Hacker's Lab

Hacking Skype: 25 Tips to Improve your Skype Experience

2008-08-09T21:09:00.000-07:00

How versatile is your Skype? Ours can podcast, translate French, take conference calls from 15 people, and tutor calculus. Want to learn how to turn your Skype telephone into a multipurpose office machine? We're going to tell you how.

For millions of users, Skype is the VoIP solution of choice. If you're just getting into this great telephone alternative, you are going to be surprised how much you can do with it. In this article we cover 25 tips, hacks, and extras to help you utilize Skype to its fullest potential.

Starting Simple: Built-In Skype Features you Didn't Know About

Skype is such a rapidly emerging technology that a lot of brand new users aren't even aware of all the built-in features that Skype offers standard, not to mention the add-ons and hacks that you can improve it with. In this section we cover some often overlooked standard features of Skype that can dramatically improve your experience.

1 Call Forwarding

Whether you've set your Skype account up on your home or work computer, the fact is, you are occasionally going to get important calls when you aren't there. Thankfully, you can simply forward those calls to another Skype account or even a cell phone or land line. That way, even if your computer at work is shut down, as soon as a call comes in to your Skype account, the call will immediately ring on your cell phone, your home computer and your home phone line, meaning that no matter where you are you'll be sure to get it.
To forward a call click on the "Tools" menu and select "Options." From there set the forwarding number in the "Call Forwarding & Voicemail" section.

2 Filtering and Blocking Users

Skype is a great tool for both business and pleasure, but if you don't take preventative steps, it can also cause you some serious security problems. Vishing is a new VoIP targeted scam in which cyber-criminals use a VoIP client such as Skype to call people and attempt to trick them into revealing important financial details such as credit card numbers or online passwords. But you can limit these attacks by simply blocking unwanted callers.
To block unknown or unwanted callers, simply click on "Tools" and select "Options." From there, select "Privacy" and choose the level of security that works best for you. When it comes to individual attacks, you can avoid repeat vishing calls by blocking the spammer by clicking on "Manage Blocked Users" in the "Options" dialog.

3 A DIY Home Security System

Whether you want to keep an eye on your pet goldfish from work or just make sure no one has broken in the house while you are on vacation, Skype can double as an away from home monitoring system.
Checking in is simple with Skype's one and two way video calling. You'll need two separate Skype accounts, a computer at home with a webcam, and access to the Internet. Using one account, setup the home version of Skype to auto-answer calls and automatically fire up the webcam. Then to check in, just use the second Skype account to call the first, and the webcam video will pop up.

4 Providing Customer Support

Got a small business online? Want to offer some customer support without spending a fortune on telephony costs? Skype's graphical click-to-call SkypeMe buttons are ideal for this. Create your SkypeMe button (free account needed) and embed the code in your website, weblog, template, email, or wherever you want it to appear. When someone views your web page (or email message), the button will indicate whether you are online and accepting Skye calls, busy, or offline. If you're on the go and want to receive calls, just leave your Skype client running and set call forwarding (see above).

Plugins, Addons, and Extras

Think of the off-the-shelf version of Skype as a new car without any optional package. Sure, it will still get you to and from work, but it doesn't have any of the bells and whistles that make your new toy exciting. Unlike car options, however, these Skype Plugins and Add-ons won't cost you a fortune, and they're easy to install to boot.

5 Using Skype to Sell your Services

You've got information that other people can use, and with the Bitwine Skype add-on you'll be able to leverage that information into an income stream. Whether you're a lawyer, a mechanic, or a talented collector, there are people willing to pay for the information you have, and using Bitwine makes selling that information easy. Through Bitwine, you set up your hourly rate, then customers approach you about the topic they would like to discuss, you set up a meeting time, and at the end of the meeting Bitwine tallies up the time and will even coordinate payment via PayPal through another add-on, Bitwine extra.

6 Recording Calls

There are a lot of add-on options for recording Skype calls, including the free Audacity audio editor. But Audacity has to be triggered manually, and since you don't always know beforehand when a call should be recorded, the fact that Audacity is manual is a serious limitation. By contrast, there are a number of Skype recorders that start up automatically. HotRecorder is arguably among the best. HotRecorder allows searchable Meta text to be added to each recording, and works with Google Talk and other IM clients. For aspiring Howard Sterns, there's a selection of Emotisounds such as laughs, claps, etc., that can be inserted into the conversation for later podcasting.

7 Enhanced Voicemail

If you use your Skype phone for more than just the occasional long-distance call, you should enhance your voicemail setup beyond the basic Skype standard. Pamela offers (automatic) call recording, an answering machine for voice and video, automated chat reply if you're away, Skype VoiceMail management, and email forwarding of audio files. In addition, Pamela will let you setup a separate greeting or voicemail message for different users, so that your business and personal calls won't hear the same message. And best of all, Pamela allows for remote control, meaning that if you forget to change one of the voicemail settings before you go on vacation, you can make the changes via any computer anywhere.

8 Keep Up With New Music

If you constantly find yourself wondering why everyone else's iPod seems to have better music than yours, maybe its time to start branching out and discovering new music. Last.fm, a Skype add-on provides you with an easy forum to share your own musical preferences and listen to what other people like. With this add-on, you can browse through other Skype and Last.fm user's music collections and listen in. While you're listening, information about the song and artist you're listening to is displayed and you're given the ability to find similar titles.

Setup is really simple, you just need to download the Last.fm extra, sign up for a free account at Last.fm and there download the Last.fm software. For those of you that are Mac users, Last.fm will still work as a Skype add-on, the only difference is that you will need to download the iScrobbler extra to make Last.fm Mac compatible.

9 Universal Chat and Language Translation

It's a global world out there, so whether you're conducting business or pleasure with Skype, you are likely communicating with people around the world and may occasionally encounter language barriers. Thankfully, by using the quick add-on Universal Chat Translator you can communicate with anyone no matter what language they speak. The software only produces text translations, so you may feel like you're watching a foreign film with subtitles, but the fact that the Universal Translator can read text in 11 languages and understand spoken text in 50 means that you'll at least be able to get your point across.

10 A Complete Small Business Collaboration Solution

If you're running a small business or working as part of a team on a single project, real-time collaboration is essential. There's no better way to supplement your Skype conferencing than with a collaborative desktop provided by Skype add-on Unyte. Unyte lets you choose which applications or documents to share with the other people on your conference call. Then everyone can be looking at the same documents at the same time, and when changes are made they appear on everyone's screen so that there is no confusion. Pricing depends on the number of people you want to bring in on the conference, but you can give two-person collaboration a try for free.

11 Combining Real-Time Document and Voice Collaboration

If the setup hassles of Unyte are too much for you, a simpler solution that redefines easy-setup is TalkandWrite. TalkandWrite will give you video and voice conferencing as well as handle real-time collaborative document editing. That means, that not only will the changes you make be reflected on the other person's screen, but you'll also be able to see and talk with the other person about those changes as you make them. This easy Skype add-on can be a real time-saver for anyone who spends time working with a small team preparing for a project.

Mobility

With the advent first of cordless phones and then cell phones, every communication device is going mobile. So it doesn't make sense that your most advanced communication tool, Skype, should keep you tethered to your computer. Here are a few Skype add-ons and extras to give you the freedom to get out from behind your desk.

12 Bluetooth and Skype

The first step to mobility is just cutting the cord that connects you to your computer when you're using Skype. You can think of this step as the advent of the cordless phone for Skype, it will get you mobile, but only within certain limits. Most newer computers are already Bluetooth capable, so purchasing and synching up a Bluetooth wireless earpiece or headset is extremely simple. In fact, you can use a single Bluetooth earpiece to handle calls from both Skype and your cell phone, so you may not need to buy anything if you're already using a Bluetooth earpiece with your mobile. The only downside to going Skype wireless via Bluetooth is that you are limited by Bluetooth as to how far from your computer you can be. But for those that are just looking for a way to cut the wire and have a little more mobility around the office, Bluetooth is the perfect solution.

13 Mobile Phone Skype Calling

Imagine if you could use SkypeIn or SkypeOut from your cell phone: you could make and receive phone calls to people around the world with the convenience of your cell phone but the pricing of Skype. Thankfully, that day is already here, but a surprising number of Skype fans just don't yet know about the capability. Ego has been offering their Skype based cell phone service for almost a year. It lets you see who is online, make and receive calls with your Skype contacts, and use Skype Instant Messaging.

If the idea of carrying both a Skype phone and a regular cell phone doesn't suit you, TalkPlus has hacked the Skype API to create a server that functions as a Skype client, demonstrating that integrating Skype calls and regular mobile calls will soon be a reality. In fact, in November 2006, TalkPlus demonstrated a successful mobile call to Skype test id echo123. Their hack was then made public, and could be installed on mobile phones to talk to the Skype server. Since then, the service has temporarily gone MIA, but expect that very soon full cell phone/ Skype integration will be a reality.

14 Skype on a Cell Phone…Indirectly

While the ultimate goal is complete Skype/ mobile integration, for now you can get a lot of the functionality of a Skype mobile phone by routing your mobile through your home Skype setup. By using a Phone Diverter, which will allow your cell phone to communicate with your computer, you can enable Skype on your mobile phone indirectly.

Essentially, you will be using your mobile phone to call your home computer, which will in turn ask you to enter a password, and then allow you to use your SkypeOut credits to call your Skype friends. While the system isn't yet perfect, in part because you'll be racking up both your cell phone and SkypeOut minutes at once, it is an effective way to be able to make Skype calls from your cell phone now.

15 Bringing Skype to your TV

Imagine, you hear your Skype phone ring, but it's the fourth quarter of the game, and who knows if the call is even important. You don't want to get up, but it seems you have no choice. Thankfully, with mcePhone you won't have to get up to find out who is calling ever again, as your incoming Skype calls will simply pop up on your TV screen.

From your TV you'll be able to see your own Skype-Status (online, offline, etc), the number of SkypeOut credits you have, which of your Skype friends are currently online, and whether you have any new voicemails. And when a new call comes in, a small window automatically pops up letting you know who the caller is, and it will even let you decide whether you want to accept, ignore, or reject the call all by remote control.

16 Having your Skype Announce Who is Calling

Despite its simplicity, AudioID is easily one of the most useful Skype hacks for home users. AudioID will allow you to setup an individualized announcement for each caller that will play over your computer or home speaker system. So instead of hearing a generic computer ring from somewhere way back in the home office, you can hear a clear message from your computer, "Call from Kristy" which will let you decide whether you need to run back to take the call or whether it can wait until later.

Pure Silliness: Skype Hacks Designed to Entertain

Much of Skype's appeal is the connectivity and productivity it brings to its users. But Skype can also just be a great way to have a whole lot of fun. These simple hacks will help you do just that.

17 Voice Analysis Love Detector

Whether you're using a Skype based dating service or are just want to know if that secret crush feels the same way about you, the Love Detector is a fun Skype add-on that uses SENSE voice analysis technology to detect love and other emotions over your Skype calls. But before you rush out and purchase the full version, you can give this add-on a free trial run and start testing how people really feel about you.

18 Making Board Games Fun Again

Need a break from work but need to stay in front of the computer so your boss doesn't get suspicious? There are a whole host of classic board games that you can add-on to Skype for some fun diversion. With Backgammon, Bingo, Chess and Checkers, you can compete against your fellow Skype users using 'old-school' games with 'new-school' interfaces.

19 KishKish Lie Detector

If you're using your Skype phone to conduct business deals and you want to make sure the other party is being truthful, or you just want to prove once and for all that your boyfriend is a cheater, try KishKish the Skype Lie Detector add-on. KishKish detects the stress level of the person you are talking with over Skype, and it uses that information to detect when they are lying.

20 Creating a Lip-Snyc-ing Avatar to Hide Behind

Video calls can be great for connecting with people on a more personal level. But sometimes, whether because we don't know the caller well or it just hasn't been a good morning, we don't want to be seen. Instead of feeling embarrassed in front of the camera, CrazyTalk allows you to create your own Skype video avatar and have him/ her lip-sync anything you say. This fun add-on is surprisingly simple to setup and use, and will allow you create your own custom avatar from any digital photo. Once set up, it takes just a click to have the avatar pop up, cover the Skype video screen and begin lip-sync-ing.

21 Disguising your Voice

There's nothing more entertaining than changing your voice to mess with your friends. Whether you want to impersonate their boss or their girlfriend, DoNaut has got you covered.

This easy to install Skype add-on will allow you to adjust the tone and quality of your voice throughout the call. In addition, you can use DoNaut to pipe in some background music to your Skype calls off your favorite music player such as iTunes, or Windows Media Player.

22 "Can I Have Your Number?" … "Umm, No."

Whether from a bad blind date, or a sales person that just won't take no for an answer, we've all been in a situation where we didn't want to give the person our phone number or Skype information, but it seemed unavoidable.

Thankfully, the folks that compiled the original NotMyNumber Directory have given Skype users the ability to provide people with a fake number as well. This simple Skype add-on will give you access to local numbers in every major city that are guaranteed to be inactive. That way, when someone you don't want to talk to asks you for your Skype number, you can very casually access the Skype NotMyNumber Tool and offer them a completely fake number.

Advanced Hacks

If you're tech savvy and really want to push your Skype setup to the limit, this list of advanced hacks can help you create functionalities that are sure to improve your experience and wow your friends. But be forewarned, even though a lot of these hacks will be simple to advanced tweakers, if you're new to Skype you may find some of these hacks are over your head.

