Open Registry Locations from the Clipboard

On several Windows tips sites (like this modest blog), there are Registry keys listed. A fast way to navigate to them is by using RegJump from Sysinternals or Nirsoft RegScanner (the latter is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions). Combined with a little AutoHotkey scripting, it's an easy way to open registry locations from web pages:

; AutoHotkey script fragment follows

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Use iTunes to Sync to a Non-Default Data File in Outlook

Although you can use iTunes to sync an iPhone or iPod Touch to Microsoft Office Outlook on Windows, there are no settings in iTunes itself to allow syncing to a data file (PST) other than the default. This is annoying to those who have, say, a Microsoft Exchange account for work that must remain "default" in Outlook, but would like to sync contacts and/or notes that are personal.

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More Reliable Printing via IPP

This is written mostly with the HP Universal Print Driver (UPD) in mind, but I think it will be useful to anyone who prints via IPP (to a printer on a TCP/IP port). I was getting out-of-memory errors on large print jobs while printing PDF documents to my home network laser printer. Although the printer was "networked," TCP/IP is considered a "local" port by Windows. So, I wondered if the Standard TCP/IP Port was just not considered as a built-in exception for Windows Firewall. More specifically, I wondered if the default firewall allowed print jobs to be sent to an IP printer (free outbound connections), but it would interfere with bidirectional communication (blocked incoming connections that do not have a specified firewall exception).

Since IPP goes to port 9100, this seemed like a good port exception to open at first. However, I later read that port 9100 applies to only the network interface on the printer itself. The port on the connecting PC is random.

IPP does use SNMP, so you can add that with the Add/Remove Windows Features panel.

I have had success adding the Print Spooler itself as a firewall exception, as well as others all summarized below:

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Keep Outlook from Stealing Focus

Outlook steals focus and brings itself to the front multiple times when starting up. It's highly annoying, but it can be stopped. The villain is the /recycle switch that is added to the default shortcut for Microsoft Office Outlook in the Quick Launch toolbar. Removing the switch will make Outlook more behaved when it's starting.

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Internet Time Sync - Reset to Fix Error on Vista

Internet Time sync using NTP servers causes frustration for a lot of Windows users. The following instructions will reset the NTP run-time and adjust the NTP server setting. Make sure you haven't set conflicting settings in Group Policy.

1. The default server, time.windows.com, is just not as reliable as some other NTP servers publicly available. However, the best practice now is to sync to a NTP pool and/or your local university's or ISP's NTP servers. Get the list of servers for your location at the NTP Pool Directory. Example: 0.us.pool.ntp.org 1.us.pool.ntp.org 2.us.pool.ntp.org 3.us.pool.ntp.org


2. Run the following commands from an Administrator command prompt:

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Make Yahoo! Day Planner Widget Work with Google Calendar

[Updated Aug 3]

The Day Planner widget that comes with the Yahoo! Widget Engine (a.k.a. Konfabulator) can work with iCalendar (ICAL) files, but this feature has been hidden in the Windows platform since Mozilla Sunbird stopped using iCalendar files (.ics) for storing calendar data.

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An Easy Way to Improve Security in IE

The Hazards of MIME Sniffing

Bottom line:

As a user you can go into security settings for the Internet Zone and switch off the “Open files based on content, not extension” option.

Outlook Junk Email Filtering with Non-Cached Exchange Account

Junk Email filtering in Outlook only works when there is a default PST or OST data file, and then it works only on email delivered to the Inbox. Therefore, if you have a server rule that moves mail to other folders, spam will not be filtered. Instead, have rules that move messages be client-based by including the condition, "On this machine only". That way, Outlook's Junk Email filtering will be active before rules to move messages from the default Inbox take effect.

In addition (or alternatively), you can enable server-based Junk Email filtering within Options of Outlook Web Access.

Replacement New Email Icon Notification for Outlook

The little icon that you can have show up in the notification area of the taskbar (a.k.a. the tray) when you receive new email in Outlook is not always so convenient. If you receive mail into a folder that's different than the default Inbox, it doesn't work so well.

Using AutoHotkey, I made a little EXE application that pops a pretty envelope icon and plays the New Email sound specified in the Sounds control panel (provided it is in the default %SYSTEMROOT%\Media folder). It even has a neat-o tooltip with the time mail was received.

To use: Put OutlookNoti.exe anywhere and make or revise a rule in Outlook that involves starting the application when mail arrives. That's it!

It's freeware. Enjoy!

Download
Source

System Requirements:
It should work with most versions of Microsoft Outlook and Windows, but post a comment below if there's an issue.

Removing "Near Me" Group from AIM Buddy List

"Near Me" is a so-called smart group, and it cannot be removed like other groups (apparently). You can delete the group from this page: http://buddyinfo.aim.com/sg/

Thanks to openaimsupport