The confusion over chrome

With the advent of Google’s new applications, the press is abuzz with terminologies such as "cloud computing" and online operating systems. But is this really the future of the web?

Definitely Not!! I read a news article in a major newspaper a few days ago which called Google’s chrome a “revolution” and that it would eventually overtake windows and Linux.. Excuse Me? Is it just me , or can you spot the odd one out of the group too? Heres whats wrong with the article:

Ø First off, chrome is an application, not an OS. To be specific, it’s a browser, just like Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.

Ø Secondly, Chrome needs an OS to run.

Ø Third, the day when chrome will start up as soon as you switch on your PC is still VERY far away.

The very fact that a major newspaper called chrome an OS shows the amount of computer literacy amongst the press. And to think the article came from the associated Press! God knows how many newspapers all over the world published his and how many people believed it!

Does windows get slower with a cluttered desktop?

I didnt believe in this concept until recently. One of my clients asked me this question, and I told him "No, it doesnt". He continued "I think it does!". I later began thinking that there may be more to this than meets the eye. The following article is based on my analysis of the situation.

> The more number of icons on your desktop, the more time it takes for all the icons to be loaded from the icon cache.

> This might be one of the reasons why windows seems to become slow.

> Whenever you exit a game, and return back to desktop, windows refreshes the desktop thereby refreshing the cache.

> Windows doesn't store all its icons in the memory because considering the depth of these icons, there would be no space in the memory left for running applications.

> This is also apparently the reason why a linux machine runs faster than a windows machine, with the same hardware configuration, apart from of course the OS architecture.

Why windows software installs are slower than uninstalls

Put the other way, why are uninstalls faster than installs? Windows was built to just incinerate a directory when its deleted. That is, the directory, or files are just removed from the partition table if you pressed Shift+Del (which it seems, everyone these days is very used to!). When installing, the program has to

>Look up the target drive and check if enough space is available or not.

>Unpack the files onto some temporary location (Most probably C:\windows\Downloaded program installations)

> Extract and copy the files onto the desired location on your installation directory

This is the step that possibly takes up a lot of time because the transfer is happening from the hard disk onto the hard disk as opposed to the transfer happening from some other medium to the hard disk which is atleast, a bit faster. Since the source and the destination of the files are on the same disk, the transfer bus is fully used, and thus the OS seems to get stuck. During this process, if you try to , say play your music collection with winamp, your pc would get stuck because the OS (which is quite a heavy resource consumer), your copy process(also a heavy weight) and your music player are all contending for CPU time. As and when the CPU gets more tasks in its queue, the system starts to become slower, as each task has a degenerating effect on the system, leading to the popular deadlock problem of computer science. When your PC gets locked up, you have to remove all your processes from the CPU queue. The easiest way to do which is to RESTART your computer, which I assume, all of us,windows users do from time to time. :)

>Seek a suitable location in the registry

>Enter keys in the registry


>Delete the temporary files

>Possibly do other tasks such as configure the application for first run
This basically involves the installer entering some values into the applications configuration files to tell the application that the next time the application runs would be its first on this machine.

Firebug – The ultimate tool for the web designer

Many of my friends were saying firebug could do that and firebug could do this. Recently, I decided to see for myself what it could and what it couldn't do. And , I must say I'm very pleased by what I saw. Firebug comes as an add-on with Firefox. Simply visit http://addons.firefox.com and get your firebug add-on. It sits just above your Firefox status bar, making it non – obtrusive and really helpful whenever you need it.

 

But the area where firebug really shines is its ability to highlight elements of the page you are viewing. Just click the "inspect" button on firebug, and wherever you take your mouse on the HTML page, the corresponding markup will be highlighted. This is really useful and priceless for a web page designer because this would save a lot of time and help you learn how someone else has coded his webpage. If you see a nifty CSS trick that you could use, just take your mouse over the element and its corresponding markup would be shown. You would be amazed to know that this works even with Javascript generated content. For example, if you generated a button at runtime. Now if you go into inspect mode, you can see the code for the Javascript that made the button what it is! This way you can get to debug your pages on the fly.

 

Are we all ready for multimedia compression?

If you download pirated games, and warez, youll already be familiar with UWE HERKLOTZs' UHARC. If you arent, look it up on the web. Its the highest ratio compression technology ever! It can compress games of around 1 GB to around 150 MB. Thats why its called multimedia compression in the first place. I havent found songs, and other media compressed with this. I have been using it to compress data that I dont really need right now, and burning such stuff off to DVD's for later use.But you gotta ask, if its such a good compression technology, why wont WinZip or Winrar use this?

>For one, it takes a whole day to bring down 1.5 GB of data to 150 MB, not all of us may be THAT patient.

>It eats up all your processors' bandwidth to do its job.

>Compression sometimes depends on the amount of RAM available. Since Winzip and winrar are used by people who may choose to work on pentium 3's, its not gained importance...yet..

>There is absolutely no guarantee that the output would be the same as the input. Though it works for a majority of the cases, it may fail too.

Opera 9 rocks!

I have been using Opera 9 since my last windows installation, and I must say, Im very impressed.Here are the features and why I liked them :

> The toolbar is better than menus in most browsers.

