Hacking Windows XP (ExtremeTech) (Paperback)

by Steve Sinchak (Author) "Every time I turn on my computer, I am forced to stare at the boring Windows XP boot screen..." (more)
Key Phrases: visual style engine, run programs list, skinning engine, Internet Explorer, Task Manager, Screen Saver (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
“…excellent…up-to-date guide…” (PC Utilities, No. 54, 2004)

Product Description
* Get ready for some down-and-dirty hackin'! Over 200 serious hacks readers can use to force Windows XP to do it their way, written in the ExtremeTech no-holds-barred style
* Sinchak doesn't waste time tweaking Movie Maker or Instant Messenger-these hacks are heavy-duty, detailed instructions for squeezing every drop of power from Windows XP and maximizing speed, appearance, and security
* Not for the faint of heart! This book is written for users who aren't afraid to roll up their sleeves, risk voiding their warranties, take total control of the task bar, uninstall programs that are supposedly permanent, and beef up boot speed
* Mines gems like unlocking hidden settings, customizing boot screens, supercharging online and program launch speed, maximizing the file system and RAM, and dumping hated features for good
* Written by the creator of TweakXP.com, a site considered Mecca for Windows hackers and trusted by more than ten million Windows XP users worldwide
* Includes a hacker's dream CD-ROM with a set of ready-to-install hacks, theme creation tools, custom boot screens, "undo" files that help the reader tinker with Windows XP's registry, and a whole lot more

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (August 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764569295
• ISBN-13: 978-0764569296
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #386,608 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #45 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Security & Encryption > Windows Security
  #84 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Microsoft > Operating Systems > Windows XP

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

90 of 98 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great tweak guide for Windows XP users, August 3, 2004

By	hang10web (Midwest, United States) - See all my reviews

Don't let the title of this book fool you - there is nothing evil going on here. The word "hacking" in the title refers to all the tweaks, modifications, optimizations, and customizations covered in the book.

If you are a Windows XP user who already knows the basics, this book is the perfect source for making your Windows XP install your own. Steve Sinchak does a great job of guiding even first time "hackers" into the world of system customization.

Contents at a Glance:

Part I: Customizing Your System

Chapter 1: Customizing the Look of the Startup
Chapter 2: Customizing User Navigation
Chapter 3: Hacking the Desktop
Chapter 4: Customizing the Appearance of the Windows Interface
Chapter 5: Hacking Windows Explorer
Chapter 6: Exploring Other Windows Enhancements

Part II: Increasing Your System's Performance

Chapter 7: Analyzing Your System
Chapter 8: Speeding Up the System Boot
Chapter 9: Making Your Computer Load Faster
Chapter 10: Making Your Computer More Responsive
Chapter 11: Speeding Up Your Computer

Part III: Securing Your System

Chapter 12: Protecting Your Computer from Intruders
Chapter 13: Fighting Spam, Spyware, and Viruses
Chapter 14: Protecting Your Privacy

The first 6 chapters are about fiddling with the user interface and some pretty cool eye candy. You'll find out how to change the system bootscreen, building a custom Welcome/login interface, an easy way to recompile explorer.exe to change START button text (with the book it's not as hard as is sounds,) build virtual desktops, create custom themes, and hack Windows Explorer.

Part II was the most interesting to me, and in my opinion is the best part of the book. If you are looking to squeeze every possible ounce of speed from your XP machine, here you will find answers. First you will get a snapshot of your system's current speed situation using some great benchmarking and analysis tools.

Next,this book guides you through shaving time off the boot process by hacking the boot.ini file, tweaking BIOS settings, turning off services you dont need (complete with great explainations of what each one does, and a couple of suggested configurations for maximum boot speed,)and maximizing boot file location on the hard disk.

Once the boot is complete, the book shows you how to make XP load faster by adjusting startup programs, making registry hacks to filesystem settings, and even network IP settings for faster load times.

And when XP is up and running you'll get a look at how the prefetcher works, registry hacks to tweak its performance, boost Intel CPU performance, tune the paging file, optimize Internet connections for maximum speed, and boost the speed of your home network browsing.

The book wraps up with some great tricks for securing your XP install, dealing with Viruses and Spyware, and protectig your privacy.

This title does include a CD, and I generally write those off as a little gimmicky. But in this case, it adds tremendous value to the book. Not only does it come with 45 hacking tools and toys, most importantly it includes .reg files for registry hacks, and many of them have "undo" files if you want to revert to the old settings. Simply double clicking on these .reg files makes the registry hacks automatic, and keeps you from having to trudge through the Win XP registry.

If you are a Windows XP beginner, this book is not for you. This is a great guide for Windows XP power users - those who know the basics, and are not afraid to dive in and do some under the hood work on their system. Recommended.

96 of 113 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A lightweight book for younger readers, December 7, 2004

By	J. B. Barnes "jbbarnes" (Anchorage, AK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I think the main problem with this book is the title. It's not about hacking or hackproofing XP; it's about *customizing* it, and mostly in cosmetic ways. Any discussion about enhancing performance or security generally falls in the category of things you likely already know if you've spent a few years working with Windows. Trimming startup apps, turning off services, tightening network security. Good stuff for the beginner, to be sure. Aside from that, there is a lot of emphasis on changing the look and feel of the interface and using shareware apps.

One element that may quickly begin to wear on non-teenagers is the level of writing. Practically every section begins something like this: "Such and such is a cool new feature in Windows XP and looks really great, but sometimes it gets kind of boring to look at, so I'll show you how to change it." There is also a surprising number of grammatical and spelling mistakes in the book. My advice to the editor: it's hard to take a book seriously with such flabby writing and slangy style. This is a book, not a webpage. When it comes to grossly overused words like cool, neat, and great; I would advise the following formula for how many should be allowed in published material: Take the average age of your target audience, divide by the number of chapters in the book, divide that by the number of topics in each chapter, then multiply by zero.

If you are a teenager who's really into themes, skins, fonts, and other eye candy, this is the book for you. You'll also learn some good basic tips about modifying more important parts of your system. But if you're a person who has supported Windows for years and is looking for serious hacks that can be described in ways other than "cool," make sure you flip through the book before buying.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not worth it, March 21, 2006

By	Leonardo da Bologna - See all my reviews

I bought this book at Borders knowing that it was about customizing and not "hacking." What I didn't know was that you had to download so many programs from the web, which many people (including myself) are not comfortable with, before you can begin customizing in the first place. I've experienced problems with several of the things the author says to download, and found spyware on my computer, which is brand new, that was not previously there (VVSN.exe, a registered security risk according to liutilities.com). I would not recommend this book to anyone; I'm sure there are better ones out there that are more worth your time and money.