How To Change the Default View Source Editor for Internet Explorer

If you hate using Notepad as the source editor for IE, you can change the default View Source Editor for Internet Explorer by following one of these methods.
You have three choices:
(A) Download software
View Source Editor
http://www.iconico.com/viewSourceEditor/
“Are you frustrated at Internet Explorer’s insistence on using Notepad when you click View Source? This little application let’s you use any text editor instead of Notepad. All you need to do it choose the program and you’re set.”
(B) Manual Registry Edit
Change default View Source editor in IE
http://dotnet.org.za/thea/archive/2004/11/25/7933.aspx
(C) Create a Registry File
1. Copy below and paste into Notepad.
———-copy inside only———-
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\View Source Editor]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\View Source Editor\Editor Name]
@=”\”C:\\Program Files\\Notepad++\\notepad++.exe\”"
———-copy inside only———-
2. Modify the line @= to suite your choice.
   (Match the syntax or it won’t work!)
3. Save-as IE_View_Source_Editor.reg (or any name + .reg)
4. Double-click or right-click and merge into the Registry.

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Windows XP: Hide 'User Accounts' from users

Go to Start/Run, and type: GPEDIT.MSC
Open the path: User Config > Admin Templates > Control Panel
double click "Hide specified Control Panel applets"
put a dot in 'enabled', then click 'Show"
click Add button,
type "nusrmgt.cpl" into the add box

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Windows XP: How to Rename the Recycle Bin

To change the name of the Recycle Bin desktop icon, open Regedit and go to:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/CLSID/{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
and change the name "Recycle Bin" to whatever you want (don't type any quotes).

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Windows 7: Can My Computer Run XP Mode?

XP Mode is a Virtual PC based environment that can be installed and run on a compatible Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate machine. The feature provides users with a safety net for compatibility to run there applications, just in case the apps do not run on Windows 7. In order for XP Mode to run on a computer, the PC must meet a set of requirements.

Here are the requirements for XP Mode:
Windows 7 Ultimate, Enterprise, or Ultimate2GB of RAM (the more, the better)Intel Virtualization technology (Intel VT) or AMD virtualization (AMD-V)

While the first two criteria are relatively simple to check, you may be wondering if your processor meets the virtualization requirement. There are two tools available for download that will easily answer that question:

If you have an Intel processor, you will need to download and run the Intel Processor Identification Utility.

If you have an AMD processor, you will need to download and run the AMD-V Technology and Microsoft Hyper-V Compatibility Check.

You will need to run the utilities with elevated privilege, so right-click the executable and select Run as administrator.

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Password Protect Folders in Windows XP

Do you share a computer with other users and want some extra security on your folders? There are two ways to password protect a folder built into Windows XP (for other Windows flavors, there are some freeware/shareware programs out there).

#1 If you have a log in password for your account, this can be used to protect folders from other users. Your hard drive must be formatted using NTFS (which it probably is unless you're dual booting with another operating system). Here's what to do...

Right-click the folder that you want to make private and choose "Properties" (or Alt+Double-click). Go to the "Sharing" tab and check the "Make this folder private" box.

 

Click Apply . If you do not have a password on your account, a box will pop up asking if you want to assign a password. This must be done if you want to make the folder private, so click Yes . You will need to use your password to log on to your computer from then on.

Type in a password then confirm it. Click the "Create Password" button then close the Password window.

Click OK in the Properties dialog box.

Now anyone else logged on to your computer can't access that file without knowing your password.

#2 If the Folder is Zipped you can give it a unique password.

Just double-click the zipped folder. In the top menu select File then click "Add a Password".

 
Type a password into the Password box. Then again in the "Confirm Password" box.

 
Now, you are the only person who can access files in this folder. The folder can be opened allowing the files to be seen, but you are the only one who can access them.

Don't you feel more secure now?

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Using xp-AntiSpy

xp-AntiSpy is a neat little utility to automatically apply different settings to the operating system, which could also be done by hand, but at a higher expense of time.
It’s latest version 3.95 can be downloaded from here
xp-AntiSpy runs on the following operating systems:

• Microsoft Windows XP Home/Professional
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
  

It displays various settings most of which are hidden in Windows.
Now, select Profiles>Suggested and the program will highlight all the important settings, then click ‘Apply Settings’ and restart Windows for the settings to take effect.
Well that part is over.
The next option is ‘Connection Limit’. This option can be used to increase the default connection limit in Windows which is 10.
The following was extracted from the xp-AntiSpy help file:

The connection limit was introduced by Microsoft with Service Pack 2 for Windows XP and Service Pack 1a for Windows 2003. It limits the connection requests at a time to 10. This should prevent malware from goin’ bezerk on your system and spreading its seed rapidly all around the network.

