Tech Scoop @ sg

Brand New Authentic Sennheiser CX300-II Precision Earphones ~ Many Colours Available!!

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:47:00 +0000

Brand New Authentic Sennheiser CX300-II Precision for SALE! Comes in Blue, Pink, White, Black and Red in colour.

2 years direct 1-to-1 exchange for all manufacturing defects!

Selling Price $60 per piece. (Original Price $169)

Collection Details: For COD/meetups, it will strictly be at Blk 413, Hougang Ave 10.

Alternatives: Payment can be done via posb bank transfer and FOC mailing by singpost. Additional $3 for registered postage would be recommended.

Contact Gary @ music-donkey@hotmail.com to place an order or make enquiries.

You can also visit his website for more great deals! Please Click Here.

More Photos

How To Upgrade Your MacBook Pro 13 inch Harddrive or RAMs

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:16:00 +0000

Thinking of upgrading your MBP HDD or RAMs??

Look no further and experience a hands-on-guide to accomplish these simple tasks.

Click here

Good Luck!

Review: 2009 MacBook Pro 13-Inch

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:43:00 +0000

Released last month, Apple’s MacBook Pro 13” is an amazing machine. It’s priced as a starter, but it’s now truly a “Pro” laptop. It’s worthy of real work. It adds many of the “Pro” features previously reserved for its higher-end siblings, but costs hundreds of dollars less.
It now has an awesome, all-day battery; a bright, energy-sipping screen; and a backlit keyboard. Firewire is back, and there’s an indispensible SD Card slot. And yet it starts at just S$1,988. For a computer of this quality and power, that’s a steal.

Full review after the jump, including real-world benchmarks and tons of pics.

There’s been some puzzlement about the “Pro” label applied to this formerly entry-level laptop. But Apple’s done a great job with the MBP 13”. It’s lowered the price while bumping the specs. One of the best ~S$1,988 laptops just got a lot, lot better.
There’s a lot to love about the MBP 13”, but the best thing is the new built-in battery. This battery lasts forever.

In an afternoon spent working – Word, Firefox, Photoshop and Wordpress, all while listening to iTunes, I’ve gotten 6 hours and 20 minutes from a single charge (about 70 percent brightness, WiFi on, 20 tabs in Firefox. It was working so hard, the MacBook got hot and the fans kicked in).
This is not just impressive, it’s awesome! I can spend all morning at the coffee shop, which has covered up all the electrical outlets, and spend only $2 on coffee!
This kind of battery life is reserved for iPods and mobile phones, not laptops. The 2008 MacBook got undr 2 hours in such conditions. Apple and others have gotten 8 hours plus in light usage.

And who cares if the battery is sealed in? You can’t change the battery mid-flight, but why worry when it’s is good for crossing the entire continent?
Instead of standard lithium ion batteries, which are cylindrical and waste a lot of space, Apple is using a flat-pack battery. The flat pack efficiently squeezes a lot more power into the cramped case. Eliminating the battery compartment also saves space, making for a bigger battery. The new battery gives an extra 46% of battery capacity with no additional weight.
The beefier, built-in battery is inherited from the MBP’s big brother, the 17-inch MacBook Pro. The battery will last for 1,000 charge cycles, which if charged 200 times a year, would last five years. Even if it were charged every day, it would chug longer than three years.
Apple will replace the battery and dispose of the old one for $120, but it’s a trivial operation, and third-party vendors will have cheaper, DIY alternatives. The battery, RAM and hard drive are accessed via a screwed-on panel. All are easily swapped out in a few minutes.

Design

The MBP 13” is nearly indistinguishable from it’s 15-inch and 17-inch siblings, but is hundreds of dollars less expensive. That may sting those who coughed up for the pricier machines: there’s little to show they dropped the extra scratch. And it packs most of the other Pro’s most desirable features – the long-lasting battery, the better screen, the backlit keyboard.
The backlit LED keyboard is a fantastic addition. It’s so bright, it lights up like a Christmas tree. On the previous MacBook, I was forever tilting the screen forward to see the keys in the dark. Now the keys are so bright, I can almost see the blood through my fingers.

