It is easy to change the OEM information and the picture in the My Computers -> Properties.  This is how we do it.

To change OEM information.

1.  Open notepad and copy the following into it.

[General]
Manufacturer=Any Content you like
[Support Information]
Line1=Any content you like
Line2=Any content you like
Line3=Any content you like

Google has launched URL shortener for youtube video links and has named it youtu.be.  To manually use this service
replace "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v" in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbCDEfgHiJ  with "http://youtu.be/".

This is a cool trick to make the three small LEDs on your keyboard flash in a cool and rhythmic manner.

Open Notepad and paste the following on to it.

Set wshShell =wscript.CreateObject(“WScript.Shell”)
do
wscript.sleep 100
wshshell.sendkeys “{CAPSLOCK}”
wshshell.sendkeys “{NUMLOCK}”
wshshell.sendkeys “{SCROLLLOCK}”
loop

1. Google Talk
2. Google Picassa
3. Google Desktop Seach
4. Gmail Notifier
5. Internet Explorer (all versions from 4 to 8)
6. Google Chrome

Pixel Doctor is a utility I found on the internet which is very helpful in fixing the Dead cells on your LCD monitor.  It is very simple to use.  Just select a color and run the test. 

Many of us have probably thought that the Administrators are the most powerful users in the Windows Operating System.  We were wrong.  There is a user named "System" which has more powers than the Administrators.

Administrators are unable to end certain system processes, but System can kill all processes.  This can be seen from the processes tab in the Task Manager; wherein the username of many system processes is "SYSTEM".

Even if you have a guest account, I think if you are able to get two things i.e. Command prompt and Task Manager, you can hack into becoming a SYSTEM user.

If you are running Windows 7 you can turn your PC into a Wi-fi hotspot by installing a small program called Virtual Router Manager.  Yes, you need to have wireless adapters on all the devices as well as on your computer for it to work.  This is especially good for people who have more than one computers at home and since internet connection can be enabled to both without using a router or switch.

Some webpages may be very clumsy or disoriented.  And if you want to print only the topics that you are interested in or you want to save only what you want to see in future, there is a little trick to edit any webpages.  When I say editing, its just the page on your browser that you are editing; not the one in the sites webserver.  I am not sure about legal issues about editing webpages.  But here is the trick

1.   Open up the webpage you want to edit.

 Ah! At last I have found a little time for my favourite subject - Registry editing again.  Let me tell you about hiding all the drives in My Computers with a Registry edit.

1.  Go to Start ->Run->type regedit to open the Registry editor.
2.  Find the following key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Micro$oft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
3.  Right click on the panel on the right side of Registry Editor and create a DWORD item and name it "NoDrives" (without quotes).

A good friend of mine's computer is infected by _ex-08.exe trojan and asked me to help him remove it from the computer.


About _ex-08.exe  : Technical name Trojan/Dropper/Win-NV
It changes/deletes the wallpaper on your desktop. It can can spread by sending an email containing links to copies of itself, and it is capable of sending out email messages with the built-in SMTP client engine.

Now to delete it


1.   Go to Registry editor and find the following key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

2.  Check for the key named PromoReg and delete it.

3.  Now try deleting the file named _ex-08.exe in your Temp folder under Windows.
If it is not allowing to be deleted you can use a software called unlocker.

The method of changing your IP address depends on the nature of your IP address, i.e. whether your IP address is static or dynamic.

Static IP means that your IP address will be just yours and there is no one in the world with the address other than you.

Dynamic IP means that your IP address is allotted by a DHCP server.  Since the addresses are limited in IPv4, more Internet Service Providers (if not all) provides these types of service.

Now if you have a Dynamic IP, it is easy to have a new IP address with the following DOS commands.
1.   Go to Start->Run and then type cmd in the box and press enter.  You would be taken to the DOS prompt.

Similar to Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome also have some hidden commands which user can enter after an about: in the address bar.  Here is a small list of those commands.

WinX HD Video Converter is free from 01 Dec 09 to 15 Dec 09.  Go ahead and download your copy.

Let me show how you can automate the process of deletion of Temp files in Windows Vista.


Open notepad and type the following exactly as it is

cd C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local
rmdir /S /Q Temp

Now a days the main route taken by Trojan/Virus to get into your system and infect it is through the Autorun.inf file.


The virus writes its path to the Autorun.inf and when you double click the drive or when you plug in your USB drive and if your Autorun feature is enabled, the virus gets activated and invades your system.  These viruses can get help from Autorun.inf file present in root of each drive.

GMail drive is a Shell extension (an experimental tool) that creates virtual filesytem based on GMail allowing you to store and retrieve files from GMail.

A friend of mine asked me whether Windows XP can be installed on a computer pre-installed with Windows Vista.  The answer is YES; but it is really time consuming and things can go wrong (Murphy's law) & you should be prepared for the toughest troubleshooting.  The main problem with the pre-installed PCs is that the company does not make any logical partitions.  They make the entire hard disk a single partition and then install OS over it.

