25 Things You Didn’t Know About XP

1. You can rename several files at one time within Explorer. A long overdue feature, in my opinion.

2. The tiles view is there for getting quick picture dimensions — a wonderful thing for those of us who work with the Web. When you select an image, its dimensions will also be displayed in the Status bar (if it’s turned on).

3. Check out the Details view if you have a ton of similar files in the folder. In one glance, you can view the number of pages, bitrate, details, and so on. Of course, it depends on what it is you’re trying to view. ).

4. ClearType is a great reason to upgrade to XP. While it does have a noticeable impact on 2D performance, the view is spectacular. It’s not just for LCD screens, contrary to popular belief. Font smoothing is so 20th century.

5. Your removable drives are automatically added to the SendTo menu. I can’t figure out how to get them out of there, as I never really use my floppy or Zip drives.

6. EXIF support is built into the Explorer shell. This allows you to see embedded information from untouched digital photos. This is another awesome feature for shutterbugs.

7. Details view in MP3 folders is a must. It’s very much like WiMP in the sense that you can view all sorts of song details from within the Explorer window. (See a screen shot.)

8. Being a neat freak, I appreciated the new Align to Grid feature for the Windows desktop. Now I don’t have to right-click and Arrange every time I move a stupid icon. Try as you might, you can’t drag desktop icons off of the screen with this option turned on.

9. Man, you’ve got to play with the Show in Groups Arrange option. It’s neat, and depending on how you have the folder set up, it will provide different sorting options (alphabetically by file type, general file type, and so on). Very, very cool.

10. When you see the shutdown dialog pop up, hold onto the Shift key if you want to flip energy saving modes (from Stand By to Hibernate).

11. WiMP will now grab cover shots and detailed information for your DVDs.

12. When you put in a CD with MP3s on it, XP asks you what you want to do with it. It does the same basic thing when you insert a picture CD or plug in a digital camera. Very friendly.

13. Icons in the System Tray are now displayed in high color. It’s about time! Oddly enough, when you configure the System Tray (by right-clicking on the Taskbar and selecting Properties), in the Notification area, someone forgot to update the old icons for Paint, Network, Calculator, and so on. I get paid to notice these things, you know.

14. Zip file support is finally built into the OS. Yes, I know Me had it, too, but I hate that OS.

15. No powertoys ship with the Windows XP CD, although they will be available from Microsoft’s site after October 25. They are a must for any user, experienced or not. Super Fast User Switcher, PowerToy Calculator, Alt-Tab replacement, Virtual Desktop Manager, Photo Toys, TweakUI, Command Window Here, Slideshow generator, Magnifier, HTML Generator, and TimerShot.

16. ID3v2 is supported throughout the OS (in WiMP 8.0 as well as in the Explorer shell). To edit an MP3’s information, pull up its properties and flip to the Summary tab.

17. You can store/save your current Theme to the My Documents folder. On the surface, this feature appears to be backwards compatible with classic Desktop Themes.

18. I think I’ve rebooted this computer less than 10 times, yet XP’s boot process (from BIOS to desktop) is faster than it’s ever been. Let me time the sucker. Hold on — this should only take a minute. I take that back! It took me 45 seconds to get back up and running again.

19. MSConfig is back, baby. Windows 2000 users will appreciate its return. Of course, X-Setup works just fine on XP, too.

20. In folders designated for pictures, the Tasks pane will give you an option to print them. Choose your images, layout, printer, and so on. If you have a photo printer, this is a spectacular feature. If you choose not to work with the Tasks pane, you can simply open an image in the Windows Viewer and print from there to get to the same wizard.

21. You’d be surprised at how much alpha blending of icons improves the experience. No matter what wallpaper or background color you’re using, they will always look smooth.

22. SNTP/NTP time synchronization is now built into the Date and Time applet. With it, you can connect to any Internet time-server. Never miss a meeting again! (See a screen shot.)

23. When Explorer crashes, the icons are restored in the System Tray. Finally. I verified this the other day when I ran into that weird gray screen problem.

24. XP comes with a basic slideshow screen saver — perfect for showing off your recent vacation photos.

25. The Task Manager now has Networking performance indicators. Right-click on the Taskbar and select Task Manager for more.

How to Send a Fax in Windows XP

How to Start the Send Fax Wizard

To start the Send Fax Wizard, use one of the following methods:

In the Fax console:

Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to Communications, point to Fax, and then click Fax Console.

In the Fax console, click New Fax or click Send a Fax on the File menu.

In the Print dialog box:

Start the program that you want. For example, start Microsoft Word 2002.

On the File menu, click Print.

In the Print dialog box, click Fax in the Name box, and then click OK.

In Control Panel:

Click Start, and then click Control Panel.

In Control Panel, click Printers and Other Hardware in the Pick a category box.

In the or pick a Control Panel icon box, click Printers and Faxes.

In the Printer Tasks box, click Send a fax.

How to Create and Send the Fax

In the Welcome to the Send Fax Wizard dialog box, click Next.

In the Recipient Information dialog box, type the recipient name in the To box, type the recipient fax number in the Fax number box, or use the Address Book to click the recipient name, and then click Next.

NOTE: If you want to send the fax to more than one recipient, type the recipient information in the appropriate boxes, and then click Add. The recipient appears in the box and the boxes are cleared so that you can type additional recipient information.

When you finish adding recipients, click Next.

In the Preparing the Cover Page dialog box, click the template that you want to use in the Cover page template box.

If you want to edit the information that appears on the cover page, click Sender Information.

Type the subject that you want to appear on the cover page of the fax in the Subject line box, and then type a cover page note in the Note box if you want to include a note.

