Saturday 17 December 2011

How To Save Youtube videos (and other streaming videos) In Windows 7 and Vista


If you have Windows 7 or Windows Vista, you can save videos from Youtube and other similar website by copying Internet Explorer temporary file.
There is no benefit compared to other method of downloading streaming media other than you can impress your novice computer user friends when you do this on their computer LOL.
Okay, this is how to do it step by step:
- Firstly, make sure you can view hidden and system files:Click Start/Orb -> Computer
Click Organize -> Folder and search option
A new window should be appear. Choose ViewClick on Show hidden files, folder, and drivesRemove the tick on Hide protected operating system files tickbox.
For novice user: With this setting,  you will be able to remove system files, so make sure not to remove any files!
For expert user: You wouldn’t be here reading this blog hehe :p  
Now you are ready to download the video.
- Open the videos that you want to save in Internet Explorer.
- Wait until the video is fully buffered (ie. in youtube the seeker bar is fully red)
- Click Start/Orb  -> Computer
- Type / paste this text to your address bar:
C:\Users\XXXXXX\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Low\Content.IE5
but replace the XXXXXX with your Personal Folder name. (See notes below if you dont know the name)
After you finished typing/pasting the address, press enter
You should see folders named with random alphanumeric character. Your video is inside one of those folders.
(to avoid doing this in future, I suggest you put a shortcut to this folder in your Windows desktop)
Open those folders one by one (if security dialog box appear just click Yes), and sort the files by Size and Descending so you can easily recognize your downloaded video. If said video is from youtube, file name should be something like “videoplayback[x]” ( the x in brace will be a number).
If you can’t see said file, go back (press backspace or back button) and open another folder.
Once you found the file, rename it (press F2) and add .flv at the end of the file name so the file name would be something like videoplayback[1].flv
you can rename it to anything as long as the extension is .flv
Open that file, and it should be played with your media player.
Move the file to other folder. If you don’t move it, it might be removed by Internet Explorer after certain time.
Note : if you dont know your pesonal folder name, click Start/Orb -> Computer , open your root drive (usually C:\) and open folder”Users”. Your Personal Folder is the one that is not “All User”, “Default”, “Default User”, “Public”.
Thanks for reading, feel free to ask if anything is not clear for you.

Friday 9 December 2011

Registry Edit to Disable Writing to USB Drives

Registry Edit to Disable Writing to USB Drives

A common security concern at organizations is allowing users to plug in a usb flash drive, because they could so easily copy corporate data.
Since Windows XP SP2, you can disable writing to USB devices altogether using a simple registry hack. Here it is:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies]
“WriteProtect”=dword:00000001
You can also just download one of the following registry tweaks to enable or disable writing to USB drives.
Enable USB Write
Disable USB Write
Once you use the registry hack, you will have to reboot for the changes to take effect. One should also note that if you are using this trick, you should make sure that the users are not administrators on the computer, because they could easily change this setting back.
This works on Windows Vista as well. Here’s the window you’ll get when you try and write to a USB drive:

Tuesday 6 December 2011

How To Set Up A Picture Password Or PIN In Windows 8

Microsoft Windows 8 has introduced many revolutionary concepts and new features. For instance, it has introduced two new ways of logging in - by using Picture Password or by using PIN.
A Picture Password enables you to use a picture from your library as a password. You have to perform three gestures on the picture that you want to use as your password. For example, you can select, draw and resize some portion of the picture as you want.

Set up a Picture Password in Windows 8 as follows:

1. Open Control Panel by clicking on the Control Panel option in the default Metro style home screen.
2. In the Control Panel window, select Users and then click on the Create a Picture Password option.picture password 01 400x262 How To Set Up A Picture Password Or PIN In Windows 8
3. Then you will be asked to enter your Login Password, before you can set a picture password. Make sure that your Windows 8 account has a password. If you haven’t got one, you cannot create a picture password.picture password 02 400x320 How To Set Up A Picture Password Or PIN In Windows 8
4. After that, browse to the picture that you want to use as your password and select it.picture password 03 400x268 How To Set Up A Picture Password Or PIN In Windows 8
5. You will be asked to perform 3 gestures which can be either selecting, resizing, creating straight lines or circles. You will need to redraw the pattern for confirmation.
Bingo! You have successfully setup a Picture Password. You will be asked to redraw the pattern at your next login. If you think that Picture Password is too complicated for you but you still want to experience a change in the method of login, Microsoft Windows 8 has a solution for you in the form of PIN.
Though this method is faster than traditional login and Picture Password, it is less secure than Picture Password, as it can have at most four digits as a password. Still it is worth a try if you are using a touch based device.

Set up a PIN in Windows 8 as follows:

1. Click Create a Pin option in Pin login section.
2. You will be prompted to enter your Windows user account password. Click OK to continue.
3. Enter PIN number of your choice and click Finish button to complete the setup.pin password 01 400x185 How To Set Up A Picture Password Or PIN In Windows 8
If you don’t want to use any of these methods, you can always stick to the traditional method of logging in to your Windows, at any time you want.

