R for Rakesh.......

Tor allow Access to blocked sites anonymously

2009-02-04T23:57:00.000-08:00

Tor is a free application which is using for anonymous communication on the internet. Tor stands for The Onion Router. Tor Working with Onion routing technology. Onion routing is a technology for anonymous communication.

In this network all the users will work as a router. when you send a request to a server the Tor will encrypt the packet with many layers. Each Onion Routers removes a layer of encryption and send to another Onion Router. Tor also protect its users against traffic analysis attacks
So you can use Tor as a Anonymous Proxy, You can bypass firewall / proxy with Tor. Surf restricted sites with Tor just like Ultrasurf. go to www.torproject.org for more details.

If you are a proxy user you have to give the details in setting tab

Download Tor

How to shutdown Windows Faster ?

2009-02-04T23:56:00.001-08:00

All versions of Windows have the same problem. It usually takes a little longer to shutdown when you have the Exit Sound enabled.

To disable this :

go to Start->Settings->Control Panel->Sounds and Audio Devices->Sounds.
Scroll down and look for Exit Windows.
Click on it once and then under Sounds,
choose None.

You should see faster shutdown times

Websites to Trace People Online

2009-02-04T23:52:00.000-08:00

In today’s Internet world of booming social networks, it’s easier to find lost friends and colleagues than it ever was before. In fact, the private world of yesterday is now an online world with open access to social networks, government databases, and public records. If you’re looking for a long lost relative or friend, consider the following free resources to trace people online.

Crawl the Internet

The Internet is essentially a giant database, overflowing with data points about individuals. Today, it’s hard to find anyone who hasn’t commented on a blog entry, made a post in an online forum, or registered at Facebook or Flickr. The Internet is filled with opportunities to create a profile, and every single profile provides the Internet with additional data points about you that people can use to find you when they need to.

There are many websites that search standard social networks like MySpace or Facebook, but Piple is one resource that conducts a “deep web” dig for the name you’re looking for on “non-typical sites.” The search results from Piple are pretty impressive. You can read about how to use Piple at this article by Karl. Conducting a deep search for myself, I found that the results covered data pulled from profiles at MySpace, Facebook, and countless other sites like article directories and blogs. I was especially impressed by Piple’s efforts to dig for email addresses and content within miscellaneous web pages.

Another powerful search is Google’s Blog Search which will find anyone who has published to a blog on the Internet. The results on this search turned up my published articles at MakeUseOf, those at my three blogs, and even articles that I wrote for clients and had completely forgotten about.

Probably the most powerful tool to find someone who may have only posted to the internet a long time ago is Google Groups. Google Groups has incorporated over 800 million Usenet messages into its database, an impressive 20 year’s worth of Internet conversations dating back to 1981.

By far, one of the best search engine crawlers for finding people through searching all types of Internet content is 123people. I found that this website was able to find more accurate hits when I searched for myself than most other identity search engines.

Just a straight search without location found dozens of weblinks blogs, social network profiles and documents, most of which were an accurate hit. Needless to say, I’d recommend 123people to anyone looking to find if anyone they know has any content whatsoever published on the Internet about them.

Searching Social Networks

Social networks are very hard to avoid on the Internet. It’s impossible not to get sucked into a forum discussion, a Facebook group game, or connecting with industry leaders on LinkedIn. Because of this, the odds are very good that the person you’re looking for has registered and created a profile in at least one of those networks.

YoName is one free website that searches through a list of over thirty popular and obscure social networks including Imeem, LinkedIn, FaceBook, MySpace, Yahoo 360, Flickr, and Zorpia. We’ve examined it before at MakeUseOf. The results are displayed in tabular format so you can select which social network search to focus on. I found that YoName could only find a few of my online profiles.

Wink searches social networks such as MySpace, Reunion, LinkedIn, Friendster, and others. Wink results were somewhat limited though, with only 28 results and only one of those was an accurate “hit.”

Spokeo is a powerful social network tool that searches through a huge list of social networks and websites. It discovers things that aren’t very easy to find, like hidden Facebook profiles, posts or comments to YouTube, blogs or comments on Blogger, accounts on Flickr, Twitter, WebShots and more. The results are comprehensive and include results from over 40 major websites.

The only drawback is that to sign up you have to provide Spokeo with your email address and password so that it can actually access your email account and extract your contacts.

Jobs and Companies

If you know where someone works, but you don’t have their contact information, then tracing them by company or industry is your best option. There are several tools available that can help.

Jobster is a large database of job listings where you can find people not only by name, but within a certain industry or specific company. You can sift through the huge database of folks who’ve added their profile to Jobster in hopes of landing employment.

Another great industry search site is ZoomInfo, which is focused on company details. If you have a profile on the internet that lists your affiliation with a company, the odds are good that you’re in the ZoomInfo database. I even found myself listed in the database as co-owner of RealityUncovered, which is true, but it was only part of a few online profiles - meaning ZoonInfo can crawl profiles for company affiliations. Very impressive.

Online Public Records Search

Of course, if you’re conducting a full background check on someone, then you’ll want to find the following information:

Residences over the last few years
Criminal record check
Driving record
Birthday and birth location (for citizenship verification)
Child predator check

If a person has a criminal record or any court ruling, it’s amazing how much information you can find about it online. If you know a name and birthdate of the person you’re looking for, that’s all you really need - although the location information would make the search go even more smoothly.

Zaba Search is one of the best sites for conducting free public records queries. Using Zaba Search, you can determine a person’s exact past and current addresses and phone numbers. If you want a detailed report of all past addresses, relatives, criminal history, bakrupcies, small claims judgments and more, it’ll cost about $50 through Intelius. You can also conduct a phone number search, which is nice if you receive a prank phonecall from someone you don’t know. It will give you the latitude and longitude of the location, but for specific details you need to purchase an Intelius reverse lookup.

Google Government search sets the bar high with the ability to search through government news reports and even government websites. By searching names, you’ll often discover someone involved in government research, grants, or non-profit activities.

If you suspect the person you’re looking for is in prison, then search the state or federal inmate locator directories. Just pick a state, or search through the federal system.

USA.gov provides a huge database for all state and federal agencies. Most services where you need to pay for background details on a person come from these free state and federal agency databases. You can find the data for free by searching through this website to find those agencies and conducting the search yourself. For example, digging through the state of Maine agencies I found where you can search through Maine criminal records.

Criminal Searches is one of the first truly free search websites that allow you to call up the criminal records of anyone based on name, location, birthday or age range. To test it, I searched for the record of a person in California who I know, from previous research, has a criminal record there. Sure enough, Criminal searches found it.

The results also offer the source of information (court office) where you can send for a copy of the entire case records (for a fee). Is this easy online access freedom of information or invasion of privacy? Should your criminal records be on public display on the Internet? Or is it more important for the public to know who the former criminals are and where they live? Either way, Criminal Searches is leading the way in making this information both public and very convenient.

Make it Simple

When it comes right down to it, you want to be able to find someone quickly and free. The sites above will help, but in most cases you’ll need to at least learn a few details about the person, like their birthday or the state they live in. Once you have those details, the volume of information you can find online about a person is amazing, and at times shocking.

File Renamer for Windows

2009-02-04T23:46:00.000-08:00

Where do you go if you have several files to rename and organize? You hunt for software that will give your tired fingers a break from the sore monotony of renaming files one by one. If you are on such a lookout, then look at D-FileMU.

D-FileMU is a small, lightweight free software that belies its pocket-size with its punch. The 125 KB size download does not tax even a dial-up connection nor does it take a chunk out of your system resources. It is a relatively uncomplicated piece of software and in the same mold as another renaming utility called ‘Renamer’ covered here earlier.

The first thing I liked about the software was that it didn’t require any installation. I could run the program from any location and yes, even from my USB drive.

The file renaming operation is divided into three steps.

Step One lists the 17 different ways you can rename a file. Some of the common tasks which the software covers include

Changing the case of the filenames.
Changing file extensions of filenames.
Adding strings to the beginning and end of the filenames.
Adding numbers in sequence to the beginning or end of the filenames.
Changing the file attributes i.e. read only (+r) or hidden (+h) or archive (+a).
Completely renaming the files.

…and so on.

Step Two takes you a bit further into the selection of the files you want to rename. You can choose files individually, or by file extension or apply both the choices. Thus, files can be selected from disparate locations spread out on your hard drive or can be worked upon as a collection.

Step Three lists the files that are to be worked upon. A ‘Preview’ function to see the changes that will take place is very helpful. A click of the ‘Perform Changes’ button and the operation is complete.

With the operation complete, a box will prompt you to inform that the program has made the changes to the files. If there were any errors encountered during the process, the program will also display another box notifying you that there were errors and ask if you wish to view them or not.

A button which says ‘View Process File’ opens up a file which contains a detailed step by step account of what changes were made to which files. Similarly, a button that says ‘View Error File’ opens up a file which displays the list of errors (if any) that occurred during the renaming operation.

The user might have to take the program through a few runs to get the perfect file names with all the correct attributes in place.

Therefore, following a three step process your entire gamut of files gets new names. The program can also be used from the command line, but I guess that would be more for expert hands.

D-FileMU has all the attributes of a good freeware program – fast, light and accurate. What it slightly suffers from is a non-functioning developer website and lack of updates. But the mirror download sites allow us to get the software.

D-FileMU Version 1.7.4 is compatible with WinXP and Win2000.

Best Daily Jokes Sites

2009-02-04T23:44:00.000-08:00

Research has shown that the mere physical act of smiling, without actually feeling like it, triggers internal biological reactions that stimulate emotions and contribute to a better mood - in you and others.

In other words, when you feel down, fake a big fat smile and you will lighten up automatically. But be careful, it also works the other way around, so remember to keep smiling.

Of course genuine smiling works a lot better, so try one of the daily joke sites below for some serious fun.

Smilezilla

“The funniest place on the web”, so they say.

The best joke of the day is featured on the front page and several more are waiting for your vote on the “all submissions” site. The site also features funny stories.

To contribute you can share your own jokes or stories. Be warned though, the site contains explicit language, like most of the sites mentioned further down in this post.

Pun Gents

“Fresh & Original Pun of the Day.”

Puns intended. Can be subscribed to by RSS and eMail. Puns can be demanded (submitted).

Funny Jokes Daily

A joke diary in blog style launched in May 2006 that features all the jokes the author has collected for his own entertainment over the years.

4. The Laughspot

Just a simple site that features a single joke of the day. No archives, no looking back. Can be subscribed to by eMail.

Daily Jokes

“One New Clean Joke Available Each Day.”

The site was launched in November 2008. It offers a feed available through RSS and eMail. Jokes are categorized and can be browsed by category.

1 Joke a Day

“Jokes, jokes, jokes…… This blog uploads a new joke on a daily basis. It’s all about making you laugh, brighten your day and cheer you up! After all, laughter is the best medicine!”

Some are long, some are short, some aren’t clean.

50Plus’s Daily Joke

In the Entertainment section of 50Plus you’ll find Daily Jokes that will make you smile mildly. Just the right thing when you can’t afford to laugh out loud.

WholeLook

“Laughter is the best medicine.”

In addition to a daily joke, WholeLook has daily quotes, riddles and puns. Good place to waste some time, enjoy yourself and get a mood boost.

How about funny jokes? Jester 4.0

“Jokes for Your Sense of Humor.”

Don’t care for daily jokes but rather want funny jokes? You should check out Jester where your sense of humor will be evaluated based on 8 different jokes. You will be asked to rate these jokes and all following, so that Jester can continuously refine the suggestions it makes.