23 Multiple Logins

If Skype has become your family's communication device of choice, then no doubt you have experienced the problem of having multiple members of your family trying to use your home Skype account at the same time. For a quick fix to this problem, just setup setup multiple logins, so that everyone in the family can use their Skype ID whenever they want. So far this hack is only available for Windows XP users, but keep an eye out for a hack compatible with your OS in the near future.

24 Wake-up Call

If you're a regular business traveler, finding yourself without a wake-up call can be a big problem. Thankfully, by following this hack tutorial you can use the "Scheduled Task" feature in Windows XP to set a time and have Skype call the hotel phone to wake you up.

25 Design your own Hack

Don't see a hack here that interests you? Or maybe you need custom functionality and can't wait for someone to create it. Skype has open developer API, so you can write your own plugins which can be created in HTML or Java, or as an EXE or DLL. If you're looking for a community to help you with some of the programming hurdles, the Skype Developer Zone blog will even keep your questions private so that no one steals your new idea before you get it finished. And when your application is complete, the site also offers a Publishing Studio Publication Studio to manage your published component.

This list of 25 Skype hacks, modifications and add-ons are all designed for one thing… improving your Skype Experience. And with your newfound Skype knowledge you are now just a hack away from experiencing this great service in ways you never have before. So go out, implement a hack or two, and enjoy your improved Skype service. Happy Skype-ing!

Hack Win XP admin password

2008-08-05T19:50:00.000-07:00

If you log into a limited account on your target machine and open up a dos prompt
then enter this set of commands Exactly:

cd\ *drops to root
cd\windows\system32 *directs to the system32 dir
mkdir temphack *creates the folder temphack
copy logon.scr temphack\logon.scr *backsup logon.scr
copy cmd.exe temphack\cmd.exe *backsup cmd.exe
del logon.scr *deletes original logon.scr
rename cmd.exe logon.scr *renames cmd.exe to logon.scr
exit *quits dos

Now what you have just done is told the computer to backup the command program
and the screen saver file, then edits the settings so when the machine boots the
screen saver you will get an unprotected dos prompt with out logging into XP.

Once this happens if you enter this command minus the quotes

"net user <admin account name here> password"

If the Administrator Account is called Frank and you want the password blah enter this

"net user Frank blah"

and this changes the password on franks machine to blah and your in.

Have fun

p.s: dont forget to copy the contents of temphack back into the system32 dir to cover tracks

Some Linux Tips

2008-08-03T20:00:00.000-07:00

1) How to export DISPLAY on windows comp from a linux comp which is accessible from some router linux comp(for windows users only)

Suppose you are working on 10.8.11.1 and you go to 10.8.11.3 via 10.8.11.2, then to open graphical applications of 10.8.11.3 on 10.8.11.1, follow these steps:

1. start Xwin32 (on 10.8.11.1)
2. ssh to 10.8.1.2
3. export DISPLAY=10.8.11.1:0.0
4. vncserver (it will promt for a passwd, set the passwd)
5. start remote destop connection as server 10.8.11.2:1
6. xhost + (on 10.8.11.2)
7. ssh to 10.8.11.3 from 10.8.11.2
8. export DISPLAY=10.8.11.2:1 (on 10.8.11.3)
9. start any application.

2) How to get access of windows partitions in linux

As root, edit the file /etc/fstab e.g. let your windows C drive partition is /dev/hda1 and it is 'fat 32' file system. So to mount the C partition in /windows/C directory, in the /etc/fstab file, make an entry as
/dev/hda1 /windows/C vfat umask=0000 0 0
Note that umask=0000 will give write permissions to every user. To give write permission only to root, replace by
umask=0002

3) How to use mount command

a) To mount a hard disk partition
$mount -t <filesystem> -o <options> <device> <dir>
e.g. If you want to mount C partition as above, type as root
$mount -t vfat -o rw /dev/hda1 /windows/C

b) To mount an already visible directory to another place, type
$mount --bind <old-dir> <new-dir>

c) How to mount or extract .iso file in linux
As super user type
$mount -o loop -t iso9660 isofile mount_place

d) To mount nfs filesystem, e.g. mount /windows/C of 10.8.1.22 on your machine at /piyush/c, type
$mount -t nfs 10.8.1.22:/windows/C /piyush/c
For this, the comp 10.8.1.22 should have given you the permissions.

3)How to change encoding of media files

Use mencoder
$mencoder <input-file> -oac <audio-output-format> -ovc <video-output-format> -o <output-filename>

audio-output-format option is given as

-oac copy no encoding, just streamcopy
-oac pcm encode to uncompressed PCM
-oac mp3lame encode to MP3 (using Lame)

video-output-format is given as

-ovc copy no encoding, just streamcopy
-ovc divx4 encode to DivX4/DivX5
-ovc rawrgb encode to uncompressed RGB24
-ovc lavc encode with a libavcodec codecs

To cut a movie file give the following command
$mencoder <input-file> -ss <start-position> -endpos <end-position> -o <output-filename>-oac <audio-output-format> -ovc <video-output-format> -o <output-file>

here end-postion can be given as
-endpos 56 encode only 56 seconds
-endpos 01:10:00 encode only 1 hour 10 minutes
-endpos 100mb encode only 100 MBytes
for start-position
-ss 56 encode from 56 sec
other options are similar as above.

for more option type
$man mplayer

5) How to set an environmental variable/How to add path

$ PATH=$PATH:<path you want to set>
So if you want to set this path for all users then put this line in
/etc/rc.local in redhat and
/etc/init.d/boot.local in suse.

6)To send message from linux to windows

$ smbclient -M <hostname> -I <ip-address>
And to find hostname
$ nmblookup -A <ip-address>

7) How to build an rpm

a) from SRPM
Install the .src.rpm file this way:
$ rpm -i somepackage-1.0-1.src.rpm

This will create files in /usr/src/redhat/SOURCES and a .spec file in /usr/src/redhat/SPECS.
Then go the SPECS directory and give the command to build the RPM:
$ cd /usr/src/redhat/SPECS
$ rpmbuild -bb somepackage.spec

b) from source package

When a source archive (e.g., somepackage-1.0.tar.gz) contains a .spec file, one can give the following command to build the RPM without having to deploy the archive:

$ rpmbuild -tb somepackage-1.0.tar.gz

Give the -ta option instead if you also want to build the SRPM.

8) How to install fonts

One can install fonts in various ways.
a) type

$ xset fp+ <directory-path-of-font>
$ xset fp rehash

in this case u should have fonts.dir file in the directory.
this is a temporary way of installing fonts. u have to give these commands every time u start ur X-server.

b) Use font installer in control centre(not available in redhat)

c) Type as root
$ /usr/sbin/chkfontpath --add $ fc-cache
this doesn't work with suse but works well in redhat.

d) in /etc/X11/XF86Config file (in redhat XF86Config-4 file), in Section "Files" add the line

FontPath "<dir-path>"

and restart ur X-server. this works well in suse.

to check the list of installed fonts, type
$ xlsfonts

9) How to make an iso image

To make an ISO from your CD/DVD, place the media in your drive but do not mount it. If it automounts, unmount it.

$ dd if=/dev/dvd of=dvd.iso # for dvd
$ dd if=/dev/cdrom of=cd.iso # for cdrom
$ dd if=/dev/scd0 of=cd.iso # if cdrom is scsi

To make an ISO from files on your hard drive, create a directory which holds the files you want. Then use the mkisofs command.

$ mkisofs -o /tmp/cd.iso /tmp/directory/

This results in a file called cd.iso in folder /tmp which contains all the files and directories in /tmp/directory/.

Some Windows XP Registry Hacking

2008-08-03T19:54:00.000-07:00

Display legal notice on startup:
Wanna tell your friends about the do's and dont's in your computer when they login in your absence. Well you can do it pretty easily by displaying a legal notice at system start up.
REGEDIT
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\system]
"legalnoticecaption"="enter your notice caption"
"legalnoticetext"="enter your legal notice text"

Automatic Administrator Login:
Well here's the trick which you can use to prove that Windows XP is not at all secure as multi-user operating system. Hacking the system registry from any account having access to system registry puts you in to the administrator account.
REGEDIT 4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
"AutoAdminLogon"="1"

No Shutdown:
Wanna play with your friends by removing the shutdown option from start menu in their computer.
Just hack it down !!!
Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
"NoClose"="DWORD:1"

Menu Delays:

Another minor and easy tweak to remove any delay from menus sliding out. For this you will need to use regedit (open regedit by going to Start -> Run..., then typing 'regedit' and pressing enter). The key you need to change is located in HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktop. The actual key is called MenuShowDelay - all you have to do is change the value to 0. Remember, you will have to re-boot your computer for this tweak to take effect.

GPEDIT.MSC And Autoplay

A great tweaking file that comes with XP is gpedit.msc. Go to Start -> Run... and then type in 'gpedit.msc' and press enter. This is effectively the Policies Editor, and it comes in handy often. For example, if you hate CD autoplay like I do and want to permanently disable it, you can use this tool to do so. Just run gpedit.msc, then go to Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System. In here you can see the value 'Turn Off Autoplay'. Right-click on it and then click 'Properties'.

Increasing options in add/remove programs:

Not a fan of MSN Messenger? don't want Windows Media Player on your system? Fair enough, but if you go to Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel, by default none of Windows XP's 'built in' programs are visible. it's fairly easy to change, though... just open the file X:\Windows\inf\sysoc.inf (where X: is the drive letter where Windows XP is installed) in Notepad. You should see a section of the file something like this:

[Components]
NtComponents=ntoc.dll,NtOcSetupProc,,4
WBEM=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,wbemoc.inf,hide,7
Display=desk.cpl,DisplayOcSetupProc,,7
Fax=fxsocm.dll,FaxOcmSetupProc,fxsocm.inf,,7
NetOC=netoc.dll,NetOcSetupProc,netoc.inf,,7
iis=iis.dll,OcEntry,iis.inf,,7
com=comsetup.dll,OcEntry,comnt5.inf,hide,7
dtc=msdtcstp.dll,OcEntry,dtcnt5.inf,hide,7
IndexSrv_System = setupqry.dll,IndexSrv,setupqry.inf,,7
TerminalServer=TsOc.dll, HydraOc, TsOc.inf,hide,2
msmq=msmqocm.dll,MsmqOcm,msmqocm.inf,,6
ims=imsinsnt.dll,OcEntry,ims.inf,,7
fp_extensions=fp40ext.dll,FrontPage4Extensions,fp40ext.inf,,7
AutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,au.inf,hide,7
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
RootAutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,rootau.inf,,7
IEAccess=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,ieaccess.inf,,7

This is a list of all components installed at the moment. I've taken the example of MSN Messenger - the program entry called 'msmsgs', third-last line. You can see the word 'hide' highlighted - this is the string which tells Windows not to display the component in the Add/Remove Programs list. Fix this up by simply deleting the word 'hide' like so:

msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7

To this:

msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,,7

Now, after restarting, you should be able to see MSN Messenger in the Add/Remove Programs list. If you want to be able to quickly view and remove all components, simply open the sysoc.inf file and do a global find and replace for the word ",hide" and replace it with a single comma ",".

Automatically Kill Programs At Shutdown:

don't you hate it when, while trying to shut down, you get message boxes telling you that a program is still running? Making it so that Windows automatically kills applications running is a snap. Simply navigate to the HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktop directory in the Registry, then alter the key AutoEndTasks to the value 1.

Speeding Up Share Viewing:

This is a great tweak. Before I found it, I was always smashing my head against the table waiting to view shares on other computers. Basically, when you connect to another computer with Windows XP, it checks for any Scheduled tasks on that computer - a fairly useless task, but one that can add up to 30 seconds of waiting on the other end - not good! Fortunately, it's fairly easy to disable this process. First, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace in the Registry. Below that, there should be a key called {D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}. Just delete this, and after a restart, Windows will no longer check for scheduled tasks - mucho performance improvement!

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 screen saver. 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 You could also give it a shortcut keystroke such CTRL+ALT+L. This would save you only one keystroke from the normal command, but it could be more convenient.

Speed up Internet Explorer 6 Favorites

For some reason, the Favorites menu in IE 6 seems to slow down dramatically sometimes--I've noticed this happens when you install Tweak UI 1.33, for example, and when you use the preview tip to speed up the Start menu. But here's a fix for the problem that does work, though it's unclear why: Just open a command line window (Start button -> Run -> cmd) and type sfc, then hit ENTER. This command line runs the System File Checker, which performs a number of services, all of which are completely unrelated to IE 6. But there you go: It works.

Aspi

WinXP does not come with an Aspi layer. So far almost 90% of the problems with WinXP and CD burning software are Aspi layer problems. After installing WinXP, before installing any CD burning software do a few things first: 1. Open up "My computer" and right click on the CD Recorder. If your CD recorder was detected as a CD recorder there will be a tab called "Recording". On this tab uncheck ALL of the boxes. apply or OK out of it and close my computer. 2. Next install the standard Aspi layer for NT. Reboot when asked. That's is. after the reboot you can install any of the currently working CD recording applications with no problems. If using CD Creator do not install direct CD or Take two as they are currently incompatible but Roxio has promised a fix as soon as XP is released.

