big book of windows hacks

Preston Gralla BIG BOOK OF Windows Hacks Tips & Tools for unlocking the power of your Windows PC BIG BOOK OF Windows Hacks PC/SOFTWARE US $34.99 CAN $41.99 ISBN–10: 0-596-52835-3 ISBN–13: 978-0-596-52835-5 » Expanded tutorials, new background material, and informative sidebars » Security hacks for wireless hotspot defense, user account protection, and more » Effi ciency hacks for tweaking your PC hardware and speeding up system performance » Fun hacks, like building a custom Media Center PC or turning a PC into a digital video recorder » “Beyond Windows” hacks for running Linux inside Vista, dual-booting Linux/Windows or XP/Vista, and emulating classic video games Bend Windows to your will! This collection of clever hacks and workarounds lets you modify your operating system and all the applications and hardware associated with it. Want to tweak Vista’s Aero interface? Or build customized sidebar gadgets and run them from a USB key? Step-by-step instruc- tions help you apply the solutions in no time. You’ll also fi nd hacks for Internet Explorer 7 and Offi ce 2007, and hardware such as the Zune, your wireless router, and the PC itself. Tips & Tools for unlocking the power of your Windows PC ABOUT THE AUTHOR Preston Gralla is the author of Windows Vista in a Nutshell, the Windows Vista Pocket Reference, and Windows XP Hacks, 2nd Edition, and he is a contributing editor for Computerworld. .' 9@>9FFBF=N@E;FNJ?8:BJ .( Jg\\[LgN`e[fnj=c`g*; N`e[fnj=c`g*;`jfe\f]N`e[fnjM`jkXËjZffc\jke\n]\Xkli\j#Ylk`]pfli_Xi[nXi\`jeËklgkf jel]]#`kjfg\iXk`feZXeY\aX^^\[Xe[jcl^^`j_%PflZXejg\\[`klgXe[jdffk_`kjXe`dXk`fejYp c`d`k`e^k_\eldY\if]n`e[fnj`k[`jgcXpj`e*;% CXleZ_k_\I\^`jkip<[`kfiYpkpg`e^i\^\[`kXkk_\JkXikJ\XiZ_YfofiXZfddXe[gifdgkj\\ :_Xgk \i(*]fi[\kX`cj %>fkfHKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM% :i\Xk\Xe\n;NFI;Xe[eXd\`kMax3Dwindows%J\kk_\mXcl\kfk_\dXo`dldeldY\if] n`e[fnjpflnXek[`jgcXp\[%@]pfl_Xm\j\m\i\g\i]fidXeZ\gifYc\dj#j\k`kXk+2pflZXeXcnXpj `eZi\Xj\k_\eldY\icXk\i%<o`kk_\I\^`jkip<[`kfi%PflËcce\\[kfi\jkXikM`jkXËj;\jbkfgN`e[fnj DXeX^\i;ND ]fik_\Z_Xe^\kfkXb\\]]\Zk%CXleZ_Xe\c\mXk\[ZfddXe[gifdgkYpkpg`e^Zd[ `ek_\j\XiZ_YfoXe[gi\jj`e^:kic$J_`]k$<ek\i%Kpg\e\kjkfglojdjXe[gi\jj<ek\i%K_\ekpg\e\k j kXiklojdjXe[gi\jj<ek\i%PflZXeXcjf`ejk\X[i\jkXikpfliG:% N `k_k_\e\nj\kk`e^j`e\]]\Zk#N`e[fnj=c`g*;n`cc[`jgcXpjfecpk_\eldY\if]n`e[fnjpflËm\ kfc[`kkf%@]pfl_Xm\dfi\n`e[fnjfg\ek_Xek_\dXo`dld#XjpfljZifcck_ifl^_pflin`e[fnj# e\nn`cci\gcXZ\k_\fc[%=fi\oXdgc\#`]pfl_Xm\j`on`e[fnjfg\e#fecp]flin`ccY\[`jgcXp\[%8j pfljZifcck_ifl^_k_\d#e\nfe\ji\gcXZ\k_\fe\jk_XkjZifccf]]% J\\8cjf È?XZbPfliNXpK_ifl^_N`e[fnjM`jkXËj8\if@ek\i]XZ\É R?XZb(,T 702: &) KlieN`e[fnj`ekfX*;M`iklXc;\jbkfg  K_`ebN`e[fnj=c`g*;`jZffc6PflX`eËkj\\eefk_`e^p\k% K_`j]i\\Y`\c\kjpflklieN`e[fnjM`jkXXe[N`e[fnjOG`ekf m`iklXc*;[\jbkfgj% M`iklXc[\jbkfgjR?XZb)/TXi\X^i\XknXpkfdXb\pflic`]\Xkk_\b\pYfXi[]Xidfi\gif[lZk`m\% 9lkY\`e^gif[lZk`m\`jeËkXcnXpjn_Xkc`]\`jXccXYflkÇjfd\k`d\j`kËjXYflk]leXjn\cc% K_\gif^iXd;\jbJgXZ\gi\m`fljcpeXd\[#f[[cp#Pf[Ëd*; 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BEIJING • CAMBRIDGE • FARNHAM • KÖLN • PARIS • SEBASTOPOL • TAIPEI • TOKYO BIG BOOK OF Windows Hacks Preston Gralla First Edition WIN HACKS_Copyright.indd 1WIN HACKS_Copyright.indd 1 11/7/07 12:21:22 PM11/7/07 12:21:22 PM BIG BOOK OF WINDOWS HACKS The O’Reilly logo is a registered trademark of O’Reilly Media, Inc. The Hacks series designations, Big Book of Windows Hacks, and related trade dress are trademarks of O’Reilly Media, Inc. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and O’Reilly Media, Inc. was aware of the trademark claim, the designations have been printed in caps or initial caps. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and authors assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. The technologies discussed in this publication, the limitations on these technologies that technol- ogy and content owners seek to impose, and the laws actually limiting the use of these technolo- gies are constantly changing. Thus, some of the hacks described in this publication may not work, may cause unintended harm to systems on which they are used, or may not be consistent with applicable user agreements. Your use of these hacks is at your own risk, and O’Reilly Media, Inc. disclaims responsibility for any damage or expense resulting from their use. In any event, you should take care that your use of these hacks does not violate any applicable laws, including copyright laws. ISBN-10: 0-596-52835-3 ISBN-13: 978-0-596-52835-5 by Preston Gralla Copyright © 2007 Preston Gralla. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. Published by Make:Books, an imprint of Maker Media, a division of O’Reilly Media, Inc. 1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472. O’Reilly books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. For more information, contact our corporate/institutional sales department: 800-998-9938 or corporate@oreilly.com. Print History October 2007 First Edition Publisher: Dale Dougherty Associate Publisher and Executive Editor: Dan Woods Editor: Brian Jepson Copy Editors: Mary Anne Weeks Mayo & Nancy Kotary Creative Director: Daniel Carter Designer: Alison Kendall Production Manager: Terry Bronson Indexer: Patti Schiendelman WIN HACKS_Copyright.indd 2WIN HACKS_Copyright.indd 2 9/21/07 1:35:10 PM9/21/07 1:35:10 PM WIN HACKS_Copyright.indd 3WIN HACKS_Copyright.indd 3 9/21/07 11:27:16 AM9/21/07 11:27:16 AM WIN_HACKS_TOC.indd ivWIN_HACKS_TOC.indd iv 9/25/07 2:39:29 PM9/25/07 2:39:29 PM PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii How to Use This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii How This Book is Organized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiv Conventions Used in This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvi Using Code Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvi We’d Like to Hear from You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii CHAPTER 01: STARTUP AND SHUTDOWN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 HACK 01: Change Your Windows Vista Boot Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 HACK 02: Change your Windows XP Boot Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 HACK 03: Speed Up Boot and Shutdown Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 HACK 04: Run Windows Vista Without Activation for 120 Days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 HACK 05: Bypass the Windows Vista and XP Logon Screen on Multi-Account PCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 HACK 06: Speed Up Startup by Halting Startup Programs and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 HACK 07: BIOS Hacks for Faster Bootup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 HACK 08: Hack an Unhackable BIOS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 HACK 09: Upgrade Your Flash BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 HACK 10: The Secrets of Windows Vista’s BCDEDIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 HACK 11: Customize Windows XP Multiboot Startup Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 HACK 12: Hack Windows Vista Multiboot Systems with VistaBootPRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 HACK 13: Move Partitions Around on Vista Without Destroying It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 HACK 14: Transforming Your Windows XP Laptop into a Dual-Boot XP/Ubuntu Linux System . . . . . . . .54 CHAPTER 02: HACKING THE INTERFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 HACK 15: Hack Your Way Through Windows Vista’s Aero Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 HACK 16: A Grab Bag of Great Vista Interface Hacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66 HACK 17: Turn Windows Into a 3D Virtual Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70 HACK 18: Hack Your Way Through the Interface with the Registry Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 HACK 19: Customize the Windows XP GUI with Tweak UI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 HACK 20: Control the Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78 HACK 21: Hack the Start Menu and Taskbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82 HACK 22: Hacking Gadgets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 HACK 23: Force the Slide Show Gadget to Play Videos as Well as Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88 HACK 24: Play YouTube Videos in the Feed Headlines Gadget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92 HACK 25: Carry Your Gadgets with You on a USB Flash Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94 CONTENTS v WIN_HACKS_TOC.indd vWIN_HACKS_TOC.indd v 9/25/07 2:40:08 PM9/25/07 2:40:08 PM HACK 26: Automatically Build Any Vista Gadget from the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 HACK 27: Yes, You Can Hack Windows Vista’s Screensavers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 HACK 28: Extend Your Screen Real Estate with Virtual Desktops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100 HACK 29: Force Older Programs to Use XP Common Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103 HACK 30: Run Linux Inside Windows Without Dual Booting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105 HACK 31: Run Mac OS X on Windows Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 HACK 32: Go Retro: Run Windows 3.11 in Windows Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 HACK 33: Instant Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124 CHAPTER 03: WINDOWS EXPLORER, MANAGING FILES, AND SEARCH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 HACK 34: A Power User’s Hidden Weapon: Improve the Context Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134 HACK 35: More Hacks for Improving Windows Vista’s Context Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 HACK 36: Open an Administrator Command Prompt Anywhere in Windows Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138 HACK 37: Generate Folder and File Listings for Printing or Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140 HACK 38: Only the Shadow Knows: Using Windows Shadow Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143 HACK 39: Control Windows Explorer with Command-Line Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146 HACK 40: Move User Directories to a Separate Partition or Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150 HACK 41: Hack Your Partitions in Windows Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152 HACK 42: Get More Hard-Disk Space by Using NTFS Compression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155 HACK 43: Power Up Search in Windows Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .158 HACK 44: Quick Way To Speed Up Windows Vista Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164 HACK 45: Use Start ++ To Juice Up Windows Vista Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165 HACK 46: Find Files Faster in Windows XP by Mastering the Indexing Service’s Query Language . . . . . 167 HACK 47: Secrets of Windows Vista’s Sync Center and Offl ine Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172 CHAPTER 04: INTERNET EXPLORER, THE WEB AND THE INTERNET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 HACK 48: Clear Up Router Congestion and Increase Your Bandwidth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180 HACK 49: Surf Anonymously, Without a Trace — For Free . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182 HACK 50: Use OpenDNS for Faster, Safer Web Browsing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 HACK 51: Tweak DNS Settings for Faster Internet Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .190 HACK 52: Kill Viruses, Spyware, and Web Bugs — For Free . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .193 HACK 53: Keep Your Google Search History Private . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .198 HACK 54: Fix Internet Explorer 7 Add-In Woes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .201 HACK 55: Kill Badly Behaving Items on the Internet Explorer Tools Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 HACK 56: Hack Printouts in Internet Explorer 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 HACK 57: Hack Internet Explorer with the Group Policy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207 HACK 58: Hack Firefox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .210 HACK 59: Stop Firefox Memory Leaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216 HACK 60: Build Your Own Firefox Search Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220 HACK 61: Build Your Own Internet Explorer Search Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224 HACK 62: Make Java-based Apps Play Nice with Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228 HACK 63: Where Did HyperTerminal Go? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229 HACK 64: Mash Up Google Calendar and Other Online Calendars with Windows Vista’s Calendar . . . . .231 vi WIN_HACKS_TOC.indd viWIN_HACKS_TOC.indd vi 9/25/07 2:40:30 PM9/25/07 2:40:30 PM HACK 65: Import Internet Calendars into Outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .235 HACK 66: Create Custom RSS Feeds from Newsgroups and Online Forums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238 CHAPTER 05: NETWORKING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 HACK 67: Quick Fix for a Sluggish Router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 HACK 68: Give the World Access to a Server or PC Behind Your Home Router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 HACK 69: Give Your Home Server a Hostname . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252 HACK 70: Get Quick Access to Network Connections in Windows Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 HACK 71: Teach XP to Play Nice on Networks with Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 HACK 72: Teach All Your Networks to Get Along . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .261 HACK 73: Control Another Windows XP PC with Remote Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264 HACK 74: Control Another Windows Vista PC with Remote Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268 HACK 75: Reboot Your Network Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271 HACK 76: Troubleshoot Network Connections with ping, tracert, and pathping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271 HACK 77: Troubleshoot Network Connections with netsh, netstat, and ipconfi g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275 HACK 78: Prioritize Packets to Improve Voice Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .279 HACK 79: Sound Like Darth Vader While You VoIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .281 HACK 80: Record VoIP Calls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282 HACK 81: Make Skype Work with Personal Firewalls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283 HACK 82: Improve Skype Service Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285 HACK 83: Automatically Forward Skype Voicemail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288 CHAPTER 06: EMAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290 HACK 84: Instantly Compress Files You Send via Email . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290 HACK 85: Put Your Bloated Outlook Mailbox On a Diet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .291 HACK 86: Stay Off Spam Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294 HACK 87: Prevent Your Newsletter from Being Blocked as Spam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296 HACK 88: Block International Spam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297 HACK 89: Open Blocked File Attachments in Outlook and Outlook Express . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 HACK 90: Remove Exchange messaging From Outlook 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304 HACK 91: Publish Your Outlook Calendar to the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304 HACK 92: Turn Gmail into a Universal Inbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308 HACK 93: Use Gmail as a POP3 Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .310 HACK 94: Use Gmail as a Virtual Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .312 HACK 95: Import Your Contacts into Gmail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .313 HACK 96: Import Mail into Gmail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .319 CHAPTER 07: WEB AND THE INTERNET. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324 HACK 97: Turn Your Home Router into an Enterprise-Level Powerhouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324 HACK 98: Troubleshoot Wireless Interference Woes, and Extend Your Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333 HACK 99: Impersonate Another Computer on the Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336 HACK 100: Protect Yourself Against “Free Wi-Fi” Scammers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339 HACK 101: Protect Your Home Wi-Fi Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343 HACK 102: Turn On Wi-Fi Encryption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349 vii WIN_HACKS_TOC.indd viiWIN_HACKS_TOC.indd vii 9/25/07 2:41:03 PM9/25/07 2:41:03 PM HACK 103: Go Wardriving for Wi-Fi Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .351 HACK 104: Solve Hotspot Email Woes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354 HACK 105: Protect Yourself at Hotspots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .357 HACK 106: Hacking Wi-Fi Antennas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .361 HACK 107: Using a Bluetooth Headset in Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368 CHAPTER 08: SECURITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374 HACK 108: Hack Windows Vista’s User Account Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .374 HACK 109: Unlock the Super-Secret Administrator Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .377 HACK 110: Root Out Rootkits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .378 HACK 111: Kill Spyware and Pests With Your Bare Hands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .381 HACK 112: Hacking Windows Vista’s Outbound Firewall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386 HACK 113: Punch an Escape Hole Through Your Firewall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389 HACK 114: Track Firewall Activity with a Windows Firewall Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394 HACK 115: Protect Your Privacy by Removing Windows Vista Metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398 HACK 116: Kill Annoying Software Registration Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400 HACK 117: Use Vista’s BitLocker with a USB Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .401 HACK 118: Hide Folders and Files with the Encrypting File System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404 HACK 119: Set Up a Virtual Private Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409 CHAPTER 09: APPLICATIONS, HOME SERVER, AND BACKUP. . . . . . . . . . . . . 416 HACK 120: Fast Hacks for Word 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .416 HACK 121: Blog Using Word 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .418 HACK 122: Create Reusable “Building Blocks” in Word 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .421 HACK 123: Say Hello to Your New Word 2007 Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423 HACK 124: Shrink Supersized Pictures in Offi ce Docs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429 HACK 125: Grab Real-Time Stock Quotes in Excel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .431 HACK 126: Open and Create Offi ce Docs Without Word or Excel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433 HACK 127: Roll Your Own PDFs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435 