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Speed Up a Slow Windows 10, 8, 8.1, 7 or XP Computer

Having a slow computer is not something most users fancy, but that is what most of us end up with after prolonged usage despite having the latest hardware. Understandably, there are also a few of us who are trapped with a low-end PC and are forced to get as much out of it as possible. This article caters to both these type of users as it not only explains how to make your computer as fast as it was when new but also how to reduce the footprint of your system to utilize your PC's current system resources in the best possible way.

First thing first. Make sure your PC isn't infected by a virus, worm or other malware

Anyone who has used an infected computer will verify how painfully slow a computer becomes when infected by a virus. More tech savvy users will counter that an infected computer's speed depends upon the type of malware. To be honest, it does. However, based on my personal experience, I can say that while some malware are designed specifically for making computers slow and unresponsive, most malwares tend to decrease a computer's performance.

If your computer is infected, the first thing you need to do is deep scan your entire hard drive to remove all traces of the virus. Also, scan your secondary storage devices to make sure that they are clean as well. Additionally, make sure to follow best security practices to avoid getting infected in the future.

Remove unused and unnecessary programs

Now that we are sure that your computer is not slow because of a virus, you need to get rid of all the unnecessary programs that you have installed on your PC. To remove these programs, go to Programsin the Control Panel and uninstall your unnecessary programs one by one. If you are like most Windows users (including me) and are having a tough time figuring out which programs to uninstall as all of them seem important, follow this rule: If you have not used the program in the last month, it probably is unnecessary. It is better to uninstall that program given that you can reinstall it whenever required. It also is a good idea to remove all the useless software that came bundled with your computer. If you want, you can remove unused Windows features as well to further tone down your operating system.

Try faster alternatives to your everyday programs

If you use applications that require too much computing power to operate, you are better off replacing them with applications that do the same job as them but faster. Few resource hogging applications that you can replace are:-
1) Most resource intensive antivirus software can be replaced with the lightweight Microsoft Security Essentials.
2) Microsoft Office can be replaced with OpenOffice, an open source alternative that also has loads of amazing additions.
3) Adobe Reader can be replaced with the free Foxit Reader.
4) The newer versions of Internet Explorer (IE 10 and above) are less resource intensive. If you have been using an older version, it is time to upgrade IE or replace it with either Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome. This will also give you faster internet speeds.

Remove unnecessary startup programs

Startup programs are the programs which start automatically each time a user logs on. Not only do they result in a slow startup, but they also run persistently, until you close them manually, continuously consuming valuable system resources (CPU and RAM) while they are running. So, disabling unnecessary startup items results in both a faster startup and a more responsive computer, as these applications not running continuously means more RAM and CPU will be available for the operations you perform on the computer.

To disable unnecessary startup programs, type msconfig in the search bar in Start menu (in Windows 10,Windows 7 and Windows Vista) and on the Start screen in Windows 8 and 8.1. On Windows XP, type this in the Run dialog box. This will start the System Configuration utility. Click on the Startup taband disable all the applications that you think are not essential on your computer's startup. Restart your computer to see the changes. Keep in mind to not disable your security products as that will make your computer more susceptible to getting infected.

Restart your computer often

This is assuming that you continuously use your computer for long periods of time. Each time when you close a running program in Windows. it frees the memory that the program was occupying. However, it may so happen that some parts of the memory do not get freed which results in less system resources available to you to use which ultimately results in a slower PC. When you restart your computer, these occupied spaces in the memory get freed. Although, this memory issue has been somewhat fixed in recent versions of Windows, it still is a good idea to reboot your computer at least once a day.

Check your hard drive for errors

Over time, as you use your computer, chances are that some errors might creep in your hard disk which negatively affect your computer's performance. The best way to solve this issue is by using the inbuiltDisk Check utility available in all versions of Windows. To use it, execute chkdsk /r in the Command Prompt. Remember to open the Command Prompt as an administrator. It might prompt you to restart your computer. Execute Y to restart your PC. The chkdsk/ r command scans your computer's hard drive for errors and recovers readable data. Depending upon the size of your hard disk, this step might take some time. This step might increase your computer's performance phenomenally if there are a lot of errors on your hard drive.

Make sure you have enough free space

System speed is not only dependant upon CPU and RAM. If your hard drive is above 95% full, you will notice that your system hasn't been running at the fastest speed. This happens because Windows require empty space for swap files to increase in size and also as space for temporary files. It is imperative that the more cluttered and filled a hard drive is, the more difficult it is to read. To solve this issue, delete unnecessary data or move it to external storage devices.

Repair protected Windows system files

As you use your computer, it is possible that one or more system files get damaged or get corrupted which might effect your system's performance in a negative way. Thus, it is important to check that all your system files are original and behaving as they should. The best way to check your operating system's files is through the System File Checker. To run the System File Checker, open Command Prompt as an Administrator and execute sfc /scannow. This command will check all your system files and if it finds that some of them are modified or corrupt, it will replace them with the original. This step can take anywhere between 5 to 15 minutes but is one that you should perform especially if your system has ever been infected by a virus.

