Tech With Ric » Windows

How to Fix : Virus Converting Pen Drive Icon to Folder Icon

Richie Sajan — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:35:57 +0000

A pen drive (or more officially USB Flash drive) is one of the most commonly used data storage devices. The versatility and ease of use provided by it is unmatched. And as it is being widely used, it’s also become a rather favorite target for viruses. One of the most annoying viruses is the one which converts the pen drive icon into a folder icon and on double-clicking it, it shows the ‘Open With’ window. So here’s how to remove this problem.

Of course the best way to solve this problem is to format the pen-drive. However this will lead to loss of data in it. The following method shows you how to solve this problem without formatting:

Firstly, goto Start => Run (or Start+R)
Now type the drive of your pen drive followed by semi-colon (eg. my pen drive’s drive is ‘J’. Then enter ‘J:’ – without the quotes)
Now type

attrib autorun.inf

and press Enter. This is to verify whether the file is present.
Now type the following command:

attrib -h -r -s autorun.inf

and press enter. This removes the hidden attribute of autorun.inf file.
Now type the last command

del autorun.inf

this deletes the above-mentioned file.
One last step is to goto your My Computer Window and rename the pen drive. eg:
Rename pen drive (you can use F2 key)

That’s it your done. Your pen drive has now been cleaned and you can use your pen drive normally, as you could do before. Piece of cake, wasn’t it?

Windows Run Command Cheat Sheet 2

Ashutosh — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 07:11:05 +0000

As you can see that i had earlier posted the 1st part of the Run command list as Windows Run Command Cheat Sheet. This post consists of more of the other Run commands that are available for Windows as well as for some of the installed applications.

Here are some of the Commands and Functions for ‘System Management Control Panel’ and ‘Control Panel’

COMMAND	FUNCTION
appwiz.cpl	Add or Remove Programs
control	Control Panel
control admintools	Administrative Tools
control color	Manage Appearance
control desktop	Display Properties
control folders	Folder Options
control fonts	Font Manager
control keyboard	Keyboard Properties
control mouse	Mouse Properties
control netconnections	Manage Network Connections
control printers	Manage Printers and Scanners
control schedtasks	Manage Scheduled Tasks
control userpasswords2	Control Usernames and Passwords
credwiz	Stored Usernames and Passwords
desk.cpl	Display Panel
devmgmt.msc	Device Manager
directx.cpl	Direct X Control Panel
dpinst	Install Drivers
dpiscaling	Adjust Dots per Inch Scaling
eventvwr.msc	Event Viewer
fonts	Open Fonts Folder
gpedit.msc	Group Policy Editor
hdwwiz.cpl	Add Hardware Wizard
intl.cpl	Change Regional Settings
javaws	Java Control Panel
lusrmgr	User And Group Manager
mmsys.cpl	Audio Management
msconfig	Change Various Aspects of the System
optional features	Manage Optional Features
powercfg.cpl	Power Management and lid Options(Where Applicable)
regedit	Edit Registry
rekeywiz	Encrypt File System
secpol.msc	Security Settings
sndvol	Adjust Sound Volume
sysedit	Edit System Configuration
timedate.cpl	Date and Time Settings
utilman	Utility Manager
wscui.cpl	Security Settings
wuapp	Windows Update Application

Commands and Functions for ‘Internet’ and ‘Files and Folders’

COMMANDS	FUNCTIONS
iexplore	Internet Explorer
iexpress	Internet Express Wizard
inetcpl.cpl	Internet Settings
ipconfig	Configure TCP/IP
firewall.cpl	Windows Firewall
wf.msc	Firewall and Security
inetwiz	Internet Setup Wizard
ipconfig/all	Display Current TCP/IP Settings
ipconfig/displaydns	Show DNS Cache
ipcofig/flushdns	Clean DNS Cache
ipconfig/registerdns	Refreshes Connection
ipconfig/showclassid	Shows DHCP class ID
ipconfig/setclassid	Specify DHCP class ID
migwiz	Migration Wizard
comp	Compare Files
sigverify	Verify File Signatures
c:, e:, d:, etc	Open Directory
c:/path	Open Path
findfast.cpl	Quick Search

