ED's All About Computer

Free Virus Online Scanner

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:30:00 +0000

There are several online virus scanner that can be found on the internet. But ESET Online Scanner is my personal choice because it not just scan the files it also remove the virus. The other online scanner detects only the virus and after showing you the result you still need to figure out on how to remove it. Apart from that ESET Online Scanner is very easy to use. No installation required you just have to download the online scanner from their website. Run the scanner and place some tick marks on the "Computer scan settings". It is pretty straightforward and self explanatory. By default the "Remove found threats" is already selected and you are given a choice whether you want to scan the archives. After downloading the virus signature database it will start to scan your computer and then after that it will show you the result.

Having an anti-virus installed on our computer does not guarantee that our computer will not be infected anymore. Sometimes we need to get a second opinion just to be sure that there is no infection that is able get through our system. I just want to remind you that online scanner is not intended to replace the anti-virus on your computer because it does not have a real time protection.

Free Firewall

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 19:10:00 +0000

If you are looking for a good free firewall perhaps you might want to check "Comodo Firewall". I stumbled upon this firewall when I was searching in Google for a free personal firewall to replace the built-in of Windows 7.

I just want to remind you that it is not advisable to have two firewalls running on one machine so you need to turn off the built-in windows firewall if you would like to replace it with another one.

The installer size is about 81 MB. Inside the installer it includes the Firewall, Comodo Dragon and Geekbuddy. Comodo Dragon is Comodo's version of web browser similar to that of Firefox. Geekbuddy is the connection to Comodo's tech support and this is not free. During the installation procedure you may exclude Comodo Dragon or Geekbuddy if you do not want it.

The configuration is very easy you do not have to have an advance knowledge to figure out on how to set it up. To get the best security you just change these settings or leave the default:

1. On the "Summary" tab -> "Firewall" leave the default setting to "Safe Mode"
2. On the "Summary" tab -> "Defense+" leave the default setting to "Safe Mode"
3. On the "Firewall" tab -> "Stealth Ports Wizards" click "Block all incoming connections and make my ports stealth for everyone." This feature makes all the ports of your computer to be invisible from the internet.
4. If you have a web, email, FTP, or VPN server you need to change the default setting of "Firewall Behavior Settings" -> "Advanced" by putting a tick mark on all the options under it. This feature protects your computer against the common types of Denial of Service (DoS) attack.

To test your firewall you can use any of these websites:

1. http://www.pcflank.com/

2. http://www.hackerwatch.org/probe/

Don't Do This To Your Printer

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 17:51:00 +0000

It is an ordinary busy day for the I.T. team when somebody came in carrying a laserjet printer. It is a newly deployed printer so we are wondering why they brought it to our department. When we open the input tray everybody is surprised to see. “How did it get there?” An earphone got stuck inside the printer. The common printer issues that are brought to our attentions are paper jam or defective gear. This is the first time that we saw an earphone inside the printer. It took some time to remove the covers until finally the earphone is completely removed from the printer.

The employee who is using that printer just placed the earphone on his table unknowingly that the other end is laid down on the input tray. Until the time came that he used the printer not knowing that he is not only printing a document on a piece of paper but together with his earphone.

A few days later the same printer is brought in again and yes…your guess is right. The same earphone is stuck again inside. This may sound funny but if we are going to look at it in a different perspective this is a good example of negligence. We have to be responsible enough to look after the property that is assigned to us. Treat it as if we are the one who actually paid for it.

Free DNS

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:15:00 +0000

Would you like to have an alternative DNS other than what your ISP is providing? DNS plays a crucial role in the internet because it translates the IP addresses into a friendly and easy to memorize names. On June 22, 2010 I published an article about the DNS and what it does.

Below are just some of the well known free DNS services and their IP addresses:

1. Google Public DNS
    8.8.8.8
    8.8.4.4

2. Norton DNS
    A. 198.153.192.40
       198.153.194.40

    B. 198.153.192.50
       198.153.194.50

    C. 198.153.192.60
       198.153.194.60

3. OpenDNS
    208.67.222.222
    208.67.220.220

Each one of them has their own DNS IP addresses that you will need to configure on your computer or router. All of them has these features like internet security, web filtering, phishing protection, malware protection and other related securities. They are also claiming that it will make your browsing much faster if you will use their DNS.

First, you need to choose among the three which you preferred more because you cannot use all those IP addresses above at the same time.

