In the past few years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of ransomware attacks. This type of attack is when a hacker takes advantage of a computer system to encrypt data and then demand money in order to release the data. Ransomware attacks are becoming more common because they are easier and faster to execute than traditional attacks. The most common ransomware is called WannaCry, which was first released in 2017. There have been several attempts to stop ransomware infections, but these have not always been successful. In fact, some people have even said that ransomware is becoming more popular because it is easier and faster to spread than traditional attacks. If you are ever faced with a ransomware attack, be sure to take steps such as:

  • Deleting any files that may be affected by the attack
  • Shutting down all your devices including your computer
  • Resetting your computer’s password

Using a little registry hacking and the clip.exe utility built into Windows 7 and Vista, we can do just that, and we can even hide it behind the Shift + Right-Click menu so that it won’t waste space on the menu unless you hold down the shift key.

Using the Copy to Clipboard Hack

Simply hold down the Shift key and right-click on a text file, and you’ll see a new item for “Copy to Clipboard”:

Now you’ll have the information on the clipboard for easy pasting into whatever application you’d like:

Note: If you are using Windows XP, you can download clip.exe from Microsoft. Just save the file in the Windows directory and the rest of the hack should work for you.

Manual Registry Hack (for .txt files)

Open up regedit.exe through the start menu search or run box, and then browse down to the following key:

Underneath each file type in the registry (for instance txtfile), there is a shell key with a list of actions under it. We’ll create a new key called “copytoclip”, and then a key under it called “command”. Set the default value of “copytoclip” to something useful like “Copy Contents to Clipboard”, and then set the default value of “command” to the following:

What we’re doing is running a command prompt, and then piping the file into the clip.exe utility. You could do the same thing from the command prompt, or in a script.

You could duplicate this same tweak for other file types, such as html or code files, by finding their key in the registry and adding the same menu items.

Downloadable Registry Hack

Simply download, extract, and double-click on CopyContentsToClipboardTXT.reg to the clipboard. You can remove the hacks with the RemoveCopyContentsToClipboard.reg file.

Just remember to hold down the shift key while right-clicking on a text file.

Download CopyContentsToClipboardTXT Registry Hack