Here is how we do it:

1.  Go to Computer Management under Administrative Tools in the Control Panel.

2.   Select the Disk Management under the Storage tab.
3.   Right click the existing partition C: and select "Shrink Volume".  Now the system will tell you choose values for the existing partition.  You can choose 10/20 GB or whatever you like; but never go for the default values.

Here is a small collection of Google search tips

Here are the steps to recover bookmarks from a crashed Mozilla Firefox.

For version 2

1.   Navigate to the drive where you have installed Windows XP.
2.   Let me presume it to be in C drive for all the following steps.  Browse to the following folder
C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles (%username% is the name with which you login to the computer)

www.fontcapture.com is a free site which creates handwriting fonts.    

Ophcrack is a free Windows Password Cracker which can be termed as the best password recovery software for Windows.  It is fast and easy to use for any user with minimum Windows skill.

Ophcrack is free
It can crack 99.9% of Windows Passwords
It just takes few minutes for the task
No need to install any software


How to do it?

WOT is a very good browser extension that all of us should have. WOT keeps you away from online scams like phishing, spyware, malware, identity theft etc.  It has currently indexed more than 24 lakhs websites as on date. Its actually a community based website rating site.  Whenever we browse to any of the harmful/reportedly harmful sites, WOT warns us that about the site with its statistics.  You can view the statistics of the site from WOT website.

It is compatible with IE & Mozilla.  I strongly recommend you to use it.

Balloon tips can sometimes be boring especially when you know what is going to be displayed.  Let me tell you how to disable these tips.

1.  Navigate through Start->Run->regedit to open Registry Editor.

2.  Once again navigate to
     HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
     You will find  the following keys in the right panel corresponding to the above location
     EnableBalloonTips
     StartButtonBalloonTip
     FolderContentsInfoTip

ImgLikeOpera is a small addon which blocks the images that appear in websites and make your non-broadband connection a little faster.

It places Placeholders where it has blocked images, thereby allowing you to view the image if you want to..

ScreenToaster.com is a site which provides you a free recording of your online activities.  Its free and easy to use.  You can embed the video anywhere you like.

Freecorder is a browser-based audio recorder software and its free.  Yes, its toolbar does make your browser a bit cluttery. But its worth taking.

Freecorder can record everything that you can hear from your PC speaker.  It can record from your Microphone and it can extract audio from video files.

Every one of us use USB drives... And after you have done with that, you ll have to click on the  system tray and then safely remove the USB.  Let me tell you how to create a shortcut to remove the USB drive.

1.   Right click the desktop and navigate:: New -> Shortcut

Let me show you a cool way of having an option to delete all files in a folder in the right click menu...

This will not remove your folder but only the contents inside it...

Here is how we do it...

1. Start->Run->regedit
2. Browse to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Shell

Windows 7 has come... Microsoft has announced great features that makes Windows 7 a lot more user friendly and capable than Windows XP.

The cost of Windows 7 if you are upgrading from Windows XP/Vista will be around Rs 7000/-

And the full retail version of Windows 7 Professional will be around Rs. 12000/-

If you plan to upgrade your computer to Windows 7, do check out the Windows 7 Compatible Centre by clicking here.














Another option is to download Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor which is about 8.3 MB and scan your Computer for testing Windows 7 compatibility.

If you dont want to store your deleted files in the Recycle Bin; you can totally remove the Recycle Bin icon from your desktop.

How to do that...

1. Start->Run->regedit

This trick will not make your OS more faster or useful. But the shortcuts which you have placed on your desktop will appear as if they are real files pasted there are not shortcuts...

How to do it:-

I just want to share with you a small utility which allows you to extract images from pdf files and can save them in jpeg, tiff, png, bmp and tga formats. This software can extract pictures from password protected pdfs also.

I need not tell you anything about Skype. Skype is a free software which allows you to make telephone calls over the internet. Its not limited to that... Video calls and best sound clarity are few of the other advantages. So what if you want to record your conversations and store it in mp3 format?

The Send To sub menu in the right click menu enables you to move a certain file or folder to any one of the destinations included in it. Typically the Send To menu has the following items:-

Compressed (zipped) Folder
Desktop (Create shortcut)
Mail Recipient
My Documents
3 1/2 Floppy (A:)
CD Drive

You can further add the following items to the Send To menu

Drives (Local or Network)
Windows based programs
Printers etc..

This is how we do it...

Flash animations are all over the web. Many at times they are very much annoying. They do eat up a major share of your bandwidth as well as your download limit (If you are having a limited Internet connection)

This cool addon lets you block all the flash animations that appear in a website.
What if you want to see the animation? FlashBlock leaves a placeholder over the blocked animations and if you want to see them, just click on them.

