A Smartass Education

Ok so Microsoft and automatic updates have managed to fix the retarded bug they had that allowed people to tack years onto their 30 day activation period simply by setting your bios clock ahead before install and back after.

So now what can you do to help microsoft fix another bug you ask? Well, I’ll tell you for educational purposes of course. If there are any questions about this method, I did not write the article, and am not responsible for it’s contents. Please see bottom for Source and Author for questions.

1. Install Windows Vista Ultimate edition (or other edition) without product key.

2. Windows Vista needs to be applied with 2099-ReArm trick, so that the counter of minutes to no activation required period will not return to normal after reboot. Click on Start Orb button.

3. Select All Programs, then Accessories.

4. Right click on Command Prompt, then select Run as Administrator (A).

5. If User Account Control (UAC) prompt a warning message, click on Continue.

6. In the command prompt, type date and press Enter. You will see the following:

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6000]

Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>date

Current date: 12/19/2006 Thursday

Enter new date:

7. Enter 12/31/2099 (December 31, 2099).

8. Next, type cscript slmgr.vbs -rearm. You will see something like the following:

C:\Windows\system32>cscript slmgr.vbs -rearm

Microsoft (R) Windows Script Host Version 5.7

Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

The command completed successfully.

To make the change effectively, please restart the system.

9. Then reset the date of the system to current date again by typing date again. You will see the following:

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6000]

Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>date

Current date: 12/31/2099 Thursday

Enter new date:

10. Type in current date, i.e. 12/19/2006.

11. Exit from command prompt, but do not restart the computer.

12. Download StopTimer.zip torrent(If you don’t know what a torrent is you have another thing you need to learn…) From the Pirate bay, where I am sure it will not be removed.

13. Extract the downloaded archive file into a folder. It should contains Vista test crack.exe and timerstop.sys.

14. Execute or run the Vista test crack.exe by right click on Vista test crack.exe, and select Run as Administrator (A).

15. Optional: Press in Test button, and it will pop up a message says 4 timers are stopped. At this time, the counter should be freezed, Check with slmgr.vbs -dlv command, with the minutes left should be the same after a few minutes interval. If its the case, continue with the following steps to run the crack every startup.

16. In the Vista test crack window, click on Install button. You will be prompted with Service installed message if everything is done properly and correctly. The crack will copy the patched stoptimer.sys to system folder and install a new service named timerstop to stop kernel-mode timers in spsys.sys system file.

17. Exit from the crack, and restart the computer.

18. The hacking is basically done. Next few steps to to verify that the activation grace period built-in countdown timer is actually stopped and disable the timers from working properly, and make sure that the crack is installed properly. After restart, log on to Windows Vista. Run for a few minutes.

19. Press on Windows + R keys.

20. Type slmgr.vbs -dlv to check the time left to activate Windows Vista. If the time left is 43200 minutes thats mean the crack is successful.

Article Author: LK, Cho
Source: keznews.com
Last Updated: 12.26.06

Merry X-Mas! I thought I would give the gift of knowledge. This was one piece of knowledge I was very happy to find one day and have been expanding it ever since. Enjoy

Run Commands

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

ncpa.cpl - Manage Network Connections (added this after Vista came out and I was annoyed at all the extra clicks)

compmgmt.msc - Computer management

devmgmt.msc - Device manager

diskmgmt.msc - Disk management

dfrg.msc - Disk defrag

eventvwr.msc - Event viewer

fsmgmt.msc - Shared folders

gpedit.msc - Group policies

lusrmgr.msc - Local users and groups

perfmon.msc - Performance monitor

rsop.msc - Resultant set of policies

secpol.msc - Local security settings

services.msc - Various Services

msconfig - System Configuration Utility

regedit - Registry Editor

msinfo32 _ System Information

sysedit _ System Edit

win.ini _ windows loading information(also system.ini)

winver _ Shows current version of windows

mailto: _ Opens default email client

command _ Opens command promptRun Commands to access the control panel

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

Add/Remove Programs control appwiz.cpl

Date/Time Properties control timedate.cpl

Display Properties control desk.cpl

FindFast control findfast.cpl

Fonts Folder control fonts

Internet Properties control inetcpl.cpl

Keyboard Properties control main.cpl keyboard

Mouse Properties control main.cpl

Multimedia Properties control mmsys.cpl

Network Properties control netcpl.cpl

Password Properties control password.cpl

Printers Folder control printers

Sound Properties control mmsys.cpl sounds

System Properties control sysdm.cpl

User Accounts (normal) control userpasswords

User Accounts (hardcore) control userpasswords2

Command Prompt

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

ANSI.SYS Defines functions that change display graphics, control cursor movement, and reassign keys.