Disable unnecessary visual effects

The visual effects that make your computer look beautiful also slow it down considerably. So, if you want to get the best performance out of your computer, you should disable all these visual effects. To disable these visual effects:-
1) Press Windows Key+R to launch the Run dialog box.
2) Execute sysdm.cpl.
3) Go to the Advanced tab in the following Window and click onSettings in the Performance section.
4) Then encircle Adjust for best performance. If you want to use visual styles and themes, check it (located at the very end of the list).
5) Click on Apply to apply the changes.

Disabling these visual effects could lead to a considerable improvement in your system's performance especially if you are on Windows 7 or Windows Vista and using the Aero interface without a graphic card.

Do not run multiple antivirus programs

Make sure that no more than one antivirus program is running on your PC. An antivirus's resident protection takes a lot of resources. So, having more than one antivirus program would bring about a significant reduction in your computer's speed.

Disable sound schemes

Whenever you perform an action in Windows, a sound is played to indicate it. Although it leads to a better user experience, it also contributes towards slowing your PC down. To make your PC a lean work machine, you should disable these sounds. To disable these, open Sounds from the Control Panel or alternately type mmsys.cpl in the Run dialog box. Go to the Sound tab and select "No Sounds" from theSounds scheme dropdown list and click Apply.

Update Windows and make sure that you are using the latest drivers for your hardware

Having all the updates ensures that your computer is running the best possible version of your operating system and your hardware is being utilized by the best possible code. Also, an updated operating system makes you more secure against future intrusions by performance reducing malware.

Use a Registry Cleaner to keep your Registry in good shape

The Windows Registry is a place which keeps information about all installed programs and active system files on your system. Over time, as you install and uninstall programs, the Registry can get filled with useless entries which might increase its size making it difficult to read. This happens because most uninstallers don't remove the program's Registry entries during an uninstall. Also, the larger the Registry is on your computer, the more time Windows will take to start.

To solve this issue, use any free Registry cleaner to remove useless entries. Depending upon the number of entries in your Registry and its size, you might see a significant increase in your computer's performance.

Delete Temporary Files

Temporary files are stored in your computer as Windows operates. They are files that contain your recently accessed files list, log files, your internet history, form history, cookies and temporary internet files. Over time, the number of these files increases and cleaning them becomes important. You can use CCleaner (mentioned above) to clean them or the inbuilt Windows Disk Cleanup utility by executingcleanmgr.exe in the Run dialog box. You can also schedule a disk cleanup to ensure that it happens automatically.

Disable Windows Search Indexing Service

The Windows search indexing service scans all the files and folders on your system and stores information about them in a database to make searches faster. Naturally, this results in consumption of resources. If you don't use Windows Search often or are willing to trade faster searches for a faster computer (as you should), disable the indexing service. To disable it, execute services.msc in the Run dialog box. In the work area on the right side, locate Windows Search service and double click on it. In the following Properties dialog box, selectDisabled from the Startup type dropdown and click OK. Restart your computer. Your searches will be slow but your computer will be faster than ever.

Check Device Manager to look for hardware conflicts

Open Device Manager to see that all the connected hardware are functioning properly. If you find a hardware conflict, take the necessary steps to resolve it. If the conflict cannot be resolved, disconnect the problematic hardware until you find a solution.

Change to High Performance power scheme

If you are running your computer on a battery and notice that it is running slow, change the power scheme to high performance to increase system speed. Keep in mind that it will increase the amount of power consumed by your computer. To change the power scheme, open Power Options from the Control Panel. You can directly search for Power Options in Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 from the Start Screen/Menu.

Check if your computer is overheating

If your computer is overheating, then it is possible that it is causing your computer to run slowly. This is because most modern processors slow down when the computer is overheated to allow the computer to cool down.

To prevent your computer from overheating, make sure that the cooling fan works properly and that there is no dust clogging the air vents as it will prevent air flow which will result in poor cooling. Clean your computer's case with a light brush and place it somewhere where it can be effectively cooled by air. If you use a laptop, a cooling pad might be of help.

Defragment your hard drive

When Windows stores a file on your hard drive, it does not look for a single place to store your file as a whole. Instead, it stores the fragments of the file randomly, i.e storing them at whatever empty space it can find the quickest. Due to this, the fragments of a single file can be scattered all across a hard disk. A hard drive that has many files distributed like this is called as fragmented. Naturally, this results in slower file access times because Windows needs to find all these pieces and put them together (something like a jigsaw puzzle) before the file can be accessed.

This is what defragmentation corrects. When you defragment a hard drive, the scattered pieces of a file are put together and stored on the hard disk in continuous cells (assuming a hard disk to be made up of a large number of cells with each cell representing a particular storage space).

