Fast and Free Security Methods

There are some of the Fast and Free Security methods to make ur computer more efficient
Before you spend a dime on security, there are many precautions you can take that will protect you against the most common threats.

1. check the windows update and office update regularly (_http://office.microsoft.com/productupdates); have your Office CD ready. Windows Me, 2000, and XP users can configure automatic updates. Click on the Automatic Updates tab in the System control panel and choose the appropriate options.
2. Install a personal firewall.some offers free like SyGate (www.sygate.com) and ZoneAlarm (www.zonelabs.com).
3. Install a free spyware blocker. Our Editors' Choice ("Spyware," April 22) was SpyBot Search & Destroy (_http://security.kolla.de). SpyBot is also paranoid and ruthless in hunting out tracking cookies.
4. Block pop-up spam messages in Windows NT, 2000, or XP by disabling the Windows Messenger service (this is unrelated to the instant messaging program). Open Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Services and you'll see Messenger. Right-click and go to Properties. Set Start-up Type to Disabled and press the Stop button. Bye-bye, spam pop-ups! Any good firewall will also stop them.
5. Use strong passwords and change them periodically. Passwords should have at least seven characters; use letters and numbers and have at least one symbol. A decent example would be f8izKro@l. This will make it much harder for anyone to gain access to your accounts.
6. If you're using Outlook or Outlook Express, use the current version or one with the Outlook Security Update installed. The update and current versions patch numerous vulnerabilities.
7. Buy antivirus software and keep it up to date. If you're not willing to pay, try Grisoft AVG Free Edition (Grisoft Inc., w*w.grisoft.com). And doublecheck your AV with the free, online-only scanners available at w*w.pandasoftware.com/activescan and http://housecall.trendmicro.com.
8. If you have a wireless network, turn on the security features: Use MAC filtering, turn off SSID broadcast, and even use WEP with the biggest key you can get. For more, check out our wireless section or see the expanded coverage in Your Unwired World in our next issue.
9. Join a respectable e-mail security list, such as the one found at our own Security Supersite at _http://security.ziffdavis.com, so that you learn about emerging threats quickly and can take proper precautions.
10. Be skeptical of things on the Internet. Don't assume that e-mail "From:" a particular person is actually from that person until you have further reason to believe it's that person. Don't assume that an attachment is what it says it is. Don't give out your password to anyone, even if that person claims to be from "support."

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create shortcut for switching users

Hi friends here is the shortcut for fast switching users if u want to change the users very fastly just follow the procedures
you have to create a shortcut to switch the current user is very easy it is done by creating a shortcut to c:\windows\system32\tsdiscon.exe

± Right click where you want the shortcut to be created and select New and then Shortcut.
± Copy and paste “c:\windows\system32\tsdiscon.exe” into the location box and hit Next.
± Give it a name and hit Finish.

lock a file without using a software

Hai friends, Here is a trick to lock a file or folder without using a software. Try this out in your system.
If a file is in the location e:\songs in the same drive create a new text document and type the following
ren songs songs.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
Now save this text file as loc.bat
Create another text file and type in it
ren songs.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} songs
Now save this text file as key.bat

Include a image in property window of- my computer

Are you bored of seeing the old properties window of my computer.
for a change add a picture into it
Open Notepad.
Type the following:
[General]
Manufacturer="windows"
Model=Marshal Microsoft
[Support Information]
Line1= Your Ph No
Line2= Your Address.....
Save as "oeminfo.ini" in the System32 folder.(Without Quote)
Create a bmp file(Your Photo) and save it the System32 folder as "oemlogo.bmp"(Without Quote).
Now Check your My Computer Properties.

Inbuilt scanner in system

Our system has the inbuilt scanner for checking files. This is done by not installing any software
The various command line options are
Go to cmd prompt and type any of the following keeping the prefix as sfc

sfc [/scannow] [/scanonce] [/scanboot] [/revert] [/purgecache] [/cachesize=x]

/scannow - Scans all protected system files immediately.
/scanonce - Scans all protected system files once.
/scanboot - Scans all protected system files every time the computer is restarted.
/revert - Returns the scan to its default operation.
/purgecache - Purges the Windows File Protection file cache and scans all protected system files immediately.
/cachesize=x - Sets the size, in MB, of the Windows File Protection file cache.

