Hack ur PC

How to Make a Chrome Web App for a Website

2013-06-23T14:22:00.004-07:00

Google Chrome has an excellent way to quickly access your favourite Web Apps, in this How-To, I show you how to create your own App.

I wanted a web app for Spotify, so I have a nice icon in the launcher and I could also open the app in its own chrome-less window. Sadly, an app for the Spotify web player does not exist on the Chrome Web Store yet.

But you can create a web app for any website on the Internet.

Step 1

Create a folder in your “Downloads” folder on your Chromebook, name the folder after your web app. In this example I’m naming it ‘Spotify’ because I’m creating a Spotify web app.

Step 2

In this folder, download/create an icon for the app (it needs to be a 128×128 PNG file), rename it “icon_128.png”.

Step 3

Now you’ll need to create a plain text file with the following contents. Rename/edit the contents as per your web app.

{
 "name": "App Name",
 "description": "App description (132 characters or less, no HTML)",
 "version": "1.0.0",
 "manifest_version": 2,
 "icons": {
 "128": "icon_128.png"
 },
 "app": {
 "urls": [
 "http://mysubdomain.example.com/"
 ],
 "launch": {
 "web_url": "http://mysubdomain.example.com/"
 }
 }
 }

Step 4

Saved the file, renaming it to “manifest.json” (make sure the .txt file extension is gone).

Step 5

Once you have the icon and json file in the folder you should test that it works.

Open the ‘Extensions’ page from Chrome’s Settings menu. Tick “Developer Mode”. Click “Load Unpacked Extension” and select the web app folder.

The Web App should now be installed on your New Tab page.

Please note, you can not delete the web app folder, since Chrome will load the web app from this folder.

Source:

How to get apk for Installed Android App

2013-02-07T15:37:00.000-08:00

I was trying to get apk for installed apps on adroid and question was.

- where are the apk files stored on android phone

- How to Download APK files from Android Market to PC

Solution 1: For Rooted Phone

Preinstalled applications are in /system/app folder. User installed applications are in /data/app. I guess you can't access unless you have a rooted phone.

Solution 2: Non Rooted Phone

If you just want to get .apk file of something you previously installed just do this:

1. get AirDroid from Market (Google Play)

2. access you phone using AirDroid from your PC web browser

3. go to Apps, select preinstalled or installed app

4. click 'download' button to downlaod .apk version of this app from you phone

you don't have to root your phone or use adb tool.

Solution 3: Non Rooted Phone

1. Install Root Explorer or ES file explorer

2. take backup of apps

3. and you can find apps in /apps/backup/

Solution 4: Using Apk Downloader tool

Follow from here..

Fix installation of codec c or codec v plugin to watch videos

2012-08-11T02:58:00.002-07:00

You ever had this problem when try to watch videos online it often says You need to install the codec-c or codec-v plugin!
Is this legitimate or a virus? how do I watch the videos?

The Answer is :
The 'plugin' is not needed to watch videos, It's just an ad covering the video so suggestion is DO NOT INSTALL!

You can get rid of it by following this tutorial/video:

This will work like a charm! The important thing is that the 'plugin' is most probably a virus so again don't install!

Access blocked YouTube video using ProxTube

2012-07-21T16:22:00.000-07:00

Non-US users know the pain of having services blocked from them pretty well, and YouTube is no exception. If you're tired of stumbling on videos you can't watch, ProxTube will fix the problem by unblocking all US-only videos for anyone to see.

When a person calls up a copyrighted video in non-US, Google displays a disclaimer that blames GEMA: “Unfortunately, this video is not available in Germany because it may contain music for which GEMA has not granted the respective music rights.”

" ...ProxTube is essentially an extension that automatically routes your YouTube traffic through a proxy server in the US, so YouTube thinks you're visiting the site from a US location. It's not unlike our method of watching the BBC player from another country, it just automates the process for you. Just install it and start browsing YouTube ..."

ProxTube will fix the problem by unblocking all US-only videos for anyone to see.
The extension automatically switches on as soon as the user visit a YouTube page with a blocked video. Instead of the sad smiley, and the hint that this video is not available in their own country the user will see a loading bar and after a few seconds, the requested video loads in normal speed.
Through a Play button the user can turn the feature on and off.

System requirements are for Firefox version 4 or higher, Chrome version 10 or higher.
Unfortunately at the moment, there is no version for other browsers.

ProxTube Main Site

Firefox Addon for ProxTube

Chrome Extension for ProxTube

Tips for beginner Hackers

2012-03-25T02:01:00.001-07:00

Here are few points for beginners which they should know.

