25 Windows Hidden Tools You Seldom Use

To run any of these apps go to Start > Run and type the executable name and press Enter.
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1. Character Map (charmap.exe) - Very useful for finding unusual characters.
2. Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe) – The usual Disc cleanup.
3. Clipboard Viewer (clipbrd.exe) - Views contents of Windows clipboard.
4. Dr Watson (drwtsn32.exe) - Troubleshooting tool,runs when windows crashes.
5. DirectX diagnosis (dxdiag.exe) - Diagnose & test DirectX, video & sound cards.
6. Private character editor (eudcedit.exe) - Allows creation or modification of characters.
7. IExpress Wizard (iexpress.exe) - Create self-extracting / self-installing package.
8. Microsoft Synchronization Manager (mobsync.exe) - Appears to allow synchronization of files on the network for when working offline. Apparently undocumented.
9. Windows Media Player 5.1(mplay32.exe) - Retro version of Media Player, very basic.
10. ODBC Data Source Administrator (odbcad32.exe) – Database connection utility for support with external servers,create ODBC data sources,to administer remote databases or for supporting the ODBC database utility in Visual basic language.
11. Object Packager (packager.exe) - To do with packaging objects for insertion in files, appears to have comprehensive help files.
12. System Monitor (perfmon.exe) - Very useful, highly configurable tool, tells you everything you ever wanted to know about any aspect of PC performance, for budding uber-geeks only.
13. Program Manager (progman.exe) - Legacy Windows 3.x desktop shell.
14. Remote Access phone book (rasphone.exe) - Documentation is virtually non-existent.
15. Registry Editor (regedt32.exe or regedit.exe) – For making custom changes or hacking the Windows Registry.
16. Network shared folder wizard (shrpubw.exe) - Creates shared folders on network.
17. File signature verification tool (sigverif.exe) - This tool will search the operating system and identify any unsigned device drivers installed on the system. It will also verify all signed device drivers.
18. Volume Control (sndvol32.exe) - I've included this for those people that lose it from the System Notification area.
19. System Configuration Editor (sysedit.exe) - Modify System.ini & Win.ini just like in Win98!
20. Syskey (syskey.exe) - Secures XP Account database, use with care, it's virtually undocumented but it appears to encrypt all passwords, I'm not sure of the full implications.
21. Microsoft Telnet Client (telnet.exe) – Built in telnet client which can be used to connect to servers to sent emails or to hack :) This is disabled in in vista but you can re-enable it by going to Control panel –> Programs and Features –> Click "Turn Windows features on or off" on left –> Scroll down and check "Telnet Client".
22. Driver Verifier Manager (verifier.exe) - Seems to be a utility for monitoring the actions of drivers, might be useful for people having driver problems. Undocumented.
23. Windows for Workgroups Chat (winchat.exe) - Appears to be an old NT utility to allow chat sessions over a LAN, help files available.
24. System configuration (msconfig.exe) - Can use to control startup programs, make changes to startup of XP.
25. Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) - Used to manage group policies, and permissions.Its an Administrator only tool.

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How to boost windows Startup

The more software you install on your computer, the longer it may seem to take to start up Windows. Many programs add themselves to the list of programs started when you boot your computer, and that list can get long.

Editor’s Note: Obviously our more geeky readers already know how to do this, but this article is meant for everybody else. Feel free to share it with your non-techie friends!

If you are using Windows 8, scroll down.

Disabling Startup Programs in Windows 7, Vista, or XP

For some programs, it’s smart to have them start with Windows, such as anti-virus and firewall software. However, for most programs, starting them at boot-up just wastes resources and extends startup time. There is a tool installed with Windows, called MSConfig, that allows you to quickly and easily see what’s running at startup and disable the programs you prefer to run on our own after startup as needed. This tool is available and can be used to disable startup programs in Windows 7, Vista, and XP.

NOTE: MSConfig can be used to configure several things other than just startup programs, so be careful what you do with it. If you’re not sure about using it, just follow the steps in this article and you should be fine.

To run MSConfig, open the Start menu and type “msconfig.exe” (without the quotes) in the Search box. As you type, results display. When you see “msconfig.exe,” click on it or press Enter, if it is highlighted.

NOTE: If you are using Windows XP, open the Run dialog box from the Start menu, type “msconfig.exe” in the Open edit box, and click OK.

Click the Startup tab on the System Configuration main window. A list of all the startup programs displays with a check box next to each one. To prevent a program from starting up with Windows, select the check box next to the desired program so there is NO check mark in the box. Click OK once you have made your choices.