Click Next.

In the Schedule dialog box, click the time that you want to send the fax, for example, click Now.

In the What is the fax priority box, click the priority that you want (a higher priority allows this fax item to be sent before another similarly scheduled and lower priority item), and then click Next.

In the Completing the Send Fax Wizard dialog box, confirm the options that you selected, and then click Finish.

How to View the Status of the Fax

You can view the status of the fax in the Fax console. To do this:

Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to Communications, point to Fax, and then click Fax Console.

In the left pane, click to expand Fax (if it is not already expanded). The following list describes the folders under Fax:

The Incoming folder contains faxes that are currently being received.

The Inbox folder contains faxes that have been received.

The Outbox folder contains faxes that are scheduled to be sent.

The Sent Items folder contains faxes that have been successfully sent.

In the left pane, click the folder that you want.

In the right pane, right-click the fax that you want, and then click Properties.

On the General tab, view the Status line. When you are finished, click Close.

How to Lockdown and Secure Windows XP

How to Lockdown and Secure Windows XP

Windows XP was designed on the Windows NT kernel, and thus, has an improved stability and efficiency rating over previous Windows systems. But we aren’t out of the woods yet- Windows XP does indeed still have security flaws that need to be addressed. Properly locking down your Windows XP installation will ensure you can maintain the peak stability and efficiency that Windows XP promises- not to mention it may very well save your computer from certain disaster.

The Basics of Windows XP Security

The basics of all security: use common sense. We won’t review every painfully simple security measure you can take, but we should take a look at these common sense fixes that, ironically, not everyone takes advantage of. We will get to the more advanced stuff further down- for now, let’s revisit Security 101.

Password cracking software is in such a valiant supply, that literally anyone could access the internet and download one without trouble. Likewise, we will need to make passwords that can withstand these brute-force cracking methods. Using both uppercase and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols provide the best passwords. As always, make sure your password length is hefty in size- this and the previous measures will keep the crackers at bay.

Also, be sure to subscribe to Windows Updates and any other updates for software you may have. This may also seem like common sense, but you’ll be surprised to find that many systems are compromised because of a lazy network administrator.

Lastly, don’t share any documents over a network that you aren’t comfortable sharing. In fact, it is better to keep sharing off- so files can’t be planted on your machine. Unless you know who and what is on the network, it is always a good idea to remain stealthy.

Sadly, not all security concerns can be addressed with the above examples- but not to worry, securing Windows XP is easier than you might think.

Ensure Disk Partitions are NTFS

There are a few file system types out today, some more dominant than others. Windows XP makes use of NTFS, or NT File System. This file system is considered to be an upgrade over FAT, or File Allocation Table. For lack of better security, we will want to stick with NTFS- as it offers more security through access controls.

To check what kind of disk partition you have, simply go to My Computer. Now find your hard drive name, usually indicated by the letter C.

Simply right-click and select Properties. Now look for the File System label, it should read NTFS, like the diagram below.

If the file system happens to display “FAT,” or something similar, not to worry: Microsoft has an easy fix. To minimize risk, you should always back up your data before converting to another file system. If you have taken this precaution, you may proceed with Microsoft’s conversion method.

Secure your User Accounts

The user account flaw is a simple fix, but ironically, it is also the most widespread flaw that is taken advantage of today. The United States government, for one, has had trouble with security breaches because of poorly secured user accounts.
Windows XP, like most operating systems and software, comes with a default Administrator account. This account has full access to the system’s resources- something we would hate to give intruders or malicious hackers. Yet, that is exactly what many people do by not changing their Administrator password. It is often a good idea to change the Administrator username as well- as it will only add to the trouble hackers would have in compromising your security. While you’re at it, you should disable the Guest account that comes with Windows XP- it can be just as exploitable as the Administrator flaw can be.

To Turn Off the Guest Account

To turn off the Guest account, you will need to navigate to the Control Panel. This can be accessed from the Start Menu, or from My Computer. Once there, look for the “User Accounts” icon like the one displayed below.

Hopefully, you will see something similar to the image below.

With some luck, your Guest account should be turned off. If it isn’t, don’t worry: turning it off is a cinch. Double click the Guest account image, and then click “Turn off the guest account.”

To Change the Administrator Password or Username

Changing the Administrator password and username is just as easy. You will notice we already have created an administrator with the name byron.

Simply select Change the Name or Create a password to get started.

Turn Off Windows Firewall (Yes, Off!)

If you haven’t heard of the tarnished reputation Windows Firewall has obtained, you’ll be surprised to know that it usually does more harm than good. It conflicts with other firewall programs, limits program use (while allowing even the simplest pieces of malware through), and is generally a hassle to deal with.

You should turn the Windows Firewall off, but you should replace it with another firewall. We recommend Comodo’s free firewall for those who aren’t necessarily looking to spend money on a firewall solution.

First, you’ll need to access Control Panel. Then look for the Windows Firewall icon similar to the one displayed below.

Double click this icon, and you should see a screen like the one below.

Windows will tell you it isn’t recommended, but on the contrary- it isn’t worth keeping it on. If you are accessing the internet for the first time and have no other firewall installed, it is worth keeping until you download a more reliable firewall.

Closing Comments

Windows XP has created many life-long and loyal customers for Microsoft. Compare it to the woes of Windows Vista- and the fact that the majority of people preferred to stick with Windows XP on Vista’s release.

All of the above security concerns should be checked- and make sure that not only is the Windows Firewall disabled, but you replace it with something better. We give props to Microsoft for trying, but even they themselves eventually claimed it should not be relied on as a security measure.

They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and we couldn’t agree more.

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