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.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Turning Off the Licensing Feature in Windows XP
Everybody but the record industry agrees that the Microsoft licensing feature is awful. Luckily, you have a way to turn it off:
1. Choose Options from Media Player's Tools menu.
2. Click the Copy Music tab.
3. Remove any check mark from the box marked Protect Content.
If no check mark is there, Media Player doesn't embed any license or copy protection in your copied files. Disabling the licensing feature lets you copy your files to any of your computers and portable music devices.
Make XP display a custom screen saver using your very own pictures
It used to be darn near impossible to create a personal screen saver using your own photo collection. To do this, you had to track down a third-party application and sloppily piece together your pictures to create a screen saver.
Well, the engineers at Microsoft must have realized they hated third-party applications and decided enough was enough. XP can take any pictures stored in your "My Pictures" folder and display them in random order as a screen saver.
To make a personal screen saver in XP, follow these directions:
Right-click an empty spot on your desktop and choose Properties.
Click the Screen Saver tab inside the Display Properties dialog box.
In the Screen Saver pull-down menu, choose "My Pictures Slideshow."
Underneath the Screen Saver pull-down menu, adjust the time of inactivity before Windows will initiate your screen saver.
Click Settings to make additional adjustments. You'll be able to adjust transition effects between pictures, how frequently they change, what size the pictures should be, and more.
Click OK when you're done tweaking the settings adjustments.
Press the Preview button to see what your screen saver looks like.
If everything is to your liking, click Apply.
Well, the engineers at Microsoft must have realized they hated third-party applications and decided enough was enough. XP can take any pictures stored in your "My Pictures" folder and display them in random order as a screen saver.
To make a personal screen saver in XP, follow these directions:
Right-click an empty spot on your desktop and choose Properties.
Click the Screen Saver tab inside the Display Properties dialog box.
In the Screen Saver pull-down menu, choose "My Pictures Slideshow."
Underneath the Screen Saver pull-down menu, adjust the time of inactivity before Windows will initiate your screen saver.
Click Settings to make additional adjustments. You'll be able to adjust transition effects between pictures, how frequently they change, what size the pictures should be, and more.
Click OK when you're done tweaking the settings adjustments.
Press the Preview button to see what your screen saver looks like.
If everything is to your liking, click Apply.
Create a Password recovery disk
Take preventive measures against losing user-level passwords.
It doesn't matter if you never again remember a Windows user password. Thanks to XP's Forgotten Password Wizard, your conscience will be free and clear -- should your mind happen to accidentally misplace your user password.
I highly suggest you create a password recovery disk the minute you create your user account. Why? In order to create a password recovery disk you're going to need your password. Write it down the minute you create your user account and then proceed to creating your very own password recovery disk.
Here's how to launch the Forgotten Password Wizard:
Single-click Start menu, Control Panel, and User Accounts.
Click your user account name.
Under Related Tasks on the left, click "Prevent forgotten password" to launch the wizard.
Now that you've launched the wizard, let it walk you through creating the recovery disk. Make sure the disk you use is formatted and in the drive. After it's finished creating the disk, label it and stash it away for an emergency.
If you happen to forget your password, all you need to do is click your user icon at the logon screen. Even though you don't have your password, go ahead and click the green arrow just like you would to finish logging on to your computer. This will launch a little yellow dialog box directing you to use your password recovery disk.
It doesn't matter if you never again remember a Windows user password. Thanks to XP's Forgotten Password Wizard, your conscience will be free and clear -- should your mind happen to accidentally misplace your user password.
I highly suggest you create a password recovery disk the minute you create your user account. Why? In order to create a password recovery disk you're going to need your password. Write it down the minute you create your user account and then proceed to creating your very own password recovery disk.
Here's how to launch the Forgotten Password Wizard:
Single-click Start menu, Control Panel, and User Accounts.
Click your user account name.
Under Related Tasks on the left, click "Prevent forgotten password" to launch the wizard.
Now that you've launched the wizard, let it walk you through creating the recovery disk. Make sure the disk you use is formatted and in the drive. After it's finished creating the disk, label it and stash it away for an emergency.
If you happen to forget your password, all you need to do is click your user icon at the logon screen. Even though you don't have your password, go ahead and click the green arrow just like you would to finish logging on to your computer. This will launch a little yellow dialog box directing you to use your password recovery disk.
Give Your Windows XP a Boost!
Give Your Windows XP a Boost!
eBoostr™ is an alternative solution to Vista’s ReadyBoost and SuperFetch technologies now available on Windows XP
It speeds up your PC and improves application responsiveness by using flash memory and free RAM as an extra layer of performance-boosting cache for your PC. Use up to four inexpensive flash devices to speed up your system. Add more speed to your PC without any hardware upgrade.
Donwload above software at http://www.eboostr.com/download/
Forgot My Administrator Password! Can't Log On to Windows XP?
If that’s your only problem, then you probably have nothing to worry about. As long as you have your Windows XP CD, you can get back into your system using a simple but effective method made possible by a little known access hole in Windows XP.
This method is easy enough for newbies to follow – it doesn’t require using the Recovery Console or any complicated commands. And it’s free - I mention that because you can pay two hundred dollars for an emergency download of Winternals ERD with Locksmith which is a utility for unlocking lost Windows passwords.
ERD is an excellent multi purpose product, but you should know it is not a necessary one if you have a healthy system and your sole problem is the inability to logon to Windows due to a forgotten password. Not necessary because you can easily change or wipe out your Administrator password for free during a Windows XP Repair. Here’s how with a step-by-step description of the initial Repair process included for newbie.
[indent]1. Place your Windows XP CD in your cd-rom and start your computer (it’s assumed here that your XP CD is bootable – as it should be - and that you have your bios set to boot from CD)
2. Keep your eye on the screen messages for booting to your cd Typically, it will be “Press any key to boot from cd”
3. Once you get in, the first screen will indicate that Setup is inspecting your system and loading files.
4. When you get to the [b]Welcome to Setup screen, [b]press ENTER to Setup Windows now
5. The [b]Licensing Agreement comes next - Press[b] F8 to accept it.
6. The next screen is the [b]Setup screen which gives you the option to do a Repair.
It should read something like “If one of the following Windows XP installations is damaged, Setup can try to repair it”
Use the up and down arrow keys to [b]select your XP installation (if you only have one, it should already be selected) and [b]press R to begin the Repair process.