Change Text on XP Start Button

2008-08-03T19:37:00.000-07:00

Step 1 - Modify Explorer.exe File

In order to make the changes, the file explorer.exe located at C:\Windows needs to be edited. Since explorer.exe is a binary file it requires a special editor. For purposes of this article I have used Resource Hacker. Resource HackerTM is a freeware utility to view, modify, rename, add, delete and extract resources in 32bit Windows executables and resource files (*.res). It incorporates an internal resource script compiler and decompiler and works on Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP operating systems.

get this from h**p://delphi.icm.edu.pl/ftp/tools/ResHack.zip

The first step is to make a backup copy of the file explorer.exe located at C:\Windows\explorer. Place it in a folder somewhere on your hard drive where it will be safe. Start Resource Hacker and open explorer.exe located at C:\Windows\explorer.exe.

The category we are going to be using is "String Table". Expand it by clicking the plus sign then navigate down to and expand string 37 followed by highlighting 1033. If you are using the Classic Layout rather than the XP Layout, use number 38. The right hand pane will display the stringtable. We're going to modify item 578, currently showing the word "start" just as it displays on the current Start button.

There is no magic here. Just double click on the word "start" so that it's highlighted, making sure the quotation marks are not part of the highlight. They need to remain in place, surrounding the new text that you'll type. Go ahead and type your new entry. In my case I used Click Me!

You'll notice that after the new text string has been entered the Compile Script button that was grayed out is now active. I won't get into what's involved in compiling a script, but suffice it to say it's going to make this exercise worthwhile. Click Compile Script and then save the altered file using the Save As command on the File Menu. Do not use the Save command - Make sure to use the Save As command and choose a name for the file. Save the newly named file to C:\Windows.

Step 2 - Modify the Registry

!!!make a backup of your registry before making changes!!!

Now that the modified explorer.exe has been created it's necessary to modify the registry so the file will be recognized when the user logs on to the system. If you don't know how to access the registry I'm not sure this article is for you, but just in case it's a temporary memory lapse, go to Start (soon to be something else) Run and type regedit in the Open field. Navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows NT\ CurrentVersion\ Winlogon

In the right pane, double click the "Shell" entry to open the Edit String dialog box. In Value data: line, enter the name that was used to save the modified explorer.exe file. Click OK.

Close Registry Editor and either log off the system and log back in, or reboot the entire system if that's your preference. If all went as planned you should see your new Start button with the revised text.[/b]

Cracking Zip Password Files

2008-08-03T19:36:00.000-07:00

Tutorial On Cracking Zip Password Files..
What is FZC? FZC is a program that cracks zip files (zip is a method of compressing multiple files into one smaller file) that are password-protected (which means you're gonna need a password to open the zip file and extract files out of it). You can get it anywhere - just use a search engine such as altavista.com.
FZC uses multiple methods of cracking - bruteforce (guessing passwords systematically until the program gets it) or wordlist attacks (otherwise known as dictionary attacks. Instead of just guessing passwords systematically, the program takes passwords out of a "wordlist", which is a text file that contains possible passwords. You can get lots of wordlists at www.theargon.com.).
FZC can be used in order to achieve two different goals: you can either use it to recover a lost zip password which you used to remember but somehow forgot, or to crack zip passwords which you're not supposed to have. So like every tool, this one can be used for good and for evil.
The first thing I want to say is that reading this tutorial... is the easy way to learn how to use this program, but after reading this part of how to use the FZC you should go and check the texts that come with that program and read them all. You are also going to see the phrase "check name.txt" often in this text. These files should be in FZC's directory. They contain more information about FZC.
FZC is a good password recovery tool, because it's very fast and also support resuming so you don't have to keep the computer turned on until you get the password, like it used to be some years ago with older cracking programs. You would probably always get the password unless the password is longer than 32 chars (a char is a character, which can be anything - a number, a lowercase or undercase letter or a symbol such as ! or &) because 32 chars is the maximum value that FZC will accept, but it doesn't really matter, because in order to bruteforce a password with 32 chars you'll need to be at least immortal..heehhe.. to see the time that FZC takes with bruteforce just open the Bforce.txt file, which contains such information.
FZC supports brute-force attacks, as well as wordlist attacks. While brute-force attacks don't require you to have anything, wordlist attacks require you to have wordlists, which you can get from www.theargon.com. There are wordlists in various languages, various topics or just miscellaneous wordlists. The bigger the wordlist is, the more chances you have to crack the password.
Now that you have a good wordlist, just get FZC working on the locked zip file, grab a drink, lie down and wait... and wait... and wait...and have good thoughts like "In wordlist mode I'm gonna get the password in minutes" or something like this... you start doing all this and remember "Hey this guy started with all this bullshit and didn't say how I can start a wordlist attack!..." So please wait just a little more, read this tutorial 'till the end and you can do all this "bullshit".

We need to keep in mind that are some people might choose some really weird passwords (for example: 'e8t7@$^%*gfh), which are harder to crack and are certainly impossible to crack (unless you have some weird wordlist). If you have a bad luck and you got such a file, having a 200MB list won't help you anymore. Instead, you'll have to use a different type of attack. If you are a person that gives up at the first sign of failure, stop being like that or you won't get anywhere. What you need to do in such a situation is to put aside your sweet xxx MB's list and start using the Brute Force attack.
If you have some sort of a really fast and new computer and you're afraid that you won't be able to use your computer's power to the fullest because the zip cracker doesn't support this kind of technology, it's your lucky day! FZC has multiple settings for all sorts of hardware, and will automatically select the best method.

Now that we've gone through all the theoretical stuff, let's get to the actual commands.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bruteforce
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The command line you'll need to use for using brute force is:

fzc -mb -nzFile.zip -lChr Lenght -cType of chars

Now if you read the bforce.txt that comes with fzc you'll find the description of how works Chr Lenght and the Type of chars, but hey, I'm gonna explain this too. Why not, right?... (but remember look at the bforce.txt too)

For Chr Lenght you can use 4 kind of switches...

-> You can use range -> 4-6 :it would brute force from 4 Chr passwors to 6 chr passwords
-> You can use just one lenght -> 5 :it would just brute force using passwords with 5 chars
-> You can use also the all number -> 0 :it would start brute forcing from passwords with lenght 0 to lenght 32, even if you are crazy i don't think that you would do this.... if you are thinking in doing this get a live...
-> You can use the + sign with a number -> 3+ :in this case it would brute force from passwords with lenght 3 to passwords with 32 chars of lenght, almost like the last option...

For the Type of chars we have 5 switches they are:

-> a for using lowercase letters
-> A for using uppercase letters
-> ! for using simbols (check the Bforce.txt if you want to see what simbols)
-> s for using space
-> 1 for using numbers

Example:
If you want to find a password with lowercase and numbers by brute force you would just do something like:

fzc -mb -nzTest.zip -l4-7 -ca1

This would try all combinations from passwords with 4 chars of lenght till 7 chars, but just using numbers and lowercase.

*****
hint
*****

You should never start the first brute force attack to a file using all the chars switches, first just try lowercase, then uppercase, then uppercase with number then lowercase with numbers, just do like this because you can get lucky and find the password much faster, if this doesn't work just prepare your brain and start with a brute force that would take a lot of time. With a combination like lowercase, uppercase, special chars and numbers.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wordlist
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Like I said in the bottom and like you should be thinking now, the wordlist is the most powerfull mode in this program. Using this mode, you can choose between 3 modes, where each one do some changes to the text that is in the wordlist, I'm not going to say what each mode does to the words, for knowing that just check the file wlist.txt, the only thing I'm going to tell you is that the best mode to get passwords is mode 3, but it takes longer time too.
To start a wordlist attak you'll do something like.

fzc -mwMode number -nzFile.zip -nwWordlist

Where:

Mode number is 1, 2 or 3 just check wlist.txt to see the changes in each mode.
File.zip is the filename and Wordlist is the name of the wordlist that you want to use. Remember that if the file or the wordlist isn't in the same directory of FZC you'll need to give the all path.

You can add other switches to that line like -fLine where you define in which line will FZC start reading, and the -lChar Length where it will just be read the words in that char length, the switche works like in bruteforce mode.
So if you something like

fzc -mw1 -nztest.zip -nwMywordlist.txt -f50 -l9+

FZC would just start reading at line 50 and would just read with length >= to 9.

Example:

If you want to crack a file called myfile.zip using the "theargonlistserver1.txt" wordlist, selecting mode 3, and you wanted FZC to start reading at line 50 you would do:

fzc -mw3 -nzmyfile.zip -nwtheargonlistserver1.txt -f50

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resuming
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Other good feature in FZC is that FZC supports resuming. If you need to shutdown your computer and FZC is running you just need to press the ESC key, and fzc will stop. Now if you are using a brute force attack the current status will be saved in a file called resume.fzc but if you are using a wordlist it will say to you in what line it ended (you can find the line in the file fzc.log too).
To resume the bruteforce attack you just need to do:

fzc -mr

And the bruteforce attack will start from the place where it stopped when you pressed the ESC key.
But if you want to resume a wordlist attack you'll need to start a new wordlist attack, saying where it's gonna start. So if you ended the attack to the file.zip in line 100 using wordlist.txt in mode 3 to resume you'll type

fzc -mw3 -nzfile.zip -nwwordlist.txt -f100

Doing this FZC would start in line 100, since the others 99 lines where already checked in an earlier FZC session.

Well, it looks like I covered most of what you need to know. I certainly hope it helped you... don't forget to read the files that come with the program

Reason why internet connection work very slow(HOT TOPIC)

2008-05-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

Reason why internet connection work very slow(HOT TOPIC)

There are several things to consider.

1. You are at, or beyond, the distance limits of your router (wiresless transmitter). Move closer to see if the problem is resolved.
2. There is interference between your PC and the wireless router, such as a 2.4GHz cordless phone, microwave oven, flourescent lights, etc. Temporarily disable the devices, one by one, until you determine the problem.
3. The antenae on either your router or PC is loose. Tighten each.
4. Your PC may be infected with a virus, trojan, or spyware that is eating up your bandwith, and causing packet loss.
Download the programs linked below. Install them. Update them. Scan your pc with them, and do so weekly.

If you have System Restore turned on, the Restore files may be infected, and trying to reinfect your pc. I turn off that feature, reboot to delete the files, then turn it on after a full system scan with AVG.
Turning off System Restore.
(right-click My Computer, Properties, System Restore tab, check the box to turn off System Restore on all drives.)

Restart your PC, and hold down the F8 key.
When you see the Boot Menu appear (black screen white letters), choose SAFE MODE.

Run a FULL SYSTEM SCAN with AVG.
You may heal or quarentine anything found.

You can also run Spybot and AdAware while in Safe Mode. I suggest you do a full system scan. Get rid of anything they find.

To exit Safe Mode, just restart your PC normally.

AVG Antivirus - Free Antivirus Software
Ad-Aware - Free Antispyware Software
Spybot Search&Destroy - Free Antispyware/Antitrojan Software
Trend Micro HijackThis - Free program to turn off Browser Hijackers
CW Shredder - Free program to remove the ability of malware to point your browser ot CoolWebSearch and its affiliates

One REALLY great feature of Spybot Search&Destroy, is its ability to help your PC block known spyware/hijacker sites. Just use the Immunize feature.

Hope this helps.

There are several things to consider.

1. You are at, or beyond, the distance limits of your router (wiresless transmitter). Move closer to see if the problem is resolved.
2. There is interference between your PC and the wireless router, such as a 2.4GHz cordless phone, microwave oven, flourescent lights, etc. Temporarily disable the devices, one by one, until you determine the problem.
3. The antenae on either your router or PC is loose. Tighten each.
4. Your PC may be infected with a virus, trojan, or spyware that is eating up your bandwith, and causing packet loss.
Download the programs linked below. Install them. Update them. Scan your pc with them, and do so weekly.

If you have System Restore turned on, the Restore files may be infected, and trying to reinfect your pc. I turn off that feature, reboot to delete the files, then turn it on after a full system scan with AVG.
Turning off System Restore.
(right-click My Computer, Properties, System Restore tab, check the box to turn off System Restore on all drives.)

Restart your PC, and hold down the F8 key.
When you see the Boot Menu appear (black screen white letters), choose SAFE MODE.

Run a FULL SYSTEM SCAN with AVG.
You may heal or quarentine anything found.

You can also run Spybot and AdAware while in Safe Mode. I suggest you do a full system scan. Get rid of anything they find.

To exit Safe Mode, just restart your PC normally.

AVG Antivirus - Free Antivirus Software
Ad-Aware - Free Antispyware Software
Spybot Search&Destroy - Free Antispyware/Antitrojan Software
Trend Micro HijackThis - Free program to turn off Browser Hijackers
CW Shredder - Free program to remove the ability of malware to point your browser ot CoolWebSearch and its affiliates

One REALLY great feature of Spybot Search&Destroy, is its ability to help your PC block known spyware/hijacker sites. Just use the Immunize feature.

What Are Spyware, Adware, and Trojan Horses?

2008-05-25T09:56:00.000-07:00

In a narrow sense, spyware is a term for some tracking technologies (specifically, executable applications) deployed on your computer without adequate notice, consent, or control. Spyware can monitor your activities online and/or perform functions without your knowledge or consent. Depending on the program, spyware can track and report on every Web site you visit, generate pop-up advertising, change your home page and browser settings, or record every key you press.