To change the DNS on your computer:

Click on the Windows logo
Click Control Panel
Click on Network and Sharing Center
Click Change Adapter Settings
Right click on either Local Area Connection or Wireless Network Connection depending on how you connect to the internet.
Click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IP)
On the Preferred DNS Server and Alternate DNS Server type the two sets of IP addresses that you have chosen from the list above.

To change the DNS on your router:

Changing the DNS on your router varies depending on the brand. However, the most common way of changing the DNS is by going to the WAN. OpenDNS has prepared an instruction on various brands of routers. You will find the instruction on this link https://store.opendns.com/setup/router/.

How To Find Out Who's Connected To Your Computer

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 21:35:00 +0000

Would you like to know if somebody is connected to your computer? There is a dos command called "netstat" that can help you find that out. Before you do it be sure you close your browser, email client, chat, or any software that connects to the internet. Here's how to do it:

Go to run and type cmd
The command prompt will open, type "netstat -ano" (without the quotation) . You may also use "netstat -ano 10" so that it continuously refresh the screen every ten seconds. To close it just press CTRL + C.
Look closely for those that has an "established" state. If you see something that is connected despite that you already closed the programs that connect to the internet chance is somebody is snooping on your computer. Take note of the PID of that program.
To stop that programs open the Task Manager by pressing CTRL + ALT + DEL simultaneously on your keyboard.
Click the "Process" tab. If you do not see the PID you may click "View" and click "Select Columns" click on PID (Process Identifier) and click OK.
Look for the PID of the program you just found from the command prompt. Click on that program and click "End Process".

Alternatively, you may use CurrPorts from Nirsoft to monitor the list of all currently opened TCP/IP and UDP ports on your computer.

Gimp an Alternative to Photoshop

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:56:00 +0000

Have you heard of Gimp? Some people may not have heard of it yet. However, if you are asked about Photoshop the response will be definitely “yes” especially for those people who are into graphics design.

Photoshop is a well known graphics editing program in the graphics industry. It is widely use by graphics designers worldwide. But, did you know that there is another software that is comparable to Photoshop called Gimp? Gimp is an open source graphics editing program that is capable of what Photoshop can do. You can edit photos, render some effects and save your file in the standard graphics format such as .BMP, .JPG, .PNG, .TIF or .XCF its native format. Furthermore, Gimp is capable of creating animated images in .GIF and .MPEG format.

For those people who are into graphics design Gimp is worth to try. It is tailored to run on different platforms such as windows, linux and mac. Since this is an open source software it can be freely downloaded from its website which you can find at www.gimp.org .

How To Edit Startup

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:21:00 +0000

You'll find the startup in the System Configuration. When you turn on your computer, windows is loading some programs that you installed on your computer. However, not all of those programs are necessary when it is starting up. Thus, it takes some time before you see your desktop. You can choose the necessary programs by editing the startup. Disabling the unnecessary programs doesn't mean that you won't be able to use it anymore. Here's how to edit the start up:

Open the command prompt (this is the black screen) type msconfig.
When the System Configuration window comes out. Click the Startup tab.
You can now start unchecking the unnecessary programs.
Click Apply and Ok.
You'll need to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

If this is the first time that you are going to edit the startup it's better to make a research first on the internet about the programs installed on your computer. Usually what is needed on the startup are windows operating system, anti virus, anti spyware and firewall (if you're not using the windows built in firewall). There are some hardware drivers that may also be needed on the startup like a pointing device and finger print scanner. Usually yahoo messenger, skype, real player and adobe may not be necessary at start up unless you want it readily available on the system tray when you turn on your computer. Leaving only those programs required at startup will help your computer speed up the loading of windows.

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How To Share A File On The Internet

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 11:34:00 +0000

There are times that we'd like to collaborate with other colleagues from a remote location or on the other part of the globe on a single file. Google docs has the solution for that. You can share excel files, word documents, powerpoint presentations, drawings and forms. The screen shot above is an example on how to share an excel file on the internet. Here's how to do it:

Open your Gmail account and click Documents.
Google docs will open up, click Upload.
Click Start Upload.
Once you're done uploading your file, click the file that you'd like to share.
Click the Share drop down list (you'll find this on the upper right of your screen) and click Share.
The Share Settings will come out. Choose the permission you'd like to apply by clicking Change. Type the email address that you'd like to share with your file. Once you're done you may click Share and Save.
Your colleagues will receive an email and all they have to do is click the link to open the shared file.

USB System Lock

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 08:53:00 +0000

If you're not satisfied with the securities provided by Windows perhaps you might be interested on this software called USB System Lock. This is an open source application which can be downloaded for free. The installer is very small with a size of less than 1 MB.

