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Hacking Windows® XP
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Hacking Windows® XP
Steve Sinchak
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
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Hacking Windows® XP
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
10475 Crosspoint Boulevard
Indianapolis, IN 46256
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2004 by Steve Sinchak
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
eISBN: 0-7645-7722-0
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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About the Author
Steve Sinchak is an entrepreneur that has started several technology-related businesses and is
currently running a Web development firm known as SSMGi that owns and operates several
Web sites. As president of the small company, he is responsible for financial, as well as technical, aspects of the business, such as application programming and infrastructure design and
maintenance.
Steve has been working with computers for more than 10 years. Starting with a desktop which
had a 286-based processor, 1MB of RAM, and was running DOS & Windows 3.1, he taught
himself how to make his computer run faster on the outdated hardware. Driven by curiosity to
customize Windows and make it run faster, he spent countless hours researching and experimenting with the inner workings and features of Windows. His primary claim-to-fame in this
subject matter is as the creator of TweakXP.com, the number-one site for tweaking Windows
XP. What started out as an idea for a new Web site that combined his interest in tweaking
Windows and Web programming has grown into a massive database of tweaks and tips for
Windows XP that attracts more than 3 million visitors a year.
Currently, Steve is a senior at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI, studying management
IT and computer science. He splits his spare time between classes, running his businesses, and
spending time with his family and friends.
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Credits
Executive Editor
Chris Webb
Vice President and Executive Publisher
Bob Ipsen
Development Editor
Scott Amerman
Vice President and Publisher
Joseph B. Wikert
Production Editor
Gabrielle Nabi
Executive Editorial Director
Mary Bednarek
Technical Editors
Greg Guntle
Wiley-Dreamtech India Pvt. Ltd.
Copy Editor
TechBooks
Editorial Manager
Kathryn A. Malm
Vice President & Executive Group
Publisher
Richard Swadley
Project Coordinator
Erin Smith
Permissions Editor
Laura Moss
Media Development Specialist
Kit Malone
Proofreading and Indexing
TechBooks Production Services
Cover Image
Anthony Bunyan
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This book is dedicated to my parents Larry and Mary Jo, my brothers Jason and David,
my sisters Jackie and Kimberly, and my girlfriend Emily.
viii Simpo PDF Merge and Split Unregistered Version - http://www.simpopdf.com
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Acknowledgments
Writing this book while juggling classes and my business was often pretty difficult. Almost all
of my free time for the last four months has been consumed by writing, leaving very little time
for my girlfriend and friends. First, I would like to thank my girlfriend, Emily, for her love,
support, understanding, and help when things got really tight. Thank you so much. You mean
the world to me.
I’d also like to thank everyone in my family for the love, support, and motivation that they have
always shown me. Dad, thanks for bringing home that old IBM AT from work many years
ago. Who would have thought it could start something that would lead me to eventually write
a book? Mom, thank you for your constant motivation and love throughout all of the challenges
in my life.
I’d like to thank my close friends, Paul and Tom. Although they made writing this book very
difficult at times, with their constant distractions, I wouldn’t want it any other way. Going to
Miller Time pub with you two to take breaks from writing was priceless.
Next, I’d like to thank everyone at Wiley for their work on this book. Chris Webb, thanks for
giving me this opportunity and for your suggestions in the early stages. Scott Amerman, thank
you very much for your help and suggestions with writing the chapters. Thank you for turning
me into an author.
Everyone at TweakXP.com also deserves a big thank you—especially Allan Grossman, the
forum administrator of the TweakXP.com support forums. Thank you very much for helping
me with the site and for turning the forum into one of the best support forums for Windows
XP. I would also like to thank all of the forum moderators, news posters, active members, and
daily visitors. You have all played an essential role in the success of TweakXP.com. Thank you
very much!
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Contents at a Glance
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Part I: Customizing Your System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter 1: Customizing the Look of the Startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Chapter 2: Customizing User Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Chapter 3: Hacking the Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Chapter 4: Customizing the Appearance of the Windows Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Chapter 5: Hacking Windows Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Chapter 6: Exploring Other Windows Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Part II: Increasing Your System’s Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Chapter 7: Analyzing Your System . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 8: Speeding Up the System Boot . . . . . . .
Chapter 9: Making Your Computer Load Faster . . .
Chapter 10: Making Your Computer More Responsive
Chapter 11: Speeding Up Your Computer . . . . . . .
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Part III: Securing Your System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Chapter 12: Protecting Your Computer from Intruders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Chapter 13: Fighting Spam, Spyware, and Viruses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Chapter 14: Protecting Your Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Appendix A: What’s on the CD-ROM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
End-User License Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
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Contents
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix
Part I: Customizing Your System
1
Chapter 1: Customizing the Look of the Startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Customizing the Windows XP Boot Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Changing the boot screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Customizing the Logon Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Working with the Welcome screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Working with the classic logon screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Global logon/Welcome settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Chapter 2: Customizing User Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Customizing the Start Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Group Policy Editor to customize the Start panel
Adding and removing navigation icons . . . . . . . . .
