SpyPig is a site which notifies when an email sent by you is read by the recipient.  The service is free and easy to set up.

MultiBootISO is a free software with which you can put multiple Operating Systems in your USB drive and then boot through it.

This utility made for Windows can make your USB drive to boot through a number of Operating Systems.  The number depends only on the size of the USB drive that you have.  On other words, the software is a GRUB Multiple OS loader on your pendrive. 

To make your USB drive bootable, first you will have to download the software.  Then by the help of the software, you can drop ISO files of the Operating Systems you choose.

Apart from the OSes, there are rescue programs and utilities like GParted Partition disc, Ophcrack, and virus scanners.

Very often we come across some files which we find are undeletable.  System will simply not allow you to delete them, no matter you are in the normal or the safe mode.  This situation is very common now a days and is mostly due to virus activities.

If you use the Command Prompt very frequently, you might had thought of opening the Command Prompt right where you want to.  By Default the command prompt opens in your user profile's home directory.  There is a way of bringing it on in to the right click menu and then you can be able to open Command Prompt in every Folder.  In Windows 7, this is fairly simple.  Select the folder you wish to open the Command Prompt.  While keeping the Shift key pressed, right click the folder.  You will get the option "Open Command Window Here".

In Windows XP, we will have to edit the Registry for it.  Lets see how we do it.

1.   Open Registry Editor by typing "regedit" (without quotes) in the Run menu.

2.   Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell.

I had earlier written about tips for saving your laptop's battery life.  Here is a software which does exactly that.  Optimizing your laptop's battery and saving it.  The software is free and has many features.

There are numerous sites in the internet which provides flash games to play.  The only disadvantage is that everytime you feel like playing your favourite flash game, you will have to connect to the internet and log in to the site and start playing.

What if we could download the flash games and save them in our computer so that we can play them over and again without requiring an internet access.

I have been checking this method for some time.  It works for most of the sites except for some flash files.

You will have to have Mozilla Firefox installed on your computer.

Log in to the flash site and select the game to play.  Remember, you will have to wait till the game is loaded.

HowSecureIsMyPassword.net is a site wherein you can check the strength of your passwords.  Its really easy and the calculation takes in realtime.

This site can make you evaluate the type of passwords to be used for maximum security.  While the site claims that they don't store any passwords, it is always secure to be checking with a fake password.

1.   Adjust Power Settings.  Power settings can be adjusted so that your laptop consumes less power.  The settings can be accessed by typing "powercfg.cpl" (without quotes) in the Run Dialog box.

2.   Adjust Brightness.   Brightness of the screen can be decreased so that less energy is consumed by the LCD.

3.   Disable unwanted services.  Unwanted services, for example, Bluetooth, WiFi should be kept disabled.

SICHOST.exe is a virus and it is installed and used by TrojanPSW.OnLineGames.  The virus can easily be mistaken for the genuine Windows file named SVCHOST.exe.

What it does?

SICHOST.exe tries to connect to several remote hosts and download files from the internet.  As most of the other viruses do, it disables the Registry Editor (regedit), Task Manager and the Microsoft System Configuration Utility (msconfig).  It has been noted on infected PCs on startup, the Internet Explorer opens up automatically linking to the blog advgoogle.blogspot.com.

 

Always back up registry before you edit it.  Registry editing should be done with due care.

You can send self-destructing notes to your friends using Privnote; a service which gives you notes that will self-destruct once the person to whom you have send it reads it.

Here is a small list of free tools available in the internet for securely deleting files.   The secure deletion means re-writing the file which you want to delete several times and then deleting it, so that no recovery software can recover your sensitive data.  The list is arranged as per the popularity and the ease to use.

(a)   Eraser.  This is the best tools in terms of popularity and the ease to use.  This tool removes the files/folders securely by overwriting them many times.  You can opt for Gutman, USDoD and many other patterns for securely deleting your files.  You can drag and drop your files in to the tool.  Moreover, the windows explorer right-click extension is also available to you.  You can also schedule its operation.

There are a number of websites designed to send anonymous mails.  The following are few of them:-

This is purely based on DOS commands.  What happens if you have a CD or folder containing files which are not arranged?  What if they are very large in number?  This simple DOS command will generate the contents of any Directory/Folder and store it in a text document so that you can later view it or edit it.  This is how we do it.

Go to Run and type "cmd" (without quotes) to get the Command prompt.

Go to the Drive/Directory/Folder of whose contents you wish to extract in a txt file.

Adobe Reader is a good software for viewing pdf files.  But most of the time, it requires some time to get started up.  We can significantly reduce the time taken by the software to load.

First browse to the following directory:- (I guess you have installed the software in your C drive.  If you have installed it elsewhere, change the drive letter.)
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader xx\reader\  (where xx can be the version number)

It is possible to have more than one home page in Firefox.

Click on Options in the Tools menu.  In the 'General' tab, you will find options to change home page.  Add the websites you want to include in the home page separating them with the ' | ' (pipe) symbol.

