The Maldivian Blogger

Run Linux Applications on Windows

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:48:00 +0000

Microsoft Windows is a popular OS, but the majority of windows users are at risk of fraud, data theft, phishing, data loss due to the huge number of viruses targeted to Microsoft Windows. Nevertheless most windows users are not ready to switch to another OS even though there are plenty of choices. Linux is a free (and I would say a better OS than windows) with tons of features and applications available. Linux readily detects most hardware components from well known vendors. Still not interested?

Why not run Linux applications on Windows rather than buying expensive windows software?

www.ulteo.com provides a free application called "Ulteo Virtual Desktop" which ebables you to run Linux Applications from within your windows without ever installing Linux.

Download: http://www.ulteo.com/home/en/download

Some useful Linux applications:

Evolution:Evolution provides integrated mail, addressbook and calendaring functionality to users of the GNOME desktop.

Gscan2pdf: A GUI to produce a multipage PDF or DjVu from a scan.

GIMP: An advanced image editing program

free secure personal vpn solutions

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:31:00 +0000

Related: http://sumbolo.blogspot.com/2009/10/free-ssl-virtual-private-network.html
Previously I wrote an article on using ADITA (Open VPN ALS) to setup a free Virtual Private Network. ADITA is not the only solution. Though ADITA is a very advanced software, the common users may not use all the features available. Therefore I decided to share two other free VPN solutions with you.

Features:
DesktopShare(VNC): Access your computer desktop remotely or share your desktop with your friend from anywhere in the world. Gbridge automatically traverses firewalls and NATting routers without the need for configuration!
SecureShare: Securely share files among your own computers, so you can remotely access your files, e.g. play mp3 , with ultimate privacy. Securely share files to your designated friend, so the selected friend can instantly view the auto-generated photo thumbnails and slideshow remotely. No web upload/download needed!
AutoSync: Transfer large files and synchronizing folders to and from anywhere has never been easier. AutoSync supports auto-schedule, auto-resume, incremental transfers and no size restrictions!
EasyBackup: Setup an auto-recurring backup of your important folder to a local or remote PC is as easy as 1-2-3!
1 - VPN Using GBridge
i - Download and install Gbridge from http://www.gbridge.com/
ii- Install Gbridge on your computer. It may take several minutes to complete the installation.
iii - Initial Setup

Run the Gbridge. Gbridge will ask you to enter a user ID.

Again the fastest and easiest solution is to enter your gmail address.

Enter your gmail address and password.
Enter a hostname(Example: MyPC).
Click the “Log On” button.
iv - Configuration
By Default the folder “C:\Program Files\Gbridge LLC\Gbridge\SecureShare-Demo, DO NOT store any private file in it” is shared with the world.

right click the shared folder (see the picture above) and select “Edit SecureShare…”
Now decide which users can access your shared resources (Provided that they have Gbridge installed and running).
You can setup an optional password to access the shared resources.
To get the shared resource URL, right click on the shared resource in Gbridge and select “Copy SecureShare URL”
You can share this URl with your friends. They can access the shared resources by following the URL in their browser.
Experiment and read the FAQ from the help menu.
Enjoy!
2 - VPN Using Hamachi
i - Register a free Account at https://secure.logmein.com/US/products/hamachi2/register.aspx
ii - Account Confirmation
You will receive a confirmation mail at the email address you provided during registration.
Confirm the registration by clicking the appropriate link in the email.
iii- Setting up the Network

Log in to your account.

Follow this link : https://secure.logmein.com/hamachi/addnet1.asp

Enter a network name (Example: MyNetwork)

Enter a description for the network(Optional).

Select the network type (The simplest and easiest solution is Mesh type).

Click continue.

Now setup network options according to your needs (see the above screenshot).

Configure Join Request options (You can leave the default settings).

You can enter an optional password.

Click continue.

Click Finish

Note down the Network ID(see the above screenshot).

iv - Installation

Download: https://secure.logmein.com/US/products/hamachi2/download.aspx

Install the client on your PC.

Find your network ID

Now run the Hamachi client you just installed.