Green Chops

The first thing you notice about the MBP 13” is that the packaging has been reduced to almost nothing. The box is so small; my son asked if it was a mini computer. Gone are the Styrofoam and the separate, fussy boxes for all the components.
Apple has at last started to get its green act together. Apple was a laggard, trailing even hick Texas companies like Dell – but it has done a lot to catch up.
Even though it’s a contradiction in terms, the MBP line is as about as green as it gets (how can modern, mass-produced products ever be ‘green?’). The machines use about a third of the power of a light bulb, and many of the toxins have been eliminated from manufacturing, Apple says.
Made from aluminum and glass, the MBP 13” is highly recyclable. Its new, backlit LED-display draws about 30% less power than the previous MacBook’s display, and auto dims in a darkened room. It’s earned the highest EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) Gold rating

Screen – 68fps in World of Warcraft

One big improvement over the previous MacBook is the backlit LED screen. Though the same res (1280×800), the improved backlit LED display has a 60% better color gamut than the previous screen. Side-by-side, the new screen is clearly better looking with a wider viewing angle.
It’s the same primo screen used in the 15-inch MBP, but the 13” is a lot cheaper. Of course, the MBP 13” has integrated graphics, and doesn’t rock a dedicated graphics card like the 15- and 17-inch MBPs. But if you don’t play games or do 3D modeling, the system is perfectly capable of most day-to-day, like watching high-def video.
Still, it scores very well in World of Warcraft. The new machine rocks a frame rate of about 60fps (max 68fps), compared to about 48fps (max 51) on the older machine (2.26Ghz Core Duo, 2GB RAM versus 2Ghz Core Duo, 2GB RAM)

Slots

The other big diff is the SD Card slot – the previous model didn’t have any card slots. The SD Card is a welcome addition. I hate carrying a card reader; I always forget it; and one of the most useful features of my EEEPC hackintosh is the built-in SD Card slot. You can even boot from it.
One downside is the audio ports have been combined into one. The single jack now handles both audio in and audio out. So no recording and headphones at the same time. And while it supports both analog and digital out, there’s only analog in—no digital in. however, there’s lots of inexpensive USB audio adapters on the market.

Security Slot

The Kensington security slot does not block the optical drive – but it’s very close. The disk rubs against the security lock but isn’t blocked from sliding in or out.

Firewire

I never noticed the lack of Firewire on the old MacBook until migrating from one machine to another. Instead of using Firewire Target Mode to transfer files, I used the Migration Assistant software over Ethernet. Applications transferred OK, but not files, so I’m back to the minor inconvenience of using an external disk.

Quality

The build quality remains impressive and true. The unibody MacBooks exude quality. They’re very well built. In terms of looks and materials, the MBP 13” is more or less indistinguishable from the higher priced machines. It’s as good as the 15-inch or 17-inch, but at a fraction of the price.
Despite a bit of abuse from the kids, including several drops, the previous MacBook suffered only scratches and a small dent on the lid. It still looks awesome, and the battery has 95 percent of its original capacity
The buttonless glass trackpad is a fantastic innovation, a pleasure to use.

Downsides

Yeah, I’m in love, so I’m not rational. Maybe in a couple of months there’ll be stuff getting on my nerves. If so, I’ll report back here. But so far, the honeymoon is in full swing. I’ve seen some complaints about wimpy graphics, but I don’t play games or do graphics work. All I need is a screen that can play HD video – and this screen handles that beautifully
There are also complaints about the price: $1,988 is not the cheapest laptop. But it is one of the cheapest quality laptops. My brother-in-law bought an $1400 Asus last year at the same time as I bought my unibody MacBook. His Asus has fallen to pieces, and now he’s inheriting my old machine.