> Integrated email reader : You get to compose mail and send it, or read other mail without waiting for minutes to login to your inbox. This comes as a boon to many of us Gmail users, as it takes a long time to login. Whats more? You can specify multiple mail accounts to draw your mail from, all within your browser. You will be instantly alerted to any mail in your inbox.

> Opera uses full bandwidth : I have a dial-up connection. Surfing the web was a pain until opera came by. Unlike Internet Explorer, Opera uses my full bandwidth, and thus makes surfing a breeze.

> Built in bit torrent client, download accelerator : Opera can handle downloads and file transfers with ease. whats more? Forget your port forwarding worries if Utorrent conflicts with your firewall, cause opera identifies itself as a browser and thus doesnt get blocked.

> Lots of widgets to choose from.

> Write notes within your browser and set times to get alerted!

> And now, the greatest advantage of all : ITS FREE!!!

Get it here http://opera.com

Are older softwares better than newer ones?

with new versions of photoshop and flash coming out every 2 months, you have got to ask yourself, "Are the newer versions worth my money? Do I really need the newer versions when I have got used to the older ones?".

I recently switched back to photoshop 7 and I must say I have been very efficient with it.I found myself at home with photoshop with 7. The UI is simple and intuitive, and it doesnt take a genius to make out what the "accented edges" filter does.

I have always been a critic of new software, and have always advocated the older ones. Photoshop 7 continues to be the most productive tool in Adobes galleria, as I am told. This goes for windows XP too! How many times have you thought "Man, it really sucks that vista is running so slow on my 2 week old PC" ?

What is the need for you to use newer software when you're god darned efficient with the previous one?

AUTOMATIC UPDATES

Have you updated your computer's anti virus software today?Have you configured your desktop to automatically download and install its security updates?

Presumably, your answer is yes. But there is a problem with many updating systems, as a recent paper by three researchers at the university of Massachusetts makes alarmingly clear.

Many update systems, it seems, are themselves riddled with security vulnerabilities. In the paper, professor Kevin Fu shows that update systems in popular software packages like McAfee VirusScan and Mozilla Firefox can actually be used to take over a computer thats trying to update itself!

The so-called secure update problem is twofold, say the researchers. First and foremost, programs need to have some way of authenticating some their updates to establish their legitimacy. But it is also critically important that programs have an authenticated connection to the update server.

THE CODE'S SOURCE

An authenticated update means that there is some way for the software doing the update to assure itself that the update is an authentic version from the intended source. Without authentication, a clever attacker can arrange for the program doing the update to download and run the exploit instead.

In practice, updates should be authenticated with a digital signature-they should be signed with a private key. The matching public key should be embedded inside the application doing the update. Before the update is run, the application should verify the digital signature. If the nature doesn't verify, the update should be deleted.

The UMass researchers discovered that many programs don't authenticate their updates. This may not be so surprising-lots of software has security vulnerabilities, after all. But what is surprising is that among products that didn't have digitally signed updates were McAfee VirusScan and McAfee Virex, to antivirus, malware programs.

Exploiting the flaw is actually a lot easier than you might think. Most of these unsecured update systems simply goto a web or FTP server, check the time stamp of the most recent file and download the file if it's new enough.

The address of the server is usually hard-coded into the program doing the update, although occasionally it is stored in a configuration file.

To exploit flaw, all the attacker needs to do is send the program doing the update to a server thats run by the attacker. One way to send the program to the wrong site is by using a DNS-based attack.

Though signing updates with a digital signature doesn't prevent hostile code from being downloaded, but it does prevent the code from being run. Unfortunately, this is only half the battle. Even if updates are signed, an attacker capable of intercepting DNS requests or diverting internet traffic can still use an update service to take over an unsuspecting victims computer.

Another way that an attacker can subvert the update process is to run an update server that always responds "No updates today!" clients will then connect, find no update, and disconnect, and never will they know that they have been deceived. A well placed attacker could prevent an entire organization from installing updates for a period of time, then attack all vulnerable machines

Warcraft III screen garbled? Resolution problem?

Is your warcraft III game screen garbled, or reverts to some unknown resolution each time the game starts? Cant see anything on the screen except colored lines?...I have the solution!

I experienced the same problem a while ago, and was jubiliant when I discovered the solution. The method, in 10 steps is as follows :

1. Goto Start -> Run

2. Type "regedit" without quotes. This is to open the registry editor.

3. you would be presented with a screen with 2 panes. The left most pane will have items such as HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT,etc

4. Expand "HKEY_CURRENT_USER", then expand SOFTWARE

5. You should see a key called "Blizzard Entertainment", expand that too

6. Now expand Warcraft III then expand Video

7. We'r almost there!! You should see a series of blue colored keys on the right pane.

8. Double click on reswidth. *Click Decimal* THIS IS IMPORTANT! Then,type in 800

9. Double click on resheight. *Click Decimal* THIS IS IMPORTANT! Then,type in 600

10. We are done now! Go ahead and start the game, the resolution should be fine now. I have demonstrated with 800x600 resolution. You can try it for any resolution you want I have also tried it with 1024x768 and it works!! Just replace 800 by 1024 and 600 by 768. That should do it!

Using your Flash memory as RAM in XP

People have been fascinated by Microsofts idea of using a flash memory as a RAM in its Vista OS. Id say Im not surprised at all! Thats because Ive been doing the same thing with XP for about 2 years now!!! Yes, Ive been using my pen drive as RAM ! I would suggest backing up your XP installation before trying this out. Create a restore point if you can.