A dialog box displays telling you that you may need to restart your computer for the changes to take affect. Click Restart to restart your computer immediately. If are not ready to restart your computer, click Exit without restart.

Disabling Startup Programs in Windows 8 or 8.1 or 10

Windows 8 and 8.1 make it really simple to disable startup applications. All you have to do is open up Task Manager by right-clicking on the Taskbar, or using the CTRL + SHIFT + ESC shortcut key, clicking “More Details,” switching to the Startup tab, and then using the Disable button.

It’s really that simple. If you aren’t seeing these options, make sure to click “More Details,” which is in the same place as the “Fewer details” that you see on this screenshot.

Disabling Startup Programs in CCleaner

The free PC-cleaning utility CCleaner also has a tool that allows you to disable startup programs. In CCleaner, click the Tools button on the left side of the dialog box and click Startup to see the list of startup programs. The Enabled column indicates whether each program is set to start with Windows. To disable a program that is enabled, select the program in the list and click Disable. You can also enable programs that have been disabled.

NOTE: CCleaner does not seem to prompt you to restart your computer, so be sure to do so yourself.

There is a Professional version of CCleaner that costs $24.95 and comes with priority technical support. However, there is a free version available as an installable version and a portable version.

Note that some applications need to be configured to stop launching themselves when the computer boots, or they will just add themselves to the list of startup programs again. In this case, there is usually a setting in a program’s options to prevent it from starting with Windows.

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Remove Virus From USB Flash Drive Using Command Prompt

                            
Viruses are usually spread across multiple computers using USB Flash drives, external media, connected networks and the Internet. If a USB drive is infected with a virus, it will get activated when we open the USB drive on our computers.

This is because of the auto-run functionality in Windows. Windows looks for autorun.inf file in the USB drive. The autorun.inf file contains information about which program to run when the USB flash drive is opened.

The viruses tend to push their information in the autorun.inf file and then execute automatically from there. The safest way to use the USB flash drives without infecting your own system is to disable the Auto Run functionality of Windows.

To disable Auto Run functionality in Windows, do the following:

1. Go to Run –> gpedit.msc. This will open the Group Policy Editor.
2. Navigate to Computer Configuration –> Administrative Templates –> Windows Components –> AutoPlay Policies
3. In the right hand pane, enable “Turn off Autoplay” setting.

This will prevent Windows from automatically using autorun.inf file in the USB drive.

If your USB drive is already infected with a virus, you can safely delete the autorun.inf file and then scan the USB drive with an antivirus to make sure that the USB drive is clean from all malware.

Autorun.inf can be deleted in two ways. First by using Windows Explorer:

1. Press Windows Key + E to open Windows Explorer. From the left hand tree, open the USB drive. This should not trigger the auto run functionality of USB.
2. Now from the left hand content pane, delete the autorun.inf file. Make sure that you are showing hidden files from Folder Options as autorun.inf is usually a hidden file.

Secondly, you can also delete the infected autorun file from command line.

1. Go to Run –> cmd. This should open the command prompt.
2. Type g: where g is the USB drive letter.
3. Now run the following command: attrib -h -r -s -a *.*. This will remove the attributes hidden, archive, system from all the files.
4. Type del autorun.inf. This will delete the autorun.inf file.

If you want to make sure that in addition to the autorun file, the virus is also removed from the USB drive, you will need to open the autorun.inf file in notepad and see which files and executables are triggered during autorun. Delete those executables and you will be safe from the wrath of USB viruses.

I hope this will be useful for you. Do let me know whether it was useful for you or not.

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How to Use TeraCopy

Have you any time broke your head when copy or cut process failed in Windows 7 because of one file error? It would be very hurtful when you transfer large data. TeraCopy is the best and free alternative tool to overwrite Windows 7 copy and cut built in tool. I’m using this for long time and it helped me lot to transfer data without issues on local computer and over the network. This post shows how to use TeraCopy in Windows 7 and it’s advantages.

It’s an open source software freely available to download. Once installation is done, it automatically replaces Windows copy and paste function which is nice without any headache.

Download TeraCopy from official site here

The Features I like in TeraCopy and Why you have to try

1) It’s fast but not very fast.

I copied 4.35GB data to same partition with normal Windows copying, it took 2 min and 50 seconds (average with two attempts) in my Windows 7 computer. Computer is idle and no any activities.

TeraCopy took 2 min and 38 seconds (average after two attempts) for same 4.35GB data under same scenario. Its just 12 seconds difference.

Not that much fast, but transferring data over network is much better than others computers at my office.

