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Invisible Secrets (exe)

Sometimes this tool is very important when you need to protect your EXE files from being captured by firewall or virus scanner, or just prevent unauthorized access.

Invisible Secrets allows you to encrypt and hide files in other files (carriers) which are not suspect of encryption (JPG, PNG, BMP). First, it will encrypt the sensitive data using a specified password and cryptosystem (algorithm). After that, the encrypted data will be inserted in the carrier.

Source: Neobyte Solutions
Size: 1,849KB | Date: Jun 2006 | Version: 2.1 | System Requirements: Windows 98/Me/NT/XP | License: Free

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CitrixWire is a multi-platform Gnutella client with features like auto-connect, browse host, multiple search, upload throttling, connection quality control, library management and sophisticated filtering. It is built for the both the beginner and advanced user.

CitrixWire is an excellent tool that enables you to easily trace those hard-to-find files on the Internet. It operates on the Gnutella file-sharing protocol and returns tens, hundreds, even thousands of hits in heart beat.

All you need to do is just enter your keywords or search phrase to retrieve the results, which are available for download. The friendly tabbed interface lets you monitor upload/download activity, add and remove remote hosts, and connect to remote hosts based on content, connection speed, or locale.
Here are some key features of "CitrixWire": ·

• Most Powerful Version FREE: More Search Results, Faster Downloads, TURBO Acceleration, Better Download Success
• Smart User Interface: Easy to Install & Use, Easy Searches P2P Networks, Easy Sharing
• Search & Enjoy: Free Music Downloads, Free Movies & Videos, Free Games & Software, Free Pictures & Documents Improved Resources: optimizes computer’s performance by lowering CPU usage.
• Faster Transfers: enhanced and more reliable downloads using new methods and technologies.
• Faster Connections - new host support improved for multiple P2P connections on the networks.
• Requirements: Java Runtime 1.6
• internet connection This download is marked as adware because it displays advertisement banners or other type of commercials while running.

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Windows XP Security Assessment Tool

Securing Windows XP is no small task. Like the proverbial Little Dutch Boy, as soon as you stick your finger in one hole in the dike, another leak springs up. In order to completely secure Windows XP, you need to be familiar with all of the different ways it can be attacked and all of the different ways you have to secure it.

The Windows XP Security TechProGuides can help break down the job into small, easy-to-understand bites. This Gap Analysis will help you identify potential problems with security for your Windows XP workstations and identify which TechProGuides may help you address those needs.

The Windows XP Security TechProGuides are freely downloadable as part of a TechProGuild subscription. If you're not already a TechProGuild member, you can purchase TechProGuides individually after assessing your needs with this Gap Analysis.

click here to download the tools

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Speeding Up Network Browsing

There are a lot of things which can negatively impact how fast XP will browse network shares.
One has been previously covered regarding browsing to Win9x computers.

Other things you can try, especially when there is slow browsing to network shares with a lot of files:

1. Remove current shortcuts in My Network Places

2. Change the registry so shared folders on remote computers are not automatically added to My Network Places when you even open a document from that shared folder

1. Start Regedit
2. Create a DWORD value:
3. HKEY_Current_User \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer \ NoRecentDocsNetHood to 1.
4. I have also seen setting the following help as well.
   HKEY_Current_User \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer \ UseDesktopIniCache to 1.

Download Reg file to do both

3. Increase the amount of data is buffered at one time to send to a client. On the computer with the shared directory:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters
3. Create a DWORD Key called SizReqBuf
4. Give it a value of Hex FFFF

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Cut and paste in Windows XP with ClipMate

Windows XP's Clipboard is handy, but it has its limitations. Learn how you can extend Clipboard's capabilities with a utility called ClipMate.

Note:

• This tip applies to both Windows XP Home and Windows XP Professional
• Please click the link to read the article

No Comment | Posted in » Microsoft, Technology, Tips, Tools, Windows XP  

Tweaking Windows XP for Performance, Step 6

FINAL STEP

6. Restart!

Finally after doing all this tweaking you should restart and see how much faster it goes! Another thing I want to mention is to always defrag reguarly or else performance will slowly degrade.

7. New start up times

The results may not seem very impressive, but this IS on a very outdated machines. Your results will differ depending on how fast your machine is. After tweaking XP on my main rig the startup time went from one minute to get to the logon screen to a mere 20 seconds!

