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

''''regEdit >> trouble ''''

''''regEdit >> trouble ''''

 

 

You must read this blog if you are a tech savvy or have interest in abnormal PC errors.

 

Here goes what my machine run into.

 

An information-technology magazine crashed my PC yesterday, Whole day became gloomy, and yet again another 'regedit' failure. If these magazines do not try out themselves why send readers for such activities.

 

I just wanted to make my machine super fast, disabling all Microsoft programs to run at the start up  and this was certainly done from regedit. [ If you need the code or want it right now to try, please hit me an email ekl_amarsh@msn.com, it's just a coding] And certain ScriptKiddies might run into trouble.

 

Case I: PC did not responded at all. No Administrator credentials worked, even safe mode and all other trial ruin. Here comes another trouble all accounts including the administrator password said to be expired or incorrect. After trying the actual passwords all users got locked out alongwith the Administrator.

And the assignment I had to finish up within 4 hours but nothing could get me up.

 

Case II: None virus or worms! It's Microsoft Windows XP's screensaver named mystery [file ID: ssymst.dcr or like that you may find in your system folder] whenever I try to be near that file machine gets shut down unexpectedly. No any anti-virus software could full scan my machine which lead me to identify the problem myself and finally found that this is caused by the unwanted XP's screensaver, after 2 months.

I was to clean format my hard disk but nothing went as thought. Case I raised this way. Because case II enforced me to check out for absolute errors.

 

I wrote to the PC magazine's editor but with no replies ode no apt solutions from the publisher.

 

Also sent error queries to Microsoft many times but they did nothing, frustrations and else more.

 

SO, please be aware that you might be ruining you PC while editing registry. Even a simple [blank- spacebar] is going to kill it.

 

Result: I had to clean format another partition, though did not lost data but still I cannot recover my system.

 

 

Sufferer PC Machine or the Magazine

Signing off

''''regEdit >> trouble ''''

''''regEdit >> trouble ''''

 

 

You must read this blog if you are a tech savvy or have interest in abnormal PC errors.

 

Here goes what my machine run into.

 

An information-technology magazine crashed my PC yesterday, Whole day became gloomy, and yet again another 'regedit' failure. If these magazines do not try out themselves why send readers for such activities.

 

I just wanted to make my machine super fast, disabling all Microsoft programs to run at the start up  and this was certainly done from regedit. [ If you need the code or want it right now to try, please hit me an email ekl_amarsh@msn.com, it's just a coding] And certain ScriptKiddies might run into trouble.

 

Case I: PC did not responded at all. No Administrator credentials worked, even safe mode and all other trial ruin. Here comes another trouble all accounts including the administrator password said to be expired or incorrect. After trying the actual passwords all users got locked out alongwith the Administrator.

And the assignment I had to finish up within 4 hours but nothing could get me up.

 

Case II: None virus or worms! It's Microsoft Windows XP's screensaver named mystery [file ID: ssymst.dcr or like that you may find in your system folder] whenever I try to be near that file machine gets shut down unexpectedly. No any anti-virus software could full scan my machine which lead me to identify the problem myself and finally found that this is caused by the unwanted XP's screensaver, after 2 months.

I was to clean format my hard disk but nothing went as thought. Case I raised this way. Because case II enforced me to check out for absolute errors.

 

I wrote to the PC magazine�s editor but with no replies ode no apt solutions from the publisher.

 

Also sent error queries to Microsoft many times but they did nothing, frustrations and else more.

 

SO, please be aware that you might be ruining you PC while editing registry. Even a simple [blank- spacebar] is going to kill it.

 

Result: I had to clean format another partition, though did not lost data but still I cannot recover my system.

 

 

Sufferer PC Machine or the Magazine

Signing off

 

---

Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! MSN Messenger Download today it's FREE!

''''regEdit >> trouble ''''

''''regEdit >> trouble ''''

 

 

You must read this blog if you are a tech savvy or have interest in abnormal PC errors.

 

Here goes what my machine run into.

 

An information-technology magazine crashed my PC yesterday, Whole day became gloomy, and yet again another 'regedit' failure. If these magazines do not try out themselves why send readers for such activities.

 

I just wanted to make my machine super fast, disabling all Microsoft programs to run at the start up  and this was certainly done from regedit. [ If you need the code or want it right now to try, please hit me an email ekl_amarsh@msn.com, it's just a coding] And certain ScriptKiddies might run into trouble.