At this stage, most of the students search for hacking tools and software. But Here i want to make this clear that no tool and software exists which can hack Gmail, Facebook, Yahoo, twitter or any aother website or email account in just few clicks. These types of posts on internet are just for attracting visits and spread spams. Most of this type of hacking tools are binded with trojans which leads your system at risk. The recent example it Anonymous LOIC tool which is used to hack members to use their system in criminal activities.
Never use any premium keylogger which is available free on filehosting websites. Hackers always host this type of tool with Trojans. After installing this type of keyloggers you will be hacked.
Never pay for hacking on the websites which are asking money in return of hacking. If you want to pay for any hacking book, tool or other kit, pay only on the trusted websites.
Join any good hacking forum and learn new things from the experts. Never follow a person just for his claims. Always follow a person who has real knowledge. Adding hacker word is not going to make anyone hacker. There are many Javascript pranks and online websites are available which are used to create fake screenshot and defacing pages. These are used by many noobs to create some fake hacking screenshot to share on Facebook. And beginners follow them thinking as a hacker.
Learn Programming languages and networking. These are must to be a hacker. Most of the hacking attacks such as SQL injection, PHP injection, XSS, Phising and many other needs the knowledge of programming.

Hacker is not the person who use keyloggers for hacking email ids and deface low secure innocent websites. Hacker is the person with indepth knowledge of computer who can create his own exploits to hack in the secure systems and servers. hacker is the person who is ready to take challenges. You may heard the name of many hacking groups who deface innocent websites just for fame. I think they are nothing just a noob. Hacking a school website or a shop website is not going to make you a hacker.

Send Password protected Emails

2012-03-17T22:49:00.003-07:00

Now a days, Email is the most common media for information interchange. It is used by most of the working person. Most of the popular email servers such as GMail, Yahoo mail, Hotmail and many other provide this email service for free. Users need to create a free account and then they can use their account for sending and recieveing emails.

But Cyber criminals are always try to hack passwords of users email account to read emails and misuse the account. Do you know? you can also protect each mail sent by you with a password for better information security. If some one maneged to get into the account, he would not be able to read the email without knowing the password. To send the password protect email, you have to use a third party service named as LockBin

- go the link https://lockbin.com/lockbin.php
- Fill the form and send the mail. And also inform receiver that you have sent the mail and password as well
- Recipient will get the email with a link. To read the email, he will have to go the link and verifiy the password which you have entered while sending the email.
- After submitting password Receiver can view message.

Windows 7 hotkey cheat sheet

2012-02-07T10:05:00.000-08:00

General

Win+Up	Maximize
Win+Down	Restore / Minimize
Win+Left	Snap to left
Win+Right	Snap to right
Win+Shift+Left	Jump to left monitor
Win+Shift+Right	Jump to right monitor
Win+Home	Minimize / Restore all other windows
Win+T	Focus the first taskbar entry Pressing again will cycle through them, you can can arrow around. Win+Shift+T cycles backwards.
Win+Space	Peek at the desktop
Win+G	Bring gadgets to the top of the Z-order
Win+P	External display options (mirror, extend desktop, etc)
Win+X	Mobility Center (same as Vista, but still handy!)
Win+# (# = a number key)	Launches a new instance of the application in the Nth slot on the taskbar. Example: Win+1 launches first pinned app, Win+2 launches second, etc.
Win + + Win + - (plus or minus key)	Zoom in or out.

Windows Explorer

Alt+P

Show/hide Preview Pane

Taskbar modifiers

Shift + Click on icon	Open a new instance
Middle click on icon	Open a new instance
Ctrl + Shift + Click on icon	Open a new instance with Admin privileges
Shift + Right-click on icon	Show window menu (Restore / Minimize / Move / etc) Note: Normally you can just right-click on the window thumbnail to get this menu
Shift + Right-click on grouped icon	Menu with Restore All / Minimize All / Close All, etc.
Ctrl + Click on grouped icon	Cycle between the windows (or tabs) in the group

Note that this list focuses on stuff that’s specific to Windows 7.

Keep Folders And Files Secret And Hidden

2012-01-17T09:39:00.000-08:00

First create a new folder somewhere on your hard drive or select a folder u want it to b hidden and press f2 (rename option) and name it by pressing "Alt" and press "255" this will create and invisible.

space so it will appear as if it has no name.