Go to Network menu and select Join an Existing Network.

Enter the Network ID and password(if any).

Install the client on all the computers you want to join the Network.

And join the network by entering the Network ID and password (if any).

The Hamachi client will show all the computers that are attached to the network.

Every client computer is given a globally unique virtual IP Address.

You can use this IP address to access shared resources on that computer.
Refer to the Hamachi documentation for additional help.
v - Done!
Technorati Tags: Virtual Private Network,VPN

Tooth Paste – more uses than you think

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:27:00 +0000

Tooth paste is meant for cleaning teeth, but the nature of toothpaste and the chemical composition makes it a very useful product for many other purposes. I would like to share some of unusual applications of toothpaste.

1	Remove Crayon Marks So the children have made your walls,floor or furniture dirty with crayon! Can’t afford chemicals to clean the place? Don’t worry, there’s a simple solution. Squirt a small dab of non-gel toothpaste on the area where the mark is. Rub gently with a soft cloth. Now rinse with warm water. Viola! All gone.
2	Deodorize hands Are you trying to get rid of that strong odor of onion and garlic off your hands? Wash them with a blob of toothpaste.
3	Whiten Sneakers Afraid of using bleach liquid to whiten your sneakers? Clean the rubber soles with an old tooth brush and non-gel toothpaste.
4	Buff a DVD So you weren’t so caring for your DVDs. After a couple of use you got scratches on the DVD. Squeeze a little non-gel toothpaste on the DVD starting from the centre out to the edge. Rinse with water and dry with a non abrasive, lint free cloth.
5	Defog Goggles Apply a coat of toothpaste inside the swimming goggles, then wipe off. They will be crystal clear.

Cut your costs. Go green!

Quit UNRESPONSIVE Programs quickly

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:46:00 +0000

If you are a windows user you must have experienced the clumsiness of unresponsive (we Maldivians say stuck) applications. When you try to close the “stuck” application a dialogue box appears with an option to End the Task. But most of the times the unresponsive application is not closed, well not at least immediately. What about the famous ALT + F4 ? Well in this case that key combination may not be so helpful.

Luckily a hobby programmer have realized the necessity of a solution, and came up with an Open Source tool called “SuperF4”. What does it do? Well, if an application is unresponsive and stubborn just press Ctrl+ Alt+ F4. Zap! The currently active application is terminated immediately.

Download: http://code.google.com/p/superf4/

THE REVOLUTIONARY OS

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:06:00 +0000

In a time when compute industry was completely monopolized, computer Os were expensive. A group of computer programmers came up with an idea of a free OS. The philosophy behind this idea is RICHARD STALLMAN, the founder of the GNU project. The author of “Open source” definition is BRUCE PERENSE. The Author of Linux kernel when it was first released is LINUS TORVALDS.


Linus Toralds	Richard Stallman	Bruce Perense

When LINUS TORVALDS (student at University of Helsinki at the time), the author of Linux kernel released the first Linux kernel independently, there was no relation with the GNU project. GNU project was writing a free OS independently, but because of the complexity of their very advanced design it was taking a long time to finish the project.

Users who were searching for an alternative free unix, found the pieces of he GNU project which was missing just the kernel. So the end users filled the gap with the Linux kernel. And the revolutionary OS,Linux was born. After that Linus and the GNU project collaborated along with many other programmers on the net to develop the Linux Operating system that we see today.

There are many flavors of Linux, developed by different groups of programmers, all of them based on the Linux kernel.

Watch Video on the revolutionary OS (1 hour 25 Minutes): http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=7707585592627775409&hl=en&fs=true

FREE PARENTAL CONTROL SOFTWARE

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:12:00 +0000

Internet has become an essential ingredient of our life today. Without internet our life becomes extremely difficult in this information technology era. Unfortunately internet is not controlled by any authority, therefore the content on internet cannot be censored or monitored. Some countries introduce internet filtering by enforcing regulations on ISPs. However all the restrictions introduced by ISPs can be bypassed, sometimes very easily.