The installation procedure is straightforward and takes only about a couple of minutes. During the installation you will need to insert the flash drive that you are going to use to open your computer. It then transfer the key to the flash drive. If you re-start your computer Windows is going to ask for your Windows password (as usual) and after that the USB System Lock will look for the key on the registered flash drive. If you don't have the right key it will display a message to insert the right key. You won't be able to use your computer until you insert the right key.

The way this software works is very much like the key to the door lock. You just have to be extra careful not to lose your flash drive otherwise you might end up re-installing your operating system. However, it has this feature wherein you can create a duplicate key on another flash drive. It's a good idea to have a duplicate key. Just keep it in a safe place.

There is one thing I notice about this software and that is it conflicts with the USB dongle modem.

Virtual PC Vs. Virtual Box

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 03:58:00 +0000

If you're just testing some settings before you actually do it on a real machine or you simply want to save some money instead of buying a real machine perhaps you it's worth checking these two interesting pieces of software - Virtual PC and Virtual Box. Let's talk about their features one by one.

Installer Size- Virtual Box has a much bigger installer size about double the size of Virtual PC.
Creating of Virtual Machine - Both of them has almost exactly the same way of creating virtual machines. Although you won't find the exact instructions with the other but the process of creating virtual machine is the same with one another. You can also install the Operating System either through a CD/DVD or through an "iso" file saved on another storage medium.
Memory - The default value varies depending on the Operating System you are going to install. Although you can adjust the value depending on your requirements.
Networking - When it comes to setting the network adapter for your virtual network, Virtual PC is much easier compared to Virtual Box once you're done you will be able to see the entire network right away. However, it will take a little more time trouble shooting your virtual network on Virtual Box.
Switching - When it comes to switching from one machine to another Virtual Box has a bit shorter way you just have to press the right CTRL key. However, on Virtual PC you need to press right ALT + Left Arrow or Right Arrow keys.
Shared folder - On Virtual PC the shared folder will be available only after you install the Virtual Machine Additions. On Virtual Box it's readily available.
Language - On Virtual Box there is an option there where the user can change the default language on the other hand on Virtual PC the instructions is written only in English.
Graphical User Interface - The users will definitely like more the GUI of Virtual Box than Virtual PC.

One good thing about this virtual software is, if you don't need the virtual machine anymore you can simply delete it - no uninstallation needed. The only disadvantage is it requires more memory. Don't be surprise if your PC slows down when you run the virtual machines.

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10 Most Useful Add-Ons for Thunderbird

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Sat, 07 May 2011 19:40:00 +0000

There are a lot of add-ons available for Thunderbird however these are just some of the add-ons which you will find extremely useful.

Lightning - This is an integrated calendar for Thunderbird which can help you manage your daily schedule.
Image Zoom - If you have a big or small picture Image Zoom can help you zoom it in or out.
Mouse Gestures Redox - Allows you to execute common commands (like page forward/backward, close tab, new tab) by mouse gestures drawn over the current webpage, without reaching for the toolbar or the keyboard.
Contacts Sidebar - It displays the address books in a sidebar.
Spamato4Thunderbird - If you are looking for an effective client-side anti-spam solution for your desktop, than have a stab at Spamato! In contrast to Thunderbird's built-in Bayesian-based filter, we combine several filter techniques to get the best of all.
Enigmail - It enables you to write and receive email messages signed and/or encrypted with the OpenPGP standard.
Wise Stamp - It makes the creation of signature easier.
Thunder Browse - If you received a link from an email you don't have to open your browser anymore because you can now view it within Thunderbird.
MozBackup - Utility software for creating backup of Thunderbird, Firefox, Mozilla Suites and Netscape
Auto Zip Attachments - It allows you to easily compress (zip) attachments.

To install the add-ons simply click Tools, click Install and look for the add-on you downloaded.

Real-time Scanning for Clamwin Anti Virus

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 22:32:00 +0000

I found some queries on the internet on how to activate the real-time protection for Clamwin AV. I guess most of the people admiring open source apps are aware that Clamwin AV doesn't have a real-time protection. You need to manually scan a file before opening it. However, with the help of Clam Sentinel it fills up of what is lacking with Clamwin AV.

Disable Autorun

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 08:01:00 +0000

Malwares may be acquired in many ways and one of them is through the ""autorun.inf"" file. Autorun automatically launch an application through memory stick, cd or even diskettes once you insert it up.