then right click in and select "Properties" select the tab "customize" and select
"change icon" scroll along and you should a few blanc spaces click on any one and
click ok when you have saved the settings the folder will be invisible to hide all
your personal files.

~~~now keep ur folders and files safely hidden~~~

Command Prompt hacking Commands

2012-01-07T09:16:00.000-08:00

CMD HACKING COMMANDS

Useful Things to do on Command Prompt

First, open your Network Connection and right click and select Properties. Then Select TCP/IP and click on Properties again. Now Click on Advanced and WINS tab. Select Default for NeBIOS.

Now back to the main Local Area Connection window, select File and Print Sharing for Networks and hit enter.

This is just to make sure you have NetBIOS enabled. We will have some fun with NetBIOS on CMD.

First thing you need to know is some very helpfull commands to use on CMD(Command Prompt).

In case you don't know how to get CMD open in your box, then click on Start, then Run, then type "cmd" (no quotes, off course... you know the drill).

Back to commands:

nslookup
net view
net use
net user
ping
tracert
arp
route
nbtstat
netstat
ipconfig

In case you don't know some of them, then just type the command on CMD and hit enter. A little help will show up in your screen. Read it and understand what the command does.

Lets start easy...

1) ping : This command will allow you to know if the host you pinging is alive, which means if it is up at the time of executing the "ping" command.

ping x.x.x.x (x is the IP address)

or

ping www.whatever.com (www.whatever.com is the website you want to ping, but you don't know the IP)

OBS: Keep in mind that if the host you pinging is blocking ICMP packets, then the result will be host down.

2) nslookup : This command has many functionalities.
One is for resolving DNS into IP.
Lets say you know the website URL but you don't know its IP(and you want to find out).

nslookup www.whatever.com (www.whatever.com is the website you want to find out the IP)

Now, another really nice function of nslookup is to find out IP of specific Mail Severs

nslookup (enter)
set type=mx (enter)
yahoo.com

This command will give you the mail server IP of yahoo.com. You can use whatever server you want and if it is listed on DNS, then you get the IP. Simple, isn't it?

OK, now why would you want to have an IP of a mail server?
To send spoofed mail to your friends or even for SE.
In case you looking for "How to spoof email", then look for my "How to spoof email tutorial" http://www.infowar.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2360

3) tracert : This command will give you the hops that a packet will travel to reach its final destination.

OBS: This command is good to know the route a packet takes before it goes to the target box.

tracert x.x.x.x (x is the IP address)

or

tracert www.whatever.com (www.whatever.com is the website you don't know the IP)

4) arp : This command will show you the arp table. This is good to know if someone is doing arp poisoning in your LAN.

arp -a

5) route : This command will show you the routing table, gateway, interface and metric.

Code:
route print

6) ipconfig : This command will show tons of very helpful things.
Your IP, gateway, dns in use.

Code:
ipconfig
or

Code:
ipconfig /all

this command will give all that info but for all networks you might have it.

Also, in case you have a dynamic IP and want to change it, then type...

Code:
ipconfig /release (this will release your IP)

ipconfig /renew (this will renew your iP)

OBS: Keep in mind that those commands will change your IP, but the new IP will still be tighed up to you. So don't do anything stupid.

7) netstat : This command will show you connection to your box.

Code:
netstat

or

Code:

netstat -a (this will show you all the listening ports and connection with DNS names)
netstat -n (this will show you all the open connection with IP addresses)
netstat -an (this will combined both of the above)

net view x.x.x.x or computername (will list the available sharing folders on the target box)

Now some hints:

Code:

net use \ipaddressipc$ "" /user:administrator

(this command will allow you to connect to the target box as administrator)

Now if you want to connect to the target box and browse the entire C drive, then use this command:

Code:
net use K: \computernameC$
(this will create a virtual drive on your "my computer" folder)

OBS: Keep in mind that this will only works if the target box doesn't have an administrator password set.

And least but not last, the "help" command.

Quote:
whatevercommand /help

or

Quote:
whatevercommand /?

This command will help you to understand what it does and all the switchs available for each command.

Pin the Show Desktop to Taskbar in Windows 7

2011-08-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

Update: Fixed addresses so they now have proper forward slashes. If you don’t see these: \ then please make sure to insert one after each word. Internet Explorer is considered one word with a space in between it. I’m working on fixing the problem with disappearing slashes.

If you’ve just picked up Windows 7, you’re probably wondering where the Show Desktop button has gone. It’s actually now moved to the bottom right hand corner of the screen for quick access. Hovering your mouse over it will activate Aero Peek and allow you to preview the Desktop without actually going to it. This feature is good for taking a quick peek at any Gadgets you may have lying on your desktop.

But if you still want a “Show Desktop” icon in your taskbar, it’s possible. This guide will teach you how to pin Show Desktop properly into the taskbar, not the method that gives you a strange unaligned placement in the taskbar.

