Create a Shortcut to Lock Your Computer

pcpundit:

Leaving your computer in a hurry but you don’t want to log off? You can double-click a shortcut on your desktop to quickly lock the keyboard and display without using CTRL+ALT+DEL or a screensaver.

To create a shortcut on your desktop to lock your computer:

Right-click the desktop.
Point to New, and then click Shortcut.

The Create Shortcut Wizard opens. In the text box, type the following:
rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation

Click Next.

Enter a name for the shortcut. You can call it "Lock Workstation" or choose any name you like.
Click Finish.

You can also change the shortcut's icon (my personal favorite is the padlock icon in shell32.dll).

To change the icon:
Right click the shortcut and then select Properties.

Click the Shortcut tab, and then click the Change Icon button.
In the Look for icons in this file text box, type:
Shell32.dll.
Click OK.

Select one of the icons from the list and then click OK

You could also give it a shortcut keystroke such CTRL+ALT+L.

This would save you only one keystroke from the normal command, but it could be more convenient.

Speed up the Start Menu

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The default speed of the Start Menu is pretty slow, but you can fix that by editing a Registry Key.

Fire up the Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop \ MenuShowDelay

By default, the value is 400.

Change this to a smaller value, such as 0, to speed it up

Turn Off Hibernation save space in your computer

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Hibernation is a feature that allows your system to shut down quickly and save everything that is open in the RAM to be stored on the hard drive until the computer is powered on again.

XP and 2000 use a file called hiberfil.sys to save everything it needs when they go go into hibernation. If you never use the hibernate function, you can turn it off.

When this feature is disabled, the hiberfil.sys file is deleted. This can free up the as much disk space as the amount of ram that you computer has. For example, if you have 1GB of RAM, you could be freeing up to 1GB of hard drive space.

In XP, go to Control Panel > Power Options > Hibernation and uncheck / Enable hibernation.

In 2000, go to Control Panel > Power Options > Hibernate / tab and uncheck / Enable hibernate support.

If you should want to re-enable hibernation, go back in and check / Enable hibernation in XP or Enable hibernate support in 2000.

Disable Indexing Service and Use a Better Substitute

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In order to search through a hard drive faster, XP keeps a record of all files on the hard drive.

It sounds useful, but if you use Windows' search tool infrequently, the indexing service just constantly runs in the background without being taken advantage of and used.

Indexing can slow down actions as simple as opening or closing files. To disable this service, go to Start > Run and type services.msc. Double click "Indexing Services" and set the startup type to "Disabled".

If you want to search, there is a freeware program called Locate that can index 400GB of data in under 2 minutes and can perform instant searches.

File > Update Databases re-indexes all your drives, in case you miss where the indexing option is located. You should only re-index before a search. This way, system resources are used only when you actually need to perform a search.

In addition, you can use Task Scheduler (a.k.a. Scheduled Tasks) to run the shortcut named "Updtdb32" in place of using the "Update Database" option manually within the program.

For example, have the task run daily at a time you are not usually at your computer, such as early in the morning.

So, all the files that had been added, moved and changed from the previous day can be indexed. If you have this re-indexing task done daily, it only takes a few seconds each time it is done.

You can get to the task scheduler by going to Start > Run. Type %systemroot%Tasks, and hit enter. Double click on "Add Scheduled Task" and the wizard will help take you through the process of setting up a scheduled task.

Make sure you hit "Browse" when asked for what application you want to be run. Navigate to the folder where you have the "Updtdb32" shortcut. Other than that, creating the scheduled task should be fairly self-explanatory, thanks to the wizard.

You can also download the tool here.

Access Stored User Names and Passwords with rundll32.exe

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The Stored User Names and Passwords applet lets you assign user names and passwords to use when needing to authenticate yourself to services in domains other than the one you are currently logged into. The normal way of running this applet can be difficult to find quickly, so here is a way to launch it using a desktop shortcut using the rundll32.exe program: Click on START - RUN and type the following (follwed by ENTER): rundll32.exe keymgr.dll,KRShowKeyMgr

Hide a Drive in your Laptop or Computer

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If you don’t want other users stumbling over a drive while browsing the computer through Explorer, this tweak may help out.

Although this tweak will render the drive invisible in Windows Explorer, it will still be accessible through Windows’ search utility, as well as other third-party file managing applications.

Microsoft Office applications will also be able to access the cloaked drive with no problem.
To cloak a drive, open up regedit and go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/
CurrentVersion/Policies/Explorer.

Create/modify the DWORD value “NoDrives” to match a corresponding drive letter you wish to hide.

A: 1; B: 2; C: 4; D: 8; E: 16; F: 32; G: 64; H: 128; I: 256; J: 512; etc. To hide multiple drives, just add the values together and enter the sum as the value for the DWORD value “NoDrives”.

To hide all the drives, just enter the value 67108863.

Hope it is useful for u..

Amazing, Interesting, Wierd (Weired) news

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London's Tower Bridge out of 1.6million matches

Michael Williams spent 10 painstaking years designing and building a famous London landmark...out of matchsticks.

The 41-year-old road layer from Shoebury in Essex created a complete replica of London's Tower Bridge out of 1.6million matches.



