This handy little tip can be used to log the use of .exe, .lnk, .pif, .bat, and .com files on your computer. All it needs is a little registry tinkering. Place this code in a module, and set the project startup object to 'Sub Main'

Procedure

Sub Main()
If Command$ <> "" Then
Open "c:\apps\exelog.txt" For Append As #1
Print #1, Command$ & " " & CStr(Now)
Close #1
Call Shell(Command$, vbNormalFocus)
End If
End
End Sub

Registry Changes

The registry changes are:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\open\command to: "C:\exewrap.exe" "%1" %*
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile\shell\open\command to: "C:\exewrap.exe" "%1" %*
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\piffile\shell\open\command to: "C:\exewrap.exe" "%1" %*
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\batfile\shell\open\command to: "C:\exewrap.exe" "%1" %*
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\comfile\shell\open\command to: "C:\exewrap.exe" "%1" %*

What happens it that instead of running the program directly, Windows calls our program, which logs filename and time, and then calls the program.