Little Goodies
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Registry editing for Desktop Backgrounds-
Open regedit while logged onto an account with admin priveledges. In regedit, open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. Click on File (at the top) and select Load Hive. Navigate to c:\documents and settings\default user. The file you want to open is NTUSER.DAT. It will ask you to name it- call it Default User. Now it will show up as "Default User" under your HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. Go into Default User->Control Panel->Desktop and find the Wallpaper key. Just put in the path\filename in place of what's already there. That will change the wallpaper for all new users logging into the system. Now, assuming you still have regedit open, go back up until you're resting at Default User, now click on File->Unload Hive. Now create a new user and login and see if the wallpaper is changed. Be aware that the wallpaper you put in must be located in an area where everyone has at least read access permissions.
Group Policy-
you could set a local policy instead of hacking the registry also.
start-run-gpedit.msc
local computer policy - user configuration - administrative templates -desktop - active desktop - active desktop wallpaper

Broken MS Office Installations
To redirect the installation file to a place on your local computer, get to the dos prompt. Navigate through DOS until you reach the directory where the installation executable is located, and then type in the following command:
"msiexec /fvm pro11.msi" Once this is typed, it will update for a moment and you will be good to go.
To redirect Office to a network location, type in the following into your run box-
"new network path\Setup.exe /fvm package name.msi" Where your new network path is the location of the file on the network, and the package name is the name of the installer pacakge.

Simple Command Line Commands (windows)
(if administrators have disabled the run>cmd, sometimes typing out "command" will work instead)
chkdsk- check physical hard disk for errors
ping *ipaddress*= check for connectivity, find the ip of a dns name
tracert *ipaddress*= trace the hops made to reach target ip. good for tracking down connectivity breaks
netstat -n = check and see what your active ports are doing (note- a cool way of finding someones IP address when Iming them is to go ahead and export your netstat to a text file by typing in netstat -n >portsbefore.txt. Then, send or have them send you a file, and while the file is transferring, type netstat -n >portsafter.txt. This way, you can review both of these saved logs, and compare to see what IP was active when the file was being transferred, thus revealing the IP of the target computer.
netstat -a= list of all ports
msconfig= lets you change system configuration and startup files
mmc= lets you set up a microsoft management console, useful for just about everything
gpupdate /force= force group policy to be updated on the machine
telnet *port number*= telnet to an open port (telnet is generally 23)
ipoconfig= gives you basic information about your connections and NICs
ipconfig /all= gives you more in depth information about your adapters, ip address, dhcp servers, ttl of your ip address, mac address, etc...
Mstsc = when typed into the run bar, this will bring up the remote desktop connection utility.
Holding down the Start key on your keyboard and pressing "r" will bring up the Run box.
Typeing dxdiag into the Run box will bring up the DirectX diagnostic tool, good for game troubleshooting and gathering information about your system.

Renewing your IP address
Generally, IPs assigned by ISPs are dynamic, but if you need to get a new IP (for rapidshare, etc...) you can run the following commands-
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
Also, instead of running them all from the command line, you can just create a batch file to run them by opening notepad, typing in the above and entering another line below all of it with the word exit. Save it, and then give it a .bat extension, and it will all run without you having to type it in each time.

Installing a Java Runtime Environment, and simply Java Commands
First, you need to go to the Sun site and download whatever happens to be the latest Java package. You will find this in the downloads section. Download the package and run it, leaving all the defaults intact unless you know what you are doing. Then, you need to set the environment path, so right click on my computer and go to properties and then advanced. Click the environment variables button in the lower right, and then scroll down the system variables until you see the "path" line. Double click it. It should already have some text inside of it. Type in C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_02\bin, or wherever you have installed the bin folder to, to the beggining of all that text. Then end this sentance with a ; (this is how windows will know where string ends and the other begins). Hit ok and apply or whatever, and you are set. You can check to see this by opening up a cmd window and typing in path. If the java path is there, you are good to go.
Some simple java commands that you can type in on the command line include:
javac- this is for compiling and has other uses as well. (when compiling make sure you are in the directory where your source file is). This command will also give you all sorts of switches you can use. You can see these just by typing it in.
java - Typing this, followed by your java file, will execute that file.

Check and see what your computer is doing internet- wise
This can help you diagnose speed issues, and can help you track down a problem if you suspect you may have one.

* Type cmd in your Windows Run box.
* Type "netstat -b 5 > activity.txt" and press enter.
* After say 2 minutes, press Ctrl+C.
* Type "activity.txt" on the command line to open the log file in notepad (or your default text editor)

Audit this file to see what has made an internet connection in the last few minutes. Then, you can use task manager to track it down and kill it or find out what it was.