As a parent, a brother or sister you wouldn’t want the younger ones in your family to watch nasty stuff out there on the internet. The question is how do you control what they see? I know that there are many software like netNanny, cyberPatrol and Web Watcher, BUT they cost a fortune!

Don’t just give up yet. There are very good free alternative solutions. Some very good free parental control solutions:

1	K9 web protection is a good free alternative solution for internet filtering. Configuration is minimal. The software knows which sites are not proper for the children. You can configure it through a browser based GUI interface. Download: http://www1.k9webprotection.com/
2	OpenDNS introduces a different approach of filtering improper sites. No software is necessary. You only need to sign up to the free service and configure your DNS server with the DNS server address they provide. If you are behind a router you can configure the router DNS server address with the address provided by OpenDNS. The configuration is done online. Website: http://www.opendns.com/

Both of these products have good documentations on how to install and use the services. Choose what’s best for you. Enjoy!

Jailbreak iPhone OS version 3.1.2

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:53:00 +0000

The iPhone Jailbreak dev team cautioned iPhone users from upgrading to the newest iPhone os 3.12. You wont be able to jailbreak your iPhone if you have upgraded to the newest OS. Well, not anymore. Another team has come up with a tool called "Blackra1n". Make sure you have the latest version of iTunes. I haven't tried this tool myself. But if you want to give a try then run for it. Link: http://blackra1n.com/ To download scroll to the bottom of their website and click the windows icon. There you go. Enjoy!

CUSTOMIZE THE RIGHT CLICK MENU

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:07:00 +0000

When you right click on a file, lot of guys wish if there are more options. Don’t just wish, make it a reality! There is a free little utility called open++ which does the job quite good. You can customize your right click menu according to your tastes. It’s specially very handy for a system administrator. See the screenshots and you’ll get an idea about this application.

You can register and unregister dlls with a click. Open the command prompt in the file path,copy file path, open and close CD drive etc.

As I said earlier you can add more applications and actions and completely customize the application to your tastes.

Download: http://www.freewebs.com/dengdun/en/openxx.htm

Make yourself a safety purse

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 05:44:00 +0000

At a time when theft and violence are on the rise, we need to take safety precautions. An inexpensive alarm system that girls can carry in their purse may be a good idea. of course if they allow you to mod their purse! This tutorial is from the MAKE Magazine. Lets start working.

What you Need.

1	120 db Siren
2	A small switch
3	9volt battery
4	Wire
5	Heat shrink tubing
6	Some clothing material ( a piece of tough cloth is fine)
7	Your purse!

How it is done.

Watch the Video: http://www.youtube.com/v/FhxWWBymLBY&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999
OR follow the instructions below.

1	The siren has two wires. Connect the red wire to the switch.
2	Connect the other siren wire to the negative pole of battery (usually marked with a “-“ sign).
3	Connect the other pin( or wire) of the switch to the positive (+) pole of the battery.
4	If you don’t want to use heat shrink tubing you can use normal insulation tape to insulate the exposed wire.

5	Use the clothing to make a small bag (cover) large enough to fit the battery. Put in the battery and sew the opening.

6	Cut a small hole at the bottom of the purse (So the alarm can be heard).

7	disguise the hole by patching the hole with some gauge material.

8	Put the siren at the bottom of the purse, near the hole and use some adhesives to attach it.
9	Attach the switch at the top of the purse.

Done!

Dhiraagu eDirectory DATA Available for Download.

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:34:00 +0000

The original data is a rip off from Dhiraagu web based directory service by Jaa. Thanks Jaa, for providing this extremely useful data. The original data was a mess ( I am sure Jaa expected the users to fix it). So as an end user I had to clean up the data a little and I thought somebody might find this useful. So here is the Link: http://www.box.net/shared/z4bidhmynf. The file is in CSV format. You can easily import this data into Excel or Access. Grab a copy of the file if you are interested.

ACCESS ADITA VPN FROM ANOTHER PC

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Previously I have written on how to setup a free SSL Virtual Private Network here: http://sumbolo.blogspot.com/2009/10/free-ssl-virtual-private-network.html.
A lot of users ask how to access their PC from another PC. It’s really simple. Follow these steps.