2) You can Pause and Resume the process anytime. This will be helpful to temporarily stop the process without cancelling, or to clean up some disk space.

3) It shows believable values such as percentage and time remaining. I hate Windows in this, it will show ‘2 minutes remaining’ now and after two minutes, again 5 minutes. 

Also, copying speed is stable, it copied at 30MB/s speed, whereas Windows started with 65MB/s and ended at 25MB/s.

4) Other good feature is, it skips the problem file and continue the process. In Windows, when this happens, we have to start the rest of the data again and finally we will not know what we missed. In fact, I started searching for alternative copy tools for this reason only and found TeraCopy as the best.

Results of process will be shown at the end and you can fix the issue and recopy the only problem file later.

5) You can verify the copied data against original data to make sure all files and folders are correct.

More options and settings available under Menu when you click More button.

You can remove the explorer shell integration to go back to Windows default copy tool without uninstalling the program.

Still you can use TeraCopy for copying and moving data by right click on file or folder and select TeraCopy option from menu.

This will bring the box to select the destination location, Copy or Move mode and start the copying.

Its a simple program to make your life easy. It also calculates the required and available free space before starting. Windows 7 supports very well and you can use without any issues.

Feel free to share your experience with this tool.

Have fun.

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Speed up your Windows Startup

Speed up your Windows Startup!

Steps :

1) Click "Start" in the left bottom corner of the screen; click "Run" (look in the start menu, near the bottom right of the start menu).

Type "msconfig" and then press "Enter."

2) Select the "Startup" tab (most likely the second tab from the right).

3) Decide what programs from the System Configuration Utility screen you would like to keep running automatically every time your computer starts.

It is likely that this list contains a number of programs you may not have even realized were running on your computer during startup, or even at all. Over time many computer users download programs that may have been used infrequently or not at all, but that may have been opened during startup for some time without the user realizing it.

It is important to note that removing these programs from the startup menu is not the same as removing the programs all together. Programs from this list that are unselected can still be opened and used on your computer but will simply not automatically run when your computer starts.

It is also possible that unless you configured your entire computer yourself (unlikely except for the most knowledgeable computer users) your computer came with a variety of programs of which you have little to no knowledge pre-installed and likely running during startup.

4) Click on "Disable All" in the bottom right corner of the System Configuration Utility screen to prevent every program on the list from running during startup.

This action should be taken with great caution, as the list likely contains at least a few programs that should almost always be running on your computer, such as anti-virus software, or programs you know you use all the time, such as instant messaging services.

Taking the steps above will allow you to prevent programs from running every time your computer starts. When your computer is running you can also easily stop these programs from running only for your currently computing session. Programs that are currently running are shown on the taskbar on the bottom right of your screen (you may have to click an arrow pointing to the left in order to show all of them). Right clicking on any of these programs will allow you to close or exit those that do not need to be running at the moment.

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Top 6 Antivirus

                                             
In the digital era we are living in, almost every one is a regular user of the worldwide web either for downloading stuff, checking emails or for just socializing. Subsequently threats like trojans, spyware, malware, worms and key loggers have become common place today which not only attack your personal computer, but also corrupt the Windows operating system leading to a system crash and loss of vital information and data.

Thus to proactively curtail such threats from invading your personal computer, anti-virus software applications have been designed to keep at bay potential threats from sneaking into your computer through downloaded content from the internet.

Also Read: 6 Useful Programs For Windows Everyone Should Have.

Installation of such anti-virus applications in every computer has become indispensable of late to restrict the ever-increasing threats from entering your system which could negatively impact performance of your system and subsequently the dreaded blue screen of death. Listed below are the 6 best antivirus applications of 2014 for Windows operating system.

Best Antivirus Applications Of 2014

1. Kaspersky Antivirus

This is the number 1, state-of-the-art and cutting edge PC security application available in the market today. The rich feature set of this application includes the cutting edge exploit prevention or the “EP” engine which provides outstanding scanning results to its users.

Kaspersky has become sort of household name in the industry with excellent ratings for the afore-mentioned features towards user friendliness and effective all round protection. The application has been received well in the market and has been accredited by leading companies.

Kaspersky Antivirus is one of the most technologically advanced product available in the market today. The software has rightly figured on top of this list and would be the right choice to protect your computer from the ever-increasing threat from malware.

Some of the advantages of using Kaspersky Antivirus are, affordable pricing licensed for single user and 3 users, protects your computer from all external threats, scanning is quite effective and faster, detects and prevents threats, viruses and malware from sneaking into your system, keeps working quietly in the background, comes with a free of cost 30-day virus scan and complete security, and is readily available at all retail and online stores with a license validity of 1 year.

