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Thanks Vla for spotting this over at NTCompatible Normally Windows XP Home Edition cannot join network domains, simply peer-to-peer workgroups. However, there is a fix which can solve the problem and allow WinXP Home Edition to join a domain. Microsoft wanted to cripple Windows XP Home Edition so that it could not be used on domains, which would force many to upgrade to the more expensive Windows XP Professional Edition simply to join a network domain.

However, it -is- possible to get on a domain using Windows XP Home Edition.

Method 1:
This can also be accomplished with the free and widely available Xteq X-Setup 6.1 http://www.xteq.com/products/xset/ by navigating to the NetworkAuto LoginWindows NT/2K/XPSettings option within X-Setup. Simply enter the appropriate information and click Apply Changes - upon your next reboot you can then join domains with WinXP Home Edition. Problem solved. X-Setup includes many other useful Windows XP tweaks/hacks/etc. for Windows XP as well, all free for personal use.

Method 2:
As Serdar Yegulalp pointed out in his Win2kPowerUsers newsletter today also, this can be accomplished using Microsoft's TweakUI for Windows XP, but that has been pulled from Microsoft's website for the time being. I feel that it is very possible, if not highly probable, that Microsoft will prevent this workaround from being used with future versions of TweakUI with Windows XP Home Edition, as they authored both Windows XP and TweakUI, and they don't want Windows XP Home Edition users to be able to join network domains. A copy of TweakUI for WinXP can be obtained at http://www.majorgeeks.com.

News source: NTCompatible

I’m tired of spam. It's number two behind AOL for things I despise about the Internet. This morning I opened Outlook Express to find about 50 new messages, two of which were from someone I knew or a newsletter I signed up for. It’s really is getting ridiculous. Of the one to two hundred emails I receive daily about 95% is spam. Subject after subject of Earn Extra Money From Home!, Use Our Software to Become a Net Detective! I don’t know how these guys do it. Who buys things from these people so that they are encouraged to blast out another 2,000,000 emails to a harvested list?

Nobody likes unsolicited email. But what are the best ways to get rid of it and keep it from coming back? I have put together a few simple steps that should help.

Don’t reply to unsubscribe. On almost every piece of spam there is the “Reply to this address to unsubscribe” option at the bottom. Don’t do it. All this does is let the spammer know that they have found an account that is still active. Even if they do stop, you can bet your lunch money that they will sell it to someone who will be more than happy to use it.

Report unsolicited mail to the FTC. In the Federal Trade Commission’s effort to eliminate spam, they have setup an email address that you can use to forward spam to them to investigate (uce@ftc.gov). This can be especially useful for unsolicited mail that comes from the same company or advertises the same product.

Don’t post your email address on websites. Most email addresses used in spam mailing lists are harvested by programs scanning random websites for email addresses. Sometimes this can’t be avoided. There are several programs that will allow you to post your address in a format that cannot be read by the ‘spambots’ that search pages. Some of the better known are Spammotel and Spamsecure. You could also use an address you rarely check, such as a free account. That is more of a hassle than you should have to go thru though.

When you get an unwanted message, block it. Almost all email programs, including those for the web include blocking and filtering technology. In a matter of clicks you could have the senders address blocked for good. The only drawback is that most spammers have adapted to this barrier by simply changing their address on each mailing, so its effectiveness is very limited.

Don’t respond to the SPAM. Don’t visit the website. Don’t reply for more information. Definitely do not purchase anything from someone who sends you unsolicited mail. By doing so you are simply telling the spammer that it is okay for them to invade your privacy and use your resouces, in fact it rewards them for it. This may be the best way to deter spam. Nobody will pay $500 for a mass mailing if they know they will not get a return on their investment.

Setup a Spam only account. This is what I have started to do. I setup an mailbox on my domain that I use when I shop online, download shareware or anything else that asks me for my email address. This way if I get junk email, I don't have to look at it. Of course not everyone feels like doing this, and in some cases it just eats up valuable resources.

Hopefully by implementing these measures I can slow down the flow of junk mail to my inbox. I doubt seriously that spam will ever completely go away. The only way that will ever happen is if its stops becoming profitable. That is where we come in. Until we stop giving these guys our money we will not stop getting emails that tell us that we can make $45,000,000 in the next two months.

Well I gotta go check my spam, um I mean email…