Password protect your wireless router

A very common, and bad, practice people have is setting up and using their wireless router with no password on it. This is very dangerous because anyone in range of your router could connect to and use any shared resources you have such as printers and files.

While you could put a password or security on each of the individual resources, it makes much more sense to password protect connection to your router. This article on PC Mech gives some very good information on what should be done to implement security on your wireless router.

If you do not want to put a password on your router, at the very least you should limit the number of IP’s assigned by your router to match the number of machines you have in your house. This way the router will not have any room to assign connection to a new device.

Base conversion calculator

Have you ever wanted to learn to count in binary or octal? Probably not, but if you ever have the need to convert one number to a different base, then check out this online number base converter.

Usage is very self explanatory. Here are some common bases with respect to computer usage:

• Binary = Base 2
• Octal = Base 8
• Decimal = Base 10
• Hexadecimal (Hex) = Base 16

Use Notepad as your personal diary

There is a simple feature in Notepad that can make it work like a personal diary for you.

Here is how to go about it:

1.Firstly open a blank Notepad file.

2. Now write .LOG as the first line in the file, then press enter. Now save the file and close it.

3.Open the notepad file now and you will find that the current date and time has beenappended (put) at the end and the cursor is in the next line.

4. Type your notes and then save and close the file.

5. Each time you open the file, Notepad repeats the process,that is it appends the date and timeto the end of the file and places the cursor below it

Close all not needed services in Windows

-> Control Panel
--> Performance and maintenance
---> Administrative tools
----> Services
-----> Go to every service EXCEPT
+ Application Layer Gateway Service
+ Application Management
+ Automatic Updates
+ Backround Intelligent Transfer Service
+ Cryptographic Services
+ DHCP Client
+ Event Log
+ Help and support
+ Human Interface Device Access
+ Internet Connection Firewall
+ Network Connections
+ Network Location Awareness (NLA)
+ Plug and Play
+ Print Spooler (if you have printers)
+ Remote Access Connection Manager
+ Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
+ System Event Notification
+ Task Scheduler
+ Telephony
+ Themes (hey, you dont want to shutdown cute themes right?)
+ Windows Audio
+ Windows Image Acquisition (if you have scanners or digital cameras attached)
+ Windows Installer
+ Windows Management Instrumentation
+ Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Extensions
------> Doubleclick with left mouse button or click right mouse button and select "Properties"
-------> Startup type
--------> Set to: Disabled
-----> Go to
+ Automatic Updates
------> Startup type
-------> Set to: Automatic

Cheat codes and tricks for default games in Windows XP

FreeCell

Secret - Instant Win
Instructions - Hold down Ctrl + Shift + F10 during game play. Then you will be asked if you want to Abort, Retry or Ignore. Choose Abort, then move any card to instantly win.

Secret - Hidden Game Modes
Instructions - In the "Game" menu choose "Select Game". Enter -1 or -2 to activate the hidden game modes.



Hearts

Secret - Show All Cards
Instructions - Edit this registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Hearts and create a new String value named ZB with a Data value of 42. Start Hearts and Press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + F12 to show all the cards.

Background - This secret is a reference to Douglas Adams' book the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. 'ZB' is the initials of the character Zaphod Beeblebrox, the Galactic President. '42' is the answer to The Ultimate Question Of Life, the Universe and Everything.



Minesweeper

Secret - Reveal Mines
Instructions - Minimize or close all running applications. Launch Minesweeper, then type xyzzy. Next hold down either shift key for one second. Now when you move the mouse cursor over a Minesweeper square you will see a tiny white pixel in the top left corner of your desktop screen. This pixel will change to black when your mouse moves over a mine. You may need to change you desktop background to a solid color other then white or black to see the pixel.

Secret - Stop Timer
Instructions - Launch Minesweeper and start a game so the timer starts counting, then press the Windows Key + D to show the desktop. Now when you select minesweeper from the taskbar you can continue playing with the timer stopped.

Zero writing Hard Drive

If you ever want to totally get rid all data on a hard drive, the best thing to do is zero-write it. As opposed to formatting, which only erases links to files (which, practically removes everything) but leaves the actual data, zero-writing actually sets the value of each sector of your hard drive to 0. This insures the data is removed as everything is totally overwritten.

Zero-writing a hard drive is always a good idea if you are getting rid of an old hard drive as you know what might happen to it. In order to zero-write a drive, you can download the hard drive tools from your hard drive manufacturer’s we site, or download a copy of the Ultimate Boot CD as it contains the tools for virtually all manufacturers.

Showing hidden devices in device manager

When you open Device Manager in Windows through Control Panel, you can see all the devices connected to your Windows and (if you are daring) change the configuration information. By default, Windows does not show “all” devices as some of them are hidden. You can view the hidden devices by going to View > Show Hidden Devices.

Of course, there can still be some devices which still do not show, such as “ghosted” drives. To view these, you can make a registry change per this Microsoft KB which will allow you to view and configure them.

This is information you may never use, but when troubleshooting hardware issues, it might come in handy.

Unplug your USB devices carefully

Whenever you unplug a USB device from its connection, make sure you are careful in doing so. The best way to unplug a device is by pulling firmly straight out of the connector. Wiggling the USB connector or pulling from an angle can cause the plug to bend or can damage (and break) the internal connectors which make the device work.

Star Wars ASCIImation

Here is a fun site for you Star Wars fans, half the first movie (Episode 4) done in ASCII animation. Although there is no sound and the animation is obviously just text characters, this is actually pretty entertaining to watch to see how the different scenes were done.

