Most of the app data on your Android is probably synced online will automatically sync to a new phone or tablet. However, your Google Authenticator credentials won’t — they aren’t synchronized for obvious security reasons.

If you’re doing a factory reset, getting a new phone, or just want to copy your credentials to second device, these steps will help you move your authenticator data over so you won’t lose your access codes.

Move to a Different Phone

Google now allows you to move your credentials to a different phone. Access the 2-step verification page, click the Move to a different phone link, and scan the QR code or enter your credentials into a new phone. Your old authentication app will stop working.

Other services that use Google Authenticator may not offer this feature, so you may need to disable and re-enable your account or extract your codes instead. One of the processes below will also allow you to enable Google Authenticator on multiple devices – such as your phone and your tablet – although Google claims not to support this.

Disable & Re-enable Two-Step Authentication

If you’re performing a factory reset and don’t want to rely on your printed security codes or SMS verification, you may want to disable two-step authentication ahead of time. To do so, click the Remove link on the 2-step verification page. This temporarily disables two-factor authentication.

Perform the factory reset and then add an authentication app again from this page. When you reach the stage where you’re given a QR code and a code you can manually type, re-enter it into your phone. If you want to enable Google Authenticator on multiple devices, enter the code into multiple devices before closing this window.

While you could write down the code displayed here and keep it in a safe place, that isn’t necessarily a good idea – anyone who found it would be able to enter it into their own phone and see your time-based authentication codes.

Back Up & Restore Your Google Authenticator Data [Root Only]

If your Android is rooted, you can use Titanium Backup, which we’ve written about before, to take a backup of your Google Authenticator app data. For security reasons, it’s not normally possible for another app to read this data – that’s why root access is required.

Locate Authenticator under the Backup/Restore tab and use the backup option to back up its data. Copy the backup data from the TitaniumBackup folder on your device to your computer. You can then copy it to your new device and restore it later.

Note that this may not work with devices running different versions of the Android operating system, but it’s perfect for restoring after a factory reset.

Manually Extract Your Credentials [Root Only]

If you have root access to your device, you can actually extract the credentials manually, although it’s more work than just using Titanium Backup.

adb will need root access for you to do this – if you’re using a custom ROM, you may already have an adb with root access. If you’re using a stock ROM, you’ll need something like adbd Insecure to do this. You can download adb Insecure from Google Play or for free on the XDA Developers forums. Use the app to put adbd in insecure mode.

Note: If you have root access, you can also grab the databases file from /data/data/com.google.android.apps.authenticator2/databases/databases using a root file explorer and copy it to your computer

Once adb is in insecure mode, you can connect your Android device to your computer and use the adb command (setup instructions here) to grab the Google Authenticator databases file and copy it to your computer:

adb pull /data/data/com.google.android.apps.authenticator2/databases/databases

You can then use an sqlite editor to open the file and view its contents. If you’re using the command-line sqlite3 program, use the following commands:

sqlite3 ./databases

select * from accounts;

You’ll see your Google Authenticator keys, which you can now re-add to another device.

Luckily, Google no longer resets your application-specific passwords – even if you disable and re-enable Google Authenticator, your application-specific passwords will remain valid.

It was the final unanswered question about Windows 7. But now, thanks to numerous reader reports, my own hands-on experience, and a briefing with the team at Microsoft responsible for this technology, I think we have some answers. Sadly, Microsoft is still making it difficult to clean install Windows 7 with Upgrade media, as it did with Windows Vista. But fear not, there is some good news. While you can’t simply use Upgrade media to do a clean install of Windows 7 on a new or previously formatted PC, the workarounds this time are easier than ever. And that’s what this article is all about: Revealing the secrets to clean-installing Windows 7 with Upgrade media.

Remember how this used to work? In older versions of Windows, Microsoft would actually prompt you to insert an install floppy or CD from a previous Windows version, to prove that you qualified for the upgrade version. But beginning with Windows XP, PC makers were able to dramatically change the Windows install disc, so much so that, in some cases, those discs weren’t even identifiable as valid install media to Windows Setup. Clearly a different system was required.

In Windows Vista, Microsoft supported in-place upgrades from Windows XP, but if you wanted to use an Upgrade version of the Windows Vista Setup disc to do a clean install, you had to perform a weird double install trick. (I documented this process in How to Clean Install Windows Vista with Upgrade Media.)

When it comes to performing a clean install of Windows 7 using Upgrade media, there’s no simple answer. For some people, it just works, and I’ll provide information here so you can help ensure it just works for you, every time.