Click here to get Kaspersky Antivirus Today!

2. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus

Another top-notch and industry leading antivirus application is the Bitdefender Antivirus Plus, which is specifically designed to adapt itself to the specifications of the system and perform security checks in the most optimized way possible.

Technically speaking, 1 of the top internet security suites money can buy, Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2014 also offers a host of additional features which all work together to prolong and enhance the life and performance of your Windows operated personal computer. Though the application is loaded with features, it is programmed to kick-start itself and work in the background unobtrusively day in and day out.

Few of the advantages of using the Bitdefender Antivirus Plus are, scanning time taken by the antivirus has been vastly reduced with faster optimum results and complete post scan report generation, incorporates the latest cutting edge technology, “Photon” ensuring complete and effective protection to your personal computer, downloadable free of cost 30-day trial version of the application and purchase of the licensed version valid for 365 days after the trial period is done affording total peace of mind.

Click here to get Bitdefender Antivirus Plus Today!

3. Norton Antivirus Plus

Norton Antivirus Plus is an all time favorite contender for reliable PC security developed by Symantec. Norton Antivirus Plus offers all round protection to your computer from all external threats including viruses and other spyware and malware.

The application is feature dense including advanced proactive vulnerability protection, anti phishing and link scanning capabilities. It is extremely effective in identifying threats and offers round the clock 24×7 protection to your personal computer. The trademark “Norton Antivirus” has become sort of household name reputed for its simplicity and barebones usage of computer resources and has carved a name for itself in the industry.

Symantec is a widely recognized defence software program developer and regularly makes every effort to enhance and upgrade the software application they provide to their clients. The company is one among the few which pays heed to the voice of the customer in the form of feedback to improve its application in terms of effectiveness and user friendliness.

Some of the advantages of using Norton Antivirus Plus 2014 are it restricts internet worms at the point of entry, blocks hackers from accessing sensitive data in your system, operates unobtrusively in the background offering total protection to your system, comes with a 15-day free of cost downloadable trial version and there after purchase of a fully licensed version valid for 360 days.

4. AVG Antivirus

Although AVG Antivirus is a free to use application, it offers a highly effective security platform to your Windows operated system with a user-friendly and easy to navigate interface. The paid version of this antivirus application is highly optimized for the latest Windows operating systems like Windows 7, 8, and 8.1.

Besides the paid version of the software comes with a load of additional features to ramp up the performance level of your personal computer. AVG Antivirus acts as a rapid performance booster of your system, shields your system from hackers and online spammers, it is extremely easy to utilize and operates in the background silently without slowing down your system hogging valuable resources.

AVG Antivirus is available in the form of free and paid versions. The free version works well, but the paid is loaded with additional features at an affordable cost.

Click Here to buy AVG Antivirus 2014!

5. Avast Pro Antivirus

Avast Pro is a world-renowned antivirus application and comes with a set of helpful tools to provide complete security by eliminating all external threats to your Windows operated personal computer. Automatic scanning happens at user scheduled time intervals.

The automatic update features of virus definitions makes Avast Pro one of the top security systems for your personal computer. The antivirus application comes with a “Do Not Track” feature which increases the level of privacy for several leading web browsers.

Also Read: Six Best Web Browsers In The World.

Avast Pro Antivirus protects critical and sensitive information in your system from hackers by restricting access to your computer, curtails malicious time-consuming email scams, comes with the safe zone which acts as virtual window preventing larceny of banking data base. The company offers a downloadable 30-day free of cost trial version with a fully featured licensed version valid for one year from the date of installation and activation of the application.

Click Here To Get Avast Pro Antivirus Today!

6. F-Secure Antivirus

F-Secure Antivirus is also an effective and powerful antivirus application available in the market that removes malware, spyware, viruses, and any form of external threat to your computer. F-Secure Antivirus comes with an auto update feature with a user-friendly interface making it one of the most sought after antivirus applications today.

F-Secure Antivirus systematically checks all incoming email to identify any potential threats, automatically restricts all tracking cookies, ramps up the performance level of your system, comes with a 30-day free-to-try offer and there after purchase of the licensed version valid for a period of 2 years.

These are the 6 best antivirus applications available in the market for 2014 for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 operated personal computers and laptops. We request you to weigh the pros and cons of each software judiciously and opt for the best software program for to shield your PC and laptops from the exponentially multiplying and ever looming threat from virus and other malicious malware.