HACK 128: Customize Windows Home Server Backups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438 HACK 129: Make a Remote Connection to Windows Home Server Over the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .441 HACK 130: Take Remote Command of a PC Using Window Home Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445 HACK 131: Hacking Windows Vista Backups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448 HACK 132: Use Windows XP’s Ntbackup in Windows Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450 HACK 133: Best Backup Plans for Your PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453 HACK 134: Control How Much Disk Space Windows Vista Uses for System Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458 HACK 135: Run 16-Bit DOS and Windows Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460 HACK 136: Emulate the Nintendo Entertainment System on a PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463 HACK 137: Emulate the Game Boy on Your PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468 viii WIN_HACKS_TOC.indd viiiWIN_HACKS_TOC.indd viii 9/25/07 2:41:31 PM9/25/07 2:41:31 PM CHAPTER 10: GRAPHICS AND MULTIMEDIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472 HACK 138: Set Up Your PC To Record TV Shows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .472 HACK 139: Remove Commercials from Recorded TV Shows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .479 HACK 140: Make Your Own TV Show Mashup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483 HACK 141: Burn Recorded TV Shows Directly from Windows Media Center to DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490 HACK 142: Rip DVDs into Media Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492 HACK 143: Quick Fix for Video and Animation Woes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498 HACK 144: Choose the Right Settings for Publishing Your Movie in Windows Movie Maker . . . . . . . . . . . 498 HACK 145: Upload Your Video to YouTube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .501 HACK 146: Turn VHS Tapes into DVD Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505 HACK 147: Store Any Type of File on Your Zune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509 HACK 148: Watch Any DVD on Your Zune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .510 HACK 149: Delete Music from Your PC without Deleting It from Your Zune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511 HACK 150: Play YouTube Videos on your Zune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .512 HACK 151: Copy Recorded TV Shows To Your Zune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .513 HACK 152: Organize Your Photos with Metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .514 HACK 153: Use RAW Photos in Windows Photo Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .519 HACK 154: Play It Loud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520 HACK 155: Convert Vinyl and Tapes to MP3s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .522 CHAPTER 11: SYSTEM PERFORMANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524 HACK 156: Strip the Crud Out of Your Windows Install . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524 HACK 157: Hack Multicore Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .527 HACK 158: Speed Up Your PC with ReadyBoost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529 HACK 159: Force Windows Vista to Use Any Flash Drive for ReadyBoost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .532 HACK 160: Get the Most Out of Your RAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .535 HACK 161: Improve Defragging in Windows XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539 HACK 162: Look, Ma, No Hands! How To Automate Defrag in Windows XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .541 HACK 163: Schedule Defragging in Windows Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544 HACK 164: Defragment a Single File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545 HACK 165: Track Down Vista System Woes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .547 HACK 166: Track System Performance with the XP Performance Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550 HACK 167: Track Performance and Reliability with the Vista Reliability Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .553 HACK 168: Speed Up System Performance with the Task Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556 HACK 169: Manage the Paging File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562 HACK 170: Speed It Up with RAID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565 CHAPTER 12: HARDWARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568 HACK 171: Mod Your PC’s Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568 HACK 172: Use Your Zune as a USB Hard Drive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .573 HACK 173: Install a Larger Disk in Your Zune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .573 HACK 174: Troubleshoot Hardware with Device Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .578 HACK 175: Uncover Hidden Hardware with the Device Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583 HACK 176: Get a Comprehensive List of all Your Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 586 ix WIN_HACKS_TOC.indd ixWIN_HACKS_TOC.indd ix 9/25/07 2:41:56 PM9/25/07 2:41:56 PM [...]