The Sun sets on XP as Microsoft phases it out despite interest

Windows XP has been the iconic operating system since it debuted in October of 2001. By today's standards the computers made back then were little more than large calculators but perhaps I am exaggerating that point. Since that time Windows XP was installed on every single computer sold but now the sun is going to set on the operating system that was known as Windows XP. Microsoft is intent on no longer making OEM versions of Windows XP, this means computer manufacturers will no longer be able to install XP on systems unless they have a very specific agreement with Microsoft or are just good buddies with them like Dell. Dell will introduce...

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How to Hack Passwords Using Pen Drive

Today I will show you how to hack Passwords using an USB Pen Drive. As we all know, Windows stores most of the passwords which are used on a daily basis, including instant messenger passwords such as MSN, Yahoo, AOL, Windows messenger etc. Along with these, Windows also stores passwords of Outlook Express, SMTP, POP, FTP accounts and auto-complete passwords of many browsers like IE and Firefox. There exists many tools for recovering these passwords from their stored places. Using these tools and an USB pen drive you can create your own root kit to hack passwords from your friend’s/college Computer. We need the following tools to create our...

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How To Prevent Windows XP Users From Writing To USB Drives

USB drives are extremely handy tools, but in some instances it might not be a good idea to allow users to write onto these devices from their PCs. This is especially true when working with highly confidential data or intellectual property at work. Users of Windows XP with service pack 2 installed can disable writing to USB devices. To do this: Open the Registry Editor click on the Start button on your taskbar, then click on Run and type “regedit” and click on OK to start the regedit utility. Expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control. From there right click and create a new key and name it “StorageDevicePolicies”. In the window on the right then create a new DWORD value and label it WriteProtect, give it a value of “1″ and users can no longer write to USB drives. To re-enable...

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Remove Start Button from the Task bar

Users who like total desktop conversions might seek methods of removing standard Windows elements like the Windows Start Button to maximize screen estate. Not everyone would want to give up on the Windows Start Menu but someone who is working with an application launcher like Launch would probably not miss it at all. But even those users who rely on the Windows Start Menu won’t have that many difficulties accommodating because Start Killer, the name of the application, removes the Start button only for the time it is running in the background. It furthermore provides keyboard shortcuts to display the Windows Start Menu even while running. Start Killer will automatically remove the Windows Start Menu button from the Windows Taskbar once it is running. It works with every taskbar orientation...

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Windows XP, WIndows 2003 registry hacks for better performance

Here are some of my favorite registry hacks for getting better performance from your Windows XP / Windows 2003 box. 1. Faster application loading : For faster application loading you can change the prefetch parameters value. Windows perfetcher loads application faster by prefetching the applications and storing it in prefetch cache. KEY : HLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters Value Name : EnablePrefetcher Value Type : DWORD Preferred Value : 5 2. Boot files optimization : This hack will enable the defragmentation of boot files, which may result in reducing the boot time. KEY : HLM\Software\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction Value Name : Enable Value Type : string Preferred Value : Y 3. Unload unused DLLs : This hack will enable...

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How to Connect Two Laptops Using WiFi

This is step by step tutorial on how you can connect two laptops using WiFi (or two desktop computers with WiFi devices). This type of network is known as peer to peer network and is useful for file sharing and using same INTERNET connection on both systems. So as told earlier you should have two laptops with WiFi or desktops with WiFi devices to make this connection. Connecting Two Computers Using WiFi Let’s name both laptops as PC1 and PC2. Now we need to set names and workgroups of both computers (Remember both computers will have same workgroups). To set the name and workgroup of both computers right click on My Computer and select Properties. Click the tab which says Computer Name and change names of computers as you like (Here we will set computer names PC1 and PC2) and also change...

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The Bare Minimum Processes Needed to Run Windows XP

When repairing a PC by either trying to shutdown a virus, trying to remove adware/spyware/malware, or just trying to get a speed increase, you need to shut down processes that run in the background. It is necessary to know the bare minimum processes which Windows needs to operate, and it is sometimes difficult to tell. Here is a list of the essential processes that Windows needs to run correctly. System Idle Processexplorer.exetaskmgr.exespoolsv.exelsass.execsrss.exesmss.exewinlogon.exesvchost.exe – You will notice more than one running.services.exeBy shutting down anything other than these processes, stand alone Windows should operate fine, however, if any of these processes are shutdown, Windows will start to become unstable, or unusable. On most computers there will be multiple instances...

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Bypass The Windows XP Log On Screen

To make logon an unattended process:Click [Start] [Run] and type control userpasswords2 Click [OK] The [User Accounts] Property Sheet displays. On [Users] tab, clear the [Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer] check box. Click [Apply]. Enter a user name and password that should be used to logon automatically in the dialog box that appears. Click [OK]. Go to [Control Panel] [User Accounts] [Change the Way Users Log On and Off]. Uncheck [Use the Welcome Screen] and [Use Fast User Switchi...

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