Heres how its done:

1. Insert your flash memory, and wait until you can see the icon for it in My Computer.

2. Right Click on My Computer, goto properties.


3. Goto Advanced.

4. Click the first settings button.

5. Select the advanced tab.

6. Click the change button

7. select the flash memory and type in the new size for the paging file (Yes, the amount of RAM you want added), take care this must not exceed the size of the drive.

8. Click the set Button, then the OK button. When asked to restart, do so...and VOILA, your XP got much MUCH faster...you wont find a difference in the amount of RAM displayed, but you'll find a performance gain for sure!

CAUTION: You will have to disable the paging file on the flash memory, before removing the flash memory, failing which, your Windows installation will fail to startup and you'll get the dreaded BSOD!!

Procedure used to recover data from a quick-erased CD-RW disc

1. Make a file of exactly the size of the cdrw disc's capacity (650MB in my case).
(this step may not be needed)

2. With Nero I created a new project and added the file to it so that I have the disc filled. I gues you can also fill up the disc with other files.
The reason why I fill the disc is because I want Nero to make a session that uses the entire disc. Like I wrote earlier in this thread I experienced that my CD-Drive refuses to read off the disc beyond the session's boundaries. When you quick-erase a disc there is no session anymore so the drive will not read at all. Burning a new session will overwrite the data and burning only a small session will NOT make the drive read the other data that is still on the disc.
The reason why I used the one big file is so that I could later on recognize which part of the disc was overwritten by this file because this file contained all zeros (0x00).

3. I pressed burn and selected disc-at-once. Then while Nero was burning the leadin I pressed cancel. My CD-Drive finished writing the lead-in and Nero reported an error.
This is what was accomplished however: Now the disc contains a session that says that the used disc size is the complete disc. Nero did not get to writing file because I cancelled it. Good thing because I don't want Nero to write any files because my old data will get overwritten!
I gues it works the same with different writing software. Another method that I used during a test was simply press the reset button of the computer when the burning software was done with writing the lead-in and started with the files.

4. I had to restart the computer after cancelling burning.
With the cdrw disc inserted I saw in "my computer" that windows recognized that the disc was 650MB, clicking on it gave an error. Good so far!

Now with IsoBuster you can extract the sectors from a disc to a file. This is what I did.
I gues that if you have data-recovery software at this point it will be usefull because now (if all went well;)) the CD-Drive WILL read data from the entire disc. Anyway, I used ISO-Buster because the files that I needed to recover where a bit odd for nowadays (.XM, .S3M, .MP3):
In IsoBuster I had to do several steps:

Step 1: Find out from and to which sector the drive will read
By choosing "Sector View" you can look at any given sector.
Here I found out what the first and the last sectors where that are readable. (Hint I used the method for the old game: "Gues a number below 100, I'll tell if it is higher or lower than what you gues")
Step 2: Extract the actual sectors
By choosing "Extract From-To" you can extract any given range of sectors to a file. My disc was a data-disc so I choose the first extraction type "User data, 2048 bytes/block...".

In the end I got a .tao file which was about 650MB. I ran several programs on it to look for files inside a file by searching for file-header-paterns:
1. Multi Ripper 2.80 (for DOS, for the .XM files. It does many other file formats as well (jpg,png, bmp,wav,etc,etc +100). Try google with this query: Multi Ripper 2.80. I still had the file from good old days but I saw several good search results)

2. Winamp for mp3.
Winamp will scan any file when you give it the extension .mp3 and play it as one big song (so I renamed the .tao file to .mp3). I used the discwriter to get a .wav and the Adobe Audition to manually cut and save my songs. I looked at the MP3 file format and it is hard to find an mp3 file in a big file because it has no clear header just a bunch of mpeg-frames in most cases for me . A lot of my files had no ID3v2 or ID3v1 tags... But after a couple of hours I recovered everything.

Finally a list of used stuff:

Software:
- IsoBuster v1.5
- Nero 6.3.0.3
- Multi Ripper 2.80
- WinAmp v5.02
- Windows XP Pro NL (patched up)

Hardware:
- NEC DVDRW ND1300A 1.06

Disc:
- some old 4 speed cdrw

Convert Stubborn Webpage To .pdf

I have come across some websites that i wanted to save the page for later review. I found that i was having some problems with certain sites. I found a way around it.

what you need:adobe acrobat 6 pro or better
popupcop

there may be a simpler way to do this but i found that this works:

when at a webpage that you want to copy (YOU MUST BE USING IE AND HAVE BOTH POPUPCOP INSTALLED AND ADOBE ACROBAT 6 PRO OR HIGHER, ACROBAT ICON MUST BE IN IE TOOLBAR TO CONVERT TO .PDF), slide popupcops popup intensity bar to the far left, now click on adobe acrobat icon to convert webpage to .pdf document. I have yet to find a webpage where this trick does not work.

