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Windows Watcher

Get simple questions answered ... by Tom S. Bair, Jr.

A burning question for many of my readers has been where do you go to get simple questions answered? Many people who are new to computers, or just don't care to spend hours per day studying the ins and outs of PCs, would like to ask a simple question somewhere without all the techno-babble responses. Worse yet are the egotistical responses telling them first how ignorant they are, and second, to read the filthy manual.

Where do you go? To Security-Forums Dot Com (SFDC). You will find forums on Internet and computer security, along with operating systems, social engineering, right through to off-topic and funny forums. Ask a question. You will get a simple answer!

So what is SFDC all about? I'll let Shaolin, the SFDC Administrator explain. There is a lot of information on the Internet but it can be very daunting for a new user or even confusing for an intermediate user. We wanted to create a relaxed but knowledgeable userbase that will eventually fill our forum with answers to common questions.

We also wanted to make an area for general discussion of serious and funny topics so new users felt comfortable and us gurus had somewhere to relax when we had no questions to answer

We also have a good private messaging system which many users take advantage of to message the local experts about suggestions or questions about security they don't want to ask in public (for obvious reasons).

As Saxo, one of the moderators, says, "The idea was that once the community grows, you ask a question and get an answer as quick as possible. You can say this has been done many times before but the main difference is to get away from the 'egos' and 'flame' responses you get on usenet. Many times a post to a newsgroup will get a response such as RTFM which can be a good solution, it's not really friendly."

Directory/Folder Lister

[95/98/SE/ME] Fred Langa publishes an electronic newsletter that is packed with useful information. (To subscribe, just send an email to: subscribe-langalist@lyris.dundee.net). In his August 8th issue ( http://www.langa.com/newsl etters/2002/2002-08-08.htm, Fred published an interesting batch program written by Ernest N. Wilcox, Jr., that I found very useful. I just had to share this gem with you, with permission from both Fred and Ernest.

I'll let Ernest explain the batch file to you: My brother wanted a tool to list files with long file names, and the pathnames as well. Fortunately the win9x dir command provides this facility, so I simply created a batch file as a wrapper to simplify the batch files use. This batch file will create a list of files in the directory entered on the command line as well as the subdirectories and their contents, then place the list in a file also named on the command line. Finally, it will open notepad with the list file (or give a message that the file is too large and offer to open it in WordPad). If placed in the c:\windows\command directory, users can create a shortcut on the desktop with the desired command line to simplify use. This is not very elegant, but if it helps my brother, maybe it will help others as well.

The instructions to set this batch file up are as follows:

1. Click on the 'Start' button.
2. Click on 'Accessories' (in Windows XP, highlight 'All Programs' first).
3. Click on 'NotePad'.
4. Enter the text of the batch file below. Do not hit the enter key after typing the last line. There are no blank spaces between the lines. (If you wish to, you can cut-n-paste the batch file from this column into NotePad).
   @echo off
   :: Program to create file list and view in notepad for printing.
   :: Written by Ernest N. Wilcox Jr. 30, July 2002
   :: This simple program may be used/modified at the users discretion/risk.
   :: It is provided as is with no warranty of any kind.
   :: Ernest N. Wilcox Jr. assumes absolutely no liability
   :: resulting from the use of this DOS script.
   :: To use this, the command line must contain the directory to be listed,
   :: and the path/filename to put the list in.
   :: Example: To list all files in drive d: and place the list in c:\filelist.txt use:
   :: dirlist d:\ c:\filelist.txt
   if "%1" == "" goto nodir
   if "%2" == "" goto nofile
   dir /s /b %1 > %2
   notepad %2
   goto end
   :nodir
   echo No directory path was provided to be listed
   echo The command line must include a directory path echo Example: dirlist d:\ c:\filelist.txt
   pause
   goto end
   :nofile
   echo No file path was provided to put the list in
   echo The command line must include a file path name
   echo Example: dirlist d:\ c:\filelist.txt
   pause
   goto end
   :end
5. Click on 'File'.
6. Click on 'Save As...'.
7. Click on the down-arrow chevron at the right of the oblong box next to "Save in:".
8. Click on Drive C: in the drop-down box. The file will be saved to your root directory of Drive C, thus making it accessible anywhere you launch your command prompt.
9. Type in a filename and extension in the "File name:" box. Fred Langa suggests you name the file dirlist.bat, and I agree. Whatever you decide to name your file, be sure to include the ".bat" [batch file] extension at the end of your filename.
10. Click on the 'Save' button.
11. Close and exit NotePad.

Fred says, "...you can click on the file, or create a shortcut (as Ernie suggests) to dump the names of all the files in a folder/directory to the text file of your choice. Handy for cataloging, sorting, or similar tasks!"

For the new users out there, try this:

1. Click on the 'Start' button.
2. Click on 'Run'.
3. Type dirlist C:\ c:\cdrive.txt
4. Press the 'Enter' key.

What will happen is dirlist will gather a folder, sub-folder, and file listing of everything on hard drive C. It will place this listing in a file named "cdrive.txt". Next, NotePad will appear on your screen displaying the file listing.

Remove Automatic Update

[XP]Martin Lockstrom of Sweden read my tip on removing MS Messenger. After performing the tip, he tinkered around a bit and discovered how to completely remove the Auto Update component. He dashed the details to me, and I now present them to you.

1. Click the 'Start' button.
2. Left-click on 'My Computer'.
3. At the Menu Bar on top, left-click on 'Tools'.
4. Left-click on 'Folder Options' in the drop-down box.
5. Left-click on the 'View' tab.
6. Uncheck the checkbox next to "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)".
7. Click the 'OK' button.
8. Exit the 'My Computer' window.
9. Click on the 'Start' button.
10. Highlight 'All Programs', then 'Accessories', and click on 'Windows Explorer'.
11. In the left-pane window of Windows Explorer, click on 'My Computer'.
12. In the right-pane window, click on your drive C under "Hard Disk Drives" listing.
13. Click on the 'Windows' folder. (A Hidden Files warning screen may pop up. If so, just click on the words "Show the contents of this folder" at the bottom of the warning).
14. Locate and click on the 'INF' folder.
15. Locate and double-click on the "sysoc.inf" file. (Do not get confused with the SYSOC.PNF file, click on "sysoc.inf" only).
16. Notepad opens this file into a window. Locate the following line: AutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,au.inf,hide,7

    Delete the word "hide" from this line. Be sure to leave the commas before and after the word intact. Now the line should appear thus: AutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,au.inf,,7

     

17. Click on 'File' in the NotePad window.
18. Click on 'Save' in the drop-down menu.
19. Exit NotePad after the file is finished being saved.
20. Exit Windows Explorer.
21. Click on your 'Start' button.
22. Click on 'Control Panel'.
23. Click on 'Add or Remove Programs'.
24. Click on 'Add/Remove Windows Components' located on the left-side of the window.
25. Scroll to the bottom of the "Components:" listing and uncheck the checkbox next to "Windows Automatic Updates".
26. Click the 'Next' button. A "Windows Components Wizard" will open up and perform it's digital magic to remove Auto Update. When you see the 'Finish' button, click on it.
27. Click on the 'Close' button for the "Add or Remove Programs" window.
28. Exit the 'Control Panel' window.
29. Reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.

Many thanks to Martin for bringing this tip to my attention.

About the Author

Please feel free to email the author with your comments about this article: Tom S. Bair, Jr.