7. Let the Repair run. Setup will now check your disks and then start copying files which can take several minutes.
8. Shortly after the Copying Files stage, you will be required to reboot. (this will happen automatically – you will see a progress bar stating “Your computer will reboot in 15 seconds”
9. During the reboot, do not make the mistake of “pressing any key” to boot from the CD again! Setup will resume automatically with the standard billboard screens and you will notice [b]Installing Windows is highlighted.
10. Keep your eye on the lower left hand side of the screen and when you see the [b]Installing Devices progress bar, press [b]SHIFT + F10. This is the security hole! A command console will now open up giving you the potential for wide access to your system.
11. At the prompt, type [b]NUSRMGR.CPL and [b]press Enter. Voila! You have just gained graphical access to your [b]User Accounts in the Control Panel.
12. Now simply pick the account you need to change and remove or change your password as you prefer. If you want to log on without having to enter your new password, you can type [b]control userpasswords2 at the prompt and choose to log on without being asked for password. After you’ve made your changes close the windows, exit the command box and continue on with the Repair (have your Product key handy).
13. Once the Repair is done, you will be able to log on with your new password (or without a password if you chose not to use one or if you chose not to be asked for a password). Your programs and personalized settings should remain intact.
[/indent]I tested the above on Windows XP Pro with and without SP1 and also used this method in a real situation where someone could not remember their password and it worked like a charm to fix the problem. This security hole allows access to more than just user accounts. You can also access the Registry and Policy Editor, for example. And its gui access with mouse control. Of course, a Product Key will be needed to continue with the Repair after making the changes, but for anyone intent on gaining access to your system, this would be no problem.
And in case you are wondering, NO, you cannot cancel install after making the changes and expect to logon with your new password.
Cancelling will just result in Setup resuming at bootup and your changes will be lost.
Ok, now that your logon problem is fixed, you should make a point to prevent it from ever happening again by creating a [b]Password Reset Disk. This is a floppy disk you can use in the event you ever forget your log on password. It allows you to set a new password.
Here's how to create one if your computer is NOT on a domain:[list]
How to Log on to your PC Using Your Password Reset Disk
Start your computer and at the logon screen, click your user name and leave the password box blank or just type in anything. This will bring up a Logon Failure box and you will then see the option to use your Password Reset disk to create a new password. Click it which will initiate the Password Reset wizard. Insert your password reset disk into your floppy drive and follow the wizard which will let you choose a new password to use for your account.
Note: If your computer is part of a domain, the procedure for creating a password disk is different.
This method is easy enough for newbies to follow – it doesn’t require using the Recovery Console or any complicated commands. And it’s free - I mention that because you can pay two hundred dollars for an emergency download of Winternals ERD with Locksmith which is a utility for unlocking lost Windows passwords.
ERD is an excellent multi purpose product, but you should know it is not a necessary one if you have a healthy system and your sole problem is the inability to logon to Windows due to a forgotten password. Not necessary because you can easily change or wipe out your Administrator password for free during a Windows XP Repair. Here’s how with a step-by-step description of the initial Repair process included for newbie.
[indent]1. Place your Windows XP CD in your cd-rom and start your computer (it’s assumed here that your XP CD is bootable – as it should be - and that you have your bios set to boot from CD)
2. Keep your eye on the screen messages for booting to your cd Typically, it will be “Press any key to boot from cd”
3. Once you get in, the first screen will indicate that Setup is inspecting your system and loading files.
4. When you get to the [b]Welcome to Setup screen, [b]press ENTER to Setup Windows now
5. The [b]Licensing Agreement comes next - Press[b] F8 to accept it.
6. The next screen is the [b]Setup screen which gives you the option to do a Repair.
It should read something like “If one of the following Windows XP installations is damaged, Setup can try to repair it”
Use the up and down arrow keys to [b]select your XP installation (if you only have one, it should already be selected) and [b]press R to begin the Repair process.
7. Let the Repair run. Setup will now check your disks and then start copying files which can take several minutes.
8. Shortly after the Copying Files stage, you will be required to reboot. (this will happen automatically – you will see a progress bar stating “Your computer will reboot in 15 seconds”
9. During the reboot, do not make the mistake of “pressing any key” to boot from the CD again! Setup will resume automatically with the standard billboard screens and you will notice [b]Installing Windows is highlighted.
10. Keep your eye on the lower left hand side of the screen and when you see the [b]Installing Devices progress bar, press [b]SHIFT + F10. This is the security hole! A command console will now open up giving you the potential for wide access to your system.
11. At the prompt, type [b]NUSRMGR.CPL and [b]press Enter. Voila! You have just gained graphical access to your [b]User Accounts in the Control Panel.
12. Now simply pick the account you need to change and remove or change your password as you prefer. If you want to log on without having to enter your new password, you can type [b]control userpasswords2 at the prompt and choose to log on without being asked for password. After you’ve made your changes close the windows, exit the command box and continue on with the Repair (have your Product key handy).
13. Once the Repair is done, you will be able to log on with your new password (or without a password if you chose not to use one or if you chose not to be asked for a password). Your programs and personalized settings should remain intact.
[/indent]I tested the above on Windows XP Pro with and without SP1 and also used this method in a real situation where someone could not remember their password and it worked like a charm to fix the problem. This security hole allows access to more than just user accounts. You can also access the Registry and Policy Editor, for example. And its gui access with mouse control. Of course, a Product Key will be needed to continue with the Repair after making the changes, but for anyone intent on gaining access to your system, this would be no problem.
And in case you are wondering, NO, you cannot cancel install after making the changes and expect to logon with your new password.
Cancelling will just result in Setup resuming at bootup and your changes will be lost.
Ok, now that your logon problem is fixed, you should make a point to prevent it from ever happening again by creating a [b]Password Reset Disk. This is a floppy disk you can use in the event you ever forget your log on password. It allows you to set a new password.
Here's how to create one if your computer is NOT on a domain:[list]
- Go to the Control Panel and open up User Accounts.
- Choose your account (under Pick An Account to Change) and under Related Tasks, click "Prevent a forgotten password".
- This will initiate a wizard.
- Click Next and then insert a blank formatted floppy disk into your A: drive.
- Click Next and enter your logon password in the password box.
- Click Next to begin the creation of your Password disk.
- Once completed, label and save the disk to a safe place
How to Log on to your PC Using Your Password Reset Disk
Start your computer and at the logon screen, click your user name and leave the password box blank or just type in anything. This will bring up a Logon Failure box and you will then see the option to use your Password Reset disk to create a new password. Click it which will initiate the Password Reset wizard. Insert your password reset disk into your floppy drive and follow the wizard which will let you choose a new password to use for your account.
Note: If your computer is part of a domain, the procedure for creating a password disk is different.