Benchmarks

2008 Unibody MacBook (2Ghz Core Duo, 2GB RAM, 160GB hard drive)Converting .AVI video to MP4 – 10.15Converting 29 min song from AAC to MP3 – 13 secondsConverting 46 min album from AAC to MP3 — 1.50Compressing 220Mb file – 2.32Startup: 1.10
2009 MacBook Pro (2.26 Ghz Intel Core Duo, 2GB RAM, 160GB hard drive)Converting .AVI video to MP4 – 10.15 (same!)Converting 29 min song from AAC to MP3 – 14 secondsConverting 46 min album from AAC to MP3 — 3.15!Compressing 220Mb file – 2.30Startup: 35 secs

Summary

9 out 10 black turtlenecks

* The 13-inch MacBook Pro truly deserves its “Pro” label. But it’s priced at a “consumer” level.* It’s cheap, but not cheap junk like a Netbook.* It is fast, capable, and a ton of fun to drive.* Battery life is amazing.Apple link: 2009 MacBook Pro 13-inch.

More MacBook Pro Pics:

Apple Mighty Mouse 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:04:00 +0000

As cute and sleek as the current Apple Mighty Mouse may be, it’s not exactly the best mouse on the market. Many people have complained about the little nipple in the middle and how it’s not the most usable feature on the little computer pointer. Pushing the innovation envelope, Apple may be set to release an updated Mighty Mouse next year, doing away with the nipple altogether.

As before, you won’t get a visible “button” on the top of the new Mighty Mouse, but there will be something very different about Mighty Mouse 2009. The difference is that the surface of the Mighty Mouse will be replaced by a multi-touch trackpad, just like the one that you’d find on a MacBook or a Macbook Pro.

This comes from a number of patents from Apple that hint toward this kind of functionality and we can’t say for sure whether his royal Steve-ness will go forward with this design in the new year, but it does provide an interesting proposition.

With the MacBook line, you can perform a wide variety of tasks through simple multi-touch gestures on the trackpad. Go forward or back on a webpage. Zoom in and zoom out on your pictures. This gesture-based user interface is appreciated, but lost when it comes to the regular Mighty Mouse. A new one featuring a trackpad could address that very issue. You’d still be able to “click” by tapping on the trackpad, just like on a MacBook.

Given the switch from white plastic to silver aluminum for new MacBooks, it follows logically that the new multi-touch Mighty Mouse would also take on this kind of aesthetic. It’d probably also have a lower, flatter profile to best accommodate the multi-touch trackpad. I think this looks pretty hot. Let’s hope it’s for real.

Belkin CushDesk Offering Comfort And Convenience For Notebook

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 06:25:00 +0000

The leading company in connectivity solutions, Belkin International, Inc. has launched its new notebook accessory, named as CushDesk, which designed to keep users’ legs cool and protected from the heat emitted by a hot notebook. The gadget also features a slight angle ideal for easy viewing at more comfortable working angle.

According to Belkin, the CushDesk that compatible with pc and Mac laptops (up to 17-inch screen display) provides users a smooth and sturdy surface - “work space”, thanks to its solid molded top.

The new slim Belkin CushDesk that arrives in pitch black/soft gray, espresso/fuchsia, pitch black/pitch black and pitch black/dark sky colors is now available for about $30.

Apple Secret Codes Revealed :: Latest HACK

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 08:17:00 +0000

Here are some of the most widely used APPLE iphone secret codes. This codes are revealed by a some of the crackers.

1) *3001#12345#* and tap Call. Enter Field Mode.

2) *777# and tap Call. Account balance for prepaid iPhone.

3) *225# and tap Call. Bill Balance. (Postpaid only)

4) *646# and tap Call. Check minutes. (Postpaid only)

5) *#21# and tap Call. Setting interrogation for call forwards.

6) *#30# and tap Call. Calling line presentation check.

7) *#76# and tap Call. Check whether the connected line presentation is enabled or not.

8) *#43# and tap Call. Determine if call waiting is enabled.

9) *#61# and tap Call. Check the number for unanswered calls.

10) *#62# and tap Call. Check the number for call forwarding if no service is available.

11) *#67# and tap Call. Check the number for call forwarding when the iPhone is busy.

12) *#33# and tap Call. Check for call control bars.

Do me a favour by submitting secret codes that has not been listed above....