Outsmarting System File Protection

Tested in Windows 2000 sp2, Windows 2000 sp3 with and without IE6 sp1. Should work fine in XP and XPsp1

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

A lot of people are having troubles with System File Protection (SFP for short). This can be a major pain in the butt unless you know the tricks to it. Having only tweaked Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 I figured out a few things about SFP and replacing files:

1) TaskManger is your best friend when replacing files in 2k/XP.
When you open task manager you can do just about as much as you can do with Explorer just by going File>NewTask(Run..). From here you can either use the Run Dialog to launch programs one at a time, or select 'Browse' and explore. Using right click menu commands to do the bulk of your work (Copy, Paste, Rename). Problem is often times you can't replace items do to the fact that your browse is making calls to things you want to delete.

2) CommandLine or Cmd.exe is like that other friend you have that likes to help out.
One plus this has over TaskMan is you don't use the file you are trying to replace. A minus is that it can be a pain if you aren't an experienced DOS user.

3) Backups are your ace in the hole.
Always back your files up prior to doing anything (sometimes I don't bother and wish I did.). Keep It Simple Stupid applies here. Save yourself a few keystrokes and place your backups in something like C:\back\

4) SafeMode is the rest of the hand.
Windows2000 and XP (I believe) can both be booted into SafeMode. When your computer is first booting up, after your bios screen but before the Windows is Starting screen (I could be slightly wrong here seeing how I don't know the timing for sure.) you hit F4 or F8 to get the SafeMode menu. Select 'SafeMode with CommandPrompt'. Welcome to "DOS" on 2k/XP. Anything that can't be replaced while Windows is running can be replaced here. (url.dll) Syntax would be Copy c:\url.dll "c:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\" quotations allow you to put spaces in the path (I didn't know this)

...

Here we go. System File Protection, of Sytem File Checker is a neato feature of Windows meant to protect Joe Computeruser's PC from being ruined. When a needed System file is being replaced your File Checker says "Wait a minute this isn't mine." While this can be great in the long run, it's not a positive thing in Windows Hacking. The trick is to replace the files it uses to replace files.

...

1) First up you need to find the file you want to hack and then replace. Start>Search>Files and Folders>dllname. It's good to actually search for the file so you can find out all of the locations of all copies. Let the search finish just in case. If you have installed any service packs you will have probably have copies of the file in:

\winnt\servicepackfiles\i386\ (Win2k)
\windows\servicepackfiles\i386\ (XP)

As well as:

\winnt\system32\dllcache\ (hidden folder in Win2k)
\WINDOWS\system32\dllcache\ (hidden folder in XP)
\winnt\system32\ (win2k)
\windows\system32\ (XP)

2) Now that you have all of the locations, write them down on paper or your forehead just to be safe (backwards so it shows up in the mirror).

3) Make a backup (remember K.I.S.S.)

4) Hack your file and save it c:\ for simplicity.

5) Open TaskManger (Right click on your taskbar and select TaskManger)

6) Go to the 'Processes' Tab and find 'Explorer.exe' highlight it and push the 'End Process' button. Say Yeah to the popup.

7) Go to the first tab in TaskManger and select 'File>NewTask>Run>Browse' from this Window navigate to c:\ and higlight your hacked file. Right clic on it and select 'Copy' (don't Cut it.)

8) Nagivate to your Windows directory, open the \servicepackfiles\i386\ folder. Paste your hacked file and replace the copy that is in that folder.

9) Navigate to your respective dllcache folder, paste the file there too.

10) Replace the normail copy in system32 finally (or wherever it might be).

11) Reboot. Don't LogOff , Reboot.

Now chances are this won't go that smoothly. Either the file you want to replace is in use, or your pal and mine SFP will pop-up. It can mess with you in odd ways. I've replaced the servicepackfiles version and the dllcache files, then had SFP grab the normal and replace the other two with it. This can be frustrating. Or maybe the file is in use. This is where the Command Prompt comes into play. If you already replaced the files and rebooted to no change, launch TaskMan again, kill explorer.exe, then go 'File>NewTask>Run>Cmd.exe' Use the DOS commands to try to replace all of the copies of the file in that order using your hacked version in C:\

This is usually where you get the message from SFP telling you it's alive and kicking. You will get a rather urgent looking pop-up telling you that a file that Windows needs is being replaced by a different file. It will then ask you if you want keep the modified files. Say 'yes'. Next it will prompt you to insert your Windows cd to retrieve a copy of the file it needs. Click 'Cancel'. As a good rule of thumb, when you get this message replace what you need then reboot!

If your file still isn't changing, boot into SafeMode with CommandLine. Wait for Windows to take it's sweet time loading. Then just type copy c:\file.dll c:\winnt\servicepackfiles\i386\. Rinse and Repeat. Then reboot. This has worked for me 100% of the time, if followed it will work for you as well.

http://pixelarmy.org

10 Fast and Free Security Enhancements

Before you spend a dime on security, there are many precautions you can take that will protect you against the most common threats.

1. Check Windows Update and Office Update regularly (_http://office.microsoft.com/productupdates); have your Office CD ready. Windows Me, 2000, and XP users can configure automatic updates. Click on the Automatic Updates tab in the System control panel and choose the appropriate options.

2. Install a personal firewall. Both SyGate (_www.sygate.com) and ZoneAlarm (_www.zonelabs.com) offer free versions.


3. Install a free spyware blocker. Our Editors' Choice ("Spyware," April 22) was SpyBot Search & Destroy (_http://security.kolla.de). SpyBot is also paranoid and ruthless in hunting out tracking cookies.

