   IconFile=file name,number
   (e.g. IconFile=C:\Icon\CustomFolder.ico,0)

2. Save the file as DESKTOP.INI in the folder you wish to change.
3. Click Start -> Run, type in the command line,
   ATTRIB +S "folder name"
   (e.g. ATTRIB +S "C:\Custom Folder")
4. Open Explorer or My Computer and refresh (press F5 key).

This tip only work Windows 95/NT 4.0 + IE 4.0 with shell integration, or Windows 98/NT 5.0.

Removing the Recycle Bin

To remove Recycle Bin from the desktop:

1. Run REGEDIT.
2. Find NAMESPACE key in left pane (HKEY_Local_Macine \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ Current Version \ Explorer \ Desktop \ Namespace)
3. Expand NAMESPACE (click '+' box)
4. Delete the value RECYCLE BIN in right pane

Adding Send To the Recycle Bin

Add a SHORTCUT TO THE RECYCLE BIN in your SEND TO folder.

That way you can just right click on a file you want to delete, and send it to the recycle bin without having to confirm each time.

Having Icons with No Name

Normally you have to have a name for an icon, just spaces are not allowed.
To create an icon with no name attached:

1. Make sure NumLock is on
2. Highlight the Icon you want to change
3. Right-Mouse click and select Rename
4. While holding down the Alt key, type 0160
5. Now the icon will have no name below it.

To Create Multiple Icons with No Name -

1. Follow directions detailed above
2. With the second icon simply add one space-bar character AFTER the 0160 number.
3. Each successive icon gets an additional space-bar character at the end (to prevent a duplicate naming error).

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 windows secrets- hacking your system to better performance and fun

windows secrets- hacking your system to better performance and fun I

Unable to Create Shortcuts on the Desktop

If you can't create shortcuts on your Desktop, you might have a corrupted registry.

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.lnk\ShellNew\Command
3. Make sure it has a value of:
4. RunDLL32 AppWiz.Cpl,NewLinkHere %1 if you don't have IE 4
5. or RunDLL32 AppWiz.Cpl,NewLinkHere %2 if you have IE 4.0 or IE 4.01

Removing the InBox from the Desktop

A faster way to remove "Inbox" from the Deskop is to

1. Right mouse click on "Inbox"
2. Select delete
3. It will then tell you "you cannot store the inbox in the recycle bin. . .etc"
4. Click "Yes"
5. Wait 2 secs and it's gone.

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 windows secrets- hacking your system to better performance and fun

Getting Screen Shots

Getting Screen Shots

If you need to get a screen shot, and you do not have a screen capture program, try this:

• Hit the Print Screen key. This copies a bitmap of the full screen into the Windows clipboard. Start up a graphics editor and paste it in.
• Alt + Print Screen will capture only the active window.

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  windows secrets- hacking your system to better performance and fun

Increasing the Size of the Scroll Bar

Increasing the Size of the Scroll Bar

How to adjust the width of the scroll bar:

1. Right Click with Mouse on Desktop Area.
2. Select Properties
3. Select the Appearance tab
4. Go to the item list and find scrollbar.
5. Increasing the value in the Size field will increase the scrollbar width.

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   windows secrets- hacking your system to better performance and fun

Full Window Drag ( Without Plus! )

Full Window Drag ( Without Plus! )

1. Start Regedit
2. Open HKEY_CURRENT_USER /ControlPanel /Desktop /DragFullWindows
3. On "DragFullWindows" properties change 0 to 1

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windows secrets- hacking your system to better performance and fun

Fixing Corrupted Desktop Icons

Fixing Corrupted Desktop Icons

Easier way to reset icons then deleting SHELLICONCACHE.

There's no need to exit Win95 and delete the SHELLICONCACHE file in order to reset icons that you may have changed (like Network Neighborhood).

1. Go to Control Panel, Display, Appearance Tab.
2. Select Icon from the Item drop down list.
3. Change the Size up or down one and apply.
4. Change the Size back to your original and apply.

If your Start Menu is slow or your icons are black for some reason, it means your Shelliconcache file is corrupt and should be deleted.
Delete the hidden file C:\WINDOWS\SHELLICONCACHE
It will be recreated the next time you start Win95

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windows secrets- hacking your system to better performance and fun

Google to release cell-phone

Google is to release its own mobile platform ne-xt year to drastically shake up the cell-phone industry and provide mob-ile users with a host of new applications, Wall Street Journal reported.