For example, if you want to keep www.google.com and http://tricksntipcomputersninternet.blogspot.com, the home page should be configured as follows :-

FirePasswordViewer is a free software which can recover saved usernames and passwords in Firefox. 

This is actually an easter egg hidden in the Mozilla Firefox.  You can open multiple browsers inside Firefox by pasting the following line into the address bar:-

Split Screen is an extension of Google Chrome which gives you the ability to browse all the open webpages through a single window.

 Some of the uses of this extension are

Iptools.com is a site which gives you free information about various issues related to IP address.  It is even more better a site of Network Administrators who need to have access to various critical information related to Internet Protocol (IP) address.

Some of the services (free) provided by the site are as follows:-

It is indeed very easy to switch over from Google to Bing while searching.

Suppose you search for computer tricks in Google and the resultant url is as follows:-
http://www.google.co.in/search?q=computer+tricks&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

FreepdfConvert is a site which allows you convert Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Images, and many other file formats to PDF format for free. Following is the list of supported file formats:-

    You get a link from somewhere which is nothing but a clutter of letters and digits and since you cannot visually decipher its contents, you click it.  The link may be a scam, may be someone trying to cheat you or may be someone trying to inject viruses or malware into your computer.

Tips

1.    Manually remove virus/trojans
2.    Free SMS sending application : Windows
3.    Five Portable Programs to keep in your USB Drive
4.    Simple Automatic Shutdown Timer for Windows
5.    Hidden Music File Windows XP
6.    Copy Windows Error Messages
7.    Find Song Name without knowing the Lyrics
8.    Embed your presentations on your blog or social networking sites
9.    Windows 7 : How to search within ZIP files
10.    15 Things to check if your Computer is slowing down
11.    Find lyrics of a song
12.    Burn ISO files in Windows XP and Vista
13.    Disable websites from resizing your firefox browser window
14.    Send Fax to anywhere in the world for free
15.    Youtube launches URL shortener youtu.be
16.    Repair Dead Cells on your LCD screen
17.    Check which websites are your programs accessing
18.    Wireless networking without a Router
19.    Cool method to edit any Webpage
20.    How to get rid of _.ex-08.exe Trojan
21.    Google Chrome : Hidden Commands
22.    Protect your USB drive from Trojan/Viruses
23.    How to Install Windows XP on pre-installed Vista
24.    Google Search Tips
25.    Create PDF using Microsoft Office 2007
26.    Create your own font.
27.    Simplest way to check whether your SMPS is working
28.    Be away from harmful sites with WOT
29.    Software to record any sound from your PC
30.    Mozilla Addon for speeding up Non-broadband connection
31.    Record your online activities for free.
32.    Convert docx to doc online
33.    Print Web Pages with ease
34.    Safely Remove your USB drive !
35.    Windows 7
36.    Skype Call Recorder
37.    FlashBlock : Another great firefox addon
38.    Broadband Scheduler
39.    Enhance your power of Googling with GoogleEnhancer
40.    Watch Videos in ScreenSaver
41.    Faster Shutdown for you Computer
42.    SkipScreen : Bypass Waiting Time in Rapidshare/ZShare/Megaupload
43.    Lockerz - Another great site
44.    How to download videos from Youtube
45.    Corrupted Files in Windows XP
46.    Some Quick Shortcuts
47.    Windows Antivirus Pro
48.    Improve your Internet speed
49.    Save ink with Ecofont
50.    Remove GoogleUpdate.exe 
51.   Convert any webpage into pdf for free
52.   Convert Shortened URL to its Original URL
53.   Download YouTube videos without using softwares
54.   How to easily switch between Google and Bing
55.   Convert Word, Excel, PowerPoint, web pages, images and other files to pdf
56.   Convert shortened URL into its original URL.
57.   Complete set of IP tools for everyone
58.   Recover saved Firefox Usernames and Passwords
59.   Speed up Windows XP by disabling unwanted services
60.   Print/Edit contents of a Directory/Folder 
61.   Password Recovery Tool for Windows
62.   Search pictures of people for free
63.   How to remove SICHOST.exe
64.  10 ways to save your Laptop battery life
65.  VirusTotal - Free Online Virus, Spyware and URL Scanner
66.  Check the strength of your Password at HowSecureIsMyPassword
67.  Backup and Restore all Drivers installed on your Computer for Free

   