4. Block pop-up spam messages in Windows NT, 2000, or XP by disabling the Windows Messenger service (this is unrelated to the instant messaging program). Open Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Services and you'll see Messenger. Right-click and go to Properties. Set Start-up Type to Disabled and press the Stop button. Bye-bye, spam pop-ups! Any good firewall will also stop them.

5. Use strong passwords and change them periodically. Passwords should have at least seven characters; use letters and numbers and have at least one symbol. A decent example would be f8izKro@l. This will make it much harder for anyone to gain access to your accounts.

6. If you're using Outlook or Outlook Express, use the current version or one with the Outlook Security Update installed. The update and current versions patch numerous vulnerabilities.

7. Buy antivirus software and keep it up to date. If you're not willing to pay, try Grisoft AVG Free Edition (Grisoft Inc., w*w.grisoft.com). And doublecheck your AV with the free, online-only scanners available at w*w.pandasoftware.com/activescan and _http://housecall.trendmicro.com.

8. If you have a wireless network, turn on the security features: Use MAC filtering, turn off SSID broadcast, and even use WEP with the biggest key you can get. For more, check out our wireless section or see the expanded coverage in Your Unwired World in our next issue.

9. Join a respectable e-mail security list, such as the one found at our own Security Supersite at _http://security.ziffdavis.com, so that you learn about emerging threats quickly and can take proper precautions.

10. Be skeptical of things on the Internet. Don't assume that e-mail "From:" a particular person is actually from that person until you have further reason to believe it's that person. Don't assume that an attachment is what it says it is. Don't give out your password to anyone, even if that person claims to be from "support."

Open Windows Explorer to a Different Default Directory

When you open Windows Explorer (by choosing the Window key and "E" simultaneously or by choosing Start, all Programs, Accessories, Windows Explorer), you can change the directory that appears by default. If you choose Start, all Programs, Accessories, and then right-click on Windows Explorer and choose Properties, you can modify the "Target" directory. To go to your C: drive, type simply C:\ in the Target box and choose OK. You can also enter a shortcut key on this screen, telling Windows the character or combination of characters you want to type to automatically open Windows Explorer. You can even change the icon or specify that you always want Explorer to open up in full-screen mode.

Border And Text Effects In Psp8, For use with PSP8

Do you want to jazz up your graphics? Want to add a bit of pazazz to your art? Well, this guide features some knowledge, border effects, and even directions to make your own swirlie brushes!

Now, open PSP and get ready to learn! Let's start off with the basics.

-------------------------------------------------
-Border Effects

There are two main types of borders, solid borders, and decorative borders. A solid border is like a colored line that raps around the outside of your image and separates graphics from the rest of the page. You can have borders inside the outside borders to make awesome layer effects. Decorative borders are almost the same, except they are not completely connected. (Example - Dashed Borders)
-------------------------------------------------
Dashed Borders
Open PSP and create an image about 380 x 100 pixels with a white background.

Draw a bit with your paintbrush, just add some color. Now maximize your image.

It should take up the whole page. Now go up to the toolbar on the very top and click "Selections" and go down right below that and click "Select All" There should be a dotted line going around the outside of your image.

We're almost done! YAY! Ok, now look on your keyboard. Go to the very top row next to the F1, F2, F3, F4, and look to the right of the F12 button. It should say "Print Screen". Press it, and it will take a picture of everything currently open on your computer that you can see. Now go to the top toolbar once one. Go under "Edit", move down to "Paste", then move your mouse to the right and select "Paste as New Image"

Now, your image has a dashed border, but you can see all the unwanted parts of your workspace. So go to the left toolbar and click the crop tool. It is the small square with a line through it.

Now drag the segment the crop tool makes just around the image. You might want to zoom in some (Click the magnifying glass on the left toolbar on the spot you want to zoom in). Once you have it fully outlined with the crop segment, double-click to crop it. Wallah! Your image now has a dashed border. So just go to the top toolbar once again, go under "File" and click "Save As". Then, select the spot and name to save it.

-------------------------------------------------
-Font Suggestions and Styles

So you know how to make a cool border for your images. Now what about fonts? Well usually, for siggies, you would put a bigger font saying their name, and a smaller font with sub-text. Look at my signature:



See how it says "Anonymous" in a large font that matches the background; then under it, it says "SOD's coolest member" (my sub-text) in a smaller font? That's the usual format for text on signatures. Of couse, this isn't the only way.

Now, for some font suggestions:

Larger Fonts
Laurenscript
Baby Kruffy (This one is awesome!)
Casual
Chick
Cheri
Walt Disney
Mullet
Dolphins (yippee!)
Jelly Belly
Flubber
Porky's
Gilligan's Island
Cheeseburger

Smaller Fonts
Redensek
Mullet
Georgia
Acknowledge
Tahoma

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

Helpful Links


http://peachie.nu
(a few popups though)

Font Places


http://www.dafont.com/en/
http://www.1001freefonts.com/
http://www.fontfreak.com/
http://www.acidfonts.com/

Auto End Tasks to Enable a Proper Shutdown

This reg file automatically ends tasks and timeouts that prevent programs from shutting down and clears the Paging File on Exit.

