Hacking Windows XP (P1)

Hacking Windows ® XP ffirs.qxd 7/15/04 9:06 PM Page i Quark01 Quark01:Desktop Folder:WY026:FM: ffirs.qxd 7/15/04 9:06 PM Page ii Quark01 Quark01:Desktop Folder:WY026:FM: Hacking Windows ® XP Steve Sinchak Wiley Publishing, Inc. ffirs.qxd 7/15/04 9:06 PM Page iii Quark01 Quark01:Desktop Folder:WY026:FM: Hacking Windows® XP Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 10475 Crosspoint Boulevard Indianapolis, IN 46256 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2004 by Steve Sinchak Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 572-3447, fax (317) 572-4447, E-Mail: permcoordinator@wiley.com. LIMIT OF LIABILIT Y/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY : THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. 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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Available from Publisher Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates, in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. ffirs.qxd 7/15/04 9:06 PM Page iv Quark01 Quark01:Desktop Folder:WY026:FM: eISBN: 0-7645-7722-0 About the Author Steve Sinchak is an entrepreneur that has started several technology-related businesses and is currently running a Web development firm known as SSMGi that owns and operates several Web sites. As president of the small company, he is responsible for financial, as well as techni- cal, aspects of the business, such as application programming and infrastructure design and maintenance. Steve has been working with computers for more than 10 years. Starting with a desktop which had a 286-based processor, 1MB of RAM, and was running DOS & Windows 3.1, he taught himself how to make his computer run faster on the outdated hardware. Driven by curiosity to customize Windows and make it run faster, he spent countless hours researching and experi- menting with the inner workings and features of Windows. His primary claim-to-fame in this subject matter is as the creator of TweakXP.com, the number-one site for tweaking Windows XP. What started out as an idea for a new Web site that combined his interest in tweaking Windows and Web programming has grown into a massive database of tweaks and tips for Windows XP that attracts more than 3 million visitors a year. Currently, Steve is a senior at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI, studying management IT and computer science. He splits his spare time between classes, running his businesses, and spending time with his family and friends. ffirs.qxd 7/15/04 9:06 PM Page v Quark01 Quark01:Desktop Folder:WY026:FM: Credits Executive Editor Chris Webb Development Editor Scott Amerman Production Editor Gabrielle Nabi Technical Editors Greg Guntle Wiley-Dreamtech India Pvt. Ltd. Copy Editor TechBooks Editorial Manager Kathryn A. Malm Vice President & Executive Group Publisher Richard Swadley Vice President and Executive Publisher Bob Ipsen Vice President and Publisher Joseph B. Wikert Executive Editorial Director Mary Bednarek Project Coordinator Erin Smith Permissions Editor Laura Moss Media Development Specialist Kit Malone Proofreading and Indexing TechBooks Production Services Cover Image Anthony Bunyan ffirs.qxd 7/15/04 9:06 PM Page vi Quark01 Quark01:Desktop Folder:WY026:FM: This book is dedicated to my parents Larry and Mary Jo, my brothers Jason and David, my sisters Jackie and Kimberly, and my girlfriend Emily. ffirs.qxd 7/15/04 9:06 PM Page vii Quark01 Quark01:Desktop Folder:WY026:FM: viii ffirs.qxd 7/15/04 9:06 PM Page viii Quark01 Quark01:Desktop Folder:WY026:FM: Acknowledgments Writing this book while juggling classes and my business was often pretty difficult. Almost all of my free time for the last four months has been consumed by writing, leaving very little time for my girlfriend and friends. First, I would like to thank my girlfriend, Emily, for her love, support, understanding, and help when things got really tight. Thank you so much. You mean the world to me. I’d also like to thank everyone in my family for the love, support, and motivation that they have always shown me. Dad, thanks for bringing home that old IBM AT from work many years ago. Who would have thought it could start something that would lead me to eventually write a book? Mom, thank you for your constant motivation and love throughout all of the challenges in my life. I’d like to thank my close friends, Paul and Tom. Although they made writing this book very difficult at times, with their constant distractions, I wouldn’t want it any other way. Going to Miller Time pub with you two to take breaks from writing was priceless. Next, I’d like to thank everyone at Wiley for their work on this book. Chris Webb, thanks for giving me this opportunity and for your suggestions in the early stages. Scott Amerman, thank you very much for your help and suggestions with writing the chapters. Thank you for turning me into an author. Everyone at TweakXP.com also deserves a big thank you—especially Allan Grossman, the forum administrator of the TweakXP.com support forums. Thank you very much for helping me with the site and for turning the forum into one of the best support forums for Windows XP. I would also like to thank all of the forum moderators, news posters, active members, and daily visitors. You have all played an essential role in the success of TweakXP.com. Thank you very much! ffirs.qxd 7/15/04 9:06 PM Page ix Quark01 Quark01:Desktop Folder:WY026:FM: [...]