[Ohms]

I found a nice little article about a little known trick that many people "in the know" use to see beyond the front door of websites. I though you folks might find it interesting so the C&P is below.
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Info:
Ever experienced this? You ask Google to look something up; the engine returns with a number of finds, but if you try to open the ones with the most promising content, you are confronted with a registration page instead, and the stuff you were looking for will not be revealed to you unless you agree to a credit card transaction first....
The lesson you should have learned here is: Obviously Google can go where you can't.
Can we solve this problem? Yes, we can. We merely have to convince the site we want to enter, that WE ARE GOOGLE.
In fact, many sites that force users to register or even pay in order to search and use their content, leave a backdoor open for the Googlebot, because a prominent presence in Google searches is known to generate sales leads, site hits and exposure.
Examples of such sites are Windows Magazine, .Net Magazine, Nature, and many, many newspapers around the globe.
How then, can you disguise yourself as a Googlebot? Quite simple: by changing your browser's User Agent. Copy the following code segment and paste it into a fresh notepad file. Save it as Useragent.reg and merge it into your registry.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Micro$oft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent]
@="Googlebot/2.1"
"Compatible"="+http://www.googlebot.com/bot.html"
Voila! You're done!
You may always change it back again.... I know only one site that uses you User Agent to establish your eligability to use its services, and that's the Windows Update site...
To restore the IE6 User Agent, save the following code to NormalAgent.reg and merge with your registry:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Micro$oft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent]
@="Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1)"
Ps:
Opera allows for on-the-fly switching of User Agents through its "Browser Identification" function, while for Mozilla/FireFox browsers a switching utility is available as an installable extension.

[JT]

Now that is some cool info. Gonna have to save this. Thanks Ohms.

Is this only for IE or can i use it with firefox?

[Ohms]

the post says "Mozilla/FireFox browsers a switching utility is available as an installable extension.", but I'm sorry, I have no idea where you can get it.

where dio i add this file to i go to reg edit and there are a about 8 folders?????

[wingster]

Any interesting sites to go visit after adding the key??

Secret?! I don't think so.

Its much easier to save yourself the trouble and just hit "Cached" below the result that gives you a registration page. Google does all the work for you, and you don't have to mess with your registry (anyone who didn't know about this trick before, probably shouldn't be messing with their registry anyway).

[Ohms]

VERY GOOD fsdhy. You win the big prize for being the smartest person anywhere/ever.

[Bandit5906]

Ohms:

Was that a little sarcasm?

[Bandit5906]

Originally Posted by fsdhy

Secret?! I don't think so.

Its much easier to save yourself the trouble and just hit "Cached" below the result that gives you a registration page. Google does all the work for you, and you don't have to mess with your registry (anyone who didn't know about this trick before, probably shouldn't be messing with their registry anyway).

Because I'm so ignorant, why not explain what to do with the "cached" login-in page?

[Ohms]

HAHAHA.... so fsdhy is correct with his cached instruction.
"You ask Google to look something up; the engine returns with a number of finds, but if you try to open the ones with the most promising content, you are confronted with a registration page"
Go back to google and then click on the "cached" link for the page you were trying to open.

He is probably right about the registry too.

[Budreaux]

Originally Posted by fsdhy

Secret?! I don't think so.

Its much easier to save yourself the trouble and just hit "Cached" below the result that gives you a registration page. Google does all the work for you, and you don't have to mess with your registry (anyone who didn't know about this trick before, probably shouldn't be messing with their registry anyway).

So tell me, what;s easier... editting my registry one time, that then allows me to just click the googled links OR having to backtrack and click the cache link when I find a page such as that?

For me, it was simplier to just edit my registry and not have to worry with it any long... but for some, the registry is a scary place to lurk, as it should be.... so the cache option is safer.

Now, about your OPINION as to who should and shouldn';t be making these changes... you are just wrong.... simple answer.

There was a time when I didn;t know about that registry edit to make it esier, but I had been editting my registry for a long time..... but by your account, even though I know how to edit my registry, I shouldn;t because I didn;t know about the option of doing that?
Come on.. get serious..... noone knows a damn thing until they learn about it..... you comment is just.. well...... stupid... and in keeping with your spirit of the topic, I'll add this:
Anyone who doesn't know this little trick about not knowing until you learn shouldn;t be posting anyways.....

See how stupid that sounds?

Budreaux

[JT]

Take it easy there Budreaux. As the saying goes, and we all know it, you find your keys in the last place you look for them.....

This is some cool info that is news to me Ohms. Thanks again for posting it. I've been using it to access newspaper websites that I don't subscribe to. It's been great. (I only subscribe to my local paper and the NY times) Been checking out USA today and some others as well. Got to love USA today's sports page even if it's not section B like it is in every other paper....

[Bandit5906]

"Take it easy there Budreaux".

No, I think he is right on the money here. No one knows all there is to know about any subject. The world is a very complicated place and there is so much information.

That is why we are here: to learn and help others.

Just because someone makes a post that maybe you consider stupid is no reason not to help them get in the right direction. My little bit of knowledge does no mean that I should not help someone else who knows even less.

Patience Grasshopper!

[Ohms]

I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then. I can't remember why I need more memory.

Power wins, but speed beats power... go figure

[Ohms]

How many unknown problems are there?