Tricks

1.     Microsoft Windows Game tricks
2.    Create Matrix effect in your Computer using Batch file.
3.    Find Product Key of Microsoft Windows & Office family products
4.    Modify Add/Remove list : Windows 7 & Windows XP
5.    Make older addons compatible with Firefox
6.    Make your Windows Shutdown faster
7.    Windows 7 God Mode
8.    Remove password protection from PDF files
9.    Stop Google from keeping track on links you are visiting in Search Results
10.    Copy audio files from your ipod
11.    Fake Magazine covers to surprise your friends
12.    Google Easter Egg
13.    Fasten Up your PC with a Pen Drive
14.    Add Photo to My Computer Properties
15.    Christmas Time - Let your Keyboard lights celebrate too
16.    Remove Genuine Windows Advantage (WGA Notification)
17.    Recover all your Google Passwords
18.    Be the most powerful user in Windows - The System
19.    Hide the drives in My Computer
20.    Change/Hide your IP address
21.    Automate deletion of Temp files in Vista
22.    GMail Drive
23.    Recover bookmarks from crashed Firefox
24.    Ophcrack - Windows Password Cracker
25.    Disable Balloon tips
26.    Delete any files and folders
27.    How to grab Audio files from various streaming sites
28.    Delete all files in a folder quickly
29.    Delete Recycle Bin
30.    Remove shortcut arrows from Desktop icons
31.    Extracting images from pdf files
32.    Edit "Send To" Menu in WIndows XP
33.    Trouble with the Right click menu
34.    Increase Recording time of Windows Sound Recorder
35.    Change the Default location of My Documents
36.    Find Invisible friends : Yahoo Messenger
37.    Watch Network Cameras online via Google
38.    Easter Egg : Car game in MS Excel
39.    Freecell - Win Instantly
40.    Scandisk and Improper Shutdown
41.    Disable the Low Hard disk space warning
42.    Hidden User Accounts
43.    Control the files loading at Windows Startup
44.    Hiding your Folders : A different approach
45.    Bypass Windows Login prompt for password
46.    Show Hidden Files
47.    Renaming the Recycle bin
48.    YouTube videos in your Power Point presentations
49.    How to Remove Admin Password
50.    Resource Hacker
51.    Want to know how many hours your machine had been running?
52.    Disable Regedit
53.    Disable Recent Documents History
54.    Change Internet Explorer Title Name
55.    Menus loading faster
56.    Disable USB drives
57.    Disable the CD Autorun
58.    Remove Run from the Start Menu
59.    Remove Find from your Start Menu
60.    The Great Renaming Challenge
61.    USB Drive usage in your Computer
62.    Multiple Home Page in Firefox
63.    Send Anonymous Mails
64.    Make Adobe Reader Load Faster
65.    Hack Folder Lock Password
66.    How to cleanup unused startup entries in MSCONFIG
67.    Play YouTube videos from a specific time
68.    How to Download Flash Games from Websites
69.    How to avoid Product Activation again on reinstallation of Windows XP

When you notice that your PC is behaving abnormally, or suspect a virus inside it, the first thing you should be doing is to run the System Configuration Utility or the MSCONFIG.  This can be run by typing "msconfig" (without quotes) in the Run Dialogue box.  In the Startup tab of Configuration Utility, check for any unwanted or unfamiliar names.  If you find one de-select it and go to its location and try deleting it.

Here is a way to create a simple automatic shutdown timer for Windows.  This is basically a batch program which lets user input the time in seconds to shutdown.

The program asks user to input the time in seconds after which the computer is required to be shut down.  This is particularly useful if you need to give your child the permission to use computer or internet for a fixed time.

This is how we do it.

Many of us might have listened to that beautiful piece of music XP played, when you first set up it.  The music file is hidden and the path to the file is as follows:

I had previously written about winning a Free Cell game.  Here are some cool tricks which can be used with other games like Pinball, Minesweeper, Solitaire and Hearts.

Hearts
1.   Open the Registry Editor by Start -> Run and  type "regedit" (without quotes) and press Enter.
2.   Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Hearts 
3.   Right-click on the right panel and create a new String value and name it "ZB" (without quotes).
4.   Double-click the value "ZB" and edit its value. Enter "42" (without quotes) and close the Registry Editor.
5.   Start Hearts game and when you press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + F12, it shows all the cards.

Solitaire

We all must have come across error messages generated by Windows Operating System.  To copy the error message, most of us would use the combination of "Prt Scr" key and MSPaint.

Each and every one of us love the Matrix movie and of course, the animations in it.   It is indeed lovely to watch the green colored digits and letters scrolling up.

Let me tell you a way to make such an effect in your computer and surprise your friends with it.

Magical Jelly Bean Key Finder is a free open source software that can retrieve the product key which was used to register your Microsoft Windows & Office family products.

It works on Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, Server 2003, Server 2008, Office XP, Office 2003, and Office 2007 family of products.

It can even retrieve product keys from unbootable Windows installations.

What happens you know the lyrics of a song, but know the tune of it and would like to know which song it is?  Search engines will not be able to give you the result, if you dont know atleast few sentences of the song.  So, now if you are thinking your only hope is to hum it to your friends and asking them about the song, you are wrong.

There are many softwares/websites which does the thing.

1.   Midomi :   Midomi comes to your help if you know the tune of the song.  Just hum the tune and Midomi will tell you which song it is.  Midomi will display a list of matching songs after searching its database.  Its free to use online.  They have an application for iphone too , but with a price tag.