 

Case I: PC did not responded at all. No Administrator credentials worked, even safe mode and all other trial ruin. Here comes another trouble all accounts including the administrator password said to be expired or incorrect. After trying the actual passwords all users got locked out alongwith the Administrator.

And the assignment I had to finish up within 4 hours but nothing could get me up.

 

Case II: None virus or worms! It's Microsoft Windows XP's screensaver named mystery [file ID: ssymst.dcr or like that you may find in your system folder] whenever I try to be near that file machine gets shut down unexpectedly. No any anti-virus software could full scan my machine which lead me to identify the problem myself and finally found that this is caused by the unwanted XP's screensaver, after 2 months.

I was to clean format my hard disk but nothing went as thought. Case I raised this way. Because case II enforced me to check out for absolute errors.

 

I wrote to the PC magazine�s editor but with no replies ode no apt solutions from the publisher.

 

Also sent error queries to Microsoft many times but they did nothing, frustrations and else more.

 

SO, please be aware that you might be ruining you PC while editing registry. Even a simple [blank- spacebar] is going to kill it.

 

Result: I had to clean format another partition, though did not lost data but still I cannot recover my system.

 

 

Sufferer PC Machine or the Magazine

Signing off

 

---

Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! MSN Messenger Download today it's FREE!

regEdit > trouble

''''regEdit >> trouble ''''

You must read this blog if you are a tech savvy or have interest in abnormal PC errors.

Here goes what my machine run into.

An information-technology magzine crashed my PC yesterday, Whole day became gloomy, and yet again another 'regedit' failure. If these magzines do not try out themselves why send readers for such activities.

I just wanted to make my machine super fast, disabling all Microsoft programs to run at the start up and this was certainly done from regedit. [ If you need the code or want it right now to try, please hit me an email ekl_amarsh@msn.com, it's just a coding] And certain ScriptKiddies might run into trouble.

Case I: PC did not responded at all. No Administrator credentials worked, even safe mode and all other trial ruin. Here comes another trouble all accounts including the administrator password said to be expired or incorrect. After trying the actual passwords all users got locked out alongwith the Administrator.

And the assignment I had to finish up within 4 hours but nothing could get me up.

Case II: None virus or worms! It's Microsoft Windows XP's screensaver named mystery [file ID: ssymst.dcr or like that you may find in your system folder] whenever I try to be near that file machine gets shut down unexpectedly. No any anti-virus software could full scan my machine which lead me to identify the problem myself and finally found that this is caused by the unwanted XP's screensaver, after 2 months.

I was to clean format my hard disk but nothing went as thought. Case I rose this way. Becuase case II enforced me to check out for absolute errors.

I wrote to the PC magzine's editor but with no replies oe no apt solutions from the publisher.

Also sent error queries to Microsoft many times but they did nothing, fraustrations and else more.

SO, please be aware that you might be ruining you PC while editing registry. Even a simple [blank- spacebar] is going to kill it.

Result: I had to clean format my another partition, though did not lost datas but still I cannot recover my system.

Sufferer PC Machine or the Magazine

Signing off

Create and Publish your own registry hacks

Want to deal with registry files. It's easy, Creating and Publishing your own registry files/hacks is as simple as abc. Here comes a little but sufficient guides. Create hacks from syntax given below and save the file with extension .reg, don't forget to put disclaimer or other safe points while publishing.

The syntax of the .reg file

Registry Editor Version
                          // a blank line
[RegistryPath1]
"DataItemName1"="DataType1:DataValue1"
"DataItemName2"="DataType2:DataValue2"
                          // a blank line
[RegistryPath2]
"DataItemName3"="DataType3:DataValue3"

Example:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop]
"AutoEndTasks"="1"
"DragWidth"="4"
"FontSmoothing"="2"
"FontSmoothingOrientation"=dword:00000001
"FontSmoothingType"=dword:00000001
 

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer]
"DesktopProcess"=dword:00000001

Remember that registry is backward compatible. Windows XP has Windows Registry Editor Version 5 while previous versions had Regedit 4. But regedit 4 work on XP besides Windows 98 and NT systems. Whereas Regedit 5 works only on XP/2000 not on 98/NT.

This hack related to desktop and Windows Explorer are taken from previous posts in this blog.

• For more registry hacks search the geeklog.

• Tweak UI Tips Here

• Read How to remove kinza virus?

windows secrets III

Moving the Start Button

How to move or close the start button!