Increase the speed of download

Here is to increare the download speed of a browser. It is done by after clearing the Windows XP DNS cache.
To clear it type the following in a command prompt: ipconfig /flushdns.

This is to increase the the number of max downloads to 10.
1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
2. Locate the following key in the registry:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionInternet Settings
3. On the Edit menu, click Add Value , and then add the following registry values:
"MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server"=Dword:0000000a
"MaxConnectionsPerServer"=Dword:0000000a
4. Quit Registry Editor

shortcut for shutdown and restart

Here is the shortcut for Shut Down or Restart

To shut down or restart Windows with one mouse click:
1. Right-click the Desktop and select New > Shortcut.
2. In the Command line box type:
C:\WINDOWS\rundll.exe user.exe,ExitWindows (for shut down)
C:\WINDOWS\rundll.exe user.exe,ExitWindowsExec (for restart)
3. Click Next, name it appropriately and click on Finish to create the shortcut.
Be sure, clicking on the shortcuts will not ask for any confirmation before shutting down.

Viewing F8 option with out pressing it

Instead of clicking on F8 at StartUp to display the start up menu, we can configure it to modify.

1. Use Explorer and find Msdos.sys in the root directory? it is a hidden file.
2. Take a copy of the Msdos.sys file.
3. Open a command prompt window and type the file’s attributes
attrib –h –s c:\msdos.sys
4. Edit the file in Notepad. Under the [Options] section, type:
BootMenu=1
BootMenuDefault=1
BootMenuDelay=x
where x is the no of delay in seconds. Default value for x is 30.
5. Save the file.
6. Again, open a command prompt window and reset the file’s attributes by typing
attrib +h +s c:\msdos.sys

Cascading the items in start menu

Hi friends here is the tip to add the items in th start menu.Follow the steps
Right click the Start button and click on Explore. Create a new folder and type the following string, in a single line replacing the name New Folder with this new line.Type entirely as shown below.

Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
Briefcase.{85BBD920-42A0-1069-A2E4-08002B30309D}
Dial Up Networking.{992CFFA0-F557-101A-88EC-00DD010CCC48}
Fonts.{BD84B380-8CA2-1069-AB1D-08000948F534}
Inbox.{00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
Internet Cache.{7BD29E00-76C1-11CF-9DD0-00A0C9034933}
Network Neighborhood.{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}
My Computer.{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}
Recycle Bin.{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
Subscriptions.{F5175861-2688-11d0-9C5E-00AA00A45957}
URL History.{FF393560-C2A7-11CF-BFF4-444553540000}

finding ip address in gmail

This the method to find the ip address of the sender.When you receive an email, you receive more than just the message. The email comes with headers that carry important information that can tell where the email was sent from and possibly who sent it. For that, you would need to find the IP address of the sender. The tutorial below can help you find the IP address of the sender. Note that this will not work if the sender uses anonymous proxy servers.

Finding IP address in Gmail

1. Using your id/password, login to Gmail.
2. Open the mail for which you want to find the IP of the sender.
3. Click on the inverted triangle placed just next to Reply.
4. You now need to look for Received:from followed by the IP within square brackets [ ] e.g. Received: from ge3.i-nonymous.com (ge3.i-nonymous.com [82.96.97.51])
5. Also importantly, there are times when you might find multiple Received: from entries, in that case, please select the last one as the valid choice.

change the IP of your system

• Click start-run-cmd or command
• Type "ipconfig /release" and press "enter"
• Type "exit" and leave the prompt
• Right-click on "Network Places" or "My Network Places" on your desktop.
• Click on "properties"
• You should now be on a screen with something titled "Local Area Connection",
• Right click on "Local Area Connection" and click "properties"
• Double-click on the "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) " from the list under the "General" tab
• Click on "Use the following IP address" under the "General" tab
• Create an IP address (put any ip there like 1.2.3.4 it doesn't matter what you give there , this is only to tell you how to change your "IP" .
• Press "Tab" and it should automatically fill in the "Subnet Mask" section with default numbers.
• Hit the "Ok" button here
• Hit the "Ok" button again
• You should now be back to the "Local Area Connection" screen.
• Right-click back on "Local Area Connection" and go to properties again.
• Go back to the "TCP/IP" settings
• This time, select "Obtain an IP address automatically"
• Hit "Ok"
• Hit "Ok" again
• You now have a new IP address

open the webpage just using the calculator

1. Open the Calculator. This will be in Start => All Programs => Accessories => Calculator.
or type calc in run window.
2. Open the help window by pressing the F1 key.
3. click the top-left corner icon of the help window. A question mark icon.
4. Select Go to jump to url.
5. Type your address into the avaliable field, but remember to type http://, and not just www. (or equivalent).