In its broader sense, spyware is also commonly used as the overall name for most types of potentially unwanted technologies detected by popular anti-spyware programs.

These technologies are implemented in ways that impair your control over the following: collection, use, and distribution of your personal information; material changes that affect your desktop experience, privacy, or system security; and use of your system resources. These are items that users of anti-spyware software will want to be informed about and that they may want to easily remove or disable.

Adware is a subset of the broader spyware category, which is designed to
deliver targeted advertising to your Web browser, especially through the use of pop-up ads. Adware is often bundled with other software programs, such as peerto- peer file-sharing software, games, or other utilities that can be downloaded for free from the Web. Adware knows what kinds of ads to deliver to you because it tracks the places you surf. For instance, if you surf to a car rental site, an adware program might generate a pop-up ad that a competing car rental company has paid the adware company to deliver to you. Besides tracking your behavior and annoying you with ads, adware may also open a connection on the Internet to report your surfing habits back to a central server. This information, which may
include your age, your sex, your shopping habits, and even your location, is used to conduct "market research" to attract new clients.

Trojan horses are programs that claim to be something they are not. For
instance, a Trojan horse may advertise itself as an amusing animation clip, a screen saver, or a free software program that promises to do something cool or helpful. But Trojan horses also include unadvertised functions (if, in fact, the advertised function works at all). The most common goal of a Trojan horse is to install a back door on your computer or steal passwords. A back door lets attackers control your machine remotely. Some classes of spyware can be considered Trojan horses because they arrive under false pretenses. For instance, you may have downloaded a neat little screen saver with pretty butterflies on it that also happens to monitor
your Web-surfing habits or log your keystrokes. Trojan horses often rely on viruses, worms, and social engineering to get unsuspecting users to download them. The term Trojan horse has become shorthand for any program that resides on your computer and provides remote access to an unauthorized person or performs unwanted functions. Most anti-virus (AV) software and some anti-spyware software can detect Trojan horses.
Spyware, adware, and Trojan horses can't replicate themselves. Thus, these categories of applications need other ways to spread. For instance, Trojan horses may be delivered as part of the payload of a worm or virus, included as an e-mail attachment, or bundled with other software. Spyware and adware use similar techniques to spread, but they are most frequently downloaded as part of a "free" file-sharing program or software utility or via drive-by downloads (in which you visit a Web site that installs the program without your permission).

Defining Spyware and Adware
While security risks such as spyware and adware can be seen as an extension of the virus problem, there are significant differences in how these programs are judged as desirable or undesirable and whether you want them on your machine.
Viruses, worms, and Trojan horses are always undesirable and should be automatically removed from a computer. Many types of programs classified as adware and spyware are also high-risk and can have a significant negative impact on computer performance or invade your privacy by transmitting personal information to a third party.

However, other adware programs are low-risk. They can deliver useful functionality such as games or utilities and have a relatively small impact on privacy and computer performance. Just as broadcast television programs are free because television companies earn revenue from advertising, many software programs are free to download because they too rely on advertising to generate income. Such software programs are called ad-supported programs. They include adware to deliver targeted ads. Some ad-supported software programs seek the user's consent before installing adware; others do not. Still others operate in a gray area in which user consent is part of the "fine print" of a software license agreement. We'll examine these distinctions and what they mean to you more closely in subsequent sections.

The broad range of spyware and adware or potentially unwanted programs can be divided into two general categories: high-risk or malicious programs and low-risk programs. Security researchers assign spyware and adware programs to one of these categories depending on how the programs are installed, what data they try to export from your computer, what impact they have on your computer's performance, and what you are led to understand about their operation and intent. When security researchers investigate a program's behaviors to determine risk, they look at a number of key areas, including installation characteristics, stealth properties, privacy impact, integrity impact, performance impact, and ease of removal:

Does the program impact system stability or slow down the network connection?
Does the program launch pop-up advertisements? If so, how frequently?
Does the program serve as a means of downloading and installing other security risks (such as additional spyware and/or adware Does the program replace the browser home page or alter search options or behavior?
Does the program cause the release of confidential, sensitive information such as bank account numbers and passwords?
Does the program cause the release of less-sensitive data such as tracking of Web-surfing habits?
Does the program have a privacy policy, and does its behavior match the stated policy?
Does the program try to hide itself or avoid being uninstalled by the user, including an unsolicited reinstallation and techniques to restart user terminated processes?
Does the program lack an uninstall feature or fail to register in the Microsoft Windows Add or Remove Programs area?
Does the program install itself silently, with little or no indication to the user?
Does the program lack a user interface?
Does the program conceal its processes or hide them from the user using an obscure name?
Is the user notified of the program's presence only through an End User License Agreement (EULA)? Does the EULA appear to relate to a different program?

To qualify as high-risk or malicious spyware and adware, programs must have significant impact on system stability and/or performance or release confidential, sensitive information and/or exhibit stealth behaviors such as a silent installation, no user interface, and concealment of application processes. Examples of highrisk programs can include keystroke loggers, browser hijackers, and dialers.

Malicious spyware is illegal and therefore is employed by criminals who want to steal from you. Malicious spyware gets installed on your computer through software vulnerabilities, worms and viruses, social engineering, and drive-by downloads.

Low-risk programs include many popular commercial adware or ad-assisted
programs. However, some adware generates multiple pop-up ads and performs other unwanted functions, like changing your home page, directing you to unfamiliar search engines, or installing toolbars in your Web browser that you didn't

Spyware Definitions

Term Definition

Spyware Spyware is a general class of software programs that monitor computer activity and relay that information to other computers or locations on the Internet. Among the information that may be actively or passively gathered and transmitted by spyware are passwords, log-in details, account numbers, personal information, individual files, and personal documents. Spyware may also gather and distribute information related to the user's computer, applications running on the computer, Internet browser usage, and other computing habits. Spyware is usually loaded onto a user's computer without the user's knowledge and is created by underground attackers or criminals.

Adware Adware is a type of advertising display technology-specifically, executable applications whose primary purpose is to deliver advertising content. Many adware applications also perform tracking functions and therefore may also be categorized as tracking technologies. Consumers may want to remove adware if they object to such tracking, do not want to see the advertising generated by the program, or are frustrated by its effects on system performance. Some users might want to keep particular adware programs if their presence is a condition for the use of other free software. Adware is created by commercial software companies rather than criminals and is often bundled with popular free software, such as file-sharing programs. Some adware describes its functions in a license agreement and provides uninstall options; other adware may install itself without a user's permission and thwart attempts at removal.

Keystroke logger Keyloggers are tracking technologies that surreptitiously record (also known as a keylogger) keyboard activity. Keyloggers typically either store the recorded keystrokes for later retrieval or transmit them to the remote process or person employing the keylogger via e-mail. Keystroke loggers are used to steal passwords and other identity information.

Browser hijacker Browser hijackers reset your home page and redirect your browser to unwanted or unknown search engines or other Web sites. Some browser hijackers can prevent you from restoring your home page. Browser hijackers work by deleting the entry for the home page you've selected and inserting their own in a special file that your computer consults (the hosts file). They also might intercept search queries typed into a legitimate search engine and display their own results.

Browser Helper Object (BHO) BHOs are companion applications for Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) that run automatically whenever IE is launched. They are a form of state management tool. Many tracking technologies or advertising display technologies are implemented as BHOs. BHOs can search the Web pages a user visits and replace banner ads generated by the Web server with targeted ads. BHOs can also monitor and report on a user's surfing behavior and may reset a user's home page. Note that not all BHOs are malicious; many legitimate Web browser toolbars are BHOs. Trojan horse Trojan horse software masquerades as an innocuous or useful program to trick a user into installing it. Once installed, the Trojan horse engages in unwanted or unadvertised functions. Remote Access/ RATs are executable applications designed to allow remote access Administration Tool (RAT) to or control of a system. They are a type of remote-control technology. Many legitimate uses of RATs do not pose security threats, but they can be used maliciously, especially when used by someone other than the computer's legitimate owner or administrator. Dialer Dialers are programs that use a computer's modem to make calls or access services. Users may want to remove dialers that can result in unexpected phone numbers being dialed or unexpected telephone charges. Dialer is a colloquial term for dialing technologies

Digital Music

2008-05-24T18:24:00.000-07:00


Digital music takes up a lot of space--about 10 MB for every minute 
of stereo sound. But, as it turns out, there's a lot of information 
in every second of uncompressed digital sound that your ear doesn't 
need to hear a song. Codec (compressor/ decompressor) algorithms 
shrink an audio file's size, without making the music it contains 
sound too much worse. Without codecs, you wouldn't be able to 
download, e-mail, or stream digital music over the Internet--the 
files would be huge. We'll talk more about how codecs work later on. 
For now, let's take a look at some of the most popular codecs out 
there. 

MP3: Developed by a German software company and can be played on 
most players you can find. 
WMA (Windows Media Audio): Microsoft's codec. You have to use 
Microsoft Windows Media Player to encode WMA files, but many 
software players can then decode, or play back, your music. 
Ogg Vorbis: An open-source codec--It's totally free and has no 
licensing requirements, which has helped it gain popularity. 
MP3 Pro: A fairly new codec that attempts to achieve the same audio 
quality in smaller file sizes than MP3. It's backward compatible 
with existing software MP3 players, so you may see more of it in the 
future. 
ACC (Advance Audio Coding): Another codec that offers excellent 
sound at low-bit rates. Apple Computer uses AAC for the audio 
portion of its QuickTime format. 
RealAudio: One other file type you might come across is RealAudio. 
RealAudio files are usually streamed, rather than downloaded--we'll 
talk more about what that means later on. A significant number of 
Internet radio stations broadcast in the RealAudio format, playable 
by RealPlayer, or RealOne as it's now called. We're not going to use 
this format for our projects. 



Some of the bigger Web sites that offer music you can legally 
download are: 

MP3.com 
iTunes 
MSN Music 
AOL 
Launch.com: Now part of the Yahoo! Network, this Web site lets you 
create your own custom station by rating songs, artists, albums, 
genres, and subgenres, or you can listen to other sponsors' radio 
stations. 
Epitonic.com: An excellent source for MP3 downloads and streams of 
cutting-edge music. Its knowledgeable staff of music experts makes 
its presence known on the Web site, separating this site from other 
free or subscription-based music sites. 
Garageband.com: Lets bands upload their own music for others to 
download and rate. Dig around on the Web site--you'll find a 
terrific variety of artists outside the mainstream. 
So how do you know if you're committing copyright infringement? The 
rules depend on the content you're dealing with. If you copy 
something from an unprotected format such as a CD, you haven't 
circumvented copyright protection, but your right to copy the 
content would still depend on how a court saw your actions relative 
to what is allowed by the fair use doctrine. 

In a nutshell, you don't automatically have the right to rip and 
burn copies of music--even if you purchased it. Just because you can 
find a downloadable copy of a song online doesn't mean it's legal to 
grab it and save it to your hard drive.

For example, it's possible to save streamed music with a piece of 
software called Total Recorder, which essentially grabs the audio 
right from your sound card as the decoded stream is being played. 
But recording copyrighted, encrypted streams is a felony against the 
DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act).

Subscription Services and Other Issues
So how can you legally download the latest hits? You can do so 
through a subscription service. You can pay a monthly fee to 
download copyrighted music and compensate copyright owners in the 
process. Unfortunately, the copyright protection these Web sites 
apply to their files often renders the downloads illegal to use as 
source material, since you'd have to circumvent copyright protection 
to turn them into WAVs. But for personal listening, subscription Web 
sites can be worth the price of admission. MSN Music, Amazon, 
Listen.com, Emusic.com, the new Napster.com, and Andante.com, all 
offer downloads in exchange for a monthly fee; the iTunes.com Store 
lets you download individual songs for $.99 each--with no monthly 
fees.

Burn A CD:
The basic process, regardless of the program you use, is simple:

You insert a music CD in the drive, and instead of playing it, you 
use the software of your choice to copy the entire contents of the 
CD to your hard drive and save it as WAV on a PC or AIFF on a Mac. 
You're making an exact copy of every bit - literally! This process 
can take anywhere from a few minutes to about an hour, depending on 
how up-to-date your equipment is. 
After the copy of the CD is on your hard drive, you can eject the 
original, insert a new, blank CD-R, and copy the contents from your 
hard drive onto the CD-R. The result is an audio CD you can play on 
any CD player. 

Be Your Own Radio Station
How many people do you know who have a personal radio station? The 
answer is none (legally, anyway)--because the FCC won't allow it.

But you can Webcast your own show--worldwide--and often for free. 
Using the Internet, you can transmit your own show to as many other 
computers as allowed by your station's connection and processor 
speeds. Unlike other radio media, the Internet always has room for 
another station--yours included. You just need to choose an approach 
that matches your levels of commitment, both financial and temporal.

The easy way to broadcast online: head over to Launchcast and set up 
your own station for free. It's easy to follow the instructions and 
begin rating genres, artists, albums, and songs. The more you rate, 
the more your station reflects your tastes. You don't need to have 
your own music or bandwidth--you're selecting the songs and 
streaming your station from an online catalog.

Eventually, you'll want to Webcast songs from your own music 
collection. You can program your own station with a little help from 
Live365; upload your MP3s to the server, and stream them. You'll pay 
a bit--$5 per month or more (depending on how much you want to 
stream)--but you can try a 14-day free trial first. 