Boot CD on a USB Stick

2009-01-29T04:07:00.000-08:00

Several times I’ve been called upon at a moment’s notice to troubleshoot a misbehaving PC system either at work or at a friend’s or relative’s home. Being the “go to” guy for these sorts of problems is both a curse and a blessing, but I guess that is besides the point.
One tool that I have found to be valuable beyond compare is the Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD). This compilation of software has just about everything you need to diagnose hard to find low level problems, and also some other tools that every PC technician should have available.
It has been around for a long time, but I still know a lot of techs who don’t know about it. Ultimate Boot CD includes memory checkers, CPU stress testers, system information tools, boot managers and tools for hard drives, partitions, password resets, and more. For a full list, check out the UBCD page.
Typically, this is burned onto an ISO and you boot using a CD. But isn’t that so “last year”? Putting it onto a USB Drive makes it much more portable and it can sit side by side with your other portable tech tools.
The directions on how to do this are courtesy of pendrivelinux:
Download the Ultimate Boot CD iso file and place it into its own directory
Download the UBCDfix.exe file and run it, extracting into the above folder
From this folder click fixubcd.bat and follow the instructions
Move the contents of the /dir/USBUBCD folder to your USB drive
From your USB drive, run makeboot.bat to make it bootable
That’s it! You now have a bootable USB drive. Any machine you wish to boot with this drive must be set to boot from USB, so this might mean a trip into the boot menu.
After booting from the drive you’ll see the UBCD menu:

Some great things I’ve used the UBCD to do:
Fixing a system whose boot loader did not install correctly
Run Darik’s Boot and Nuke to wipe a system before recycling it
Fixed a tricky system freezing problem that was caused by a bad stick of ram
Run OEM HD tools to confirm a hard drive was indeed malfunctioning

Free Tools to Download and Take Wikipedia Offline

2009-01-27T23:26:00.000-08:00

Wikipedia, for most of us, needs no introduction. We use it perhaps almost as frequently as we use Google for our information needs. All of us might then wonder about the need to download and use a free information resource which is available only a click away online.
But imagine that you are marooned on an island with just your rusty laptop….OK, strike out the ‘Gilligan’s Island’ scenario and look at a more realistic setting of being away from a net connection. Get the picture? Here’s where some of the offline tools for Wikipedia browsing come in handy.
The Wikimedia Foundation has set up an offline Wikipedia version themselves understanding this need. The English version with a collection of about 2000 pages can be had in the form of a CD (an ISO file). But it comes at a cost of $13.99.
The penny pinchers among us have to put in a bit more effort and megabytes. But despair not. Here are four free tools for taking the Wikipedia knowledge off the net and into an anytime, anywhere experience.
I. WikiTaxi (OS: Windows)
All downloaded pages are stored in a WikiTaxi database. WikiTaxi uses compression to make sure that the database remains compact enough. For instance, the huge English Wikipedia easily fits on an 8 GB memory stick. WikiTaxi itself does not require an installation as it runs from an executable. The process to download the information is a bit long drawn out as you have to essentially download a XML database dump from the Wikipedia site containing the wiki content (The largest English Wiki is 3.5 GB).
An included WinTaxi importer contains this database into a WinTaxi database for you to browse offline. The database dumps are updated every few weeks. So you need to go online to get the most recent version of the information.
II. Zipedia (OS:Windows)
Zipedia is a Mozilla Add-on for Firefox enabling offline browsing. The Zipedia page describes it as the ‘poor man’s choice’. But when we don’t have access to the real thing, then it’s a worthy choice isn’t it? You will still need to download the Wikipedia database dump. Zipedia does not need any external database as this is done by the browser itself. The add-on works with Firefox v2.0-3.0+. To access the offline resource you need to just type in - wikipedia://wiki/
III. Wikislice (OS: Windows)
Wikislice is an application that allows the user to collate Wikipedia entries based on a particular topic or subtopic. Wikislice as the name suggests gives you a ’slice’ of the information in a downloadable format for easy reading offline. Wikislice comes as a web based tool as well as a desktop interface. To use Wikislice, just type the topic of your interest in the search bar provided and Wikislice will display all the applicable information for you to browse or download.
Here’s how it works -Type in your topic and click ‘Go’.You get the information and related subtopics (for more narrow searches).The Top 50 topics are displayed over 5 pages.Download the Wikislice (part of Wikipedia) offline if the number of pages is less than 2000.The downloaded pages can be used with the Webaroo software. The app will check if you have the software installed on first use. In case you don’t, it will prompt you for the download.
Here’s a simple slideshow from the main site.
IV. Pocket Wikipedia (OS:Windows/ Linux and PocketPC)
Pocket Wikipedia is a carefully compiled handpicked selection of Wikipedia information and comprises of nearly 24,000 images and 14 million words. That’s a stack of fifteen volume encyclopedias (Encyclopedia Britannica has 40 million words and 24,000 images!). All within a 180MB free download in a single zip archive. This software differs from the others in one aspect - you get pictures within the text as in the original version. But remember that it does not contain the entire gamut of Wikipedia; just the more important ones for ready reference.

Online Learning Tools for Students

2009-01-21T23:24:00.000-08:00

When I was in elementary school I was very annoyed by all this studying. But my idea and hope was that once I was done with school, I would also be done learning. I couldn’t wait.

Thus I was rather irritated when I heard that my dad had to complete training for his job to learn new things. I remember I asked him when one would be done learning and the essence of what he said was of course never. Bummer!

Some 20 years later I’m still a student and I know I’ll never get done learning. So hang in there and enjoy it!

1. Chemistry

Dynamic Periodic Table

This periodic table helps in keeping elements apart. You can highlight them by their aggregate state (solid, liquid, gas, unknown) or group (nonmetals with subgroups and metals with subgroups). Clicking on an element or group will launch a separate window with the matching Wikipedia article.

Periodic Table of the Elements

This periodic table is more compact than the previous one and it’s great for a quick summary for each element. As can be seen in the screenshot below, all elements are represented by a matching image and clicking on it launches a small information window.

2. Biology

Foldit

Foldit is not really a tool you’ll need for your everyday biology class. BUT it can help you understand something about proteins AND help scientists at the same time. Basically it’s a game and it’s your task to build protein molecules based on previously described structures.

Simon has reviewed the tool in detail in his article Foldit - Solve Puzzles for Science.

3. Mathematics

Mathway

This is an online tool that will help solve your maths challenges. Just enter the “problem statement”, select a subject and hit solve for the solution including the steps taken to get there.

Varun previously wrote about Mathway - A Step By Step Mathematics Problems Solver.

SpeedCrunch (Windows, Mac, Linux)

Unlike Mathway, this is a very powerful desktop calculator that contains a ton of helpful libraries for various maths problems.

Damien just recently introduced this tool in all its depth, so check out his piece SpeedCrunch - High Precision Freeware Desktop Calculator.

4. Languages

LiveMocha

This is a social network for learning languages. While you are helping others to improve their skills in your native language, they may help you improve a foreign language you are struggling with. They may even help you with your French homework.

Saikat wrote a thorough review of LiveMocha - Small The Coffee & Learn The Lingo.

VerbaLearn

With VerbaLearn you can improve your English vocabulary with online study sessions. The tool learns with you, keeping a record of your progress and weaknesses. You can listen to your study list offline to better memorize the words and practice the pronunciation and online you can read examples of how the word is being used.

The tool was recently introduced by Tim: Practice Your Vocabulary With VerbaLearn.

Bullfighter (MS Word and Powerpoint plugin)

Similar To VerbaLearn, this tool is designed to improve your use of the English language. The tool will analyze your texts for jargon. The higher your Bull Composite score, the higher the chance people will actually understand what you are trying to say.

James has written about Bullfighter - Simplify Your Writing & Gain Results.

5. Literature

wePapers

On this website people can share and expand their knowledge for free. You can read the material others have provided and upload your own papers to contribute to the community.

Zotero (Firefox extension)

When composing an assignment or a thesis you have to reveal your sources. Zotero is a Firefox extension that can help you keep track of your references and organize a citation bibliography for Open Office or MS Word documents.

Command Prompt

2009-01-07T04:25:00.000-08:00

Ø ANSI.SYS Defines functions that change display graphics, control cursor movement, and reassign keys.
Ø APPEND Causes MS-DOS to look in other directories when editing a file or running a command.
Ø ARP Displays, adds, and removes arp information from network devices.
Ø ASSIGN Assign a drive letter to an alternate letter.
Ø ASSOC View the file associations.
Ø AT Schedule a time to execute commands or programs.
Ø ATMADM Lists connections and addresses seen by Windows ATM call manager.
Ø ATTRIB Display and change file attributes.
Ø BATCH Recovery console command that executes a series of commands in a file.
Ø BOOTCFG Recovery console command that allows a user to view, modify, and rebuild the boot.ini
Ø BREAK Enable / disable CTRL + C feature.
Ø CACLS View and modify file ACL's.
Ø CALL Calls a batch file from another batch file.
Ø CD Changes directories.
Ø CHCP Supplement the International keyboard and character set information.
Ø CHDIR Changes directories.
Ø CHKDSK Check the hard disk drive running FAT for errors.
Ø CHKNTFS Check the hard disk drive running NTFS for errors.
Ø CHOICE Specify a listing of multiple options within a batch file.
Ø CLS Clears the screen.
Ø CMD Opens the command interpreter.
Ø COLOR Easily change the foreground and background color of the MS-DOS window.
Ø COMP Compares files.
Ø COMPACT Compresses and uncompress files.
Ø CONTROL Open control panel icons from the MS-DOS prompt.
Ø CONVERT Convert FAT to NTFS.
Ø COPY Copy one or more files to an alternate location.
Ø CTTY Change the computers input/output devices.
Ø DATE View or change the systems date.
Ø DEBUG Debug utility to create assembly programs to modify hardware settings.
Ø DEFRAG Re-arrange the hard disk drive to help with loading programs.
Ø DEL Deletes one or more files.
Ø DELETE Recovery console command that deletes a file.
Ø DELTREE Deletes one or more files and/or directories.
Ø DIR List the contents of one or more directory.
Ø DISABLE Recovery console command that disables Windows system services or drivers.
Ø DISKCOMP Compare a disk with another disk.
Ø DISKCOPY Copy the contents of one disk and place them on another disk.
Ø DOSKEY Command to view and execute commands that have been run in the past.
Ø DOSSHELL A GUI to help with early MS-DOS users.
Ø DRIVPARM Enables overwrite of original device drivers.
Ø ECHO Displays messages and enables and disables echo.
Ø EDIT View and edit files.
Ø EDLIN View and edit files.
Ø EMM386 Load extended Memory Manager.
Ø ENABLE Recovery console command to enable a disable service or driver.
Ø ENDLOCAL Stops the localization of the environment changes enabled by the setlocal command.
Ø ERASE Erase files from computer.
Ø EXIT Exit from the command interpreter.
Ø EXPAND Expand a M*cros*ft Windows file back to it's original format.
Ø EXTRACT Extract files from the M*cros*ft Windows cabinets.
Ø FASTHELP Displays a listing of MS-DOS commands and information about them.
Ø FC Compare files.
Ø FDISK Utility used to create partitions on the hard disk drive.
Ø FIND Search for text within a file.
Ø FINDSTR Searches for a string of text within a file.
Ø FIXBOOT Writes a new boot sector.
Ø FIXMBR Writes a new boot record to a disk drive.
Ø FOR Boolean used in batch files.
Ø FORMAT Command to erase and prepare a disk drive.
Ø FTP Command to connect and operate on a FTP server.
Ø FTYPE Displays or modifies file types used in file extension associations.
Ø GOTO Moves a batch file to a specific label or location.
Ø GRAFTABL Show extended characters in graphics mode.
Ø HELP Display a listing of commands and brief explanation.
Ø IF Allows for batch files to perform conditional processing.
Ø IFSHLP.SYS 32-bit file manager.
Ø IPCONFIG Network command to view network adapter settings and assigned values.
Ø KEYB Change layout of keyboard.
Ø LABEL Change the label of a disk drive.
Ø LH Load a device driver in to high memory.
Ø LISTSVC Recovery console command that displays the services and drivers.
Ø LOADFIX Load a program above the first 64k.
Ø LOADHIGH Load a device driver in to high memory.
Ø LOCK Lock the hard disk drive.
Ø LOGON Recovery console command to list installations and enable administrator login.
Ø MAP Displays the device name of a drive.
Ø MD Command to create a new directory.
Ø MEM Display memory on system.
Ø MKDIR Command to create a new directory.
Ø MODE Modify the port or display settings.
Ø MORE Display one page at a time.
Ø MOVE Move one or more files from one directory to another directory.
Ø MSAV Early M*cros*ft Virus scanner.
Ø MSD Diagnostics utility.
Ø MSCDEX Utility used to load and provide access to the CD-ROM.
Ø NBTSTAT Displays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP connections using NBT
Ø NET Update, fix, or view the network or network settings
Ø NETSH Configure dynamic and static network information from MS-DOS.
Ø NETSTAT Display the TCP/IP network protocol statistics and information.
Ø NLSFUNC Load country specific information.
Ø NSLOOKUP Look up an IP address of a domain or host on a network.
Ø PATH View and modify the computers path location.
Ø PATHPING View and locate locations of network latency.
Ø PAUSE Command used in batch files to stop the processing of a command.
Ø PING Test / send information to another network computer or network device.
Ø POPD Changes to the directory or network path stored by the pushd command.
Ø POWER Conserve power with computer portables.
Ø PRINT Prints data to a printer port.
Ø PROMPT View and change the MS-DOS prompt.
Ø PUSHD Stores a directory or network path in memory so it can be returned to at any time.
Ø QBASIC Open the QBasic.
Ø RD Removes an empty directory.
Ø REN Renames a file or directory.
Ø RENAME Renames a file or directory.
Ø RMDIR Removes an empty directory.
Ø ROUTE View and configure windows network route tables.
Ø RUNAS Enables a user to execute a program on another computer.
Ø SCANDISK Run the scandisk utility.
Ø SCANREG Scan registry and recover registry from errors.
Ø SET Change one variable or string to another.
Ø SETLOCAL Enables local environments to be changed without affecting anything else.
Ø SETVER Change MS-DOS version to trick older MS-DOS programs.
Ø SHARE Installs support for file sharing and locking capabilities.
Ø SHIFT Changes the position of replaceable parameters in a batch program.
Ø SHUTDOWN Shutdown the computer from the MS-DOS prompt.
Ø SMARTDRV Create a disk cache in conventional memory or extended memory.
Ø SORT Sorts the input and displays the output to the screen.
Ø START Start a separate window in Windows from the MS-DOS prompt.
Ø SUBST Substitute a folder on your computer for another drive letter.
Ø SWITCHES Remove add functions from MS-DOS.
Ø SYS Transfer system files to disk drive.
Ø TELNET Telnet to another computer / device from the prompt.
Ø TIME View or modify the system time.
Ø TITLE Change the title of their MS-DOS window.
Ø TRACERT Visually view a network packets route across a network.
Ø TREE View a visual tree of the hard disk drive.
Ø TYPE Display the contents of a file.
Ø UNDELETE Undelete a file that has been deleted.
Ø UNFORMAT Unformat a hard disk drive.
Ø UNLOCK Unlock a disk drive.
Ø VER Display the version information.
Ø VERIFY Enables or disables the feature to determine if files have been written properly.
Ø VOL Displays the volume information about the designated drive.
Ø XCOPY Copy multiple files, directories, and/or drives from one location to another.
Ø TRUENAME When placed before a file, will display the whole directory in which it exists
Ø TASKKILL It allows you to kill those unneeded or locked up applications

