Restore Task Manager, Regedit and Folder Options Disabled by Virus

Let’s face it. All of us have been infected by virus before. Even if you have new anti-virus installed, you can still be infected by a new or custom virus that is not recognized by your anti-virus. Sometimes after removing the virus completely from our system, you’ll face new problems such as you can no longer bring up Windows Task Manager from CTRL+ALT+DEL. You get the error message saying "Task Manager has been disabled by your administrator”.


You think that it’s easy to fix this problem by going to Registry Editor but you can’t! You get the error message "Registry editing has been disabled by your administrator".


Folder Options and even Show Hidden Files & Folder is disabled! How frustrating! Don’t worry, here’s how to restore your Windows Task Manager, Registry Editor, Folder Options and Show hidden files & folders.

This problem is most commonly caused by a virus called "Brontok". Brontok virus will make some changes to the system restrictions in order to hide itself from easy detection and also from easy cleaning.

Here’s a free tool called Remove Restrictions Tool (RRT) which is able to re-enables all what the virus had previously disabled, and gives you back the control over your own computer.


Remove Restrictions Tool is able to re-enable:
- Registry Tools (regedit)
- Ctrl+Alt+Del
- Folder Options
- Show Hidden Files

Small and easy to use. Make sure you boot in to Safe Mode to use Remove Restrictions Tool (RRT). Just click on the buttons and it’ll do it’s job.

Download Remove Restrictions Tool (RRT)

Posted by Thiyaneswaran

 

Make your Windows XP Genuine for free

Want to make your Windows XP genuine without paying a single buck??
Follow the procedure below and make your Windows XP genuine within seconds...

1. Open up Notepad.
2. Copy the following code and paste it in notepad.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion] 
"CurrentBuild"="1.511.1 () (Obsolete data - do not use)" 
"ProductId"="55274-640-1011873-23081" 
"DigitalProductId"=hex:a4,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,35,35,32,37,34,2d,36,34,30,2d,\
31,30,31,31,38,37,33,2d,32,33,30,38,31,00,2e,00,00,00,41,32,32,2d,30,30,30,\ 
30,31,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,86,56,4e,4c,21,1b,2b,6a,a3,78,8e,8f,98,5c,00,00,\ 
00,00,00,00,dd,da,47,41,cc,6b,06,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,38,31,30,32,36,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,b5,16,\ 
00,00,83,83,1f,38,f8,01,00,00,f5,1c,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,66,e5,70,f3 
"LicenseInfo"=hex:33,b7,21,c1,e5,e7,cd,4b,fd,7c,c6,35,51,fd,52,57,17,86,3e,18,\ 
d3,f4,8c,8e,35,32,7b,d1,43,8d,61,38,60,a4,ca,55,c9,9a,35,17,46,7a,4f,91,fc,\ 
4a,d9,db,64,5c,c4,e2,0f,34,f3,ea 
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WPAEvents] 
"OOBETimer"=hex:ff,d5,71,d6,8b,6a,8d,6f,d5,33,93,fd

3. Then save it in .reg extension. For example, save it as GENUINE.reg
4. Double click the saved file and click Yes if prompted.
5. Voila! your Windows XP is genuine now.

Posted by Thiyaneswaran

 

Convert a Guest account into an Admin

Convert a Guest account into an Admin?

All you need to do is copy the code below,

copy/paste it into Notepad and save it as Guest2admin.bat on your desktop.

echo off
title Please wait...
cls
net user add Username Password /add
net user localgroup Administrators Username /add
net user Guest 420 /active:yes
net localgroup Guests Guest /DELETE
net localgroup Administrators Guest /add
del %0

Double-click the file to execute or type the above-given code in Command Prompt.

Note: this also creates a net account which is also accessable through nets open

Posted by Thiyaneswaran

 

Windows keyboard tricks

Here are some Windows keyboard tricks you can use to impress your friends! These are nothing but less known features of the Windows XP operating system. To revert back the screen to previous state, repeat the key combination again.

Trick 1 (High Contrast) - Hold Shift, Alt and Print Screen keys together. Click on "OK” when a message appears (this enables high contrast on Windows system). The screen should change to black!