When you choose music for your Live365 station, the sky's the limit. 
You can Webcast all the copyrighted music you want, legally, because 
Live365 uses your monthly fee to take care of the royalty payments.

How to make Keygens

2008-04-26T19:52:00.000-07:00

How to make Keygens.

Long and detailed tutorial :

Tools!
For tools you need a minimum of debugger like SoftIce for Windows (hence WinIce), and a C compiler with Dos libraries.

Content!
In this tutorial I will show how to make a key-gen for Ize and Swiftsearch. The protection that these programs use is the well
known Enter-Name-and-Registration-Number method. After selecting 'register', a window pops up where you can enter your name and
your registration number. The strategy here is to find out where in memory the data you enter is stored and then to find out what
is done with it. Before you go on make sure you configure the SoftIce dat file correctly.

Tutorial number 1:

Scanline Swiftsearch 2.0!

Swiftsearch is a useful little program that you can use to search on the web. I will explain step by step how to crack it.

step 1. Start the program

step 2: Choose register from the menus. You will now get a window where you can enter your name and your registration number.

step 3: Enter SoftIce (ctrl-d)

step 4: We will now set a breakpoint on functions like GetWindowText(a) and GetDlgItemText(a) to find out where in memory the data that we just entered
is stored. The function that is used by this program is GetDlgItemTexta (trial and error, just try yourself so, in SoftIce type BPX GetDlgItemTexta
and exit SoftIce with the g command.

step 5: Now type a name and a registration number (I used jmdg and 12345) and press OK, this will put you back in SoftIce. Since you are now inside
the GetDlgItemTexta function press F11 to get out of it. You should see the following code:

lea eax, [ebp-2C] :<--- we are looking for this location
push eax
push 00000404
push [ebp+08]
call [USER32!GetDlgItemTextA]
mov edi, eax :<--- eax has the length of the string
and is stored in edi for later usage.

We see that EAX is loaded with a memory address and then pushed to the stack as a parameter for the function GetDlgItemTextA. Since the function
GetDlgItemTextA is already been run we can look at EBP-2c (with ED EDP-2c) and see that the name we entered is there. Now we know where the name
is stored in memory, normally it would be wise to write that address down, but we will see that in this case it wont be necessary.

So, what next? Now we have to allow the program to read the registration number we entered. Just type g and return and when back in SoftIce press F11.
You should see the following code:

push 0000000B
lea ecx, [ebp-18] : <--So, ebp-18 is where the reg. number
push ecx : is stored.
push 0000042A
push [ebp+08]
call [USER32!GetDlgItemTextA]
mov ebx, eax : <--save the lenght of string in EBX
test edi, edi : <--remember EDI had the lenght of the
jne 00402FBF : name we entered?

We see that the registration number is stored at location EBP-18 , check it with ED EBP-18. Again, normally it would be wise to note that address down.
Also we see that it is checked if the length of the name we gave was not zero. If it is not zero the program will continue.

Step 6: Ok, now we know where the data we entered is stored in memory. What next?
Now we have to find out what is DONE with it. Usually it would we wise to put breakpoints on those memory locations and find out where in the program
they are read. But in this case the answer is just a few F10's away. Press F10 until you see the following code :

cmp ebx, 0000000A :<--remember EPX had the length of the
je 00402FDE : registration code we entered?

These two lines are important. They check if the length of the registration code we entered is equal to 10. If not the registration number will be
considered wrong already. The program wont even bother to check it. Modify EBX or the FLAG register in the register window to allow the jump. Continue
Pressing F10 until you get to the following code (note that the adresses you will see could be different) :

:00402FDE xor esi, esi :<-- Clear ESI
:00402FE0 xor eax, eax :<-- Clear EAX
:00402FE2 test edi, edi
:00402FE4 jle 00402FF2
:00402FE6 movsx byte ptr ecx, [ebp + eax - 2C] :<-- ECX is loaded with a letter of the name we entered.
:00402FEB add esi, ecx :<-- Add the letter to ESI
:00402FED inc eax :<-- Increment EAX to get next letter
:00402FEE cmp eax, edi :<-- Did we reach the end of the string?
:00402FF0 jl 00402FE6 :<-- If not, go get the next letter.

Well, we see that the program adds together all the letters of the name we entered. Knowing that ESI contains the sum of the letters, lets continue
and find out what the program does with that value :

:00402FF2 push 0000000A
:00402FF4 lea eax, [ebp-18] :<-- Load EAX with the address of the reg. number we entered
:00402FF7 push 00000000
:00402FF9 push eax :<-- Push EAX (as a parameter for the following function)
:00402FFA call 00403870 :<-- Well, what do you think this function does?
:00402FFF add esp, 0000000C
:00403002 cmp eax, esi :<-- Hey!
:00403004 je 00403020

We see that a function is called and when RETurned ESI is compared with EAX. Hmm, lets look at what's in EAX. A '? EAX' reveals :

00003039 0000012345 "09"

Bingo. That's what we entered as the registration number. It should have been what's inside ESI. And we know what's inside ESI, the sum of
the letters of the name we entered!

Step 7: Now we know how the program computes the registration code we can make a key-gen.
But we should not forget that the program checks also that the registration number has 10
digits.

A simple C code that will compute the registration number for this program could look like this:

#include
#include
main()
{
char Name[100];
int NameLength,Offset;
long int Reg = 0, Dummy2 = 10;
int Dummy = 0;
int LengtDummy = 1;
int Lengt , Teller;
printf("Scanline SwiftSearch 2.0 crack by JM-DG.\n");
printf("Enter your name: ");
gets(Name);
NameLength=strlen(Name);

/* the for lus calculates the sum of the letters in Name */
/* and places that value in Reg */
for (Offset=0;Offset /* Then print the registration number */
printf("%lu\n", Reg);
}

Tutorial number 2

Ize 2.04 from Gadgetware

Ize from Gadgetware is a cute little program that will put a pair of eyes on your screen which will
follow your mousepointer. It has a register function where you can enter your name and a registration
number. The strategy in this case is still the same : Find out where in memory the entered information
is stored and then find out what is done with that information.

Step 1: Start Ize. Chose register and enter a name and a number. I used again 'jmdg' and '12345'.

Sterp 2: Enter (CTRL-D) Softice and set a breakpoint on GetDlgItemTextA.

Step 3: Leave SoftIce and press OK. This will put you back in Softice. You will be inside the GetDlgItemTextA
function. To get out of it press F11. You should see the following code :

mov esi, [esp + 0C]
push 00000064
push 0040C3A0 :<--On this memory location the NAME we entered will be stored.
mov edi, [USER32!GetDlgItemTextA] :<--Load edi with adress of GetDlgItemTextA
push 00004EE9
push esi
call edi :<-- Call GetDlgItemTextA
push 00000064 :<-- (you should be here now)
push 0040C210 :<--On this memory location the NUMBER we entered will be stored
push 00004EEA
push esi
call edi :<-- Call GetDlgItemTextA

We see that the function GetDlgItemTextA is called twice in this code fragment. The first call has
already happened. With ED 40C3A0 we can check that the name we entered is stored on that location.
To allow the program to read in the number we entered we type G and enter. Now we are inside the Get-
DlgItemTextA function again and we press f11 to get out of it. We check memory location 40C210 and
we see the number we entered is stored there.
Now we know the locations were the name and the number are stored,we note those down!

Step 4: Ok, what next? We now know where in memory the name and the number are stored. We need to find out
what the program does with those values. In order to do that we could set breakpoints on those memory
locations to see where they are read. But in this case it wont be necessary. The answer is right after the
above code :

push 0040C210 :<--save the location of the number we entered (as a parameter for the next call)
call 00404490 :<-- call this unknown function
add esp, 00000004
mov edi, eax :<-- save EAX (hmmmm)

We see a function being called with the number-location as a parameter. We could trace into the function and see what it does, but that is not
needed. With your experience of the Swiftsearch example you should be able to guess what this function does. It calculates the numerical value
of the registration number and puts it in EAX. To be sure we step further using F10 until we are past the call and check the contents of EAX
(with ? EAX). In my case it showed : 00003039 0000012345 "09".

Knowing that EDI contains our registration number we proceed:

push 0040C3A0 :<-- save the location of the name we entered (as a parameter for the next call)
push 00409080 :<-- save an unknown memory-location (as a parameter for the next call)
call 004043B0 :<--call to an unknown function
add esp, 00000008
cmp edi, eax :<--compare EDI (reg # we entered) with EAX (unknown, since the previous call changed it)
jne 004018A1 :<--jump if not equal

We see that a function is called with two parameters. One of the parameters is the location of the name
we entered. The other we dont know, but we can find out with ED 409080. We see the text 'Ize'.
This function calculates the right registration number using those two parameters. If you just want to
crack this program, you can place a breakpoint right after the call and check the contents of EAX. It will
contain the right registration number. But since we want to know HOW the reg. # is calculated we will trace
inside the function (using T). We will then try to find out HOW the contents of EAX got in there.

Step 5: Once inside the interesting function you will see that we are dealing with a rather long function.
It wont be necessary for me to include the complete listing of this function, because we wont need all of it to make our key-gen.
But in order find out which part of the code is essential for the computation of the right registration number,
you have to trace STEP by STEP and figure out what EXACTLY is going on!

Afther doing this i found out that the first part of the function computes some kind of "key". Then this
"key" is stored in memory and in that way passed on to the second part of the function.
The second part of the function then computes the right registration number, based on this "key" AND
the name we entered.

The code that is essential and that we need for our key-gen is the following:

( Note that before the following code starts, the registers that are used will have the following values:
EBX will point to the first letter of the name we entered,
EDX will be zero,
EBP will be zero,
The "key" that we talked about earlier is stored in memory location 0040B828 and will
have 0xA4CC as its initial value. )

:00404425 movsx byte ptr edi, [ebx + edx] :<-- Put first letter of the name in EDI
:00404429 lea esi, [edx+01] :<-- ESI gets the "letter-number"
:0040442C call 00404470 :<-- Call function
:00404431 imul edi, eax :<-- EDI=EDI*EAX (eax is the return value of the the previous call)
:00404434 call 00404470 :<-- Call function
:00404439 mov edx, esi
:0040443B mov ecx, FFFFFFFF
:00404440 imul edi, eax :<-- EDI=EDI*EAX (eax is the return value of the previous call)
:00404443 imul edi, esi :<-- EDI=EDI*ESI ( esi is the number of the letter position)
:00404446 add ebp, edi :<-- EBP=EBP+EDI (beware that EBP will finally contain the right reg#)
:00404448 mov edi, ebx :<--these lines compute the lenght of the name we entered
:0040444A sub eax, eax :<--these lines compute the lenght of the name we entered
:0040444C repnz :<--these lines compute the lenght of the name we entered
:0040444D scasb :<--these lines compute the lenght of the name we entered
:0040444E not ecx :<--these lines compute the lenght of the name we entered
:00404450 dec ecx :<-- ECX now contains the lenght of the name
:00404451 cmp ecx, esi
:00404453 ja 00404425 :<-- If its not the end of the name , go do the same with the next letter
:00404455 mov eax, ebp :<-- SAVE EBP TO EAX !!!!
:00404457 pop ebp
:00404458 pop edi
:00404459 pop esi
:0040445A pop ebx
:0040445B ret
_____

:00404470 mov eax, [0040B828] :<-- Put "key" in EAX
:00404475 mul eax, eax, 015A4E35 :<-- EAX=EAX * 15A4E35
:0040447B inc eax :<-- EAX=EAX + 1
:0040447C mov [0040B828], eax :<-- Replace the "key" with the new value of EAX
:00404481 and eax, 7FFF0000 :<-- EAX=EAX && 7FFF0000
:00404486 shr eax, 10 :<-- EAX=EAX >>10
:00404489 ret

The above code consists of a loop that goes trough all the letters of the name we entered. With each
letter some value is calculated, all these values are added up together (in EBP). Then this value is stored
in EAX and the function RETurns. And that was what we were looking for, we wanted to know how EAX got its value!

Step 6: Now to make a key-gen we have to translate the above method of calculating the right reg# into a
c program. It could be done in the following way :
(Note : I am a bad c programmer I just began to use this language...)

#include
#include
main()
{
char Name[100];
int NameLength,Offset;
unsigned long Letter,DummyA;
unsigned long Key = 0xa4cc;
unsigned long Number = 0;
printf("Ize 2.04 crack by JM-DG\n");
printf("Enter your name: ");
gets(Name);
NameLength=strlen(Name);
for (Offset=0;Offset }

How to Bypass BIOS Passwords

2008-04-26T19:50:00.001-07:00

How to Bypass BIOS Passwords

BIOS passwords can add an extra layer of security for desktop and laptop computers. They are used to either prevent a user from changing the BIOS settings or to prevent the PC from booting without a password. Unfortunately, BIOS passwords can also be a liability if a user forgets their password, or changes the password to intentionally lock out the corporate IT department. Sending the unit back to the manufacturer to have the BIOS reset can be expensive and is usually not covered in the warranty. Never fear, all is not lost. There are a few known backdoors and other tricks of the trade that can be used to bypass or reset the BIOS

DISCLAIMER
This article is intended for IT Professionals and systems administrators with experience servicing computer hardware. It is not intended for home users, hackers, or computer thieves attempting to Cr*ck the password on a stolen PC. Please do not attempt any of these procedures if you are unfamiliar with computer hardware, and please use this information responsibly. LabMice.net is not responsible for the use or misuse of this material, including loss of data, damage to hardware, or personal injury.