To defragment your hard drive, you can use the in-built Windows Disk Defragmenter utility. It can be searched on the Start Screen/ Menu in Windows 10, 8 & 8.1 and is located at Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools in older versions of Windows.

Use ReadyBoost to increase the speed of your Windows computer

If you are running a computer that does not have enough RAM, using a flash drive with the ReadyBoost technique can and will give you significant improvement in speed. As with ReadyBoost, your flash drive becomes a cache that stores files that you might immediately require giving you faster access times than if those files had been stored on a hard disk.

Keep in mind that ReadyBoost depends upon the condition of your flash drive and was intended to increase speeds of devices which were short on RAM. If you already have a sufficient amount of RAM, chances are that you might see very little to no improvement in speed by using it.

Reinstall Windows

This is one of the more drastic methods and should only be used if all the methods mentioned above fail to bring any significant increase in your computer's speed.

If you haven't reinstalled Windows in a really long time, it is possible that because of constant use, the system has got bogged down with useless clutter in a way that no amount of tweaking will fix its condition. Then, reinstalling Windows is the only option.

Reinstalling Windows brings about a definite increase in speed but gives you a new PC without all your software and customization. Modifying it according to your needs will take a lot of time though but that is something you must sacrifice for a faster PC.

If you use Windows 10, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, you can refresh your PC without affecting your installed apps and settings. To refresh your Windows 8 PC, open Update and Recovery by going toChange PC Settings from the Settings button that appears when you move your mouse pointer to the right side of your screen. Windows 10 users can directly search "Refresh" from the Start menu. Under it, click Recovery. Then under Refresh your PC without affecting files, click Get Started.

Upgrade to a solid state HDD

Although solid state hard drives are a lot faster for writing and reading data than older optical hard drives, their heavy price is something that keeps them out of the range of many. Still, if you do manage to get one for your PC, the change in speed will be immediately visible.

If all else fails, get more RAM

RAM or the Random Access Memory contains all files of the currently running programs that are immediately required by the computer. Accessing files from the RAM is much faster than doing the same from a hard disk. This means that more the RAM you have, more the programs you can run without compromising on speed. RAM upgrades do not cost much and are one of the best ways to speed up a slow computer.

Create Bootable USB Drives to Install (Almost) Any OS

With the advent of ultra portable laptops, optical drives are becoming a thing of the past. Although not having optical drives allows manufacturers to make lighter devices, it causes problems to users when they want to fresh install operating systems, as most of them are still available in the form of CDs, DVDs and downloadable ISOs. For users of these devices, the only option then remains is to use a flash drive to install the operating system of their choice.

Not surprisingly, there are also a few of us who prefer installing operating systems from flash drives for its faster speeds. There are also a few of us who prefer to keep live operating systems on our flash drives to access computers without having an OS by simply plugging in our devices.

With such a lot of users needing to create bootable USB flash drives, it appears imperative that OS manufacturers provide an inbuilt way to create them with each DVD and CD they provide. However, that is not the case with all operating system manufacturers.

In fact, most of the users are left hunting for third party applications that can create a bootable USB drive for their specific operating system. To add to a user's misery, the OS manufacturers that do provide an application for this make them OS specific (like the Windows 7 USB/DVD tool) and do not support ISOs and DVDs of other OSs. Some of them fail to work even if the original ISO/DVD is slightly modified (slipstreamed etc.).

Use Rufus to create bootable USB media

If you too are one such user looking for a solution, you can stop looking and try Rufus, an open source tool to create a bootable USB drive from any bootable ISO.

Rufus is small in size (nearly 615 KB) and claims to be faster at creating bootable USB drives than most applications of its type. Rufus is also portable which means that you need not install this software to use it. Just double click on the executable file and the application will start working. Rufus also allows you to add fixes to use your bootable flash drives on older computers having BIOSs which do not support booting from them.

Strangely however, Rufus can only create bootable flash drives from ISOs meaning you need to have an ISO image of the CD or DVD of the OS of your choice.

I do not think this should be too much of a problem considering how easy it is to create ISOs from DVDs and CDs.

How to use Rufus?

1) When you start Rufus, the first option that you will see is Device:. It contains all your connected USB drives. If you plug in a USB drive after starting Rufus, the drive you have connected will shortly be available here.

2) You will not need to modify the Partition Scheme and target system type, as the default choice is suitable for making the USB drive work on both UEFI and legacy BIOS computers.

Rufus in Windows 8

3) Change the file system from FAT32 to NTFS from the dropdown menu. This is the file system with which your USB drive will be formatted with. Do note that older computers will not boot from a flash drive formatted as NTFS. Do not modify the cluster size. Enter the name you want for your USB device in theVolume label box.

4) Check the Create a bootable disk using checkbox if it is not already checked. In the dropdown menu next to it, select ISO image. Click on the button right to it to locate your ISO image.

Do note that Rufus will format your USB drive deleting everything on it before making it bootable. So, make sure that it does not contain any important data.