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Top 10 Best Free Screen Recording Software For Windows

                     
1. Icecream Screen Recorder (Free)

Icecream Screen Recorder, which comes from Icecream Apps, is a completely free tool to record and capture screen. With wide support for Windows OS, ranging from Windows 2000 to Windows 8, Icecream Screen Recorder is a good solution for every Windows-based PC user. If area selection feature of Icecream Screen Recorder lets you have your focus on, what you want, drawing panel will help you add ‘creative’ touch to the screenshot or recording. In addition to these, hotkey support, audio settings, screenshot to URL, clipboard feature, project history are notable features of Icecream Screen Recorder.

2. ActivePresenter (Free)

If you’re planning something huge with screen recording, say educating or tutorials, ActivePresenter will be a superb companion for you. Coming from Atomi Systems, ActivePresenter focuses on making screenshots and recordings bit more interactive that they will be useful while explaining. For instance, to make things easily explainable, this tool is offering a feature to insert interactive elements like callouts, voiceover, annotations, graphics etc. At the same time, its support for SCORM-complaint Learning Management Systems suits its role as a corporate training tool as well. In addition to free version, professional and standard editions are available.

3. CamStudio (Free)

CamStudio is a widely used tool for screen recording and capturing and has broken a number of records when we do take the case of downloads. Despite the fact that CamStudio does not offer many features, its features are, indeed, a bunch of noticeable ones. For instance, while using CamStudio to capture and record your PC screen, you’ll be able to hide your curser screen, get sound from multiple sources, etc.

4. Snagit (Premium)

Snagit, yet another amazing product from TechSmith, has been helping a number of professionals and individuals to capture and record their PC screen for multiple purposes. Although there is a free trial, Snagit is actually a paid tool, to buy which you have to spend big. Powerful editing tools, free tech support, integration with cloud-based services, ability to set hotkeys, etc are what make Snagit a top tool when it comes to screen recording. However, after all, it is paid software, though it is worth what you pay.

5. EZVID (Free)

Are you looking for a screen-recording tool that can be used to record videos and instantly upload them to YouTube? If so, EZVID can be your perfect choice. Best part of EZVID is that you do not have to find an external video editor; it’s so because EZVID comes with an integrated video editor. Resembling the case of most tools in the list, EZVID is also a free tool to use. Speed control, speech synthesis etc are also noticeable features of this tool. It supports Windows XP to Windows 8.

6. Jing (Free)

TechSmith knows that there are some, who cannot afford Snagit. That may be why TechSmith has made Jing, a small yet effective tool for screen capturing tool, available free. Jing does not come with high quality, feature-rich and productive editor and other stuff, but it lets you plan, record and share videos in a matter of seconds. Though being free, you can grab free tech support feature from TechSmith. However, we would like to add that Jing will not be a sufficient choice if you are planning to do some BIG screen recording and capturing works. Nevertheless, just like you do in Snagit, you can set up hotkeys and make things quicker.

7. Webinaria (Free & Open Source)

If you are an open-source lover and to find an open-source product for screen recording and capturing, Webinaria is your optimum answer. Using this Windows-based application, you will be able to create Flash videos of PC recording as well as add your own voice commentary using record feature. Although not much big in amount, Webinaria offers some sorts of editing features like insertion of text. Also, it can let you set certain hotkeys. After all, Webinaria is an open source product, and be proud to use it.

8. Camtasia Studio (Premium)

Well, Camtasia studio is the third product from TechSmith in this list and the second premium product. Aim of this tool is to simplify screen recording and video editing possible for everyone, and we should say it has succeeded to do so, that too in a smaller time. Since Camtasia is a really powerful tool, you will not find any difficulty in recording the screen of your Windows (a Mac version is also available, by the way). Some of new features such as cross-platform screen recording, integration with Google Drive and TechSmith Fuse are really impressive, indeed.

9. Rylstim Screen Recorder (Free)

Rylstim Screen Recorder is a simple-enough tool to record what is happening in your PC screen. Once you have done with installation of this recorder, you have to select codec, frame rate and location where you would like to store the file and just hit ‘Start Recording’. Rylstim Screen Recorder will give you the result video once you have finished this recording process — simple as that. And, of course, Rylstim Screen Recorder is absolutely free and you can even get a portable version.

10. Screenr (Free)

Here comes the tenth one and we will have a twist! Unlike abovementioned tools, Screenr has nothing to do with PC or installation, but it works solely based on your web browser. The only thing you have to make sure is that Java has been installed in your PC. Thus, when you want to record, let it be any device, go to Screenr.com and start recording.

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