There are two ways of disabling autorun. First is through the manual way through the regedit. This site will show you how http://antivirus.about.com/od/securitytips/ht/autorun.htm . Second is through the help of an anti virus software. There are other anti viruses out there that help prevent the spread of malwares through the autorun and one of them is Panda USB Vaccine. It doesn't matter how you do it as long it keeps your computer free from malwares.

Just be reminded before you do any changes on the registry (if you're doing it the manual way) to backup it up first. If you're uncertain of what you're doing chances are your windows might not run properly.

How to stop a spying program

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 07:17:00 +0000

If you're suspecting that there is some sort of spying program installed on your computer that monitors your activities you can try this procedure.

1. Right click on your desktop

2. Click New

3. Click Text Document

4. On the notepad text document, type anything but don't save it

5. Restart your computer

6. It is at this point where almost all the applications running on the system tray will be closed. When your computer asks you whether you want to save your notepad text document click cancel and the computer will not continue in restarting.

7. You will notice that most of the softwares running on your system tray are gone including the anti virus.

8. Since it is not advisable to use the computer without anti virus you can click on your anti virus to make it active again.

This method is not the ultimate solution on countering the spying programs on the computer,however this can be a deterrent for the time being. This is going to be useful if you're not authorized to install any software on the computer and you do not want your activities to be monitored.

Telnet

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 04:41:00 +0000

Did you know that there is another way of checking the email with the use of DOS command? This procedure will work only on Windows, Mac and Linux has also their own way.

Here's how to do it:

1. Click Start
2. Click Run
3. Type cmd
4. At the command prompt, type telnet myemailprovider.com 110 (where myemailprovider is your email provider)
5. Type USER yourusername (you will see what you type or not, and "yourusername" is your email account which comes just before the @ e.g. john@myemail.com)
6. Then type PASS your password (don't be surprised that you see your password as you type)
7. You will see a list of items with labels like "1 600" and "2 1122".
8. If you'd like to look at the message labeld 2 1122, type retr 2. Just type the email that you want to see by typing its number as you can see on my example which is 2.
9. If you want to delete message 1 600, type dele 1.
10. When you are done checking your email, simply type quit.

This procedure may be use to checking purposes and not to actually replace the way we check out email.

Thunderbird Vs. Outlook

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 06:16:00 +0000

This is a clash between an open source and a close source email clients. What are their strengths and weaknesses? Let us find out.

Thunderbird belongs to Mozilla family together with its big brother Firefox. Thunderbird, just like Firefox, is an open source and we can download it for free. Every now and then they release an updated version and we can as well get that update for free. Apart from that it has loads of add ons which we can also get for free though a few of them are just asking for a few bucks of donation. On the other side of the ring is Outlook, a close source email client from the Microsoft family. Outlook as part of Microsoft Office is designed for small and large scale organizations and you can get it for $$$. It works very well with Microsoft Exchange Server as it should be. It has some add ons however not all of them are free.

Thunderbird’s email files such as the inbox, sent items, draft, and so on are saved independently. If one file gets corrupted the other is not affected. On the other hand, Outlook stores its email in a single file. As you receive many email in a day it is getting bigger and bigger just like a huge bomb that may explode at anytime. Although you can compact your email but it does not help that much if you have a huge "outlook.pst" file already. The other solution for that is you can archive your old emails to extract it from the main email file called "outlook.pst" and store it in a separate archive file but its structure is the same as the main email file. Usually email corruption on Outlook happens if you close it while it is in the process of sending or receiving. Next time you open Outlook you will see a tiny gear on the lower right corner of your monitor. That tiny gear is indicating that Outlook is repairing your email because you did not close it properly. That is not an issue on Thunderbird.

Nowadays, one of the main concerns of the users is how well secured their emails are. Thunderbird has the capability of identifying junk email set by SpamAssasin and Spampal. It has a built in feature that analyzes email scam. Apart from that it can be setup to let the antivirus scan the incoming email before it stores them. While Outlook has its own way of identifying junk email you just have to set it up yourself. You can block by sender or by domain. All the antivirus works very well with Outlook hence that is not going to be an issue.

Let us move on to backing up of email. Thunderbird does not have a built in feature of backing up and restoring the email however there are two ways on how you can back it up. First, you can open its hidden folder and copy the profile where the emails, contacts and settings are. These are the same files that you will use in restoring manually. And secondly, you can download for free a third party software called MozBackup to make your backing up and restoring easier. Outlook has a built in import and export feature which can help you backup and restore your email and contacts a little bit easier. Alternatively, you can open the folder where Outlook is storing the "outlook.pst" and "archive.pst" (if you have archives) files to copy and paste it to your backup drive.