The Fail Pin

The Win Pin

The guide is actually not as long as it looks. I added a lot of pictures to guide you along the process.

How-to:

1) First, you need to pin an item you don’t actually want in the taskbar. I chose TweetDeck because it stays in the System Tray anyway.

2) Then you need to create your own Show Desktop icon. You can download the Icon here, or do it yourself.

To do it yourself, open Notepad and paste the following code:

[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop

When you save the file, select All Files from the drop down menu, and name the icon Desktop.scf

Whether you download or create the desktop file yourself, make sure to save it into this directory:

C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar

3) Right click the item you pinned earlier (in my case, TweetDeck) and click on Properties.

4) Edit the Target Field to the following. Change the field yourusername to your Computer name. You can find this by opening the Start Menu and looking at the first item in the darkened area.

Computer name is shown as the first item on the right side (win7 for me)

Paste this code into the Target Field. Make sure to change yourusername.

C:\Users\yourusername\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar\Desktop.scf

5) Now we need to change the icon. Click on Change Icon and paste the following code into the Browse field and press Enter:

%SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll

The Show Desktop icon is located somewhere near the middle. This was where mine was located:

6) You can also rename your icon to Show Desktop so you don’t get confused when editing the taskbar later on.

7) Your icon in the Taskbar will not change unless you log off and log back in or end the explorer.exe process in Task Manager. Regardless, the icon should function like the old “Show Desktop” icon.

If you’re a fan of keyboard shortcuts, Win+D shows the desktop too.

Disable and Remove Ads from Yahoo Messenger

2011-08-12T03:20:00.000-07:00

There are so many ways to remove these ads. I will suggest couple of them.

1>--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yahoo Messenger 9, follow these steps:

Run Registry Editor (regedit.exe).
Navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Yahoo\pager\Locale
In the right pane, locate a value named Enable Messenger Ad with default value as 1. Set the value to 0.
Restart Yahoo! Messenger 9.0.

The ads will be disappeared from Yahoo Messenger after restarting.

2>----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please note that if you run Yahoo Messenger from a FAT32 disk, this fix disables some features from Yahoo Messenger, like chat rooms and the plug-in manager. NTFS is the standard file system used in Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, so it's likely that you won't see these limitations if you use a recent version of windows.

Close Yahoo Messenger.
Create .bat file from below code, that edits most registry values related to the ads in Yahoo Messenger from HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ Yahoo\pager\YUrl, replacing the data with a dummy asterisk. Here's the list of string values:

Messenger Ad
Webcam Upload Ad
Webcam Viewer Ad
Webcam Viewer Ad Big
Webcam Viewer Ad Medium
Change Room Banner
Conf Adurl
Chat Adurl

bat file..

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

@ECHO OFF TITLE Remove ads from Yahoo Messenger 8-9  ATTRIB -R "%PROGRAMFILES%\Yahoo!\Messenger\Cache\urls.xml" ECHO "" >"%PROGRAMFILES%\Yahoo!\Messenger\Cache\urls.xml"  ATTRIB +R "%PROGRAMFILES%\Yahoo!\Messenger\Cache\urls.xml" cacls "%PROGRAMFILES%\Yahoo!\Messenger\Cache\urls.xml" /E /P  %username%:N  SET CONTENTPATH="" IF ERRORLEVEL 1 SET CONTENTPATH="*"  > %TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO REGEDIT4 >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO. >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Yahoo\Pager\YUrl] >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO "Messenger Ad"="*" >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO "Webcam Upload Ad"="*" >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO "Webcam Viewer Ad"="*" >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO "Webcam Viewer Ad Big"="*" >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO "Webcam Viewer Ad Medium"="*" >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO "Change Room Banner"="*" >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO "Conf Adurl"="*" >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO "Chat Adurl"="*" >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO "Y Content"=%CONTENTPATH% >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Yahoo\Pager\Locale] >>%TEMP%.\noYMads.reg ECHO "Enable Messenger Ad"="0" REGEDIT /S %TEMP%.\noYMads.reg DEL %TEMP%.\noYMads.reg

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The patch also makes the file C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Messenger\Cache\urls.xml read-only and it revokes all the permissions for the file, but only for NTFS disks.

If you install new versions of Yahoo Messenger, you'll have to repeat the steps above, as Yahoo setup rewrites the registry entries. New versions will most likely make removing the ads more difficult or even impossible.

3>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Block Ads By Blocking the Ad Server:

1. Open Notepad.
(In Vista/Win7, Run Notepad as an Administrator)

2. Open the following file:
C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

3. Add the following line at the end of the text file:

127.0.0.1 insider.msg.yahoo.com

What to do if Yahoo Changes Their Ad Server