How to switch back to Local Account log on, from Live ID log on, in Windows 8

As you know, there are various methods for logging on to a PC running Windows 8. If you had opted for logging on using Windows Live ID during the installation of Windows 8 or changed to Windows Live ID log on later, but have now decided that you want to switch back to logging on using Local account,  here is how its done.
Open Control panel by clicking on the Control Panel app on the Start screen, click on ‘More settings’ > User Accounts. Click on ‘Change to a local account’
logon1 600x294 How to switch back to Local Account log on, from Live ID log on, in Windows 8
You’ll see this screen. Enter the current password and click Nextlogon2 600x462 How to switch back to Local Account log on, from Live ID log on, in Windows 8
Enter the required information required to logon using a local account from now  on.
Click Nextlogon3 600x436 How to switch back to Local Account log on, from Live ID log on, in Windows 8
Now you are ready to change to local account. You will therefore be now logged off, so save any unsaved work if any and then click on Log off and finish.
After logging off, for the log on, you will now be provided with a local account log on.
You should know that using Windows Live ID (any email address) log on has some cool features as it syncs some settings across PCs you use. It also syncs settings like browser favorites, history, shortcuts, passwords for the various services you use.

30 things about Windows 8

1. A great feature introduced in Windows 8 is Genuine Center, through which you’ll be able to enter or change your license key and view the status of your license genuineness.
2. Windows 8 On screen keyboard, can split in two parts and converts in Thumb Keyboard to provide easy access to all keys on a Tablet.
3. Multitasking has been made easy and more efficient. Windows 8 runs two different UI simultaneously.
4. Apps can communicate with each other in Windows 8.
5. Gesture-based navigation is intuitive and fast.
6. The most unique feature of Windows 8 is that it offer Multi-Monitor options where on one monitor you can display your start screen and the desktop on the other.
7. In Windows 8, Task Manager is easy to use with all-in-one dashboard for monitoring and controlling of what’s going on.
8. Windows 8 removes the fear of PC failure as it has Push-Button Reset option.
9. Windows 8 automatically manages to keep the PC up to date without interrupting you in the middle of your work with the newly featured Windows Update.
10. In Windows 8 cryptography is much easier.
11. Windows 8 supports newly designed SmartScreen which is a set of sophisticated technologies to help protect you from malicious websites and programs.
12. Windows 8 comes integrated with built-in drivers that support a broad range of devices, including printers, sensors, touch-input devices, and displays.
13. Secured boot stops malware in its tracks and makes Windows 8 significantly more resistant to low-level attacks.
14. Windows 8 allows mobility and connectivity virtually from anywhere.
15. In Windows 8 DirectAccess helps remote users to securely access resources within a corporate network.
16. AppLocker has been enhanced with richer capabilities and enables to manage both desktop and Metro style applications.
17. Business users can save their data from unauthorized access as Windows 8 comes preloaded with new version of BitLocker.
18. Windows 8 introduces Windows store from where you can find the apps you want, ranging from exciting new games, to the productivity tools and many more.
19. Windows 8 intends many new features for business users.
20. You can set Windows 8 to auto refresh which eliminates the need of pressing F5 again and again.
21. Windows 8 provides a reset option, which restores the PC to the state it was in when originally purchased in case a major PC failure happens.
22. You can integrate your Windows live ID account in Windows 8, hence eliminating need of creating a separate user account locally.
23. Windows 8 is going to feature built-in Cloud Apps and services with SkyDrive.
24. Protecting the pre-OS environment with UEFI.
25. Windows 8 is also likely expected to comprehend the Calling and SMS capabilities on 3G supported tablets.
26. Driver developers can use the new, integrated Microsoft Visual Studio development environment to increase productivity and develop richer applications.
27. Windows 8 supports a broad range of app programming languages (for example, C,C++,HTML5,CSS3,DirectX 11.1,XAML).
28. Windows 8 offers Windows Push Notification Service through which apps can receive secure messages from your website, and send them to your app’s live tile or pro vide a notification to the user.
29.Windows 8 integrates support for contact selection directly within Windows using its feature Contact Picker.
30. Windows 8 supports Mobility and Connectivity on the Go for business users.

How to prevent users from installing programs in Windows 7

You can if you wish restrict users from installing programs in Windows 7 , Windows Vista, Windows XP , Windows 2000 & Windows Server family. You can do so by using certain Group Policy settings to control the behavior of the Windows Installer, prevent certain programs from running or restrict via the Registry Editor.
The Windows Installer, msiexec.exe, previously known as Microsoft Installer, is an engine for the installation, maintenance, and removal of software on modern Microsoft Windows systems.
1) Disable or restrict the use of Windows Installer via Group Policy.
disable windows installer How to prevent users from installing programs in Windows 7
Type gpedit.msc in start search and hit Enter to open the Group Policy Editor. Navigate to Computer Configurations > Administrative templates > Windows Components > Windows Installer. In RHS pane double-click on Disable windows installer. Configure the option as required.