You can login with multiple ID's on the same yahoo messenger
You can login with multiple ID's on the same yahoo messenger.
Follow these steps : ==>>
* Go to Start ==> Run ==>> Type regedit,hit enter
* Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER ==>> Software ==>> Yahoo ==>> pager ==>>Test
* On the right pane ==>> right-click and choose new Dword value .
* Rename it as Plural.
* Double click and assign a decimal value of 1.
* Now close registry and restart yahoo messenger.
* For signing in with new id open another messenger .
Follow these steps : ==>>
* Go to Start ==> Run ==>> Type regedit,hit enter
* Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER ==>> Software ==>> Yahoo ==>> pager ==>>Test
* On the right pane ==>> right-click and choose new Dword value .
* Rename it as Plural.
* Double click and assign a decimal value of 1.
* Now close registry and restart yahoo messenger.
* For signing in with new id open another messenger .
rename your Start Button
To rename the start button, you will need a hex editor.
My preference is UltraEdit
Copy the \windows\explore.exe file to a new name (e.g. explorer_1.exe)
With the hex editor, open that file and go to offset 412b6
You will see the word start with blanks between each letter
Edit it be any 5 characters or less
Save the file
Boot to DOS
Copy the existing c:\windows\explorer.exe to explorer.org
Copy explorer_1.exe to explorer.exe
You will also need to replace the explorer.exe in the c:\windows\system32\dllcache file as well with the new one.
Note: If the partition is NTFS and you can't access the files from DOS:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon.
Change the value of Shell from Explorer.exe to explorer_1.exe
My preference is UltraEdit
Copy the \windows\explore.exe file to a new name (e.g. explorer_1.exe)
With the hex editor, open that file and go to offset 412b6
You will see the word start with blanks between each letter
Edit it be any 5 characters or less
Save the file
Boot to DOS
Copy the existing c:\windows\explorer.exe to explorer.org
Copy explorer_1.exe to explorer.exe
You will also need to replace the explorer.exe in the c:\windows\system32\dllcache file as well with the new one.
Note: If the partition is NTFS and you can't access the files from DOS:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon.
Change the value of Shell from Explorer.exe to explorer_1.exe
You've been hacked: What to do first!
What should you do in the first five minutes after you discover your system has been hacked?
Sitting at your desk, you notice some odd activity in a log while you're looking into a user problem. The more you step through it, the more you are convinced that something is just not right. Your heart skips a beat when you realise that the system has been hacked.
At this point, you enter a stage of shock as you ask yourself, "How could this happen?" and "What do I do now?"
Although you'll find plenty of advice on how to keep your systems from being hacked, there are relatively few articles that will help you sort things out in the aftermath of an attack. So for the next three weeks, I'll present a series of articles that will explain what you should do in the first five minutes, in the first hour, and in the first week after you've discovered that an interloper has compromised your systems. This article will focus on the most immediate actions you must take to secure your system: evaluate, communicate, and disconnect.
Evaluate
The first question that you must answer after an attack (or preferably before) is what your objectives are. In most cases, the objectives are simple: prevent further intrusion and resolve the problem. However, in some cases, you will want to be able to positively identify the intruder and, in others, you will be focused on figuring out which vulnerability the hacker exploited.
Identify the intruder
It may be necessary to positively identify the intruder so that you can refer the matter to the police for further investigation and possible prosecution. Of course, this is not the most expedient way to get the systems back online and prevent further infection. Identifying intruders can be difficult, particularly if they have covered their tracks well. Despite Hollywood's portrayal of hackers easily being traced, someone who is routing traffic through several systems is not only difficult to find, but might be -- in all practical terms -- impossible to track down.
Identify the vulnerability
Another approach that some organisations take is to try to identify the specific vulnerability exploited. The thinking is that you want to patch the specific hole that allowed this intruder to gain access. By and large, this approaches the problem from a suboptimal perspective. A far better strategy is to attempt to identify all vulnerabilities and prevent any intruder from gaining access to your systems, rather than focusing on the one vulnerability this particular hacker exploited.
Many of today's security assessment tools will allow you to quickly test and resolve all vulnerabilities.
Return systems to operation
If this is the first time you have been attacked, you may find it simpler to forgo trying to pinpoint the intruder or the specific vulnerability that was exploited. In general, it is unlikely that you will be able to easily generate the logs you might need to target the origin of the intrusion.
Patching the vulnerabilities and returning systems to operation as soon as possible is the most straightforward approach. It reduces your risk and allows you to fortify your defences without worrying about the intruder continuing to take advantage of your systems.
Plan ahead
In many cases, organisations determine their course of action prior to an attack. But in an equal number of cases, organisations must make this their first order of business after an attack. In addition to determining your specific goals after an attack, you should consider executing a disaster recovery plan, if one exists for your organisation. Depending on the severity of the situation, it may make sense to treat the situation as if the data centre had been destroyed.
The one unique complication to activating a disaster recovery plan for an organisation is that it is typically centred on a known event with a known time. But with an intrusion into your network, you may not know exactly when the system was first compromised. This can complicate the recovery process because it may not be clear what set of backups should be restored for each system. Further complicating matters is the fact that some systems may have been compromised before others, so it may be necessary to repeat the restoration process several times while trying to determine when the first intrusion occurred and on which system.
Communicate
Once you have decided on your approach, you need to communicate to upper management what is happening -- or what you suspect is happening. This is perhaps the most difficult step and, because of that, it is one that is often skipped or delayed. But despite the potential for internal political problems, it is important to let business leadership understand what is happening so that everyone can plan for the steps required to resolve the problem. It will also give business leadership an opportunity to reaffirm the goal for problem resolution, whether that goal is to go after the intruder, target the vulnerability, or simply solve the problem as quickly as possible.
You should also communicate with your IT peers about the problem. You need everyone on the team to look for suspicious activity to ensure that the network is not further compromised. To that end, the more professionals involved who are aware of the problem, the more likely it is that nothing will slip through the cracks and be missed.
Conversely, you should not communicate with your users that you have detected an intrusion. An employee may have caused the breach, either by providing a password to a friend with the intention of allowing a breach or through something more innocent. It is a good idea to hold off on notifying employees until the HR department can communicate the company policy along with the message.
Finally, if you have a security infrastructure partner, communicate with it immediately that you have a potential situation. Even if you have only engaged the organisation in the past to perform a security audit, you should call it to indicate that you suspect that you have a problem. The intent here is not at this point to ask for help but rather to inform the partner so that it can be prepared to assist if necessary.