5) Click on Start to format your USB drive and extract all files of the ISO to it.

To install the OS, restart your computer and select your USB device as the primary boot option in the BIOS boot menu.

Compatibility
Rufus works on all the latest versions of Windows and can be used to extract the following ISOs to a bootable USB drive:-

Arch Linux, Archbang, BartPE/pebuilder, CentOS, Damn Small Linux, Fedora, FreeDOS, Gentoo, GParted, gNewSense, Hiren's Boot CD, noppix, KolibriOS, Kubuntu , Linux Mint, OpenSUSE , ReactOS, rEFInd, Slackware, Tails, Trinity Rescue Kit, Ubuntu, Ultimate Boot CD, Windows XP (SP2, SP3), Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 and many more.

Enable the Hidden Administrator Account on Windows 7, 8, 8.1 & 10

Windows automatically creates an Administrator account with elevated privileges during the installation process. We mostly need to access it to perform tasks limited only to system Administrators. These are tasks performing which result in the UAC asking for confirmation even if you are using an account with administrative privileges. The elevated Administrator account is disabled by default in Windows 7,Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 and Windows Vista.

To activate it, you need to use any one of the the following simple methods.

Important: It is recommended to only use this account for troubleshooting purposes and disable it once the task is complete. Even if you do leave it enabled, protect it with a strong password to prevent unauthorized access.

Enable/ Disable the Administrator Account Using the Elevated Command Prompt

1. If you are on Windows 7, go to Start>Programs>Accessories and right click on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator. Windows 8 and 8.1 users, search for CMD on the Start screen and in the results returned, right click on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator. Windows 10 users, search for CMD in the start menu and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter.

2. In the Elevated Command Prompt, type and execute the following command.

net user administrator /active:yes

3. You should see a message indicating that the command was completed successfully.

4. Upon logging out, you will see the Administrator account available on the login screen.

Disable the built-in Administrator account

To disable the Administrator account, type execute the following command in Step 2.

net user administrator /active:no

This will disable the Administrator account and it will no longer appear on the login screen.

Enable the Administrator account using the Local Users and Groups Manager

1. Press Windows key+R to open the Run dialog box.

2. In it, type lusrmgr.msc and press Enter. This will start the Local Users and Groups Manager.

3. In the Local Users and Groups Manager, click on Users in the left hand pane.

4. Then, in the work area on the right side, double click on Administrator.

5. In the following dialog box, uncheck the Account is disabled option and clickOK.

6. Administrator account will be immediately available on the login screen.

To disable the Administrator account, check the "Account is disabled" option in step 5.

This method will only work if you are using Professional or Enterprise editions of Windows 7, Windows 8(.1) and Windows 10. If you are using home and basic versions of these operating systems, this method will not work for you as Local Users and Groups manager is not available on them.

Enable or Disable the Administrator account using the Local Security Policy Editor

1. Press Windows key+R to open the Run dialog box.

2. Type secpol.msc and press Enter. This will start the Local Security Policy Editor.

3. In the Local Security Policy Editor, navigate to Local Policies\Security Options.

4. In the work area on the right side, double click "Accounts: Administrator account status."

5. In the following dialog box, encircle Enable or Disable to respectively enable and disable the Administrator account.

6. Press OK. Log off to the login screen to see the Administrator account.

Local Security Policy Editor is not available on home editions of Windows

Password Protect & Encrypt Files or Folders in Windows: Free

With hackers becoming more and more sophisticated, most users are worried about the safety of their personal data. There are many options available to protect the user’s data but none comes close to encryption in terms of safety offered. This article contains some of the best and easy to use methods and tools that allow you to password protect and encrypt important files and folders in Windows without costing you anything.

Encrypting files in Windows using the Encrypting Files System (EFS)

Windows offers an inbuilt encryption method called EFS to protect sensitive data from unwanted users. EFS can be used only on hard drives formatted as NTFS and on professional and premium editions ofWindows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows Vista or Windows XP. Home editions of Windows do not support this.

To encrypt files with EFS, follow these steps:-

1. Right click on the file or folder you want to protect and click on Properties at the bottom of the menu.
2. This will bring up the Properties window. In this window under the General tab, click on Advanced.
3. In the Advanced attributes window, tick on Encrypt contents to secure data option.
4. Click OK and Apply.

If the file is encrypted successfully, its name will generally be visible in green font.

If you encrypt files and folders with EFS, it would not change how you access those files and folders. You would still be able to read, modify and delete those files as long as you are logged into the user account that encrypted those files. However, other users from would not be able to do this. For example, if you carry the encrypted file in a flash drive, you would not be able to access it from other computers. To access it from other computers, you will need your encryption key.

Make sure that you backup your encryption key when Windows prompts you to do so. It will be required in case you want to access the encrypted files from a different user account or from a different computer.