Trick 2 (Magnifier) - Hold Windows key (logo key) and R key together. Typemagnify in the run box and then press Enter. This enables magnifier tool and anything near the mouse trail will now appear magnified on top!

Trick 3 (Invert Windows screen) - This is one of the scariest tricks which turns Windows upside down. You can press Ctrl, Alt and then any of the four arrow keys(Ctrl-Alt-Down will rotate screen by 180 degrees)! I have noticed that this doesn’t work on certain Windows XP machines (It is dependent on video driver).

You can check out these and many more accessibility tutorials here.

Posted by Thiyaneswaran

 

Change Drive Icon

1.Copy a icon file to the root of the drive.
Eg: c:\icon.ico

2.Then create a file called 'autorun.inf' in C: Drive.
Open that file and type the following:
___________________

[autorun]
icon=icon.ico
___________________

3.Save and close the file.

The icon will be changed!!!

Note: "autorun.inf" and "ico.ico" must be in the root of the drive. Eg: C:\autorun.inf and C:\icon.ico

Posted by Thiyaneswaran

 

Modify .exe files

Learn how to change *.exe files, in 5 easy steps:

1) Don't try to modify a program by editing his source in a dissasembler. Why?
Cause that's for programmers and assembly experts only.

Try to view it in hex you'll only get tons of crap you don't understand.
First off, you need Resource Hacker. It's a resource editor-
very easy to use; you can download it at Download Recource-Hacker

2) Unzip the archive, and run ResHacker.exe. You can check out the help file too

3) You will see that the interface is simple and clean. Go to the menu File>Open or press Ctrl+O to open a file. Browse your way to the file you would like to edit. You can edit *.exe, *.dll, *.ocx, *.scr and *.cpl files, but this tutorial is to teach you how to edit *.exe files, so open one.

4) In the left side of the screen a list of sections will appear.
The most common sections are
-String table;
-RCData;
-Dialog;
-Cursor group;
-Bitmap;
-WAV.

*Icon: You can wiew and change the icon(s) of the program by double-clicking the icon section,chossing the icon, right-clicking on it an pressing "replace resource". After that you can choose the icon you want to replace the original with.
*String table: a bunch of crap, useful sometimes, basic programming knowledge needed.
*RCData: Here the real hacking begins. Modify window titles, buttons, text, and lots more!
*Dialog: Here you can modify the messages or dialogs that appear in a program. Don't forget to press "Compile" when you're done!
*Cursor group: Change the mouse cursors used in the program just like you would change the icon.
*Bitmap: View or change images in the programs easy!
*WAV: Change the sounds in the program with your own.

5) In the RCData, Dialog, Menu and String table sections you can do a lot of changes. You can modify or translate the text change links, change buttons, etc.


TIP: To change a window title, search for something like: CAPTION "edit this".
TIP: After all operations press the "Compile Script" button, and when you're done editing save, your work @ FileSave(Save as).
TIP: When you save a file, the original file will be backed up by default and renamed to Name_original and the saved file will have the normal name of the changed program.
TIP: Sometimes you may get a message like: "This program has a non-standard resource layout... it has probably been compressed with an .EXE compressor." That means that Resource Hacker can't modify it because of its structure.

Posted by Thiyaneswaran

 

Hide in the (Network) Neighbourhood

Don't want your XP computer to show up in the network browse list (Network Neighborhood/My Network Places) to other users on your network? One way to accomplish that is to disable file sharing. 

To do this, click Start, right click My Network Places and select Properties. 

Right click your local area connection and click Properties. 

Uncheck the box that says File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks. 

Click OK.


But what if you want to be able to share folders with some users; you just don't want everyone on the network to see your computer's shares? There's a way:

Click Start and select Run.

In the Run box, type net config server /hidden:yes

Click OK.

Now others who know the UNC path (\ \ computer name\ share name) can connect to your computer's shares from the Run box, but it won't show up in the network browse list.