1.Add the VPN Port (default is 443) to the exception list of your firewall in order to allow incoming connections to that port.

2.If you are behind a router you will also need to forward the VPN port to your PC (Where the VPN Server is running).

3.Now find your IP address as seen to the internet by visiting www.cmyip.com. To access the VPN, point the browser to http://your-ip-here. If your IP is 123.176.10.30 then point your browser to http://123.176.10.30 .

If you have a dynamic IP address things become a little complicated. Every time your dial your ISP a new IP address is assigned to your PC. Fortunately there is a free service called DynDNS.
1. To register a free account go to https://www.dyndns.com/account/entrance/.

2. You will need to confirm your email address. Login to your email account (as provided during the registration at DynDNS) and click the activation link. Now login to the DynDNS account.

3. Click My Hosts Link on your account under “my services”.

4. Click Add New Hostname. Now you will see a page similar to the below screenshot. Type a hostname (Example: Myhome). Select any option from the dropdown on the right (see the below screenshot). If you put your hostname as “myhome” and you select “dyndns.org” from the dropdown then your domain will be myhome.dyndns.org.
Type your IP address in the “IP Address” Field or click “Use auto detected IP address ” under the “IP Address” field.

5. Click “Add to Cart” (Don’t worry, its free!).

6. Click Next.

7.Click “Activate Services” Button

8. Download and install DynDNS Updater from https://www.dyndns.com/support/clients/. You will need to provide your login details to the client (only once) after installing. This client program will update your account periodically with your current IP Address. So even if your IP address is dynamic your VPN can be accessed from the domain you setup.

9. Done! To access your PC (VPN) from anywhere in the world type in the domain name (Example: myhome.dyndns.org).

FREE ANTIVIRUS AND FIREWALL SECURITY

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:13:00 +0000

There are plenty of Antivirus software and Firewall security software available for free. The following is my selection of Antivirus software and Firewall security software.

ANTIVIRUS

1. Avira Antivirus

Download: http://www.free-av.com/en/index.html

The free version suits the needs of an average user.

Features (Feature list provided by AntiVir)

	AntiVir protection
	AntiDialer protection against expensive dialers
	AntiRootkit protection against hidden rootkits
	Faster Scanning up to 20% faster (compared to the previous version)
	AntiPhishing protection against phishing
	AntiSpyware protection against spyware and adware
	NetbookSupport for laptops with low resolution
	QuickRemoval eliminates viruses at the push of a button

2. Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition

Download : http://www.bitdefender.com/media/html/trialpay.html

Features (Feature list provided by Bitdefender)

	Protects your PC in real time from known viruses, spyware and other malware with hourly updates
	Blocks unknown viruses using advanced proactive detection techniques
	Monitors and prevents spyware threats in real-time
	Detects and removes the newest breed of hidden threats known as rootkits
	Helps protect you against identity theft
	Free 24/7 Support

3. AVG Antivirus

Download: http://free.avg.com/ww-en/download-avg-anti-virus-free-edition

Features (Feature list provided by AVG)

	LinkScanner® Active Surf-Shield Ensures every web page you visit is safe – even before you go there.
	LinkScanner® Search-Shield Applies safety ratings to your Google, MSN and Yahoo search results.
	Phishing Protection Checks to make sure web pages really are what they appear to be.
	E-mail Scanner Keeps you safe from dangerous attachments and links in your e-mail.
	Anti-Virus Makes sure you can’t get or spread a virus, worm, or Trojan horse.
	Anti-Spyware Prevents unauthorized information access by spyware and adware.
	Update Manager Makes sure you’re always safe from the latest threats – automatically.

FIREWALL SECURITY SOFTWARE

Among free firewall solutions I recommend the following selected software.