Before attempting to bypass the BIOS password on a computer, please take a minute to contact the hardware manufacturer support staff directly and ask for their recommended methods of bypassing the BIOS security. In the event the manufacturer cannot (or will not) help you, there are a number of methods that can be used to bypass or reset the BIOS password yourself. They include:

Using a manufacturers backdoor password to access the BIOS

Use password cracking software

Reset the CMOS using the jumpers or solder beads.

Removing the CMOS battery for at least 10 minutes

Overloading the keyboard buffer

Using a professional service

Please remember that most BIOS passwords do not protect the hard drive, so if you need to recover the data, simply remove the hard drive and install it in an identical system, or configure it as a slave drive in an existing system. The exception to this are laptops, especially IBM Thinkpads, which silently lock the hard drive if the supervisor password is enabled. If the supervisor password is reset without resetting the and hard drive as well, you will be unable to access the data on the drive.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Backdoor passwords

Many BIOS manufacturers have provided backdoor passwords that can be used to access the BIOS setup in the event you have lost your password. These passwords are case sensitive, so you may wish to try a variety of combinations. Keep in mind that the key associated to "_" in the US keyboard corresponds to "?" in some European keyboards. Laptops typically have better BIOS security than desktop systems, and we are not aware of any backdoor passwords that will work with name brand laptops.

WARNING: Some BIOS configurations will lock you out of the system completely if you type in an incorrect password more than 3 times. Read your manufacturers documentation for the BIOS setting before you begin typing in passwords

Award BIOS backdoor passwords:

ALFAROME ALLy aLLy aLLY ALLY aPAf _award AWARD_SW AWARD?SW AWARD SW AWARD PW AWKWARD awkward BIOSTAR CONCAT CONDO Condo d8on djonet HLT J64 J256 J262 j332 j322 KDD Lkwpeter LKWPETER PINT pint SER SKY_FOX SYXZ syxz shift + syxz TTPTHA ZAAADA ZBAAACA ZJAAADC 01322222
589589 589721 595595 598598

AMI BIOS backdoor passwords:

AMI AAAMMMIII BIOS PASSWORD HEWITT RAND AMI?SW AMI_SW LKWPETER A.M.I. CONDO

PHOENIX BIOS backdoor passwords:

phoenix, PHOENIX, CMOS, BIOS

MISC. COMMON PASSWORDS

ALFAROME BIOSTAR biostar biosstar CMOS cmos LKWPETER lkwpeter setup SETUP Syxz Wodj

OTHER BIOS PASSWORDS BY MANUFACTURER

Manufacturer Password
VOBIS & IBM merlin
Dell Dell
Biostar Biostar
Compaq Compaq
Enox xo11nE
Epox central
Freetech Posterie
IWill iwill
Jetway spooml
Packard Bell bell9
QDI QDI
Siemens SKY_FOX
TMC BIGO
Toshiba Toshiba

TOSHIBA BIOS

Most Toshiba laptops and some desktop systems will bypass the BIOS password if the left shift key is held down during boot

IBM APTIVA BIOS

Press both mouse buttons repeatedly during the boot

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Password cracking software

The following software can be used to either Cr*ck or reset the BIOS on many chipsets. If your PC is locked with a BIOS administrator password that will not allow access to the floppy drive, these utilities may not work. Also, since these utilities do not come from the manufacturer, use them cautiously and at your own risk.

Cmos password recovery tools 3.1
!BIOS (get the how-to article)
RemPass
KILLCMOS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Using the Motherboard "Clear CMOS" Jumper or Dipswitch settings

Many motherboards feature a set of jumpers or dipswitches that will clear the CMOS and wipe all of the custom settings including BIOS passwords. The locations of these jumpers / dipswitches will vary depending on the motherboard manufacturer and ideally you should always refer to the motherboard or computer manufacturers documentation. If the documentation is unavailable, the jumpers/dipswitches can sometimes be found along the edge of the motherboard, next to the CMOS battery, or near the processor. Some manufacturers may label the jumper / dipswitch CLEAR - CLEAR CMOS - CLR - CLRPWD - PASSWD - PASSWORD - PWD. On laptop computers, the dipswitches are usually found under the keyboard or within a compartment at the bottom of the laptop.
Please remember to unplug your PC and use a grounding strip before reaching into your PC and touching the motherboard. Once you locate and rest the jumper switches, turn the computer on and check if the password has been cleared. If it has, turn the computer off and return the jumpers or dipswitches to its original position.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Removing the CMOS Battery

The CMOS settings on most systems are buffered by a small battery that is attached to the motherboard. (It looks like a small watch battery). If you unplug the PC and remove the battery for 10-15 minutes, the CMOS may reset itself and the password should be blank. (Along with any other machine specific settings, so be sure you are familiar with manually reconfiguring the BIOS settings before you do this.) Some manufacturers backup the power to the CMOS chipset by using a capacitor, so if your first attempt fails, leave the battery out (with the system unplugged) for at least 24 hours. Some batteries are actually soldered onto the motherboard making this task more difficult. Unsoldering the battery incorrectly may damage your motherboard and other components, so please don't attempt this if you are inexperienced. Another option may be to remove the CMOS chip from the motherboard for a period of time.
Note: Removing the battery to reset the CMOS will not work for all PC's, and almost all of the newer laptops store their BIOS passwords in a manner which does not require continuous power, so removing the CMOS battery may not work at all. IBM Thinkpad laptops lock the hard drive as well as the BIOS when the supervisor password is set. If you reset the BIOS password, but cannot reset the hard drive password, you may not be able to access the drive and it will remain locked, even if you place it in a new laptop. IBM Thinkpads have special jumper switches on the motherboard, and these should be used to reset the system.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Overloading the KeyBoard Buffer

On some older computer systems, you can force the CMOS to enter its setup screen on boot by overloading the keyboard buffer. This can be done by booting with the keyboard or mouse unattached to the systems, or on some systems by hitting the ESC key over 100 times in rapid succession.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jumping the Solder Beads on the CMOS

It is also possible to reset the CMOS by connecting or "jumping" specific solder beads on the chipset. There are too many chipsets to do a breakdown of which points to jump on individual chipsets, and the location of these solder beads can vary by manufacturer, so please check your computer and motherboard documentation for details. This technique is not recommended for the inexperienced and should be only be used as a "last ditch" effort.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Using a professional service

If the manufacturer of the laptop or desktop PC can't or won't reset the BIOS password, you still have the option of using a professional service. Password Crackers, Inc., offers a variety of services for desktop and laptop computers for between $100 and $400. For most of these services, you'll need to provide some type of legitimate proof of ownership. This may be difficult if you've acquired the computer second hand or from an online auction.

BIOS Master Passwörter:

Award:
master
PASSWORT
setup
?award
admin
alfarome
aLLy
aPAf
award
award_?
award.sw
AWARD SW
AWARD_SW
AWARD_PW
award_ps
AWARD?SW
awkward
BIOS
bios*
biostar
biosstar
CONCAT
CONDO
condo
g6PJ
h6BB
HELGA-S
HEWITT RAND
HLT
j09F
j256
j262
j322
j64
lkw peter
key
master key
SER
SKY_FOX
SWITCHES_SW
Sxyz
TTPTHA
TzqF
wodj
ZAAADA
zbaaaca
zjaaadc

AMI:
ami
amidecod
amipswd
AMIPSWD
AMI
A.M.I.
aammii
AMI~
amiami
AMI.KEY
AMISETUP
AMI_SW
bios310
BIOSPASS
CMOSPWD
KILLCMOS
master
589589
ami.kez
ami°

Advantace Integration:
Advance

Biostar:
Biostar
Q54arwms

Concord:
last

CTX International:
CTX_123

Daewoo:
Daytec
Daewuu

DELL:
DELL

Digital Equipment:
komprie

Freetech:
Posterie

HP Vextra Serie:
hewlpack

IBM:
IBM
MBIUO
sertafu

Mach Speed:
sp99dd

Megastar:
Star

Toshiba:
24Banc81
Toshiba
toshy99

WIMBIOS BIOS:
Compleri

Zenith:
3098z
Zenith

Micron:
sldkj754
xyzall
Miconics

QDI:
QDI

Quantex:
teX1

Research:
Col2ogro2

Shuttle:
Spaceve

Siemens Nixdorf:
SKY_FOX

Super Micro:
ksdjfg934t

TMC:
BIGO
dn_04rjc

M Technology:
mMmM

Packard Bell:
Bell9

All Windows Shortcuts

2008-04-26T19:49:00.001-07:00

Run Commands:

compmgmt.msc - Computer management
devmgmt.msc - Device manager
diskmgmt.msc - Disk management
dfrg.msc - Disk defrag
eventvwr.msc - Event viewer
fsmgmt.msc - Shared folders
gpedit.msc - Group policies
lusrmgr.msc - Local users and groups
perfmon.msc - Performance monitor
rsop.msc - Resultant set of policies
secpol.msc - Local security settings
services.msc - Various Services
msconfig - System Configuration Utility
regedit - Registry Editor
msinfo32 _ System Information
sysedit _ System Edit
win.ini _ windows loading information(also system.ini)
winver _ Shows current version of windows
mailto: _ Opens default email client
command _ Opens command prompt

Run Commands to access the control panel:

Add/Remove Programs control appwiz.cpl
Date/Time Properties control timedate.cpl
Display Properties control desk.cpl
FindFast control findfast.cpl
Fonts Folder control fonts
Internet Properties control inetcpl.cpl
Keyboard Properties control main.cpl keyboard
Mouse Properties control main.cpl
Multimedia Properties control mmsys.cpl
Network Properties control netcpl.cpl
Password Properties control password.cpl
Printers Folder control printers
Sound Properties control mmsys.cpl sounds
System Properties control sysdm.cpl

Command Prompt:

ANSI.SYS Defines functions that change display graphics, control cursor movement, and reassign keys.
APPEND Causes MS-DOS to look in other directories when editing a file or running a command.
ARP Displays, adds, and removes arp information from network devices.
ASSIGN Assign a drive letter to an alternate letter.
ASSOC View the file associations.
AT Schedule a time to execute commands or programs.
ATMADM Lists connections and addresses seen by Windows ATM call manager.
ATTRIB Display and change file attributes.
BATCH Recovery console command that executes a series of commands in a file.
BOOTCFG Recovery console command that allows a user to view, modify, and rebuild the boot.ini
BREAK Enable / disable CTRL + C feature.
CACLS View and modify file ACL's.
CALL Calls a batch file from another batch file.
CD Changes directories.
CHCP Supplement the International keyboard and character set information.
CHDIR Changes directories.
CHKDSK Check the hard disk drive running FAT for errors.
CHKNTFS Check the hard disk drive running NTFS for errors.
CHOICE Specify a listing of multiple options within a batch file.
CLS Clears the screen.
CMD Opens the command interpreter.
COLOR Easily change the foreground and background color of the MS-DOS window.
COMP Compares files.
COMPACT Compresses and uncompress files.
CONTROL Open control panel icons from the MS-DOS prompt.
CONVERT Convert FAT to NTFS.
COPY Copy one or more files to an alternate location.
CTTY Change the computers input/output devices.
DATE View or change the systems date.
DEBUG Debug utility to create assembly programs to modify hardware settings.
DEFRAG Re-arrange the hard disk drive to help with loading programs.
DEL Deletes one or more files.
DELETE Recovery console command that deletes a file.
DELTREE Deletes one or more files and/or directories.
DIR List the contents of one or more directory.
DISABLE Recovery console command that disables Windows system services or drivers.
DISKCOMP Compare a disk with another disk.
DISKCOPY Copy the contents of one disk and place them on another disk.
DOSKEY Command to view and execute commands that have been run in the past.
DOSSHELL A GUI to help with early MS-DOS users.
DRIVPARM Enables overwrite of original device drivers.
ECHO Displays messages and enables and disables echo.
EDIT View and edit files.
EDLIN View and edit files.
EMM386 Load extended Memory Manager.
ENABLE Recovery console command to enable a disable service or driver.
ENDLOCAL Stops the localization of the environment changes enabled by the setlocal command.
ERASE Erase files from computer.
EXIT Exit from the command interpreter.
EXPAND Expand a M*cros*ft Windows file back to it's original format.
EXTRACT Extract files from the M*cros*ft Windows cabinets.
FASTHELP Displays a listing of MS-DOS commands and information about them.
FC Compare files.
FDISK Utility used to create partitions on the hard disk drive.
FIND Search for text within a file.
FINDSTR Searches for a string of text within a file.
FIXBOOT Writes a new boot sector.
FIXMBR Writes a new boot record to a disk drive.
FOR Boolean used in batch files.
FORMAT Command to erase and prepare a disk drive.
FTP Command to connect and operate on a FTP server.
FTYPE Displays or modifies file types used in file extension associations.
GOTO Moves a batch file to a specific label or location.
GRAFTABL Show extended characters in graphics mode.
HELP Display a listing of commands and brief explanation.
IF Allows for batch files to perform conditional processing.
IFSHLP.SYS 32-bit file manager.
IPCONFIG Network command to view network adapter settings and assigned values.
KEYB Change layout of keyboard.
LABEL Change the label of a disk drive.
LH Load a device driver in to high memory.
LISTSVC Recovery console command that displays the services and drivers.
LOADFIX Load a program above the first 64k.
LOADHIGH Load a device driver in to high memory.
LOCK Lock the hard disk drive.
LOGON Recovery console command to list installations and enable administrator login.
MAP Displays the device name of a drive.
MD Command to create a new directory.
MEM Display memory on system.
MKDIR Command to create a new directory.
MODE Modify the port or display settings.
MORE Display one page at a time.
MOVE Move one or more files from one directory to another directory.
MSAV Early M*cros*ft Virus scanner.
MSD Diagnostics utility.
MSCDEX Utility used to load and provide access to the CD-ROM.
NBTSTAT Displays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP connections using NBT
NET Update, fix, or view the network or network settings
NETSH Configure dynamic and static network information from MS-DOS.
NETSTAT Display the TCP/IP network protocol statistics and information.
NLSFUNC Load country specific information.
NSLOOKUP Look up an IP address of a domain or host on a network.
PATH View and modify the computers path location.
PATHPING View and locate locations of network latency.
PAUSE Command used in batch files to stop the processing of a command.
PING Test / send information to another network computer or network device.
POPD Changes to the directory or network path stored by the pushd command.
POWER Conserve power with computer portables.
PRINT Prints data to a printer port.
PROMPT View and change the MS-DOS prompt.
PUSHD Stores a directory or network path in memory so it can be returned to at any time.
QBASIC Open the QBasic.
RD Removes an empty directory.
REN Renames a file or directory.
RENAME Renames a file or directory.
RMDIR Removes an empty directory.
ROUTE View and configure windows network route tables.
RUNAS Enables a user to execute a program on another computer.
SCANDISK Run the scandisk utility.
SCANREG Scan registry and recover registry from errors.
SET Change one variable or string to another.
SETLOCAL Enables local environments to be changed without affecting anything else.
SETVER Change MS-DOS version to trick older MS-DOS programs.
SHARE Installs support for file sharing and locking capabilities.
SHIFT Changes the position of replaceable parameters in a batch program.
SHUTDOWN Shutdown the computer from the MS-DOS prompt.
SMARTDRV Create a disk cache in conventional memory or extended memory.
SORT Sorts the input and displays the output to the screen.
START Start a separate window in Windows from the MS-DOS prompt.
SUBST Substitute a folder on your computer for another drive letter.
SWITCHES Remove add functions from MS-DOS.
SYS Transfer system files to disk drive.
TELNET Telnet to another computer / device from the prompt.
TIME View or modify the system time.
TITLE Change the title of their MS-DOS window.
TRACERT Visually view a network packets route across a network.
TREE View a visual tree of the hard disk drive.
TYPE Display the contents of a file.
UNDELETE Undelete a file that has been deleted.
UNFORMAT Unformat a hard disk drive.
UNLOCK Unlock a disk drive.
VER Display the version information.
VERIFY Enables or disables the feature to determine if files have been written properly.
VOL Displays the volume information about the designated drive.
XCOPY Copy multiple files, directories, and/or drives from one location to another.
TRUENAME When placed before a file, will display the whole directory in which it exists
TASKKILL It allows you to kill those unneeded or locked up applications