Commands and Functions for ‘Diagnostics and Repair’

COMMANDS	FUNCTIONS
chkdsk	Check Disk
diskmgmt	Disk Management and Partitioning
dcomcnfg	View and Manage Services
dxdiag	Direct X Troubleshooting
cleanmgr	Disk Cleaning
dfrgui	Defragment Drive with GUI
verifier	Verify Installed Drivers
msdt	MS Support Diagnostic Tool
perfmon	Performance Monitor
sfc	File Checker
msinfo32	System Information
sysdm.cpl	System Properties
sdclt	Backup
syskey	System Security Tool
dfrg	Defragment Drive
helpctr	Help and Support
sfc/scannow	Start Scanning System
sfc/scanonce	Scan at Next Boot
sfc/scanboot	Scan at every Boot
sfc/revert	Return to Default Settings(of SFC)
sfc/purgecache	Clear Cache
tcptest	TCP tester
logoff	Log Off Windows
shutdown	Shut Down Windows

Windows Run Command Cheat Sheet

Ashutosh — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 12:58:26 +0000

Windows provides a tool for direct and easy access to different windows features. Also many of the windows users are unaware of it and many use it very often. It is the Run command using which one can access any of the windows provided feature or also installed applications. Fast access to some applications and some of the rarely known customization options on Windows operating systems.The shortcut key for the Run command is Windows + [R]

Following are Commands and Functions for ‘Tools‘

COMMAND	FUNCTION
calc	Calculator
clipbrd	Clipboard
cmd	Command prompt
dvdplay	Play inserted dvd’s
excel	MS Excel
explorer	Windows Explorer
freecell	Play Card Game
frontpg	MS Frontpage
igfxzoom	Zoom Utility
magnify	Windows Magnifier
mobsync	MS Synchronisation
moviemk	Windows Movie Maker
mplay32	Basic WMP, not Classic WMP
mrt	malicious software removal tool
mshearts	Play Hearts
mspaint	MS Paint
mstsc	Remote Desktop
msword	MS Word
notepad	Notepad
osk	On Screen Keyboard
pinball	Play Pinball
powerpnt	MS Powerpoint
slui	Windows Activation
snippingtool	Snipping tool for Screenshots
soundrecorder	record sounds
spider	Play Spider Solitaire
stickynote	Add a sticky note on the Desktop
taskmgr	Task Manager
winmine	Minesweeper
wmplayer	Windows Media Player
write	Wordpad

I’ll post more of these commands related to Internet, System, System soon…

Easiest Way to Schedule a Computer Shutdown

Richie Sajan — Mon, 31 May 2010 11:56:33 +0000

I listen to music all the while. Be it traveling, studying or even while trying to sleep. Talking about sleep, its not always convenient nor economical to leave you computer switched on all night. So an easy way out could be to tell someone in your family to switch off the computer after you’ve dozed off or still better, don’t trouble anyone and schedule a computer shutdown by yourself!

Well there are two ways here. One is the software way and the other is the command prompt way. Yeah cmd does look a little intimidating but just here me out. Once you complete the following steps, you’ll see how easy it really is.

So first you’ll have to go to Start => Run or Start+R.
Now just type the following

shutdown.exe -s -t 20

Thats it! But don’t press OK or Enter yet. There’s some explanation to be done with.

So the command that you’ve entered here is shutdown.exe -s -t 20. Lets break it down now.

shutdown.exe : Quite self explanatory. The program which shut’s down your computer.
-s : Called as an argument, it says to shutdown the computer. Similarly if you would replace it with -r, the computer would have restarted -l would have logged of the computer.
-t : Again an argument. It functions as a timer. The number succeeding it is the number of seconds the computer must wait before shutting down. So 20 here says the computer to shut-down after 20 seconds.

You could change the time. Suppose you want the computer to shutdown after 15 minutes, just enter the period in seconds. 15×60 = 900.

Animation showing the computer shutdown process.

Trick: Although this is not needed, this step can add a cool message to your shutdown window. Just add a -c “comment” to the earlier command. You can replace comment with anything you like. eg:

shutdown.exe -s -t 900 -c “This shutdown has been inititaed bby Richie – the greatest hacker!”