Run Commands to access the control panel

2009-01-07T04:17:00.000-08:00

Add/Remove Programs control appwiz.cpl
Date/Time Properties control timedate.cpl
Display Properties control desk.cpl
FindFast control findfast.cpl
Fonts Folder control fonts
Internet Properties control inetcpl.cpl
Keyboard Properties control main.cpl keyboard
Mouse Properties control main.cpl
Multimedia Properties control mmsys.cpl
Network Properties control netcpl.cpl
Password Properties control password.cpl
Printers Folder control printers
Sound Properties control mmsys.cpl sounds
System Properties control sysdm.cpl

RUN COMMANDS

2009-01-07T03:39:00.000-08:00

compmgmt.msc - Computer management
devmgmt.msc - Device manager
diskmgmt.msc - Disk management
dfrg.msc - Disk defrag
eventvwr.msc - Event viewer
fsmgmt.msc - Shared folders
gpedit.msc - Group policies
lusrmgr.msc - Local users and groups
perfmon.msc - Performance monitor
rsop.msc - Resultant set of policies
secpol.msc - Local security settings
services.msc - Various Services
msconfig - System Configuration Utility
regedit - Registry Editor
msinfo32 _ System Information
sysedit _ System Edit
win.ini _ windows loading information(also system.ini)
winver _ Shows current version of windows
mailto: _ Opens default email client
command _ Opens command prompt

Vertor: Stay Away From Infected & Fake Torrents

2009-01-02T04:21:00.000-08:00

With thousands and thousands of new torrents each day, it’s impossible to be sure that the torrent you are downloading is safe. The people at VERTOR (VERified TORrents) are trying to change that for you, by downloading everything themselves and scanning to see if there are any infected or fake torrents. It’s like a fake torrent checker app where torrents are checked by real people. The safe torrents are then uploaded to the site from where you can search and download them.

VERTOR is still relatively new, so there aren’t as many torrents to search through as you may like. Nonetheless, it’s still a great place to find torrents that aren’t fake or full of spam.

The folks at VERTOR also provide lots of information about the torrent you’re downloading to make sure you download what you wanted.

If there is an archive in a torrent file, we decompress it and make a filelist. If there is an error in the process, we mark the file “protected” and do not not place it in the overall database.
If there is a video file in a torrent, we make screenshots of it. If the video is protected by DRM, screenshots will be blank.
If there is an audio file in a torrent, we cut out small pieces of it for users to make sure the file has prescribed qualities.
If there is a text description in a torrent file, we save it so users can read it before downloading.

Features:

Safe torrent website to search and download torrents that aren’t fake or filled with spam.
Files all checked for DRM and viruses.
View screenshots of video files.
Hear a 20 second preview of audio files.
Read reviews of the latest stuff at VERTOR.
Search over 100,000+ scanned torrents.
Browse torrents by category and sort them by size, seeds and leechs.

Check out VERTOR @ www.vertor.com via (TorrentFreak)

noSPM: Send Anonymous Email Messages

2009-01-02T04:20:00.001-08:00

Ever need send someone an email and stay anonymous? Enter noSPM.org. This simple anonymous mailer lets you send anonymous email messages to any email address for free. The application has a web 2.0ish look and very friendly interface. To send an anonymous message all you need to do is enter recipient’s email address, type in your text and then click on “Send” button.

The registration is not required, however registered users are also able to track sent messages in their account.

Features:

Anonymous mailer.
Send as many emails as you like.
No registration necessary
More features are to be added in the future.

Check out noSPM @ www.noSPM.org

Iterasi: Web Tool For Saving Web Pages Online

2009-01-02T04:18:00.000-08:00

Iterasi is a web based application that lets you permanently save web pages online. Even if the site or the webpage goes down at a later stage, you will have a working copy of the saved web page within your secured iterasi account forever. Iterasi works even with websites that require authentication and saves pages as they are.

It’s easy to save a site to your iterasi account the site provides you with a simple to use bookmarklet and browser extension.

Feature overview:

Save web pages and websites permanently.
Feature rich browser extension and bookmarklet available.
Works even with sites that requires authentication.
Check out public archives and search.
Option to import bookmarks from IE and Firefox.
Easy to use scheduler to auto save highly dynamic websites like blogs, retail sites etc.
Make your saved webpages public or keep them private.
Pages can be easily shared with friends via mail, rss or by embed code.

Check out iterasi @ www.iterasi.net

XSketch : Online Multiplayer Pictionary Game

2009-01-02T04:16:00.000-08:00

Got some time to kill? Check out this addictive multiplayer game. The idea behind XSketch is similar to Pictionary, a word guessing board game where you sketch a picture with the goal of helping other players guess the word behind it. Same on XSketch, one player gets a word and tries to help others guess it by drawing clues. The sketcher gets points when someone names the word. The player who guessed the word gets some points as well.

Additional Features

Play Pictionary against other users in real-time.
Stats: Top 100 gamers, Quickest Average Guessing/Sketching, Most Winning Sketches/Guesses etc.
Option to become premium member. See membership details here

Go to XSketch @ [ www.xsketch.com ]

SketchSwap: Online Drawing Board

2009-01-02T04:15:00.000-08:00

Web based drawing board where you can draw something on the screen and receive one random SketchSwap-approved user drawing in return.

“Draw cartoons, art, brainstorms, anything. If you add text, please use English so we can approve it. A graphic tablet helps sketching.”

SketchSwap Features:

Draw one picture and receive one in return. (You can draw anything you want, even a simple line.)
Each drawing comes with video showing how the person on the other end actually drew the picture.
Over 25,000 user-submitted and approved sketches.

www.sketchswap.com

FlashPaint: Online Drawing Tool

2009-01-02T04:10:00.000-08:00

FlashPaint is an online drawing tool that lets you paint pictures online. It runs on Flash and provides you with a quick and responsive online editor that has pretty much everything you would need. Created drawings can be saved on FlashPaint and optionally published in online gallery for others to see.

You can browse paintings created by other users, check out most viewed and the very best. There is no registration or sign up needed.

Features:

Draw paintings online.
Simple and easy to use drawing editor.
Browse images created by others and leave comments.
Check out most viewed and the very best.

Check out FlashPaint @ www.flashpaint.com

GreatSummary: Get A Quick Summary For Any Long Article

2009-01-02T04:05:00.000-08:00

GreatSummary is an online summarizer that can take any text you provide and give you quick summary of the content. It can summarize articles, web pages and basic text pasted from any text document. Copy, paste (link or text), get your summary.

One really handy feature is the ability to specify the number of sentences you want to see in the summary (from 1 to 100). Pretty cool.

Do not expect outstanding results, the summaries are algorithm generated and thus there is always a chance that some “important” points will be missed. Nonetheless it is a good bookmark to have in your arsenal.

Features:

Get a short overview for any submitted text.
Get summaries for webpages and basic text.
Select number of sentences you want to see in the summary (from 1 to 100).
No sign-up needed.

Check out GreatSummary @ www.greatsummary.com (via lifehacker.com)

Automatic Text Summarizer: Text Summarization Tool

2009-01-02T04:00:00.000-08:00

As the name suggests it is an online text summarization tool that lets you quickly get a summary of some long text. This can come in quite useful in cases when you do not feel like reading long and boring articles but still want to have a basic idea what they are all about.

To summarize an article simply copy and paste the text into provided field, select how many sentences you want in the summary and click on the “summarize” button.

Do not expect results to be perfect, the summaries are auto-generated and obviously there is always a chance that some important points might be missed by the software. So keep it mind.

Features:

Summarize text online.
Customize the number of sentences you want to see in the summary.
No registration is required.
Another text summarizer tool you may check out is GreatSummary

Go to Automatic Text Summarizer @ www.search.iiit.net/~jags/summarizer

Spific: Refine Google Search Results by Date and Category

2008-12-29T03:07:00.000-08:00

Spific is a search engine that lets you get better and more accurate results for your searches. Here is how it does that. While Spific pulls search results directly from Google it also enables you to narrow down and refine your search results by date.

Beside searching the entire web you can also perform topic specific searches like ebooks, HowTo videos, Movies, Humor, Coupons, Dictionary search, Price comparison, Sports, Celebrities, Recepies and so on.

Features:

Refine Google search results by date.
Search only websites within particular category (ebooks, movies etc.).
Add Spific search to your browser’s search bar.
No signup needed.

Check out Spific @ www.spific.com

SortFix: Easily Refine Your Search Results

2008-12-29T02:36:00.000-08:00

Search engines like Google have variety of search operators in place which let you zero in to the exact search results you are looking for. However, average internet users cannot be expected to learn and use those search operators. And consequently they end up spending more time on searching and finding the right things. Sortfix is a website which aims to help such users by adding visual refining tools on top of their search, which can be easily understood and implemented.

Just type in a search term and it shows the corresponding Google or Yahoo results along with the power terms in the search. Drag and drop to exclude or include the search terms and hence easily refine your results.

Check out Sortfix @ www.sortfix.com

The Best Sites for Game Previews and Reviews

2008-12-25T23:09:00.000-08:00

What is the role that internet plays in our lives? What is the internet, really? Ok, nearly 90 percent of the internet is filled with various forms of adult entertainement, but what about the other 10 percent?

The internet forms, besides various other things, a nearly unlimited source of information. How many of you remember the time when we had to go to the library, or grab an enyclopedia? I’m pretty young, but even I remember the times when we didn’t have access to ‘the tubes’. I remember the time when I had to browse through ‘Encarta’ for my school assignments.

Now, it gets easier by the day to access information. With a few clicks, you can be browsing over hundreds of different sources, and you can reach nearly any piece of ‘knowledge’ within seconds or minutes.

Of course, everyone of you is familiar with the big daddy’s of information, like Google, Yahoo or Wikipedia. But sometimes information is even easier to locate if you know where to look.

We’re going to peek at gaming-related sites. Places where you can go to find previews, reviews, walkthroughs, numeral data, and so on. Today, we’re going to take a look at the best sites for the self-informing gamer.

Previews and Reviews

One of the first things I do before I go out to buy a game, is look for reviews. Games aren’t exactly what I’d call ‘cheap’, and we wouldn’t want to spend that all hard-earned money on crappy games, right?

Besides reviews of the sporadical free games, which you’ll find here at MakeUseOf, there are tons of great places for game pre- and reviews.

Game Rankings is a great site for those of you who prefer to look at the ‘game scores’ above all else.

This site indexes all ratings, from nearly all sites that are worth to mention, and then calculates the average score ratio for the game.

Links to additional reviews can also be added through the site.

Visit Game Rankings @ gamerankings.com

Gamespot is my personal favourite for game pre- and reviews, it is also part of the same network as GameRankings.

The site makes sure to deliver extended reviews in a very professional manner, but using the overview, it’s also very easy to get a proper idea of the game after a mere glance.

Visit GameSpot @ gamespot.com

Zero Punctuation is a video review series of The Escapist. In these weekly episodes, Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw gives his ever so harsh and cynical opinion. These hilarious reviews will allow you a different look on the current day’s games.

“See why gamers love it and developers fear it”

Visit zero punctuation @ escapistmagazine.com

Other great sites include…

1UP.com is the online version of (you might’ve guessed it) 1UP magazine. Just like the magazine, 1UP.com has made itself a name on the gaming grounds.
IGN.com, property of Fox Interactive Media, is part of a much bigger network, with sites that most of us will know. Being the ‘brother’ of sites like Rotten Tomatoes, GameSpy and FilePlanet, it’s no surprise that we can expect a certain level of quality. This site delivers professional, and most of the time very extended reviews, in a pretty average format.

QuarkBase: Get Almost Every Information About A Website

2008-12-24T04:43:00.000-08:00

Quarkbase is a new website check tool which claims to find everything about a website. And when you actually try it out, it certainly displays enough information to live up to your expectations. The homepage of Quarkbase is a Google like plain white page which has a box where you can put in the website name or url you want to check.

Contrary to the homepage, the results page is really comprehensive.

It shows the entire description of site, domain owner, date when the site was created, traffic ranks like Alexa and Technorati ranks, Alexa traffic stats, social media reach of the site like in Digg, Delicious and others, similar sites, RSS feeds and much more. The results may not be dead accurate but is nonetheless comprehensive.

Check out Quarkbase @ http://www.quarkbase.com/ ( Contributed by Abhijeet from Jeet Blog )

TorrentMetasearch: Search Many Torrent Sites At Once

2008-12-24T04:40:00.000-08:00

Here is another metasearch engine that searches for stuff you need on several major torrent websites simultaneously. These sites include Torrent Reactor, Mininova, The Pirate Bay, btjunkie and a couple of other less popular sites.