APPEND Causes MS-DOS to look in other directories when editing a file or running a command.

ARP Displays, adds, and removes arp information from network devices.

ASSIGN Assign a drive letter to an alternate letter.

ASSOC View the file associations.

AT Schedule a time to execute commands or programs.

ATMADM Lists connections and addresses seen by Windows ATM call manager.

ATTRIB Display and change file attributes.

BATCH Recovery console command that executes a series of commands in a file.

BOOTCFG Recovery console command that allows a user to view, modify, and rebuild the boot.ini

BREAK Enable / disable CTRL + C feature.

CACLS View and modify file ACL's.

CALL Calls a batch file from another batch file.

CD Changes directories.

CHCP Supplement the International keyboard and character set information.

CHDIR Changes directories.

CHKDSK Check the hard disk drive running FAT for errors.

CHKNTFS Check the hard disk drive running NTFS for errors.

CHOICE Specify a listing of multiple options within a batch file.

CLS Clears the screen.

CMD Opens the command interpreter.

COLOR Easily change the foreground and background color of the MS-DOS window.

COMP Compares files.

COMPACT Compresses and uncompress files.

CONTROL Open control panel icons from the MS-DOS prompt.

CONVERT Convert FAT to NTFS.

COPY Copy one or more files to an alternate location.

CTTY Change the computers input/output devices.

DATE View or change the systems date.

DEBUG Debug utility to create assembly programs to modify hardware settings.

DEFRAG Re-arrange the hard disk drive to help with loading programs.

DEL Deletes one or more files.

DELETE Recovery console command that deletes a file.

DELTREE Deletes one or more files and/or directories.

DIR List the contents of one or more directory.

DISABLE Recovery console command that disables Windows system services or drivers.

DISKCOMP Compare a disk with another disk.

DISKCOPY Copy the contents of one disk and place them on another disk.

DOSKEY Command to view and execute commands that have been run in the past.

DOSSHELL A GUI to help with early MS-DOS users.

DRIVPARM Enables overwrite of original device drivers.

ECHO Displays messages and enables and disables echo.

EDIT View and edit files.

EDLIN View and edit files.

EMM386 Load extended Memory Manager.

ENABLE Recovery console command to enable a disable service or driver.

ENDLOCAL Stops the localization of the environment changes enabled by the setlocal command.

ERASE Erase files from computer.

EXIT Exit from the command interpreter.

EXPAND Expand a Microsoft Windows file back to it's original format.

EXTRACT Extract files from the Microsoft Windows cabinets.

FASTHELP Displays a listing of MS-DOS commands and information about them.

FC Compare files.

FDISK Utility used to create partitions on the hard disk drive.

FIND Search for text within a file.

FINDSTR Searches for a string of text within a file.

FIXBOOT Writes a new boot sector.

FIXMBR Writes a new boot record to a disk drive.

FOR Boolean used in batch files.

FORMAT Command to erase and prepare a disk drive.

FTP Command to connect and operate on a FTP server.

FTYPE Displays or modifies file types used in file extension associations.

GOTO Moves a batch file to a specific label or location.

GRAFTABL Show extended characters in graphics mode.

HELP Display a listing of commands and brief explanation.

IF Allows for batch files to perform conditional processing.

IFSHLP.SYS 32-bit file manager.

IPCONFIG Network command to view network adapter settings and assigned values.

KEYB Change layout of keyboard.

LABEL Change the label of a disk drive.

LH Load a device driver in to high memory.

LISTSVC Recovery console command that displays the services and drivers.

LOADFIX Load a program above the first 64k.

LOADHIGH Load a device driver in to high memory.

LOCK Lock the hard disk drive.