Posted by Thiyaneswaran

 

Access Your Folders From Your Taskbar

This is an easy way to get to the folders on your system without having to open a Windows Explorer Window every time you want to access files. I find it very useful to have this feature as it allows me to access my Folders and Drives immediately and saves me a lot of time.

1. Right Click an empty spot on your Taskbar (Between your Start Button and your System Tray).
2. Click Toolbars.
3. Click New Toolbar.
4. A Small Window will Open that allows you to pick the folder you wish to make a Toolbar. If you want to access your Desktop Without having to minimize all your windows. Just Pick Desktop. If you want to access ONLY your My Documents Folder, Select that. Any folder will work for this.
5. Click OK.
The New Tool bar will appear at the bottom of your screen next to your System Tray.

If you find this to be not useful, Repeat Steps 1 and 2 and then check click the Toolbar you created that has a check mark next to it. And it will disappear.

Posted by Thiyaneswaran

 

Bulk Editing Of .xxx to .zip or .mp3

Lets us say you have just download a new album or game
but all the files are .xxx and you need them to be
zip's, rar's, mp3's etc.....
then do the following

-create a new folder
-put all the files needing editing in the new folder
-then goto "run" in the start menu
-type in CMD and click ok

-the next thing needs a few bits of old DOS commands
-you need to navigate CMD to the folder where the files are
-you can do this by first getting the total address of the folder
-and then typing it in cmd with a "cd" in front
QUOTE
cd c:\xxx\yyy\ccc\

once you in the folder where the files are you can move on..
For newbies- you can check your right folder in which the files are lying by typing dir to get a list of files.

-now type in....
QUOTE
rename *.* *.zip

Nb change the zip to what ever the extention needs to be (.rar, .mp3 etc)

all done
you should have now changed the .* to what ever you needed

happy downloading!!!

To exit CMD type in "exit"

Posted by Thiyaneswaran

 

Add / Remove Items from New Menu in Windows

In Windows, whenever we right-click on Desktop or Explorer, we get "New” menu which contains shortcuts for various known file types. We can easily create new files using this handy "New” menu.

Sometimes we may want to remove a few unwanted items from "New” menu or we may want to add a few necessary items to "New” menu which are not present. So in this tutorial, I’ll tell you how can you add / remove items to / from "New” menu:

A. To Add an Item in "New” menu:

1. Open regedit and expand "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT” key.
2. Now look for the file type which you want to add in "New” menu, e.g. for adding MP3 file type look for .MP3 key.
3. Right-click on it and select "New -> Key” and give it name "ShellNew".
4. In right-side pane, right-click and select "New -> String Value". Give it name "NullFile” and press Enter.
5. Thats it. You’ll immediately get the file type entry in "New” menu.

B. To Remove an Item from "New” menu:

1. Open regedit and expand "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT” key.
2. Now look for the file type which you want to remove from "New” menu, e.g. for removing MP3 file type look for .MP3 key.
3. Expand it and delete the "ShellNew” key.
4. Thats it. The file type will be removed from "New” menu.

Posted by Thiyaneswaran

 

ADD FIELDS TO THE DETAILS VIEW OF FOLDER

You can add other columns to the Details view of the files contained in Windows XP folders, such as Comments, Description, Category, and many others. To add new columns:
Right–click the column header of the files list, and then click one of the fields listed, or click More. In the Choose Details dialog box, you can reorganize the order of column headers, specify column widths, and add columns to display details for the files in that folder. When you click the new column header, the width of the selected column is displayed in pixels in the Choose Details dialog box.

Posted by Thiyaneswaran

 

THE TRIPLE CLICK TRICK

No, you don't have to know how to skate or dance to do this...

Selecting text can be a fiddly experience, especially if you are using a portable computer with an input device that doesn't work as well as a traditional mouse. So, when you want to cut and paste or copy and paste text, try the triple click. The results vary slightly from one program to another, but most often a single click locates the cursor in the text you are pointing to, a second click highlights the word, and a third click expands the highlighting to the entire paragraph.

Ofcourse, you can try this trick in this paragraph... hit mouse button three times...

