1 comment

XP Secrets - All Secrets Hidden In Windows XP

Windows XP is an operating system that was produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, and media centers. It was first released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, and is the most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base. The name "XP" is short for "eXPerience.




Did you know that XP has some secrets? In another words, Easter Eggs! (A hidden message or feature in an application) This guide covers unknown features in Windows XP, some are carryovers from older versions of Windows, all were tested in Windows XP only. Windows XP is still supported by Microsoft through April 8, 2014.



Windows XP Application Secrets


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


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


IExpress
Secret: Hidden Install Creator
Instructions: Go to StartRun, type iexpress




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


MS-DOS Editor
Secret: Hidden Text Editor
Instructions: Go to StartRun, type edit




Notes: Windows XP comes with another text editor besides Notepad - it's called the MS-DOS Editor, and it's commonly referred to simply as Edit. It has features similar to Notepad, as well as additional features such as the ability to work with multiple text files and change the background and text colors.


NetMeeting
Secret: Hidden Internet Conference Application
Instructions: Go to StartRun, type conf




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


Notepad
Secret 1: Create a Log File
Instructions: Launch Notepad, Type .LOG on the first line, and then press Enter to move to the next line. On the File menu, click Save As, type a descriptive name for your file in the File name box, and then click OK. When you next open the file, note that the date and time have been appended to the end of the log, immediately preceding the place where new text can be added. You can use this functionality to automatically add the current date and time to each log entry.


Secret 2: Bush!
Instructions: Launch Notepad and type the following sentence: Bush hid the facts Now save the file as anything you like, close it and open it again. What do you see?




If you did this in Windows XP, you probably see some weird unicode characters or Chinese characters like in the screenshot above.


Notes: The explanation for this bug lies in the Windows function ‘IsTextUnicode’. When a text file is encoded in Windows-1252 it is interpreted as UTF-16LE, resulting in the so-called mojibake. It means that Notepad recognizes unicode characters representing Chinese characters and translates them back into Chinese characters.


This is an encoding issue, any combination of characters in the same order 4-3-3-5 will cause the same problem.


Reality: "Notepad makes a best guess of which encoding to use when confronted with certain short strings of characters that lack special prefixes. The encodings that do not have special prefixes and which are still supported by Notepad are the traditional ANSI encoding (i.e., "plain ASCII") and the Unicode (little-endian) encoding with no BOM. When faced with a file that lacks a special prefix, Notepad is forced to guess which of those two encodings the file actually uses. The function that does this work is IsTextUnicode, which studies a chunk of bytes and does some statistical analysis to come up with a guess. Sometimes it guesses wrong and displays random characters after you save and open the file. Any combination of characters in the same order 4-3-3-5 will cause the same problem: "Bill lie and cheat" "this app can break", "hhhh hhh hhh hhhhh", "this isa bug dummy" ect..."


Paint
Secret 1: Image Trails
Instructions: Open an image and hold down Shift then drag the image around to create an image trail.


Secret 2: 10x Zoom
Instructions: Open an image and select the magnifying glass icon. Left-Click exactly on the line below the 8x.


Private Character Editor
Secret: Hidden Font Editor
Instructions: Go to StartRun, type eudcedit




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


Windows Chat
Secret: Hidden Windows Chat Program
Instructions: Go to StartRun, type winchat




Notes: You can use Windows Chat on your computer to communicate with someone on another computer. Both computers must be connected to the same network (for example, a local area network [LAN] or the Internet). Also, each computer must be running a similar protocol, such as TCP/IP.


Windows Media Player 5.1
Secret: Hidden Windows Media Player
Instructions: Go to StartRun, type mplay32




Windows Media Player 6.4
Secret: Hidden Windows Media Player
Instructions: Go to StartRun, type mplayer2




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


Windows XP Game Secrets


FreeCell
Secret 1: Instant Win
Instructions: Hold down Ctrl + Shift + F10 during game play. Then you will be asked if you want to Abort,Retry or Ignore. Choose Abort, then move any card to instantly win! See below screenshot:




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




Hearts
Secret: Show All Cards
Instructions: Go to StartRun, Type: RegeditOK. Edit this registry key:


HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Hearts


Right click on the Hearts folder, select NewString Value and name it ZB. Right-click on ZB, select Modify and enter a Value Data of 42OK and close Regedit. Start Hearts (not Internet Hearts). Once in a game PressCtrl + Alt + Shift + F12 to show all the cards. See following screenshot.




