Tricks and tips

1. Disable USB Devices:

Disabling USB ports can be a smart idea to add security to the computer. This can be really handy if the computer is on a public place where the chances of virus and other malware infection is really high. You can easily disable access to USB ports with the following registry hack:

1.    Open the Registry Editor (Start -> Run -> Type regedit and hit Enter)

2.    In the registry, navigate to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\UsbStor

3.    In the right-side pane, double-click on “Start”.

4.    In the “Value data” field enter 4 and click on “OK”.

5.    Close the Registry Editor and reboot.

To enable USB devices, follow the same procedure as above except in the step-4 enter 3 in the “Value data” field.

Works on Windows XP, Vista and 7.

2. Disable the Windows Task Manager:

Need to limit access to your computer by disabling the Task Manager? Here is a simple registry hack to do this:

1.    Open the Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies

2.    Right-click on “Policies”, select New -> Key and name the key as System.

If you are on Windows XP, you need not create the new key “System” as it is already present in it. So, you can directly navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System in the Step-1 itself.

3.    Right-click on “System”, create a new “DWORD” and name it to DisableTaskMgr.

4.    Double-click on the DWORD “DisableTaskMgr” and set the “Value data” to 1 (0=Enable, 1=Disable).

5.    To enable the Task Manager, Set the “Value data” back to 0.

Works on Windows XP, Vista and 7.

3. Add Programs to Windows Startup:

You can now add your favorite programs to Windows Startup without the need for using the start-up folder. Here is a way to do this:

1.    Open the Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

2.    On the right-side pane, create a new “String Value” and rename it to the name of the program that you want to add (you can give any name, it doesn’t matter).

3.    Double-click on the “String Value”, in the “Value data” field add the path of the executable program that has to execute at startup.

4.    Reboot the computer to see the changes in effect.

Works on Windows XP, Vista and 7.