Disconnect
If you are not planning on attempting to identify the intruder or the vulnerability, you should disconnect the system or the entire internal network from the Internet as soon as possible. This prevents the intruder from working against you as you try to clean up the mess and also prevents further infections or data loss while you work on the systems.
One of the downsides of disconnecting is that people who want to use the system internally and externally will be unable to do so until the problem is resolved. This can exert substantial internal pressure to take shortcuts to get the systems back up again. But the natural desire to reconnect systems before a thorough evaluation of their status has been conducted is ill advised and typically leads to repeated intrusions while the problems with each of the servers are identified and resolved one-by-one.
The decision to disconnect the entire organisation from the Internet or to disconnect just one system or a few systems is a difficult call, particularly in the first five minutes. You will not have had time to evaluate which, if any, other systems have been compromised, so it is possible that removing a single system from the Internet may not resolve the problem. On the other hand, you may want the organisation to continue to function with as little disruption as possible.
Ultimately, the decision comes down to one of risk tolerance. How much risk is the organisation willing to accept to avoid some downtime? In most organisations, the risk of potential intruders greatly outweighs the desire to maintain availability of all systems. In other words, most organisations agree that it is important to disconnect from the Internet immediately so that the systems can be checked for signs of intrusion without the possibility of intruders attempting to cover their tracks.
Conclusion
The first few minutes after you discover an attack are likely to be stressful and confused, so it's important to have a plan of action in place before it happens. When you realise you've been attacked, make sure you identify your objectives in resolving the situation, communicate the situation promptly to business leadership and peers, and determine whether the problem requires you to disconnect one or more systems from the Internet. Deciding how to react to an attack is tricky, at best. The actions you take (or don't take) can have a huge impact on your organisation -- and on your reputation. However, following a plan for controlling the situation can make things less chaotic and start you down the right path to get things back on track.
Sitting at your desk, you notice some odd activity in a log while you're looking into a user problem. The more you step through it, the more you are convinced that something is just not right. Your heart skips a beat when you realise that the system has been hacked.
At this point, you enter a stage of shock as you ask yourself, "How could this happen?" and "What do I do now?"
Although you'll find plenty of advice on how to keep your systems from being hacked, there are relatively few articles that will help you sort things out in the aftermath of an attack. So for the next three weeks, I'll present a series of articles that will explain what you should do in the first five minutes, in the first hour, and in the first week after you've discovered that an interloper has compromised your systems. This article will focus on the most immediate actions you must take to secure your system: evaluate, communicate, and disconnect.
Evaluate
The first question that you must answer after an attack (or preferably before) is what your objectives are. In most cases, the objectives are simple: prevent further intrusion and resolve the problem. However, in some cases, you will want to be able to positively identify the intruder and, in others, you will be focused on figuring out which vulnerability the hacker exploited.
Identify the intruder
It may be necessary to positively identify the intruder so that you can refer the matter to the police for further investigation and possible prosecution. Of course, this is not the most expedient way to get the systems back online and prevent further infection. Identifying intruders can be difficult, particularly if they have covered their tracks well. Despite Hollywood's portrayal of hackers easily being traced, someone who is routing traffic through several systems is not only difficult to find, but might be -- in all practical terms -- impossible to track down.
Identify the vulnerability
Another approach that some organisations take is to try to identify the specific vulnerability exploited. The thinking is that you want to patch the specific hole that allowed this intruder to gain access. By and large, this approaches the problem from a suboptimal perspective. A far better strategy is to attempt to identify all vulnerabilities and prevent any intruder from gaining access to your systems, rather than focusing on the one vulnerability this particular hacker exploited.
Many of today's security assessment tools will allow you to quickly test and resolve all vulnerabilities.
Return systems to operation
If this is the first time you have been attacked, you may find it simpler to forgo trying to pinpoint the intruder or the specific vulnerability that was exploited. In general, it is unlikely that you will be able to easily generate the logs you might need to target the origin of the intrusion.
Patching the vulnerabilities and returning systems to operation as soon as possible is the most straightforward approach. It reduces your risk and allows you to fortify your defences without worrying about the intruder continuing to take advantage of your systems.
Plan ahead
In many cases, organisations determine their course of action prior to an attack. But in an equal number of cases, organisations must make this their first order of business after an attack. In addition to determining your specific goals after an attack, you should consider executing a disaster recovery plan, if one exists for your organisation. Depending on the severity of the situation, it may make sense to treat the situation as if the data centre had been destroyed.
The one unique complication to activating a disaster recovery plan for an organisation is that it is typically centred on a known event with a known time. But with an intrusion into your network, you may not know exactly when the system was first compromised. This can complicate the recovery process because it may not be clear what set of backups should be restored for each system. Further complicating matters is the fact that some systems may have been compromised before others, so it may be necessary to repeat the restoration process several times while trying to determine when the first intrusion occurred and on which system.
Communicate
Once you have decided on your approach, you need to communicate to upper management what is happening -- or what you suspect is happening. This is perhaps the most difficult step and, because of that, it is one that is often skipped or delayed. But despite the potential for internal political problems, it is important to let business leadership understand what is happening so that everyone can plan for the steps required to resolve the problem. It will also give business leadership an opportunity to reaffirm the goal for problem resolution, whether that goal is to go after the intruder, target the vulnerability, or simply solve the problem as quickly as possible.
You should also communicate with your IT peers about the problem. You need everyone on the team to look for suspicious activity to ensure that the network is not further compromised. To that end, the more professionals involved who are aware of the problem, the more likely it is that nothing will slip through the cracks and be missed.
Conversely, you should not communicate with your users that you have detected an intrusion. An employee may have caused the breach, either by providing a password to a friend with the intention of allowing a breach or through something more innocent. It is a good idea to hold off on notifying employees until the HR department can communicate the company policy along with the message.
Finally, if you have a security infrastructure partner, communicate with it immediately that you have a potential situation. Even if you have only engaged the organisation in the past to perform a security audit, you should call it to indicate that you suspect that you have a problem. The intent here is not at this point to ask for help but rather to inform the partner so that it can be prepared to assist if necessary.
Disconnect
If you are not planning on attempting to identify the intruder or the vulnerability, you should disconnect the system or the entire internal network from the Internet as soon as possible. This prevents the intruder from working against you as you try to clean up the mess and also prevents further infections or data loss while you work on the systems.
One of the downsides of disconnecting is that people who want to use the system internally and externally will be unable to do so until the problem is resolved. This can exert substantial internal pressure to take shortcuts to get the systems back up again. But the natural desire to reconnect systems before a thorough evaluation of their status has been conducted is ill advised and typically leads to repeated intrusions while the problems with each of the servers are identified and resolved one-by-one.
