Method 1: Input Director

Input Director is a windows-exclusive program that allows you to control more than one computer without using more than one keyboard and mouse. With input director, you simply control both computers with the keyboard and mouse, and press a certain hotkey to change which computer you would like to control.

You can either use the hotkey method, or just move the cursor off the screen, and it will appear on the other computer, allowing you to use the keyboard for that one instead.

My favorite feature about input director, is the ‘clipboard’ feature. This feature allows you to copy something from one computer, and paste it on another computer. It’s very handy. Also, please note that the only systems that currently support Input Director are Windows 2000 (SP4), Windows XP (SP2) or Windows Vista. And may I please remind you that, the computers you wish to control simultaneously must be networked.

To download Input Director, go here http://www.inputdirector.com/downloads.html.

Method 2: Synergy

Synergy is very similar to Input Director, but is just as good. A nice little feature about Synergy is that it can control computers, even if they are different operating systems, which is really helpful if (like a lot of people) you have an XP and Vista. To change the computer you wish to control, just move the mouse off the screen, it’s as simple as that.

Synergy also supports the ‘Clipboard’ feature. My favorite feature of Synergy, though, is the fact it automatically synchronizes the screen savers of the computer’s it is controlling, so they start and stop at the same time. And, in addition to that, it can password-unlock all the computers with one password, so no need to go around unlocking all of the computers if they automatically lock.

To download Synergy, go here http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=59275&release_id=406637.

The way both Synergy and Input Director work are the same, and it’s a very simple concept - It’s basically remote controlling a computer, without the real time screen appearing. Both software have their basis around a slave and master system, so only one computer is actually being controlled by a keyboard and mouse, but that computer almost mimics the actions onto the other computer, as if the ‘master’ is controlling the ’slave’.

The only problem I’ve found with the two programs, is sometimes the lack of compatibility, as Input Director does not support mac, or all that many Operating Systems really. Synergy supports a few more, but it’s still a hassle changing your computer’s operating systems to get this to work.

There’s a simple registry hack you can do that will enable “Open Command Window Here” item without holding down the shift key:

You can either manually edit the registry, or use the downloadable registry hack files to do it.

Manual Registry Hack

Open up regedit.exe through the start menu search or run box, and then browse down to the following key to add the right-click menu to drive icons:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\cmd

Rename the “Extended” key on the right to something else, like “Extended-Orig”. (Note that you could simply delete the value, but renaming it ensures that you can quickly rename it back to reverse the change)

To add the item to the folder context menu, browse down to the following key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\cmd

And rename the same “Extended” key here. The changes should be immediate.

Downloadable Registry Hack

Simply download, extract, and double-click on the EnableCommandPromptHereAlways.reg file to enter the information into the registry. There’s also an included file to reverse the change.

Download EnableCommandPromptHereAlways Registry Hack

If you are a long-time Windows XP user, you have to wonder when the sales for this Microsoft operating software will cease to be sold. The last we heard was that Windows XP will stop selling by June but apparently thanks to the Netbook, there seems to be an extension of sorts. This desktop PC from Microsoft is set to come out this August and if that should happen, how can Microsoft stop production if they are offering a desktop PC that runs only with Windows XP?

Everything is geared towards pushing all Microsoft users to shift to their new OS, the Microsoft Vista. If you look at it, this new installment is applicable only to new computers with higher specs. For old PC users, you will notice that the preference is still the Windows XP series since other than using up lesser resources, they cannot afford to upgrade to the new PCs in the market today and just because Microsoft say so, it does not follow that they should buy new hardware as well.

Add to the fact that people will make do with what they have. They still have their original CDs (assuming they are licensed) and with that, you have to understand that shifting to the new OS may not be among their priorities. Microsoft may have Netbooks but apparently closing down the Windows XP will have to wait. We just have to look at the past on how they phased out Windows 95 and Windows 98. Evidently, Windows XP will be among that group.

Changes to policies can take some time for modifications to propagate across domain controllers within a domain and finally to the objects for which they're destined. Policies are refreshed on a client when the computer is turned on, a user logs on, an application requests a policy refresh, a user requests a policy refresh, or the interval between refreshes has elapsed. The latter part of that sentence is key: there's a GPO you can enable that will allow you to customize the interval at which computer and domain controller policies refresh. It's best to make this change at either a domain or OU level for consistency.

To enable the policy refresh interval, follow these steps (I'll assume you're changing this on a domain-wide basis):

1. Within the Group Policy Management Console, find the Default Domain Policy in the left pane.

2. Right-click on Default Domain Policy, and choose Edit.

3. The Group Policy Object Editor window appears. In the Computer Configuration tree, navigate through Policies, Administrative Templates, and System.

4. Click Group Policy.

5. In the right pane, double-click the setting Group Policy refresh interval for computers, or Group Policy refresh interval for domain controllers, whichever is applicable.