Let’s Be Clear About What We’re Doing Here

First up, let’s define what it is I’m describing. For purposes of this discussion, a cleaninstall–or what Microsoft calls a custom install–is when you boot your PC with Windows 7 Setup media (typically a Setup DVD, but with this version it could also be a specially created, bootable USB memory device containing the Setup bits) with the intention of installing just Windows 7 on the PC. There could be a previous version of Windows (XP or Vista) installed on the PC already. You will either install Windows 7 to a separate partition or will wipe out the previous Windows version during Setup. If it’s the latter, please–please–be sure to backup all your data first. Please.

A clean install with Upgrade media is just what it sounds like: You will perform a clean install of Windows 7 using an Upgrade version of Windows 7, instead of the so-called (and more expensive) “Full” version. Upgrade versions of Windows 7 are far more common than Full versions, both because they are less expensive and because Microsoft offered (and in some cases is still offering) exceptionally cheap pricing on Upgrade media.

Note: One such special offer, the Windows 7 Family Pack, consists of 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade media Setup discs and a single product key which can be used to activate three copies of the OS on three different PCs. The Family Pack costs $150, or just $30 more than a single copy of Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade. It’s kind of a no-brainer. But rememeber what you’re getting there: The Family Pack comes with Upgrade, not Full, product keys.

But here’s the paradox. While anyone with a valid, licensed copy of Windows XP or Vista qualifies for any Upgrade version of Windows 7–and by the way, that’s pretty much every single PC user on earth–only Vista users can do an in-place upgrade, which is the install type for which Upgrade media is optimized. If you’re an XP user, there’s no way to do an in-place upgrade. So you have to perform a migration, which consists of three steps:

1. Backup your crucial data and settings using Windows Easy Transfer (it’s on the Windows 7 Setup DVD) and make note of the applications that are installed, because you’ll have to manually reinstall them again after the fact.

2. Perform a clean install of Windows 7 using the Upgrade media. I describe this process in this article.

3. Restore your crucial data and settings using Windows Easy Transfer (part of Windows 7) and then reinstall your applications.

Put simply, there are millions of people out there who will be performing clean installs with Upgrade media. Many people have experienced issues with Windows 7 upgrades, especially those trying to do clean installs with Upgrade media, but if you follow the advice in this article, you will get up and running. You will get a legally activated, legitimate version of Windows 7 installed on your PC.

Is this process bulletproof? I’m not sure yet, but I think so. In any event, here’s a checklist of things to try, in order from least painful to most painful. One of these methods will work for you.

Note: In all of these methods, you should observe one simple rule. Do not enter your product key during Setup. Instead, you will attempt to activate Windows 7 manually after it is installed. So you can just enter your product key later.

Understanding the Secrets of Clean-Installing with Upgrade Media

Before we get started, here are some general guidelines to help you understand what will and won’t work during Setup with Upgrade media. These tips and tricks represent the bulk of the information we didn’t have before Microsoft shipped Windows 7 to millions of people in October 2009. Each of these was confirmed by the team at Microsoft that created the Windows 7 Setup technology.

• If you have a previous version of Windows (XP or Vista), try launching Windows 7 Setup from that OS first, even if you want to wipe out the previous Windows verison. If you run Windows 7 Setup from your previous OS, Windows 7 will always activate.
• If you boot your PC with the Windows 7 Setup DVD, as described below, and there is an existing install of Windows on the first partition, Windows 7 will always activate. If the existing install of Windows is on some other partition, Windows 7 should still activate. There are instances in which this won’t work–especially when people really muck around with directory structures and so on, but it should activate.
• Windows 7 Setup does its compliance checking before the phase of Setup where you format the disc. (Unlike with Windows Vista.) This means that you can format your existing hard drive, and blow away a previous Windows version, and not worry about activation. If it was there, Windows 7 will still activate.
• Recovery partitions don’t count. While Windows 7 Setup will look for previous installations of Windows, it will not look for recovery partitions or use them for compliance checking.
• While I provide two workarounds for Windows 7 installs that will not activate, Microsoft’s preference is that you simply call Microsoft Support instead. The call is free, and they will get you up and running (i.e. activated) very quickly.

Method #1: Boot with the Upgrade Setup Media

Many, many readers report that they have been able to simply treat the Windows 7 Upgrade media as if it were Full media, and that it just works. And you know what? It doesn’t hurt to simply try this method, because if it doesn’t work, you can then try methods 2 and then 3, in order, afterwards. There is no downside to trying this.

Here’s what you do. Insert the Windows 7 Upgrade DVD in your PC’s optical disc, reboot the computer, boot off the DVD, and then follow the steps to install Windows 7. If you are installing onto a computer that already has another version of Windows, be sure to back everything up first.

After Windows 7 is set up, and you’ve booted into the desktop, run Windows Update, download any pending updates, reboot as needed, and repeat until there are no more updates. Then, type activate in Start Menu Search to bring up the Activate Windows utility. Type in your product key and attempt to activate Windows.

If it works, you’re all set. You’re done. Congratulations.

Here’s what you do want to see.