1. Click on the Start button
2. Press the Esc key
3. Press the Alt and the - keys together
4. This will give you a menu, you can move or close
5. But if you move it you need to use the arrow keys and not the mouse.

Aligning Drop-Down Menus to the Right

All dropdown menus can be aligned to the right.
This features becomes useful when trying to access
menus with submenus that appear directly to the right.

1. Open the Registory editor (e.g. regedit.exe)
2. Goto \\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
3. Create a string entry called "MenuDropAlignment"
4. Set its value to 1
5. Reboot

Note: Will not work under NT 4.0.

Repositioning a Background Bitmap

Normally, you only options for displaying a background bitmap are tiled, centered, or stretch to fit (with the Plus Pack).
You can edit the registry and have a third option which is to place the bitmap anywhere on your screen by specifying the X and Y coordinates.

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER / Control Panel / Desktop
3. Create new Strings called WallpaperOriginX and WallpaperOriginY
4. Give them values to position them around your desktop
5. The bitmap must be smaller than your desktop size

Changing Drive Icons

To change a drive's icon when you open My Computer

1. Create a file called AUTORUN.INF on the root of your hard drive
2. Enter the lines

[autorun]
ICON=Name of the ICON file

For the name of the icon file you can either specify the path and name (e.g. ICON=C:\WINDOWS\ICONS\MY_ICON.ICO) or
a specific icon in a library (e.g. ICON=ICONFILE.DLL,2)

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 windows secrets- hacking your system to better performance and fun

windows secrets III

Moving the Start Button

How to move or close the start button!

1. Click on the Start button
2. Press the Esc key
3. Press the Alt and the - keys together
4. This will give you a menu, you can move or close
5. But if you move it you need to use the arrow keys and not the mouse.

Aligning Drop-Down Menus to the Right

All dropdown menus can be aligned to the right.
This features becomes useful when trying to access
menus with submenus that appear directly to the right.

1. Open the Registory editor (e.g. regedit.exe)
2. Goto \\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
3. Create a string entry called "MenuDropAlignment"
4. Set its value to 1
5. Reboot

Note: Will not work under NT 4.0.

Repositioning a Background Bitmap

Normally, you only options for displaying a background bitmap are tiled, centered, or stretch to fit (with the Plus Pack).
You can edit the registry and have a third option which is to place the bitmap anywhere on your screen by specifying the X and Y coordinates.

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER / Control Panel / Desktop
3. Create new Strings called WallpaperOriginX and WallpaperOriginY
4. Give them values to position them around your desktop
5. The bitmap must be smaller than your desktop size

Changing Drive Icons

To change a drive's icon when you open My Computer

1. Create a file called AUTORUN.INF on the root of your hard drive
2. Enter the lines

[autorun]
ICON=Name of the ICON file

For the name of the icon file you can either specify the path and name (e.g. ICON=C:\WINDOWS\ICONS\MY_ICON.ICO) or
a specific icon in a library (e.g. ICON=ICONFILE.DLL,2)

---

 windows secrets- hacking your system to better performance and fun

windows secrets III

Moving the Start Button

How to move or close the start button!

1. Click on the Start button
2. Press the Esc key
3. Press the Alt and the - keys together
4. This will give you a menu, you can move or close
5. But if you move it you need to use the arrow keys and not the mouse.

Aligning Drop-Down Menus to the Right

All dropdown menus can be aligned to the right.
This features becomes useful when trying to access
menus with submenus that appear directly to the right.

1. Open the Registory editor (e.g. regedit.exe)
2. Goto \\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
3. Create a string entry called "MenuDropAlignment"
4. Set its value to 1
5. Reboot

Note: Will not work under NT 4.0.

Repositioning a Background Bitmap

Normally, you only options for displaying a background bitmap are tiled, centered, or stretch to fit (with the Plus Pack).
You can edit the registry and have a third option which is to place the bitmap anywhere on your screen by specifying the X and Y coordinates.