I tested this since Yahoo Messenger 9.0.0.922 BETA. It worked.

This is because all ads come from "http://insider.msg.yahoo.com", which is the Ad Server.

Now, when you notice the ads coming back, it means Yahoo changed their Ad Server. To block them again:

1. Explore C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Messenger\Cache\

2. Open urls.xml

3. Internet Explorer will display the XML file.
From there you can see lines similar to these:

href=\"http://insider.msg.yahoo.com/client_ad.php?p=409640\" id="Messenger Ad"
href=\"http://insider.msg.yahoo.com/client_ad.php?p=81920\" id="Messenger Idle Ad"

In this case, the Ad Server Address is "insider.msg.yahoo.com"
If it's not, copy the new Ad Server Address,
and update the "hosts" file.

Automatically Download Files From Rapidshare In Firefox

2011-07-11T12:14:00.001-07:00

Users who download regularly from the popular file host Rapidshare usually use a download manager like JDownloader or Cryptload to do so. These download managers provide several benefits over downloading files from Rapidshare in a web browser like Firefox or Internet Explorer. The most important benefit being the ability to queue an unlimited number of files in the Rapidshare Download Manager which are then download sequentially without further user interaction.

Rapidshare AutoWait is a userscript that can be loaded in the Firefox Greasemonkey extension. It brings most of the benefit that is provided by download managers to the web browser. In short: It allows a user to open multiple Rapidshare links which get then downloaded sequentially without user interaction.

The script will automatically perform all required actions on the page after it has been opened in Firefox. It will also detect if a download is already in progress to loop the other Rapidshare downloads which are then started at a later time.

The script does detect network problems and handles other possible errors like expired sessions or the 15 minute limits as well. It is not a problem for the script to handle 10, 20 or even 30 tabs that all point to a file on the Rapidshare website. The only step that the script will not do is to close the tab once the download has been finished which is not that much of a problem though.

AutoWait is a very interesting option for users who download files regularly from Rapidshare. Check out our Rapidshare Search article for pointers on how to find links at the the file host. It is possible that the script will also work in other web browsers that provide userscript support such as Opera or Safari.

Windows 7 Login Screen Customization Without 3rd Party Software

2010-08-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

Instructions

1. Type regedit in RUN or Startmenu search box and press Enter. It'll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\Background

3. Now in right-side pane, change value of OEMBackground to 1

4. Now go to following folder:

%windir%\System32\oobe

Here %windir% represents "Windows" folder present in the system drive where Windows 7 is installed.

5. Create a new folder "info" inside oobe folder. Then again create a new folder "backgrounds" inside info folder. So the final path would be:

%windir%\System32\oobe\info\backgrounds

6. Now copy any desired wallpaper to this new "backgrounds" folder but following conditions must be followed:

The image name must be backgroundDefault.jpg.

The image size must be less than 256 KB.

The image format must be JPG.

7. That's it. Once you copy the wallpaper to "backgrounds" folder, your Windows 7 login screen will start using this new wallpaper as background. You can check the new login screen background by logging off or locking Windows.

Windows 7 GodMode

2010-04-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

Finally an Easter egg in Windows 7 !
A hidden "GodMode" feature that lets users access all of the operating system's control panels from within a single folder.
By creating a new folder in Windows 7 and renaming it with a certain text string at the end, users are able to have a single place to do everything from changing the look of the mouse pointer to making a new hard-drive partition.
The trick is also said to work in Windows Vista, although some are warning that although it works fine in 32-bit versions of Vista, it can cause 64-bit versions of that operating system to crash.

To enter "GodMode," one need only create a new folder and then rename the folder to the following:
GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
Once that is done, the folder's icon will change to resemble a control panel and will contain dozens of control options.

NirCmd - Free command line tool for Windows XP and Vista

2010-02-02T14:23:00.000-08:00

NirCmd - Free command line tool for Windows XP and Vista

Are you scared of using the Windows command prompt to accomplish tasks? If so, you’re definitely missing out on some cool stuff you can do on your computer. However, it’s understandable as the syntax can be quite technical and you really don’t want to mess something up if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Luckily, there is a free utility called NirCmd that you can use that extends the functionality of the command prompt and makes it a little bit easier to use DOS commands without having to know DOS.

NirCmd is a small command-line utility that allows you to do some useful tasks without displaying any command prompt user interface.

You can use it to do all kinds of useful stuff for you such as writing and deleting values registry keys, writing values into INI file, dialing your Internet account or connecting to a VPN network, restarting windows or shutting down the computer, creating a shortcut to a file, chaning the created/modified date of a file , changing your display settings, turning off your monitor (this we want ) , opening the door of your CD-ROM drive, and lots more!