You can sort and filter search results by torrent site, torrent category (movies, audio, books etc.), torrent link, nr. of peers or seeds and date.

Features:

Search on seven popular torrent websites at once.
Supported sites: torrentreactor.net, mininova.org, newtorrents.info, thepiratebay.org, greek-tracker.com, blue-whitegt.com and btjunkie.org.
Sort results by torrent sites, category, torrent link, peers, seeds and date.
No registration needed.
Similar websites: uSniff, LookTorrent, YouTorrent , TorrentFly and NowTorrents.

Torrent Metasearch @ 92.119.154.125/torrentsjson

The Best 6 Sites to Get Free Ebooks

2008-12-24T04:25:00.000-08:00

You might be surprised by how many good free ebook sites there are out there. Nowadays, you can find pretty much any popular (and not) book online. You just need to know where to look. Here are my favorite free ebook sites.

1. Ebook Search Engines

These are simple Google-like search engines but for PDF files. I usually start my ebook search using one of these sites. Type in the title of the document or book name you’re looking for and click on the search button. Find your book in the search results and click on download link. Done.

So far my top 3 ebook search sites are:

www.pdfgeni.com

MakeUseOf review

www.pdf-search-engine.com

MakeUseOf review

www.data-sheet.net

MakeUseOf review

2. Scribd.com

In case you have never heard of this one before, the simplest way to define Scribd would be to call it Youtube for documents. People can upload whatever text documents they want and easily share them with others.

You’ll find lots and lots of free ebooks here. You only need to know what to look for. For instance try searching for George Orwell, Leo Tolstoi, etc.

And obviously it gets copyrighted ebooks much like YouTube gets copyrighted videos. I am not sure if they are doing anything to deal with them, but the fact is there are plenty of them on Scribd.

Oh and as we have mentioned before, Scribd is also an excellent resource for free document templates.

3. Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg (aka PG) has the largest collection of public domain books. These are the books that out of copyright and available for anyone to use for any purpose. Lots of books from the world’s greatest fiction authors such as Dickens, Joyce, Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Anton Chekov and Edgar Allan Poe fall into this category.

This site is the oldest producer of free ebooks on the Internet. PG is an extremely popular site and now has over 20,000 works. If you’re not sure where to start check out their Top 100page.

4. Free Ebooks For Your iPod, PDA, Smartphone, Blackberry etc.

For those of you who like to have ebooks on their portabe device we got some sites as well. Below are what I believe the best websites for books that can be read on mobile devices.

www.gutenberg.org

www.manybooks.net

MakeUseOf Review

www.feedbooks.com

MakeUseOf Review

www.booksinmyphone.com

MakeUseOf Review

For iPhone users in particular there is a website called TextOnPhne. It’s a great ebook site that comes with its own ebook reader app. There are over 30,000 free books for your Apple device. Check out the demo video here.

5. Free Tech Ebooks

These sites are mainly for tech books, covering everything from computer science, engineering and mathematics to programming and web development.

www.freecomputerbooks.com

www.freetechbooks.com

www.onlinecomputerbooks.com

(Bonus) DailyLit

DailyLit is a bit different from the rest but I really like what they’re doing there. DailyLit can deliver a small excerpt from the book of your choice to your email on a daily basis. One excerpt per day, and so untill the book is finished.

The reason it wroks so well is that it only takes around 3-5 minutes to read each excerpt. If you feel like reading more you can request a next excerpt with a click of a button.

While more than a half of all books cost about $4.95 per book others are free. There are plenty of good titles among the free ones as well, some of my favorites include My Life and Work (by Henry Ford), Siddhartha (by Herman Hesse) and Random Reminiscences of Men and Events (by John D. Rockefeller). Check it out.

Wapipedia : Browse Wikipedia from Mobile Phone

2008-12-24T04:23:00.000-08:00

Wapipedia lets you access, search and navigate Wikipedia articles in a mobile-freindly manner. Just point your mobile browser of choice to Wapipedia to get all the goodness of Wikipedia on your phone. Apart from the obvious search functionality Wapipedia also has ‘Random’ button for jumping from one article to another. Quite handy if you’re on the road and looking for some timepass reading.

Features

View and Search Wikipedia articles.
Removes all the clutter and leaves only main text content.
‘Random’ Link: Jump to a random artcile.

Visit Wapipedia @ [ www.wapipedia.org ]

Andanza : Make Your Blog Mobile Friendly

2008-12-24T04:16:00.000-08:00

Want to make your website mobile friendly? Andanza is a fully automated service that can mobilize any type of blog that offers RSS or Atom feeds. It takes about a minute and consists of three easy steps: Type in the URL, personalize the site’s look and feel and validate. Once finished, make sure to add the URL to your mobile bookmarks, OR if you’re a blooger then add it to your website.

Feature List:

Mobilize yours or any other blog so that it can be accessed from any web-enabled mobile device.
Personalize your blog by adding your logo, header, titles, fonts, colors, etc.
Free and doesn’t require any signup.
For more details see Andanze FAQ page.

Another similar service is Mofuse. Mofuse offers pretty much everything you get with Andanza plus ad revenue sharing and an option to automatically redirect mobile users to mobile-friendly version of the website.

Check out Andanza @ [ www.andanza.com ]

Google Mobilizer: Make Any Website Mobile Friendly

2008-12-24T04:12:00.000-08:00

ree tool to mobilize any website and make it viewable on your mobile phone or PDA. Simply go to Google Mobilizer and enter the website URL, indicate whether you want images on/off, and click ‘GO’. Mobilizer will present you with a neat, add-free and stripped down version of the website. You also get a navigation menu to easily browse through website’s pages.

Overall, seems like a good bookmark to have on your mobile browser.

Check out Google Mobilizer @ [ google.com/gwt/n]

The Best Free File Download Managers for Windows

2008-12-24T03:59:00.000-08:00

One type of application I really wouldn’t be able to miss is my download manager.

Download managers are Godsend. They allow us to accelerate, manage and time all of our downloads.

One of the major features of a download manager or accelerator is the file splitting process. This splits the file into different chunks - sections - which it then downloads simultaneously. This can allow some downloads to go up to five or ten times faster.

Over the years, numerous file download managers popped up, but I was especially surprised to see how many free ones were available. So, enter my best best download managers for windows.

FlashGet

FlashGet is one of the most popular download managers available. Both themselves and their huge userbase have named them “The Best Download Manager Program”.

This download manager runs pretty low on system resources, hence the influence on your usual computing behaviour is limited to a bare minimum. All these downloaded files can be easily organised through various categories, so wave goodbye to your ever so messy desktop.

Anti-virus integration is also supported - this allows you to specify an anti-virus application and plan instant virus-scans on all your downloaded files.

However, FlashGet’s biggest power lies in protocol support. HTTP, FTP, BitTorrent, MMS and RTSP are just a handful of the supported protocols.

FlashGet is available for Windows, download it here. Version 2.00 available here.

Free Download Manager

Free Download Manager (FDM) is a 100% free, open-source program released under the GNU General Public License. This means that the source code can be accessed by everyone and improved versions can be made by the community.

Besides supporting the HTTP, HTTPS, FTP and BitTorrent protocols, the Free Download manager can also grab flash video content from various websites such as YouTube, Daily Media and Google Video.

The feature that makes the Free Download Manager stand out is getting a ‘community opinion’ on files. This means that you’ll see what other members of the community have to say about the file you’re about to download. Through this function, Free Download Manager tries to warn you for any malicious downloads.

Several other functions include a built-in upload manager to easily share your files with your friends, colleagues and family, a remote control option and portable installation support.

Free Download Manager is available for 32bit Windows, download it here.

Download Accelerator Plus

With 165 million users worldwide, Download Accelerator Plus is the market leader in download acceleration and management.

Several new features became available with the release of version 9.00. Download Accelerator Plus now features a YouTube downloader, similar to Free Download Manager. The Preview Function allows you to check the validity or quality of any unfinished video and audio files, and a free video converter allows you to put your downloaded videos in PSP and iPod format.

Download Accelerator Plus works with a Multi Antivirus security analysis to protect you from most malicious downloads.

The only problem with Download Accelerator Plus are their constant tries to promote the premium version.

Download Accelerator Plus is available for Windows, download it here.

Alternative Download Manager Freeware.

Of course the download manager arsenal isn’t limited to the above three applications. Below are other free download managers that didn’t manage to get featured but might be worth a look.

Net Transport
Fresh Download
WackGet - a very minimalistic download manager

Store Your Thoughts, Ideas, & Anything Else In Your WikiPad

2008-12-23T23:58:00.000-08:00

It’s simple, it’s effective, it’s WikiPad, a way to keep your notes organized electronically. You can actually manage to be almost completely paperless with the use of this innovative and some-what “glorified” web-based note pad.

If you’re tired of having your notes and thoughts relentlessly scattered all around your desktop while the thought of having to manually organize these things has your mind cluttered up, then WikiPad is the ideal candidate that will bring forth a solution to the change you’ve subconsciously been searching for.

I stumbled upon WikiPad while doing a search with the set of words “notepad” and “organized” in it. To be honest I’m actually quite surprised at the fact that I was able to come across this application, because it seems as if it were nested deep within the internet’s layer after layer of endless information. Until a couple of days ago, I had never even heard of the word Wiki and Pad in the same sentence, let alone as one word. However, as this application has allowed for the simple, quick, and effective organization of what was once my self-indulged mess of papers and thoughts, I am glad I stumbled upon it at this precise time!

You can use this application to keep track of projects, personal contacts, general information, to-do lists, storage of HTML files, and more, later allowing you to place them on a website, CD, or any other HTML based application.

A warning: once you begin to use WikiPad you’ll probably conform to an incredible amount of usage! This application is original and lets you keep track of information, search detailed specific data, and use it in any way you’d like as it is an Open Source application!

Features

Here’s a list of WikiPad’s solid features:

On the fly WikiWord linking, as you type
WikiWord auto-completion
Easy WikiWord navigation
Wiki text styling
WikiWord History
Wiki document attributes
Dynamic views
Tree/Outline view with over 100 icons
To-do lists
Incremental search
Search and Replace
Autosave
Export to HTML
All your data is stored in plain text
URL and file linking
Intuitive keybindings
Help Wiki included

WikiPad’s Uniqueness & Origin

The difference between WikiPad and other notepad-like applications is the simplicity and facility it offers when cross-linking your information. You’re able to create links by typing in WikiWords. It’s no shocker to me that this application exhibits the word Wiki in its name, since wiki means quick, and these application-based names are known for the quick and easy combination of useful information (i.e. WikiPedia).

Verdict

WikiPad is a useful Open Source application that delivers the astounding organizational skills that sometimes we professionals and computer savvy people alike seem to lack. With this being said, I enjoyed and will continue to enjoy using WikiPad. However, one major implication (in my book) that I didn’t like about this application was its GUI (graphical user interface). I think it should be a bit “easier” on the eyes and it should be somewhat more inviting instead of simple and basic. As well as the format in which you can view the way it categorizes your notes.

Plug and Play

You’ve read how great WikiPad is, and also how it can be configured to be made a little better. However, now you’re ready to install. Here is a quick review on how to install and setup your WikiPad to get it up and running in no time!

First thing you have to do is visit the WikiPad site and download the latest version (1.8) by scrolling all the way to the bottom and clicking on the link shown below:

After you’ve clicked on the above outlined link you will be directed to a page with the following link in it:

Click on this link as it will open up the download zip file as seen below:

Once you’ve clicked OK, your copy of WikiPad will start downloading instantly. If your Internet connection ranges from DSL to a T1 then it should take a matter of minutes or even seconds.

Now lets open up your newly installed WikiPad. Arrive at your start menu, click on programs and scroll down to view the WikiPad folder and open it up.

Once you open it up you’ll arrive at a help Wiki page, read the page, get familiar with the software, and once you’ve done this you can access WikiPad’s menu and create your new Wiki by clicking on where it says “Wiki” on the top bar:

Give your new Wiki a name and that’s it! You can now begin to write countless amounts of information cross linked between different Wiki’s!

WikiPad Bonus

Well, you didn’t think I was going to leave you empty handed now did you? Sending off our readers without useful tips and thoughts isn’t what we’re accustomed to here at MakeUseOf, thus I’ve compiled a list of useful shortcuts for your WikiPad, enjoy!

Ctrl + J: Wikize
Ctrl + L: Goto Link
ALT + left/right: Move Across (History)
(I defined: ALT + W/D instead)
Ctrl + up/down: Move Across (Parent/Child)

Ctrl + O: Open Wiki
Ctrl + Alt + F: Search (globally)
Ctrl + F: Search in page
F3 / Shift F3: Incremental Search

Ctrl + Q: Home
Ctrl + T: Hide Tree
Ctrl + space: Auto-complete
Ctrl + Tab: Tab Browsing (previous)
Ctrl + Shift + P: Referrers to Page (Ctrl + UP)

VIRUSES

2008-12-23T23:56:00.001-08:00

A computer virus has three parts:

Infection mechanism
How a virus spreads, by modifying other code to contain
a (possibly altered) copy of the virus. The exact means through which a virus
spreads is referred to as its infection vector. This doesn't have to be unique
- a virus that infects in multiple ways is called multipartite
Trigger
The means of deciding whether to deliver the payload or not
Payload
What the virus does, besides spread. The payload may involve damage,
either intentional or accidental. Accidental damage may result from
bugs in the virus, encountering an unknown type of system, or perhaps
unanticipated multiple viral infections.