FlashBlock currently supports Macromedia Flash, Shockwave and Authorware.

This post is for a good friend of mine who told me that while right clicking drives, the first option in the right click menu he gets is "Search". He wanted to revert that back to "Open" . This is how we do it...

Browse to the following key

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\Shell

Now set the value of Default in the right hand pane to "none" (without quotes).

Broadband Scheduler is a free software which enables the broadband internet connection at a user defined time. It can also disconnect the connection as per the timings specified by the user. Another advantage of this software is that it lets you load any one program automatically when it connects to the internet.

This is particularly helpful for those who have a limited broadband connection and have happy hours i.e., free download timings. So that you can keep the computer on and define the time using the Broadband Scheduler. You can also start your download managers or P2P programs at the same time.

My blog has some issues with PhotoBucket, the photo uploading site...

I will be rolling down this blog today evening and then, I hope by tommorrow morning, I will have every issues sorted out...


Thank you friends...

Windows Sound Recorder is a small utility provided by the Microsoft along with Windows that can record sounds for a maximum time of 60 seconds. So, for recording more than a minute, you ll have to use third party softwares??? Wait... we can make the Sound Recorder record more than one minute! Just follow the following steps....

1. Click Start -> Program -> Accessories ->Entertainment -> Sound Recorder.

2. Click on record and let the program record for one minute.

3. After it has finished recording, save the file. lets say that we save it as "C:\Time.wav"

4. Now on Sound Recorder, Click Edit -> Insert File and insert the file you have just saved. For us its "C:\Time.wav". Now notice the time in the right hand side of the Sound Recorder; It has moved from 60 seconds to 120 seconds. Insert the same file again and again till you have the desired time length.

Are you using Firefox? And do you like to enhance the Google results by adding favicons, keyword highlighting and options like Search by date, Search by language and Search by file-type? Here is a firefox plugin called GoogleEnhancer to do all these for you...

I just want to share some information I got while surfing the other day... Have you ever thought about viewing clippings from your favourite movies as the Screensaver?

Yes! everyone is bored with those picture Screensaver!!!..

Have you ever thought about what will happen to your valuable files you store in the My Documents folder in case of an OS crash??? There are chances that you lose them pretty quickly...

It is always better to save your files; especially important ones, in a location which is different from the partition where your Windows is installed. It is easy to do.. There are two ways of doing that... One a very simple method, the other a registry edit..

I shall describe to you about the easiest one...

Suppose your Windows is installed in your C drive and you want your My Documents to be shifted to a folder in D drive... Lets give the folder a name... "DocDuplicate" (this can be any thing you like...)

1. Right click My Documents icon in the desktop and click Properties..

I had long ago heard about a faster shutdown shortcut, but had not experimented with it.

Now I say.... Just try it.. You ll surely like it..

Follow the following lines ..

1. On your desktop, right click and create a new shortcut.

2. In the "Type the location of the item" paste "shutdown.exe -s -t 00" (without quotes) and click next.

Most of the popular downloading sites like the Rapidshare, have this annoying set of timers built in. You'll have to generally wait for a download to start unless you have a Premium Account which costs you money....

So what??? Geniuses are all over the world. Here is a small plugin for Mozilla Firefox. Its actually some 25 KB. Install it and its worth a try!!!

Click here to get the SkipScreen plugin.

This may sound surprising for many!! But its a fact.. You can very well watch numerous Network Cameras around the world with Google.....

Watch videos of offices, streets and other private and public cameras in the internet... To watch them, paste any of the following lines in to Google's search box...

Do you know that there is a hidden car game in MS Excel? To play it follow the following steps:-

1. Open MS Excel.

2. Click on File and Save As Webpage .

3. Check the box saying "Add interactivity with" and then click publish.

4. Exit MS Excel.

Fiama Di Wills is giving you a great opportunity for sending free gift hamper to your friends and relatives. All you need to do is the following :-

1. Go to missionbeautifulhair.com (click on the link to get there).

2. Click on the send a hamper tab on the top right hand corner.

3. You ll be asked to enter your friends name, his email address, your name, your email address, etc....

4. Submit the form and your friend gets the link to the gift hamper in his/her inbox...

Enjoy...

The company is legal, having trademark for the brand.

If you need Lockerz invitation, you can send a request to keplermanuel@in.com. I shall send it as soon as I receive your request.

Youtube is a very popular video hosting site. The easy to search design of Youtube makes it more simple to use...

So what if you see a video in Youtube and you want it to be downloaded into your computer so that you can watch it over and over.

There are many ways of doing it.. I am going to tell you about the simplest way of doing it.

Ever tried to rename My Computer? The computer will just wont let you do that... But there is a little Registry hack to do that...



1. Go to start -> Run -> Regedit to open up the Registry editor.

2. Browse to the following key
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}