Dark Hacks

Easier Searches and Popup Suppression with the Google ToolbarThe Google search engine's free toolbar application is a great way to have the useful search website close at hand without having to set them as your homepage. The toolbar sits below your address bar in IE and contains a field where you can type Google searches directly. As an added bonus, it also contains a popup blocker similar to that seen in the SP2 version of Internet Explorer, plus a few other neat features.Note that while this toolbar does not install spyware, it does contain features which depending on your viewpoint, you may view as an invasion of privacy. It updates automatically with Google and will report (anonymously) on your browsing habits.You can get the Google toolbar here Google's privacy policy is here .103. Address Shortcut for Internet ExplorerHere's a nifty and quick keyboard shortcut for Internet Explorer. Press ALT+D to move the cursor to the address bar instantly and highlight all text so that typing will immediately start a new address.104. Remove Microsoft Java VM and Install Sun JavaGiven that Microsoft's implementation of Java is flawed and no longer supported, if you intend to play games or visit web sites that require Java functionality on your machine, you'd do well to uninstall the Microsoft Java VM (Virtual Machine) and install the 'official' Java code from Sun Microsystems.To do this go to 'start\run' and type 'RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection java.inf,UnInstall'Hit 'yes' to confirm the removal, then reboot when prompted. You may also need to remove the following items manually:- c:\java (folder) - java.PNF from the C:\windows\inf folder (file)- jview.exe and wjview.exe from the c:\windows\system32 folder (files)- The subkey 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\Java _VM' from the registry.- The subkey 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\InternetExplorer\AdvancedOptions\JAVA_VM' from the registry.Now you can download Sun's version of Java from here.Find out about this and many other reviews by joining the Weekly