He spent every evening after work lovingly crafting the 6ft-long structure which twinkles with 156 working lights. But Mr Williams nearly saw his masterpiece go up in smoke when the intricate model began smouldering.






Man builds record breaking 25ft house of cards

Bryan Berg has a surprising gravity-defying hobby. The 33-year-old American builds huge structures out of playing cards and his latest 25ft skyscraper has broken all records.

The professional 'cardstacker' has created a variety of breathtaking sculptures over the years including models of cathedrals, skyscrapers and stadiums, without using anything to stick them together.

Berg said the combined weight of the cards and his special grid structures helped hold his constructions in place.
Bryan stands amongst his card creations






New Species Found in Remote Asian Sea?

A square jaw and edgy brow give a distinctive profile to this boxfish, one of many exotic marine creatures recently found by scientists exploring Southeast Asia's Celebes Sea.



The international team of researchers recently returned from two weeks in the Celebes, a little-explored sea between Malaysia and the Philippines that is home to one of the world's deepest ocean basins

http VS https

http:// & https://


The main difference between http:// and https:// is, It's all about keeping you secure

HTTP stands for HyperText Transport Protocol, which is just a fancy way of saying it's a protocol (a language, in a manner of speaking) for information to be passed back and forth between web servers and clients.

The important thing is the letter S which makes the difference between HTTP and HTTPS.

The S (big surprise) stands for "Secure".
If you visit a website or webpage, and look at the address in the web browser, it will likely begin with the following: http://.

This means that the website is talking to your browser using the regular 'unsecure' language.

In other words, it is possible for someone to "eavesdrop" on your computer's conversation with the website.

If you fill out a form on the website, someone might see the information you send to that site.

This is why you never ever ever enter your credit card number in an http website!

But if the web address begins with https://, that basically means your computer is talking to the website in a secure code that no one can eavesdrop on.

You understand why this is so important, right?

If a website ever asks you to enter your credit card information, you should automatically look to see if the web address begins with https://.

If it doesn't, there's no way you're going to enter sensitive information like a credit card number


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Some good old Jokes

SENIOR DATING Dorothy and Edna, two "senior" widows, are talking. Dorothy: "That nice George Johnson asked me out for a date. I know you went out with him last week, and I wanted to talk with you about him before I give him my answer." Edna: "Well, I'll tell you. He shows up at my apartment punctually at 7 P.M., dressed like such a gentleman in a fine suit, and he brings me such beautiful flowers! Then he takes me downstairs, and what's there but a luxury car... A limousine, uniformed chauffeur and all. Then he takes me out for dinner... A marvelous dinner... Lobster, champagne, dessert, and after-dinner drinks. Then we go see a show. Let me tell you, Dorothy, I enjoyed it so much I could have just died from pleasure! So then we are coming back to my apartment and he turns into an ANIMAL. Completely crazy, he tears off my expensive new dress and has his way with me two times!" Dorothy: "Goodness gracious!... So you are telling me I shouldn't go out with him?" Edna: "No, no, no... I'm just saying, wear an old dress." ****** Divorce letters Dear Wife, I'm writing you this letter to tell you that I'm leaving you for good. I've been a good man to you for seven years and I have nothing to show for it. These last two weeks have been hell. Your boss called to tell me that you had quit your job today and that was the last straw. Last week, you came home and didn't even notice that I had gotten a new hair cut, cooked your favorite meal, and even wore a brand new pair of silk boxers later that night. You came home, nibbled at your food for two minutes, and went straight to sleep after watching all of your soaps. You don't tell me you love me anymore, you don't want sex anymore or anything. Either you're cheating on me or you don't love me. Whichever is the case,,,,I'm gone. Signed, Your EX-Husband P.S. Don't try to find me. Your sister and I are moving away to West Virginia together. Have a great life! ------------ Dear Ex-Husband, Nothing has made my day more enjoyable than receiving your letter. It's true that you and I have been married for seven years, although a 'good man' is a far cry from what you've been. I watch my soaps so much because they drown out your constant whining and griping. It's just too bad it doesn't work. Yes, I did notice when you got a hair cut last week,,,and actually the first thing that came to my mind was "You look just like a girl",,, but my mother raised me not to say anything at all if you can't say anything nice. And when you cooked my favorite meal, you must have gotten me confused with my SISTER, because I stopped eating pork seven years ago. I turned away from you when you had those new silk boxers on because the price tag was still on them. I prayed that it was just a coincidence that my sister had just borrowed fifty dollars from me that morning and your silk boxers were $49.99... After all of this, I still loved you and felt that we could work it out. So when I discovered that I had hit the lotto for twenty million dollars, I quit my job and bought us two tickets to Hawaii. But when I got home you were gone. Everything happens for a reason I guess. I hope you have the fulfilling life you've always wanted. My lawyer said with the letter that you wrote, you won't get a dime from me. So take care. Signed: Rich As Hell and Freeeeeeeeeeee! P.S. I don't know if I ever told you this but my sister 'Carla',,,was born Carl. I hope that's not a problem for you.

EYE DONATION NEEDED BEFORE 16TH JAN !!! Name: Mr. BUG-NOR

India’s 3rd Test against Australia begins at Perth on 16th Jan'2008.

Can someone find a pair of eyes for this blind man before that???