You’ll get a cool message like this:

Shutdown with Comment

You could use the following table for your reference as to which arguments to use:

Argument	Used for
-i	Display GUI interface, must be the first option
-l	Log off (cannot be used with -m option)
-s	Shutdown the computer
-r	Shutdown and restart the computer
-a	Abort a system shutdown
-m \\computername	Remote computer to shutdown/restart/abort
-t xx	Set timeout for shutdown to xx seconds
-c “comment”	Shutdown comment (maximum of 127 characters)
-f	Forces running applications to close without warning
-d [u][p]:xx:yy	The reason code for the shutdown: u is the user code p is a planned shutdown code xx is the major reason code (positive integer less than 256) yy is the minor reason code (positive integer less than 65536)

Find Out the Last Time a Computer Was Used

Richie Sajan — Sun, 23 May 2010 18:23:41 +0000

Your office computer could be an open book for others to abuse while you aren’t at your desk. Or maybe your child could be using (or misusing) the computer while you were away. What proof do you have of them using your computer? Of course surveillance may be there at your office, but surely not at home. So how can you find out when your computer was switched on the last time?

Your computer is a sophisticated system that keeps track of each and every happening on it (how much ever you curse it for not even doing the most trivial tasks easily!). So how do you do it?

Well, here it is:

First go to the RUN box (Start => Run or Start+R)
Now type the following in the text-box:

eventvwr.msc
Alternatively you could go to the Control Panel => Administrative Tools => Event Viewer.
Once the Event Viewer window is open click on the System link in the left pane.

Now scroll through the times given in the right pane. Consider the following example to get a clearer idea:

Here I had switched off my computer around 6 PM which has entries with time upto 5:42:05 PM as well as 5:56:59 PM. However notice that there is also a event recorded at 7:05:58 PM and another at 9:24:40 PM.

Well those were the times that my computer were last switched on. Interesting, who could it be? (don’t worry it was my sis )

Got any other ways to find it out? Please do share.

How to open “Internet Explorer” with “RUN”

Richie Sajan — Thu, 20 May 2010 17:44:14 +0000

Windows RUN command is the place to be if you want to cut down on clicking with your mouse and wasting your time. You just enter short-cuts like cmd (for command prompt) or %temp% (for opening the folder containing temporary files) and voila the app/window is open. But how to open Internet Explorer from RUN? Read on.

Note: The following tutorial assumes that your Windows installation directory as well as Internet Explorer has been installed on the C drive. If not, just change the drive letter.

Well its pretty simple, just enter the following in the RUN text-box:

C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe

Huh, don’t you think it’s pretty long? Well there’s a simple work-around. You need to do the following steps (just once).

Just go to the the RUN box again. (Keyboard Shortcut : Win + R)
In the text-box type:

C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\
Copy the file named ‘iexplore’ or ‘iexplore.exe’
Again open the RUN box (Win + R)
Now in the text-box type:

%systemroot%\system32\
Now just paste the the iexplore file (which we had earlier copied) in this folder.

That’s it your done! Now to open Internet Explorer from the RUN box, just open it up and then type ‘iexplore’ (without quotes). How’s that!

You could do the similar for Firefox (firefox.exe) or any other related software.

Download Nero 9 Lite for Free

Richie Sajan — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:17:59 +0000

Nero has been a popular and leading CD and DVD burning application over the years. it has always been a paid software. But now Nero is offering a free version of its popular burning suite which has basic CD/DVD burning features. Since it’s a stripped down version, you will only get the most basic CD and DVD burning features and for anything else you’ll have to upgrade.

This version of Nero 9 contains simply data burning and disc copying features for CDs and DVDs. Additional features and functionality are available with an upgrade to Nero 9 full version.