To back up your encryption key, click on the Back up now option in the pop up that comes when you first encrypt a file or folder. Then, click Next on the window titled Certificate Export Wizard. Enter a password for your certificate (make sure it is tough but also easy to remember), choose a location to save it, give it a name and click Finish.

In case Windows does not prompt you to back up your encryption key, you can back it up from the File Encryption Certificates manager. Since, EFS relies on your user account to give access to protected files, it is important to choose a strong password for your Windows user account.

EFS is relatively quick and hassle free but not totally secure as Windows stores an unencrypted version of protected files in the temporary folder (when you access them) which can be easily accessed by any experienced computer user. To overcome this weakness, ensure that you clean up your temporary files with the Disk Cleanup utility every time you access your protected files.

BitLocker

BitLocker is a Windows utility that allows you to encrypt hard drives and removable storage devices. BitLocker also uses EFS mentioned above with a minor difference. It encrypts the entire drive instead of encrypting individual files and folders.

With BitLocker too, you wouldn’t notice much difference while using your computer but if anyone else tries to access them on a different computer, he will be shown a screen asking the password. BitLocker To Go can be used to encrypt removable flash drives as well. BitLocker too depends on the safety of your Windows user account to ensure that files remain private. Hence, it is extremely important to use a strong Windows password.

BitLocker can be turned on in the Control Panel. BitLocker only works on devices having TPM. In case your PC does not have TPM, you will get an error saying “This device can’t use a Trusted Platform Module.” TPM is a special circuit that’s built onto the motherboards of BitLocker compatible computers.

BitLocker is only available on Professional editions of Windows.

7ZIP

7Zip is a free and open source compression utility that has the option of allowing users to create a password protected archive. The encryption offered by 7Zip is AES-256 (AES stands for Advanced Encryption Standard), which is virtually impossible to crack and used by everyone from giant tech companies to your next door IT expert.

7Zip can also allow you to encrypt the file names in the archive so that no one without the right password has a clue as to what is present inside the protected archive.

To encrypt files and folders with 7Zip, either create a new password protected archive from the 7Zip file manager or simply right click on the folder or file you want to protect and select “Add to archive” from the 7zip sub-menu.

You can choose either 7Zip’s .7z or .zip format. If you use .zip format, an additional encryption method called ZipCrypto is available, which is also good but not as secure as AES-256. Also, if you use a .zip archive, you cannot encrypt file names.

7Zip supports multiple platforms, is easy to use and also very fast when it comes to creating and extracting archives.

VeraCrypt

VeraCrypt is a fork of and successor to the extremely popular and discontinued encryption software TrueCrypt. VeraCrypt claims to have removed the issues that were raised while security auditing TrueCrypt. It supports Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

Like TrueCrypt, VeraCrypt is completely free and supports AES, Serpent and TwoFish encryption ciphers. VeraCrypt is simple to use and offers very fast encryption process. VeraCrypt also allows a single hidden volume to be created within another volume. The Windows version of VeraCrypt can be used to create and run a hidden encrypted operating system. The best part about this software is that its code is available for review and the developers claim an individual security audit is being planned.

Important Tips:

1. It is important to note that there are several tools and utilities available in the market that allow you to break encryption and passwords. The programs mentioned above will keep your data safe from a large majority of such tools but they, like all methods of encryption are not infallible.
2. Even if you encrypt a file, it can still be deleted. So, be sure to back up your encrypted files.
3. Make sure that you use a memorable password and keep your encryption key safe to prevent you from losing access to your encrypted files.

How to Unblock Websites at School, Work, Home or Anywhere

Internet censorship has grown drastically over the past few years with countries like China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran taking the lead over others in blocking sources of free unbiased information. China is known to have even forced Google to filter its search results. Government censorship is not the only reason why websites are blocked. Some network administrators also prevent users from accessing certain websites which they believe are of no use in places such as schools and sometimes, even offices. In such times, you may need to access a website that is blocked. This article explains how.

Which websites are most commonly Blocked?

The most commonly blocked websites include websites about pop culture, health, medicine, women, religion and politics. Social websites are also often blocked and include the likes of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, Reddit, Digg, Hulu, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Blogger (Blogspot), MySpace, Bebo, Flickr, Yahoo! Messenger, Typepad, Technorati, StumbleUpon and Delicious. Sites like Google News, Wikipedia, Wikileaks and eBay are also blocked at certain places.

Access Blocked Websites at School, Work or Anywhere

There are many genuine reasons for which you might want to visit blocked websites at your school or office. Given below are the ways you can use to regain access to the blocked website you wish to visit.

1. Cache method: Most search engines maintain a cache of web pages indexed by them. You can search for a website on Google , Yahoo! or Bing and click on the cached link that is given next to the result. To load the web pages more quickly, you can visit the text-only version. Since the website is provided from the search engine's servers, it can be used to overcome IP address and URL based filtering.