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER / Control Panel / Desktop
3. Create new Strings called WallpaperOriginX and WallpaperOriginY
4. Give them values to position them around your desktop
5. The bitmap must be smaller than your desktop size

Changing Drive Icons

To change a drive's icon when you open My Computer

1. Create a file called AUTORUN.INF on the root of your hard drive
2. Enter the lines

[autorun]
ICON=Name of the ICON file

For the name of the icon file you can either specify the path and name (e.g. ICON=C:\WINDOWS\ICONS\MY_ICON.ICO) or
a specific icon in a library (e.g. ICON=ICONFILE.DLL,2)

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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 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 Vista : Tips and Tricks

Disable UAC:
User Access Control is that annoying thing that keeps on popping up tirelessly to ask you if it is okay to install a particular program when you try to install one. <one of the biggest irritants in Vista>

Open COntrol Panel>Type in user account and enter> opt for Turn User Access Control (UAC) ON or OFF > restart the system
An alt from command line, c:\windows\System32\cmd.exe /k%winder%\System32\reg.exe ADD HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CUrrentVersion\Policies\System\System /v EnableLUA /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Gadgets without the sidebar:
The sidebar is a bit of a distraction and occupies too much desktop space. but you probably do like some of the gadgets without the need of the sidebar: just drag and drop one to the Desktop, right click anywhere on the clear part of the sidebar and choose Close Sidebar. The gadgets continue to run.

Hide the Floppy Drive in Windows Vista
What's the use of Floppies these days?... wanna delete the display for the floppy drive
in the regedit <Registry Editor> ::: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsof\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
If this key does nt exists, create it. Then modify or create a 32-bit DWORD named NoDrives. Assign it a value of 1 to hide drive.

Write protection for USB Storage Devices - How to Enable/Disable USB devices/drives?

If you're a smart computer user and BIOS is what you get into everyday, then disabling or locking USB Drive, sure, is not a big deal. But if you want the whole process to go well from registry, the following is the complete idiot's guide (with the complete downloadable hack) for Write Protecting USB Drives (both ON and OFF).

o   Using this function, prevent the write to USB devices.

o   This function is only available if you are using Windows XP SP2, I'm unsure of the other Windows OSes.

o   Action is immediate without need to reboot or log off the system.

How to disable WRITE PROTECTION for USB Devices?

>>RUN

>>REGEDIT

>> Navigate to this KEY

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\ Control\StorageDevicePolicies

>> Create or Change DWORD called WriteProtect assigning the value 1 (ENABLES Write Protection) – the value 0 DISABLES Write Protection.

Enable USB Storage Devices

>> Navigate to this key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\UsbStor

>> Create or Change DWORD called Start assigning the value 4 (Hexadecimal) (ENABLES Write Protection) – the value 3 (Hex) ENABLES the USB Storage Devices.

        Now your USB Device is no more READ-ONLY.

 

References and Related Links:

Ø  How to Enable USB device by coding freak

Ø  Write protection for USB Storage Devices

Ø  Search Google for to Enable/Disable USB devices/drives?

How To Easily Remove the MonaRonaDona 'Virus'

The MonaRonaDona Trojan is designed to scam infected users into shelling out $40 for a bogus scanner dubbed Unigray Antivirus. The scammers completed the hoax by positioning several forum posts from alleged victims touting the bogus Unigray Antivirus as a miracle cure for the MonaRonaDona 'virus'. In reality, removal is very simple and requires absolutely no tools, nor parting with any of your hard-earned cash. Just boot into safe mode and follow the directions below. Original Article here

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: 15 minutes

Here's How To Easily Remove the MonaRonaDona 'Virus':

1. If you haven't already done so, boot into safe mode.

2. Search for and delete the following folder, if found:

   C:\Program Files\UniGray Antivirus

   You may also wish to delete the following:

   C:\Program Files\RegistryCleanFix2008

3. Search the global startup folder for the following file and delete the file if found:

   SRVSPOOL.EXE

   By default, the global startup folder location is
   C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

4. Click Start, click Run, type REGEDIT, and click OK. The Registry Editor will now open.

   Note: To avoid unwanted page wrapping, the following abbreviations are used in the steps below:

   HKCU = HKEY_CURRENT_USER
   HKLM = HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

5. To fix the title bar changes to Internet Explorer and Outlook Express caused by MonaRonaDona, browse to the following keys and delete the values indicated:

   HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
   Delete value: Window Title

   HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
   Delete value: Window Title

   HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express
   Delete value: WindowTitle

6. To regain access to Task Manager, which was disabled by MonaRonaDona, browse to the following keys and delete the values indicated:

   HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
   Delete value: DisableTaskMgr

   HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
   Delete value: DisableTaskMgr

7. You may also wish to delete the following:

   HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
   Delete value: RegistryCleanFixMFC

8. Close the Registry editor by choosing File | Exit

9. Reboot the computer normally. The system should now be free of the MonaRonaDona 'virus' and the system changes made by the Trojan should now be reversed.