Free Open Source Disk Encryption

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 07:32:00 +0000

TrueCrypt

If you have sensitive or private data that needs protection with encryption then Truecrypt is the software you have been looking for and it’s FREE.

You can encrypt your entire hard drive or make a virtual drive with specific files and folders. You can also encrypt portable drives. The encryption is suppose to be military grade and unbreakable.

Truecrypt is free open source powerful disk encryption software for Windows Vista/XP, Mac OS X, & Linux.

Truecrypt is a software application used for on-the-fly encryption. It can create a virtual encrypted disk in a file (container), which can be mounted as if it were a real disk. Truecrypt also supports device-hosted volumes, which can be created on either an individual partition or an entire disk. As of version 5.0, it can encrypt the Windows boot partition or entire boot drive.

One word of CAUTION! If you encrypt your data DO NOT forgot your password or you won’t be able to access your data and will have to reformat your hard drive to access it. This encryption is serious about keeping people from accessing your files but it is free and if you need that kind of protection it’s the one to use.

Check out their website for more information at www.truecrypt.org.

Keep Your Password Safely With MyPadlock Password Manager

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 09:14:00 +0000

MyPadlock Password Manager is a secure and simple password manager that allows the user to keep all the password under “lock and key” on their PC and is only accessible if they know a master password that is created by the user on initial configuration. This master password will be the only password which needs to be created.

MyPadlock has using 128-bit AES encryption to encrypt all the password into an encrypted file and keep into hard drive. The file is also encrypted with password and will automatically logged off in a few minutes to ensure that the users don’t leave the password open to anyone while they were away from their desk.

This application uses very minimal CPU, memory and does not require Internet connection as the file is keep into local hard disk. MyPadlock able to supports windows platform like Windows XP,Vista, Windows Server 2003 and 2008 as long as the machine is .Net Framework 3.5 ready.

Currently, it available for free Download.

Optical Illusions

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 06:30:00 +0000

Scrabble Keyboard

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 06:18:00 +0000

For scrabble geek out there, check out this cool stuff. This unique keyboard made from Scrabble letters. Most of the keys are made from real Scrabble tiles that were all hand-beveled and built onto a USB, clicky, mechanical-switch keyboard. So what do you think about it?

Download Buddi - Free Finance Program

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 05:57:00 +0000

If you are inexperienced with finances and would like to use a free budgeting program check out Buddi. Buddi is a personal finance and budgeting program for the people that have minimum to no experience with finances. Buddi works on almost any computer that has a JVM (java virtual machine) installed on it including Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and others.

It Supports multiple languages. It can create new accounts from 4 credit types including cash, checking, investment, and savings. It has 5 debit types including credit card, liability, line of credit, loan, and prepaid account. It also lets users’ record transactions and check spending habits along with many other useful features.

Website: Buddi free finance program
Download: Buddi free finance program

Tips of How to Speed Up Disk Cleanup Scanning Time

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 05:52:00 +0000

It is always a good practice if we can run disk cleanup utility at least once for every 3 or 6 months in order to free up had disk space. When running disk cleanup utility, the scanning process normally will take long time to complete as it will scan through old compressed files as well. Do you aware that actually there is a way to speed up the scanning process by excluding the tool from scanning older compress files?

To speed up the scanning process by excluding older compress files, you can do it by deleting the old compressed files in the registry entry as shown below. You are advised to do the backup prior performing the deleting just in case you want to restore it back the original setting.

1. Go to Start -> Run, then type regedit and press enter

2. Locate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\VolumeCaches.

3. Click on Compress old files registry entry, then press delete button to delete the entry.

4. Restart your computer in order to take the effect of the change.

Run disk cleanup utility again, you will realize the scanning process will take shorter time to complete, hence saving your time for other more productive tasks.

Download Mac Wallpaper Pack

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 06:58:00 +0000

Description :

Resolution(s) :
- 640x480
- 1024x768
- 1280x768
- 1280x960
- 1280x1024
- 1400x1050
- 1440x900

Download: Click Here (10.86MB)

Zhang Ziyi Topless

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:32:00 +0000

International film star, Zhang Ziyi, best known from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and, shudder, Rush Hour 2, ended up at the beach topless with some guy fingering her as seen in these pictures.