LOGON Recovery console command to list installations and enable administrator login.

MAP Displays the device name of a drive.

MD Command to create a new directory.

MEM Display memory on system.

MKDIR Command to create a new directory.

MODE Modify the port or display settings.

MORE Display one page at a time.

MOVE Move one or more files from one directory to another directory.

MSAV Early Microsoft Virus scanner.

MSD Diagnostics utility.

MSCDEX Utility used to load and provide access to the CD-ROM.

NBTSTAT Displays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP connections using NBT

NET Update, fix, or view the network or network settings

NETSH Configure dynamic and static network information from MS-DOS.

NETSTAT Display the TCP/IP network protocol statistics and information.

NLSFUNC Load country specific information.

NSLOOKUP Look up an IP address of a domain or host on a network.

PATH View and modify the computers path location.

PATHPING View and locate locations of network latency.

PAUSE Command used in batch files to stop the processing of a command.

PING Test / send information to another network computer or network device.

POPD Changes to the directory or network path stored by the pushd command.

POWER Conserve power with computer portables.

PRINT Prints data to a printer port.

PROMPT View and change the MS-DOS prompt.

PUSHD Stores a directory or network path in memory so it can be returned to at any time.

QBASIC Open the QBasic.

RD Removes an empty directory.

REN Renames a file or directory.

RENAME Renames a file or directory.

RMDIR Removes an empty directory.

ROUTE View and configure windows network route tables.

RUNAS Enables a user to execute a program on another computer.

SCANDISK Run the scandisk utility.

SCANREG Scan registry and recover registry from errors.

SET Change one variable or string to another.

SETLOCAL Enables local environments to be changed without affecting anything else.

SETVER Change MS-DOS version to trick older MS-DOS programs.

SHARE Installs support for file sharing and locking capabilities.

SHIFT Changes the position of replaceable parameters in a batch program.

SHUTDOWN Shutdown the computer from the MS-DOS prompt.

SMARTDRV Create a disk cache in conventional memory or extended memory.

SORT Sorts the input and displays the output to the screen.

START Start a separate window in Windows from the MS-DOS prompt.

SUBST Substitute a folder on your computer for another drive letter.

SWITCHES Remove add functions from MS-DOS.

SYS Transfer system files to disk drive.

TELNET Telnet to another computer / device from the prompt.

TIME View or modify the system time.

TITLE Change the title of their MS-DOS window.

TRACERT Visually view a network packets route across a network.

TREE View a visual tree of the hard disk drive.

TYPE Display the contents of a file.

UNDELETE Undelete a file that has been deleted.

UNFORMAT Unformat a hard disk drive.

UNLOCK Unlock a disk drive.

VER Display the version information.

VERIFY Enables or disables the feature to determine if files have been written properly.

VOL Displays the volume information about the designated drive.

XCOPY Copy multiple files, directories, and/or drives from one location to another.

TRUENAME When placed before a file, will display the whole directory in which it exists

TASKKILL It allows you to kill those unneeded or locked up applications

Windows XP Shortcuts

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

ALT+- (ALT+hyphen) Displays the Multiple Document Interface (MDI) child window's System menu

