Windows XP: Inside Out

Windows XP: Inside Out Glynn Brooks RGB Technical Solutions [email protected]

XP SIG Goals 

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Eliminate annoyances and frustrations Customize XP to work the way you want it to Secure your PC and its data Optimize PC performance Explore features you’ve never used before Share experiences Help one another RGB Technical Solutions

Planned Topics 

September  

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October  

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The Five Flavors of Windows XP (11:00) Customizing Your XP System Startup and Login (12:30) Windows XP Architecture (11:00) Customizing User Navigation (12:30)

November: Hacking the Desktop (12:30) December: Customizing the Windows Interface January: Hacking Windows Explorer February: Tweaking Internet Explorer RGB Technical Solutions

Customizing Your XP System Startup and Login 

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Customizing the Boot Screen Customizing the Welcome Screen Modifying the way users login Strengthening login security

RGB Technical Solutions

Customizing the Boot Screen 

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The Windows XP startup screen is inside c:\windows\System32\ntoskrnl.exe Modifying ntoskrnl.exe is not a good idea

Changing the boot screen safely can be done with a freeware program called “Bootskin” Bootskin and many customized startup screens are available for download at www.bootskin.com


Customizing the Welcome Screen 

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The Windows XP Welcome screen is inside c:\windows\System32\logonui.exe Modifying logonui.exe is not a good idea

Changing the boot screen safely can be done with a freeware program called “LogonStudio” LogonStudio and many customized Welcome screens are available for download at www.stardock.com/products/logonstudio/download.html RGB Technical Solutions

Modifying the Way Users Login 

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Using the Welcome Screen, you can customize the icon associated with the user In the same manner, you can create a password (and “password hint”) for each user


Strengthen Login Security Although Windows XP with Service Pack 2 installed is resistant to external threats, anyone with physical access to a PC can do anything because: o

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The default XP “Welcome screen” exposes the user names for every account on the system XP user accounts are not required to have passwords By default, every XP user is set up as a PC administrator

What follows are ways you can overcome most of these weaknesses. . . RGB Technical Solutions

Ways to Strengthen Login 

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Don’t use password hints (they help everyone) Hide user names on the Welcome screen (requires registry hack) Switch to the “classic logon” screen instead of the Welcome screen Clear the last user logged on name (requires registry hack)


For Further Study 

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Hacking Windows XP by Steve Sinchak John Wiley press, ISBN: 0-7645-6929-5 ($14.74 at Nerdbooks.com) Win Customize and Bootskin: www.wincustomize.com/skins.asp?library=32 www.bootskin.com Copies of these slides with registry hack notes are available at this Web site: http://mail.ntpcug.org/sigs/Win_XP/ RGB Technical Solutions