Ugh, foreigners. Look here little lady. I don’t know how they do it over there in China, but over here in Singapore we don’t stand for these shenanigans. Considering your man defiled you in public, I’m willing to let it slide this time.

Oh and it looks like they may have been caught. Hmph, lifeguards always have to ruin the fun.

Lenovo IdeaCentre A600, The Future Of Our Desktop PC

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 10:37:00 +0000

More people are now gearing towards laptops and netbooks for their home PC. Don’t get me wrong though, there are still loads of people preferring desktop PC’s because of its customizability and upgradability. Mostly are gamers and multimedia enthusiasts or those who just don’t want to veer away from traditional PC’s.

As more and more people feel that everything that they need is on the internet, there’s really hardly any need for powerful machines.

All-in-one Desktop PC’s are popping out these days and the best and sleekest one I’ve seen so far is the upcoming Lenovo IdeaCentre A600.

And it’s specs:

Processor	Intel Pentium Dual Core & Core 2 Duo mobile
Display	21.5” capable of 1920x1080 Full HD resolution with 16:9 wide aspect ratio
Memory	up to 4GB DDR3 1066MHz
Hard disk	up to 1TB (1000 GB)
Graphics	integrated graphics with support for DX10 optional DX10 256M/512M OR ATI graphics
Connectivity	6x USB 2.0, 1x Firewire, 6-in-1 card reader, 802.11a/b/g , Ethernet, optional 802.11a/b/g/n
Webcam	1.3- or 2-megapixel camera
OS	Microsoft Vista Premium, Vista Basic
Options	Blu-Ray DVD player, hybrid analogue/digital TV tuner, 4-in-1 remote control

See that 1TB disk space? You could burn a lot of TV shows (there’s a TV tuner) on your disk. The 4-in-1 remote control also acts as a mouse, VOIP handset, some sort of wiimote and media center/TV remote.

Mmmm… starting price for this baby is $999. I wonder how much it’ll be with maximum upgrades.

Original Source: Click Here

Convert, Split, Merge and Edit Movie Files Easily With Free Video Converter

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:42:00 +0000

Extensoft offers free video converter which allows the users to convert, split, merge and edit their movie files. The Free Video Converter is designed with simple and intuitive interface that makes it easy to perform basic conversion tasks. It able to supports wide variety video formats from AVI to Flash (FLV) and high definition movies (MTS) which captured with new HD cameras. Beside that, it also offers joining, splitting movie clips and batch conversion of multiple movies in one step.

The main key features of Free Video Converter:

Opens and converts from the following file formats: AVI, FLV, MOV, MP4, MPG, MPEG, MTS, RM, RMVB, QT, WMV, and others recognized by your computer (Direct Show).
Easy and simple user interface including the movie preview area, timeline and editing area, and video clip management area.
Supports the new high-definition high-quality format H.264, including multi-pass conversion for even higher quality. This allows creating best quality movies at minimum size.
Converts to the following output format: AVI, MP4, MPEG1, MPEG2, QuickTime (QT) and WMV. Supports saving custom conversion settings.
Provides predefined conversion settings for instant conversion to movie formats supported by YouTube, iPod, iPhone, HDTV, and Web pages (Flash).
Supports splitting or merging multiple videos by selecting movie sections to be merged or split.
Supports movie scaling (resizing), deinterlacing, and changing frames-per-second.
Supports batch mode to quickly convert multiple movies or selections to a single or separate output files.
Supports saving and loading movie conversion projects.
Creates HTML pages that play converted videos as Flash movies (FLV) for easy publishing to the Web.
Free to Download.

How To Make A Post Signature Using GIMP

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 07:24:00 +0000

Due to popular demand, I'm going to do a basic tutorial on using GIMP to make a post signature. So, if you don't have it, now is the time to download GIMP. While making your signature, keep in mind I'm not a GIMP expert, so this will be a very basic guide.