ALT+ENTER View properties for the selected item

ALT+ESC Cycle through items in the order they were opened

ALT+F4 Close the active item, or quit the active program

ALT+SPACEBAR Display the System menu for the active window

ALT+TAB Switch between open items

ALT+Underlined letter Display the corresponding menu

BACKSPACE View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer

CTRL+A Select all

CTRL+B Bold

CTRL+C Copy

CTRL+I Italics

CTRL+O Open an item

CTRL+U Underline

CTRL+V Paste

CTRL+X Cut

CTRL+Z Undo

CTRL+F4 Close the active document

CTRL while dragging Copy selected item

CTRL+SHIFT while dragging Create shortcut to selected iteM

CTRL+RIGHT ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word

CTRL+LEFT ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word

CTRL+DOWN ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph

CTRL+UP ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph

SHIFT+DELETE Delete selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin

ESC Cancel the current task

F1 Displays Help

F2 Rename selected item

F3 Search for a file or folder

F4 Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer

F5 Refresh the active window

F6 Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop

F10 Activate the menu bar in the active program

SHIFT+F10 Display the shortcut menu for the selected item

CTRL+ESC Display the Start menu

SHIFT+CTRL+ESC Launches Task Manager

SHIFT when you insert a CD Prevent the CD from automatically playing

WIN Display or hide the Start menu

WIN+BREAK Display the System Properties dialog box

WIN+D Minimizes all Windows and shows the Desktop

WIN+E Open Windows Explorer

WIN+F Search for a file or folder

WIN+F+CTRL Search for computers

WIN+L Locks the desktop

WIN+M Minimize or restore all windows

WIN+R Open the Run dialog box

WIN+TAB Switch between open items

Windows Explorer Shortcuts

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

ALT+SPACEBAR - Display the current windows system menu

SHIFT+F10 - Display the item's context menu

CTRL+ESC - Display the Start menu

ALT+TAB - Switch to the window you last used

ALT+F4 - Close the current window or quit

CTRL+A - Select all items

CTRL+X - Cut selected item(s)

CTRL+C - Copy selected item(s)

CTRL+V - Paste item(s)

CTRL+Z - Undo last action

CTRL+(+) - Automatically resize the columns in the right hand pane

TAB - Move forward through options

ALT+RIGHT ARROW - Move forward to a previous view

ALT+LEFT ARROW - Move backward to a previous view

SHIFT+DELETE - Delete an item immediately

BACKSPACE - View the folder one level up

ALT+ENTER - View an items properties

F10 - Activate the menu bar in programs

F6 - Switch between left and right panes

F5 - Refresh window contents

F3 - Display Find application

F2 - Rename selected item

Internet Explorer Shortcuts

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

CTRL+A - Select all items on the current page

CTRL+D - Add the current page to your Favorites

CTRL+E - Open the Search bar

CTRL+F - Find on this page

CTRL+H - Open the History bar

CTRL+I - Open the Favorites bar

CTRL+N - Open a new window

CTRL+O - Go to a new location

CTRL+P - Print the current page or active frame

CTRL+S - Save the current page

CTRL+W - Close current browser window

CTRL+ENTER - Adds the http://www. (url) .com

SHIFT+CLICK - Open link in new window

BACKSPACE - Go to the previous page

ALT+HOME - Go to your Home page

HOME - Move to the beginning of a document

TAB - Move forward through items on a page

END - Move to the end of a document

ESC - Stop downloading a page

F11 - Toggle full-screen view

F5 - Refresh the current page

F4 - Display list of typed addresses

F6 - Change Address bar and page focus

ALT+RIGHT ARROW - Go to the next page

SHIFT+CTRL+TAB - Move back between frames

SHIFT+F10 - Display a shortcut menu for a link

SHIFT+TAB - Move back through the items on a page

CTRL+TAB - Move forward between frames

CTRL+C - Copy selected items to the clipboard

CTRL+V - Insert contents of the clipboard

ENTER - Activate a selected link

HOME - Move to the beginning of a document

END - Move to the end of a document

F1 - Display Internet Explorer Help

More

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

%UserProfile%\Desktop or shell:DesktopFolder

Enhanced Task Manager: ntsd -hd -c "qd" taskmgr

to install recovery console:   d:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons

System Restore from Command:   %systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe

Activation Wizard:   oobe/msoobe /a

Article Author: The Smartass
Last Updated: 08.03.08

UPDATE: Please read NEW method post on 12.26 named “Skip Windows Vista Activation”

Ok, here’s a funny thing I discovered. The retail copy of vista (build 6000, leaked by Bill Gates himself)

1) doesn’t require a serial number to be entered at the time you install

2) gives you 30 days to activate…

However using a very ol’ skool trick (Setting your bios clock to 2099, and disconnecting your network so that it doesn’t synchronize time with internet when you first login, then resetting and fixing bios clock) you can get virtually Unlimited days to activate vista.

There are some other ways to get around it, people have setup an activation server using vmware that will let you activate etc.. however that would be altering windows and I just don’t know that it’s worth doing unless you are really hard up for an education. With the 30 day trick you can still get all the windows update and everything seems to work just great.