Perhaps the calendar is one of the features that is being looked into by most users when choosing an email client software. Thunderbird does not have a calendar bundled with its installer but you can download a free add on called Lightning. It is straight forward to use you will not have a hard time figuring out on how to use it. You can customize it and publish it on the internet. Outlook has a nice looking and more sophisticated calendar. You just have to give a little more time to yourself before you get familiar with it because it has many features.

To make our emails organize what we normally do is to create rules so that incoming emails go to their respective folder. Thunderbird has a straightforward of way creating rules. Outlook on the other hand has a bit longer procedure but it is not that difficult to learn.

When it comes to signature, Thunderbird has a quite difficult way of creating signature. You need to have a little knowledge on HTML. Alternatively, you can use a third party add on called Wise Stamp if you want a simpler way of creating signature. This gives a lead on Outlook because it is very easy creating signature. It is just like you are typing in MS Word.

There is one thing that makes Thunderbird stand out from the rest of email clients software and it is about portability and just like the standard version it is also free. Did you know that Thunderbird has a portable version which you can store in a flash drive or an external hard drive? You just have to insert the flash drive or external hard drive and you can use Thunderbird like the way you use the standard version. You can find it on this website http://portableapps.com/apps . Outlook has also came up with a portable version however it is not free.

Choosing an email client depends on what features the user is looking for. Usually in the corporate world they use Microsoft Exchange Server which gives an edge to Outlook because it is designed for that. If you are looking for a more stable email client that is where Thunderbird comes in because the email files are not susceptible to corruption. Backing up and restoring of email is one of the important criteria that should be considered when choosing an email client. Outlook has its own built in straight forward backup and restore feature. On the other hand Thunderbird with the help of MozBackup makes it possible to backup and restore the email with ease. When it comes to security both of them has their own way to safeguard the email.

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How to remotely view the MAC address

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 11:44:00 +0000

Would you like to remotely view the MAC address of the computers on your network? Here's how to do it:

1. Click Start / Windows Logo
2. On Run type cmd
3. Type GETMAC /S [system] (e.g. GETMAC /S computer10)

How to Syncronize MS Outlook Address Book with Black Berry

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 06:40:00 +0000

Connect the Black Berry via USB or Bluetooth, once connected run the Black Berry Desktop Manager and follow these procedures:
1. Click Syncronization

2. Select Microsoft Outlook

3. Click Two Way Sync

4. Select Outlook and click Next

5. Click Finish

6. Click Syncronize

7. Put a tick mark on "Syncronize organizer data" and click Syncronize button

Virtual Memory

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:28:00 +0000

Did you know that there is an alternative way of increasing the memory of your computer even if you don’t buy a memory stick? This is cost saving because you won't spend a single penny. Before you do this make sure that you have plenty of space on your hard drive because it will eat up a portion of its free space.

This is how to do it:

Windows Vista and 7:
1. Click Windows Logo
2. Click Settings
3. Control Panel
4. Click System and Maintenance
5. Click System
5. Click Advanced System Setting
6. Click Advanced tab
7. Click Advance tab
8. Under Virtual Memory click Change button
9. Uncheck “Autonatically manage paging file size for all drives”
10. Click Custom Size
11. On Initial Size (MB) input an initial size higher than the “Recommended” size which you will see under “Total paging file size for all drives”
12. On Maximum Size (MB) input an initial size higher than the “Currently Allocated” size which you will see under “Total paging file size for all drives”
13. Click Set button
14. Click OK button

Windows XP:
1. Click Start
2. Click Settings
3. Control Panel
4. Click System
5. Click Advanced Tab
6. Under Performance click Settings button
7. Click Advance Tab
8. Under Virtual Memory click Change button
9. Click Custom Size
10. On Initial Size (MB) input an initial size higher than the “Recommended” size which you will see under “Total paging file size for all drives”
11. On Maximum Size (MB) input an maximum size higher than the “Currently Allocated” size which you will see under “Total paging file size for all drives”
12. Click Set button
13. Click OK button