The best thing about this program is that you can create a scheduled task to simple run any command you want at a set interval. So you can create a scheduled task to turn off your monitor or turn off your computer every day at midnight or to mute the volume on your computer every morning.

Now you could simply run any of the commands by going to the Windows command prompt and typing something in. For example, go to Start, then Run and then type in CMD. Now type in any command that was listed in the command list.

OR Just Create a Shortcut Like This.

Thats It ... Now You not only Tech Savvy ... Now You are Eco Savvy Too There is another utility called "WizMo" also serves the same purpose both are free, you can get them by (what I can say just ) google .

Here is High Tech Way - Recommended For Power Users only

PROGRAMMATICALLY

Code:

// console application
#include 

#define SCREENSAVER_START 1
#define MONITOR_OFF 2

int main( int argc, char** argv )
{
int cmd = SCREENSAVER_START; // default when run
// is to start screensaver.

// if passed command line argument (no matter
// what it is), just turn off the monitor instead.
if( argc > 1 )
{
// could check argv,
cmd = MONITOR_OFF;
}

switch( cmd )
{
case SCREENSAVER_START:
SendMessage( HWND_TOPMOST,
WM_SYSCOMMAND,
SC_SCREENSAVE,
0 );  // send message to top most window
// for screensaver to start.  that's just
// how you programmatically start the screensaver
// under windows!
break;

case MONITOR_OFF:
SendMessage( HWND_BROADCAST,
WM_SYSCOMMAND,
SC_MONITORPOWER,
(LPARAM)2 ); // turn off the monitor.
break;
}
}

Compile This and Make MonitorControl.EXE

Keep this Executable in Start Menu (or wherever you want ). And create 2 shortcuts:

One called “Monitor OFF” that has target

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Monitor Control\MonitorControl.exe” off

The other is called “ScreenSaver Start” and has target:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Monitor Control\MonitorControl.exe”

because running the executable with no arguments starts the screensaver.

How can I add a Command Prompt option to the Default Explorer Right Click Context Menu?

2010-01-06T14:22:00.000-08:00

If you find that you frequently open a Command Prompt window and change to a specific directory, you can add the Command Prompt to your shortcut menu. This option enables you to right-click on a folder within Windows Explorer and choose the Command Prompt - which opens a Command Prompt window with that folder as your active directory.

To add the Command Prompt option to the default right click context menu in Windows Explorer you can do one of the following:

Method #1: Through the Registry

This is the simplest, easiest and most idiot-proof method.

Create a text file, type in the following lines and save it as addprompt.reg.

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\Command]
@="Command Prompt:"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\Command\Command]
@="cmd.exe /k cd %1"

Save this out and double click the file. Note this will modify the registry but I promise it is safe. Your anti-virus software might ask you to confirm the registry change and it is safe to allow it.

This adds Command Prompt to the Windows Explorer right click menu. Just right click on a folder, click Command Prompt and you will be at the command prompt in the selected folder. No need to type CD and the full path anymore.

Method #2: Manually add the context menu

In explorer, open Tools, Folder Options.

Select the File Types tab.

For Windows XP: Go to NONE / Folder.

For Windows 2000: Press n to scroll to the N/A section.

For Windows NT/98/95: Press f to scroll to the Folders section.

Select the entry labeled Folder

For Windows 2000/XP: Press Advanced button.

For Windows NT/98/95: Press Edit button.

Select New

In the action block type "Command Prompt" without the quotes.

In the app block type "cmd.exe" without the quotes.

Save and exit Folder Options.

Now right click on Start, you should have a new drop down option. Open explorer and right click on a folder, select Command Prompt and a command window opens in that folder.

Method #3: Through batch file

Begin by creating a batch file. For example, you could create a batch file named StartPrompt.cmd. Add the following commands to your batch file:
Code:
```
@echo off
cd /d %1
Title %~f1
```

Save this batch file to your Windows NT/2000/XP root directory (which is usually C:\WINNT or C:\WINDOWS for XP).

Open Windows Explorer.

Choose View | Options to display the Options dialog box.

Select the File Types tab.

In the list of Registered File Types, select Folder then click Edit.

Click New to display the New Action dialog box.

In the Action text box, type Command Prompt.

In the Application Used To Perform Action text box, type:
Code:
```
cmd.exe /a /k c:\winnt\StartPrompt "%l"
```

Click OK to close the New Action dialog box, then click Close twice.

What is svchost.exe And Why Is It Running?

2010-01-06T14:21:00.000-08:00

You are no doubt reading this article because you are wondering why on earth there are nearly a dozen processes running with the name svchost.exe. You can't kill them, and you don't remember starting them… so what are they?

So What Is It?

According to Microsoft: "svchost.exe is a generic host process name for services that run from dynamic-link libraries". Could we have that in english please?

