Create free ringtones for your iPhone

This method only works with songs that are DRM free

Create free ringtones for your iPhone using only iTunes and songs you already have on your computer. This method has been tested and works with iTunes 7.7.1 and iPhone 2.0.1 firmware.

1.Right click on the song you are going to make into a ringer and select “Get Info.”

2.Go to the options tab and go down to the “Start Time” and “Stop Time” check boxes. Check both boxes and input the time you want your ringer to start/stop. The ringer has to be 30 seconds or less. Click OK when you’re done.

3.Right click on your newly “clipped” song and select “Convert Selection to AAC.” The song will be re-encoded using the start and stop times determined (If your menu item does not read “Convert Selection to AAC” and reads “Convert Slection to MP3″ (or some other format) please go to iTunes > Preferences > Advanced > Importing and change the “Import Using” drop down menu to “AAC Encoder”).




4.After the song is done encoding navigate to your iTunes Music folder, locate your song, and drag it to your desktop. After the song is on your desktop go back to iTunes and delete the clipped version from you iTunes library (It won’t delete it from your desktop, it will only remove it from iTunes).

5.Go back the song on your desktop and right click on your song and chose “Get info.” Go to the name and extension section and change the extension from .m4a to .m4r (or you can just change the extension right from your desktop)

6.After the extension is changed simply double click on the file to add it to your iTunes library under the ringtones section. Sync your phone with iTunes and you’re done

Read More

PuTTY/WinSCP Import/Export

Tips to export/import putty/Winscp sessions

Exporting your PuTTy saved sessions
1. Click Start->Run and type "RegEdt32" in the "Open" dialog. Click "Ok"

2. Drill into HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SimonTatham

3. Click File->Export. Give your file an appropriate name like, "putty.reg" and click "Save"

4. We're done! Save the putty.reg file somewhere safe. The file doesn't contain any passwords or actual SSH key values so, it's relatively safe from prying eyes. Still, it does contain your configuration and that kind of data is a private matter.

Importing your PuTTy Configuration

1.To import your saved PuTTy configuration on any other Windows computer simply copy your exported registry key, right click on the file and click "Merge
2.Windows will ask you for confirmation that you want to import this set of registry values.



Same for WinSCP sessions:
Drill into “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2\Sessions” instead

.

Read More

Morning Coffee

Add-on for Firefox

Keeps track of daily routine websites and opens them in tabs.

This extension lets you organize websites by day and open them up simultaneously as part of your daily routine. This is really handy if you read sites that update on a regular schedule (like webcomics, weekly columns, etc.).

Potential future updates include:
- bookmark folder integration
- separating lists by time (so you can have a morning/afternoon list for a day, for example)

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2677

Read More

How to run Control Panel tools by typing a command

This article describes how to run Control Panel tools in Windows by typing a command at a command prompt or in the Open box.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/192806

Read More

Disable/Enable 'Search' option in Windows XP

To Enable

1. Start>Run: Type 'Regedit'

2. Drill down to HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

3. Select Explorer and open 'NoFind'

4. Clear the value and click OK

5. Log off and log back in to have the search option available in Start menu

To Disable

1. Select the Run option from the Start menu.

2. Type "cmd" and hit Enter.

3. Type "reg Export HKU backup.reg" and hit Enter.

4. Type "reg add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer /v NoFind /t REG_DWORD /d 1" and hit Enter.

5. Logoff and log back on.

Read More

Bypass Windows XP LogOn Screen

Windows XP - solution 1:
- Select Run from the Start Menu, type control userpasswords2, and click Ok.
- Turn off the Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer option, and click Ok.

Windows XP - solution 2:
If you have one user account and no password configured, Windows XP will log you in automatically. Otherwise, you'll have to do the following:

- Obtain and install the Windows XP version of TweakUI.
- Open TweakUI (it's in Start -> Programs -> Powertoys for Windows XP).
- Expand the Logon branch, and click Autologon.
- Turn on the Log on automatically at system startup option, type your username and password, and click Ok.

Windows XP - solution 3:
- To disable the Welcome screen you can also open the Registry editor and go to
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version\WinLogon
- Change the value for LogonType, from a "1" to a "0". This is because a 0 specifies Classic Mode and a 1 specifies Welcome Screen.

Read More

CMOS/BIOS

How to hack CMOS/BIOS password

DISCLAIMER: This information is intended for experienced users. It is not intended for basic users, hackers, or computer thieves. Please do not try any of following procedures if you are not familiar with computer hardware. I’ll not be responsible for the use or misuse of this information, including personal injury, loss of data or hardware damage. So use it at your own risk.

1. Retrive using BIOS backdoor passwords
Some BIOS manufacturer put a backdoor password in BIOS which always works irrespective of what password you have set in BIOS. Its a master password which is used for testing and troubleshooting purposes.

AMI BIOS Passwords:


AWARD BIOS Passwords:
Click to enlarge>


PHOENIX BIOS Passwords:


Other Manufacturer BIOS Passwords:



2. Using MS-Dos prompt
This method works only if you have access to the system when its turned on because this method requires MS DOS. Open MS DOS from programs menu and provide following commands one bye one:

debug
- O 70 2E
- O 71 FF
- Q

NOTE: The first character in the above commands is “O” and not the number 0.

3. Using Mother board Battery

In most motherboards CMOS battery is soldered, which makes it difficult to remove the battery. In this case we use another method. Almost all motherboards contain a jumper that can clear all CMOS settings along with the BIOS password. The location of this jumper varies depending upon the motherboard brand. You should read your motherboard manual to check its location. If you don’t have the manual then look for the jumpers near the CMOS battery. Most of the manufacturer label the jumper as CLR, CLEAR, CLEAR CMOS, etc.

When you find the jumper, look carefully. There will be 3 pins and the jumper will be joining the center pin to either left or right pin. What you need to do, is remove the jumper and join the center pin to the opposite pin. e.g. if the jumper joins center pin to left pin, then remove it and join center pin to right pin. Now wait for a few seconds and then again remove the jumper and join the center pin to left pin. Make sure to turn the PC off before opening the cabinet and resetting the jumper.



5. Using Softwares

a) CMOSPWD
- Download cmospwd from http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/CmosPwd
- Save the file to C: drive (unzip the file if needed)
- Using MS Dos reach C:/CMOSPWD>
- Type 'CMOSPWD /K' to kill CMOS password
- Close Dos prompt and restart the machine
http://web.archive.org/web/20020203191544/www.cgsecurity.org/index.html?cmospwd.html

b) !BIOS (More details on below link)
http://www.11a.nu/software/bios-pc-bios-security-and-maintanance-toolkit/

c) KillCmos (More details below)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download2969.html

Issue I had was with Phoenix BIOS password and I was able to solve the issue using CMOSPWD tool without making any hardware changes. I recommend this tool esp' for laptops as other options might be little bit dangerous to perform on a laptop.

Read More