How to Setup Gmail on Thunderbird

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:12:00 +0000

1. Login to Gmail
2. Click on Settings
3. Click on Forwarding POP/IMAP
4. Click Enable POP for mail that arrives from now on
5. Alternatively, you may enable IMAP instead of POP if you prefer to use IMAP
6. Save your setting
7. Open Thunderbird
8. Click on Tools
9. Click on Account Settings
10. Click on Account Actions
11. Click Add Mail Account
12. Type your name, email address and password
13. Put a tick mark on Remember Password
14. Click Continue
15. Wait for a while until TB creates the setting and then click on Create Account
16. That's it, happy emailing using Gmail on TB

How To Share An Excel File

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 08:20:00 +0000

There are times that several users would like to work on one excel file all at the same time. Excel has this feature of sharing the workbook. Ideally, the shared workbook has to be saved in a shared folder on the network accessible to the other users. Here's how you are going to do it:

1. Open an excel file
2. Go to Review menu (if you're using MS Office 2007)
3. Click on Share Workbook
4. On Editing tab put a tick on "Allow changes by more than one user at the same time...."
5. Click OK
6. A confirmation window will appear whether you want to continue, just click on OK
7. Click on Protect Shared Workbook
8. Put a tick mark on "Sharing with track changes"
9. You'll notice the word "shared" in square bracket right beside your file name because you've just shared your excel file.

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How to Create Two Partitions in Windows 7

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 15:49:00 +0000

If you would like to have two partitions on your computer you may follow this procedure:

1. Click Start or the Windows Logo
2. Click Control Panel
3. Click System and Security
4. Click Create and format hard disk partitions
5. The Disk Management Window will come out, right beside the Disk0 select Drive C:
6. Right click on Drive C: and then click Shrink Volume
7. On the "Enter the amount of space to shrink in MB" you may type your desired space or use the suggested amount of space
8. Click Shrink button
9. You will notice there the newly added Free Space you right click on that and click New Volume
10. Click Next
11. Click Next
12. Click Next and leave as is the Simple volume size in MB
13. On the "Assign the following drive letter:" you may select the drive assignment you wish or leave it as is and click Next
14. On the "File System" you may select FAT or NTFS, the default is NTFS and then click Next
15. Click Finish
16. That's it, you will notice the newly added drive right beside Drive C:

How to make cheap WiFi antenna booster

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:04:00 +0000

Are you experiencing a poor signal on your wifi? Did you know that there is a way to boost the signal that will not cost you that much? Watch this video.

Thanks to Grace of www.revision3.com for allowing me to post this video.

How To Map A Network Drive

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:58:00 +0000

1. On your desktop double click "Computer" for Windows Vista and 7 (or My Computer for Windows XP)
2. On the address bar access the computer you want to map a network drive (e.g. \\server\foldername) or click Network (or Network Places) and look for the computer name
3. Once you are able to access the computer, look for the shared folder on that computer that you want to get an access.
4. Right click on the folder
5. Click "Map Network Drive"
6. Select the drive you want to assign for that shared folder
7. Put a tick on "Reconnect at logon"
8. Click Finish
9. You will notice a new drive is added. If you double click "Computer" from your desktop the drive looks like this FOLDERNAME(\\SERVER)(Z:)

If you want to remove the Network Drive, double click on "Computer" (or My Computer) move the mouse pointer on that network drive right click and click Disconnect.

Mapping a network drive makes the accessing of files easier. That way you don't have go through the long process of opening the shared folder on another computer because it's like you have a local folder which you can open anytime.

MAC Address Filter

noreply@blogger.com (ED) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:19:00 +0000

To protect the wifi what we usually do is to setup a password. We can setup another security on the wifi by enabling the MAC address filter. Since changing the MAC address requires advance knowledge on hacking as compared to changing an ip address, MAC address filtering is definitely a deterrent. Basically, all the machines and peripherals that is capable of connecting to a network has its MAC address such as personal computers, video game consoles, smartphones, printers and so on.

This is how to get the MAC address of the computer:

1. Click Start or Windows Logo
2. On Run type cmd
3. Type ipconfig /all
4. Look for the “Physical Address of your wireless LAN adapter”

For the other peripherals such as print servers you will find the MAC address on the label or upon installation of the driver.

It is difficult to give the exact detail on how to enable the MAC address filter of your router because each brand has its own way of enabling it. However, that feature is common to most of the brands of router. You just have to read the user’s manual on how to use this feature. Usually, you will find it inside the WLAN setting. Once you are done enabling the MAC address filter you may now add the MAC address of your computer onto the router. The router will now verify the computers that will attempt to connect, if it does not find the MAC address on its list it will deny the access.

Enabling the MAC address filter may not be the ultimate solution on securing the wifi however having a second security is better than just relying on one.