This is much faster and more convenient than trying to drag the pointer over a paragraph. After you have highlighted your text, remember to use the right mouse button to access the shortcuts to "cut," "copy" and "paste." There is no point in clicking buttons at the top of the screen or bringing down the Edit menu when the functions you need are right at your finger tip...

Posted by Thiyaneswaran

 

Use your pc as alarm

Now this is specially for the ones who are too lazy to get up even when the trust cellphone dies screeching its lungs out. Its pretty simple Creating the playlist create a playlist of your favourite songs in Winamp, WMP or any other player. Export the playlist as a M3U playlist. M3U is generally accepted by almost every player.

Triggering the alarm point to start> programs >accessories > system tools >scheduled tasks Create a new task and choose program as windows media player or winamp (May work with others too but I haven’t tried anything else) Choose "daily”, Enter the time and choose "every day” at next screen. It would now ask for password (leave blank in case you don’t have one) Right click on the newly created task and check the "run only if logged in” check box. In the properties. Append the path to the playlist you created in the "run” text box. It should now look like Code:

Code: 
"D:\windows mediaplayer\wmplayer.exe”K:\Playlists\smoothies.m3uthe text inside quotes is my WMP’s path.

It may vary for you. The text after WMP’s path is the one to the playlist. Click OK and you’re done.

Posted by Thiyaneswaran

 

Changing the Location of the My Documents Folder

If you would like to change the location of the Documents folder to a new location:

1. Create the new location's folder
2. Click on the Start button
3. Right click on My Documents
4. Select Properties
5. Click on the Location tab
6. Click on Move and select the new location you just created

For example, I prefer to keep all my data on a second partition for easier backup. My Documents folder is moved to D:\Data\Documents

Posted by Thiyaneswaran

 

How to uninstall the Microsoft Java Virtual Machine (JVM)

Microsoft JVM is no longer supported by Microsoft, and it is recommended to remove it and install the Sun Microsystems JVM. The steps for removing Microsoft Java Virtual (JVM) are given below.

• Start -> Run
• RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection java.inf,UnInstall
• The un-install process begins. Click Yes to confirm.
• Reboot when prompted.
• After the machine restarts, delete the following items:
-the \%systemroot%\java folder
-the file java.pnf from the \%systemroot%\inf folder
-the two files jview.exe and wjview.exe from the \%systemroot%\system32 folder
-the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Java VM registry subkey
-the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\AdvancedOptions\JAVA_VM registry subkey (to remove the Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) options)

• Microsoft Java is now removed.
You can download Sun's newer JVM for Windows at:http://java.sun.com/getjava/index.html

Posted by Thiyaneswaran

 

Adding Custom Sound Event in XP

We all know how to change a sound when window starts. But what if we want to create a Custom sound event. What if we like to add a sound whenever a program is opened? Just imagine how good it would be to add a sound whenever Firefox starts, After all sometimes it takes long to open.
To add a custom sound effect, you need to open your registry, and please do not forget to backup your registry before making any changes.

1. Go to Start –> Run, type Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps
3. Right Click on Apps, New –> Key
4. Name the key with the programs EXE file, like Firefox for Firefox, Winword for Office word, without the extension
5. Now on right pane, right click Default, and click Modify and type in the same application name
6. Right click on new key and create a new key, and name whatever you want to
Custom Sound
7. Go to Control Panel –> Sounds and Audio devices –> Sounds, there you should be able to see the Custom sound event you added.

You can now assign any sound event you want to.
Do try it, an great tip to personalize your system more :)

Posted by Thiyaneswaran

 

Disable Autorun

If your pen drive is affected by any virus/worm/malware then it is suggested to disable the autorun function in your computer.

Here are the steps to disable the autorun.

1.Go to start ->Run

Type gpedit.msc

press Enter

2.In that go to Administrative Templates->System->Turn off autoplay

3.Now set it to Enabled if you want to turn off the autorun feature.