Minesweeper
Secret 1: Reveal Mines
Instructions: Minimize or close all running applications. Launch Minesweeper, then type xyzzy. Next hold down either shift key for one second. Now when you move the mouse cursor over a Minesweeper square you will see a tiny white pixel in the top left corner of your desktop screen. This pixel will change to black when your mouse moves over a mine. You may need to change you desktop background to a solid color other than white or black to see the pixel.


Secret 2: Stop Timer
Instructions: Launch Minesweeper and start a game so the timer starts counting, then press the Windows Key + D to show the desktop. Now when you select minesweeper from the taskbar you can continue playing with the timer stopped.


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


Secret 2: Gravity Well
Instructions: Type gmax at the start of a new game to activate the Gravity Well.


Secret 3: Instant Promotion
Instructions: Type rmax at the start of a new game to go up in ranks.


Secret 4: Skill Shot
Instructions: Launch the ball partially up the chute past the third yellow light bar so it falls back down to get 75,000 points. There are six yellow light bars that are worth a varying amount of points:


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


Secret 5: Test Mode
Instructions: Type hidden test at the start of a new ball to activate Test Mode. No notification will be given that this is activated but you can now left-click the mouse button and drag the ball around. While in test mode press the following keys for more secrets:




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


Secret 6: Unlimited Balls
Instructions: Type bmax at the start of a new ball. No notification will be given that this is activated but when a ball is lost a new ball will appear from the yellow wormhole indefinitely. Once this is activated you will be unable to activate other secrets without restarting the game.


Solitaire
Secret 1: Instant Win
Instructions: Press Alt + Shift + 2 during game play to instantly win.


Secret 2: Draw single cards in a Draw Three game
Instructions: Hold down CTRL + ALT + SHIFT while drawing a new card. Instead of drawing three cards you will only draw one.


Windows XP OS Secrets


Add/Remove
Secret: Hidden Uninstall Options
Instructions: (Warning: Proceed at your own risk!) Browse to C:\Windows\inf\ and make a backup copy ofsysoc.inf. Then open the original file C:\Windows\inf\sysoc.inf in notepad. Go to "Edit" and select "Replace". In "Find what:" type ,hide and in "Replace with:" type , then select "Replace All", save and close the file. Go to the "Control Panel", "Add/Remove", select "Add/Remove Windows Components". You will now see many more Windows components to uninstall. Do not remove anything with no label or that you do not recognize or fully understand what it does. Doing so can break certain functionality in Windows.


Control Panel
Secret: Hidden Control Panel Extensions
Instructions: Download and install TweakUI, launch, go to "Control Panel" and check any item not selected, then "Apply" and "OK". You will now see the hidden control panel extensions.




Device Manager
Secret 1: Hidden Devices
Instructions: Go to the "Control Panel", "System" icon, "Hardware" tab and select "Device Manager". Select "View" and Show hidden devices.




Secret 2: Phantom Devices
Instructions: Go to "Start", "Programs", "Accessories" and select "Command Prompt". At the command prompt, type "set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1" and press Enter. At the command prompt, type "start devmgmt.msc" and press Enter. Select "View" and Show hidden devices. You can see devices that are not connected to the computer.


Notes: When you close the command prompt window, Windows clears the "devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1" variable that you set and prevents phantom devices from being displayed when you select "Show hidden devices".


MIDI Files
Secret: Hidden MIDI Files
Instructions: Browse to C:\Windows\Media and you will find 3 hidden MIDI files:


- flourish.mid
- onestop.mid
- town.mid


Notes: "MIDI" stands for "Musical Instrument Digital Interface" - A compression format for encoding music.