1. Copy the following (everything in the box) into notepad.


QUOTE
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management]
"ClearPageFileAtShutdown"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop]
"AutoEndTasks"="1"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control]
"WaitToKillServiceTimeout"="1000"


2. Save the file as shutdown.reg
3. Double click the file to import into your registry.

NOTE: If your anti-virus software warns you of a "malicious" script, this is normal if you have "Script Safe" or similar technology enabled.

Boot Winxp Fast

Follow the following steps

1. Open notepad.exe, type "del c:\windows\prefetch\ntosboot-*.* /q" (without the quotes) & save as "ntosboot.bat" in c:\
2. From the Start menu, select "Run..." & type "gpedit.msc".
3. Double click "Windows Settings" under "Computer Configuration" and double click again on "Shutdown" in the right window.
4. In the new window, click "add", "Browse", locate your "ntosboot.bat" file & click "Open".
5. Click "OK", "Apply" & "OK" once again to exit.
6. From the Start menu, select "Run..." & type "devmgmt.msc".
7. Double click on "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers"
8. Right click on "Primary IDE Channel" and select "Properties".
9. Select the "Advanced Settings" tab then on the device or 1 that doesn't have 'device type' greyed out select 'none' instead of 'autodetect' & click "OK".
10. Right click on "Secondary IDE channel", select "Properties" and repeat step 9.
11. Reboot your computer.

PC Maintenance Guide

"Take good care of your PC, and it will take good care of you."

It's a nice sentiment, but reality is more like "Take good care of your PC, and it won't crash, lose your data, and cost you your job--probably." Follow these steps to stop PC problems before they stop you.

Your PC's two mortal enemies are heat and moisture. Excess heat accelerates the deterioration of the delicate circuits in your system. The most common causes of overheating are dust and dirt: Clogged vents and CPU cooling fans can keep heat-dissipating air from moving through the case, and even a thin coating of dust or dirt can raise the temperature of your machine's components.

Any grime, but especially the residue of cigarette smoke, can corrode exposed metal contacts. That's why it pays to keep your system clean, inside and out.

If your PC resides in a relatively clean, climate-controlled environment, an annual cleaning should be sufficient. But in most real-world locations, such as dusty offices or shop floors, your system may need a cleaning every few months.

All you need are lint-free wipes, a can of compressed air, a few drops of a mild cleaning solution such as Formula 409 or Simple Green in a bowl of water, and an antistatic wrist strap to protect your system when you clean inside the case.

Think Outside the Box

Before you get started cleaning, check around your PC for anything nearby that could raise its temperature (such as a heating duct or sunshine coming through a window). Also clear away anything that might fall on it or make it dirty, such as a bookcase or houseplants.

Always turn off and unplug the system before you clean any of its components. Never apply any liquid directly to a component. Spray or pour the liquid on a lint-free cloth, and wipe the PC with the cloth.

Clean the case: Wipe the case and clear its ventilation ports of any obstructions. Compressed air is great for this, but don't blow dust into the PC or its optical and floppy drives. Keep all cables firmly attached to their connectors on the case.

Maintain your mechanical mouse: When a nonoptical mouse gets dirty, the pointer moves erratically. Unscrew the ring on the bottom of the unit and remove the ball. Then scrape the accumulated gunk off the two plastic rollers that are set 90 degrees apart inside the ball's housing.

Keep a neat keyboard: Turn the keyboard upside down and shake it to clear the crumbs from between the keys. If that doesn't suffice, blast it (briefly) with compressed air. If your keys stick or your keyboard is really dirty, pry the keys off for easier cleaning. Computer shops have special tools for removing keys, but you can also pop them off by using two pencils with broken tips as jumbo tweezers--just be sure to use a soft touch.

Make your monitor sparkle: Wipe the monitor case and clear its vents of obstructions, without pushing dust into the unit. Clean the screen with a standard glass cleaner and a lint-free cloth. If your monitor has a degauss button (look for a small magnet icon), push it to clear magnetic interference. Many LCDs can be cleaned with isopropyl alcohol; check with your LCD manufacturer. Wipe your LCD lightly: The underlying glass is fragile.

Check your power protection: Reseat the cables plugged into your surge protector. Check the unit's warning indicator, if it has one. Surge protectors may power your PC even after being compromised by a voltage spike (making your system susceptible to a second spike). If your power protector doesn't have a warning indicator and your area suffers frequent power outages, replace it with one that has such an indicator and is UL 1449 certified.

Swipe your CD and DVD media: Gently wipe each disc with a moistened, soft cloth. Use a motion that starts at the center of the disc and then moves outward toward the edge. Never wipe a disc in a circular motion.

Inside the Box

Before cracking open the case, turn off the power and unplug your PC. Ground yourself before you touch anything inside to avoid destroying your circuitry with a static charge. If you don't have a grounding wrist strap, you can ground yourself by touching any of various household objects, such as a water pipe, a lamp, or another grounded electrical device. Be sure to unplug the power cord before you open the case.

Use antistatic wipes to remove dust from inside the case. Avoid touching any circuit-board surfaces. Pay close attention to the power-supply fan, as well as to the case and to CPU fans, if you have them. Spray these components with a blast of compressed air to loosen dust; but to remove the dust rather than rearrange it, you should use a small vacuum.

