Dave Bytes - January 28, 2008

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January 28, 2008

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Here's A Vista Tip

Moving Windows Vista Desktop Icons

If your Windows desktop is a mess, Vista can help clean it up quickly. You can quickly force icons into the upper-left corner of the screen -- and thereby free up desktop space at the bottom and on the right -- by following these steps:

1. Right-click an empty spot on the desktop and choose Personalize.

2. Click the link to Display Settings at the bottom.

3. Reduce your screen resolution.

For example, if you're running at 1,024 x 768, choose 800 x 600.

4. Click Apply, and when Vista asks whether you want to keep your new screen resolution, click Yes.

The icons move to the upper-left corner of the screen.

5. Right-click an empty place on the desktop, choose Personalize --> Display Settings, and return your desktop to its original resolution.

6. Click Apply.

Vista doesn't move the icons, so they stay in the upper-left corner.

To free up the entire right edge of the screen, pushing the icons aside, follow these steps:

1. Right-click an empty spot on the Windows taskbar and choose Properties.

2. Uncheck the Lock the Taskbar box and the Auto-Hide the Taskbar box. Click OK.

3. Click any unused part of the taskbar and drag it to the right edge.

After you have the taskbar in place, you can see that Windows moves all the icons out of the way.

4. Hover your mouse over the left edge of the taskbar until it turns into a double-headed arrow, and then click and drag the taskbar to the left, expanding it to fill as much of the screen as you like.

When you release the mouse button, the icons (and the Sidebar, if it's showing) get shoved out of the way.

5. Right-click an empty area on the taskbar, click Properties, and check the Auto-Hide the Taskbar box.

When the taskbar auto-hides itself, you'll be able to verify that all the icons have moved. Leave the Lock the Taskbar box unchecked.

6. Click any unused part of the taskbar and drag it back to wherever it originated.

None of the icons are disturbed.

7. Right-click an empty spot on the taskbar and check the line marked Lock the Taskbar.

The icons have all been pushed to the left.

14-year-old Hacker Derails Train

On Tuesday, January 8 Adam Dabrowski, 14, managed to turn the tram system in the town of Lodz, Poland into his own plaything. Dabrowski was able to rig a TV remote control to change track points causing trams to veer in unintended directions.

The problems became apparent when one of the operators tried steering his train to the right only to find it veering out of control in the opposite direction, jumping the track and crashing into an oncoming tram. Four vehicles were derailed during Dabrowski's stint at the helm, with twelve people injured.
It didn't take police long to figure out that this was the work of a hacker. "He studied the trams and the tracks for a long time and then built a device that looked like a TV remote control and used it to maneuver the trams and the tracks," said Miroslav Micor, spokesman for the Lodz Police Department. "He had converted the television control into a device capable of controlling all the junctions on the line and wrote in the pages of a school exercise book where the best junctions were to move trams around and what signals to change."
Tram systems are often designed with little knowledge about, or attention to, security providing big loopholes for hackers to exploit. Dabrowski, an avid electronics buff, said he created the stunt as a prank. "He treated it like any other schoolboy might a giant train set, but it was lucky nobody was killed...[Trams] had to make emergency stops that left passengers hurt," added Micor. "He clearly did not think about the consequences of his actions."
Dabrowski faces charges of endangering public safety and is due to appear in juvenile court.

Here's An Windows Tip

Learn the procedures and tools you can use to reveal a lost product key for a currently installed version of Windows.

In order to install or reinstall Microsoft Windows you must have access to a Product Key for that version of the operating system. The product key can typically be found on a yellow sticker on the CD case of the installation CD, or on a small Microsoft sticker on the outside of the PC's case (if the OS came preinstalled on the machine). If you no longer have access to the product key then you will effectively "lose" a Windows license if you ever have to reinstall the operating system.

There are several methods you can use to uncover a lost product key for a version of Windows that you currently have installed.

For older versions of Windows you can extract the product key from the Windows Registry. Click Start | Run and then type regedit and click OK.

For Windows 95 and Windows 98, browse to this key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ProductID

For Windows NT 4.0, browse to this key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProductID

Alternatively, there are also some free scripts and freeware software programs that can help you:

• Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder: This is probably the best tool for this task. In addition to finding and identifying product keys for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP, it can also uncover product keys for installed versions of Microsoft Office.

• Windows Key Finders: This is actually a group of tools that can be used for unearthing product keys for different versions of Windows.

• Belarc Advisor: This free utility builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware.

Whichever method you use, make sure you write down the product key and put it in a safe place for future reference.