The decision to disconnect the entire organisation from the Internet or to disconnect just one system or a few systems is a difficult call, particularly in the first five minutes. You will not have had time to evaluate which, if any, other systems have been compromised, so it is possible that removing a single system from the Internet may not resolve the problem. On the other hand, you may want the organisation to continue to function with as little disruption as possible.
Ultimately, the decision comes down to one of risk tolerance. How much risk is the organisation willing to accept to avoid some downtime? In most organisations, the risk of potential intruders greatly outweighs the desire to maintain availability of all systems. In other words, most organisations agree that it is important to disconnect from the Internet immediately so that the systems can be checked for signs of intrusion without the possibility of intruders attempting to cover their tracks.
Conclusion
The first few minutes after you discover an attack are likely to be stressful and confused, so it's important to have a plan of action in place before it happens. When you realise you've been attacked, make sure you identify your objectives in resolving the situation, communicate the situation promptly to business leadership and peers, and determine whether the problem requires you to disconnect one or more systems from the Internet. Deciding how to react to an attack is tricky, at best. The actions you take (or don't take) can have a huge impact on your organisation -- and on your reputation. However, following a plan for controlling the situation can make things less chaotic and start you down the right path to get things back on track.
How-To Make Your Home page Never Being Changed
You might be vexed of those malicious websites that illegally modify your registry editor and set their website as your default home page
or
you might be bored of setting your home page again n again when someone changes it in a net cafe or on your PC.
But now you can stop all those and make your home page never being changed with this simple n wonderful tweak.
1) Right click on the Internet Explorer/Mozilla Firefox shortcut icon on your
desktop and select Properties
2) In the target field you will see somewhat like
"C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE" for Internet Explorer &
"C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" for Mozilla Firefox
which is the path of the executable file on you PC.
3) Now to the end it you have to add the URL of the website(say orkut)you want to make as your Home page, so that it changes as
"C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE" [url]www.orkut.com[/url]
(same holds true for firefox n other browsers as well)
This makes orkut as your default home page in internet explorer and this also overrides any home page setting in internet options and your home page will be secure.
or
you might be bored of setting your home page again n again when someone changes it in a net cafe or on your PC.
But now you can stop all those and make your home page never being changed with this simple n wonderful tweak.
1) Right click on the Internet Explorer/Mozilla Firefox shortcut icon on your
desktop and select Properties
2) In the target field you will see somewhat like
"C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE" for Internet Explorer &
"C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" for Mozilla Firefox
which is the path of the executable file on you PC.
3) Now to the end it you have to add the URL of the website(say orkut)you want to make as your Home page, so that it changes as
"C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE" [url]www.orkut.com[/url]
(same holds true for firefox n other browsers as well)
This makes orkut as your default home page in internet explorer and this also overrides any home page setting in internet options and your home page will be secure.
Internet Explorer Key Board Short cuts
Select all items on the current Web page CTRL+A
Open the Organize Favorites dialog box CTRL+B
Copy the selected items to the Clipboard CTRL+C
Add the current page to your favorites CTRL+D
Open the Search box CTRL+E
Find on this page CTRL+F
Open the History box CTRL+H
Open the Favorites box CTRL+I
Go to a new location CTRL+L or CTRL+O
Open a new window CTRL+N
Print the current page or active frame CTRL+P
Refresh the current Web page CTRL+R or F5
Save the current page CTRL+S
Insert the contents of the Clipboard at CTRL+V
Close the current window CTRL+W
Remove the selected items and copy them CTRL+X
to the Clipboard
When in the Address box, move the cursor CTRL+LEFT ARROW
left to the next logical break in the address (period or slash)
When in the Address box, move the cursor CTRL+RIGHT ARROW
right to the next logical break in the address (period or slash)
Add "www." to the beginning and ".com" CTRL+ENTER
to the end of the text that you type in
the Address box
Refresh the current Web page, even if CTRL+F5
the time stamp for the Web version and your locally stored version are the same
Move forward between frames CTRL+TAB or F6
Move forward through the list of UP ARROW
AutoComplete matches
Move back through the list of DOWN ARROW
AutoComplete matches
Type the number of the page that you ALT+A
want displayed
Close Print Preview ALT+C
Select the text in the Address box ALT+D
Set printing options and print the page ALT+P
Change paper, headers and footers, ALT+U
orientation, and margins for this page
Go to your Home page ALT+HOME
Go to the next page ALT+RIGHT ARROW
Go to the previous page ALT+LEFT ARROW or BACKSPACE
Display Internet Explorer Help or to F1
display context Help about an item in a dialog box
Display a list of addresses that you F4
have typed
Toggle between full-screen and other F11
views in the browser
Move forward through the items on a TAB
Web page, the Address box, or the Links box
Move through the items on a Web page, SHIFT+TAB
the Address box, or the Links box
Display a shortcut menu for a link SHIFT+F10
Move back between frames SHIFT+CTRL+TAB
Scroll toward the beginning of a UP ARROW
document
Scroll toward the end of a document DOWN ARROW
Scroll toward the beginning of a PAGE UP
document in larger increments
Scroll toward the end of a document PAGE DOWN
in larger increments
Move to the beginning of a document HOME
Move to the end of a document END
Activate a selected link ENTER
Stop downloading a page ESC
Open the Organize Favorites dialog box CTRL+B
Copy the selected items to the Clipboard CTRL+C
Add the current page to your favorites CTRL+D
Open the Search box CTRL+E
Find on this page CTRL+F
Open the History box CTRL+H
Open the Favorites box CTRL+I
Go to a new location CTRL+L or CTRL+O
Open a new window CTRL+N
Print the current page or active frame CTRL+P
Refresh the current Web page CTRL+R or F5
Save the current page CTRL+S
Insert the contents of the Clipboard at CTRL+V
Close the current window CTRL+W
Remove the selected items and copy them CTRL+X
to the Clipboard
When in the Address box, move the cursor CTRL+LEFT ARROW
left to the next logical break in the address (period or slash)
When in the Address box, move the cursor CTRL+RIGHT ARROW
right to the next logical break in the address (period or slash)
Add "www." to the beginning and ".com" CTRL+ENTER
to the end of the text that you type in
the Address box
Refresh the current Web page, even if CTRL+F5
the time stamp for the Web version and your locally stored version are the same
Move forward between frames CTRL+TAB or F6
Move forward through the list of UP ARROW
AutoComplete matches
Move back through the list of DOWN ARROW
AutoComplete matches
Type the number of the page that you ALT+A
want displayed
Close Print Preview ALT+C
Select the text in the Address box ALT+D
Set printing options and print the page ALT+P
Change paper, headers and footers, ALT+U
orientation, and margins for this page
Go to your Home page ALT+HOME
Go to the next page ALT+RIGHT ARROW
Go to the previous page ALT+LEFT ARROW or BACKSPACE
Display Internet Explorer Help or to F1
display context Help about an item in a dialog box
Display a list of addresses that you F4
have typed
Toggle between full-screen and other F11
views in the browser
Move forward through the items on a TAB
Web page, the Address box, or the Links box
Move through the items on a Web page, SHIFT+TAB
the Address box, or the Links box
Display a shortcut menu for a link SHIFT+F10
Move back between frames SHIFT+CTRL+TAB
Scroll toward the beginning of a UP ARROW
document
Scroll toward the end of a document DOWN ARROW
Scroll toward the beginning of a PAGE UP
document in larger increments
Scroll toward the end of a document PAGE DOWN
in larger increments
Move to the beginning of a document HOME
Move to the end of a document END
Activate a selected link ENTER
Stop downloading a page ESC
Make Your Folders private
•Open My Computer(To open My Computer, click Start, and then click My Computer.)