6. Select Enabled, and then enter an interval for the refresh. Be sure to make this a healthy interval; otherwise, you will degrade your network's performance with constant traffic updating policies across the domain. For smaller networks, 15 minutes should be an acceptable timeframe. Allow 30 to 45 minutes for larger networks.

7. Click OK.

You also can also manually force a policy refresh from the command line on client computers with the gpupdate command. To refresh all parts of a policy, issue this command:

gpupdate /force

To refresh just the Computer Configuration node of the policy:

gpupdate /target:computer /force

To refresh just the User Configuration node of the policy:

gpupdate /target:user /force

To manually refresh GPOs on Windows 2000, the syntax is a little different. To refresh only the computer policy:

secedit /refreshpolicy machine_policy

To refresh only the user policy:

secedit /refreshpolicy user_policy

You can force updates of objects, even if they haven't been modified since the last update, by adding the /enforce switch at the end of the command. Then Windows will enforce all policies, regardless of whether the actual policy objects have changed. This is useful if you are having network difficulties and want to ensure that every computer has a fresh application of policy, or if you have a large contingent of mobile users that connect to the network briefly and unpredictably.

For either clients or domain controllers, exercise extreme caution when modifying the default refresh interval. On large networks, altering the refresh interval can cause hellish amounts of traffic to be unleashed over your network—a costly move that's unnecessary for 95% of sites with domains installed. Although clients will pull down new policies only if those policies have changed, the increased traffic results from clients just contacting a domain controller every x minutes to get new policies and updates. There's very little reason to alter this value. Here's a good rule of thumb: if you don't know of a good justification to increase the refresh interval, it isn't necessary for your site.

If you want, you can also elect to disable background policy refreshing completely. You might do this if you're having trouble tracking down an intermittent GPO problem, or if you don't want to have a GP applied during the middle of a client session because it might disrupt an application. Again, it's best to do this on a domain-wide or OU-wide basis for consistency and best performance.

To disable background processing, follow these steps:

1. Within the Group Policy Management Console, find the Default Domain Policy in the left pane.

2. Right-click on Default Domain Policy, and choose Edit.

3. The Group Policy Object Editor screen appears. In the Computer Configuration tree, navigate through Policies, Administrative Templates, and System.

4. Click Group Policy.

5. In the right pane, double-click the setting "Turn off background refresh of Group Policy."

6. Select Enabled.

7. Click OK.

In some situations, you might want a policy setting to be applied, even if no setting has changed. This goes against default GPO behavior because usually, only changes trigger a policy refresh and reapplication. For example, a user might change some Internet Explorer settings within his session. You might want that change to be reversed, but Windows won't trigger a refresh because the policy itself hasn't changed. To prevent this, you can use the configuration option called "Process even if the Group Policy Object has not changed." (This is like the /enforce switch described a bit earlier.) You've probably caught on by now that it's best to do this on a domain-wide or OU-wide basis for consistency and best performance.

To do so, follow these steps:

1. Within the Group Policy Management Console, find the Default Domain Policy in the left pane.

2. Right-click on the Default Domain Policy GPO and choose Edit.

3. In the Computer Configuration tree, navigate through Policies, Administrative Templates, System, and Group Policy.

4. You'll see a list of options ending in "policy processing," such as "Scripts policy processing" and "Wireless policy processing." These GPOs exist to allow you to tweak the functionality of these types of policies. Open the appropriate policy up (which one is best for you depends on the type of policy that you're trying to trigger to change) to view its Properties.

5. Click the Enabled button.

6. Finally, check the "Process even if the Group Policy Object has not changed" checkbox.

Policy settings related to computer security follow a refresh policy that is a bit different from normal GPOs. The client computer still refreshes security policy settings even if the GPO has not been changed or modified. There are Registry settings whose values indicate the maximum acceptable time a user or client computer can wait before reapplying GPOs, regardless of whether they are changed. They are as follows:

To change the refresh interval for computers, set HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System\GroupPolicyRefreshTime. The type is REG_DWORD and the valid range for data (in minutes) is 0 to 64,800.

To change the offset interval for computers, set HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System\GroupPolicyRefreshTimeOffset. The type is REG_DWORD and the valid range for data (in minutes) is 0 to 1,440.

To change the domain controller refresh interval, set HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System\GroupPolicyRefreshTimeDC. The type is REG_DWORD and the valid range for data (in minutes) is 0 to 64,800.

To change the domain controller offset interval, set HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System\GroupPolicyRefreshTimeOffsetDC. The type is REG_DWORD and the valid range for data (in minutes) is 0 to 1,440.

To change the refresh interval for users, set HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System\GroupPolicyRefreshTime. The type is REG_DWORD and the valid range for data (in minutes) is 0 to 64,800.