Music
Secret: Music from the Installer
Instructions: Browse to C:\Windows\system32\oobe\images\title.wma and play.


Notes: "OOBE" stands for "Out-of-Box Experience".


Shutdown
Secret: Display Hibernate Option on the Shut Down dialog
Instructions: Go to "Start", "Turn Off Computer" and press either Shift key to change the "Stand By" button to "Hibernate". The Hibernate option must be enabled.


Support Tools
Secret: Over 100 Windows XP Support Utilities are on the install CD
Instructions for Pre-SP2 users: If you do not have SP2 installed, put the original Windows XP CD in the CD-ROM Drive, run the :\Support\Tools\setup.exe file.
Instructions for SP2 users: If you have SP2 installed, Download the Windows XP Service Pack 2 Support Tools and install.


Naming & Renaming Folders
Secret: Renaming Bug 
Instructions: For the first one, try to create a folder named CON and you will see the following thing happening: (In Windows XP there is no error message, you just can't rename!)




The same thing happens when you try any of the following names:


PRNLPT1LPT2LPT3LPT4,LPT5, LPT6,LPT7, LPT8LPT9NULCOM1,COM2,COM3,COM4,COM5,COM6,COM7,COM8COM9, and CLOCK$


Note: All of the above names are reserved device names, which cannot be used as file names or folder names, regardless of the file extension. This is a relic from DOS, which has made its way through all versions of Windows, including Windows XP, Vista and 7.


Windows Calculator
Secret: Calculator
Instructions: Let’s do some basic maths together. Please use your head first.


- What is the square root of four? It’s two, isn’t it?
- And what do you get if you subtract two from two? Zero, right?


Now let’s do the above calculation using the Windows calculator. Type in 4, take the square root and from the result subtract 2. What do you get now?


Windows XP Result


See why they don’t want you to use calculators at school?


Windows 7 Result


Notes: To my knowledge, there is no explanation for this result. The operation returns different numbers in different versions of Windows, so it’s possibly a bug by design or an Easter Egg and not some weird functional error. What was your result?

Tags: Windows Instructions Secret type hidden XP start .windows xp. file game run Notes select secrets notepad new blog characters press show points devices text computer shift editor enter ball media .control panel. Player panel control create files open launch .windows media player. system command installed Internet minesweeper names result program image close encoding iexpress activate install prompt change Martik test .new ball. win hold bug line automatically MIDI application chat time remove add .hidden devices. Hearts setup key save .command prompt. edit screenshot cards users .chinese characters. Hibernate comments .test mode. mode .alt shift. Post Mobile log .add remove. Download Microsoft click square balls activated features SP2 move yellow function home device music guess .windows chat. .midi files. draw version Live versions alt NetMeeting Chinese ctrl .setup program. desktop timer calculator Browse .hidden windows. Replace Instant special mouse .show hidden devices. latest folder Support pixel unicode play date facts light .instantly win. .windows calculator. background Shows network .phantom devices. .hidden control panel extensions. problem option uninstall supported note notification optimize .extra balls. rank .private character editor. drag .xp secrets. MS-DOS top error Exchange running amount defrag .ms-dos editor. combination Softwares phantom reserved immediately original connected Gravity CD extra e-mail .hibernate option. Character .hidden midi files. .device manager. encodings .support tools. similar .game play. explanation button View choose .new game. Tools Renaming devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices conferencing set .square root. .text editor. white OS .ctrl alt shift. technology .hidden game modes. .unicode characters. operating Easter instantly order user data .yellow light. older including .link exchange. Panosian black computers stands Manager work subtract hhh components font Bush .instant win. short menu modes subscribe drawing .launch minesweeper. extensions .special prefixes. prefixes ZB card functionality icon .martik panosian. IsTextUnicode message weird .windows components. Abort .hidden windows media player. find .secrets hidden. root Link Private .sp2 installed. Regedit left-click
No comment yet

Things You Can Do With Dial Up Internet




If I were forced to use dial up I would have to slash my wrists and sit in the hot tub. When people first started using the Internet, dial up speed was adequate to handle most applications. As websites and emails became more evolved with pictures, videos and sophisticated graphics, the dial up connection just can't keep up. If you’re still too cheap to upgrade to high speed and you have a lot of time on your hands, there are still a few things you can do on the Internet with dial up. Cheapinternetdeals.org collected 10 Internet Activities That Are Do-able On Dial Up Internet. Let's check them out!


