Technical - Set a Blank Password in Windows XP To Protect the Computer from Internet Attacks

            Your Windows XP computer is more safe if you don’t set any password at all than using some weak password like "abc123" which can be easily guessed by hackers.
          Using a blank password (or no password at all) makes your computer more secure because Windows XP accounts, that are not protected by a password, cannot be accessed remotely over the network or the
Internet.

         You have to be physically infront of the computer in order to get in. Due to this default behavior, it is better to leave a blank password assigned to an XP account rather than assigning a weak, easily guessed password.
        An official guide from Microsoft on Password strength therefore suggests using blank passwords on Windows XP machines when the following criteria are met:
• You only have one computer or you have several computers but you do not need to access information on one computer from another one
• The computer is physically secure (you trust everyone who has physical access to the computer – like your family members).

Thanks to labnol.org


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Burn a CD on Windows XP without using software

            Windows XP comes with a builtin CD-copy feature that not many people are aware of. Although almost everyone has his/her favorite CD-copy software to stick with, it is still good to know about this CDR feature from Windows XP. You will find it very useful when you come to another PC that doesn't have a CD-copy software, and you can't just install your favorite software to it. With this feature, you can write some data or MP3 files to a CD/DVD, or erase a re-writable CD/DVD.
If you're using a Re-Writable CD (CD-RW), make sure the disc is blank. You might need to erase (or "format") it before use. For information how to erase a CD-RW on Windows XP without using any other software, see this article.

Requirements: You need to enable the CD-R feature on Windows XP. If you haven't done so, see this article.

1. Insert a Formated-ReWritable CD or a Recordable (CD-R) disc into the CD drive.
2. From Desktop, double-click on "My Computer".
3. Navigate to the files/folders you want to copy to CD. Select them and press "Ctrl-c" to copy.
4. Browse back to the CD-ROM, and press "Ctrl-V" to paste. The files/folders will show up as temporary files/folders at this time.
   
   
   
5. On the left panel, select "Write these files to CD".
   
   
   
6. The window "CD Writing Wizard" appears with the default CD name. Change the CD name if you wish, then click "Next".
   
   
7. The "CD Writing Wizard" starts to write files/folders to the CD:
   
   
   
8. Once the writing process is complete, the wizard will disappear and the CD-Rom will be ejected.

10 Key board tricks for Windows Xp

We have become so addicted to the mouse that we do not realize how much it disrupts our work as we keep reaching out for it. And just how annoying does it become when your mouse is unresponsive, gets stuck or you trip it over as you try to quickly get a hold of it.
The keyboard on the other hand is far more powerful than we realize. And don’t we have our hands all over it anyways? There are a few cool keyboard tricks that can help you save time and make you more productive.
Here is a short list for the most handy Windows XP and Firefox shortcuts. Some of these may also work in other applications.

Windows XP

1. [SHIFT] + [alt] + [PrntScrn] – high contrast
A window will open, click OK or simply hit [Enter]. This will enlarge the font on all open Windows and change colors to high contrast. For example the desktop will turn black, what was black text on white background will be reversed. Clicking the same key combination again reverts the changes.

2. [Ctrl] + [alt] + [up/down/left/right arrow] – rotate screen
This won’t work on every machine as it depends on your graphics card and video drivers. However, if it does work, it will rotate your desktop.
3. [Ctrl] + select items from taskbar, right-click selected – mass control open windows
You need to hold the [Ctrl] key while selecting open windows from the taskbar. To open the menu seen on the left, right-click any of the selected items.
With this trick you can simultaneously close a group of applications at once or show them side by side or stacked or in a cascade.
This can save a ton of time wasted on rearranging windows.
4. [Alt] + [Tab] – switch between running programs
A little window will launch showing all open programs. Click the [Tab] key to jump to the next application, release keys to open the selected one.
5. [SHIFT] + [Del] – bypass Recycle Bin
Selecting a file and pressing the combination above will invoke a delete confirmation dialog. Clicking ‘Yes’ will delete the file without sending it to the Recycle Bin.
6. [Windows] + [D] – show desktop or restore open windows
This is the keyboard shortcut to the respective quick launch taskbar icon.
7. [Windows] + [L] – lock system
An easy way to quickly protect and lock your system. When you log back in, all programs will still be running and windows will appear just the way you left them.
8. [Ctrl] + [Z] and [Ctrl] + [Y] – undo and redo
I’m sure you all know that you can undo changes using the [Ctrl] + [Z] shortcut. Wouldn’t it be awesome to have this feature outside the computer?  Anyways, you can undo an undo, i.e. redo what you did using the [Ctrl] + [Y] key combination.
9. [Windows] + [R], type cmd, hold [Ctrl] + [SHIFT] and hit Enter – run command prompt as Administrator
The command prompt will now be run as Administrator.
10. Create your own keyboard trick!
Are there folders or applications you need a lot?  Why not create your own keyboard shortcut to quickly access these tools?
This will only work for shortcuts located on your desktop!
First you need to create an actual desktop shortcut. Right-click on the application and select > Create Shortcut from the context menu. Make sure the shortcut sits on your desktop. Now right-click the shortcut and select > Properties. You should see a line that says “Shortcut Key: <none>”. Click that line and then click a letter ony our keyboard, for example P. A shortcut will be created, in this example [Ctrl] + [alt] + [P]. And there you go, now you have your own personal shortcut key.