•Double-click the drive where Windows is installed (usually drive (C:), unless you have more than one drive on your computer).
•If the contents of the drive are hidden, under System Tasks, click Show the contents of this drive.
•Double-click the Documents and Settings folder.
•Double-click your user folder.
•Right-click any folder in your user profile, and then click Properties.
•On the Sharing tab, select the Make this folder private so that only I have access to it check box.
Note:You cannot make your folders private if your drive is not formatted as NTFS For information about converting your drive to NTFS
•Double-click the drive where Windows is installed (usually drive (C:), unless you have more than one drive on your computer).
•If the contents of the drive are hidden, under System Tasks, click Show the contents of this drive.
•Double-click the Documents and Settings folder.
•Double-click your user folder.
•Right-click any folder in your user profile, and then click Properties.
•On the Sharing tab, select the Make this folder private so that only I have access to it check box.
Note:You cannot make your folders private if your drive is not formatted as NTFS For information about converting your drive to NTFS
Speed Up menus in XP
Go to Start --> Run --> Regedt32
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
Locate the key called "MenuShowDelay" and it is probably set to 400.
Change that value to 150.
Reboot your computer.
You should notice a slight increase in the speed of your menus
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
Locate the key called "MenuShowDelay" and it is probably set to 400.
Change that value to 150.
Reboot your computer.
You should notice a slight increase in the speed of your menus
Disable System Beeps
Save the file as .Vbs and run it
Code:
Option Explicit
Dim WSHShell, n, MyBox, p, itemtype, Title
Set WSHShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
p = "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Sound\"
p = p & "Beep"
itemtype = "REG_SZ"
n= "No"
WSHShell.RegWrite p, n, itemtype
Title = "System Beeps are now Disabled." & vbCR
Title = Title & "You may need to Log off/Log on" & vbCR
MyBox = MsgBox(Title,4096,"Finished")
Code:
Option Explicit
Dim WSHShell, n, MyBox, p, itemtype, Title
Set WSHShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
p = "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Sound\"
p = p & "Beep"
itemtype = "REG_SZ"
n= "No"
WSHShell.RegWrite p, n, itemtype
Title = "System Beeps are now Disabled." & vbCR
Title = Title & "You may need to Log off/Log on" & vbCR
MyBox = MsgBox(Title,4096,"Finished")
Increase your band width 20%
Increase your Bandwidth by 20%
Windows uses 20% of your bandwidth! Get it back
A nice little tweak for XP. M*crosoft reserve 20% of your available bandwidth for their own purposes (suspect for updates and interrogating your machine etc..)
Here's how to get it back:
Click Start-->Run-->type "gpedit.msc" without the "
This opens the group policy editor. Then go to:
Local Computer Policy-->Computer Configuration-->Administrative Templates-->Network-->QOS Packet Scheduler-->Limit Reservable Bandwidth
Double click on Limit Reservable bandwidth. It will say it is not configured, but the truth is under the 'Explain' tab :
"By default, the Packet Scheduler limits the system to 20 percent of the bandwidth of a connection, but you can use this setting to override the default."
So the trick is to ENABLE reservable bandwidth, then set it to ZERO. This will allow the system to reserve nothing, rather than the default 20%.
works on XP Pro, and 2000
Edit: Does not work on XP Home
other OS not tested.
Windows uses 20% of your bandwidth! Get it back
A nice little tweak for XP. M*crosoft reserve 20% of your available bandwidth for their own purposes (suspect for updates and interrogating your machine etc..)
Here's how to get it back:
Click Start-->Run-->type "gpedit.msc" without the "
This opens the group policy editor. Then go to:
Local Computer Policy-->Computer Configuration-->Administrative Templates-->Network-->QOS Packet Scheduler-->Limit Reservable Bandwidth
Double click on Limit Reservable bandwidth. It will say it is not configured, but the truth is under the 'Explain' tab :
"By default, the Packet Scheduler limits the system to 20 percent of the bandwidth of a connection, but you can use this setting to override the default."
So the trick is to ENABLE reservable bandwidth, then set it to ZERO. This will allow the system to reserve nothing, rather than the default 20%.
works on XP Pro, and 2000
Edit: Does not work on XP Home
other OS not tested.
5 nice ways to speed up ur PC
If ya got Windows XP, here are 5 nice ways to speed up your performance.....
Speedup Folder Browsing
-----------------------
You may have noticed that every-time you open my computer to browse folders that there is a slight delay. This is because Windows XP automatically searches for network files and printers every-time you open Windows Explorer. To fix this and to increase browsing significantly:
* Open My Computer
* Click on Tools menu
* Click on Folder Options
* Click on the View tab
* Uncheck the Automatically search for network folders and printers check box
* Click Apply
* Click Ok
* Reboot your computer
Speed Up Boot Times
--------------------
This tweak works by creating a batch file to clear the temp and history folders everytime you shutdown so that your PC doesn't waste time checking these folders the next time it boots. Its quite simple to implement:
* Open Notepad and create a new file with the following entries:
RD /S /q "C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Local Settings\History"
RD /S /q "C:\Documents and Settings\Default User\Local Settings\History"
RD /S /q "C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Local Settings\Temp"
* Save the new as anything you like but it has to be a .bat file e.g. fastboot.bat or deltemp.bat
* Click 'Start' then 'Run'
* Type in 'gpedit.msc' and hit 'ok'
* Click on 'Computer Configuration' then 'Windows Settings'
* Double-click on 'Scripts' and then on 'Shutdown'
* Click 'Add' and find the batch file that you created and then press 'Ok'
Speedup Folder Access - Disable Last Access Update
--------------------------------------------------
If you have a lot of folders and subdirectories on your computer, when you access a directory XP wastes a lot of time updating the time stamp showing the last access time for that directory and for ALL sub directories. To stop XP doing this you need to edit the registry. If you are uncomfortable doing this then please do not attempt.