For begineers: How to Edit the System Registry & Windows System Registry Tutorial by About.com.

How To Enable Folder Options in Windows Explorer

Malware often drops itself as a hidden file and then disables the Folder Options menu in Windows Explorer so you can't change the settings to view hidden files and folders. If you are unable to access the Tools | Folder Options in Windows Explorer, here's how to modify the registry to regain access to the Folder Options menu.

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: 5 minutes

Here's How To Enable Folder Options in Windows Explorer:

1. Click Start
2. Click Run
3. Type REGEDIT
4. Click OK
   The Registry Editor will now open
5. Browse to the following key:
   HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
   Note: HKCU stands for HKEY_CURRENT_USER
6. In the right pane, look for the value: NoFolderOptions
7. Right click NoFolderOptions and select Delete. (When prompted with "Are you sure you want to delete this value", select Yes.
8. Now browse to the following key:
   HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
   Note: HKLM stands for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
9. In the right pane, look for the value: NoFolderOptions
10. Right click NoFolderOptions and select Delete. (When prompted with "Are you sure you want to delete this value", select Yes.
11. Close the Registry by choosing File | Exit
12. You should now be able to access the Folder Options menu. If not, reboot into Safe Mode and repeat the steps outlined above.

 

For begineers: How to Edit the System Registry & Windows System Registry Tutorial by About.com.

User can use registry editor

User can use registry editor: Almost all of Windows' security settings and configuration parameters are stored in the registry database.

If users can access the registry directly with the registry editor (REGEDIT.EXE) it is very easy for them to change their own rights and permissions if they have the necessary knowledge, which makes security strategies pointless. In addition to this, inexperienced users can do serious damage to the system by "playing" with the registry editor.

• Disabling this option significantly increases system security by preventing users from using the registry editor.

• Active Immediately

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

  DWord <given below> Value 1

   

• DisableRegistryTools    -    User can use registry editor

• NoDispCPL                    -    User can access Display settings

• NoDispScrSavPage       -    User can configure screen saver

• NoDispBackgroundPage   -    User can configure desktop background

• NoDispAppearancePage   -    User can configure desktop appearance

windows secrets II

Changing the clock to 24-Hour Time

1. To change the display of the clock on the taskbar to 24-hour format:
2. Open the Control Panel
3. Double-click on the Regional Settings icon
4. Click on the Time tab
5. In the Time style section select H:mm:ss

Removing the InBox and Recycle Bin Icons from the Desktop

To remove the InBox from your desktop, without needing to run the Policy Editor:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ explorer \ Desktop \ NameSpace
3. Below that should be a few keys
4. Rename the key {00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}. I usually put another character before or after the curly braces.
5. Restart Windows and the InBox icon should be gone
6. You can do the same for any other items you don't to show such as the Recycle Bin or The Internet icons

Changing or Removing the Start Menu Icons

1. Download Microangelo and install it.
2. Create a blank.ico file.
3. Put it in a directory (C:\Windows. Then double click on the Microangelo Engineer to run it.
4. When you get it up on the screen click on the "start" tab. You will see a list of all the icons in the start menu.
5. Highlight the first one (programs) and select "Change". It will bring up a dialog box - select "browse".
6. Go to the directory that contains the blank icon and select it. Hit OK until you get back to the main
7. Engineer window and do all the rest exactly the same way.
8. When you have finished changing them all to the blank icon, Hit "Apply".
9. Hit your start button and look to see if all the icons are invisible. (They should be.)
10. Close out Micro Engineer and you're finished.

Adding Drive to the SendTo List

• I have recently found that if you want to send something from A: drive or from any where to any drive, you can just make a short cut of that drive in subdirectory SENDTO.
• For example I have two hard drives, a Floppy Drive, and a CDROM
• After I have make a copy of each of my drive I will be able to send a whole directory of E:\XXX from the CDROM drive to A: drive or any other drive that i have had made the short c t in the SENDTO subdir of WINDOWS.

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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

Dealling with ActMon Computer Monitoring an Spyware

Type: Spyware
Name: ActMon Computer Monitoring
Version: 5.20
Publisher: ActMon Software
Risk Impact: High
Systems Affected: Windows 98, Windows 95,  Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP

The following instructions pertain to all current and recent Symantec antivirus products, including the Symantec AntiVirus and Norton AntiVirus product lines.