This is how to create "CON" folder.

Do u ever tried to create the con folder.........................

no.......... then try it...........

they r two ways of creating confolder......

1. By using Command Prompt.
2. Without using Command Prompt.

if u want to knoww, then just leave a message (in the comment) and ur mail id too............

i ll reply u within 10hrs :)

Create Your Own Logon Message

1 Click start
click run
type regedit,
then click ok!

2 In The registry editor, drill down to the following key:
hklm\software\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current version\Winlogon.

3 Right click LegalNoticeCaption,
click modify,
Type: THIS IS NEXT TRICK,and then click ok!

4 Right click legalNoticeText,
click modify, and then Close your message!

5 Restart Your Computer.

6 The message will appear every time you logon!

Chat With Command Prompt

If you want personal chat with a friend

you don't need to download any yahoo messenger
All you need is your friends IP address and Command Prompt.

Firstly, open Notepad and enter:

@echo off

:A

Cls

echo MESSENGER

set /p n=User:

set /p m=Message:

net send %n% %m%

Pause

Goto A

Now save this as "Messenger.bat". Open the .bat file and in Command

Prompt you should see:

MESSENGER

User:

After "User" type the IP address of the computer you want to contact.

After this, you should see this:

Message:

Now type in the message you wish to send.Before you press "Enter" it should look like this:

MESSENGER

User:27.196.391.193

Message: Hi

Now all you need to do is press "Enter", and start chatting!

Reverse the mouse buttons

1) No context menu

What will you see when you right click on the desktop? You will see a context menu which says arrange icons, refresh,..and so on. Are you angry at your friend for not wishing you for you B'day? Do you wanna play a trick on a newbie in your family who is new to computers? This is a cool trick to play. By this tweak, you will be able to disable the right click on the desktop or any icons/files/folders/applications... But right click will work on taskbar of the start button and registry. So, dont worry!!!
Open your registry and you will see all unknown files like HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT....... and so on. Don't panic. Follow this path. HKEY_CURRENT_USER>SOFTWARE>MICROSOFT>WINDOWS>CURRENT VERSION>POLICIES>EXPLORER. On the right side of the registry, you will see two files(in general) named 'default' and 'NoDriveTypeAutoRun'. Right click on the empty space in the registry and goto New>DWORD VALUE and name it as "NoViewContextMenu". Remember, no spaces and N,V,C,M should be capitals. Right click on this and click modify. The default value will be 0. Change it to 1. Note: DONOT CHANGE THE HEXADECIMAL TO DECIMAL. Click OK. Close your registry and logout. Bingo!!! Once you login again, right click wont work. Your friend will be perplexed and the next thing he/she does is call the system administrator not knowing that not all system administrators will be knowing about registry. Now, to enable it again. follow the same path and set the value to 0. Logout and then login to see the effect.

2) Reverse the mouse buttons
This is a cool trick to play on newbies. Actually, there are two ways to do this. One is changing the settings in the Control panel and the other is through editing registry. You can do it either way. But I prefer the second way, which is challenging.
(i) Through Control Panel - goto Start> Control Panel> Printers and other hardware> Mouse. In Button configuration, enable the switch primary and secondary buttons option and click OK. But remember, you have just swapped the mouse buttons. So, for OK, you have to click the right mouse button. The newbie will be perplexed. Well, this trick is good for left handers.
(ii) Editing the registry - By default the left mouse button is the primary and the right is secondary. Open your registry and follow this path:
HLEY_CURRENT_USER>Control Panel>Mouse and on the right side of the registry, create this String value(REG_SZ): 'SwapMouseButtons' and set its value to 1. Bingo!!! You are done. Log out/Restart the computer.