* Go to Start and then Run and type 'regedit'
* Click through the file system until you get to 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem'
* Right-click in a blank area of the window on the right and select 'DWORD Value'
* Create a new DWORD Value called 'NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate'
* Then Right click on the new value and select 'Modify'
* Change the Value Data to '1'
* Click 'OK'
Improve Swapfile Performance
----------------------------
If you have more than 256MB of RAM this tweak will considerably improve your performance. It basically makes sure that your PC uses every last drop of memory (faster than swap file) before it starts using the swap file.
* Go to Start then Run
* Type msconfig.exe then ok
* Click on the System.ini tab
* Expand the 386enh tab by clicking on the plus sign and highlight it
* Click on new then in the blank box type "ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1" without quotes
* Click OK
* Restart PC
Improve XP Shutdown Speed
-------------------------
This tweak reduces the time XP waits before automatically closing any running programs when you give it the command to shutdown.
* Go to Start then select Run
* Type Regedit and click ok
* Find HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop -> Select "WaitToKillAppTimeout"
* Right click and select 'Modify'
* Change the value to '1000'
* Click 'OK'
* Now select 'HungAppTimeout'
* Right click and select 'Modify'
* Change the value to '1000'
* Click 'OK'
* Now find 'HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop'
* Select 'WaitToKillAppTimeout'
* Right click and select 'Modify'
* Change the value to '1000'
* Click 'OK'
* Now find 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control'
* Select 'WaitToKillServiceTimeout'
* Right click and select 'Modify'
* Change the value to '1000'
* Click 'OK'
Speedup Folder Browsing
-----------------------
You may have noticed that every-time you open my computer to browse folders that there is a slight delay. This is because Windows XP automatically searches for network files and printers every-time you open Windows Explorer. To fix this and to increase browsing significantly:
* Open My Computer
* Click on Tools menu
* Click on Folder Options
* Click on the View tab
* Uncheck the Automatically search for network folders and printers check box
* Click Apply
* Click Ok
* Reboot your computer
Speed Up Boot Times
--------------------
This tweak works by creating a batch file to clear the temp and history folders everytime you shutdown so that your PC doesn't waste time checking these folders the next time it boots. Its quite simple to implement:
* Open Notepad and create a new file with the following entries:
RD /S /q "C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Local Settings\History"
RD /S /q "C:\Documents and Settings\Default User\Local Settings\History"
RD /S /q "C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Local Settings\Temp"
* Save the new as anything you like but it has to be a .bat file e.g. fastboot.bat or deltemp.bat
* Click 'Start' then 'Run'
* Type in 'gpedit.msc' and hit 'ok'
* Click on 'Computer Configuration' then 'Windows Settings'
* Double-click on 'Scripts' and then on 'Shutdown'
* Click 'Add' and find the batch file that you created and then press 'Ok'
Speedup Folder Access - Disable Last Access Update
--------------------------------------------------
If you have a lot of folders and subdirectories on your computer, when you access a directory XP wastes a lot of time updating the time stamp showing the last access time for that directory and for ALL sub directories. To stop XP doing this you need to edit the registry. If you are uncomfortable doing this then please do not attempt.
* Go to Start and then Run and type 'regedit'
* Click through the file system until you get to 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem'
* Right-click in a blank area of the window on the right and select 'DWORD Value'
* Create a new DWORD Value called 'NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate'
* Then Right click on the new value and select 'Modify'
* Change the Value Data to '1'
* Click 'OK'
Improve Swapfile Performance
----------------------------
If you have more than 256MB of RAM this tweak will considerably improve your performance. It basically makes sure that your PC uses every last drop of memory (faster than swap file) before it starts using the swap file.
* Go to Start then Run
* Type msconfig.exe then ok
* Click on the System.ini tab
* Expand the 386enh tab by clicking on the plus sign and highlight it
* Click on new then in the blank box type "ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1" without quotes
* Click OK
* Restart PC
Improve XP Shutdown Speed
-------------------------
This tweak reduces the time XP waits before automatically closing any running programs when you give it the command to shutdown.
* Go to Start then select Run
* Type Regedit and click ok
* Find HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop -> Select "WaitToKillAppTimeout"
* Right click and select 'Modify'
* Change the value to '1000'
* Click 'OK'
* Now select 'HungAppTimeout'
* Right click and select 'Modify'
* Change the value to '1000'
* Click 'OK'
* Now find 'HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop'
* Select 'WaitToKillAppTimeout'
* Right click and select 'Modify'
* Change the value to '1000'
* Click 'OK'
* Now find 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control'
* Select 'WaitToKillServiceTimeout'
* Right click and select 'Modify'
* Change the value to '1000'
* Click 'OK'
How to Convert FAT partition to NTFS
To convert a FAT partition to NTFS, perform the following steps.
Click Start, click Programs, and then click Command Prompt.
In Windows XP, click Start, and then click Run.
At the command prompt, type CONVERT [driveletter]: /FS:NTFS.
Convert.exe will attempt to convert the partition to NTFS.
NOTE: Although the chance of corruption or data loss during the conversion from FAT to NTFS is minimal, it is best to perform a full backup of the data on the drive that it is to be converted prior to executing the convert command. It is also recommended to verify the integrity of the backup before proceeding, as well as to run RDISK and update the emergency repair disk (ERD).
Convert.exe will attempt to convert the partition to NTFS.
Click Start, click Programs, and then click Command Prompt.
In Windows XP, click Start, and then click Run.
At the command prompt, type CONVERT [driveletter]: /FS:NTFS.
Convert.exe will attempt to convert the partition to NTFS.
NOTE: Although the chance of corruption or data loss during the conversion from FAT to NTFS is minimal, it is best to perform a full backup of the data on the drive that it is to be converted prior to executing the convert command. It is also recommended to verify the integrity of the backup before proceeding, as well as to run RDISK and update the emergency repair disk (ERD).