1. Outpost Firewall Free

Features ( feature list provided by Outpost)

	Firewall (network protection)
	Proactive host protection
	Self protection

2. Comodo Personal Firewall

Download: http://personalfirewall.comodo.com/download_firewall.html

	Firewall (network protection)
	Proactive host protection

3. Sunbelt Personal Firewall

Download: http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/home-home-office/sunbelt-personal-firewall/

Features ( list provided by sunbelt )

	Packet filter
	File integrity control
	Application communication control
	Application launch control
	Network Intrusion Prevention System
	Statistics of attacks and blocked ads
	Automatic update checker
	Extended logging

Find Similar Images Fast

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:10:00 +0000

Google is the best search out there, right? Google makes our life easier than ever. If you ask a student, professional or anyone else how to find something on the web there first reply would would be “Google it”. If you can’t find something on Google than probably its not worth finding it. Google has many features that common users aren’t aware of. Today I introduce you Google's “Similar Image Search”. It’s still in lab stage (Alpha stage or development stage). Nevertheless it works quite well. Are you ready? Go to http://similar-images.googlelabs.com. What do you want to find? For example type “Maldives” in the search box and press enter. Now you’ll see a link named “Similar images” under each image. Click it and you are taken to a page which displays images that are similar to that image. Isn't it useful?

Enjoy!

Save on VIPRE Antivirus

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:36:00 +0000

The VIPRE Antivirus from Sunbelt is a well performing antivirus software. Sunbelt is very well known in the area of security. VIPRE Antivirus costs $29.95. If you want VIPRE antivirus for $19.95 (USD) goto http://shop.sunbelt-software.com/ and select VIPRE antivirus. Enter the coupon code PCANTIVIRUSREVIEWS. Viola! You save $10 (USD).This offer expires soon.

Online medical diagnostics

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 04:15:00 +0000

Do you want check the conditions associated with the symptoms? webmd.com does just that. OK, lets play doctor. Go to http://symptoms.webmd.com/symptomchecker. Which part of your body has the symptoms?

You select the part from the picture provided. Select the symptoms and viola! conditions associated with the symptoms you choose is displayed. The interface is very adaptable and user friendly.

No to israel

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:21:00 +0000

Many NGOs, Adhaalath party and DRP in Maldives have risen against establishing diplomatic ties with the Jewish state, Israel.

On 5th October this year DRP (The main opposition party) proposed a bill regarding the issue. The heat of anger in the parliament was intense. One MP was sent out of the parliament. Some MPS accused the president of treachery and "running for the Noble Peace Award". Others said that his decision is directly connected to the relation with British conservative party. MPs supporting Israel defended the president's decision by stating that the government opposes Israel's aggression towards Palestinian people, but by establishing ties with Israel Maldives can put some pressure on Israel for an independent Palestinian state. Some MPs tried to manipulate the reality by stating that Maldives had diplomatic ties with Israel for the last thirty years, but under the hood. I wonder how the mass population will react to this.
Many Maldivian bloggers describe Israel as a monster.

Sweetest Home!

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 16:45:00 +0000

In a time when living space is becoming smaller and smaller, often its necessary to rearrange the bedroom (or anywhere else) furniture to make more room.

Whether you are an interior designer or an enthusiast "Sweet home" is sweet! It's a free interior design application. You can arrange your furniture in a virtual environment and actually see it from every angle. Yes, its a "Sweet home 3D". If you are interested (there's no reason why you shouldn't be) click here.
Enjoy.

Free SSL Virtual Private Network

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 12:59:00 +0000

Some guys might wonder "What in the world is VPN?". Don't wory, if you have no idea what a VPN is goto www.wikipedia.com and spend some time reading the article. Basically a VPN is used to access resources in a LAN from a Computer Outside the LAN. VPN's are also used to connect two LANs together. How about accessing your PC from office? After you Install and configure VPN on your home PC, all you need is an internet connection and a web browser to access your PC from any location.

So lets setup a FREE SSL Virtual Private Network.

What you need?
1- Open VPN ALS can be downloaded from www.sourceforge.net . But there's no official Windows installer. It'll be cumbersome to install and configure it manually. So I recommend downloading a third party Windows Installer for Open VPN ALS. Get it here.
You'll need to install the Java Runtime environment first, before installing the software.