If nothing else, it is worth watching the first few minutes just for the novelty effect. Some people just have a lot of time to burn…

About Windows Vista UAC

Perhaps the most notable change from Windows XP to Vista is the addition of the UAC (User Account Control) which is the cause of the security dialogs prompting for permission to perform system actions. Considering this is just a tip, I am going to be brief in my explanation and defer to Microsoft for the details.

First off, UAC is a good thing. While some ”experts” and anti-Vista people are quick to point out you get prompted for virtually anything you do, this simply is not true. I’ve been running Vista for about 3 months now with UAC enabled and it is no hindrance at all. Now that I have my system set up, I rarely see a UAC prompt.

Typically you are prompted when you do one of the following:

• Install a program or Active X control.
• Try to manipulate files and folders in system directories (C:, \Windows, \Program Files, etc.).
• Modify a system settings (i.e. anything in the control panel).
• Modify system services or drivers (i.e. anything in Computer Management).

I am in no way trying to start a debate here, just pointing out what I have noticed. If you do not want the UAC notifications, you can easily disable them.

This is virtually the exact way Linux and Mac have worked for years. Since under the 2000/XP model, practically every user has administrative rights on the machine, this made it easy for viruses and spyware to install and hide itself… because it would have the same rights on the machine as the user. Even worse, due to the nature of malware it all happens behind the scenes, making it very hard to combat.

Microsoft recently published a fantastic explanation about what UAC is and is not on their web site which I would recommend you read.

Implementing user account control type in Windows XP

In order to protect Windows Vista from malware and inadvertent disastrous mistakes, Microsoft endowed the operating system with the User Account Control (UAC) system. This system requires all users to use the standard user mode, and then prompts for administrative credentials before performing an operation.
If you like the idea of the UAC system, but you’re not ready to upgrade to Windows Vista, you can use UAC’s predecessor in Windows XP: the RunAs command. Here’s how to use Windows XP’s version of UAC:
1. Log in as the Administrator.
2. Launch User Accounts, locate your user account, and change your account type from Computer Administrator to a Limited account.
3. Log out of the Administrator account and log back in with your new Limited account.
4. Whenever you encounter a situation in which you need administrative credentials, press [Shift] as you right-click the application’s executable file or its icon and select the RunAs command.
5. When you see the RunAs dialog box, choose The Following User option button to select the Administrator account, and then type in the password.
6. Click OK.

IBM Joins OpenOffice.org community

IBM will be joining the OpenOffice.org community in a move that will see Big Blue making code contributions and also leveraging some of the OpenOffice technologies in its products.

A quote from the press release at OpenOffice.org:
“We look forward to working with IBM and the other members of OpenOffice.org to ensure that this momentum continues. We invite others to join us in the community and participate in building the future as OpenOffice.org and ODF continue to gain popularity across the planet,” said Rich Green, Executive Vice President, Software at Sun Microsystems, Inc.
OpenOffice.org was founded by Sun Microsystems and has been a major purveyor of the Open Document Format (ODF). In addition, OpenOffice supports PDF documents.
It is interesting to note that it was only last month that Google shipped StarOffice (developed on the same code base as that of OpenOffice) along with the Google Pack.
IBM’s backing to OpenOffice.org can be seen as pitting OpenOffice against Microsoft’s Office suite products. Until now, OpenOffice has never challenged Microsoft Office’s share in the enterprise. Is this the beginning of the end of Microsoft Office’s dominance?

Outlook shortcuts

For those of you who use Outlook as your email client, here are a few useful shortcuts:

Ctrl-Shift-O: Switch to out-box.
Ctrl-Enter: Send current message.
Ctrl-R: Reply to a message.
Ctrl-Shift-R: Reply All to a message.
Ctrl-Shift-A: Create a new appointment.
Ctrl-Shift-M: Create a new message.
Ctrl-1: Switch to Mail.
Ctrl-2: Switch to Calendar.
Ctrl-3: Switch to Contacts.
Ctrl-4: Switch to Tasks.

Protecting sensitive files

If you share a computer with others, you may want a bit more protection for your personal files than Windows XP offers by default. There are two easy ways to achieve this: Create a password-protected compressed folder or encrypt an existing folder.

Password-protected compressed folders can be created on NTFS or FAT32 partitions. Opening a password-protected folder requires the right password. To protect files using a compressed folder, right-click in the desired location and choose New | Compressed (zipped) folder. Name the folder and move the files into it. Open the compressed folder and select File | Add password .

Encrypted folders are supported only on NTFS partitions. Rather than requiring you to enter a password, these folders are available only to you. If you want to encrypt a folder and its contents, right-click on the folder, choose Sharing and Security from the Context menu, click on the General tab, and click on the Advanced button. In the Advanced Attributes dialog, check the box Encrypt contents to secure data. Click on OK and then OK again. Win XP will encrypt the folder and its contents.

You won’t notice any change except that the folder name displays in a different color. Other users, however, will no longer have access to the folder.

Fixing mixed up desktop icons

Windows maintains a cache of the images of your Desktop icons, so it doesn’t have to extract them from the corresponding program every time. If this cache is too small, Desktop icons may display improperly or show the wrong program’s icons. You can adjust the size of the cache by going into your register. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE | SOFTWARE | Microsoft | Windows | CurrentVersion | Explorer. Add the following registry DWORD value called MaxCachedIcons. Give it a DWORD value of 4096.

If that does not help, set it to a higher value. You may need to force Windows to reread the cached icons after you increase the cache size. To do this, right-click on the Desktop, choose Properties, and click on the Appearance tab. Select Icon in the pull-down list labeled Item. Set the icon size to one pixel larger (probably to 33) and click Apply. Then set its size back to its previous value and click OK.