Screenshot:

Requirements:

Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher.
· 1 GHz Intel Pentium III or equivalent AMD and Intel processor
· 2 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent AMD and Intel processor for Windows Vista
· 256 MB RAM
· 512 MB RAM for Windows Vista
· 270MB hard drive space for a typical installation of all components.
· 500MB hard drive space temporary for the installation
· CD or DVD recordable or rewritable drive for burning.
· DirectX 9.0c revision 30 (August 2006) or higher.
· Up to 9 GB available hard drive space for DVD images and temporary DVD files.
· Graphics card with at least 32 MB video memory
· minimum resolution of 800 x 600 pixels
· 16-bit color settings
· 24-bit or 32-bit true color is recommended

The installer of nero 9 is 55mb in size and it works on Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7.

You can download it from here.

Important Note: This freeware version of Nero 9 will try and reset your default browser search page and install the Ask toolbar. Make sure you choose “Install Nero without the Ask Toolbar” option while installing.

Lock File(s) on Windows Without Using Any Software

Richie Sajan — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:00:36 +0000

How many times have you wished for a software, using which you can hide or lock files, restricting its access to other unwanted users. Although there are several such softwares available in the market, using which you can easily lock/hide files but, I personally dont trust them because most of them are bloatware or spyware.Here’s a simple yet powerful way of locking and hiding important files without the use of any software.

Follow the instructions to make you own Locker ( Without any software !! ) :

Open notepad.
Copy the following code in notepad file :

cls
@ECHO OFF
title Folder Locker
if EXIST “Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}” goto UNLOCK
if NOT EXIST Locker goto MDLOCKER
:CONFIRM
echo Are you sure u want to Lock the folder(Y/N)
set/p “cho=>”
if %cho%==Y goto LOCK
if %cho%==y goto LOCK
if %cho%==n goto END
if %cho%==N goto END
echo Invalid choice.
goto CONFIRM
:LOCK
ren Locker “Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}”
attrib +h +s “Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}”
echo Folder locked
goto End
:UNLOCK
echo Enter password to Unlock folder
set/p “pass=>”
if NOT %pass%==YOUR PASSWORD HERE goto FAIL
attrib -h -s “Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}”
ren “Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}” Locker
echo Folder Unlocked successfully
goto End
:FAIL
echo Invalid password
goto end
:MDLOCKER
md Locker
echo Locker created successfully
goto End
:End

Change the “YOUR PASSWORD HERE” with your password ( Marked as RED above ).
Save it as batch file ( with extension .bat ) For eg. Locker.bat
Now you will see a batch file. Double click it to create a folder locker ( A new folder named Locker would be formed at the same location )
Thats it you have now created your own locker and that too without using any software !

Brings all the files you want to hide in the locker folder. Double click the batch ( As created above ) file to lock the folder namely Locker.

If you want to unlock your files, simple double click the batch file again and you would be prompted for password ( In DOS window ). Enter the password and enjoy access to the folder.

How to Install Windows Movie Maker in Windows 7

Richie Sajan — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:09:47 +0000

Well I used Windows XP earlier and then directly skipped to Windows 7. And one of the best features, that I simply loved in Windows 7 was the Movie Maker. Although not a great video editor, it still allowed bare-bones editing, which was enough for me. But voila! No Movie Maker in Win7 by default! Lets see how we can get it.

Actually the process is quite simple. First of all go to download.live.com, and download the software (you can download it in your language as well, by clicking on the Download button to the right.

After you have downloaded the software, open it. There will be a loading window at first. Wait a little, this may take some time especially on slow computers.

Now a new window must have opened with a list of softwares that you can install. Check the software that you want to install, in our case Movie Maker, and then just press the Install button.

Well now all you got to do is wait. Go grab a cup of coffee while the softwares are downloaded.

After the download is complete, you may be asked to reboot. Do so, and there you are, you’ve got Windows Movie Maker installed in Windows 7!

Tip: If you want to install any other application (for eg. Live Writer) just open the software that you downloaded at the first step, and check the software that you want. Just follow the above steps.

If you want to uninstall it, you can do so by going to Control Panel -> Programs -> Uninstall a Program, and in the new window that opens, scroll down to Windows Live Essentials. Double Click on it and click Continue.