NOTE: If you do this the performance tester will mark your “last test” as 2099. So to do another performance test you will have to change your windows clock temporarily to a minute or so after it says the last test in 2099 was.

Article Author: The Smartass
Source: Brain Power
Last Updated: 12.26.06

Ok, so Windows Vista. It’s pretty slick. However in trying to protect stupid users from their own shadows, they went a bit far.

Vista has a few things that are VERY annoying. 1 of them is called User Access Control (or UAC). It doesn’t give administrators administrative rights until they click on a prompt to get it. Fine, I’ll deal…. It’s only one time right? Nope…. It’s every bloody time you ever open an installation etc…

So first to Eliminate UAC
Click Windows Key + R (to open run menu) -> type msconfig -> Click Tools -> Highlight Disable UAC -> Click Launch

Stop Windows Defender
before you exist msconfig click over to startup tab and uncheck Windows Defender, then click on services tab, sort by name and uncheck windows defender there as well….

Disable DEP (Data Execution Protection)
Click Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> RIGHT CLICK Command Prompt -> Click Run as Administrator -> (Click Allow if it asks you..) -> at the command prompt type: bcdedit.exe /set {current} nx AlwaysOff

Remove Security Center Notifications
Control Panel -> Double Click Security Center -> Click Change the way Security Center alerts me -> Select I do not want notification messages from Security Center. (note… only do this, don’t disable the service because when I did, i had tons of odd problems with shutdown and startup)

Make network icon animated
Right click icon -> Click Turn on activity animation

Ok, after you restart virtually all the annoying prompts are disabled. Things that are still annoying but I haven’t yet figured out how to fix, if you know how to then please post a comment and I will update the post:

uTorrent port forwarding
Ok, I figured this out, but it took me a couple hours of annoying trial and error. For some reason in Vista uTorrent ignores whatever port you choose a different range without asking. After trying to force all sorts of ways to get it to my port I caved in and set it to theirs. I will only give brief descriptions since if you are using uTorrent I assume you have a clue.

1) Hardset your ip to a local address (192.168.0.2 or something) and Open uTorrent and start downloading something

2) Press Win Key + R (run) -> type cmd -> type netstat -an -> look for the ports that people are connecting to. For me it was from 62300 – 63400. I don’t know if this range was chosen at random or if this is what yours will be as well.

3) Go into your router and tell your router to open tcp ports from 62300 – 65000 (go over because it seems to keep going higher if you keep monitoring) and save

4) Go into uTorrent Preferences -> Click connections -> set port to 62300 (or whatever something in your range was)

5) Uncheck UPnP and randomize port if they are checked

6) Click advanced -> Highlight net.bind_ip -> type 192.168.0.2 (or whatever you hardset your local ip to) -> click set

7) Make sure your software firewall also has the range or the utorrent program allowed to pass…
WOOHOO! Problem Solved

Concurrent connections… Ok so if you use file sharing you want to have a ton of concurrent connections. XP limited you to 10 to “try to stop the rapid spreading of worms”, well Vista limits low end versions to 3 and high end versions to 10. This is obnoxious and won’t give you full performance when file sharing. For XP you can download a patch at: www.lvllord.de. For vista… not sure yet

So far this is all that has annoyed me. The rest of the system seems really solid and well put together, though I’m sure I will find more things in the future.
Article Author: The Smartass
Sources: Trial and Error
Last Updated: 12.25.06

Wow, how cool is this. I downloaded Photoshop CS3 from Adobe for free. In fact I didn’t even make an account on their website. I logged in using the BugMeNot plugin for firefox (or just go to bugmenot.com. It downloaded at a bloody fast 989k per second! and was done in 3 minutes.

Then being that it only gave me a 2 day trial, I decided I might not have enough time to try all the new features so I went into the \Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS3\AMT folder and renamed the file called application.sif to application.sif.bak, and now the trial period seems to be gone. (Look, I was just helping them find a security problem that will be fixed before they make a final release… I am not encouraging you to try this)

I will of course remove it after I have tried all the new features, but I must say Bravo Adobe for your wonderful beta experience.
Article Author: The Smartass
Sources: Adobe.com and Trial and Error
Last Updated: 12.17.06