While Wandering The Web

GOOG-411 is Google's new 411 service. The service is FREE, fast and easy to use. With GOOG-411 you can find local business information completely free, directly from any phone, anywhere, at anythime. So far it only works for business numbers.

Click the phone for all the info!!

Dave's Cool Downloads
.
Advanced WindowsCare Personal 2.6.0.835

Slow down, freeze, crash and security threats are over. Advanced WindowsCare Personal is a comprehensive PC care utility that takes an one-click approach to help protect, repair and optimize your computer. It provides an all-in-one and super convenient solution for PC maintenance and protection. All work will be done with 1 click and 1 minute. This fantastic program is available free of charge. Compared with its nearest competitor, Advanced WindowsCare Personal provides the more essential and practical formula for Windows: Removing Spyware and Adware, Preventing Security Threats, Privacy Protection, Fixing Registry Errors, Temporary Files Cleanup, Startup Cleanup, Repairing Windows, Speeding up System and 1-click Mechanism.
Requirements: Windows 2000/XP/Vista

Volumouse provides a quick and easy way to control the sound volume on your system — simply by rolling the wheel of your wheel mouse. It allows you to define a set of rules for determining when the wheel will be used for changing the sound volume.
[45K] [Win98/ME/NT/2k/XP/Vista]
PrimoPDF is a free tool for high-quality PDF creation, comprising a user-friendly interface that enables printing to PDF from virtually any Windows application
Features
Completely free, not just a trial version, and no user registration is required.
Ability to optimize PDF output for screen (online viewing), print (standard laser printers), ebook, and prepress.
Resultant PDF output conforms to the PDF 1.4 specification.
Secure PDF files with 40- or 128-bit encryption.
Add document information (e.g. title, author, subject, keywords) to converted PDF files.
NEW: Full support for 64-bit machines.
NEW: Double byte character support.
NEW: Support of non-TrueType fonts.
NEW: Enhanced support for Microsoft Windows 98, ME, XP and Vista as well as improved PDF viewing support on non-Windows platforms.
NEW: Ability to merge/append PDF files upon conversion.

21mb

Here's An Outlook 2007 Tip

If you get lots of e-mail, you know how they all start looking the same after a while. Make the ones you send memorable by dressing them up a bit with Outlook's Word Art, Smart Art, and Charts features. Just be aware that your e-mail recipients may not be able to view your artistry if they don't have a compatible e-mail browser.

Adding Word Art

Now you can spiff up your e-mail messages with all kinds of colorful graphics and individual designs. You may have already seen the Word Art tool, a feature that's been available in Microsoft Word for years. Now the tool is built right into Outlook.

Follow these steps to add Word Art:

1. Create a new e-mail.

2. Click the Insert tab.

3. Click the Word Art button.

4. Click one of the examples in the gallery of available text styles.

5. Type some text.

6. Click OK.

Try to use Word Art sparingly, at least in business situations, lest your business colleagues begin to see you as slightly insane.

Wising up with Smart Art

Smart Art, another intriguing feature on Outlook's Insert Ribbon, helps you create colorful, annotated designs to add to your e-mail. To get a better picture of what Smart Art can do, click the Insert tab, click the Smart Art button, and try a few designs on for size.

Adding impact with charts

Just a few doors down from the Word Art button on the Insert Ribbon is the Chart tool, which can make the thoughts you express in your e-mail look positively orderly (no matter how disordered you mind may be).

Chart it up with these steps:

1. Click the Chart tool.

You see a two-part gallery: a list of general chart types on the left and specific examples of each type on the right.

2. Choose a general type from the list on the left.

3. Choose a specific type from the list on the right.

4. Click OK.

A grid opens, allowing you to enter numbers.

The mechanics of creating an Outlook chart are similar to those for creating an Excel chart.

Wi-Fi Hotspots Become Hackers' Delight

Wi-Fi hotspots multiplying around the nation are boosting convenience for internet users on the go, but are also making life easier for hackers, the Wall Street Journal reports. Hackers at hotspots in hotels, airports and cafes can pluck other users' financial details and company information out of the air. • Businesses offering Wi-Fi aren't keen on bad publicity so authorities suspect the scale of the problem is being under-reported. Security experts have plenty of tips to avoid wireless hacking, but the main one is simply to be careful. "You've got to assume that anything you are doing is being monitored," warned an FBI cybercrimes investigator.

Pause For Thought

If you really want something in life you have to work for it.
Now quiet, they're about to announce the lottery numbers

-- Homer Simpson

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Last Updated
01/29/2008