You can try this: Combine tricks 1 and 2. That means, this will result in swapping of the mouse buttons and disabling the left click(once the buttons are swapped). User is ready to call system administrator cuz he feels that the system is behaving wildly.

Disable CD Burning

Exciting isn't it?

The user can't burn any CDs by this trick. This restriction will disable the use of the inbuilt CD recording functions of Windows.

Open your registry and follow this path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER>Software>Microsoft>Windows>Current Version>Policies>Explorer and
create this key: "NoCDBurning" and set its value to 1. Close you registry and logout/restart your system for the change to take the effect.

How to Hide the drives(c:,d:,e:,...etc) in Ur Computer

This is a great trick you can play on your friends. To disable the display of local or networked drives when you click My Computer.

1.Go to start->run.Type regedit.Now go to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

Now in the right pane
create a new DWORD item and name it NoDrives (it is case sensitive).
Now modify it's value and set it to 3FFFFFF (Hexadecimal) .
Now restart your computer.
So, now when you click on My Computer, no drives will be shown(all gone...).

To enable display of drives in My Computer, simply delete this DWORD item that you created.Again restart your computer.You can now see all the drives again. Magic........lol..

To Create Folder " CON "

Without using Command Prompt.

Here is a simple method..........
Rename folder from the right click option........
Now press alt and press 255...
press 255 frm the right sideof the key bords i.e., num pad....
where only numbers r given.....
now write con and then press enter.....huh!!
you ll see a con folder in ur pc
and also you can delete it easily.

Create A Hidden User Account

Create A Hidden User Account
This tweak allows an account that is normally displayed on the Welcome screen to be hidden from view. To log on using the account it's necessary to use the Log On To Windows dialog box similar to the one in Windows 2000. #[Start] [Run] [Regedit]#Registry Key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList#Modify/Create the Value Data Type(s) and Value Name(s) as detailed below.#Data Type: REG_DWORD [Dword Value] // Value Name: Type Name of Account to be Hidden#Setting for Value Data: [0 = Account is Hidden / 1 = Enabled]#Exit Registry and Reboot...

While the account is hidden on the Welcome screen, note that the account profile will be visible in C:\Documents and Settings or wherever user profiles are stored as well as in Local Users and Groups

How to find the IP address of the sender in Yahoo! mail

When you receive an email, you receive more than just the message. The email comes with headers that carry important information that can tell where the email was sent from and possibly who sent it. For that, you would need to find the IP address of the sender. The tutorial below can help you find the IP address of the sender. Note that this will not work if the sender uses anonymous proxy servers.

Finding IP address in Yahoo! Mail

1. Log into your Yahoo! mail with your username and password.
2. Click on Inbox or whichever folder you have stored your mail.
3. Open the mail.
4. If you do not see the headers above the mail message, your headers are not displayed. To display the headers,
* Click on Options on the top-right corner
* In the Mail Options page, click on General Preferences
* Scroll down to Messages where you have the Headers option
* Make sure that Show all headers on incoming messages is selected
* Click on the Save button
* Go back to the mails and open that mail.
5. You should see similar headers like this:Yahoo! headers : nameLook for Received: from followed by the IP address between square brackets [ ]. Here, it is 202.65.138.109.That is be the IP address of the sender!
6. Track the IP address of the sender

Recover the lost administrators password in Windows XP

Slightly more work needed if you lose or forget the Windows XP administrator password.

1.First reboot Windows XP in safe mode by re-starting the computer and pressing F8 repeated as the computer starts up.

2.Then (in safe mode) click Start and then click Run. In the open box type "control userpasswords2" without the quotes - I have just used quotes to differentiate what you have to type.

3.You will now have access to all the user accounts, including the administrators account and will be able to reset the lost password.

4.Just click the administrators user account, and then click Reset Password.

5.You will need to add a new password in the New password and the Confirm new password boxes, and confirm by clicking OK.

Keeping the Windows XP Core in the RAM

If you have 512 MB or more of RAM, you can increase system performance by having the Windows XP 'Core' kept in the RAM instead of paged on the hard disk.

Go to Start -> Run - Type regedit and press enter - On the left hand side tree, navigate to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\

- On the list on the right side, look for an entry called 'DisablePagingExecutive'
- Double click it
- Press 1 on your keyboard
- Click OK
- Exit regedit and reboot the computer

To revert to the default setting, follow the same steps as above, but this time, press 0(zero) instead of 1 on the keyboard.

