Tech Salsa

Disable Mouse Movement on One Axis

admin — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:30:56 +0000

This is fun tip for today, for all those who are bored up with their regular and usual computer. Using this tool you can fool your friends.

Amuse your friends by locking the movement of mouse on any one of the axis whether it is horizontal or vertical axis. Using this you won’t be able to drag the mouse in another direction.

This task is achieved by a small application called DragLock that can disable or lock the mouse movement in any one axis of its motion.

Just download the tool and press the Windows key when your mouse in motion, it will stop moving in the other direction. Say, if you press the key in vertical motion of it, then the mouse will stop moving in horizontal direction.

DragLock is a small tool that requires no installation.

Download DragLock

Detect and Find Windows Services Running in the Background

admin — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 05:30:29 +0000

Windows make use of lots of services to run properly, thus figuring out which process belong to Windows and which not, is a bit difficult task.

For every function in Windows there is a service linked to it which you can see for yourself by typing services.msc in the Run box. This will open the Services dialog that has a list of all the services used by Windows for its proper running.

But if you wish to check which all services are actually and currently running in your system then you can make use of this application called WinServiceManager.

Features:

1. Small and free tool that require no installation.

2. List all the Windows services running in the background enabling you to find out which service is legitimate and started by you and which one has started automatically.

3. You can also remove or disable the service from the list and system.

4. Displays more information like Company name, Running type etc.

By default the Windows Service Manager lists only the Non Windows services but checking the box at the left bottom reading “Show Windows services also” will also display the Windows services.

Download WinServiceManager

Steps to Backup Windows Media Player Library

admin — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 17:30:45 +0000

There is a good number of Music Players in the market like Windows Media Player, iTunes and Media Player Classic but I like using WMP more than others.

Thus over the years I have built up a huge database of library consisting not only of songs and movies but also of the pictures. So if you also use WMP and are thinking to format the computer or just take this library to a new computer purchased by you, then here are the steps to backup the library completely.

Steps:

1. Open My Computer

2. Go to the folder C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Media Player (UserName is your user in which the WMP contains the whole library)

3. Here are the all the files that contain all files stored in library however the file named CurrentDatabase… is the most important (as shown).

4. It would be better to copy the entire folder as a backup rather than the individual files as this would ensure the complete backup of the WMP library like the songs collection and also the play count of the songs.

Copy the folder and replace it with the same to restore.

Works with all versions of WMP like WMP 11.

Process Information: What is Rundll32.exe?

admin — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 06:03:49 +0000

You have seen Rundll32.exe as a process and also as a malicious program, the following article will help you understanding it.

There are huge collections of DLLs (Dynamic Link Libraries) in our system that is responsible for storing application logic in the computer. There is no genuine way to launch the required .dll file in the computer memory so it is for this purpose the Rundll32.exe process is used.

Why is it necessary?

In simpler words, the rundll32.exe process is responsible for running DLLs and placing its libraries in the memory. Rundll32.exe is used to run program code in DLL files as if they were within the actual program.

Additional Info

Rundll32.exe is also registered to be a backdoor spyware that can cause the system to perform vulnerably. This is how you can distinguish between the two:

The genuine process is located in Windows\System32\rundll32.exe but if it is a spyware then it would run with the same name but from some other folder location.

Disable Rundll32.exe

Rundll32.exe is recommended for the proper functioning of the computer but you can still disable it from the startup tab in the msconfig utility.

Add Album Art to MP3 Songs Using WMP

admin — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:30:38 +0000

Album Arts are the pictures that the songs display while being played in a music player like Windows media Player and iTunes. The songs and the audio library look really cool especially in our iPods and iPhone.

If you have always wanted to know how to add custom images to the songs as album arts, then here is the info that you need.

Album Art can be added to the songs using many software but we can do the same thing without any software and just using the Windows Media Player. So here is how to do that.

Steps:

1. Run the Windows Media Player; add that song to the library (go to Library tab) to which the Album Art has to be added.

2. If you have already added the song, then just find it in the library.

3. Now you will see CD case type of image beside the song’s name, just drag the image you wish to add as the Album Art onto this case.

4. That’s it; the song will have the Album Art and will show the same in every device like iPod and iPhone on its own.

You can also check it as:

1. Right click on the song name in WMP library and select “Advanced Tag Editor”

2. Go to the Pictures tab.

3. Here you will see the images added as the Album Art.

4. You can also add or remove the Album Art from this option.

Accelerate, Smoothen and Better your Game Playing Experience

admin — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:30:27 +0000

We like playing a lot of games on our system, don’t we? One of my favorite games is the all time Counter Strike which can be played better if we face less ping and the FPS is more.