Simple emails
Dial up really limits your email capabilities. There’s no problem sending and receiving simple text, but when pictures or videos are involved, just opening the email can take forever. Get a cup of coffee and check back later. If you really want to watch that video, just pause it and go make dinner or clean the garage. It might be done loading by then.


Some games
Most online games aren’t even possible with dial up, so if you like to play internet games you may want to look into getting high speed. However, there still are some that you can play with a dial up connection like Ragnarok Online. Woo-hoo!


Facebook
This social network is still possible with dial up, especially if you get the mobile edition with limited graphics and reduced functionality. Chatting, however, could be somewhat difficult with the slow dial up connection.


Twitter
This is also available with a limited, mobile edition, but since tweets are only 140 characters or less, you can twitter away on dial up. It may work a little slower than most people are accustomed to, but you should be used to that by now.


Visit websites
Of course, you can go to any websites you like with dial up, but some of them will load very, very, slow. Go make a sandwich and check back later. By then you may be able to make your next click.
Read the news – Some of the news websites, like the Drudge Report, are more dial up friendly. This web page is pretty basic and will load in no time at all. It’s a different story when you click on one of the links, though. While you’re waiting for all the nice pictures to load, you may as well get another snack.


Shopping
It is possible to do your online shopping with only a dial up connection, but most sites or their advertising have fancy graphics that will not function properly on dial up. It might be quicker to just drive to the store.


Searching the net
You can find anything you want on the internet with only a dial up connection. It just takes a little longer. Type your words in the search engine and then play a game of solitaire. Click on a website you’re interested in and play another game. Pretty soon you’ll forget what you were looking for.


Blogging
If you keep your blogs simple without fancy videos and pictures, you should be able to do this on dial up just fine. Of course, your blog will be so boring nobody will want to visit your site or care what you have to say.


Pay bills
Many people like the paperless convenience of paying their bills online. A dial up connection shouldn’t stop you from doing this, and it may even be slightly faster than sending a check in the mail.


If your first telephone had a crank on the side instead of a dial or buttons, dial up Internet may be just your speed. For most of us, it’s just too darn slow. Even though I do know people who just can’t justify the extra expense of high speed Internet, for me, life is too short to be waiting for a transfer speed of 50 kbit/s.


Sourcehttp://www.cheapinternetdeals.org/blog/internet/10-internet-activities-doable-dial-internet

Tags: able bills blog characters cheapinternetdeals check click coffee connection course dial edition email facebook fancy fine function games graphics internet keep later limited load longer mobile news nobody online opening org pay people pictures play possible pretty really search sending shopping simple site slow speed twitter videos visit waiting websites
No comment yet

Gmail Security - Is Your Account Safe?




Whether you just regained access to Gmail, or you want to make sure your account is secure, take a minute to complete our Gmail security checklist to make sure your mail security measures are up to date.


Check for viruses and malware
While no virus scanner can catch 100% of infections, it is still important to run a scan on your computer with a trusted anti-virus software (or install a program that runs in the background and scans continuously). If the scan detects any suspicious programs or applications, remove them immediately.


Make sure your operating system is up to date
Operating systems release patches to repair security vulnerabilities. Whether you use Windows or Mac OS, we recommend protecting your computer by enabling your automatic update setting, and updating when you get a notification. 


Make sure to perform regular software updates
Some software updates aren't included in your operating system updates, but they are just as important. Software such as Adobe FlashAdobe Reader, and Java release regular updates that may include repairs for security vulnerabilities.


Make sure your browser is up to date
To check for browser updates in Internet Explorer, select the Tools tab and click Windows Update. In Firefox, just click the Help tab and select Check for Updates.