Changing the User from the Command line without logging off-
1. Quit explorer.exe
2. Open Command Prompt
3. Navigate to C:\WINDOWS\system32
4. Enter the following command: runas /user:*computer name\*account name explorer.exe

Virtual Memory
Often when you have too many programs running at one time, you will get a message that says something to the effect of, "your virtual memory is low". The best way to fix this of course, is to stop some processes and programs from running (check how many with task manager, and then take them out with msconfig). However, you may need them and thus we come to increasing your virtual memory paging file size. Follow these steps to boost it-

Start>Control Panel>Performance and Maintenance>System.
under the Advanced tab click Performance then Settings.
under Virtual memory, click Change.
under Drive [Volume Label], click the drive that contains the paging file that you want to change.
6.Under Paging file size for selected drive, click to Custom size check box. Enter the amount of virtual memory you want by entering both the initial and maximum sizes (both these sizes should be the same), then click Set. You will need to restart.

Forgot Linux Password Fix
The easiest way to solve your "forgotten root password" problem is to boot your Linux in the single-user mode. While booting up, type:
" linux single"
This will make you root without the need for a password. As root, you can change the root password using this command :
" passwd"

Invisible Folders
Create a new folder delete the default name that is given.
Hold down ALT and press 0160 on the number pad.
Release alt, and you will see that there is no name for the folder, something not usually allowed in Windows.
Right click the folder and go to customize>change icon
Choose the blank icon, and click ok. Your folder is now hidden
Just try to remember where you put it. Also, its good to not that when I tried this little trick, it was impossible for me to delete in Vista. I am still working on that one...

SQL Injection Vulnerability Test
To test and see if there is a form on a particular site that may be vulnerable to SQL injection, try to enter this into one of the available input fields-
hi' or 1=1--
If it is really vulnerable, this may get you in without any need for username or password at all. Remember, when you are looking for pages that may be vulnerable to this, try and find ones with input forms on them. If that fails, search for things that use ASP, JSP, CGI, or PHP in their page source and utilize the browser bar.

My IP Neighbors
This is a useful site if you want to try to map out a network that you are doing research on a little better.
http://www.myipneighbors.com

Specific User Logon Hack
If you ever need a simple and quick way to set a computer so that only a specific person or persons can log on to it, you can do this-
Navigate to the users folder on the c drive
Enable viewing of hidden files and folders
Delete the default user folder
What this does is delete the template that is used to create new users, so only the users with profiles already located on the computer will be able to log on.

Default Address Router
To access the configuration page on your home router, type the following address into your web browser-
192.168.1.1

Repairing Master Boot Record
Insert and boot from your XP install cd.
Go into the recovery console
log into the Windows installation and type fixmbr.

Usefull Windows Keyboard ShortCuts
Ok, so everyone knows ALT-TAB and ALT-F4, but here are some you might not be familiar with.
Windows Key+D - To display the desktop
Windows Key+E - To open My Computer
Windows Key+F - To open up the Search Function
Windows Key+L - Lock the Desktop
Windows Key+M - To mimimise all the Windows
Windows Key+Shift+M - To restore the minimised Windows
Windows Key+Break - To display the System Properties box
Windows Key+R - To open up the Run function
Windows Key+U - To open up the Utility Function
Windows Key+F1 - Display Windows Help
CTRL+Windows Key+F - Search for Computers

Run Internet from the Command Line
This is a pretty simple trick for running a browser from the command line. Depending on your browser, modify the following code accordingly to point to the correct location/executable -
@start "" /b "c:\program files\internet explorer\iexplore.exe"%
Save that text into a notepad file called e.bat (or whatever you want .bat)
Save it into your local account folder, and then you can run or cmd line it like this- e google.com (or whatver.whatever)

System File Checker
A neat little utility windows has is the System File Checker. This will scan your system files for the correct versions/digital signatures. You can run it by doing the following-
Start --> Run --> type 'sfc /scannow' without the quotes.

Default Wireless Router IP and Passwords
The default wireless ip configuration address for most wireless routers is 192.168.1.1. You can type this into your browser when you are connected to a wireless network to access the router configuration page. Often, this page will be password protected, however many times people simply leave the default username and password on. A list of these can be found here. Alternatively, you can crack the WEP or WAP, but often using the default will get you in.

Disable USB Storage
This is a great tip to disable usb storage drivers while allowing your keyboards, mouse and scanner to keep working. Very useful for public computers where you need to keep people away from copying its content. This only works on windows machine though.

1. Always backup your registry in case you mess up something
2. Open regedit and change the key value ‘Start’
of ‘HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USbStor” to 4.

Value 4 - Storage USB devices are disabled
Value 3 - Storage USB devices are enabled

Microsoft Management Console
To open up a new MMC, go to start>run and type in mmc. You can then add snap ins to it as needed.

Bios Check w/out Restart
Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Information. Here you will find System Summary on the left and its contents on the right. Find the BIOS Version option and your BIOS flash version displayed.

Or, search the registry. The main computer BIOS and video BIOS information is under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWAR\EDESCRIPTION\System registry subkey:
SystemBiosDate
SystemBiosVersion
VideoBiosDate
VideoBiosVersion