2. Using Google Mobile Search: For users browsing on a slow mobile internet connection, Google Mobile search removes all CSS styling and JavaScript to present a stripped down version of the web page from Google's own server. As the content is provided from Google's servers, the blocking software feels that you are visiting Google, whereas in reality, you are viewing the blocked website. Go to Google Mobile Search. To visit the website of your choice, just replace tweakandtrick.com in the URL with the address of the website. Despite the name, Google Mobile Search can be accessed from your PC as well.

3. Access blocked websites with Google Translate. You can use translation service from Google to visit blocked websites. To do so, enter a language different from the website's language in the 'From' field and English in the "To" field. You can also use this method to bypass software that block websites on the basis of specific keyword mentions. Just translate the URL you wish to visit in a different language to overcome the keyword block.

4. Create a 2 layered unblocker: Go to Google Translate, open any proxy website inside it and then use that proxy website to access your blocked website. In this way, you can achieve two layered website unblocking.

5. Use RSS Readers for accessing restricted blogs: All blogs syndicate their content via RSS feeds which you can subscribe to in web based RSS readers like Feedly to access blocked content. For example, the RSS feed of this blog is located at http://feeds.tweakandtrick.com/tweakandtrick.

6. To access a blocked website, you can enter its IP address instead of the URL in your browser's address bar. This can bypass most basic forms of website blocks. Although if the blocking software maps the IP address to the website domain, the website will still remain blocked. You can find the IP address of any website by pinging the website domain name in the Command Prompt in Windows (Terminal in other operating systems) and noting its IP address. Execute ping www.tweakandtrick.com in the Command Prompt to ping www.tweakandtrick.com.

7. Use IP Address to Decimal conversion: If you cannot access your blocked website by entering its IP address, you can enter the decimal equivalent of the URL's IP address to get access to it. Search Google for IP to Decimal + IP Address of the banned website and Google will convert it into decimal. Enter that into your browser's address bar and see if the blocked website opens.

8. Nyud.net: To unblock blocked websites, just add nyud.net to their URL. For example, if this blog (www.tweakandtrick.com) is blocked, you can visit it by going to www.tweakandtrick.com.nyud.net.

9. Opera Mini Simulator: Opera Mini, the mobile browser for users with a slow internet connection, can be installed on your computer. You can use this PC version to visit blocked websites as Opera Mini accesses content from Opera's servers instead of accessing it from the servers on which the website is hosted. Most websites will load through this method, although the quality of the results obtained may not be that good for JavaScript heavy websites.

10. TOR: TOR or The Onion Router is a free software that protects the privacy and security of its users by channeling data through multiple nodes so as to prevent the original data from being unscrambled. Although browsing through TOR is a bit slow, it is one of the most effective ways of bypassing restricted websites and protecting your privacy.

11. Proxy websites: There are many proxy websites (anonymizers) which open blocked websites on their servers and present the data to you. This hides the address of the website you are trying to visit from your internet service provider. Few popular free ones include Anonymouse and KProxy.

12. VPN software: VPN or Virtual Private Network software can be described as a tunnel under the public network that offers more anonymity than proxy websites as it also encrypts the data transferred by the blocked website thus, offering complete anonymity. Although most VPN software are available as paid software only, HotSpotShield is a popular free alternative.

13. IP hiding software: Sometimes, websites block users on a particular IP address from visiting themselves. In such cases, free IP hiding software like UltraSurf can be used to visit them. While free software offer very less features as compared to paid ones, they are still effective for overcoming most common blocks.

14. Changing DNS servers: A common way of blocking websites is preventing DNS servers from giving the locations of the blocked website's servers. In such a scenario, changing your DNS servers to those ofOpenDNS or Google DNS will be your best option to get over the block. As an additional advantage, this can also increase your internet speed.

15. Edit your host files: Some malware and blocking software edit your host files and add a website's address in them to prevent you from visiting it. In such a scenario, you can edit your host file with Notepad by visiting “C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc” if C is your system drive. In Windows 10, Windows 8(.1), Windows 7, a warning from UAC might be displayed

Useful Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows Computers

While most of us are already aware of obvious keyboard shortcuts like “Alt+F4” and “Ctrl+C”, there are some obscure shortcuts which most of us tend to overlook. These keyboard shortcuts are not only useful for the average PC user but for advanced users as well. This article contains many such amazing keyboard shortcuts which if used properly could save a lot of time and effort. So let's get started.

Windows key+D: This shortcut is the keyboard equivalent of “Show the Desktop”. It is useful for quickly minimizing every open window when someone walks in and you are doing some private work.

Ctrl+Shift+Esc: This shortcut directly starts the task manager. While Alt+Ctrl+Del was used to bring out the Task Manager in Windows XP and earlier versions, in Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8 and Windows 7, it just brings up the lock this computer screen.

Ctrl+Click: This shortcut is useful for opening a link in a background tab. This is useful when you have to load a page without leaving the current one.

Alt+Print Screen: takes the screenshot of the current active window as opposed to just Print Screen which takes the screenshot of the entire screen.