Let's get started! Open GIMP. This is what you will see.

You will notice all the icons at the top of the program. These are your tools. The brush is already indented. For the purpose of this tutorial, we are going to leave the brush choices alone, but if you care to change the brush size, texture or color, that is done in the lower half of the program. Change color by clicking on the black square that is over the white square and choose a color. Below that are a couple of areas that change the Mode (texture, design) of the stroke and Brush (brush style).

But, let's get back to making the sig. At the top click on File/ New and a 'Create a New Image' box opens. Here you can either select a template size or put your own in the 'Width/ Height' windows. I put in 300 x 50 for this tutorial. Click on 'OK' and that window closes and a new pallet opens called 'Untitled'. Not original, but it works!

Back to the top of the program. (see the next illustration)

Click on the T which opens up the 'Text Editor'
Choose your font, color and size in the lower part of the program (the big fat red E)
Put your cursor in the 'Text Editor' box and type your text. As you type you will see the text forming in the 'Untitled' box. You may have to adjust your size at this point. (look in the big red E)
Another adjustment you will probably have to do is move the text around in the 'Untitled' box. To do this, in the upper part of the program (close to the T) click on the crossed arrows icon. The portion you move (called a layer) is within the orange and black dashed line.
Put your cursor in the 'Untitled' box. It will do a number of strange things here. But, when you see it turn into an arrow and a diamond with 4 tiny squares, you can move that layer. If you mess up, just click on Edit/ Undo Move Layer in the 'Untitled' box. Try again.

Now all that is left to do is save your creation! You'll want to choose a file extension (I like png). It will probably say that "PNG can't handle layers"...click Export and next box OK. Believe me...it will be OK. Here is the one I made for this tutorial.

If you look at this post, Add Signature To Your Blogger Post , it shows you how to put your signature in every new post!

Add Signature To Your Blogger Post - Blogger Hack

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 06:23:00 +0000

If u Want to Pretty Up Your Post,There Are many Things,But to Add Signature to your Blogger Post is Much Fun.Well,Below i am Showing a Tutorial How to Add a Signature to Your Blogger Post!

You must first have a signature that you want to have at the bottom of your post. This signature will be in the form of an image. To get that image, you can look online for sites that help create signatures, or you can make your own using GIMP as I did. If you need help making a signature, read some of my posts on design and graphics. After you have your signature, upload it to your web host...I use PicOodle.

Open your Dashboard/ Settings/ Formatting/ Post Template. Put this code in the Post Template box:

<p><image class="centered"alt="post signature" src="SIGNATURE URL" /></p>

Replace SIGNATURE URL With The Image URL!

Done !!!

Happy New Year Everybody!

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 06:12:00 +0000

I hope y'all brought in the New Year safely.

Here's to a Healthy, Prosperous, and Happy New Year to you all!

FileZilla Server: Your Own Server At Home

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 15:59:00 +0000

There are a couple of things you can do with this one. I am just going to explain what I do with this little and handy program.

First of all; I am a big collector of movies and tv-series….
Second; my little son lives with his mom in another country…..

So; I have my FileZilla Server at my homecomputer = and I am sharing tv-series and movies with friends. AND I am getting pictures and videos of my little son uploaded on my homecomputer! This all via FileZilla Server.

It is easy to install…… the only thing which is a bit tricky; you have to know what IP addres your modem/router has AND you need to redirect a port in your router to the right computer (again; another IP address).

To find your modem/router IP address; go to this website….and it will tell you.

The redirecting of your router is something you have to figure out yourself with help of the manual of your router. But I assure you; in 99% of the cases this is a very easy job !!

To find the IP address of your computer (this is different from the router ip address) - Start - Run - “CMD” - “ipconfig” - the first IP address is the one of your computer.

Within FileZilla you can even make “users” and “groups” - working with login names and passwords = this is something your REALLY NEED TO DO !!
Otherwise you will have very soon uninvited people “sniffing at your computer”….!!
When you have this done; your “other side” needs your routers ip address - the login name and password….. = and it is ready to go !!
(sometimes a little problem can be putting it on “passive mode” or not…. But the website of FileZilla has real good working instructions and a very helpfull forum.