... your Windows XP box W Visually, Windows XP is superior to all other Windows versions No other version of Windows has ever looked this good So how could you make it look better? Customize it! Impress your friends and refresh your dull desktop with a cool new look I am going to show you how to completely change the way Windows XP looks during all stages of its operation Performance-wise, Windows XP has... Navigation Chapter 3 Hacking the Desktop Chapter 4 Customizing the Appearance of the Windows Interface Chapter 5 Hacking Windows Explorer Chapter 6 Exploring Other Windows Enhancements Customizing the Look of the Startup chapter W indows XP has a great new look, but after a while, the new look can get old With the help of some cool tools and tricks, you can change many parts of Windows XP This chapter will... WindowBlinds to change the way Windows XP looks 113 Installing additional Windows XP skins for WindowBlinds 114 Summary 115 Chapter 5: Hacking Windows Explorer 117 Hacking File Associations Changing the default launch app Changing the icon of any file type Hacking the Context Menu ... operation of Windows XP If you already have the V12 4 x 4 of computers, and you have no problem pulling the 100-foot yacht, then you will still benefit from the performance tips Windows XP is a lot more secure than prior Windows operating systems However, as we all know from recent history, it has not been doing very well This book is going to show you how to use some of the new features of Windows XP Service... computer user, then this book may not be for you If you understand the basic operations of Windows XP, then dive right in You will need access to a computer running Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Home to perform the hacks listed in this book Attempting to use the information in this book on any other version of Windows may result in a headache How This Book Is Organized In this book, you will find... computer’s level of vulnerability, as well as how to use firewalls It also gives you several security tips on how to make Windows XP rock-solid Chapter 13 will cover how to make Windows XP more secure against SPAM and Spyware and viruses Finally, Chapter 14 will wrap up Hacking Windows XP by discussing ways to protect your privacy by removing recorded user information from various parts of the operating... 3 Chapter 2: Customizing User Navigation 39 Chapter 3: Hacking the Desktop 73 Chapter 4: Customizing the Appearance of the Windows Interface 91 Chapter 5: Hacking Windows Explorer 117 Chapter 6: Exploring Other Windows Enhancements 137 Part II: Increasing Your System’s Performance... from a hacked system file from the German version of Windows XP Or more commonly, you could find a boot screen that was made from a hacked file from the original version of Windows XP When you try to install that boot screen on a computer that, for example, has Service Pack 2 installed on the English version of XP, you will have problems Windows XP will only work with a specific version of the system... 6: Exploring Other Windows Enhancements 137 Modding Internet Explorer Changing the logo animation Changing the toolbar background Making your own quick search address command Other Visual Enhancements Replacing the task switcher Adding Special Effects to your Windows Fine-Tuning ClearType Branding Windows XP ... “C: \Windows\ System32\ntoskrnl.exe is missing or corrupt.” Missing or corrupt? Uh-oh This is the most common problem that users experience when trying to change their boot screen using the file swap technique Users that get this message, or any similar error message, are receiving it because they replaced their system file with a file that is not compatible with their version of Windows XP Windows XP . Folder:WY026:FM: Hacking Windows ® XP Steve Sinchak Wiley Publishing, Inc. ffirs.qxd 7/15/04 9:06 PM Page iii Quark01 Quark01:Desktop Folder:WY026:FM: Hacking Windows . . . . . 91 Chapter 5: Hacking Windows Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Chapter 6: Exploring Other Windows Enhancements .