Get a grip on the System Policy Editor in Windows 98!
Windows 9x ships with the System Policy Editor. You can
use the System Policy Editor to exercise control over
the local system as a powerful interface to the local
registry and to directly manipulate the registries of
remote Windows 9x computers. The System Policy Editor
can also help you create policy files (.pol), which
provide a central configuration file for your networked
Windows 98 computers.
Install the System Policy Editor
To install the System Policy Editor on a Windows 98
computer, you need the Windows 98 CD or the Windows 98
Resource Kit CD.
Follow these steps:
1. Go to Control Panel | Add/Remove Programs.
2. On the Windows Setup tab, click Have Disk.
3. Browse to the \netadmin\poledit folder on the CD,
select the Poledit.inf file, and click OK.
Select the System Policy Editor check box, and click OK.
When you run the program from the CD, it copies the
application files to the C:\Windows folder on your
computer and places the System Policy Editor in the
System Tools folder on the Start menu. It also copies
the policy template files (.adm) to the C:\Windows\inf
folder on your computer.
If you just copy the contents of the Poledit folder to
your computer, it won't register these changes. You'll
have to carry out further configuration to add the
policy template files.
Look for more on the Policy Editor Next Week!!
Use these handy Rundll32 shortcuts in Windows 2000!
Rundll32.exe is an application included with Windows
that executes functions in dynamic link libraries
(DLLs). Most applications (and Windows) use DLLs to
share code between multiple applications or multiple
modules within a single application.
There are lots of other tasks you can accomplish with
Rundll32.exe. You can execute these commands from a
console or incorporate them into scripts or batch files
to help you quickly access certain features in the user
interface for configuring the operating system or
hardware.
The following command starts the Add Printer Wizard:
Rundll32.exe printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /il
If you want to add a standard TCP/IP port for printing,
use this command:
Rundll32.exe tcpmonui.dll,LocalAddPortUI
You can easily create new shared folders through the New
Share dialog box. Use this command to open it:
Rundll32.exe ntlanui.dll,ShareCreate
Another function you can access through Ntlanui.dll is
the Shared Directories dialog box. Here's how to open
it:
Rundll32.exe ntlanui.dll,ShareManage
Although you can easily create shortcuts to URLs, you
can't simply specify a URL in a command line and have
the site open. But, you can use Rundll32.exe to
accomplish the same thing:
Rundll32.exe url.dll,FileProtocolHandler http://www.internetfixes.com
(Replace the URL with the site you want to open.)
Securing your Windows XP Home Edition installation!
The points outlined below can be used as a starting
point for securing your Windows XP Home Edition
installation.
First of all, check for software updates to the
operating system. Microsoft releases updates to fix
known issues that have appeared, including security
issues. So use the Windows Update Web site and get the
latest updates installed on your system.
Check your file system. NTFS is the recommended file
system simply because it offers security features that
are not available with FAT and FAT32. If you did not opt
to use NTFS during the installation of the operating
system, you can make the change easily using the Convert
command.
Next on the list is to take a look at your Internet
connection if you have one. First of all, if the
connection is being shared between more than one
computer, you will need to enable Internet Connection
Sharing (ICS). Secondly, it is important that the
connection be secure to protect your computer and
network from unsolicited Internet traffic. You can do
this by enabling the Internet Connection Firewall (ICF)
on the Internet connection.
Now enabling ICF will not protect your computer from
viruses. So at some point during this process you need
to install anti-virus software and make sure that the
signature files are up-to-date. If you are in the market
for some anti-virus software, look for something that
automatically updates the signature files.
A lot of people do not require account passwords.
Essentially what this means is that anyone can gain
access to your computer and to your documents. Although
not having to remember passwords may seem simpler, it
leaves a huge hole in your security configuration. So it
is advised that you create a user account for each
person that will log onto the computer and assign it a
password.
Along with protecting user accounts, you also need to
protect resources. You can do this in XP Home Edition by
using the "Make Private" feature (one of the benefits of
NTFS). This will make the resource inaccessible to all
those who are not administrators.
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