Switching to small icons for frequently run apps . . . . .
Increasing number of recently run programs
displayed on the Start panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hiding programs from appearing in the Start panel . . .
Pinning your programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding Web site links to your Start panel . . . . . . . .
Customizing the Classic Start Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Turning the classic Start Menu back on . . . . . . . . .
Customizing the classic Start Menu . . . . . . . . . . .
Customizing the Start Menu/Panel Program Listings . . . . .
Changing program listing display options for
users of the Start panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Changing program listing display options for users
of the classic Start Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Removing pop-up Help for users of both the Start
panel and Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Customizing the Taskbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using and adjusting program grouping . . . . . . . . .
Quick Launching your programs . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hacking the Start button to replace the Start text . . . .
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xiv Simpo
Contents
Modifying the taskbar location . . . . .
Using the Taskbar Magnifier PowerToy
Removing the notification area . . . . .
Removing the clock from the taskbar .
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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68
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Chapter 3: Hacking the Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Customizing Desktop Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Removing all icons from the desktop . . . . . . . . . . .
Customizing the icon drop shadow effect . . . . . . . .
Displaying the traditional Windows icons . . . . . . . .
Enabling large icons on the desktop . . . . . . . . . . .
Removing the text below the icons . . . . . . . . . . . .
Renaming the Recycle Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Removing the shortcut arrow from icons on the desktop
Changing the icons on the desktop . . . . . . . . . . .
Customizing the Behavior of the Desktop . . . . . . . . . . .
Using the Virtual Desktop Manager PowerToy . . . . .
Fun with Active Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using the wallpaper PowerToy . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Chapter 4: Customizing the Appearance of the Windows Interface . . . 91
Working with Themes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Changing the current theme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Making your own themes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Modifying the Visual Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Installing new visual styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Tweaking the visual styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Making your own visual styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Visual Style Alternatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Using WindowBlinds to change the
way Windows XP looks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Installing additional Windows XP skins for WindowBlinds . . . . . . . . . 114
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Chapter 5: Hacking Windows Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Hacking File Associations . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Changing the default launch app . . . . . .
Changing the icon of any file type . . . . .
Hacking the Context Menu . . . . . . . . . . . .
Removing items from the context menu . .
Adding your own items to the context menu
Modifying the Send To menu . . . . . . . .
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Simpo PDF Merge and Split Unregistered Version - http://www.simpopdf.com
Contents
Customizing Your Folders . . . . . . . . . . . .
Changing a folder icon and picture . . . .
Changing the template of a folder . . . .
Customizing the view folder . . . . . . .
Applying your folder settings to all folders
Working with Hidden Files . . . . . . . . . . .
Unhiding hidden files . . . . . . . . . . .
Revealing the super hidden files . . . . .
Disabling the Common Tasks Pane . . . . . . .
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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126
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Chapter 6: Exploring Other Windows Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . 137
Modding Internet Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Changing the logo animation . . . . . . . . . . .
Changing the toolbar background . . . . . . . .
Making your own quick search address command
Other Visual Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Replacing the task switcher . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding Special Effects to your Windows . . . . .
Fine-Tuning ClearType . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Branding Windows XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Part II: Increasing Your System’s Performance
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Chapter 7: Analyzing Your System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Monitoring Your System Hardware . . . . . . .
Using performance . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Bootvis to analyze your system start
Using Task Manager . . . . . . . . . . .
Benchmarking Your System . . . . . . . . . . .
How to benchmark your system . . . . .
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Chapter 8: Speeding Up the System Boot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Working with BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Changing the boot order of your drives . .
Using the quick boot feature of the BIOS
Modifying the Operating System Boot . . . . .
Lowering OS timeout values . . . . . . .
Disabling the system boot screen . . . . .
Disabling unneeded hardware devices . .
Removing extra fonts for speed . . . . . .
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Contents
Disabling unneeded services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Optimizing the location of the boot files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Chapter 9: Making Your Computer Load Faster . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Speeding Up the Logon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Enabling automatic logon . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Removing user passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adjust the startup programs . . . . . . . . . . .
Customizing startup programs for different users
Other Time-Saving Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Assigning alternative IP addresses . . . . . . . .
Turning off the logon music . . . . . . . . . . .
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Chapter 10: Making Your Computer More Responsive . . . . . . . . . . 231
Speeding up file browsing and access . . . .
Disabling the file access timestamp . .
Disabling legacy filename creation . .
Speeding Up the User Interface . . . . . . .
Reducing the menu delay . . . . . . .
Working with the performance options
Disable Indexing Service . . . . . . .
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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231
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Chapter 11: Speeding Up Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Working with the Windows Prefetcher . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hacking the registry to optimize the Prefetcher . . . .
Accelerate specific applications with prefetch . . . . . .
Using the Intel Application Accelerator . . . . . . . . . . . .
How well does the Intel Application Accelerator work?