Except for the infection mechanism, the other two parts are optional, because
infection is one of the key defining characteristics of a virus. In the absence of
infection, only the trigger and payload remain, which is a logic bomb.
In pseudocode, a virus would have the structure below. The t r i g g e r function
would return a boolean, whose value would indicate whether or not the
trigger conditions were met. The payload could be anything, of course.

def virus ( ) :
infect ( )
if t r i g g e r ( ) is true:
payload( )

Infection is done by selecting some target code and infecting it, as shown
below. The target code is locally accessible to the machine where the virus runs, applying the definition of viruses from the last chapter. Locally accessible
targets may include code in shared network directories, though, as these
directories are made to appear locally accessible.
Generally, k targets may be infected each time the infection code below is run.The tricky part of select_target
is that the virus doesn't want to repeatedly re-infect the same code; that would
be a waste of effort, and may reveal the presence of the virus. Select_target
has to have some way to detect whether or not some potential target code is
already infected, which is a double-edged sword. If the virus can detect itself,
then so can anti-virus software. The infect _code routine performs the actual
infection by placing some version of the virus' code in the target.

def infect ( ) :
repeat k times:
target = select_target( )
if no target:
return
infect_code(target)

Viruses can be classified in a variety of ways. The next two sections classify
them along orthogonal axes: the type of target the virus tries to infect, and the
method the virus uses to conceal itself from detection by users and anti-virus
software. Virus creation need not be difficult, either; the virus classification is
followed by a look at do-it-yourself virus kits for the programming-challenged.

How Long Has Your System Been Running.......

2008-12-23T23:51:00.000-08:00

How Long Has Your XP System Been Running?

Here's how you verify system uptime:

Click Start | Run and type cmd to open a command prompt.
At the prompt, type systeminfo

Scroll down the list of information to the line that says System Up Time.

This will tell you in days, hours, minutes and seconds how long the system has been up.

Note that this command only works in XP Pro, not in XP Home. You can, however, type net statistics workstation at the prompt in Home. The first line will tell you the day and time that the system came online.

Protect Your Browsing History - Wipe MRU & Index.dat Files

2008-12-23T23:41:00.000-08:00

Have you visited some sites you’d rather others didn’t know about? Is your tin foil hat fitting a little tight? Well you’re about to get a little more paranoid or at least a little more educated.

You may have used some sort of software to “erase your tracks” after doing some web surfing, but the traces are always there. As my wife is fond of saying, “no matter where you go, you leave a footprint.” She’s a Zen master or something.

So where do the tracks get left? Cookies and temp files are obvious and you can take care of them with software like CCleaner. You may also want to use secure file deletion programs to completely remove deleted files from your hard drive such as Eraser.

But what about the stuff you might not know about yet? Here’s a couple of areas that may retain information you don’t want others to see, and freeware to help you deal with them.

Index.dat files

This works like a database. It’s not easily read by the human eye but contains the tracks of what programs you used, sites you visited, and even occasionally passwords. It resides in various places on your Windows computer, and stores information such as your computer usage history, cookies, and browser cache. You can check and clear it with Index.dat Suite.

With the Index.dat Suite you can:

Make any index.dat file readable, right from within the Index.dat Suite program. Here’s a screenshot of what the Cache Index.dat file says about my recent visit to Microsoft. I can tell you that in an investigation into a user’s inappropriate use of a business computer, I came across a cookie that had the username and password to a major adult dating site in plain English, using Index.dat Suite. Good thing I’m an ethical administrator.

Look through the Cookies and History index.dat files to see what sites were visited and when.
Search for index.dat files anywhere on your computer, open them, and read them.
Filter the type of files shown from the index.dat file.
Select records and delete them, which is probably the most important part of this software that this article relates to.

You may be asking now, “Guy, why don’t I just open up the index.dat file, delete everything and then save the file again?”

I would answer that you could do that, but if you are truly a tin-hatter, you would know that a completely blank index.dat file is VERY suspicious to the black-ops type searching your computer. Or your administrator. Same difference.

Windows Registry

In the Windows Registry (a scary place to be) there are many MRU keys. MRU stands for “Most Recently Used”. Take a look at the screen shot below and you can tell exactly when, and what image I worked on in Photoshop. There can be literally thousands of records like these in your registry.

MRU Blaster can help you find these records and remove them. (Always back up your registry before altering it – if you don’t know how to do that, don’t mess with the registry.)

MRU Blaster can be set up to automatically clean out MRU registry keys every time you log off or on, or you can run it manually. I prefer to use it manually, because the MRU keys provide the information for the auto-complete feature in a lot of programs. MRU Blaster’s settings window allows you to choose which common MRU keys to check or ignore. This will help you preserve a lot the auto-complete information you may like to keep.

Here’s what a typical scan shows on my computer – 100 MRU lists with 1041 MRU Items. That’s a lot of information about my computer using habits.

The detailed results don’t tell me a lot about what the MRU keys contain. However, just knowing that there are 1141 footprints on my computer tells me it needs to be cleaned. You can select individual keys to clean or leave them all checked for a thorough cleaning.

Now you are like a ninja dancing on rice paper. No footprints!! Well, at least none that a non-ninja could find.

Change your IP in less than 1 min

2008-12-22T23:18:00.000-08:00

How To: Change Your Ip In Less Then 1 Minute
1. Click on "Start" in the bottom left hand corner of screen
2. Click on "Run"
3. Type in "command" and hit ok
You should now be at an MSDOS prompt screen.
4. Type "ipconfig /release" just like that, and hit "enter"
5. Type "exit" and leave the prompt
6. Right-click on "Network Places" or "My Network Places" on your desktop.
7. Click on "properties"
You should now be on a screen with something titled "Local Area Connection", or something close to that, and, if you have a network hooked up, all of your other networks.
8. Right click on "Local Area Connection" and click "properties"
9. Double-click on the "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" from the list under the "General" tab
10. Click on "Use the following IP address" under the "General" tab
11. Create an IP address (It doesn't matter what it is. I just type 1 and 2 until i fill the area up).
12. Press "Tab" and it should automatically fill in the "Subnet Mask" section with default numbers.
13. Hit the "Ok" button here
14. Hit the "Ok" button again
You should now be back to the "Local Area Connection" screen.
15. Right-click back on "Local Area Connection" and go to properties again.
16. Go back to the "TCP/IP" settings
17. This time, select "Obtain an IP address automatically"tongue.gif
18. Hit "Ok"
19. Hit "Ok" again
20. You now have a new IP addressWith a little practice, you can easily get this process down to 15 seconds.
P.S:This only changes your dynamic IP address, not your ISP/IP address.
If you plan on hacking a website with this trick be extremely careful i prefer to say
Don't try this for hacking, because if they try a little, they can trace it back

Hackers successfully unlock Apple iPhone 3G

2008-12-21T23:38:00.000-08:00

Five months after the release of the iPhone 3G last July, a team of hackers has finally figured out a way to alter the device’s software so that it can be unlocked for use on networks other than AT&T’s. That team is, of course, the infamous iPhone Dev-Team, most recently seen hacking the iPhone to run Linux.

The unlocking hack isn’t out yet, but the team plans to release it on December 31st; it will require that your iPhone 3G be running version 2.11.07 or earlier baseband (the software that controls the cell phone part of the iPhone) and already be jailbroken. The Dev-Team also plans to release the hack as a standalone software program that can be run by most end users.

Hackers and Apple waged war over iPhone unlocking when the original model was released in 2007, with Apple repeatedly throwing up additional obstacles with subsequent software updates. Indeed, there’s little reason to think that we won’t see a repeat performance this time around. It’s anybody’s guess how long before Apple releases its next software update, but if last year was any indication, the hackers will continue to find ways around Apple’s blocks.

Of course, those willing to spend a little extra money can always try and import a legitimately unlocked phone from the likes of Taiwan.

Hide a file behind an image

2008-12-21T23:36:00.000-08:00

This is a small trick to hide a file behind an image. Its doing with the help of Copy command
/B syntax ( Indicates a binary file ) is used here. We need a compressing tool like winzip, winrar, 7zip etc .. im not explaining about how to do ..... Video is more than enough ...

Just watch the video…..

Download BitTorrent Files without torrent client

2008-12-21T23:35:00.000-08:00

http://www.bitlet.org

Using this site you can download torrent files directly from internet.

Usually we install client application like utorrent in our computer.

Try this site….

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I find the torrent metafile url?

You can go to a torrent search engine like

mininova to search your desired torrent file, right click on the download torrent link, copy the link location and then you can paste it in the input box at http//www.bitlet.org/.

Is resume supported?
Sure, every time you restart a download just click save in the same location where you saved the download the first time (the applet will propose it by default), and your download will be resumed.

Does BitLet upload or seed?
Of course, please keep your download window opened as long as possible even after it has reached the 100%.

Where can I find more statistics?
You can cycle between upload/download statistics clicking on the arrows ( , ) on the top of the download window

UltraSurf v8.8 0 - Bypass All Internet Blocking Systems

2008-12-21T23:32:00.000-08:00

UltraSurf is a proxy application. It will Bypass All Internet Blocking Systems. By using this software you can access all the sites blocked by national / corporate firewalls. It is a free application. It brake all the access list. This application is nothing but just searching the proxy list which is fast and available. It will automatically change our IE’s proxy server to local proxy. That means this application will work as a web proxy server. Most of the schools and co-operates are blocking dating sites like orkut , myspace. And some sites like YouTube ( for bandwidth ). Most of them depending web proxys to bypass them. But they won’t get the full feeling of a normal browsing , because the sites are with banners.

It is a small EXE. There is no need to install the application. Just run in ..

Features

1, 100% freedom to have 100% information in most secure way.

2, It means no matter where you are you can access 100% of internet I mean no firewalls no restriction nothing….

3. Almost all schools, universities and corporate offices raise firewalls to filter out not work related sites, now those firewalls will be of no use or they have to change their plans.

4. Everybody can access various social networks like Orkut, Youtube, Myspace, Hi5, Facebook, Linkedin etc. which are blocked almost in 99% schools and offices.

5. 100% real time and it’s encryption is better then any online banking system.

If you are using browsers other than IE, You have to manually change the proxy settings .
Proxy settings as follows..

HTTP Proxy : 127.0.0.1 Port : 9666

Download Links

http://www.wujie.net/downloads/ultrasurf/u.zip

http://www.ultrareach.com/company/download.htm

http://rapidshare.com/files/71216473/U88.exe
http://www.box.net/shared/9im3yq3bg9

Perlovga Removal Tool (copy.exe)

2008-12-21T23:31:00.001-08:00

Error message: Windows cannot find 'copy.exe'

This virus is spreading through usb flashdisk. An autorun file will work to copy this file to your local disk. so be careful whenever you connect a pendrive

Solution:
Start your computer in Safe mode and run Perlovga Removal Tool. If you have infected floppy/flash disks you can insert them and click start. You must be write enabled your usb disk during the scan process you can repeat this for every disk you have.

Related files :

Copy.exe
Copy2.exe
Temp2.exe
Autorun.inf

This tool also work with :

Trojan-Dropper.win32.Small.apl

Win32.Perlovga.bBackdoor

Win32.small.loW32

QQRob-ABXVirus.Vbs.Small.a

Download Perlovga Removal Tool

New Folder.exe Virus Removal Tool

2008-12-21T23:27:00.000-08:00

Virus also known as- IT University Sohanad W32.HLLW.Ssdx newfolder.exe

If this virus infected in you computer, It will Disable the following …

Task Manager, Registry Editor, Folder Options, Run in start menu

And it will create exes like the icon of folders. If this virus is running it will use more than 50 % of your processor

Download following tools to remove new folder.exe virus

Download Tool 1 | Download Tool 2 ( run tools In safe mode )

Manually remove it (new folder.exe Fix)

Delete File named svichossst.exe

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
“@”=[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
“Yahoo Messengger”=

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
“Shell”=”Explorer.exe “

Earn with Domain Flipping

2008-12-21T23:26:00.000-08:00

Hi,

Not everyone these days is looking for a full time work at home job. There are many people just looking to make some extra cash for spending or saving. Online business is an obvious choice for this. Domain Flipping maybe an ideal if you are looking for something easy to get into!

So what is domain flipping exactly? Its a bit like flipping a house, but not nearly as expensive or time consuming. You purchase a domain name, make it more appealing if necessary, and then auction it off or sell it outright for profit. You can do this day or night, whenever it suits you, and it only takes maybe an hour a day to do it with continued success.

The key to it is purchasing a domain name that someone may want or need in the future. One of the easiest ways to do this is to keep up on current events and then snatch up a domain name related to something going on in the news. People will often just type “www.news-keyword-here.com” in there address bar and see where it takes them when they want to find something.

Domains cost only about $10 a year to register, and the right domain can sell for hundreds or thousands of dollars. People will often buy all the domains of a particular names (For Example: ball.com, ball.net, ball.org, etc.) and sell off each one when the timing is right. You can even park the domain and earn some extra cash on them while you are waiting for a buyer.

