How to easily speed up your BSNL BroadBand Connection

I just found this article which discusses 3 important tips to significantly speed up your internet access through BSNL Dataone broadband connection / most other BroadBand connections like Reliance or Tata Indicom or Sify Broadband .

Tip 1: One of the major problems with BSNL Dataone Broadband connection is the DNS servers they provide by default. Most of the time they are very slow and sometimes they fail to respond. I noticed that I am starting to spend a significant amount of time in DNS resolution with Dataone connection, often it is larger than the time it takes to actually get the reponse. Here is a simple solution to significantly speed up your DNS resolution.

Open up the network connection profile and edit TCP/IP settings. In the DNS server address fields, specify the following DNS server addresses: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220
Disconnect the connection and then connect again. You are done.

This specifies third party DNS servers which are significantly faster than BSNL Dataone’s DNS servers.

Note: The service is provided by OpenDNS.

Tip 2: Firefox users can use FlashBlock extension to prevent downloading of Flash content by default, thereby significantly speeding up browsing experience. You can click on the placeholder icon to display the original Flash content any time. This is more of a passive tip in that reduces data usage to improve your overall experience.

Tip 3: You can try to increase your broadband bandwidth tweaking the TCP/IP parameters. The process is simplified by using TCPOptimizer, a free tool. It helped me a lot but your mileage may vary.

Also, there's nice little tweak for XP. Microsoft reserve 20% of your available bandwidth for their own purposes. This also affects your Broadband peformance. You can get back this 20% as follows:

Click Start-->Run-->type "gpedit.msc" without the "
This opens the group policy editor. Then go to:
Local Computer Policy-->Computer Configuration-->Administrative Templates-->Network-->QOS Packet Scheduler-->
Limit Reservable Bandwidth
Double click on Limit Reservable bandwidth. It will say it is not configured, but the truth is under the 'Explain' tab :

"By default, the Packet Scheduler limits the system to 20 percent of the bandwidth of a connection, but you can use this
setting to override the default."
So the trick is to ENABLE reservable bandwidth, then set it to ZERO.
This will allow the system to reserve nothing, rather than the default 20%.

I have tested the above procedure on Windows 2000 , XP Pro , XP SP-1 & XP SP-2 only. But not tested other o/s.
Awaiting for feedback about your results too!

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Happy New Year 2007 Folks

WISH YOU ALL ADVANCE HAPPY & BLESSED NEW YEAR!!!!

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How to Bypass Megaupload country limit

Megaupload is a file hoster just like Rapidshare that has restrictions set in place for guests that are downloading files from their website. Everyone who wants to download a file from Megaupload has to wait a certain time before they can start the download. Another restriction is a so called country limit. If the maximum number of downloaders from a specific country has been reached all others from that country will have to wait until the amount of downloaders drops below that figure.

The message that appears reads: “All download slots (number) assigned to your country (name) are in use. Several ways to bypass the country limit exist and I would like to explain two of them and hint to others that can also be used if the need arises. The first one has been around for a while. You do need to download the User Agent Switcher add-on for Firefox or edit the registry in Windows if you are using the Internet Explorer.

Firefox:

Click on Tools, User Agent Switcher and select Options.. Options from the menu. Click on User Agents in the new tab and then on ADD. It is only important to fill out the first two fields. Name the first any way you want, Megaupload for instance. Copy and Paste the following line in the second field.

Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; Alexa Tool bar)

Internet Explorer:

In Internet Explorer you have to edit the registry. For IE7 and IE6 navigate to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\InternetSettings\User Agent\Post Platform.

Right-Click Post Platform and select New String Value and name it Alexa Toolbar.

Firefox users need to switch to the User Agent that they have created before they click on a download link. Do this by clicking on Tools, User Agent Switcher and choosing the name (megaupload) that you entered during the creation.

The second method would be to enter the megaupload website indirectly by using a service that does not reveal where you are coming from. Two services that come to my mind are Google translate and anonym.to

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How to Force Windows Vista Into Reduced Functionality Mode

Today at I will show you a little trick. You will actually have little use for this, but it is a source of great fun. I will show you how to put a copy of Windows Vista into Reduced Functionality Mode.

If you have been keeping up with Vista, you already have been able to read details about Reduced Functionality Mode. I even provided you with the means to configure Vista in order to facilitate via the Standard User Product Activation Website. Today, I will do the opposite and reveal how you will be able to make Vista enter RFM.

But why would you want to do that? As I have already said, there is a good side to this. Namely, system administrators can test a copy of Vista that has been configured for Standard User activation.

The actual process of putting Windows Vista into Reduced Functionality Mode is quite simple. On a system with a fresh copy of Vista installed but not activated, advance the operating system's clock by 31 days and restart the computer. Microsoft is delivering full functionality for Windows Vista, even though the OS is not activated for a grace period of 30 days.

If the user fails to activate Windows Vista within this grace period, the operating system will expire and automatically move into Reduced Functionality Mode, and allow only one hour of browser usage per day felicitating the activation.