... create new hacks of your own Try it out: who knows, in the next edition of this book, you might get a hack of your own published The book covers Windows Vista and Windows XP, as well as hardware that works with both, including laptops, desktops, the Zune, and more It also covers other Microsoft software, including Microsoft Of ce and Windows Home Server How to Use This Book You can read this book from... your Windows keys, Of ce keys, and keys for other software as well It works with Windows XP, Microsoft Of ce and 32-bit versions of Windows Vista, as well as other programs However, it won’t work with 64bit Windows Vista (as of this writing) For that, you’ll need to use the free Windows Product Key Viewer (www.rjlsoftware com/software/utility/ winproductkey/ download.shtml) CHAPTER 01 - CHANGE YOUR WINDOWS. .. example: Big Book of Windows Hacks, by Preston Gralla Copyright 2007 O’Reilly Media, Inc., 978-0-596-52835-5.” If you feel your use of code examples falls outside fair use or the permission given above, feel free to contact us at permissions@oreilly.com xvi BIG BOOK OF WINDOWS HACKS WIN HACKS_ Preface.indd xvi 9/14/07 11:33:24 AM Acknowledgments A writer without an editor is a lonely thing, and for this book. .. have to set them to “manual” and reboot to see the effect of turning them off Table 1-1 lists some common services you might want to halt from running at startup Note that some run on Windows XP, some on Windows Vista, and some on both Figure 1-12 A list of all non-Microsoft services running on a Windows Vista PC 32 BIG BOOK OF WINDOWS HACKS WIN HACKS_ Chapter1.indd Sec1:32 9/13/07 5:04:19 PM HACK # 06... sending; open blocked file attachments in Outlook, Outlook Express, and Windows Mail; and much more Chapter 7, Wireless It’s an unwired world, and Windows is at the center of it This chapter offers plenty of great wireless hacks, including one that shows you how to turn your $50 router into an enterprise-level xiv BIG BOOK OF WINDOWS HACKS WIN HACKS_ Preface.indd xiv 9/14/07 11:32:28 AM powerhouse by replacing... C: \Windows\ System32\en-US\winload.exe.mui You’ll get a message that you now have ownership of C: \Windows\ System32\en-US\winload.exe mui Next, type the following at the command prompt (where yourname is your username), and press Enter: cacls C: \Windows\ System32\en-US\winload.exe.mui /G yourname:F Figure 1-3 The last step in changing your Windows Vista boot screen 20 BIG BOOK OF WINDOWS HACKS WIN HACKS_ Chapter1.indd... Screen As and 18 BIG BOOK OF WINDOWS HACKS WIN HACKS_ Chapter1.indd 18 9/21/07 12:23:03 PM HACK # 01 Figure 1-1 Searching Google for an image to use for your boot screen QUICK HACK TURN ON WINDOWS VISTA’S HIDDEN BOOT SCREEN Figure 1-2 Selecting a new boot screen for Windows Vista If you don’t want to go to the trouble of building your own boot screen, but aren’t happy with the default one for Windows Vista,... any of several command-line utilities Good ones include Autologon for Windows (www.microsoft.com/technet/ sysinternals/utilities/Autologon.mspx), and autologon.exe (shellrevealed.com/files/folders/code/ entry4411.aspx) See Also “Unlock the Super-Secret Administrator Account” [Hack #109] • Figure 1-9 Telling Windows Vista which account should automatically log on 28 BIG BOOK OF WINDOWS HACKS WIN HACKS_ Chapter1.indd... Hack Away at Windows with the Group Policy Editor 624 CREDITS INDEX .627 633 x WIN _HACKS_ TOC.indd x 11/7/07 12:27:06 PM WIN _HACKS_ TOC.indd xi 11/7/07 1:10:05 PM xii BIG BOOK OF WINDOWS HACKS WIN HACKS_ Preface.indd xii 11/7/07 1:31:27 PM PREFACE What good is software and hardware... several hacks to get you right to your desktop as quickly as possible after startup, whether you use Windows XP or Windows Vista Confirm That Boot Defragmentation Is Enabled There’s a simple way to speed up Windows startup: make your system do a boot defragment, which 22 BIG BOOK OF WINDOWS HACKS WIN HACKS_ Chapter1.indd Sec1:22 9/13/07 4:59:29 PM HACK # 03 puts all the boot files next to one another on . Preston Gralla BIG BOOK OF Windows Hacks Tips & Tools for unlocking the power of your Windows PC BIG BOOK OF Windows Hacks PC/SOFTWARE US $34.99 CAN $41.99 ISBN–10:. Magazine BIG BOOK OF Windows Hacks Preston Gralla OVER 200 TIPS FOR XP & VISTA! BEIJING • CAMBRIDGE • FARNHAM • KÖLN • PARIS • SEBASTOPOL • TAIPEI • TOKYO BIG BOOK OF Windows Hacks Preston. 633 x WIN _HACKS_ TOC.indd xWIN _HACKS_ TOC.indd x 11/7/07 12:27:06 PM11/7/07 12:27:06 PM WIN _HACKS_ TOC.indd xiWIN _HACKS_ TOC.indd xi 11/7/07 1:10:05 PM11/7/07 1:10:05 PM xii BIG BOOK OF WINDOWS HACKS WIN HACKS_ Preface.indd