2- Java Runtime Environment from http://www.java.com/getjava/

Click here to watch the Video or read the tutorial below.

How it is done
The open VPN ALS can be setup on linux too, but I am going to focus this tutorial on Windows NT. Run the Open VPN ALS Windows Installer. You will be taken to a series of steps. I am sure we Maldivians are quite familiar with installing software.

1- Its, just "Next, I Agree, Next, Next" and so on. After the installer copies the necessary files to you computer a Command Line Screen will be shown (see the picture). Just wait until a new browser window is open.

2- Don't worry if any error occurs, like failure to open the browser window automatically.Just point your browser to http://localhost:28080/.
You will need configure some settings here. Select the "Create New Certificate" option as seen in the Screen shot. Click Next.

3- Enter a password for the self signed certificate. Make sure you select a strong password. Alternatively you can use a certificate from a CA. Click Next

4- Enter details for the certificate ( see example in picture 5). Click Next
Select "Built-In". You can use active directory if you are running the Active Directory service(Windows Server). Click Next.

5- Enter a super user name, e-mail and password. Choose a strong password. This will be the admin user name and password. Click Next.

6- Configure the web server to suit your needs. You can also leave the default settings. Click Next.
If your using a proxy server then enter the proxy server settings. Click Next

7- Click Finish. Wait for the installation to finish.

8- Press any key in the Command Line Screen. Then Click Next on the Installer. You will be prompted whether you want to Install Adito as a service. I recommend installing it as a service. Click Next. Congrats! Installation completed. If necessary restart the PC.

Using the VPN

1- Go to Start > Program Files > Adito > Service - Restart

2- Point your browser to https://localhost/

3- The browser may warn you that the connection is untrusted, that is because you are using a self signed certificate. Ignore the warning and continue installing the certificate.

4- You will asked to enter User Name. Enter the Super User Name and click Login

5- When asked for the password enter your admin password.
And Viola! you are in. This is the admin panel. Configure different settings here like adding users, resources that can be accessed from another location, etc.

To make a folder accessible from outside

1- select Network Places ( Under Resources ) from the left pane.

2-You will see "Create Network Place" on the right. click the link.

3- Enter a name and description for the shared resource. make sure you check the option "Add to favourites" at the bottom. Click Next.

4- From the Dropdown Select Type as "Local File".

5- Enter the path for the folder or file.Click Next

6- From this screen you can configure permissions on who can access this resource.

If you are behind a router or a firewall you will need to forward the port (default is 443) to your PC.
To access your resources from anywhere in the world ( of course I am assuming that you have configured the VPN server correctly, and your PC is online) point your browser to http://Your-PC-IP-Here/
This is not an in depth tutorial, you will have to spend some time to discover and master all the features this powerful VNC server has to offer.
Good Luck!

Best Shoe Ad Ever

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:45:00 +0000

Its time for a little bit of humor. Little outdated, but unforgettable event.

Bush shoe attack Extended version!

Economic Terrorism

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:52:00 +0000

The Inside Story from the author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man . John Perkins was, for many years one of the worlds top economists.He worked directly with the heads of the World Bank, IMF, and other global financial institutions. He quit his work about 20 years ago because morally and ethically, he felt it was wrong to play such a key role in creating world empire at the expense of the poor and less advantaged around the world.

Identify Any image Fast

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:38:00 +0000

Its a wonderful idea and a masterpiece of technology. Its human powered image identification. You upload an image and it takes few hours to know what the picture is. This may become very handy for us Maldivians. In case we don't know the English name of some fruit, a fish, a tree or even a bird, just go to http://idthis.org/ and upload the image. Wait for an hour or two and checkout the replies from various people from all over the world.

Customize Windows 'Save As' .

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:13:00 +0000

Windows doesn't provide an option to customize the 'Save As' Dialogue which comes up when you select 'Save As' from any program.
Fortunately generous guys at simplisoftware.com provides a utility called 'places' which does the job for you. So if you are interested just go to http://simplisoftware.com/ and download the places utility. After customizing the folders its a snap to save your documents from any application directly to the special folders. It saves time because you don't have to browse to the directory where you want to save your document. Enjoy!