Now didn't I say that you could have a lot of fun with this? I did... Well imagine this scenario. You've got a friend with a brand new copy of Vista Ultimate in his hand. He paid $399 for it and he can't wait to install it. You offer your assistance in the matter. Install the operating system, and then convince him to wait a couple of days with the activation.

The minute he steps away from the computer, advance the system clock by 31 days and reboot. Then make sure you tell him that his copy is pirated. Or that a hacker just broke in and stole the product key. Or that Microsoft claims that he attempted to crack the Windows Genuine Process and is looking to pursue legal action. And just watch him sweat, and bitch! Of course that the reduced functionality mode will allow you to activate the operating system. No harm done, you just wanted to have a bit of fun.

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How to convert your Windows XP Home Edition Into Windows XP Professional

I have come across a hacking technique that promises no less than to transform Windows XP Home Edition into Windows XP Professional. Applying the hack will enable all the features specific on Windows XP Professional on a Windows XP Home Edition. The hacking technique works with a copy of Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2.

The following hack has been altered via segments of “xxx” used to conceal the actual information. In its present state, the fragment presented below is no longer a valid hack for transforming Windows XP Home Edition into Windows XP Professional. It is presented here only for informative purposes, as Jason S does not support piracy of any manner.

1. Copy the xxxxx and the xxxxx of the WindowsXP CD to your hard drive.
2. Extract the xxxxxx of your Windows XP CD. You can use xxxxx to do this.
3. Click START-->RUN-->REGEDIT
4. Highlight xxx
5. Click FILE-->xx xx and select the xxx file
This file is located in the xxx folder. Use the one you extracted to your hard drive from your Windows XP CD.
6. Locate the following registry key:
xxx
7. Edit the DEFAULT key and change the following values:
01 to xxx
02 to xxx
8. Change the name to the value xxx to anything.
9. Locate the following registry key:
xxx
Edit the DEFAULT key and change the following values:
01 to xxx
02 to xxx
10. Highlight xxx and select FILE-->xxx

Following the successful accomplishment of the instructions presented above, users have to make a bootable Windows XP CD with the hacked version of the operating system. Although now the copy of Windows XP Home Basic will have all the features of Windows XP Professional, the XP Home serial key will still be valid.

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My cool Spring Widget!!

A few days back I posted on my blog about this cool new Widget engine called - SpringWidget.

Today I have created a small Widget for my blog out of it.

Check it out!!

Get this widget!

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How to easily Recover a Document in Microsoft Word

If Word freezes and you lose unsaved information in a document, you may be able to recover it. To do this:

• Open Tools g Options and click the File Locations tab

If the space next to AutoRecover files is blank, then your data is lost. If there is a location, simply go to that location and open the document.

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How to Duplicate the Right Mouse Click on a Standard Keyboard

I recently came across this super cool tip of How to Duplicate the Right Mouse Click on a Standard Keyboard. Here's how...

 

Select a file. Pressing the Shift + F10 key will be the same as clicking the right-mouse button.

 

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Mouse and Keyboard Tips and Tricks

Keyboard Speed | Mouse Keys | Keyboard Browsing | Copy a File with a Mouse/Keyboard Combo

• Keyboard Speed
  You can adjust several settings to suit your preference:
  • Repeat rate: A measure of how many times per second that characters are repeated once you've held down the key long enough to begin repeating letters, numbers, or symbols
  • Repeat delay: A measure of how long you must hold down a key before that character repeats
  • Cursor blink rate: This setting doesn't affect your typing speed. Rather, it controls how quickly the cursor blinks on and off
  To access these keyboard settings, choose Start g (Settings g) Control Panel g Keyboard. Next, choose the Speed tab. You'll see slider controls for the three settings. Adjust them as you wish.
  
  
• Mouse Keys
  Have you ever wondered if there was a way to move your mouse pointer around without using your mouse?
  • Go to Start g (Settings g) Control Panel (this must be done before losing the Mouse) and select the Accessibility Options icon
  • Click on the Mouse tab and check the "Use Mouse Keys" option
  • Click OK, and press the Alt + Shift + Num Lock buttons and you can use your numeric keypad to move your pointer instead of a mouse
  
  
• Keyboard Browsing
  You can use the Tab, Shift, and Enter keys to navigate the World Wide Web.
  • Use the Tab key to step through links on a page
  • When a desired link is highlighted, press Enter to go there
  • To step backward through the links (bottom of the page to the top) press Shift + Tab
  
  
• Copy a File with a Mouse/Keyboard Combo
  Drag the file while holding down the CTRL key. A "+" will appear on the icon. When you release the mouse button a copy of the file will be created.
  

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How to Go Back in Internet Explorer Without a Back Button

You can often navigate or work with a browser window that doesn't display your browser buttons right-clicking inside the window and selecting Back, Forward, or Refresh from the resulting menu (be sure you're not clicking a picture when you do this or you're not going to get those options).

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