Windows XP Shortcuts:

ALT+- (ALT+hyphen) Displays the Multiple Document Interface (MDI) child window's System menu
ALT+ENTER View properties for the selected item
ALT+ESC Cycle through items in the order they were opened
ALT+F4 Close the active item, or quit the active program
ALT+SPACEBAR Display the System menu for the active window
ALT+TAB Switch between open items
ALT+Underlined letter Display the corresponding menu
BACKSPACE View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer
CTRL+A Select all
CTRL+B Bold
CTRL+C Copy
CTRL+I Italics
CTRL+O Open an item
CTRL+U Underline
CTRL+V Paste
CTRL+X Cut
CTRL+Z Undo
CTRL+F4 Close the active document
CTRL while dragging Copy selected item
CTRL+SHIFT while dragging Create shortcut to selected iteM
CTRL+RIGHT ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word
CTRL+LEFT ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word
CTRL+DOWN ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph
CTRL+UP ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph
SHIFT+DELETE Delete selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin
ESC Cancel the current task
F1 Displays Help
F2 Rename selected item
F3 Search for a file or folder
F4 Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer
F5 Refresh the active window
F6 Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop
F10 Activate the menu bar in the active program
SHIFT+F10 Display the shortcut menu for the selected item
CTRL+ESC Display the Start menu
SHIFT+CTRL+ESC Launches Task Manager
SHIFT when you insert a CD Prevent the CD from automatically playing
WIN Display or hide the Start menu
WIN+BREAK Display the System Properties dialog box
WIN+D Minimizes all Windows and shows the Desktop
WIN+E Open Windows Explorer
WIN+F Search for a file or folder
WIN+F+CTRL Search for computers
WIN+L Locks the desktop
WIN+M Minimize or restore all windows
WIN+R Open the Run dialog box
WIN+TAB Switch between open items

Windows Explorer Shortcuts:
ALT+SPACEBAR - Display the current window's system menu
SHIFT+F10 - Display the item's context menu
CTRL+ESC - Display the Start menu
ALT+TAB - Switch to the window you last used
ALT+F4 - Close the current window or quit
CTRL+A - Select all items
CTRL+X - Cut selected item(s)
CTRL+C - Copy selected item(s)
CTRL+V - Paste item(s)
CTRL+Z - Undo last action
CTRL+(+) - Automatically resize the columns in the right hand pane
TAB - Move forward through options
ALT+RIGHT ARROW - Move forward to a previous view
ALT+LEFT ARROW - Move backward to a previous view
SHIFT+DELETE - Delete an item immediately
BACKSPACE - View the folder one level up
ALT+ENTER - View an item's properties
F10 - Activate the menu bar in programs
F6 - Switch between left and right panes
F5 - Refresh window contents
F3 - Display Find application
F2 - Rename selected item

Internet Explorer Shortcuts:

CTRL+A - Select all items on the current page
CTRL+D - Add the current page to your Favorites
CTRL+E - Open the Search bar
CTRL+F - Find on this page
CTRL+H - Open the History bar
CTRL+I - Open the Favorites bar
CTRL+N - Open a new window
CTRL+O - Go to a new location
CTRL+P - Print the current page or active frame
CTRL+S - Save the current page
CTRL+W - Close current browser window
CTRL+ENTER - Adds the http://www. (url) .com
SHIFT+CLICK - Open link in new window
BACKSPACE - Go to the previous page
ALT+HOME - Go to your Home page
HOME - Move to the beginning of a document
TAB - Move forward through items on a page
END - Move to the end of a document
ESC - Stop downloading a page
F11 - Toggle full-screen view
F5 - Refresh the current page
F4 - Display list of typed addresses
F6 - Change Address bar and page focus
ALT+RIGHT ARROW - Go to the next page
SHIFT+CTRL+TAB - Move back between frames
SHIFT+F10 - Display a shortcut menu for a link
SHIFT+TAB - Move back through the items on a page
CTRL+TAB - Move forward between frames
CTRL+C - Copy selected items to the clipboard
CTRL+V - Insert contents of the clipboard
ENTER - Activate a selected link
HOME - Move to the beginning of a document
END - Move to the end of a document
F1 - Display Internet Explorer Help

Recover A Quick Erased Cd-rw

2008-04-26T19:47:00.000-07:00

Procedure used to recover data from a quick-erased CD-RW disc

1. Make a file of exactly the size of the cdrw disc's capacity (650MB in my case).
(this step may not be needed)

2. With Nero I created a new project and added the file to it so that I have the disc filled. I gues you can also fill up the disc with other files.
The reason why I fill the disc is because I want Nero to make a session that uses the entire disc. Like I wrote earlier in this thread I experienced that my CD-Drive refuses to read off the disc beyond the session's boundaries. When you quick-erase a disc there is no session anymore so the drive will not read at all. Burning a new session will overwrite the data and burning only a small session will NOT make the drive read the other data that is still on the disc.
The reason why I used the one big file is so that I could later on recognize which part of the disc was overwritten by this file because this file contained all zeros (0x00).

3. I pressed burn and selected disc-at-once. Then while Nero was burning the leadin I pressed cancel. My CD-Drive finished writing the lead-in and Nero reported an error.
This is what was accomplished however: Now the disc contains a session that says that the used disc size is the complete disc. Nero did not get to writing file because I cancelled it. Good thing because I don't want Nero to write any files because my old data will get overwritten!
I gues it works the same with different writing software. Another method that I used during a test was simply press the reset button of the computer when the burning software was done with writing the lead-in and started with the files.

4. I had to restart the computer after cancelling burning.
With the cdrw disc inserted I saw in "my computer" that windows recognized that the disc was 650MB, clicking on it gave an error. Good so far!

Now with IsoBuster you can extract the sectors from a disc to a file. This is what I did.
I gues that if you have data-recovery software at this point it will be usefull because now (if all went well;)) the CD-Drive WILL read data from the entire disc. Anyway, I used ISO-Buster because the files that I needed to recover where a bit odd for nowadays (.XM, .S3M, .MP3):
In IsoBuster I had to do several steps:

Step 1: Find out from and to which sector the drive will read
By choosing "Sector View" you can look at any given sector.
Here I found out what the first and the last sectors where that are readable. (Hint I used the method for the old game: "Gues a number below 100, I'll tell if it is higher or lower than what you gues")
Step 2: Extract the actual sectors
By choosing "Extract From-To" you can extract any given range of sectors to a file. My disc was a data-disc so I choose the first extraction type "User data, 2048 bytes/block...".

In the end I got a .tao file which was about 650MB. I ran several programs on it to look for files inside a file by searching for file-header-paterns:
1. Multi Ripper 2.80 (for DOS, for the .XM files. It does many other file formats as well (jpg,png, bmp,wav,etc,etc +100). Try google with this query: Multi Ripper 2.80. I still had the file from good old days but I saw several good search results)

2. Winamp for mp3.
Winamp will scan any file when you give it the extension .mp3 and play it as one big song (so I renamed the .tao file to .mp3). I used the discwriter to get a .wav and the Adobe Audition to manually cut and save my songs. I looked at the MP3 file format and it is hard to find an mp3 file in a big file because it has no clear header just a bunch of mpeg-frames in most cases for me . A lot of my files had no ID3v2 or ID3v1 tags... But after a couple of hours I recovered everything.

Finally a list of used stuff:

Software:
- IsoBuster v1.5
- Nero 6.3.0.3
- Multi Ripper 2.80
- WinAmp v5.02
- Windows XP Pro NL (patched up)

Hardware:
- NEC DVDRW ND1300A 1.06

Disc:
- some old 4 speed cdrw

The "X-Ray" Effect

2008-04-25T03:49:00.001-07:00

Odds are if you surf in the celebrity circles you've come across images that some pervert, like myself, has "X-Rayed." Some are good, some are really bad. Personally i consider it artistic, and it can be quite fun... but it's still perverted.

Your Personal "X-Ray" Tutorial: (procedure was written for Photoshop users)

Step 1 - selecting your photo

You will need a decent photo. Sheer is not the only characteristic the photo must posses, but it is an important one. Black sheer, in my experience, will not work, at least not nearly as good, but some people have been able to get some decent results.

The material itself doesn't really matter as you can see from the examples below, as long as it's sheer and a light colored material, you should be fine. Remember, you are exposing the darker/lighter tones from the flesh underneath the material... so make sure you have something to work with.

One more thing; You will notice that most people,(like myself), have prominently "x-rayed" the chest area, this is because the clothing is pressed tight against the flesh. Areas like folds or empty spaces will have much less to zero results.

Step 2 - selecting the area to "X-Ray"

Try to only select the area in which you are editing, don't do the entire image or it will look terrible. For this you will need to use the "Magnetic Lasso" tool and outline the specified area. IE; if you're "x-raying" the chest area, select the entire top with the magnetic lasso... not just the tits.

Once the area has been selected, right click within the outlined area and choose "Layer Via Copy." This will make a new layer from the selected portion. You may also choose to "Feather" the outline... but it's not necessary.

Step 3 - Obtaining "X-Ray" effect

Next, go to "Image" --> "Adjustments" --> "Levels." From there you can play with the slide bar to achieve the best effect. I can't really explain this part further as every photo is different, especially light and/or dark clothing.

From here you can start to get artistic, play with other levels like, colour, contrast, brightness, and most importantly the "Dodge" and "Burn" tools to perfect it. But be fore-warned!... do not become dependent on the dodge and burn tools... you will ultimately ruin the image by "drawing" on it. Only use it to gently darken the shadows that are already there.