Some programs, for example file sharing software, sometimes reach the limit and therefore cannot perform as required without the limit.

Performance is not meant as bandwidth in this context.

You can check for yourself if your system reaches the limit. Take a look in the event viewer (hit start->run and enter Eventvwr.msc). When you click the System entry, take a look at the row named Event ID. If you see the number 4226 being displayed, then your system has reached the limit at that time.

To increase connection limit go to Special>Connection Limit which will bring up a dialog box with a message. Click ‘Yes,I got it’.
A second dialog box shows up displaying your current Connection Limit.
If the limit set on your computer is 10 then change it to 50 and click ‘Patch’.
Applying this tweak is very useful for file sharing softwares.
That’s it. I hope you found this tutorial useful. Please let me know by commenting

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How to increase download speeds of uTorrent

uTorrent was very slow for me until recently I applied a few tweaks. Here’s what I did.
Note: Some of the settings mentioned below are optimized for 256k connection. If you want to calculate the optimal settings for your connection, check at the end of this tutorial. But I suggest you to read the entire tutorial for guidance on other settings.

First go to Options>Preferences>Network

1. Under ‘Port used for incomming connections’, enter any port number. It is best to use a port number above 10000. I use 45682.
2. Randomize port each time uTorrent starts: UNCHECKED. I leave this unchecked because I have a router. If you do not have a router or a firewall, and want extra security,check this option.
3. Enable UPnP port mapping (Windows Xp or later only): UNCHECKED. I leave this unchecked because I have experienced it slowing down speeds. It is not needed if you manually port forward.
4. Add uTorrent to Windows Firewall exceptions (Windows XP SP2 or later only): UNCHECKED (do this only if you have windows firewall disabled)
5. Global Maximum upload rate (kb/s): [0: unlimited]: 22 (for 256k connection)
6. Protocol Encryption: ENABLED. I would recommend everyone to enable this. This can help increase speeds with many ISPs.
7. Allow incoming Legacy Connections: CHECKED
   

Options>Preferences>Torrents

1. Global Maximum Number of Connections: 130 (for 256k connection)This number should not be set too low or the number of connections made to your torrents will be limited. Setting it too high may cause too much bandwidth to be used and can cause slowdowns.
2. Maximum Number of connected peers per torrent: 70 (for 256k connection)If you see that the peers connected to a specific torrent are exactly this number, or very close, increase this number to improve speeds.
3. Number of upload slots per torrent: 3 (for 256k connection)This depends on how much you want to upload to other users. Do not set too low or it may affect download speeds.
4. Use additional upload slots if upload speed <90%: CHECKED
5. Maximum number of active torrents: 2 (for 256k connection)
6. Maximum number of active downloads: 1 (for 256k connection)
7. Enable DHT Network: Checked This is recommended to be checked to improve speeds. More people will be available for sharing if this is checked.
8. Enable DHT for new torrents: CHECKED
9. Enable Peer Exchange: CHECKED
10. Enable scrapping: CHECKED
11. Pre-allocate all files: CHECKED
12. Append .!ut to incomplete files: UNCHECKED
    

Options>Preferences>Advanced

net.max_halfopen: 50
If you use Windows XP SP2, patch tcpip.sys with LvlLord’s Event ID 4226 Patcher to get better performance.
DO NOT CHANGE THIS OPTION unless you have Windows XP SP2 and have patched tcpip.sys.
You can also patch tcpip.sys with xp-Antispy.
If you have a firewall

• Open up the options/preferences/settings for the firewall - usually your firewall will have an icon to click in the task bar
• Look for the keywords “allow list” or “programs”
• Add the application you want to give access to the INTERNET
• Make sure to save your settings when you are done
  

If you have a router

1. Go to start>run>type cmd, press enter>type ipconfig, press enter
2. Remember both your ip address and your default gateway
3. Type in your default gateway into your default browser, a password prompt may come up. The default user name and password are admin for my router
4. Under ‘Applications’ fill out one line for each p2p client you use
5. You need to use your ip address, the correct port range and set either tcp or udp
6. You can find and change the ports in the actual p2p client’s settings, just make sure they are the same in the router
7. Most p2p apps need both tcp and udp checked, if you are not sure check your p2p client’s FAQ
8. Save your settings
   

Check PortForward.com to forward ports for uTorrent.
Some of the settings I mentioned above are relative to my bandwidth.
How to calculate optimal settings for your connection
In order to apply the following tips you need to know your maximum upload and download speeds. You can test your bandwidth over here.