8. Last Words

If you don't want MSN Messanger to start at startup simply logon to your accout and go to tools --> options to disable it. If you don't have an account, as it won't let you change the options without first logoning on to an account. Click on the Start Button --> run and type in "regedit", then go to,

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Currentversion\Run

Delete the key that says,

MSMSGS - REG_SZ - "C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe" /background

And Another thing, if you're the only person that uses the computer you can easily disable the fast user switching feature by going to My Computer --> Control Panel --> User Accounts

A new windows will pop up, on the menu to the left click on "Change the way users log on and off" and finally, unselect the "use welcome screen" option --> apply option

9. Conclusion

I hope this guide helped you out and made your computer just a little faster. Because Windows XP comes with so many useless things you can easily disable them to increase performance. The performance isn't with a price though. There won't be any "eye candy", fading folders or menus, previews of pictures and mp3's, and no more Windows Themes. In other words it won't look nice and pretty with all the effects turned off, but it won't really matter once you realize just how much faster things are!

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Tweaking Windows XP for Performance, Step 5

STEP 6

5. Windows Services

One of the most crucial components of Windows. In this section of the guide we'll disable unnecessary servies. I really don't want to explain what each and every service does as it would take quite some time. If you curious here's a link to a fantastic website that's all about Windows services and what each service does, click here. What I'm going to do is list all the services you can safely disable without worrying it'll screw up windows, all the services you should leave at manual, and the services you should always leave at automatic.

A. First of all right click on the My Computer icon and click on Manage, a new window will pop up on the left is the menu, go down click on the plus for "Services and Application" to expand the menu. Last, click on the little icon with the gears named services.

B. To disable a service right click on it's name --> properties. I new window will pop up and with a description of the service, startup type roll down menu, and buttons to stop/start/ pause/resume. Simply select "disable" from the "start up type" menu to disable a service.

C. Services you can safely disable:

*1 = If you only have one computer in your network you can leave this service disabled. If you have more than one computer in your network, at least ONE of the computers in your network must be running this service in order for computers to show up when you go into My Network Places --> Entire Network --> Microsoft Windows Network --> Name of workgroup.

*1b = Needed for verifying updates downloaded from Microsoft (Windows Update, DirectX, Service Packs, etc...)

*2 = If you're using DHCP in your network, leave this service at Automatic.

*3 = If you have more that one person (e.g. family computer) using the computer you'll be tweaking leave this service on automatic.

*4 = Need lots of help? Leave this service on automatic instead of disabled.

*5 = Leave this service on automatic if you like XP's integrated CD burning feature.

*6 = Leave on automatic if you use ICS to share a connection with other computers on your network

*7 = Have a printer? If you do leave this service on automatic or else you won't be able to use your printer at all.

*8 = If you have a removable device in your computer leave this service on automatic.

*9 = Use Smartcards? If so leave both on automatic?

*10 = The psychotic paranoid type who thinks his/her computer is going to die at any minute people should leave this service on automatic.

*11 = If you use Remote Desktop leave at Automatic.

*12 = Leave at automatic if you use a UPS.

*13 = If you have a scanner attached to the computer and use it, leave at automatic

Continued to final step..

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Tweaking Windows XP for Performance, Step 4

STEP 4

4. Getting rid of all the extra programs Windows XP installs

4A. Double click on My computer --> control panel --> Add/remove Programs. To the left of the Add/remove Programs window there are three options, choose the last one "Add/Remove Windows Components"

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Tweaking Windows XP for Performance, Step 3

3. Increasing file system browsing

Another thing XP has changed is the way the folder icons look. It used to be small icons for the all the drives and the controll panel now it's made up of rather large icons that consume their fair share of the system resources.

3A. To prevent the large icons from taking up too much system resources start by clicking on the view button --> list

3B. Next click on the view button again --> status bar.

3C. Double click on my computer, a window will pop up, at the top of the window click on the tools button --> folder options.

A. General tab, you won't need to do anything here.

B. View tab, it's comprised of two sections, folder view and advanced settings. In the advanced sections area start by making sure you have the same settings as listed below,

After you're done checking and unchecking all of of those options, click on apply button at the bottom of the window, then at the top. Click on the "Apply to All Folders" button to apply the same settings to ALL windows folders. Click on the X to close the window. You won't need to do anything else on the other tabs.