If your PC is more than four years old, or if the expansion cards plugged into its motherboard are exceptionally dirty, remove each card, clean its contacts with isopropyl alcohol, and reseat it. If your system is less than a couple years old, however, just make sure each card is firmly seated by pressing gently downward on its top edge while not touching its face. Likewise, check your power connectors, EIDE connectors, and other internal cables for a snug fit.

While you have the case open, familiarize yourself with the CMOS battery on the motherboard. For its location, check the motherboard manual. If your PC is more than four or five years old, the CMOS battery may need to be replaced. (A system clock that loses time is one indicator of a dying CMOS battery.)

Look for Trouble

Give your PC a periodic checkup with a good hardware diagnostic utility. Two excellent choices are Sandra Standard from SiSoftware and #1-TuffTest-Lite from #1-PC Diagnostics. Download the free version of Sandra (the full version of the application costs $35) or to download #1-TuffTest-Lite (the fully functional version is $10).

Sandra Standard:
CODE
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,4005,tk,ur,00.asp


#1-TuffTest-Lite:
CODE
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,7725,tk,ur,00.asp


Adding and removing system components leaves orphaned entries in the Windows Registry. This can increase the time your PC takes to boot and can slow system performance. Many shareware utilities are designed to clean the Registry.

Windows stores files on a hard drive in rows of contiguous segments, but over time the disk fills and segments become scattered, so they take longer to access. To keep your drive shipshape, run Windows' Disk Defragmenter utility. Click Start, Programs (All Programs in XP), Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter. If your drive is heavily fragmented, you could boost performance. Defragging may take hours, however. Disable your screen saver and other automatic programs beforehand to keep the defrag from restarting every few minutes.

Disk Defragmenter won't defragment the file on your hard drive that holds overflow data from system memory (also known as the swap file). Since the swap file is frequently accessed, defragmenting it can give your PC more pep. You can defragment your swap file by using a utility such as the SpeedDisk program included with Norton SystemWorks 2004, but there's a way to reset it in Windows.

In Windows XP, right-click My Computer and choose Properties. Click Advanced, and then choose the Settings button under Performance. Click Advanced again and the Change button under Virtual Memory. Select another drive or partition, set your swap file size, and click OK.

If you have only one partition and no way to create a second one, and you have at least 256MB of RAM, disable the swap file rather than moving it: Select "No paging file" in the Virtual Memory settings. If you have trouble booting, start Windows in Safe Mode and re-enable this option.

Hard-Drive Checkup
Windows XP offers a rudimentary evaluation of your hard disk's health with its error-checking utility: Right-click the drive's icon in Windows Explorer and select Properties, Tools, Check Now. (Windows can fix errors and recover bad sectors automatically if you wish.) If the check discovers a few file errors, don't worry, but if it comes up with hundreds of errors, the drive could be in trouble.

To conduct a more thorough examination, download Panterasoft's free HDD Health utility, which monitors hard-drive performance and warns of impending disaster:
CODE
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,22945,tk,ur,00.asp


The program works only with drives that support S.M.A.R.T technology, but nearly all drives released since 2000 are S.M.A.R.T.-compliant.

Many hardware and software designers humbly assume you want their program running on your PC all the time, so they tell Windows to load the application at startup (hence, the ever-growing string of icons in your system tray). These programs eat up system resources and make hardware conflicts and compatibility problems more likely. To prevent them from launching, just click Start, Run, type "msconfig" and press Enter. The programs listed under the Startup tab are set to start along with Windows. Uncheck the box at the left of each undesirable program to prevent it from starting automatically.

Four Tips for Longer PC Life

1. Keep your PC in a smoke-free environment. Tobacco smoke can damage delicate contacts and circuits.

2. Leave your PC running. Powering up from a cold state is one of the most stressful things you can do to your system's components. If you don't want to leave your PC running all the time, use Windows' Power Management settings to put your machine into hibernation rather than completely shutting down. In Windows XP, right-click the desktop and select Properties. Click the Screen Saver tab and select the Power button. Choose the Hibernate tab to ensure that hibernation is enabled, and then select a time beneath "System hibernates" under the Power Schemes tab. (Note that this option is not available on all PCs.) Computers running older versions of Windows may or may not provide similar power-management features. Look under the Power Management icon (Power Options in Windows 2000) in Control Panel to evaluate your machine's capabilities.

3. Don't leave your monitor running. The best way to extend your display's life is to shut it off when it's not in use.

4. Avoid jostling the PC. Whenever you move your system, even if it's just across the desktop, make sure the machine is shut down and unplugged.