If this does not work, either call Microsoft Support and have them provide you with an activation code, or move on to method 2.

Here’s what you don’t want to see. But don’t worry, we can overcome this.

Method #2: Registry Hack

Note: This workaround is not supported by Microsoft but my understanding is that it has a 100 percent success rate. If you are nervous that performing this workaround will lead to later complications–unlikely, but not impossible–please use Method #3, below, instead. Method #3 is supported by Microsoft.

Open regedit.exe with Start Menu Search and navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Setup/OOBE/

Change MediaBootInstall from “1″ to “0″. (Double-click it and then enter 0 in the dialog that appears.)

Close RegEdit.

Open the Start Menu again and type cmd in Start Menu search to display a shortcut to the Command Line utility. Right-click this shortcut and choose “Run as administrator.” Handle the UAC prompt.

In the command line window, type: slmgr /rearm

Then tap ENTER and wait for the “Command completed successfully” dialog.

Then, close the command line window and reboot. When Windows 7 reboots, run the Activate Windows utility, type in your product key and activate windows.

If it works, you’re all set. You’re done. Congratulations.

If this does not work, you can try two different things:

First, ensure there are no pending Windows Updates to install. In my experience, some of these can cause this method to fail. Install them and reboot PC. Re-run the command line (with administrative privileges) noted above, reboot again, and re-attempt the activation.

If that does not work, try Method #3.

Method #3: The Good Old “Double Install” Method

If the above two methods fail, you can always fall back on the old “double install” method that I previously documented for Windows Vista. This workaround is fully supported by Microsoft. There’s already a whole article dedicated to this topic, but here’s the short version since you’ve already done the initial install:

1. Insert the Windows 7 Setup DVD in the optical drive if it isn’t already there and choose Run Setup from the auto-run dialog that appears. Or, if it is already inserted, navigate to the optical drive in Computer and double-click is icon to trigger Setup.

2. At the appropriate stage of Setup, choose Upgrade (and not Custom). Windows 7 will install as before, though you might notice that it takes quite a bit longer this time. Because you’re upgrading this time, you won’t be prompted to enter your user name or most of the other information that you need to provide during a clean install. Using the user name (and password) you created during the first install, logon to Windows 7.

Now, activation will work. To activate Windows 7 immediately, type activate in Start Menu Search. This brings up the Activate Windows utility. Type in your product key and attempt to activate Windows.

Final Thoughts

The methods described above will work for just about anyone and at least two of these methods are supported by Microsoft, if you’re a valid, licensed owner of a previous Windows version. (Which is, of course, the assumption.) And remember that you can also take advantage of Microsoft’s free support line if you need or want to activate otherwise. However you do it, these tips, tricks, and workarounds should get you up and running in Windows 7 legally, safely, and easily. My only regret is that it took so long to get this information out to you. Hopefully, with the next Windows version, the Upgrade process will be more well known before the product launches.

Below are instructions for unplugging Java from whatever Web browser you may use to surf the Web. These instructions were originally posted as a how-to in response to this piece: Attackers Pounce on Zero-Day Java Exploit.

For Windows users:

Mozilla Firefox: From the main menu select Add-ons, and then disable any plugins with the word “Java” in them. Restart the browser.

Google Chrome: Click the wrench icon in the upper right corner of the browser window, then select Settings. In the search results box to the right in the next screen, type “Java”. A box labeled “Content settings” should be highlighted. Click that, and then scroll down to the Plug-ins section. Click the “Disable individual plug-ins” link, find Java in the list, and click the disable link next to it.

Internet Explorer:

Apparently, getting Java unplugged from Internet Explorer is not straightforward. The U.S. Computer Emergency Response Team (USCERT) lists the following steps, which may or may not completely remove Java from IE:

In the Windows Control panel, open the Java item. Select the “Java” tab and click the “View” button. Uncheck “enabled” for any JRE version listed. Note that this method may not work on Vista or newer systems. As an alternative, you may use one of the following techniques:

Click the start key and type “regedit” in the search box. Double-click the regedit program file when it appears.

- Change the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\Java Plug-in\\UseJava2IExplorer registry value to 0, where is any version of Java on your system. 10.6.2, for example.

If you are running a 32-bit version of Java on a 64-bit platform, you should set the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\JavaSoft\Java Plug-in\\UseJava2IExplorer registry value to 0.

- Run javacpl.exe as administrator, click the “Advanced” tab, select “Microsoft Internet Explorer” in the “Default Java for browsers” section, and press the space bar to uncheck it. This will properly set the above registry value, despite the option being greyed out.

US-CERT has some additional suggestions for removing Java from IE if the above steps do not do the trick. See their advisory for more details.

For Mac users:

Safari: Click Preferences, and then the Security tab (uncheck “Enable Java”).