Shift+Click for Yes to All and No to All: If you have a lot of dialog boxes asking yes and no question, just shift+click Yes or No on one to yes all or no all.

Ctrl+C on an error dialog box to copy its contents: Suppose your computer is giving an error message and you want to copy its contents to send to the support guy, what do you do? Just press Ctrl+C while the dialog box is highlighted and its contents will be copied to your clipboard.

Ctrl+T: This keyboard shortcut opens a new tab in internet browsers.

Ctrl+Shift+T: Reopens the last closed tab.

Ctrl+Shift+N: This shortcut opens a new incognito window in Google Chrome.

Ctrl+Shift+P: Opens a new private window in Mozilla Firefox.

Alt+Enter after writing the domain name in the address bar of your browser to insert .com automatically.

Shift+Enter inserts .net domain name extension.

Ctrl+W: This shortcut closes the current tab in your browser quickly.

Ctrl+Backspace: This shortcut deletes the last word you have typed. It is useful in case you typed in a wrong word and want to delete it quickly.

Ctrl+Left or Right Arrow key: This shortcut allows you to move the cursor one word at a time instead of the default one character at a time.

Ctrl++: This shortcut allows you to zoom in web pages in web browsers. Useful when text on a web page is too small to read properly. Ctrl+Scroll wheel can also zoom in documents, file thumbnails and icons in Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Vista.

Ctrl+-: This shortcut does the reverse of the previous shortcut.

Ctrl+0: Reset the webpage's zoom.

Windows key+M: Minimizes all the open windows.

Ctrl+L: This shortcut allows you to quickly jump to the address bar of your web browser.

Windows key+Pause/Break: Quickly open the system properties dialog box.

Ctrl+Shift+Delete: This shortcut opens the option to delete your browser's history, cookies, cache and other details that it stores while you browse the internet. This shortcut is extremely useful for the privacy conscious.

Windows Key+L: This shortcut locks your computer.

Ctrl+H: makes the history appear.

CTRL+B: Bold CTRL+U: Underline CTRL+I: Italic.

Alt+Select: This shortcut allows you to select rectangular blocks of text in Word processors, something that is not possible with simple select.

F2: Allows you to rename the selected file.

Holding Shift while inserting a device with removable storage prevents automatic run.

Ctrl+F: This keyboard shortcut opens the Find option in any program.

Ctrl+S: If you are working on a software and want to quickly save your progress, this shortcut will come in handy.

Ctrl+Home and Ctrl+End: Useful for quickly going to the top and bottom of a page.

Ctrl+P: Useful for printing the current page.

Space Bar: While viewing a web page in a browser, pressing space bar moves the page down.

Alt+Tab: Useful for quickly cycling between running applications. Press along with Shift to cycle backwards.

Ctrl+Tab: Cycle between tabs in your browser.

Ctrl+F5: Clears the cache and refreshes the current tab.

Shift+Right click: Open alternate right click options.

Alt+Double click: Open the file's properties. Alt+Enter can also be used for this.


These are some keyboard shortcuts that I found extremely useful. If you know some more useful keyboard shortcuts, do mention them in the comments

Notepad Tricks: Cool Notepad tricks for Windows

Notepad, the text editor that comes bundled in Windows is an excellent tool for text editing. But that is not the only thing for which notepad is famous. It is also famous for its tricks and hacks. Here is a roundup of some of the best and coolest tricks that you can try using Notepad.

Matrix Falling Code Effect - Notepad CMD (.BAT) Tricks

Inspired by the movie Matrix, this falling code trick is extremely popular on social networking websites. Copy and paste the code given below in Notepad and save the file as "Matrix.bat" or *.bat. 

@echo off
color 02
:tricks
echo %random%%random%%random%%random%%random%%random%%random%%random%
goto tricks

Matrix Falling Code Effect - Notepad Trick

Upon running the bat file, you will see the "Matrix falling code" effect.

Make Your Keyboard Type (Any) Message Continuously-VBS Trick

This VBS trick can make any of your friend's keyboard type any message continuously. Open Notepad, copy the code given below and save the file as Tricks.vbs or *.vbs. You will need to restart your computer to stop this. Try this after closing all important programs.

Set wshShell = wscript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
do
wscript.sleep 100
wshshell.sendkeys "This is a Virus. You have been infected."
loop

Send this file to your friends as an email attachment to see the fun.

Create a Harmless Funny Virus with Notepad-Continuously eject CD/DVD drives

This VBS trick will create a code which will continuously eject all your connected Optical drives. If you put them back in, it will pop them out again. Copy this code and paste it in Notepad as Virus.vbs or *.vbs.

Set oWMP = CreateObject("WMPlayer.OCX.7")
Set colCDROMs = oWMP.cdromCollection
do
if colCDROMs.Count >= 1 then
For i = 0 to colCDROMs.Count - 1
colCDROMs.Item(i).Eject
Next
For i = 0 to colCDROMs.Count - 1
colCDROMs.Item(i).Eject
Next
End If
wscript.sleep 5000
loop

Double click to open this file and you will be impressed by this awesome trick.