Now browsing through the Windows file system should be immensely faster.

Continued to Step 4...

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Tweaking Windows XP for Performance, Step 2

STEP 2

2. Gaining performance through system properties

2A. "Advanced" tab in they system properties window

The first three tabs in system properties you won't need to change, but the third tab called "Advanced" you will. There are some options here you can disable to improve performance. In this tab you'll notice five things you can select: performance, user profiles, start up an recovery, enviromental variables, and error reporting.

A. Select the settings button for the "performance" section and click on the "adjust for best performance option" --> apply --> ok.

B. Select the "Error Reporting" button. Next, select the "diable error reporting" option and uncheck the "but notify me when critical errors" box.

C. The "Remote" tab, uncheck the "Allow Remote Invatations" button, You'll want to turn this feature off for security reasons. If you actually use this feature leave it on.

D. Automatic Updates Tab, Select "Turn off Automatic Updates" option and proceed to next tab.

E. System Restore, You'll want to select the "Turn off System Restore" option. I think this feature is a complete waste of system resources, but for you paranoid psychos out there who think their computer could die at any minute then you can leave this on. Otherwise turn it OFF! It will give you a warning message when you disable it, just click yes when it comes up.

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Enable the Administrator account on the Welcome Screen

Option 1:

• Download and install TweakUI from the Powertoys for Windows XP collection. In the Logon section, you can hide, or make visible, User accounts on the Welcome Screen.

Option 2:

• Click Start, Run and enter REGEDIT Go to:
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList (note that there is a space in the Windows NT). Right click in the right pane and select New, DWord value.
• Give the value the same name as the Username on the Welcome Screen (it must match) for the account you wish to hide/show. Double click the new value and set it to 1 to show the account on the Welcome Screen, or set it to 0 to hide the account.
  Example: Doug is a user on the computer, Doug would be the name you give the new value.

The individual Powertoys for Windows® XP are available here

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How to Changing Drive Letters in Windows XP?

When you add drives to your computer, such as an extra hard drive, a CD drive, or a storage device that corresponds to a drive, Windows automatically assigns letters to the drives. However, this assignment might not suit your system; for example, you might have mapped a network drive to the same letter that Windows assigns to a new drive. When you want to change drive letters, follow these steps:

1. Right-click My Computer, and then click Manage.
2. Under Computer Management, click Disk Management. In the right pane, you’ll see your drives listed. CD-ROM drives are listed at the bottom of the pane.
3. Right-click the drive or device you want to change, and then click Change Drive Letter and Paths.
4. Click Change, click Assign the following drive letter, click the drive letter you want to assign, and then click OK.

You will not be able to change the boot or system drive letter in this manner. Many MS-DOS-based and Windows-based programs make references to a specific drive letter (for example, environment variables). If you modify the drive letter, these programs may not function correctly.

Related article at :http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q307844

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The mouse is Mightier than the Sword

If you are a programmer and love to use windows development tools such as Visual Studio, Now you can get your free copy of Visual Basic 2005 by simply register yourself for LabCast.

Visual Basic is the most productive tool for rapidly creating a wide range of Windows, Web, Mobile, and Office applications built on the .NET Framework.

For a limited time, when you attend two Visual Basic 2005 Labcasts and submit the evaluation form for each session, you will be eligible for a complimentary* copy of Visual Studio 2005 Standard Edition. Interested in leveraging your existing development skills to become more versatile and productive? Attend our new Visual Basic 2005 Labcast Series. Experience for yourself how to turn Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 into a mighty weapon against your development challenges. The Visual Basic 2005 Labcasts make it easy for you to evaluate Visual Basic 2005 in a convenient and virtual environment. Get in-depth training and one-on-one real-time assistance from Visual Basic experts.

Select from six informative labcasts and find out how to develop creative and modern breakthrough applications by combining the power of Visual Basic 6.0 with Visual Basic 2005. You will learn how to:

• Modernize and simplify installation of Visual Basic 6.0 applications
• Add new data-bound forms to Visual Basic 6.0 applications
• Introduce simple background threading to Visual Basic 6.0 applications
• View and edit SQL Server™ data
• Create data-centric Web applications with your Visual Basic desktop development skill
• Keep Microsoft Word documents in sync with your database

No Comment | Posted in » Development, Microsoft, Promosion, Software, Technology, Tools