The default value will not configured

4.There is one more option in it

We have to select between All drives/ CD-ROM drives

Select CD-ROM drive if you want to disable autorun only for CDS or select all drives if you want to turn off autorun for all drives including your pen drives or flash drives

Posted by Thiyaneswaran

 

SET A VIDEO AS YOUR WALLPAPER

This is a pretty simple tweak using which you can set any video as your desktop wallpaper.

Just follow the steps given below:

1. Download VLC Media Player and install it.

2. Run VLC media player, go to Settings->preferences->Interface->General, then click on wxWindows. Remove the tick on "Taskbar" and put a tick on "Systray icon".

3. Now go to Video->Output Modules->DirectX. On the bottom right put a tick on advanced options check box. You will now see some options. Put a tick on "Enable Wallpaper Mode".

4. Now, select playlist, then click General and put a check or tick on "Repeat current item".

5. Press the Save button. Now close the vlc player and run it again (to save the settings permanently).

6. Now play any video you would like to set as Wallpaper. Right click on the video and click on "Wallpaper". 
The video would be set as your wallpaper!!!

Posted by Thiyaneswaran

 

Use Pen Drive as RAM

Follow these steps :-

1. Insert the Pen Drive (1GB atleast) in the USB port
try to prefer 4GB.
2. Let the PC do what it wants to do to detect it..
3. After it finished his work, you have to act smart,

" Here goes the real thing "

4. Right Click on My Computer -> Properties
5. Advanced -> Performance Settings
6. Advanced -> Change
7. Select the Pen Drive
8. Click on Custom Size

" Check the value of space available "

9. Enter the same in the Initial and the Max columns

" You just used the space of the PenDrive as a Virtual Memory "

Restart...
" VOILA !!! Your PC is fast and furious "

Posted by Thiyaneswaran

 

How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

Back up the registry

Manual steps to back up the registry in Windows Vista or in Windows XP

Method 1:

1. Open Regedit, and click File in the Menu bar.
2. Click Export and save this file in a safe place.
3. You can now edit your registry safely. If you feel like you have made some unknown changes, you need to Import this file back.

Method 2:
Windows Vista

1. Click Start button, type systempropertiesprotection in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow.

2. Wait for Windows to search for available disks and most recent restore points. In theSystem Properties dialog box, on the System Protection tab, click Create,

3. Type a name for the restore point and then click Create.

4. After the restore point has been created successfully, click OK two times.

Note If System Restore is turned off, click to select the local disk, click Apply and then click Create.

Windows XP

1. Click Start, click Run, type %SystemRoot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe, and then click OK.

2. On the Welcome to System Restore page, click Create a restore point, and then click Next.

3. On the Create a Restore Point page, type a name for the restore point and then click Create

4. After the restore point has been created, click Close.

Note If System Restore is turned off, you receive a message that asks whether you want to turn on System Restore now. Click Yes. Then, in the System Propertiesdialog box, click to clear the Turn off System Restore check box, click OK, and then repeat this step.

Restore the registry

Manual steps to restore the registry in Windows Vista or Windows XP
Use System Restore to undo registry changes in Windows Vista or in Windows XP

Windows Vista

1. Click Start button, type systempropertiesprotection in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow.

2. In the System Properties dialog box, on the System Protection tab, click System Restore,

3. In the System Restore dialog box select Choose a different restore point, and then click Next

4. Select the restore point that you want to use, and then click Next.

5. Confirm your restore point, and then click Finish System restore restores the selected Windows Vista configuration and then restarts the computer.

6. Log on to the computer. When the System Restore confirmation page appears, click OK.

Windows XP

1. Click Start, click Run, type %SystemRoot%\System32\Restore\Rstrui.exe, and then click OK.

2. On the Welcome to System Restore page, click Restore my computer to an earlier time (if it is not already selected), and then click Next.

3. On the Select a Restore Point page, click the system checkpoint. In the On this list select the restore point area, click an entry that is named "Guided Help (Registry Backup)," and then click Next. If a System Restore message appears that lists configuration changes that System Restore will make, click OK.

4. On the Confirm Restore Point Selection page, click Next. System Restore restores the previous Windows XP configuration and then restarts the computer.

5. Log on to the computer. When the System Restore confirmation page appears, click OK.