I got it running - so it should not be to hard for you !!

Homepage: FileZilla

Download: FileZilla Server Download (only Windows)

Reference Source: Click Here

Space Shuttle Columbia Crew Had No Chance

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 15:48:00 +0000

On Tuesday, US space agency NASA released a detailed report on 2003 Columbia space shuttle disaster, which took the lives of all the seven crew members of STS-107 mission. According to the official report, nothing could have been done to save the astronauts or simply, Columbia crew had no chance for survival.

The report reveals that, the Columbia’s left wing was damaged by a piece of insulating foam during lift off from Cape Canaveral. This damage later proved fatal for the astronauts. NASA investigators also found that the astronauts did not have the necessary training that may have increased their chances of survival in such condition.

Moments before the disaster, the seven crew members of Columbia were cheerful and casual about their upcoming re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. Two of did not have on their gloves, and one didn’t have a helmet on and was not fully strapped in. The astronauts knew for as long as 41 seconds that they did not have any control over the space shuttle. This report confirms that although the brave Columbia crew tried every possible way to get back control, the accident was not ultimately survivable.

On 1 February 2003, space shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas, while re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere after a 16-day long scientific mission. All seven of it’s crew members (Commander: Rick D. Husband, Pilot: William C. McCool, Payload Commander: Michael P. Anderson, Payload Specialist: Ilan Ramon, Mission Specialist: Kalpana Chawla, Mission Specialist: David M. Brown and Mission Specialist: Laurel Clark) lost their lives in the tragic accident.

The 400 page report written by the Spacecraft Crew Survival Integrated Investigation Team (SCSIIT) also includes 30 recommendations to improve spacecraft design and crew safety. The recommendations cover a broad range of subjects from crew training, procedures, restraints and individual safety equipment to spacecraft design methods and recommendations regarding future accident investigations. NASA already has implemented some of the report’s recommendations and is evaluating others.

More Info: NASA Reports

20 Hacking Tools

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 07:27:00 +0000

These are Top 20 Hacking Tools, the list is exhaustive, this are a few to name.

Download Nessus

The “Nessus” Project aims to provide to the internet community a free, powerful, up-to-date and easy to use remote security scanner for Linux, BSD, Solaris, and other flavors of Unix.

Download Ethereal

Ethereal is a free network protocol analyzer for Unix and Windows. Ethereal has several powerful features, including a rich display filter language and the ability to view the reconstructed stream of a TCP session.

Download Snort

Snort is an open source network intrusion detection system, capable of performing real-time traffic analysis and packet logging on IP networks.

Download Netcat

Netcat has been dubbed the network swiss army knife. It is a simple Unix utility which reads and writes data across network connections, using TCP or UDP protocol

Download TCPdump

TCPdump is the most used network sniffer/analyzer for UNIX. TCPTrace analyzes the dump file format generated by TCPdump and other applications.

Download Hping

Hping is a command-line oriented TCP/IP packet assembler/analyzer, kind of like the “ping” program (but with a lot of extensions).

Download DNSiff

DNSiff is a collection of tools for network auditing and penetration testing. dsniff, filesnarf, mailsnarf, msgsnarf, urlsnarf, and webspy passively monitor a network for interesting data (passwords, e-mail, files, etc.).

Download GFI LANguard

GFI LANguard Network Security Scanner (N.S.S.) automatically scans your entire network, IP by IP, and plays the devil’s advocate alerting you to security vulnerabilities.

Download Ettercap

>Ettercap is a multipurpose sniffer/interceptor/logger for switched LAN. It supports active and passive dissection of many protocols (even ciphered ones)and includes many feature for network and host analysis.

Download Nikto

Nikto is an Open Source (GPL) web server scanner which performs comprehensive tests against web servers for multiple items, including over 2500 potentially dangerous files/CGIs, versions on over 375 servers, and version specific problems on over 230 servers.

Download John the Ripper

John the Ripper is a fast password cracker, currently available for many flavors of Unix.