Some time ago, Microsoft started moving all of the functionality from internal Windows services into .dll files instead of .exe files. From a programming perspective this makes more sense for reusability… but the problem is that you can't launch a .dll file directly from Windows, it has to be loaded up from a running executable (.exe). Thus the svchost.exe process was born.

Why Are There So Many svchost.exes Running?

If you've ever taken a look at the Services section in control panel you might notice that there are a Lot of services required by Windows. If every single service ran under a single svchost.exe instance, a failure in one might bring down all of Windows… so they are separated out.

Those services are organized into logical groups, and then a single svchost.exe instance is created for each group. For instance, one svchost.exe instance runs the 3 services related to the firewall. Another svchost.exe instance might run all the services related to the user interface, and so on.

So What Can I Do About It?

You can trim down unneeded services by disabling or stopping the services that don't absolutely need to be running. Additionally, if you are noticing very heavy CPU usage on a single svchost.exe instance you can restart the services running under that instance.

If you are curious what we're talking about, just open up Task Manager and check the "Show processes from all users" box:

Checking From the Command Line (Vista or XP Pro)

If you want to see what services are being hosted by a particular svchost.exe instance, you can use the tasklist command from the command prompt in order to see the list of services.

Code:

tasklist /SVC

XP Apps Secrets

2009-08-06T14:30:00.000-07:00

XP Secrets

Easter Eggs (Definition) - A hidden message or feature in an application. This guide covers the undocumented and hidden features in Windows XP. All of the following were tested in Windows XP only.

Notes - This is not a performance related guide.

Application Secrets

Defrag

Secret - Hidden Command Line Switch
Instructions - Go to "Start", "Run" and Type defrag c: -b to defragment the Boot and Application Prefetch information.

Notes - Windows XP will run this automatically every three days or so, during system idle periods. BootVis will evoke this when you run the "Optimize System" function. There is no need to manually run this unless you wish to immediately optimize a newly installed application's load time.

IExpress

Secret - Hidden Install Creator
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type iexpress

Notes - IExpress is a technology designed to simplify creation of a setup program. Using the step-by-step IExpress Wizard, you can create self-extracting files that automatically run the setup program contained inside. The setup program can be an .inf file or an executable program. IExpress technology automatically removes the setup files after installation, saving the user time and frustration.

Netmeeting

Secret - Hidden Internet Conference Application
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type conf

Notes - Windows XP is the last version of Microsoft Windows to include NetMeeting. NetMeeting delivers a complete Internet conferencing solution for all Windows users with multi-point data conferencing, text chat, whiteboard, and file transfer, as well as point-to-point audio and video.

Notepad

Secret - Create a Log File
Instructions - Launch Notepad, Type .LOG on the first line, and then press Enter to move to the next line. On the File menu, click Save As, type a descriptive name for your file in the File name box, and then click OK. When you next open the file, note that the date and time have been appended to the end of the log, immediately preceding the place where new text can be added. You can use this functionality to automatically add the current date and time to each log entry.

Paint

Secret - Image Trails
Instructions - Open an image and hold down Shift then drag the image around to create an image trail.

Secret - 10x Zoom
Instructions - Open an image and select the magnifying glass icon. Left-Click exactly on the line below the 8x.

Private Character Editor

Secret - Hidden Font Editor
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type eudcedit

Notes - You can use Private Character Editor to create unique letters and logos for your font library.

Windows Media Player 6.4

Secret - Hidden Windows Media Player
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type mplayer2 - Source

Notes - Windows Media Player 6.4 (Classic) is installed along with Windows Media Player 7. The only update is that it now supports the latest codecs

XP Game Secrets

2009-08-06T14:18:00.000-07:00

XP Game Secrets

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\Curre ntVersion\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.

Pinball

Secret - Extra Balls
Instructions - Type 1max at the start of a new ball to get extra balls.

Secret - Gravity Well
Instructions - Type gmax at the start of a new game to activate the Gravity Well.

Secret - Instant Promotion
Instructions - Type rmax at the start of a new game to go up in ranks.

Secret - Skill Shot
Instructions - Launch the ball partially up the chute past the third yellow light bar so it falls back down to get 75,000 points. There are six yellow light bars that are worth a varying amount of points:

First: 15,000 points
Second: 30,000 points
Third: 75,000 points
Fourth: 30,000 points
Fifth: 15,000 points
Sixth: 7,500 points

Secret - Test Mode
Instructions - Type hidden test at the start of a new ball to activate Test Mode. No notification will be given that this is activated but you can now left-click the mouse button and drag the ball around. While in test mode press the following keys for more secrets:

H - Get a 1,000,000,000 High Score
M - Shows the amount of system memory