That's pretty much it. As i said, some photo's will work better than others. It has a lot to do the the lighting within the photo itself as well. Yellow lights or natural light will create different outcomes, as will the clothing... Here are some examples that i've done:

RUN COMMANDS IN XP

2008-03-26T10:03:00.001-07:00

Accessibility Controls
access.cpl

Add Hardware Wizard
hdwwiz.cpl

Add/Remove Programs
appwiz.cpl

Administrative Tools
control admintools

Automatic Updates
wuaucpl.cpl

Bluetooth Transfer Wizard
fsquirt

Calculator
calc

Certificate Manager
certmgr.msc

Character Map
charmap

Check Disk Utility
chkdsk

Clipboard Viewer
clipbrd

Command Prompt
cmd

Component Services
dcomcnfg

Computer Management
compmgmt.msc

Date and Time Properties
timedate.cpl

DDE Shares
ddeshare

Device Manager
devmgmt.msc

Direct X Control Panel (If Installed)*
directx.cpl

Direct X Troubleshooter
dxdiag

Disk Cleanup Utility
cleanmgr

Disk Defragment
dfrg.msc

Disk Management
diskmgmt.msc

Disk Partition Manager
diskpart

Display Properties
control desktop

Display Properties
desk.cpl

Display Properties (w/Appearance Tab Preselected)
control color

Dr. Watson System Troubleshooting Utility
drwtsn32

Driver Verifier Utility
verifier

Event Viewer
eventvwr.msc

File Signature Verification Tool
sigverif

Findfast
findfast.cpl

Folders Properties
control folders

Fonts
control fonts

Fonts Folder
fonts

Free Cell Card Game
freecell

Game Controllers
joy.cpl

Group Policy Editor (XP Prof)
gpedit.msc

Hearts Card Game
mshearts

Iexpress Wizard
iexpress

Indexing Service
ciadv.msc

Internet Properties
inetcpl.cpl

IP Configuration (Display Connection Configuration)
ipconfig /all

IP Configuration (Display DNS Cache Contents)
ipconfig /displaydns

IP Configuration (Delete DNS Cache Contents)
ipconfig /flushdns

IP Configuration (Release All Connections)
ipconfig /release

IP Configuration (Renew All Connections)
ipconfig /renew

IP Configuration (Refreshes DHCP & Re-Registers DNS)
ipconfig /registerdns

IP Configuration (Display DHCP Class ID)
ipconfig /showclassid

IP Configuration (Modifies DHCP Class ID)
ipconfig /setclassid

ava Control Panel (If Installed)
jpicpl32.cpl

Java Control Panel (If Installed)
javaws

Keyboard Properties
control keyboard

Local Security Settings
secpol.msc

Local Users and Groups
lusrmgr.msc

Logs You Out Of Windows
logoff

Microsoft Chat
winchat

Minesweeper Game
winmine

Mouse Properties
control mouse

Mouse Properties
main.cpl

Network Connections
control netconnections

Network Connections
ncpa.cpl

Network Setup Wizard
netsetup.cpl

Notepad
notepad

Nview Desktop Manager (If Installed)
nvtuicpl.cpl

Object Packager
packager

ODBC Data Source Administrator
odbccp32.cpl

On Screen Keyboard
osk

Opens AC3 Filter (If Installed)
ac3filter.cpl

Password Properties
password.cpl

Performance Monitor
perfmon.msc

Performance Monitor
perfmon

Phone and Modem Options
telephon.cpl

Power Configuration
powercfg.cpl

Printers and Faxes
control printers

Printers Folder
printers

Private Character Editor
eudcedit

Quicktime (If Installed)
QuickTime.cpl

Regional Settings
intl.cpl

Registry Editor
regedit

Registry Editor
regedit32

Remote Desktop
mstsc

Removable Storage
ntmsmgr.msc

Removable Storage Operator Requests
ntmsoprq.msc

Resultant Set of Policy (XP Prof)
rsop.msc

Scanners and Cameras
sticpl.cpl

Scheduled Tasks
control schedtasks

Security Center
wscui.cpl

Services
services.msc

Shared Folders
fsmgmt.msc

Shuts Down Windows
shutdown

Sounds and Audio
mmsys.cpl

Spider Solitare Card Game
spider

SQL Client Configuration
cliconfg

System Configuration Editor
sysedit

System Configuration Utility
msconfig

System File Checker Utility (Scan Immediately)
sfc /scannow

System File Checker Utility (Scan Once At Next Boot)
sfc /scanonce

System File Checker Utility (Scan On Every Boot)
sfc /scanboot

System File Checker Utility (Return to Default Setting)
sfc /revert

System File Checker Utility (Purge File Cache)
sfc /purgecache

System File Checker Utility (Set Cache Size to size x)
sfc /cachesize=x

System Properties
sysdm.cpl

Task Manager
taskmgr

Telnet Client
telnet

User Account Management
nusrmgr.cpl

Utility Manager
utilman

Windows Firewall
firewall.cpl

Windows Magnifier
magnify

Windows Management Infrastructure
wmimgmt.msc

Windows System Security Tool
syskey

Windows Update Launches
wupdmgr

Windows XP Tour Wizard
tourstart

Wordpad
write

Some good tricks making your Xp running smooth

2008-03-26T09:58:00.001-07:00

Here are some good tricks making your Xp running smooth:

Maximization of internet bandwidth
1. Log off first.
2. Login again as Administrator
3. Start > Run > gpedit.msc
4. Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Network >
QoS Packet Scheduler
5. Limit Reservable Bandwidth > Enable > Value set to 0 > Apply

Maximization of internet surfing speed
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Mcft/Windows/
CurrentVersion/Explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace
Delete the below value key:
{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}
Register your WinXP:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Mcft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion]
Set the value of "RegDone" = 1

Shutdown XP Faster
When a user shuts down Windows XP, first the system has to kill all services
currently running. Every once in a while the service does not shut down
instantly and windows gives it a change to shut down on its own before it kills it.
This amount of time that windows waits is stored in the system registry.
If you modify this setting, then windows will kill the service earlier. To modify
the setting, follow the directions below:
Start Regedit.
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control.
Click on the "Control" Folder.
Select "WaitToKillServiceTimeout"
Right click on it and select Modify.
Set it a value lower than 2000 (Mine is set to 200).

Shutdown XP faster 2
Like previous versions of windows, it takes long time to restart or shutdown windows xp
when the "Exit Windows" sound is enabled. to solve this problem you must disable
this useless sound.
click start button then go to settings -> control panel -> Sound,
Speech and Audio devices -> Sounds and Audio Devices -> Sounds,
then under program events and windows menu click on "Exit Windows"
sub-menu and highlight it.
now from sounds you can select,choose "none" and then click apply and ok.
now you can see some improvements when shutting down your system.
Accelerate the response time of menu:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
Set the value of MenuShowDelay to 0 (Default 400)
Get rid of windows messenger
Start->Run->"gpedit.msc""
-Computer Configuration
-Administrative Templates
-Windows Components
-Windows Messenger
Here you can enable
"Do not allow Windows Messenger to be run"
and
"Do not automatically start Windows Messenger initially"
Remove Shared Documents
Open Regedit(Start- Run- Regedit) and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Mcft Windows CurrentVersion Explorer My Computer NameSpace DelegateFolders
There will see a sub-key named {59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}.
By Deleting this you can remove the 'Other Files stored on This Computer' group.
Change the text in Internet Explorers title bar to anything you want
In regedit navigate to this key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerMain
change the value of the string "Window Title" to whatever you want on the title bar of Internet Explorer - to have no title except the title of the web pages you are browsing do not enter anything for a value.
Reduce Temporary Internet F ile Space
The 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.

Launch Internet Explorer.
Select the Tools from the menu bar.
Then select Internet Options... from the drop down menu.
Once the internet options has loaded click on the general tab.
Under the temporary internet files section click the settings button.
A settings window will load. Slide the slider all the way to the left so the size indicated in the text box on the right is one.
Click OK
Click Ok

Turn Off System Recovery
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)
Enable / Disable Firewall
Open Control Panel and double click on Network Connections. In the new box that appears right click on the Connection and click on the Advanced tab. Check or uncheck the box according to your desire.
Win XP Won’t Completely Shutdown
- Goto Control Panel, then goto Power Options.
- Click on the APM Tab, then check the "Enable Advanced Power Management support."
- Shut down your PC. It should now successfully complete the Shut Down process.
WinXP Clear Page file on shutdown
Go to Control panel Administrative tools, local security policy. then goto local policies ---> security options.
Then change the option for "Shutdown: Clear Virtual Memory Pagefile"
Turn off hibernation
Control Panel-Screen Saver Power-Hibernate Tab-uncheck hibernation box-reboot and hiberfil.sys is no more.
Adjust various visual effects
1. Open up the control panel
2. Go under system and click on the advanced tab
3. Click settings under Performance options
4. You can now change various graphical effects (mainly animations and shadows)
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

Remove shortcut arrow from desktop icons
Here's how you can remove those shortcut arrows from your desktop icons in Windows XP.
1. Start regedit.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTlnkfile
3. Delete the IsShortcut registry value.
You may need to restart Windows XP.
Easy sendto menu modification
first open - X:Documents and SettingsusernameSendTo (it is hidden) where X is your drive letter and username is your username make and delete shortcuts to folders at will
Enable Clear Type
Easy way- Click on or cut and paste link below:
http://www.Mcft.com/typography/cleart...name=%20&fsize=
or
- Right click on a blank area of the Desktop and choose Properties
- Click on the Appearance Tab; Click effects
- Check the box: Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts
- In the drop down box select: Clear Type
Turn of CD Auto Play
- Open My Computer
- Right click on your CD ROM and choose Properties
- Click on the Auto Play tab
- In the drop down box you can choose the Action for each choice shown in the drop down box
Or
1. Go to Start->Run->gpedit.msc
2. Computer Config -> Administrative Template -> System
3. Double click Turn off Autoplay
4. Enable it.
Getting MP3 ripping to work in Windows Media Player 8 in XP
Enter the following in the registry :
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftMediaPlayerSettingsMP3Encoding]
"LowRate"=dword:0000dac0
"MediumRate"=dword:0000fa00
"MediumHighRate"=dword:0001f400
"HighRate"=dword:0002ee00
This corresponds to 56, 64, 128 and 192 Kbps.
You can change this to your liking using the following dword hex values :
320 Kbps = dword:0004e200
256 Kbps = dword:0003e800
224 Kbps = dword:00036b00
192 Kbps = dword:0002ee00
160 Kbps = dword:00027100
128 Kbps = dword:0001f400
112 Kbps = dword:0001b580
64 Kbps = dword:0000fa00
56 Kbps = dword:0000dac0
Increase BROADBAND:
this ones simple:
this is for broad band connections. I didn’t try it on dial up but might work for dial up.
1.make sure your logged on as actually "Administrator". do not log on with any account that just has administrator privileges.
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.

Mozilla Firefox Tips and Tricks

2008-03-16T20:28:00.001-07:00

Here I got some Mozilla Firefox Tips and Tricks from a website….

# To quickly find any word in a web page type /word - it will highlight the word and press Ctrl+G to find that word again

# If you wish to remove an item from your Address Bar Drop down menu, highlight it without clicking and press Shift+Delete.

# Clear your Download history to make the download manager more responsive : Tools | Options | Privacy

# Type about:cache?device=disk in your address bar to view/save items that you have in your Firefox disk cache

# Type about:cache?device=memory in your address bar to view/save items that you have in your Firefox memory cache

# Drag any link to the Download Manager Window to add & download the link.

# If you accidentally delete a bookmark and want to recover it, open the “Bookmarks Manager” and use Ctrl+Z, or Edit | Undo.

# Double Clicking empty space on the Tab Bar will open a ‘New Tab’

# Holding down the Ctrl key when you right click to “View Image” or “View Background Image” will open the image in a New Tab or New Window.

# A bookmarks folder’s position can also be dragged & dropped but you must hold down the SHIFT key while Dragging.

# To prevent a website from replacing/changing your right click context menu go to Tools > Options > Web Features then click the “advanced tab” and de-select “remove or replace context menus”. Inf Firefox 2 and above go to Tools>Options> content>Advanced

# You can work offline in Firefox just go to File > Work Offline. This means that you can browse your previously visited pages even when you’re offline this is a really cool feature but not many people who use it.

# You can bookmark the current page by dragging the icon from the location bar to your Bookmarks folder. You can also drag it to the desktop to make an icon for that page.
# To stop animated gifs from moving, press the ESC key.

winDows Standard Device Name

2008-03-16T20:26:00.001-07:00

"con", "aux", "nul", "PRN", "COM1", "COM2" नाम से विण्डोज़ मे फ़ोल्डर नही बनाये जा सकते, ये standard device के नाम हैं, जो DOS क ज़माने से चलें आ रहें हैं |
नाम तथा device के नाम इस प्रकार है-
con - console
aux - first asynchronous communications port
nul - test device
PRN - printer
COM1 - communications port 1
COM2 - communications port 2

Speed up your browsing of Windows 2000 & XP machines

2008-03-16T20:13:00.001-07:00

Here's a great tip to speed up your browsing of Windows XP machines. Its actually a fix to a bug installed as default in Windows 2000 that scans shared files for Scheduled Tasks. And it turns out that you can experience a delay as long as 30 seconds when you try to view shared files across a network because Windows 2000 is using the extra time to search the remote computer for any Scheduled Tasks. Note that though the fix is originally intended for only those affected, Windows 2000 users will experience that the actual browsing speed of both the Internet & Windows Explorers improve significantly after applying it since it doesn't search for Scheduled Tasks anymore. Here's how :
Open up the Registry and go to :

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace

Under that branch, select the key :

{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}

and delete it.

This is key that instructs Windows to search for Scheduled Tasks. 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.

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How to Remove Windows XP's Messenger

2008-02-07T09:18:00.000-08:00

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

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

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