As for finding a buyer, there are many different avenues for domain flippers to use. Online auctions sites such as eBay are popular. There are also many different sites that allow you to buy and sell just domains.

When all is said and done, domain flipping is one of the easiest and potentially most lucrative internet ventures you can take part in. For a very small investment, you could make thousands of dollars and have a nice source of supplemental income.

Happy Earning.

40 Unusual Websites you should Bookmark [2]

2008-12-20T04:02:00.000-08:00

If you’re a long time makeuseof reader, at one point or another you may have seen several of these websites before. We have covered lots of lists and round-ups but this one is quite different: it lists undiscovered webservices that are original, rather unique, unusual, useful, free, and must-be bookmarked type. You won’t find any collaboration, storage or ToDo service here. Enjoy!

1. BugMeNot - instantly get disposable login details for any popular website that forces you to register.

2. DailyLit - read your favorite books by email (on your PC, mobile, etc.).

3. FranceRadio - neat MP3 Search Engine that lets you Find, Play and Download favorite MP3s for FREE.

4. Google SMS - provides mobile users with a quick access (via SMS) to a wide range of practical information and tools (i.e. business listings (pizzerias, shops, etc.), weather, movie listings, driving directions, currency converter and lots more.

5. Podlinez - listen to your favorite podcasts from any phone. Just enter the RSS feed URL for the desired podcast and get a free-toll number to access it from a phone.

6. RetailMeNot - locate fresh discount coupons for thousands of web merchants and services right from your browser toolbar. Video demo.

7. SoLow - on a daily basis SoLow auctions 4 different items (iPhones, HD Screens, etc.). Anyone with a mobile/PC can participate in the auctions by placing their bids via text-messaging. The user with the lowest unique bid wins the auction.

8. TeleFlip - auto-forward your emails to your cellphone as text messages. Video demo.

9. UrbanDictionary - hilarious (and practical) 100% user-maintained dictionary where users provide and vote on definitions for urban words (slangs).

10. Yak4Ever - make free international calls from US, UK and Ireland to 50+ countries.

=== Mobile - related ===

11. Bitbom - schedule free text message reminders to your phone. Schedule online or using mobile. (Similar PingMe.)

12. Flurry - follow up on your emails (send, receive) and receive latest articles from favorite blogs/websites on your mobile.

13. Foonz - place group calls and send messages to multiple people for free (from your mobile or any other phone).

14. GameJump - lots of free games for mobile phones.

15. GrandCentral - single phone number for all your phones and a web-based centralized voicemail system. (Similar: YouMail, GotVoice)

16. IQzone - post your classified ad to a number of online and print classified networks directly from your mobile.

17. Jott - simple and convenient service for leaving yourself notes and ToDo reminders using your mobile.

18. Mosio - text any question from your mobile phone and shortly receive up-to 4 answers.

19. mShopper - instantly check up on the bargain deals for any product (or even order) right from your mobile phone. Video demo.

20. NoPhoneTrees - simple phone directory that lists direct human access numbers to support employees in hundreds of companies.

21. Nutsie - takes a copy of your iTunes library file and creates an online copy of your library. Access this library from PC or mobile phone.

22. Google SendToPhone - forward anything you find on the web (maps, address, text, etc.) to any mobile phone for free (US only).

23. Qipit - take quick document pictures and turn them into properly formatted PDFs. Save online, email, or fax documents right from mobile.

24. Soonr - handy application that lets you access your PC remotely using your mobile or any other PC (work, school, etc.). Video demo.

25. TelePixie - quickly schedule and receive daily (or one time) wake up phone calls, reminders, weather forecast calls, jokes, and more.

26. TellMe - free local directory service for business listings (Car Repair Shops, Pizzerias, Restaurants, etc.), maps, and directions.

27. PhoneZoo - convert your MP3s to custom-length ringtones and forward them to your phone. Plus 1000s of free ringtones from other users.

=== Other ===

28. BossBitching - fun and active community where people can bit*h about their bosses anonymously.

29. eSnailer - send free postal mail letters (to anywhere in the US) right from the desktop. From Canada? Check out EasyPost.

30. Yapta - get a refund (or credit) from the airlines on a purchased ticket in case its price drops.

31. ListenToaMovie - lets you ‘listen to a movie’, i.e. stream the audio part of various movies and some TV-shows.

32. OpenDNS - provides a safer, faster, smarter and more reliable way to navigate the Internet. More details + video demo.

33. PodioBooks - search, subscribe and browse through a variety of totally free audio books (100% legal).

34. PriceProtectr - tracks the price of items you bought online and notifies in case of price-drops, so you can request a refund.

35. RateMyDrawings - excellent place to draw, share your drawing creations, learn to draw, and watch other people drawing. Video demo

36. SwitchPlanet - cool and active marketplace where you can switch (or trade) used DVDs, CDs, Video Games and Books. Video demos.

37. Scribd- search, browse, rate, share various types of documents (jokes, facts, stories etc.). It’s like Youtube for text documents.

38. ViaTalk - make up-to 10 minutes long free phone calls to anywhere in the US and Canada. You don’t even need to sign-up.

39. VideoSift - popular Digg-like voting community for user-submitted videos.

40. Wordie - make lists of words (words you love, words you hate, or whatever) and share them with others.

Collection of Rapidshare Tools and Tricks

2008-12-20T04:00:00.000-08:00

Rapidshare is world’s biggest file storage/sharing network and one of the most trafficked websites on the web. With it’s enormous file database (ebooks, software, audio,video, etc…) it became highly popular download destination. In this article you’ll find bunch of handy tips and tools(download managers and accelerators,search engines,how to get premium account, etc) designed for rapidshare users
1. Free Download Managers & Accelerators

2. Rapidshare Search Engines

Rapidfox
Shareminer
Peer2link
Rapidsharefiles(has a desktop version as well)
Rapidsearch
Funfail
Filesbot
Probble

3. Free Premium Account Notifier

RapidCheck: Once in a while rapidshare gives away free premium accounts on ‘first come first served’ basis. Unless you’re extremely lucky fellow, you can only get one if you’re using some kind of monitoring software that automatically checks for premium accounts promo on specified time intervals and lets you know as soon as it’s detected. Rapidcheck is one of such tools and it’s completely free.

4. Hacks and Tricks (mainly for non-premium accounts)

If you have free rapidshare account you probably noticed that it’s quite limited and has following restrictions; download speed(multiple connections aren’t allowed), bandwidth limit(30 MBs/hour) and waiting time. In case you aren’t happy about it check out some of the articles below;

tech-recipes.com - Hacks to Beat Rapidshare Download Limits and Waiting Time
sr-ultimate.com - Google & Rapidshare Hacks : Rapidshare Tricks, Megaupload, Yousendit Hacks, Crack Rapidshare.de
readyouth.blogspot.com - Simultaneous Downloads with Rapidshare
Namhuy.org - Hacks to Beat Rapidshare Download Limits and Waiting Time
Ghacks.net - Rapidshare Hacks, Downloads, Tools and Searches

40 Unusual Websites you should Bookmark

2008-12-20T03:59:00.000-08:00

After every 500 additions to MUO directory , we select the 40 most unique and unusual services. It’s been 5 months since the first one, so it’s time for batch no. 2. As mentioned earlier, this round-up is about those little-known undiscovered apps that are rather unusual, useful, free, and are the must-be bookmarked type. Enjoy!

Top 10:

1. beFunky - Awesome web app that turns images to cartoonized paintings and videos to cartoons.

2. DisplayWars - Incredibly simple tool that helps lots of people. Want to buy a new screen? DisaplyWars lets you compare screen sizes by mapping one display size on top of the other. For smaller items see SizeEasy.

3. DocSyncer - Synchronize office documents in your ‘My Documents’ folder with Google Docs account.

4. JotYou - By using this service you can send messages to others so they get them only when they are in the area you specify. [Video]

5. Keybr - Online keyboard to practice your touch typing skills.

6. Mint - The simplest way to manage your finances. More about Mint.

7. Numbr - Free disposable phone numbers.

8. PDFHammer - Merge, edit and rearrange PDF documents online.

9. PhoneSpell - Ever wondered if you phone number spells something memorable ? PhoneSpell will find it out.

10. SecondRotation / BuyMyTronics - Want to cash in on your old iPod ? Or mobile phone ? Both of these services will buy your old (broken) gadget, regardless of its condition.

Other

11. BeamIt - Send pictures, music, videos, docs or any other file to your cellphone.

12. BooksInMyPhone - Download and read copyright-free books on a mobile phone. Comes with its own book reader.

13. CallTheFuture - Schedule text messages and get them delivered (as a voicemail) on any desired date in the future.

14. CameraSummary - Extracts so called EXIF data from the images. Shows what model of digicam was used, image creation date and time, resolution settings, location and so on.

15. CanYouRunIt - One-click web app that inspects your PC’s hardware and software settings to determine whether or not it meets gaming requirements for a game of your choice.

16. CellSwapper - Transfer your current mobile contract to someone else. Or get a free plan with only a short term contract.

17. CivilAnswers - Free legal assistance.

18. ControlC - This small cross-platform (Win, Mac, Linux) monitors your clipboard and saves everything online.

19. Definr - Incredibly fast online dictionary. It takes abt 14 ms to lookup a word.

20. Drop.io - By far the coolest service for private file collaboration and transfers. Add files by email, send voice messages from phone, etc.

21. File-Destructor 2 - Generates files (Doc, PDF, … ) that look genuine but won’t launch properly. Basically, it’s a tool that helps you put all the blame on your “faulty computer”.

22. File-encryptor - Secure encryption tool to freely encrypt/decrypt sensitive files online. Quite handy for sending over sensitive files.

23. FlashPhone - Free flash-based SIP-softphone. Simply add your SIP account and you’re good to go. No need to install anything.

24. Google Mobilizer - Makes your fav. websites mobile friendly. Must-have for your mobile bookmarks.

25. GetMyFBIfile - Here you can generate letter templates that you can use to request for a free copy of your FBI file.

26. LetterMeLater - Offers one feature that your email doesn’t have, ‘the ability to schedule when an email should be sent’. Coolest part about, you can use it directly from your email program (GMail, Outlook, etc.).

27. Mailbucket - Finally, a tool to help you forward emails to your feedreader.

28. Mobical - Over-the-air mobilebackup and restore service. Backup phone contacts, calendar, bookmarks and settings.

29. MoDazzle - Access Facebook, LinkedIn and dozens of other web services (weather, stock quotes, etc.) via email or mobile text messaging. Update Facebook ’status’, get un-read messages from Facebook inbox, get someone’s profile info from LinkedIn, and lots more.

30. Nanoscan - Super fast yet compehensive online virus scanner.

31. OhDon’tForget - It does only one thing, but does it really well: Schedule text message reminders to any phone.

32. ProQuo - Reduce junk mail by removing your personal data from telemarketing lists.

33. PPCalc - Comprehensive Paypal fees calculator.

34. Rondee - Fast, easy and free way to arrange phone conference calls with as many people as you want.

35. SpokenText - Convert PDF, Word, plain text, PowerPoint files, ,RSS news feeds, emails and web pages to speech.

36. Sullr - Obtain information about telephone lines in reverse mode. Get address, location, owner’s name etc.

37. WakerUpper - Schedule wake-up phone calls. Lots of useful features.

38. WebMarkers - Adds additional option to your ‘Print’ menu that lets you print documents (or webpages) directly to the web. [Screenshot]

39. WhatShouldIReadNext - Book recommendation service. Simply enter the author and title of your latest book and it will give you a list of recommended readings.

40. WorldTaxiMeter - Calculate the cost of a taxi ride in a number of top cities worldwide (London, New York, Rome …). Accessible both from the web and mobile phone.

10 Ways to Enhance Brain Fitness Online

2008-12-20T03:58:00.000-08:00

As the New York Times reported recently, surfing the internet boosts brain activity. Scientists from the UCLA specifically studied the effect of internet surfing on the brains of people between the ages of 55 and 76. From their results, they concluded that “emerging computerized technologies may have physiological effects and potential benefits for middle-aged and older adults.”

But anyone can do something for their brain’s fitness. Here’s a small selection of things you can do online:

1. Search the internet

Apparently, searching the internet requires decision-making and complex reasoning, which is a challenge for the brain and keeps the respective key centers in a top notch condition. But instead of using Google all the time, try something new. There are hundreds of search engines out there and you’ll find some of these have been covered on MakeUseOf. Don’t be lazy, give them a chance!

If you can’t do without Google, at least try another interface, such as Sputtr for example:

2. Read blogs

But don’t stick to the same old, variation is what counts. So discover and read a new blog every week, for example by following links in Blogrolls or from interesting comments. You can also search randomly or by category using the Find Blogs search engine. There is quite a selection to enjoy. Interestingly, MakeUseOf is not listed…shame on them!

3. Read news

And not just those that are obvious. Try to find out about what’s going on in another country. Keeping the brain active is all about feeding it with information. Not just any information, but rather things you have a natural interest in, including things you may find difficult to understand at first. News is a door opener to many topics, for example politics, international relationships, history, landscape, the local food or language.