How to Disable or Enable Internet Explorer in Windows 7

Richie Sajan — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:56:57 +0000

Although we might have struggled a lot in the days of Windows XP and Vista to disable Internet Explorer, Windows 7 has added a nifty feature that allows a user to quickly disable it. Now, why would you want to disable IE? Well if, like most of the people out there, you are using a third-party browser like FireFox or Chrome, there is no need of IE, and you might as well uninstall it. Find out how you can disable IE in Windows 7.

Follow these tips to quickly remove IE from Windows 7:

Go to Start, and then click on Control Panel

Click on System and Security

From the left pane, click on Programs

Now in the main menu click on Turn Windows features on or off

In the new windows that opens, uncheck Internet Explorer (usually on the third line)

Now click on OK. A warning will be displayed, just click on Yes. You may be asked to reboot your system. Just do it, and now you have IE uninstalled from your Windows 7 system!

An alternative method is to open Start Menu (by clicking on the Start icon in the bottom-left of your screen), and search for Turn Windows features on or off. Click on the very first optin/result and follow from step 5 above.

Easy wasn’t it!

How to Disable Auto-Run in Windows XP

Richie Sajan — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 10:02:00 +0000

Well viruses are the most common thing to be found these days in a Windows System. Although most of the virus that appear in your PC are most probably downloaded (with or without your knowledge) from the internet, the second most common way for a virus to infect your computer is via a CD or Pen Drive via auto-run.‘How?’, you may ask. Well there is this thing called auto-run in Windows. Whenever you insert a CD or a Pen drive, Windows automatically goes through the contents of the removable drive and shows some options like open folder, play media files etc. This process is called auto-run. By default this option is enabled in all version of Windows. So when you connect a removable drive, the virus just have a free time infecting your PC’s.

So it’s very important that you disable auto-run in your PC’s quickly. Use the appropriate method according to your OS, and perform it:

The easiest and most effective means to truly disable autorun can be done via this simple autorun registry hack:REGEDIT4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\IniFileMapping\Autorun.inf]
@=”@SYS:DoesNotExist”
To use this method, Open Notepad and copy/paste the following into a text file:REGEDIT4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\IniFileMapping\Autorun.inf]
@=”@SYS:DoesNotExist”Save the file as something.reg. (You have to be sure to change the “Save File as Type” to “All Files” before saving, or Windows will try to save it as a .txt even if you typed in .reg.
Locate the file you just saved and double-click the file to run it. You will receive a prompt asking if you want to add the data to the registry. Click yes to allow the modification.
The above method nulls any request for autorun.inf and works on XP Home or Pro, as well as Windows Vista. Credit for this tip goes to Nick Brown.If you opt to disable autorun using any other method, you will first need to install an autorun patch from Microsoft that allegedly resolves issues that cause autorun to run even after it’s been disabled (using methods other than the above recommended method).
XP Pro users who have installed the appropriate Microsoft patch for your system and wish to disable autorun using a method other than described above, follow steps 3 through 8 only. XP Home users begin at step 9. Vista users, see How to Disable Autorun in Windows Vista.
XP Pro users: Click Start and then click Run. Type gpedit.msc and click OK. The Group Policy window will open. In the left pane, double-click Administrative Templates
the right pane, double-click System, scroll down the list and double-click Turn Off Autoplay
the Turn Off Autoplay Properties window, select Enabled. From the dropdown next to Turn Off Autoplay on, select All drives and then click OK. Exit Group Policy by selecting File, then choosing Exit from the menu.
Home users will need to make the changes by editing the registry directly. To begin, click Start and then click Run
regedit and click OK. The Registry Editor window will open.
the left pane, navigate to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Software
Microsoft
Windows
CurrentVersion
Policies
Explorer.
(Note: For help navigating the registry, see the Windows Basics System Registry tutorial).
Explorer highlighted, in the right-pane right click the value NoDriveTypeAutoRun and select Modify from the drop down menu. The base value will be set to Hexadecimal. If not, select Hexadecimal.
95 and click OK.
Note that this will stop Autorun on removable/USB drives, but still allow it on CD ROM drives. If you want to disable autorun on both, substitute b5 for the 95. (Thanks to Ian L. of Manitoba for the tip).
Registry Editor by selecting File, then choosing Exit from the menu.
will now need to reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.