If you also like playing games but in smooth and accelerated manner then here is a tool for you that will boost game speeds.

The software is called Game Booster which in a way is highly recommended for the gamers like you. Using Game Booster you will definitely see an improvement in game speed and from now on your game will hang less often.

How Game Booster works?

Game Booster optimizes our computer in such a manner that we experience smoother and more responsive game playing experience. According to the developers, “It works by temporarily shutting down background processes, cleaning RAM, and intensifying processor performance”.

What this software does is that it turns off all the unnecessary features of Windows when we play games but turn them on when we return to the normal mode.

The services getting turned off will not affect your internet connection, computer stability and other important things. In other words, Game Booster pumps up your system.

Download Game Booster

How to Remove Theme from Windows

admin — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:30:04 +0000

One of our readers wanted to know the steps using which he can remove the custom theme installed by him some time earlier from the Windows XP.

The post will describe how you can delete a theme installed by you from the Windows.

Steps:

1. Right click on Desktop -> Properties.

2. Under the View tab, select the theme you wish to delete and click the delete button adjacent to it.

3. Click Apply.

Alternate method:

1. If the above method doesn’t solve your problem then delete the theme from the location where it is stored.

2. Uninstall the theme from Add/Remove programs list.

3. Now Go to WINDOWS\resources\Themes folder and you will find all your saved themes there, so just delete the one you wish to remove.

The theme will not load any more.

Backup or Restore iPhone SMS, Notes, Calendar and Mail Manually

admin — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:30:33 +0000

It is always a better idea to manually restore the data in the iPhone during major firmware upgrade (like moving from 2.2 to 3.0) and not restoring it from the backup made in the iTunes. So if you cannot restore the backup from iTunes then will you lose all your data? No as you can manually restore all your data in the iPhone.

Using the same method I was able to restore all my old and saved SMS, Notes, Calendars and Mail Accounts in the new upgraded firmware. What we need is the location where iPhone stores these SMS, Notes etc and an iPhone file explorer.

To backup all your data just follow the following steps

Steps:

1. Either download the latest iPhone Browser or SSh into the iPhone via WiFi.

2. Now we need to copy the .db (Database) or plist files of the SMS, Notes etc and save with ourselves.

3. These are the locations where the iPhone saves these databases

SMS: /Var/Mobile/Library/SMS

Mail: /Var/Mobile/Library/Mail

Calendar: /Var/Mobile/Library/Calendar

Call History: /Var/Mobile/Library/CallHistory

Notes: /Var/Mobile/Library/Notes

Safari: /Var/Mobile/Library/Safari

4. So after you have saved the DB and plist files, just copy them back to the same location after the upgrade.

Your data will be restored back to the iPhone.

Free and Powerful Defragmentation Software UltraDefrag

admin — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:30:32 +0000

It has been a month since I mentioned 3 free Disk Defragmenting Software, and adding to that list here is another free but powerful defragmenter that will throw all your fragmentation problems.

The tool is called UltraDefrag short for Ultra Defragmenter and is claimed to be the powerful Open Source defragmentation tool for Windows. It is believed to be faster than the rest defragmenters because in this the defragmenting is done by kernel-mode driver.

You can use the tool in three of its interfaces: graphical, console and native. GUI will feel better to the eyes while command line will feel comfortable to those working on command line all the time.

It contains no unnecessary stuffs but is a small and powerful defragmenter for Windows of all bits.

Download UltraDefrag

Firefox 3.5 Ready for Download

admin — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:30:48 +0000

Mozilla had been working on its browser for quite some time now and its latest development is the all new Firefox 3.5 final that was live yesterday.

Firefox 3.5 has been released to the world with some serious improvements which will make your most loved browser more loving. The major developments include:

1. Private Browsing

Forget about revealing your identity.

2. Password Manager

Make things easier by allowing certain sites to remember passwords.

3. Awesome Bar

Easy and fast browsing made easier.

4. Super Speed

Faster Firefox using less computer memory.

5. Anti-Phishing & Anti-Malware

Improved security for the users

Firefox 3.5 is recommended for the Firefox users.With Firefox 3.5 there is one thing for sure, if you love Firefox you will love the latest version Firefox 3.5 even more.

Download Firefox 3.5