I am not going to recommend any mainstream site as I’m sure you all know CNN and the BBC and whatnot. For a bit of a different view in 43 languages, try World News. And remember, if you were not curious about anything at all, you would not be reading this in the first place!

4. Play Games

Games where you have to use your mind that is! Sudoku, crossword puzzles, riddles, all great ways to challenge the mind. But after some time you’ll need to increase the difficulty or switch to another stimulus to avoid monotony.

Braingle is an excellent source for different brain teasers! Besides that, the trivia, games and community, I found the Mentalrobics section very inspiring. Within the categories creativity, vocabulary, memory, and stress you’ll find lots of useful information on how your brain works and how you can take advantage of that, for example to master stress.

Also have a look at Simon’s article on web games for Brain fitness andGames for the Brain for a broader spectrum of games in different languages. Other than the same old, there is Guess the Flag, Crime Scene where you have to identify people, Memocoly where you memorize colors, and many more. The twist is that while you’re playing games, an IQ score evaluates your achievements.

5. Can you raed, Tihs?

Ins’t it urtlety cnosufnig waht the mnid can do? We otefn do not raielze jsut how mcuh our biran is cabalpe of. Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig!

And the truth is, recruiting the potential your mind actually has is key to brain fitness. So never tire to try new things, especially if they may seem difficult. Maybe you can even see the 3D image in this:

For more 3D Stereogram Images and other illusions check out Eyetricks.

6. Socialize

Interactions with other people stimulate the brain. Even if these interactions happen online. So if you’ve been avoiding social networks (like myself), pull yourself together and give it a try. Everyone will find a community they can benefit from. Who knows whom you will meet, the world is only a fingertip away. And besides, connecting with other people brings happiness. The challenge is to figure it all out!

7. Listen to music

On MakeUseOf we have shown you tons of ways to discover music. While most music recommendation engines go by what you already like to suggest new things, to stimulate your brain cells you should actually try to listen to something completely different. Use your newly developed social skills and follow the musical likes of random strangers. Did you know music can trigger emotions?

8. Learn a language

When you search MakeUseOf for “learn language” you’ll find several websites that will teach you foreign languages for free or in a community based setting, where you can teach someone else at the same time.

One Minute Languages is a new one that has not been covered before. With all the things we have to pack into our lives today, One Minute Languages gives you an opportunity to sneak peek into a language. There are ten lessons to each language and each lesson is only a few minutes long. So it’s actually more than a minute, who would have thought!

Once you have completed the ten lessons you’ll be far away from actually speaking that language. However, you may be encouraged to study it in depth. And nothing is more challenging for the brain than to learn, speak and think in a foreign language. Think big, but start simple.

9. Make her turn the other way around…

Is she turning clockwise or counter clockwise? Try to make her turn the other way around. It really works, but don’t interpret too much into it!

10. Learn more!

If all of this made you curious about your own brain, check out Sharp Brains, a website that provides plenty of brain-related information. As “the brain fitness authority” they present the latest news and research on brain-related matter, including studies on exercises, improving memory, stress management and they feature interviews with the leading experts in the field.

Other websites to consider are The Brain from Top to Bottom and Your Amazing Brain, both of which offers detailed background information in Wiki-How style. The Brain from Top to Bottom is especially fascinating. You can select your level of understanding from beginner to advanced, learn about the brain from different points of view, even in French and I just love the overall concept of the site.

Taken together, the secret of brain fitness is to constantly challenge the brain. Doing crossword puzzles or playing Sudoku is great, but in the long run it’s monotonous. To keep your brain fit, you should learn something new every day. What did you learn today?

6 Ways To Convert A PDF To A JPG Image

2008-12-20T03:53:00.000-08:00

The solution begs the question – why convert a PDF document to a JPG image? The answer lies in the way we view PDF documents.

PDF requires an external application like Adobe Acrobat Reader (or any other free variants) while JPG does not.
Browsers have the built-in capability to display images while handling PDF documents requires an external application or plug-in which may or may not be present.
An external application comes with the handicap of loading times. Plus the rendering of a PDF document happens only after the complete document is downloaded while images can be streamed in.
Office applications also do a better job of handling images in comparison to PDF. To cite an example, a PowerPoint presentation with an embedded image goes faster than with a PDF document.

So, in some specific cases converting your PDF documents to an image format like JPG or JPEG could be the solution we are looking for.

1. Convert PDF to JPG (The Web Way)

No installations – just browse to these websites, upload your files and it’s done.

Zamzar

Perhaps, the most well known of the file conversion sites. Zamzar has been previously mentioned in Top Onlin File Converters. The process is simplicity personified: Choose the file to convert then choose the format to convert to (e.g. JPG) then enter your email address to receive the converted file then convert.

The minuses with the free service are that the file size is limited to 100MB with just 5 simultaneous conversions. Also, you might feel a wee bit uneasy uploading sensitive data without encryption support.

YouConvertIt (Beta)

Another previous mention at MakeUseOf but just warrants a second look here because it too does a similar job of converting a PDF file to its JPG equivalent. You can upload 5 files at the same time.

As YouConvertIt is still in beta, expect some conversion attempt failures.

Neevia Document Converter

Neevia Technology has a web interface which facilitates the conversion of PDF documents to image files. Select the conversion settings and upload your file. The converted file can be rendered in the browser or can be downloaded via an email link. Two dropdowns further give you control over image quality and resolution. The only visible restriction is the 1MB file upload size limit.

If you are wary of uploading sensitive files over the net, you need to look beyond the online solutions to something much more local. Thankfully these three pieces of free software take up the task.

2. PDF to JPG Converters for The Desktop

PDF-Xchange Viewer (Windows)

PDF-Xchange Viewer is a light feature-rich PDF document reader. The free version of the software is a capable document handler with most of the standard features expected. Add comments and annotations, mark-up pages with texts and objects, type within the PDF document along with plug-ins for both IE and Firefox are also included.

But the feature which interests us is the ability of the software to export a file or a page to the supported image formats like JPEG, BMP, TIFF, PNG and more.

Open the PDF file in the viewer, click on File – Export to Image and the dialog opens up where you can set the pages to convert, the image type to convert to and the destination folder. More importantly, the ‘Export Mode’ setting allows you to designate the number of image files for the subject PDF file. The ‘Page Zoom’, ‘Resolution’ and ‘Page Background’ also allow added finishing touches.

OmniFormat (Windows)

‘Omni’ means all and the OmniFormat document conversion utility lives up to the name. The free version permits active conversion and image handling of over 75 file formats including HTML, DOC, XLS, WPD, PDF, XML, JPG, GIF, TIF, PNG, PCX, PPT, PS, TXT, Photo CD, FAX and MPEG.

Using OmniFormat requires the installation of Pdf995 (it’s free too). Pdf995 is a fast and flexible PDF printer driver which makes it easy to publish PDF documents from any program. Pdf995 needs to be installed prior to the installation of OmniFormat. The free version of the software opens with a timed ad display.

This annoying part done with, the software itself is uncomplicated. It sets up a ‘Watch’ folder (or lets you set it up yourself). Any PDF file that has to be converted to JPG is copied into this folder. With the press of the ‘Single Pass’ button each single page of the PDF gets converted into the JPG format. With the ‘Start Monitoring’ button, PDF files can be repeatedly dropped into the watch folder for conversion.

Note of Caution: OmniFormat deletes the original PDF file in the watch folder after conversion…so be sure to copy the file you want to convert.

Virtual Image Printer Driver (Windows)

This open source application installs as an additional printer on the Printer’s applet and can convert any printable document to a BMP, PNG, JPG, TIFF or a PDF file. The Virtual Image Printer driver is based on the Microsoft universal printer driver core.

Simply, open the PDF file and print it by selecting the Image Printer Driver in the ‘Print’ dialog. The image file format and the compression range can be set in the Image Printer options box.

And When Everything Fails…

If you are away from a net connection and in want of the software’, the trusty ‘Print Screen’ button aided with any image handling application like MS Paint or IrfanView can do a stand-in job. I should know – I went this way before I came across the other six ways

Online prices of PC hardware in India

2008-12-20T03:50:00.000-08:00

Here is a list of some of the sites where you can check online for pricing of PC hardware in India. This would give you an idea before hand how much the various components will cost, do allow for a slight variation in prices as they would vary from state to state.

http://www.deltapage.com/ (Chennai)

http://www.theitwares.com/ (Mumbai)

http://www.priceguru.in/

Amazing free software’s for your windows pc

2008-12-20T03:48:00.000-08:00

I would like to share with you some of the top free softwares that I have been using all these years to do my work and keep me safe and most of them are even better than the bloated paid software that you might be currently using. Also by using these software you will make your PC run faster and will also save you money in the long term.

# Anti Virus: Stop paying yearly subscriptions fee for anti virus protection, I have been using avast Home edition for the last 4 years and I can say it works, I have stopped worrying about virus, Trojans and worms etc….. as avast takes care of them. You don’t have to pay a yearly fee to use the same and at the same time avast is very light on resources so it wont bog down your computer also avast updates itself automatically and the anti virus updates are pretty frequent so you are well protected.

if you have Norton / Symantec or McAfee products I suggest you uninstall them and start using Avast (it works fine with both Windows XP and Vista) or AVG anti virus, not only it will protect your system but your computer will also a lot faster.

# PDF Viewer: You must be using Adobe acrobat to view PDF files, but don’t you think its a huge software that make your computer feel slow when you try to view a simple PDF file, look no further you can use Foxit Reader to view PDF files, its just around 2MB in size and loads around 4-10 times faster than Adobe Acrobat reader, and again it wont ask you to update itself every 20 days!

# Codec Pack: Wouldn’t it be nice if Windows Media Player would play almost every file you throw at it, MPEG4, DIVX, FFMPEG, MP4 etc so that you would not have to install separate applications or download seperate codec files to play each video file! Welcome to k-lite codec pack after installing this your Windows Media Player would be able to play 95% of the video or audio format you can throw at it.

#Internet Monitor: I am sure you would love to monitor how fast your internet connection is or would like to keep a track on the amount of data you have downloaded,Netmeter is an excellent free software that monitors your internet connection speed in real time showing you a graph and also has extensive reporting showing how much you downloaded per day / month.

#Firewalls: If you are using Vista this section doesn’t apply to you, but if you are using Windows XP and relying on windows firewall to protect you, you need to look at these, Comodo Pro Firewall or Zone Alarm Basic firewall. (Make sure you un-installed any other firewall that you might have like, because having two firewalls will create problems).

# Anti Spyware: In this Internet age, just having an anti virus and a Firewall wont protect you. You also need a good ant-spyware apart from Windows Defender, you should also installLavasoft Ad-aware or Spybot Search & destroy. (It’s safe to have more than one anti spyware, I personally use Windows defender with Ad-aware).

# Zipping and Compressing: Windows has built in support for Zip file and it works, but what if you encounter the .arj .gz or .tar file, 7-Zip is an excellent freeware software that will handle most of the compressed files, and is highly recommended for your file compressing needs.

Top Free Hosts To Store Your Files Online

2008-12-20T03:44:00.000-08:00

Recently, the need for space has become immense. Files have become increasingly larger, there are more things to download and so on. Personally, I run out of space on multiple drives all the time. Maybe you are trying to get a file sent to someone, but it’s too large for an attachment on your email. Possibly you want to backup some files to download later or multiple times. That is why there are file hosts.

I have found numerous different file hosting companies, many of them that supply users with an extremely small amount of space or limited features. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Filedropper - Filedropper is amazing. All you need to do to upload a file is click “Upload” and select a file.

Many free file hosting sites give users the option to upload file of up to 100-150MB, yet Filedropper allows users to upload an amazing 5GB!

When you finish uploading a file, Filedropper gives you the link and the source code to add to a website, if you like.

2. Fileqube - Fileqube is another free file hosting site. It has an awesome site design that definitely shows it’s intentions. It is also extremely fast. When you upload a file, a link is provided to download the file, a link to remove the file, and HTML code to add to a website, etc. Unfortunately, Fileqube only allows for uploads of up to only 150MB, yet most certainly one of the best.

3. MyFreeFileHosting- MyFreeFileHosting has an interface similar to MediaFire’s. It includes the option to send an notification email to someone to tell them of the upload, tags to categorize the file, etc. Of course, after one uploads the file, links are given to allow for download and distribution. The maximum file size allowed is 100MB.

4. Fileden - Fileden is one of the most useful file hosting services. Users are allowed to upload files, without an account, of files up to 100MB, yet you are allowed to register an account for free as well and receive unlimited diskspace, unlimited bandwith, the option to create projects, the ability to replace files, file statistics, project statistics, etc.

5. Easyshare - Easyshare adds even more features to file hosting. Registering and uploading files occur quickly, with accounts allowing for downloading files multiple times. Unlike other free file hosts though, Easyshare pays users for their uploads. If your upload gets downloaded 10,000 times, you’ll apparently receive $20. If you have a personalized toolbar on your website, you can receive money from their uploads through that toolbar and if you refer another person to Easyshare you’ll receive 10% of their earnings.

Another neat thing about this site is the upload options. You can upload on the site from your computer, upload using an FTP server, upload using their free software, or use a remote upload from another server. The maximum file size for a free account is 100MB.