Maximum upload speed

If you use your Maximum upload speed, there won’t be not enough space left for the files you are downloading. So you have to cap your upload speed.
This is how I calculate my optimal upload speed…
upload speed * 80%

Maximum download speed

Setting your maximum download speed to unlimited will hurt your connection. So use this to calculate your optimal setting.
download speed * 90%

Maximum connected peers per torrent

upload speed * 1.3

Maximum upload slots

1 + (upload speed / 6)

Disable Windows Firewall

Windows Firewall hates P2P and so disable it and get yourself a decent firewall like Zone Alarm.
And last optimize your Internet connection with TCP Optimizer.
Know any other tricks to increase uTorrent’s download speed? Please share them here.

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Windows 7: Customize How the Date is Displayed in the System Tray

By default the Windows 7 task bar uses large icons, which makes for a bigger task bar. This easily allows not only the time to show in the system tray, but the date as well. You can customize how the date is displayed and what information it will show.

1. Go to the Control Panel.
2. Select Clock, Language, and Region.
3. Select Region and Language.
4. Click the Additional settings button.
5. Select the Date tab.
6. Go to the Date formats section. Use the Short date drop down to select the desired display. Click the Apply button to view the results.
If you don’t see what you want, you can add your own by placing your cursor on the drop down and typing.
You will need to keep these notations in mind:
d, dd are for displaying the date
ddd, dddd are for displaying the day of the week
M, MM, MMM, MMMM are for displaying the month
yy, yyyy are for displaying the year.
By using these notations and separators such as hyphens, commas, periods, etc. you can customize your date to display in a number of ways.
For example:
ddd MM/dd/yy
will make your date look like this:

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Disable Avira Notifier

I recently downloaded Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus as my primary antivirus program. I had been using version 8.2.
Avira has one drawback - A nagging notifier to upgrade to the premium version pops up every time you update the Avira database.
To disable this pesky notifier, simply follow these directions:
For XP and Vista Users:

1. Start-> Control Panel

2. Administrative tools-> Local security policy

3. Click on Software Restriction Policy-> Action (at the top)-> create new restriction policies

4. Right-click additional rules (on the right side)-> new path rule

5. Click Browse and navigate to C:\Program Files\(Avira)\AntiVir Desktop\ and double-click avnotify.exe

6. Set the security level to Disallowed-> apply-> OK

If you had Avira previously installed and have already disallowed this, you need to change the thread to match (which for me meant changing AntiVir Personal Classic to AntiVir Desktop).
It’s a beautiful thing my friends!
You can download Avira AntiVir Personal at <a href=”http://download.cnet.com/Avira-AntiVir-Personal-Free-Antivirus/3000-2239_4-10322935.html?part=dl-10322935&subj=dl&tag=button&cdlPid=11012914”>Download.com</a>. 

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How to Enable, Adjust or Disable Transparency in Windows 7

You must have noticed that the borders of windows in Windows 7 are transparent or translucent so that you can see what’s behind the window. You can enable or disable or adjust transparency according to your convenience.

WARNING
You will not have the Transparency option if you have a Basic and High Contrast Theme instead of a Aero Theme.
Aero Requirements to be Enabled in Windows 7:
NOTE: If Aero is not enabled, then Transparency will not work even when enabled.

• 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor
• 1 GB of system memory
• A graphics card with support for Direct X 9 graphics with at least 128 MB of memory.
• The graphics card must support Pixel Shader 2.0 and the Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM).
• You must be have True Color (32 bit) set instead of High Color (16 bit).
• The desktop composition and Animate controls and elements inside windows options enabled in Visual Effects.
• Refresh or update your WEI score.
  

To enable or disable Transparency in Windows 7 follow these simple steps:
1) Right click on an empty area of the Desktop and choose Personalize option

 
2) In the Personalization window click the Window Color link at the bottom of the window

3) Now check the Enable transparency option to enable transparency
You can then slide the slider forward or backward to adjust the degree of transparency.
OR
Unchecked the Enable transparency option to disable transparency.

 4) Click on Save Changes button

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