To change the offset interval for users, set HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System\GroupPolicyRefreshTime. The type is REG_DWORD and the valid range for data (in minutes) is 0 to 1,440.

Windows Server 2008 incorporates a feature called Group Policy Preferences, which is essentially the old products PolicyMaker Standard Edition and Policy Share Manager in new form, directly into the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC). In a nutshell, preferences allow you to "suggest" an initial configuration to your users while still giving them the ability to change them. Let's delve a little deeper into this.

Group Policy itself was designed so that an administrator determines and sets up his mandatory environment, configures it appropriately for the organization's needs, and then leaves it up to Windows to strictly enforce those settings. GP generally overrides any user-provided settings in the event of a conflict, and it typically disables any user interface functions that could be used to change those settings. And while one can limit or otherwise affect the scope of a GPO, it essentially can touch every machine that is a member of any given Windows domain. Machines and settings controlled by Group Policy are termed "managed" machines and settings.

Group Policy preferences take a lighter approach. While GP preferences still are set up by an administrator and filter down to managed clients, GP writes preferences to the same places in the Registry where applications store their data about that specific setting. This lets GP address settings and switches in applications that don't by default know about Group Policy. In addition, there isn't a restriction on the user interface of the software, so if the administrator-defined preferences don't meet a user's working style or in some other way aren't what a user wishes, she is free to change them. You can also define the schedule at which Group Policy refreshes preference information—it can either be done at the same interval that GP refreshes policy (the mandatory settings), or you can set it once and then prohibit Windows from refreshing that preference again.

Supporting Group Policy preferences is also lightweight. You can create GPOs that contain preference information right out of the box. On the client, you'll need to install—via a separate download—a client-side extension; this will need to be deployed to any computer that is a target of your preference settings. The client-side extension will support Windows XP Service Pack 2 and later, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 and later. (If you install Windows Server 2008, you already get the CSE.)

You can create preference entries by right-clicking on the appropriate preference item in the left pane of the Group Policy Management Editor and selecting New from the context menu. The same breakdown for regular GPOs applies for GP preferences: Computer Configuration is used to customize machine-specific settings, which become effective when a computer first boots, and User Configuration is used to configure settings that apply only to that user regardless of where she is on the network.

Well kavo.exe is a worm very similar to amvo.exe but very cumbersome to remove. Well here I will explain how to remove it manually & completely.

If your drves on double click are opening in new folder & you are not bing able to view your hidden folders & files (even after selecting show hidden flies from tools->folder options...), then you may be infected with this virus.

Well to be sure that you are infected with this virus do the following steps
1. click on start menu 2. click on RUN 3. type in there 'msconfig' without commas 4. go to the last tab named 'startup' 5. under the 'startup item' check if there is any item named 'KAVA'. Well if its there you got this virus.

The virus usually spreads through external drives like flash drives, pen drives etc.
It copies itself to all the drives on being run thus ensuring that the virus is activated as every time any drive is opened.

First of all as the virus hides the hidden files you need a software RRT to unhide them. To download the software click here.
Follow these easy steps to remove the virus

1. Open all the drives in new window (Just like here)



2. In an another window go to C:\windows\system32 folder (if your windows is in drive other than C use another drive letter)
3. Open registry editor by going to start->run->regedit (Registry editing could be dangerous if not done properly so be careful)
4. Now run the RRT utility and click on auto remove. Dont close the utility.
5. The utility helps in keeping hidden files unhidden but the virus keeps hiding the system files every few seconds. So you will have to perform this function every few seconds
Find the Tools option at the top of the window -> folder optiond ->view tab -> untick hide protected operating system(recommended) -> click yes on the warning and click apply





6. Now in the C:\windows\system32 folder trace these files and try deleting them using shift + Delete (You may have to redo 5th step to unhide them)
kavo.exe
kavo0.dll
kavo1.dll
kavo2.dll
kavo3.dll
You may be able to delete all of them except one. Dont worry we will treat with it later.
7. As I have told you earlier that virus copies it self to all the drives we need to proceed to the drives now. You will have to repeat step 5 on each drive atleast once. Its assumed that you have all the drives already opened in new different windows.
8. The virus makes a common file with an extension of .bat(example 1.bat) in each drive. Find out the common .bat file in each folder and delete them along with the autorun.inf file. To enable exensions do the following
Find the Tools option at the top of the window -> folder optiond ->view tab -> untick hide extensions for known file types -> click apply
9. Well now we need to do some registry editing to open registry editor go to
start-> run-> type regedit & enter
10. Go the following key & delete value named 'kava'
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Now search thw whole of registry with the name 'kava' and delete all instances where you find it in use with word 'kavo'(Use ctrl + F to search & F3 to find next).
11. Now you are almost done. Just log off and log in again into windows (start->log off) and delete the file from the sixth step which you couldn't. You should be able to do it now.

Well now you are free from the Kavo.exe virus.