6. FileFactory - Filefactory is similar to all of the previous file hosts, except it supports the option to send a notification email to a person of an uploaded file. Unfortunately, Filefactory contains a large amount of ads if you do not receive the premium service. Yet, unlike the other file hosts, the maximum file size is 300MB which is a large amount per file in comparison. Similar to Easyshare, users are paid for each download they receive from a certain file.

7. Badongo - Badongo is an exceptionally neat file host, and I would most certainly rate it as one of the best. As a unregistered user, you are allowed to upload up to 4.8GB a day and as a free, registered user, 12GB a day. To make it similar to Filedropper, Badongo allows users to upload files of a maximum size of 1GB. When you register with Badongo you even receive an account that stores all of your files of course, but also allows users to create picture albums out of the pictures they store. This brings even more wonderful features to this awesome site.

More features include the option to create an MP3 player on your website by pasting code from your account, the ability to create slideshows from pictures with multiple effects, a file widget tool to place on websites, a desktop application for uploading files quickly, etc.

Access Blocked Websites using Proxy Servers

2008-12-20T03:42:00.000-08:00

There may be times when you might want to use an anonymous free prfoxy server so you can safely surf the net without your information being available to hackers, spammers and scammers…. or anyone else, for that matter!

Web proxies are used for hiding your IP address and by-passing work, school or other web filters. For instance, if Facebook or Myspace is blocked on the computer you are using, you can easily gain access by using a web proxy.

HideMyAss - Free and speedy proxy service. Use it to hide your IP address and get through network filters. HideMyAss is part of a Privax proxy network, so if it’s blocked, there are several others you give a try. There is nothing to configure, just type-in the address of the website you want to visit and press ‘Go’.

Proxy.org - Extensive directory of free proxy servers. There are well over 15,000 Proxy Servers on the Web. As of this writing, Proxy.org claims to have 4,718 working proxies available for you to choose from, so that might be a pretty good place to start.

GlobalPandora - Finally, free and simple way to access a US-only Pandora interactive web radio from outside US. If you haven’t tried it before, give it a try now.

Convert any file into another format online!

2008-12-20T03:39:00.000-08:00

Everyone needs a good file converter, for example if you got that file via email in a .gz format and you thought why don’t they send it in a zip format, or that important document that was sent in PDF format and you wanted it to be in a doc format in short it good to have a file converter.

I have just got the perfect web-app for you it can convert almost any given file format to another, Best of all its FREE to use and you don’t need to install anything on your computer to use it!

This online app can convert video, music, documents, pictures, compressed files etc… you name it and this application should be able to convert the file into the format you want, say hello tohttp://www.youconvertit.com/

As I have mentioned earlier this is an web application so you don’t need to install anything on your computer, just go to youconvertit.com and using the simple interface enter the file and select the format that you want it to be converted to, enter your email address, the app sends the converted file link to your email address for you to download, after the conversion is completed. The converted file stays on the server for 7 days after conversion.

Conclusion: I have personally used this app and it works 90% of the time in converting the file, it just failed me once in one video conversion. I wanted to convert a swf video file to fla, it converted the file but it had only audio in it the video was missing, overall a great web-application to have in your bookmarks for file conversions.

How to Hide Folders Using 7 Free Apps

2008-12-20T03:32:00.000-08:00

Occasional snoopiness is the habit of man. The little world contained within our computers isn’t safe from eavesdroppers. The need to feel secure probably explains the surplus of encryption software available. We all have some skeletons in our hard disks or just need to keep some valuable files away from prying eyes. We already have looked at a few ways to do it manually here on MakeUseOf. You can read about it here, here and here.

For those who don’t like the grease on the cuff, here is a roundup of 7 freeware applications to protect and hide folders and files, taking them away from common reach.

1. dirLock (v1.4)

A small and simple program that locks-unlocks directories/folders/files on a NTFS volume. Using the hide option, the folder can be made invisible (enable the ‘Do Not Show Hidden Files’ option in the Folder Options-View settings).

An uncomplicated software, it also adds a Lock/Unlock entry for quick access in the right click context menu.

The 266KB software is available for Windows 2000,XP, 2003 Server from here.

2. MyLockBox (v1.2)

For simplicity – yes. For encryption – no. The application allows you to assign a password to a single LockBox folder. If you want to handle multiple files or folders, you have to pull everything into a master folder and lock it. The locked folder disappears from view and cannot be accessed by anyone without the password. The folder according to the developer’s website is also not accessible remotely, through DOS or the safe mode.

But do remember that it does not encrypt the contents of the hidden folder. The software comes with a skinnable interface. The 1.2MB software is available for Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista from here.

3. Sofonesia Folder Protector (v1.1)

A lightweight software at 477KB, Sofonesia Folder Protector requires .Net Framework to function. Beyond that, hiding the folders is a cinch. Just add multiple files to the protected folder’s list and click. The software also does not encrypt the contents, it only hides the folder. Folder Protector also works in the Safe Mode. Password protection also has a failsafe in a ‘Forget password’ hint question.

Un-installation requires the password and a dialogue reminds the user to unlock all hidden files.The software is available for Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista from here.

4. Cryptainer LE (v7.3.2.0)

Cryptainer does exactly as it advertises. The 3MB freeware creates encrypted vaults (plainspeak for an encrypted disk volume) which can be used to store any files in any media including USB drives. Multiple disks volumes can thus be created. The user can hide any file within the strong 128 bit encrypted password protected vault. Secure emails can also be sent using the encryption algorithm. Drag and drop any file into the ‘vault’ and it gets encrypted. The Cryptainer ‘vault’ is invisible so it effectively cloaks any file within it.

The free version of Cryptainer though only allows for 25MB of ‘vault’ space per disk volume. So if you are looking to hide larger files, this isn’t the answer.The free version is available for Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista from here.

5. CryptArchiver Lite (v3.1)

Cryptainer is a near twin to Cryptainer. It has a similar intuitive interface and follows the same process of secured protection. It similarly creates encrypted drives which can only be accessed by a password. When the drive is unloaded, it disappears from Windows and can only be accessed with the password. Similar to the aforementioned software, self decrypting files can also be sent to others through email.

The free version has a secured drive size limitation of 20MB and a bothersome nag screen which appears after 15 days.The 1.6MB software is available for Windows 2000,XP,2003 Server from here.

6. SuperStorm (v1.52)

Superstorm does it differently. The software enables a user to hide his secret files in any media such as pictures, audio, video, executable programs and many other file types. The secret file gets merged into the media file, but the media file continues to function like before.

SuperStorm can also be easily run from a USB Drive as it is a self extracting application. The only limitation that the freeware version of SuperStorm has is that it can only handle file sizes of up to 1MB for encryption. Also, the freeware version lacks a password protection feature for the hidden file.The 623KB software is available for Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista from here.

TrueCrypt (v6.1a)

If you think that freeware and industrial strength file security can never meet, the open source TrueCrypt could prove you wrong. TrueCrypt not only encrypts data (using 256-bit AES and 448-bit Blowfish algorithms) but also cloaks the files in hidden volumes. TrueCrypt functions by creating a virtual encrypted disk which appears as a real disk volume. Files can be encrypted on the fly when moved into this volume and decrypted when moved out.

This virtual TrueCrypt volume can be kept hidden thus making the files invisible. TrueCrypt can also encrypt an entire drive, partition or even an external storage device like a USB drive. As further evidence of its capabilities, TrueCrypt can also encrypt the Windows boot partition or the entire boot drive. Furthermore it has the ability to create and run a hidden encrypted operating system. With these advanced features, TrueCrypt has become a power user’s favorite tool.

And if all this sounds too arcane, don’t worry…TrueCrypt provides a wizard based setup for the inexperienced user.TrueCrypt is available for Windows Vista/XP, Mac OS X, and Linux fromhere.

You may also want to read Mark’s earlier review on Truecrypt as well as his how-to on how to encrypt your USB stick with Truecrypt.

An Important Footnote:

The software have been tried out on WinXp. Full functionality on Vista is not assumed.
As a precaution initially try out the software’ on dummy files and folders to check for inconsistencies.
Remember to remember the passwords.

Are you Sure your Email isn’t being Hacked?

2008-12-20T03:27:00.001-08:00

In the interests of full disclosure, I didn’t come up with this idea. I read about it in a computer magazine a year or two back but of course when I wanted to refer to it for this article, I couldn’t find it! But someone on Digg eventually managed to find it so here is the original article if you want to see it.

As email providers give away more and more storage space, more and more personal information is being stored in those accounts. People are increasingly using their email accounts for more than just email - it has become their online document storage area with backup documents such as passwords, bank account numbers, account usernames, scans of correspondence and much more. Even if you don’t use your email for this purpose, you may still be inadvertantly revealing personal information in general conversation emails to family and close friends. A 6GB Gmail account or an unlimited space Yahoo account is potentially an information bonanza source for identity thieves who manage to figure out your email password and then go snooping.

But if someone HAS cracked your email password, it may not be apparent to you. A snooper can easily read an email then mark it as unread again. So the best thing to do would be to set up an “electronic tripwire” so if someone breaks into your account, you’ll know about it.

Here’s how to do it :

www.onestatfree.com

2. You will then receive a welcome email from OneStat with a text attachment calledOneStatScript.txt. Download this attachment to your computer and then delete the email (you don’t want any email snoopers finding it later). But before deleting the email, write down your OneStat account number as you will need it later.

3. Change the name of the text document to something that will make the email snooper salivate such as passwordlist. Also change the file format from a text document to a website page. So make it something like passwordlist.htm .

4. Email this newly-renamed file as an attachment to the email account you want to monitor. Make sure the email subject title also lures the snooper in (maybe something likeList of Passwords. You get the idea :).

5. The trap is now set. Basically if someone opens the email and opens the attachment, OneStat will record a hit. If you then log into your OneStat account say once a day, you will see how many hits you have had to your attachment.

The OneStat account page then gives you details on each “visitor” including the date and time they accessed the web document and more importantly their location and IP address!

So how does having this information help you? Well first of all, it will alert you to change your password to something stronger. Secondly, if you see the snooper’s location and you only know one or two people there then it narrows down your list of potential suspects.

By the way, I recommended signing up for One Stat because the author of the original idea mentioned them. But if you know of any other hit counter services that send text documents to your email address, then please mention them in the comments. I don’t have any financial advantage recommending One Stat so I am perfectly happy to consider alternative companies.

Review: Reliance Net Connect USB modem

2008-12-20T03:24:00.000-08:00

I had recently taken an Reliance USB data modem as a secondary connection to connect to the net wirelessly when I am traveling and below are my views regarding the same.

I had purchase the Huawei EC325 USB data modem model for Rs 2,850 they have an current offer in which the first 2 months of usage is free and the dealer said that form the third month the billing will start with a default plan on Rs 650/month for I GB of data, and I could choose any other data plan that I wish, the reason I choose the USB modem model over the PC PCMCIA is that I can connect this USB modem even to my standard desktop if needed.

The modem is based on the CDMAx1 technology that Reliance phones also use, Reliance names this data service as Reliance Netconnect and the max theoretical speeds that this modem is capable of is 153kbps, but expect a peak speed of around 110 – 115 kbps (about 14 -15 KB/sec) and on an average the speed hovers around 45 – 65 kbps in terms of the experience it is like on a good dialup connection, so forget about streaming videos or VOIP calls, but general browsing and checking emails is pretty functionally. I was able to browse sites comfortably even in a moving car, do note that the speed depends a lot on the network signal, if the signal (max of 5 which you can know via the connection software) is below 3 bars then the browsing experience is pathetic also at certain times of the day during peak hours the speed is slow due to network congestion, the other good thing about Reliance Netconnect is that there are no roaming charges for connecting to the net within the country, so you get charged the same amount irrespective of the city you access the net.

Why did I choose Reliance Netconnect?

You must be thinking why I chose to select this old CDMAx1 technology that support a max speed of around 115kpbs when there are technologies like EVDO based on the newer CDMA that support wireless speeds upto 2.4 Mbps and 3G based on GSM are just around the corner.

You are right the EVDO networks have already been started by BSNL in some states and in a couple of months 3G networks are also going to start by all the leading mobile providers, but the problem with these will be there coverage, initially these technologies will be limited to metros and big cities and it will take at least 1 – 2 years for these technologies to be available in all the small states and town and till then the Reliance existing CDMAx1 network has the edge in the connectivity area, again as I won’t be using this as my primary internet connection as I had a 2 Mbps Airtel DSL broadband connection for my daily usage and I just needed a connection that is country wide while I am travelling.

Installation

I installed the USB modem on my HCL Mileap UMPC running Vista Home edition and it installed without any issues, the software used to connect is pretty stable and has good functionality it works equally well on Windows XP, This USB modem also supports making voice calls / SMS apart from data connectivity which can be done via software, as this device does not have any external power source it draws the power it needs from the USB port of the laptop / desktop, In my testing I found that my UMPC battery gave about 20% less backup time while I was connected to the net via this USB modem.

The dealer also said it would also work with Linux / Mac, do note that reliance provides a couple of models and some old ones do not support Vista.

I will be traveling a lot in the next couple of weeks to various towns and cities and will update this story with my experience, as of now with this USB data card and my Mileap UMPC I finally have a true mobile computing experience with wireless internet connected across the country!