What are the system requirements? . . . . . . . . . . .
How to install Intel Application Accelerator . . . . . .
Fine-Tuning the Windows Paging File . . . . . . . . . . . .
Disabling the paging file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adjusting the size of the paging file . . . . . . . . . .
Changing the location of the paging file . . . . . . . .
Defragmenting Your Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Defragmenting the Windows paging file . . . . . . . .
Defragmenting the NTFS master file table . . . . . . .
Adjusting Your Application Priorities . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Task Manager to adjust priorities . . . . . . . .
Starting applications with a user set priority . . . . . .
Using WinTasks to profile your priorities . . . . . . .
Speeding Up Your Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Increasing network browsing speed . . . . . . . . . . .
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Contents
Disabling unneeded protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Tweaking your Internet connection for speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Part III: Securing Your System
277
Chapter 12: Protecting Your Computer from Intruders . . . . . . . . . . 279
How Vulnerable Is Your System? . . . . . . . . . . . .
Testing your Internet security . . . . . . . . . . .
Updating your computer . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Firewalls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using the Windows firewall . . . . . . . . . . .
Using ZoneAlarm personal . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Sygate Personal Firewall . . . . . . . . . .
Disabling Unneeded Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Disabling Remote Desktop connection . . . . . .
Disabling Messenger Service . . . . . . . . . . .
Disabling Universal Plug and Play . . . . . . . .
Disabling Remote Registry Access . . . . . . . .
Disable DCOM support . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Wireless Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using WEP for secure communication . . . . . .
Using WPA for a more secure wireless connection
Controlling access to your computer . . . . . . . . . . .
Managing user accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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280
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301
Chapter 13: Fighting Spam, Spyware, and Viruses . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Eliminating Spam . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stopping spam in the first place . . . .
Using filtering software . . . . . . . .
Blocking external links in HTML mail
Defending Spyware and Adware . . . . . .
Detecting and removing spyware . . .
Locking down Internet Explorer . . .
Immunizing your computer . . . . . .
Defending against Viruses . . . . . . . . . .
Use an antivirus program . . . . . . .
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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304
305
305
307
307
311
312
312
313
314
Chapter 14: Protecting Your Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Internet Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Removing address bar suggestions . . . . . .
Clearing visited Web sites history . . . . . . .
Clearing temporary Internet files and cookies
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315
315
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318
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xviiiSimpo
Contents
Adjusting your cookie security policy . . . . . .
Saying no to encrypted Web pages . . . . . . .
Disabling AutoComplete . . . . . . . . . . . .
Clearing Temporary Internet Files automatically
Windows Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Clearing Frequently Run Programs list . . . . .
Clearing the recently opened document list . .
Removing temporary files from your hard drive
Removing saved passwords . . . . . . . . . . .
Setting file and folder permissions . . . . . . .
Encrypting Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Appendix A: What’s on the CD-ROM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
End-User License Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Simpo PDF Merge and Split Unregistered Version - http://www.simpopdf.com
Contents
Introduction
indows XP is a great operating system. It is faster and more secure than any other
version of Windows. However, for some, it is not fast and secure enough. By picking
up this book, you have started a three-part journey that will guide you through all of
the steps of customizing, optimizing for performance, and securing Windows XP. I am not
talking about minor little tweaks; this book is going to show you how to conduct major surgery
on your Windows XP box.
W
Visually, Windows XP is superior to all other Windows versions. No other version of
Windows has ever looked this good. So how could you make it look better? Customize it!
Impress your friends and refresh your dull desktop with a cool new look. I am going to
show you how to completely change the way Windows XP looks during all stages of its
operation.
Performance-wise, Windows XP has made great advances. However, for some computer users
of older hardware, running Windows XP can be like trying to pull a 100-foot yacht behind a
tiny import car. Although Windows XP will not bust your CPU quite so much as a yacht
would, it can slow down the operation of your computer because there are so many new features. To help you out, I am going to show you how to get the new features under control; I’ll
also tell you about some tricks that I have found to speed up the operation of Windows XP. If
you already have the V12 4 x 4 of computers, and you have no problem pulling the 100-foot
yacht, then you will still benefit from the performance tips.
Windows XP is a lot more secure than prior Windows operating systems. However, as we all
know from recent history, it has not been doing very well. This book is going to show you how
to use some of the new features of Windows XP Service Pack 2, as well as many other cool
security tips, to make Windows XP much securer. Congratulations on starting your journey.
Your computer will be in better shape than ever in no time!
About This Book
This book is the result of several years of research into the subject of the Windows operating system. It is a more polished and portable companion to the author’s Web site,
TweakXP.com, which is located at www.TweakXP.com. Most of the information contained in this book is completely new content that was never before published on
TweakXP.com.
This book is meant to be read from start to finish in order. However, it was also written
so that it can be used as a reference manual of different hacks. Feel free to skip around
if you do not want to take the full journey of customizing, optimizing, and securing
Windows XP.
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