Make a Personal Diary(Log) with Notepad (Easter Eggs)

Notepad Diary

You can use this trick to create a personal log with Notepad which will automatically include the current date and time before your note. To do so, open Notepad and type .LOG in capital letters and press Enter. Save the file. Now, every time you open this file, notepad will automatically insert the current time and date before the note. Just enter your note and save the file each time after making an entry.

All these Notepad tricks are totally harmless and would not harm your PC in any way.  To close any of the VBS trick given, open task manager and close the wscript.exe process. These tricks work on Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP.

                      Password Hacking Tips

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Password Hacking Tips and Tricks

Password cracking is the process of recovering secret passwords from data that has been stored in or transmitted by a computer system. A common approach is to repeatedly try guesses for the password.
Most passwords can be cracked by using following techniques :

1) Hashing :- Here we will refer to the one way function (which may be either an encryption function or cryptographic hash) employed as a hash and its output as a hashed password.
If a system uses a reversible function to obscure stored passwords, exploiting that weakness can recover even ‘well-chosen’ passwords.
One example is the LM hash that Microsoft Windows uses by default to store user passwords that are less than 15 characters in length.
LM hash breaks the password into two 7-character fields which are then hashed separately, allowing each half to be attacked separately.

Hash functions like SHA-512, SHA-1, and MD5 are considered impossible to invert when used correctly.

2) Guessing :- Many passwords can be guessed either by humans or by sophisticated cracking programs armed with dictionaries (dictionary based) and the user’s personal information.

Not surprisingly, many users choose weak passwords, usually one related to themselves in some way. Repeated research over some 40 years has demonstrated that around 40% of user-chosen passwords are readily guessable by programs. Examples of insecure choices include:

* blank (none)
* the word “password”, “passcode”, “admin” and their derivatives
* the user’s name or login name
* the name of their significant other or another person (loved one)
* their birthplace or date of birth
* a pet’s name
* a dictionary word in any language
* automobile licence plate number
* a row of letters from a standard keyboard layout (eg, the qwerty keyboard — qwerty itself, asdf, or qwertyuiop)
* a simple modification of one of the preceding, such as suffixing a digit or reversing the order of the letters.
and so on….

In one survery of MySpace passwords which had been phished, 3.8 percent of passwords were a single word found in a dictionary, and another 12 percent were a word plus a final digit; two-thirds of the time that digit was.
A password containing both uppercase & lowercase characters, numbers and special characters too; is a strong password and can never be guessed.

Check Your Password Strength

3) Default Passwords :- A moderately high number of local and online applications have inbuilt default passwords that have been configured by programmers during development stages of software. There are lots of applications running on the internet on which default passwords are enabled. So, it is quite easy for an attacker to enter default password and gain access to sensitive information. A list containing default passwords of some of the most popular applications isavailable on the internet.
Always disable or change the applications’ (both online and offline) default username-password pairs.

4) Brute Force :- If all other techniques failed, then attackers uses brute force password cracking technique. Here an automatic tool is used which tries all possible combinations of available keys on the keyboard. As soon as correct password is reached it displays on the screen.This techniques takes extremely long time to complete, but password will surely cracked.
Long is the password, large is the time taken to brute force it.

5) Phishing :- This is the most effective and easily executable password cracking technique which is generally used to crack the passwords of e-mail accounts, and all those accounts where secret information or sensitive personal information is stored by user such as social networking websites, matrimonial websites, etc.
Phishing is a technique in which the attacker creates the fake login screen and send it to the victim, hoping that the victim gets fooled into entering the account username and password. As soon as victim click on “enter” or “login” login button this information reaches to the attacker using scripts or online form processors while the user(victim) is redirected to home page of e-mail service provider.
Never give reply to the messages which are demanding for your username-password, urging to be e-mail service provider.

It is possible to try to obtain the passwords through other different methods, such as social engineering, wiretapping, keystroke logging, login spoofing, dumpster diving, phishing, shoulder surfing, timing attack, acoustic cryptanalysis, using a Trojan Horse or virus, identity management system attacks (such as abuse of Self-service password reset) and compromising host security.
However, cracking usually designates a guessing attack.

          Folder Lock Without Software

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Folder Lock With Password Without Any Software

Folder Lock Without Software – Paste the code given below in notepad file and ‘Save’ it as batch file (with extension ‘.bat’). Any name will do.
Then you see a batch file. Double click on this batch file to create a folder lock program.
New folder named ‘Locker’ would be formed at the same location.
Now bring all the files you want to hide in the ‘Locker’ folder. Double click on the batch file to lock the folder namely ‘Locker’.
If you want to unlock your files,double click the batch file again and you would be prompted for password.
Enter the password and enjoy access to the folder.

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%==type 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

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