Download OpenSSH

OpenSSH is a FREE version of the SSH protocol suite of network connectivity tools, which encrypts all traffic (including passwords) to effectively eliminate eavesdropping, connection hijacking, and other network-level attacks.

Download TripWire

Tripwire is a tool that can be used for data and program integrity assurance.

Download Kismet

Kismet is an 802.11 wireless network sniffer - this is different from a normal network sniffer (such as Ethereal or tcpdump) because it separates and identifies different wireless networks in the area.

Download NetFilter

NetFilter and iptables are the framework inside the Linux 2.4.x kernel which enables packet filtering, network address translation (NAT) and other packetmangling.

Download IP Filter

IP Filter is a software package that can be used to provide network address translation (NAT) or firewall services.

Download pf

OpenBSD Packet Filter

Download fport

fport identifys all open TCP/IP and UDP ports and maps them to the owning application.

Download SAINT

SAINT network vulnerability assessment scanner detects vulnerabilities in your network’s security before they can be exploited.

Download OpenPGP

OpenPGP is a non-proprietary protocol for encrypting email using public key cryptography. It is based on PGP as originally developed by Phil Zimmermann.

Computer Acronyms

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 07:05:00 +0000

APPLE
Arrogance Produces Profit-Losing Equipment

ASET
Automated Security Eraser Tool

ASP
Asinine Server Pages

BASIC
Bill’s Attempt to Seize Industry Control

BBS
Broad Based Sacrilege

CD-ROM
Consumer Device, Rendered Obsolete Monthly

CGI
Confusing Generic Immobilizer

DEC
Do Expect Cutbacks

DOS
Defunct Operating System

FAQ
Facetiously Answered Questions

HTML
Hallowed Tedious Misleading Language

IBM
I Beat Macintosh

ISDN
It Still Does Nothing

ISP
Internet Severance Producers

MACINTOSH
Most Applications Crash; If Not, The Operating System Hangs

OS/2
Obsolete Soon Too

PCMCIA
People Can’t Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms

RAM
Really Awful Memory

ROM
Rapid Operating Mistakes

SCSI
System Can’t See It

UNIX
Upgraded Node in Xerox

WEB
World-Wide Economic Boondoggle

WWW
World Wide Wait

Inside The Hard Drive

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 06:54:00 +0000

If you've never taken a peek inside the mechanical hard drives that have been widely used for many years, now is your opportunity (at no cost). This articles gives you an in depth look at all the parts inside the modern computer hard drive and what they do.

Click Here To Read More

Installing Windows XP Onto SATA Hard Drive

noreply@blogger.com (Colin Choy) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 06:44:00 +0000

What sounds like a simple task can sometime end up being more complicated than you think.

In this case, a customer purchased a new PC, which had a new SATA2 hard drive and a SATA DVD-RW.

But he couldn’t install XP.

Either the XP CD would say “Setup did not find any disk drives installed in your computer” or:

Sometime XP would install, but after a reboot, XP would Generate a blue screen error (BSOD).

The first thing I did was to go into the BIOS and change the HDD SATA mode from enhanced to “compatible”. This makes the BIOS treat the SATA hard drive as an older IDE HDD.

But even after that, the BIOS would sometimes not detect the CD drive or the HDD or both (depending on which sata socket the devices were plugged into).

There were 4 SATA plugs on the motherboard… 2 red and 2 black

It seemed obvious that the SATA plugs were mapped as the old IDE master and slave setup. The red plugs were the primary drives, while the black plugs were the secondary drives.

After a while I noticed that the SATA drives were only detected if they were in the “master” plug.

After some careful thought, I realised the hard drive and/or the DVD-RW might be trying to run in “SATA2″ mode (ie Sata 300), but the motherboard/BIOS might not work properly when it is set to compatibility/ATA mode.

So I pull out the HDD and DVD-RW drive, and I see that the HDD has a jumper to force it to work in SATA 150 mode. I install the jumper.

After that, XP installed without a hitch.

So remember: Don’t just change the BIOS SATA settings, you might also need to add a jumper to the HDD itself.