All mIRC Commands

/ Recalls the previous command entered in the current window.
/! Recalls the last command typed in any window.
/action {action text} Sends the specifed action to the active channel or query window.
/add [-apuce] {filename.ini} Loads aliases, popups, users, commands, and events.
/ame {action text} Sends the specifed action to all channels which you are currently on.
/amsg {text} Sends the specifed message to all channels which you are currently on.
/auser {level} {nick|address} Adds a user with the specified access level to the remote users
list.
/auto [on|off|nickname|address] Toggles auto-opping of a nick or address or sets it on or off
totally.
/away {away message} Sets you away leave a message explaining that you are not currently paying
attention to IRC.
/away Sets you being back.
/ban [#channel] {nickname} [type] Bans the specified nick from the curent or given channel.
/beep {number} {delay} Locally beeps 'number' times with 'delay' in between the beeps. /channel
Pops up the channel central window (only works in a channel).
/clear Clears the entire scrollback buffer of the current window.
/ctcp {nickname} {ping|finger|version|time|userinfo|clientinfo} Does the given ctcp request on
nickname.
/closemsg {nickname} Closes the query window you have open to the specified nick.
/creq [ask | auto | ignore] Sets your DCC 'On Chat request' settings in DCC/Options.
/dcc send {nickname} {file1} {file2} {file3} ... {fileN} Sends the specified files to nick.
/dcc chat {nickname} Opens a dcc window and sends a dcc chat request to nickname.
/describe {#channel} {action text} Sends the specifed action to the specified channel window.
/dde [-r] {service} {topic} {item} [data] Allows DDE control between mIRC and other
applications.
/ddeserver [on [service name] | off] To turn on the DDE server mode, eventually with a given
service name.
/disable {#groupname} De-activates a group of commands or events.
/disconnect Forces a hard and immediate disconnect from your IRC server. Use it with care.
/dlevel {level} Changes the default user level in the remote section.
/dns {nickname | IP address | IP name} Uses your providers DNS to resolve an IP address.
/echo [nickname|#channel|status] {text} Displays the given text only to YOU on the given place
in color N.
/enable {#groupname} Activates a group of commands or events.
/events [on|off] Shows the remote events status or sets it to listening or not.
/exit Forces mIRC to closedown and exit.
/finger Does a finger on a users address.
/flood [{numberoflines} {seconds} {pausetime}] Sets a crude flood control method.
/fsend [on|off] Shows fsends status and allows you to turn dcc fast send on or off.
/fserve {nickname} {maxgets} {homedirectory} [welcome text file] Opens a fileserver.
/guser {level} {nick} [type] Adds the user to the user list with the specified level and
address type.
/help {keyword} Brings up the Basic IRC Commands section in the mIRC help file.
/ignore [on|off|nickname|address] Toggles ignoring of a nick or address or sets it on or off
totally.
/invite {nickname} {#channel} Invites another user to a channel.
/join {#channel} Makes you join the specified channel.
/kick {#channel} {nickname} Kicks nickname off a given channel.
/list [#string] [-min #] [-max #] Lists all currently available channels, evt. filtering for
parameters.
/log [on|off] Shows the logging status or sets it on or off for the current window.
/me {action text} Sends the specifed action to the active channel or query window.
/mode {#channel|nickname} [[+|-]modechars [parameters]] Sets channel or user modes.
/msg {nickname} {message} Send a private message to this user without opening a query window.
/names {#channel} Shows the nicks of all people on the given channel.
/nick {new nickname} Changes your nickname to whatever you like.
/notice {nick} {message} Send the specified notice message to the nick.
/notify [on|off|nickname] Toggles notifying you of a nick on IRC or sets it on or off totally.
/onotice [#channel] {message} Send the specified notice message to all channel ops.
/omsg [#channel] {message} Send the specified message to all ops on a channel.
/part {#channel} Makes you leave the specified channel.
/partall Makes you leave all channels you are on.
/ping {server address} Pings the given server. NOT a nickname.
/play [-c] {filename} [delay] Allows you to send text files to a window.
/pop {delay} [#channel] {nickname} Performs a randomly delayed +o on a not already opped nick.
/protect [on|off|nickname|address] Toggles protection of a nick or address or sets it on or off
totally.
/query {nickname} {message} Open a query window to this user and send them the private message.
/quit [reason] Disconnect you from IRC with the optional byebye message.
/raw {raw command} Sends any raw command you supply directly to the server. Use it with care!!
/remote [on|off] Shows the remote commands status or sets it to listening or not.
/rlevel {access level} Removes all users from the remote users list with the specified access
level.
/run {c:\path\program.exe} [parameters] Runs the specified program, evt. with parameters.
/ruser {nick[!]|address} [type] Removes the user from the remote users list.
/save {filename.ini} Saves remote sections into a specified INI file.
/say {text} Says whatever you want to the active window.
/server [server address [port] [password]] Reconnects to the previous server or a newly
specified one.
/sound [nickname|#channel] {filename.wav} {action text} Sends an action and a fitting sound.
/speak {text} Uses the external text to speech program Monologue to speak up the text.
/sreq [ask | auto | ignore] Sets your DCC 'On Send request' settings in DCC/Options.
/time Tells you the time on the server you use.
/timer[N] {repetitions} {interval in seconds} {command} [| {more commands}] Activates a timer.
/topic {#channel} {newtopic} Changes the topic for the specified channel.
/ulist [{|}]{level} Lists all users in the remote list with the specified access levels.
/url [-d] Opens the URL windows that allows you to surf the www parallel to IRC.
/uwho [nick] Pops up the user central with information about the specified user.
/who {#channel} Shows the nicks of all people on the given channel.
/who {*address.string*} Shows all people on IRC with a matching address.
/whois {nickname} Shows information about someone in the status window.
/whowas {nickname} Shows information about someone who -just- left IRC.
/wavplay {c:\path\sound.wav} Locally plays the specified wave file.
/write [-cidl] {filename} [text] To write the specified text to a .txt file.

MoViEBoT #xdcc-help /server irc.atomic-irc.net