Plug-ins, extensions, and third-party programs/tools
Check your browser for plug-ins, extensions, and third-party programs/tools that require access to your Plug-ins and extensions are downloadable computer programs that work with your browser to perform specific tasks. For example, you may have downloaded a plug-in or extension that checks your Gmail inbox for new messages. Google can't guarantee the security of these third party services. If those services are compromised, so is your Gmail password.


Change your password
If your account has been recently compromised, you should update your password now. In general we suggest you change it periodically, following these guidelines: 
Pick a unique password that you haven't previously used on other sites or on Gmail. Just changing one character or number still counts as reusing your password.
Don't use a dictionary word or a common word that's easily guessable. Use a combination of numbers, characters, and case-sensitive letters.


Update your account recovery options
We all may forget our passwords at some point, so we strongly encourage that you update your account recovery options. To update these options, sign in to your Google Account by going tohttps://www.google.com/accounts and click Recovering your password.


Recovery email address: We can use your recovery email address to communicate with you if you lose access to your account.
SMS: We can send you a recovery code to your mobile phone number, which you can use to reset your password.
Secret question: This option is only available if you can't use the above recovery options and only if haven't tried to sign in during the past 24 hours. An ideal answer to your security question is easy for you to remember, but hard for others to guess.


Turn on 2-step verification
2-step verification adds an extra layer of security to your account by requiring you to sign in with something you know (your password) and something you have (a code sent to your phone). To turn on 2-step verification, follow the instructions on the 2-step verification setup page


Check the list of websites that are authorized to access your Google Account data
Make sure that the list of authorized websites are accurate and ones that you have chosen. If your Google Account has been compromised recently, it's possible that the bad guys could have authorized their own websites to access your account data. This may allow them to access your Google Account after you have changed your password.


To edit the list of authorized websites: 
- Sign in on the Google Accounts homepage.
- Click the My Account link displayed at the top right of the page.
- Click Authorizing applications & sites. This page will list all third-party sites you've granted access to.
- Click the Revoke Access link to disable access for a site.


Use a secure connection (https) to sign in
In your Gmail settings, select 'Always use HTTPS.' This setting protects your information from being stolen when you're signing in to Gmail on a public wireless network, like at a cafe or hotel.


Check for any strange recent activity on your account
Click the Details link next to the 'Last Account Activity' entry at the bottom of your account to see the time, date, IP address and the associated location of recent access to your account. 


Confirm the accuracy of your mail settings to ensure that your mail stays and goes where you want it to
Sign in to your account and click on the Settings link at the top to check the following tabs: 


- General: Check Signature, Vacation Responder, and/or canned responses for spammy content
- Accounts: Verify your settings under Send mail as, which includes checking your reply-to settings, Check mail using POP3, and Grant access to your account.
- Filters: Check that no filters are sending your mail to Trash, Spam, or forwarding to an unknown account.
- Forwarding and POP/IMAP: Ensure your mail isn't sent to an unknown account or mail client.


Check your contacts for errors
Sign in to your account and click Contacts. If you don't see all of the contacts you expect to see, you canrestore your contacts to an earlier time period.


Final Notes:
- Watch out for messages that ask for your username and/or password. Gmail will never ask for this information.
- Never give out your password after following a link sent to you in a message, even if it looks like Gmail's sign-in page. Access Gmail directly by typing https://mail.google.com in your browser's address bar.
- Don’t share your password with other websites - Google can’t guarantee the security of other websites and your Gmail password could be compromised.
- Keep secrets! Never tell anyone your password, or your secret question and answer; if you do tell someone, change it as soon as possible.
- Clear forms, passwords, cache and cookies in your browser on a regular basis - especially on a public computer.
- Only select 'Stay signed in' if you're signing in from a personal computer.
- Always sign out when you've finished reading your mail.


Sourcehttp://mail.google.com/support

Tags: 2-step access account address authorized browser change check click code com compromised computer contacts date email extensions following gmail google https include link list mail number operating options page password period plug-ins programs question recent recovery regular security select sent settings sign sites software sure third-party tools update verification websites