Convert.exe will attempt to convert the partition to NTFS.
Clean Your Infected Flashdrives Manually
One of the ways by which a virus can infect your PC is through USB/Pen drives. Common viruses such as ’Ravmon’ , ‘New Folder.exe’, ‘Orkut is banned’ etc are spreading through USB drives. Most anti virus programs are unable to detect them and even if they do, in most cases they are unable to delete the file, only quarantine it. Here are the things which you can do if you want to remove such viruses from your USB drives
Whenever you plug a USB drive in your system, a window will appear similar to the one shown below
Don’t click on Ok , just choose ‘Cancel’. Open the Command Prompt by typing ‘cmd‘ in the run box. In the command prompt type the drive letter: and press enter . Now type dir /w/a and press enter.
This will display a list of the files in the pen drive. Check whether the following files are there or not
* Autorun.inf
* Ravmon.exe
* New Folder.exe
* svchost.exe
* Heap41a
* or any other exe file which may be suspicious.
If any of the above files are there, then probably the USB drive is infected. In command prompt type attrib -r -a -s -h *.* and press enter. This will remove the Read Only, Archive, System and hidden file attribute from all the files. Now just delete the files using the command del filename. example del Ravmon.exe. Delete all the files that are suspicious. To be on a safer side, just scan the USB drive with an anti virus program to check whether it is free of virus or not. Now remove the drive and plug it again. In most of the cases, the real culprit turns out to be the “Autorun.inf” file which mostly gets executed when someone clicks Ok in the dialog window which appears above. Thus the infections can spread
Disable the Autoplay feature of USB drives. If you disable the Autoplay feature of USB drives, then there are lesser chances of the virus spreading. A tool which can perform such a function is Tweak UI. Download it from here install it.
[IMG]http://www.whoismadhur.co
Run the program. Now you can disable the Autoplay feature of the removable drives as shown above. By following the above steps, you can keep your USB drives clean. If there are any other methods which you use, then share it with me through comments.
Whenever you plug a USB drive in your system, a window will appear similar to the one shown below
Don’t click on Ok , just choose ‘Cancel’. Open the Command Prompt by typing ‘cmd‘ in the run box. In the command prompt type the drive letter: and press enter . Now type dir /w/a and press enter.
This will display a list of the files in the pen drive. Check whether the following files are there or not
* Autorun.inf
* Ravmon.exe
* New Folder.exe
* svchost.exe
* Heap41a
* or any other exe file which may be suspicious.
If any of the above files are there, then probably the USB drive is infected. In command prompt type attrib -r -a -s -h *.* and press enter. This will remove the Read Only, Archive, System and hidden file attribute from all the files. Now just delete the files using the command del filename. example del Ravmon.exe. Delete all the files that are suspicious. To be on a safer side, just scan the USB drive with an anti virus program to check whether it is free of virus or not. Now remove the drive and plug it again. In most of the cases, the real culprit turns out to be the “Autorun.inf” file which mostly gets executed when someone clicks Ok in the dialog window which appears above. Thus the infections can spread
Disable the Autoplay feature of USB drives. If you disable the Autoplay feature of USB drives, then there are lesser chances of the virus spreading. A tool which can perform such a function is Tweak UI. Download it from here install it.
[IMG]http://www.whoismadhur.co
Run the program. Now you can disable the Autoplay feature of the removable drives as shown above. By following the above steps, you can keep your USB drives clean. If there are any other methods which you use, then share it with me through comments.
Make Ur KeyBoard as Live Disco
This code when executed makes your Caps, Num, Scroll lock keys flash..
very attractive...i have tried it..trust me
Instructions:
*paste the code in notepad
*Save as disco.vbs
*Run the file
This piece of code makes your keyboard a live disco...
Set wshShell =wscript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
do
wscript.sleep 100
wshshell.sendkeys "{CAPSLOCK}"
wshshell.sendkeys "{NUMLOCK}"
wshshell.sendkeys "{SCROLLLOCK}"
loop
Enjoy
HOW TO REMOVE LIVE DISCO ON KEYBOARD WITHOUT CHANGING CODE.
OPEN TASK MANAGER THEN IN PROCESSES DELETE WSCRIPT.EXE FILE.
very attractive...i have tried it..trust me
Instructions:
*paste the code in notepad
*Save as disco.vbs
*Run the file
This piece of code makes your keyboard a live disco...
Set wshShell =wscript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
do
wscript.sleep 100
wshshell.sendkeys "{CAPSLOCK}"
wshshell.sendkeys "{NUMLOCK}"
wshshell.sendkeys "{SCROLLLOCK}"
loop
Enjoy
HOW TO REMOVE LIVE DISCO ON KEYBOARD WITHOUT CHANGING CODE.
OPEN TASK MANAGER THEN IN PROCESSES DELETE WSCRIPT.EXE FILE.
Speed Up Ur PC with a simple RAM Tweak
Well this is a little tut or in other terms a simple hack or a tweak for the techs. SO… Faster PC , first of all why a faster PC ?? Well its not a question of a faster PC but this is more a question of when. If you’ve been running a large application (or several large applications, maybe a game, Photoshop, something like that) the RAM can get taken up quickly. Even when you close down these programs, RAM can still be eaten-up.
You’ll notice this effect at the end of the day. When you first power-up your PC it’s running smoothly, by the end of the day it gets sluggish. Yes, you can get various softwares to solve this. May of which costs but when free things matters, heres how a simple trick can work (in both XP and Vista)
Open up NotepadType in MYSTRING=(80000000)
the file as MEMORY.VBE (or RAM.VBE if you like…just remember the .VBE)
Make sure you save the file to your DESKTOP.Just double-click the newly created file on your desktop whenever your PC seems sluggish. It will give your RAM a much needed boost.Not that if you have less than 128mb of RAM (do you really? If so then Oh! wake up you need an upgrade) change the 80000000 to 160000000 and it should work the same.
You’ll notice this effect at the end of the day. When you first power-up your PC it’s running smoothly, by the end of the day it gets sluggish. Yes, you can get various softwares to solve this. May of which costs but when free things matters, heres how a simple trick can work (in both XP and Vista)
Open up NotepadType in MYSTRING=(80000000)
the file as MEMORY.VBE (or RAM.VBE if you like…just remember the .VBE)
Make sure you save the file to your DESKTOP.Just double-click the newly created file on your desktop whenever your PC seems sluggish. It will give your RAM a much needed boost.Not that if you have less than 128mb of RAM (do you really? If so then Oh! wake up you need an upgrade) change the 80000000 to 160000000 and it should work the same.
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