• Disable System Restore (Windows Me/XP).

• Update the virus definitions.

• Run a full system scan.

• Delete any values added to the registry.

For specific details on each of these steps, read the following instructions.

1. To disable System Restore (Windows Me/XP)

If you are running Windows Me or Windows XP, we recommend that you temporarily turn off System Restore. Windows Me/XP uses this feature, which is enabled by default, to restore the files on your computer in case they become damaged. If a virus, worm, or Trojan infects a computer, System Restore may back up the virus, worm, or Trojan on the computer.

Windows prevents outside programs, including antivirus programs, from modifying System Restore. Therefore, antivirus programs or tools cannot remove threats in the System Restore folder. As a result, System Restore has the potential of restoring an infected file on your computer, even after you have cleaned the infected files from all the other locations.

Also, a virus scan may detect a threat in the System Restore folder even though you have removed the threat.

For instructions on how to turn off System Restore, read your Windows documentation, or one of the following articles:

How to disable or enable Windows Me System Restore?
How to turn off or turn on Windows XP System Restore?

Note: When you are completely finished with the removal procedure and are satisfied that the threat has been removed, reenable System Restore by following the instructions in the aforementioned documents.

2. To update the virus definitions

Update your Antivirus Program and  Virus Definitions ASAP.

Running LiveUpdate, which is the easiest way to obtain virus definitions.
Downloading the definitions using the Intelligent Updater: The Intelligent Updater virus definitions are posted daily. You should download the definitions from the Symantec Security Response Web site and manually install them. To determine whether definitions for this threat are available by the Intelligent Updater, refer to Virus Definitions (Intelligent Updater).

3. To run a full system scan

Run a full system scan.
If any files are detected, follow the instructions displayed by your antivirus program.
Important: If you are unable to start your Symantec antivirus product or the product reports that it cannot delete a detected file, you may need to stop the risk from running in order to remove it. To do this, run the scan in Safe mode. For instructions, read the document, How to start the computer in Safe Mode. Once you have restarted in Safe mode, run the scan again.

After the files are deleted, restart the computer in Normal mode and proceed with the next section.

Warning messages may be displayed when the computer is restarted, since the threat may not be fully removed at this point. You can ignore these messages and click OK. These messages will not appear when the computer is restarted after the removal instructions have been fully completed. The messages displayed may be similar to the following:

Title: [FILE PATH]
Message body: Windows cannot find [FILE NAME]. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again. To search for a file, click the Start button, and then click Search.

4. To delete the value from the registry

Important: Back up the registry before making any changes to it. Incorrect changes to the registry can result in permanent data loss or corrupted files. Modify the specified subkeys only. For instructions refer to the document: How to make a backup of the Windows registry?.

Click Start > Run.
Type regedit
Click OK.

Note: If the registry editor fails to open the threat may have modified the registry to prevent access to the registry editor. Security Response has developed a tool to resolve this problem. Download and run this tool, and then continue with the removal.


Navigate to and delete the following entries:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\Explorer\Run\"srvprc" = ""%System%\srvprc.exe" -at"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\Explorer\Run\"wskrnl" = ""%System%\wskrnl.exe" -at"

Navigate to and delete the following registry subkeys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\srvprc
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\wskrnl
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\wskrnlc
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wskrnlc

Restore the following registry entries to their original values, if required:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Class\{4D36E96B-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\"UpperFilters" = "kbdclass[EXTENDED ASCII CHARACTER 191]wskrnlc"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E96B-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\"UpperFilters" = "kbdclass[EXTENDED ASCII CHARACTER 191]wskrnlc"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Enum\ACPI\PNP0303\4&5289e18&0\Control\"ActiveService" = "wskrnlc"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\ACPI\PNP0303\4&5289e18&0\Control\"ActiveService" = "wskrnlc"

Exit the Registry Editor.

Voila, there you are safe of the ActMon. This article has been prepeared by the ActMon removed file report from Symantec's Antivirus Program. For more on removing viruses, refer to the following links or search the GeekLog.

• Dealing and removing dxdlg.exe (Trojan/Backdoor)
• Reinvesting in Security? THINK ONCE AGAIN!
• The easiest way to remove viruses/malwares without installing any antivirus software
• Viruses are a big no-no today, and many a posts at geeklog are here.
• If you have any suspicious files on your system, you can check them for viruses by using the file scanner.
• Symantec's Norton Antivirus

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