R - Increases your rank in game
Y - Shows the Frames/sec rate

Secret - Unlimited Balls
Instructions - Type bmax at the start of a new ball. No notification will be given that this is activated but when a ball is lost a new ball will appear from the yellow wormhole indefinitely. Once this is activated you will be unable to activate other secrets without restarting the game.

Solitaire

Secret - Instant Win
Instructions - Press Alt + Shift + 2 during game play to instantly win.

Secret - Draw single cards in a Draw Three game
Instructions - Hold down CTRL + ALT + SHIFT while drawing a new card. Instead of drawing three cards you will only draw one.

Tip: Turn Off Delete Confirmation

2008-11-18T02:25:00.001-08:00

When you drag an item to the Recycle Bin, a pop-up window appears asking you to confirm the delete. This is can be a great feature for those of us who accidentally delete items, but if you don't suffer from mistaken deletes, get rid of it.

Right-click on the Recycle Bin.

Select Properties.

Select the Global Tab.

Uncheck the "Display delete confirmation dialog box."

Remember that if you accidentally delete something, you can always go into the Recycle Bin and undelete it there. Simply highlight the deleted item, go up to File, and select Restore.

Logon Screen

2008-11-18T02:25:00.000-08:00

If you're the only user on a computer, odds are you don't need a logon screen to appear every time you boot up.

Eliminate the need to input your user name and password with these steps.

   1.       Open Control Panel.
   2.       Double-click on the Network icon
   3.      In the Primary Network Logon, choose Windows Logon
   4.       Press OK
   5.       In the Control Panel click the passwords applet
   6.      Click Change Passwords tab.
   7.       Press Change Windows Password button
   8.       Type in your current password and in the Old Password Box.
   9.       Leave both the New Password and Confirm New Password boxes blank
10.       Click OK
11.       Select the User Profile tab and make sure the "All users of this PC use the same preferences and desktop settings" is selected.
12.       Click OK
13.       Restart Windows

Assign a CD-ROM Drive Letter

2008-11-18T02:23:00.000-08:00

Windows identifies each storage medium with a letter. Typically, a CD-ROM drive is assigned the first letter after the last hard drive's letter.

An example of a standard drive-letter scheme might look like this:

	A: Floppy Disk
	B: Second Floppy Disk (optional)
	C: Primary Hard Drive
	D: Secondary Hard Drive (optional)
	E: CD-ROM/CD-R/CD-RW

You can use as many drive letters as there are letters in the alphabet, if you'd like. You can also customize your computer by assigning a letter to a CD-ROM, CD-R, or CD-RW drive, if that letter isn't already assigned elsewhere.

To assign a drive letter to your CD-ROM drive, follow these steps:

Single-click the Start button, mouse-over Settings, single-click the Control Panel, and double-click the System icon.

When the System Properties box opens, select the Device Manager tab and make sure to check the "View devices by type" radio button.

Double-click the CD-ROM icon to expand the list of CD-ROM(s) installed.

When the list expands, double-click the CD-ROM you wish to assign a new letter to.

In the CD-ROM Drive Properties dialog box select the Settings tab.

To change the drive letter, go to the "Reserved drive letter" field.

You can assign a range of letters or a single letter by making the Start and End letters the same.

Select OK when finished making the change.

You must restart your computer to implement the new drive letter.

Tip: Directory Print

2008-11-18T02:21:00.000-08:00

We all have directories that we use all the time -- you know, the ones containing all your favorite files. Even though Windows Explorer doesn't let you do this, we've found a workaround to print this information quickly.

Open your start menu, and select Run.

Type COMMAND /C DIR directory_name>PRN.

Press Enter.

This brings up a list you can easily print out.

For example, if I want a list of every file in my Windows directory, I would type: COMMAND /C DIR C:Windows>PRN.

Tip: Cleaning the Temporary Folder

2008-11-18T02:20:00.000-08:00

Not all files get saved permanently to your hard drive. Internet multimedia files such as audio clips, pictures, and webpages often end up in the Windows temporary folder. Once the folder is full, new files overwrite old files.

If you're running out of storage space or can't get a favorite webpage to display correctly, try cleaning out the temporary folder. Here's how:

Open Internet Explorer

Highlight Tools and select Internet Options.

In Internet Options select the General tab.

In the middle of the General tab is the Temporary Internet files section. Click the Delete Files button.

On the pop-up window that appears checkmark "delete off-line content" and then select OK.

Select OK in the Internet Options dialog box.

You just deleted all content in the temporary folder.

Windows Tip: Auto Hide Taskbar

2008-11-18T02:19:00.000-08:00

You can find the Windows taskbar at the bottom of your screen (unless you've moved it). It stores your start menu, buttons for open programs, system tray icons, and clock. If you have a small monitor, you might want to hide the Windows taskbar to free up valuable monitor real estate.

To auto hide the taskbar, follow these directions:

Right-click any blank portion of your taskbar.

Click on Properties from the menu.

The Taskbar Properties box will appear. On the Taskbar tab check the "Auto hide" box.

Hit the Apply button at the bottom right.

You just selected to auto hide your taskbar. This will make your taskbar disappear until you mouse over its location.