Israel, Our Ally!

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:53:00 +0000

The whole world accepts Israel as the most ruthless and evil country in the world. The birth of Israel is well known but few people talk about it. During the second world war United Kingdom of Britain established Israel in Palestinian land and helped Israel to become the most technologically advanced military power in the area.It was against the will of Palestinian People. Israel is responsible for the untold and unheard genocides and massacres of Palestinian people.Israel has no diplomatic relations with 36 countries, 20 of them members of the 22-member Arab League.

Today President Nasheed said that Many Muslim countries established diplomatic ties with Israel. I ask him, how many countries? And when a News reporter asked him whether Maldives as a small nation is able to do anything while powerful and enormous countries in the world have failed! He grinned and affirmed that saying what he say has value in the international organizations and community. The following countries have no diplomatic relations with Israel.

* Africa: Algeria, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Guinea, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia.
* Americas: Bolivia, Cuba, Venezuela
* East Asia: (Republic of China) North Korea
* Middle East: Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen, United Arab Emirates.
* South, Central Asia: Afghanistan ,Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Pakistan.
* Southeast Asia: Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia

Recently Bolivia and Venezuela suspended relations with Israel, yet surprisingly 100% Islamic republic of Maldives announced diplomatic relations with Israel at UN general assembly on Friday 25 September 2009!

Nasheed has very close relations with British conservative party. It is suspected that the british conservative party helped nasheed financially. As being the country responsible for the birth of Israel in a sovereign country against the will of its people, its not hard to believe that Britain offered Nasheed to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with Israel.

In the news conference Nasheed slapped Adhaalath party in the face saying its an extremist thinking to cut ties with Israel. See the definition for autocracy and judge whether Nasheed is an autocratic leader. He doesn't respect the opinions of religious scholars while he is claiming to be a Muslim! Its a clue that Nasheed wants a secular government system to be established here. I tell President Nasheed that Maldives is not his own asset, its the asset of all Maldivians. I hope president Nasheed comes to his senses before its too late.

DNR Website Vulnerable!

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 08:23:00 +0000

One of many government websites that are vulnerable to hacking is http://www.dnr.gov.mv/ which is the official website for Department of National Registration. I found out that this site can be defaced. No! I have no intentions in defacing the website. My sole intention is to make sure our government websites are secure. You don't believe me? Ok, I will reveal a less harmful vulnerability.To see for yourself checkout this link. Its an XSS vulnerability. Someone can use this website to fool users and do malicious activity! I urge the responsible authorities to fix the vulnerabilities as soon as possible.

Let me tell you one more website which is highly vulnerable and easy to deface. Its a social website running on a free CMS called joomla. This site is prone to SQL injection and XSS attacks. Test a harmless XSS attack by replacing the cookie variable with 1>"><script%20%0a%0d>alert('XSS Vulnerable')%3B</script>. The website url is http://dhifuraavaru.com/. Note: some modern browsers detect XSS attacks and remove the suspicious scripts from the rendered page.

Hacked!

noreply@blogger.com (Shamil) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:06:00 +0000

While doing some research I visited http://www.maldiveshighcom.co.in/ which is the official website for Maldives High Commission in India. And guess what happend? First my browser warned me that the website has harmful elements from rapidsystemsend.ru.Then there comes a popup alert from Kaspersky Antivirus.

Well, I ignored the warning and proceeded anyway. The page looks innocent enough. It says:

High Commission of Maldives website moved to http://maldiveshighcom.in

Dhiraagu still has this link on its website: http://www.dhiraagu.com.mv/about/links.php

I wonder how many people will fall victim to this danger.

Recently Dhiraagu also faced DDOS attacks. And even now http://dhiraagu.com.mv has a high vulnerability. Hint: Dhiraagu is running Apache server 1.3.x. But I don't think this particular vulnerability can be used to deface the website.