Clean out the prefetch folder :

Windows XP uses a system called 'prefetch' to organize and preload some of the data necessary for commonly used applications and files. A folder called prefetch is used to store the information the operating system needs to carry out this operation.
After several months of use, the prefetch folder may become quite overloaded with older references to software and files that may no longer be in use.It's a good idea to manually empty the older files out of the prefetch folder every few months or so.
To do this: Navigate to 'c:\windows\prefetch' and delete all .
Or in command prompt type "prefetch"  click enter and delete all
PF files that are older than a week or two.

Remove Thumb.db file

Thumb.db is is a cache of the current picture in that directory.to remove it go for following
step1 > open "WINDOWS EXPLORER".
2>go to "TOOLS".
3>open "FOLDER OPTIONS".
4>go to "VIEW".
5>see 1st section "FILES & FOLDERS".
6>click on the "DO NOT CACHE THUMBNAILS".
now the thumbnail file will be removed from ur computer once u do this the file will be never created.

Trick to Show ur name after time in taskbar...

Hi freinds !
I m here to tell u a trick to add up ur name in place of AM and PM beside time and make urself to feel proud among ur group of frnds.
Its simple
Start -> Control Pannel -> Regional and LAnguage option -> Customize (beside English US) -> Go to TIME tab -> Change AM symbol and PM symbol from AM and PM to ur name -> Apply -> Ok ...
IS it changed ??? Might be not ...Now go to time in taskbar and Double Click it to open "Date and time property" ...Look place where time chnges in digital form i.e. 02:47:52 AM , click to arrow to cnage the AM or PM by selecting and press arrow. It will Show ur name or name that was entered by u, Apply -> OK and be HAPPY 8)

Error Reporting in XP

Is it strange to hear , but true that some good programs are hidden in Windows XP !!!

Programs :

1. Private Character Editor :

Used for editing fonts,etc.
** start>>Run
** Now, type eudcedit

2. Dr. Watson :

This an inbuilt windows repairing software !
** start>>Run
** Now, type drwtsn32

3. Media Player 5.1 :

Even if you upgrade your Media Player, you can still access your old player in case the new one fails !!!
** start>>Run
** Now, type mplay32

4. iExpress :

Used to create SetupsYou can create your own installers !
** start>>Run
** Now, type iexpress

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Error Reporting in XP

If error reporting in XP is bugging you then turn it off.

When a system error occurs in XP, a little dialog box appears asking if you want to report the error to Microsoft. Click the message box to make it disappear. You don't have to report the error if you don't want to and on today's "Call for Help" Leo shows you how to turn off the feature if you find it distracting.

To disable error reporting, follow these directions:

1. Right-click My Computer and choose Properties.
2. Click the Advanced tab on your System Properties dialog box.
3. Click the Error Reporting button on the Advanced tab.
4. Place a checkmark next to "Disable error reporting."
5. Leave the other radio button unchecked next to the text labeled, "But notify me when critical errors occur."
6. Click OK.

How to Write Protect and Disable USB Drive

This works if your mp3 player or usb flash device works fine with with other computers. 

Registry
Warning If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. If uncomfortable with using Registry Editor, see if you can find someone who is comfortable and that you can Trust. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For Windows XP Only
1) Click Start->Run. 

2)Type regedit and hit enter. 

4)Click on the plus sign next to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE 

5)Click on the plus sign next to SYSTEM 

6)Click on the plus sign next to CurrentControlSet 

7)Click on the plus sign next to Control 

8)Click on the plus sign next to StorageDevicePolicies 

9)Write click on WriteProtect and click modify. 

10)If the value data is 1 change it 0 and click ok. 

11)Repeat steps 7 to 10 for ControlSet001 and ControlSet002 . 

12)Close Registry editor and restart the computer. 

-------------------------------------------------------------
If you don't find it in the registry, the best way is to create it yourself. Below is the procedure.

Start the Registry Editor 

Go to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control key 

If there is no key called StorageDevicePolicies, create it
.
You do this by right-clicking the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control key, and selecting New > Key from the menu. 

Select the StorageDevicePolicies key

From the menu select Edit > New > DWORD Value

Name the new value WriteProtect 

Right-click the WriteProtect value and choose Modify 

In the Value Data: box enter 1 

Exit the registry editor, and restart your computer 

"To reverse, just delete the new WriteProtect value (or set the value to 0) and restart the computer."