Google Chrome: Open Preferences, and then type “Java” in the search box. Scroll down to the Plug-ins section, and click the link that says “Disable individual plug-ins.” If you have Java installed, you should see a “disable” link underneath its listing.

Firefox: Click Tools, Add-ons, and disable the Java plugin(s).

Internet Explorer-haters often say that the only good use for Internet Explorer is downloading Firefox or Chrome. But if you really don’t like IE, you can use Windows’ built-in FTP support to download and install Firefox without ever opening IE.

Sure, you could just open Internet Explorer and download Firefox from Mozilla’s website, but where’s the geeky fun in that? This trick is about Firefox because Mozilla provides an FTP server, while Google doesn’t seem to.

Downloading Firefox without using Internet Explorer may also come in handy if Internet Explorer is crashing and isn’t working properly on your system.

Graphical Method with Windows Explorer

To access Mozilla’s FTP server in Windows Explorer, type ftp://ftp.mozilla.org into Windows Explorer’s address bar and press Enter.

Navigate to the following folder:

pub/firefox/releases/latest/win32/en-US/

You can also just enter the following address in Windows Explorer to go directly to the appropriate folder on Mozilla’s FTP server:

ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/latest/win32/en-US/

Now copy the Firefox Setup .exe file to your computer. You can drag and drop it, use the Copy To Folder option in its right-click menu, or do a Copy and Paste.

Windows Explorer will download the Firefox installer to your computer, no IE involved.

You can then launch the Firefox Setup application to install Firefox.

Command-Line Method with Command Prompt

If the above trick wasn’t geeky enough for you, you can also download Firefox using the ftp utility in the Windows Command Prompt.

Launch a Command Prompt window from the Start menu and type the following command to connect to Mozilla’s FTP server:

ftp ftp.mozilla.org

Type anonymous at the login prompt, then leave the password field blank and press Enter.

Use the following command to change to the directory containing the latest release of Firefox:

cd pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/latest/win32/en-US

Then, run the following command to see a list of the files in the directory:

ls

Use the get command to download the latest Firefox installer to your hard drive:

get “Firefox Setup 15.0.1.exe”

Replace the file name in the above command with the name of the current version – this is displayed beneath the ls command.

The downloaded Firefox Setup .exe file will appear in your user folder at C:\Users\NAME.

You can also use Windows Explorer and the ftp command to connect to other FTP servers you have access to. If you have upload access to an FTP server, you can use these tools to upload files – you don’t necessarily need a third-party FTP program.

NASA is particularly precise when it comes to splicing wires; there’s a lot at stake when you’re sending people into space. Learn how to splice NASA style by checking out their guidelines for splicing wires of all shapes and sizes.

Over at MAKE Magazine there was a debate over the the proper way to splice a line for maximum connectivity and strength. The debate was settled when someone trotted out the NASA standards for line splicing and cable connections. You can check out the full Standards Guide at the link below.

NASA-STD 8739.4 – Crimping, Interconnecting Cables, Harnesses, and Wiring [via MAKE]

Did you know that WordPress for Android runs on both phones and tablets? Sometimes a little extra screen space can help you draft that longer blog post. If you have a Samsung Galaxy Tab, Motorola Xoom, or another Android tablet you’ll find the WordPress app in the Android Market.

Now for the Nook Color/Tablet and Kindle Fire, too!

We’re happy to announce that WordPress for Android is now available for the Nook Color/Tablet and Kindle Fire. The 7″ screen on these tablets make an excellent home for the all-new Dashboard UI that we added inWordPress for Android 2.0.

We paid special attention to the post editor on theses devices, enhancing the layout to make it super simple to edit your post content in either landscape or portrait orientation. You’ll find everything there that you’d want in a WordPress app, including support for editing post content, adding media, viewing your stats, comment notifications, and more.

The app is available today in the Amazon Appstore and Nook Store.

If you tried to print, but the job just got stuck in the queue without being able to cancel it, you’re experiencing a stuck print job. There’s a simple way to clear out the print queue, but it’s not always the most obvious thing. Here’s how to do it.

Note: we encountered this problem earlier today but forgot to take a screenshot of the print queue with a stuck job, so we substituted with a picture of a regular job sitting in the queue.

Clearing a Stuck Print Job in Windows

The first thing you’re going to want to do is open up Services through the start menu search, find Print Spooler in the list, and click the Stop button.

Now open up Windows Explorer and put this into the location bar:

%windir%\System32\spool\PRINTERS

You might be prompted for UAC to allow access to the folder, which you’ll want to accept. Now you’ll see a bunch of files in the folder, and you’re going to want to delete all of them. Don’t delete the PRINTERS folder itself, just the files.

Now go back to Services and click the Start button to start up the service again.

At this point your stuck print job should be gone.

Earth | Time Lapse View from Space | Fly Over | Nasa, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.