The paper today said that Google planned to make a formal announcement of its plans in about two weeks.Google is in talks with cell-phone maker HTC of Taiwan and LG of South Korea to manufacture the phone, which would be tailored to Google software. Google is also seeking partnerships with wireless operators like Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile USA, France Telecom's Orange SA and Hutchison Whampoa's 3.

The Google ogibe would make Google applications and services as easily accessible on mobile phones as PCs, so that the company can extend its advertising business to the more than three billion users of cell phones and other wireless devices. Worldwide, mobile ad spending is expected to reach $1.5 billion this year and grow to $11.3 billion by 2011, according to market researcher Informa Telecoms & Media.

Until now, Google has pursued various strategies to tap this market, adapting Google websites for mobile browsers.

Search Engine Positioning

Search Engine Positioning, or SEP, is the process of boosting and maintaining your website's position in the results that Internet users see when they run queries on different search engines.

There are two distinct steps you need to take in order to maximize the effectiveness of your position in a search engine listing.  The first is to make key modifications to your pages in order to gain top positioning within a search engine's index.  The second is something that is commonly ignored.  That position needs to be maintained.  Too often, webmasters gain a great position on a search engine only to let it slip away, taking business away with it.  Don't make this mistake.  This essay is written to give you a good idea of how important SEP is in bringing more people to your website.

            As you probably know by now, merely being listed in a search index is not enough to bring new visitors to your website.  Your website must rank at or near the top of the search results in order to collect all the traffic that search engines can produce.  The first major step in positioning your site is choosing descriptive and focused meta-keywords.  The importance of excellent keywords cannot be emphasized enough--you can read about keywords in the essay Keyword Importance.  Once you have a list of candidates for your final meta-keywords, you can use AddWeb 4's Page Builder Plus to quickly create a test Doorway Page for your website using the keywords of your choice.  Once the doorway page has been built it is time to analyze the page using Page Advisor.

            Page Advisor will analyze your new page and give you a score based on real data taken live from the Internet's top-ranking websites.  The report tells you where to make specific changes in the Doorway Page based on what the analysis finds.  For example, the analysis might tell you to include a longer or shorter title.  It may also tell you that there are not enough instances of the chosen keywords in your page.  Or you may need to reduce or increase the amount of description text on the page.  Keep in mind that while all of these items may seem minor, they are worth checking and modifying if necessary, as they may affect your ranking position. You can then build the changes into a new Doorway Page using Page Builder Plus.

            Page Advisor can now be used to analyze the new page and return a score that gives you an estimate as to how well that page is optimized for good positioning on search engines in general, or one specific engine.  The importance of this second analysis cannot be underestimated.  In fact, the best results come from repeated building-and-analysis, until the Doorway Page is optimized as well as possible.  Once you have a page that you are happy with, you can use AddWeb 4's AISubmit module to automatically register your new doorway page with all of the search engines you want to be listed on.  The hardest part is now remaining patient as you wait for all of the indices to pick up your listing.  This can take anywhere from several seconds to several months, depending on the individual search engine.  Check for your ranking regularly to determine if you are listed, and if you are, where you are positioned.

            If you have chosen good keywords, and followed the steps outlined above, you should have a good position near the top of the listings.  Now the trick is to maintain that position.  Just because you appear at the top of the search results doesn't mean that you are guaranteed to remain there.  New websites appear by the second and search engines regularly change the methods they use to index them.  To ensure that you maintain your position, you must first re-submit your site around once a month and check your ranking on each major search engine regularly, preferably once a week.  By checking your ranking you can determine what your position is and whether it is trending upward or downward.  If you are heading up over time, great, pat yourself on the back for a job well done.  If your rank is spiraling downwards, or you just can't seem to push ahead of certain competitors, its time for some more advanced work.        

            Take a look at the websites that have higher listings than you and note their URL's.  Go to Page Advisor and run a comparison analysis on the specific URL that is competing against you.  Page Advisor's report will show you both your stats as well as those for your competitor.  You can do a side by side comparison and see exactly what your competitor has that you don't have, or what you have that your competitor doesn't.  Maybe that extra keyword or those extra hyperlinks are nosing them ahead of you into Position 1--use Page Advisor to find out.  Once you've got an idea of what you can do to improve your ranking, use Page Builder Plus to make the necessary changes.  Check your rankings again in a week or so and look for any differences.  This is a constant process that you must maintain with some vigil.  Don't let your competitors get a leg up on you by ignoring your ranking trends for too long.  Maintain your position and you will get a constant, steady reward in the form of new visitors and increased traffic to your site.

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 This article has been adapted from  AddWeb Article- Copyright (c) 2000  Cyberspace Headquarters, LLC. www.cyberspacehq.com