list of cpl in control panel/shortcut for the icons

These are the following icons in the control panel
The reside in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory
They can be run individually by typing Control followed by the CPL file.
If you are missing any icons in the Control Panel, you want to make sure the CPL file is in the SYSTEM directory.

Access.cpl - Accessibility properties
Appwiz.cpl - Add/Remove Programs properties
Desk.cpl - Display properties
FindFast.cpl - FindFast (included with Microsoft Office for Windows 95)
Inetcpl.cpl - Internet properties
Intl.cpl - Regional Settings properties
Joy.cpl - Joystick properties
Main.cpl - Mouse properties
Mlcfg32.cpl - Microsoft Exchange Service properties
Mmsys.cpl - Multimedia properties
Modem.cpl - Modem properties
Netcpl.cpl - Network properties
Odbccp32.cpl - Data Sources (32-bit ODBC)
Password.cpl - Password properties
Sysdm.cpl - System properties
Themes.cpl - Desktop Themes (available with Microsoft Plus!)
TimeDate.cpl - Date/Time properties

remove icons from control panel

Hi here is the easier way to remove control panel programs.

1. Edit your control.ini file in your Windows directory.
2. Under the section add the appropriate .cpl file.
3. For example to get rid of Network add netcpl.cpl=no
4. This will disable users from accessing the network control panel.

1. You can remove seected icons in your Control Panel by simply moving, deleting or renaming the *.cpl file in your C:\WINDOWS\SYSETM directory.
2. The icon or file will still work even if it is not on the control panel screen.
At list of the CPL files can be found in this section at Control Panel CPL Files

power on the computer by mouse

we can power on the computer with your mouse try the following

1. Restart your computer
2. Then press Del when the BIOS message appears to enter your CMOS configuration
3. Select Integrated Peripherals from main menu
4. If PS/2 mouse power on disabled, activate it by press page up/ page down key it will became Double-Click
5. Press Esc key to exit
6. Press F10 to save and exit Power off your PC
7. Now double-click the left mouse button,.. Your PC will turn on

Removing Unwanted Toolbar Items

If you have items in your Internet Explorer toolbar you would like to remove:

Run Regedit

Delete keys in these possible locations are:

* HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar
* HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Extensions
* HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\MenuExt

changing the admin password in easy way

Is that the above method is difficult.just follow the steps..this doesn't require u to know the admin password but still u can change it..
Start >> Run >> [type]cmd // this will open your command prompt
[type] net(space)user(press enter)
[type] net(space)user(space)[windowsloginid](sp ace)*(press enter)

// for e.g. : net user HOME *(press enter)

[type] new password (press enter) and retype it (press enter).. it will show u confirmation... // caution it wont show u the password u type.. but it still types.. the blinking pointer will b there at the same place.. but it still works..

changing admin password from dos

change the administrator password from the dos prompt

Follow these steps:
1. Open command prompt (Start->Run->cmd),
2. Enter the following command, then press ENTER
3. Enter the followin command, then press ENTER:
compmgmt.msc
This should open the computer management console.
4. Go to local users & groups->users. Right click on any user and select "set password".

If you get a "access denied" do the following:
start>run>cmd
then use following commands
1) net user test /add (this command will make test named user)
2) net localgroup administrators test /add (this command will make test user as administrators rights)
and use net user command to reset your admin. password

Hide any files into a jpeg(picture).

Hi friends here is a trick of hiding any file into a picture.
just try this out.
go to cmd prompt and hit the following.
copy/b logo.jpg+secret.rar output.jpg
here logo.jpg is the picture in which you are going to hide a file
output.jpg is the output file after the hide process is done.