Tricks & Tips : Computers & Internet

Learn Programming Online

2012-02-02T09:47:00.000+05:30

People often wonder why one should learn programming. The reason is very simple. It makes you to understand the immense capability of computers, makes you feel the worth of every software you come across and you will begin to understand and appreciate the programmers for the millions of lines they have put in just to make your life even more comfortable.

How about learning programming online free?

Codecademy is a site wherein you can learn the basics of programming online. Its free and easy to use too. Its neatly directed so that you can learn programming from its very basics. The site teaches you to write codes in Javascript. Its easy, free and fun.

Go to the site and start using it.

Great Firewall of China

2012-02-02T08:07:00.000+05:30

This site sounded interesting and hence thought of sharing it to all. All it checks is whether your site is accessible from the Mainland of China.

Its really good to see that this site is accessible from China....

Click here to go to the site.

Verify Email Address

2012-01-29T17:13:00.000+05:30

We get a lot of emails everyday. Majority of these are spams. The email addresses of the sender of these mails may be false, or he/she may be using a software and generating spam messages with a wrong email address.

Here is where the verifyemailaddress.org comes to help. A very simple site with a very neat layout, it gives out information whether the email address exists or not. While the results are true to a large extent, there are servers like Yahoo, which will always return an "exists" message. It is worth checking up.

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Cut your MP3 Online for free

2011-05-01T08:13:00.001+05:30

I just found a wonderful site which is exactly what it sounds. It cuts your MP3 for free. The amazing fact about the site is that you need not upload the MP3 for cutting. The site will cut it from your hard disk itself.

You just need to browse for the MP3 and adjust the sliders to get the desired portion. The remaining things will be well taken care of by the site.

1. Click on the Open MP3 button and browse to the file you want to cut.

2.   Drag the sliders and cut the file.

Click here to go to the site

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Read ebooks easilly with Dripread

2011-04-26T08:46:00.000+05:30

We are all very busy and most of us even do not get time to finish a book (particularly if its a little big) in one go. Here is where Dripread comes to help.

Dripread is a site which sends you small amount of information from the ebook you want to read everyday. It is free to use. You just need to register and give your email address for it.

While there are a number of ebooks available at the website itself, if you have your own ebook, you can upload it to the site and the site will feed you the book in daily installments. Presently, the site does support only EPub format. But there is nothing to worry, as there are plenty of free software available in the internet for the conversion. Calibre is a software which has been recommended by the site for the conversion.

Click here to go to Dripread site

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Protect your USB drive with USBDummyProtect

2011-04-13T08:31:00.000+05:30

All of us have USB drives. We keep our valuable data, especially the one which we need frequently or the one we think is very important. So, there is no need to mention how important is the protection of our USB drives.

USBDummyProtect is a freeware which does the same thing - Provides protection to your USB drive.

Once copied into your USB drive and run the program, it fills up the remaining space in your drive. Suppose you have a 4 GB pen drive and you have a small file in it and you want to put your drive in a computer which you know is definitely affected by viruses. You just run the USBDummyProtect and it will make a dummy file and consume all the remaining space in the drive. Now, since the drive is full, no viruses can copy itself into it. When you bring back your drive, you can again run the USBDummyProtect and it will clear the dummy file and make room for you.

While this program gives you protection from many viruses, it cannot be used as an alternative of an antivirus.

The program is free and is very small too; just 12 KB. You can download USBDummyProtect from here.

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Internet and Security : Privacy concerns

2011-03-16T11:45:00.001+05:30

Majority of the websites keep track of internet users, their behaviours, search patterns and many more. Google, AOL and Yahoo are also trying their level best to track your activities online. These websites are very much aware of your search history, your problems or worries, your IP address, the model of your computer and even more.

Most of these websites use cookies to track your browsing data. The majority of internet users are not aware of this intrusion into their privacy.

Cookienator is a small program which can help you protect your privacy in the internet. On startup, it reports the tracking cookies are found in your computer. It is capable of searching cookies found in most of the modern day browsers.

Another important feature of the Cookienator is its ability to clear Flash cookies. Flash cookies, are in fact, the latest method of tracking your activities. These cookies are difficult to locate and can save a lot more information than what http cookies are capable of.

Cookienator is very light and is intelligent enough to differentiate between good and the "evil" cookies and it deletes only those cookies which are bad for you. Other cookies which are legitimate are kept untouched.

Another feature of this amazing little software is that it is light weight. It does not run continuously in your computer, eating up your precious computing power. It can be made to check for cookies periodically. And even then, it briefly runs in your computer.

Click here to download Cookienator

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20 Things I learned about Browsers and the Web by Google Chrome Team

2010-12-24T05:16:00.000+05:30

I just came across a nice little website which has been compiled by the Google Chrome Team. Its content is clear from its heading. Its about complex things of the modern day internet explained in simple and straightforward words.

The website is in the form of a book. Its written in Flash and pages are flipped as if you are reading a book.

It is very simple and easy to comprehend. I think everyone of us should read it to make ourselves more aware of the digital world in which we live.

The topics include

What is internet?
Cloud Computing
Web Apps
HTML, JavaScript, CSS and more
HTML5
3D in the Browser
A Browser Madrigal
Plugins
Browser Extensions
Synchronizing the Browser
Browser Cookies
Browser Privacy
Malware, Phishing and Security Risks
How modern Browsers help you from Malware and Phishing
Using Web Addresses to stay safe
IP Addresses and DNS
Validating Identities Online
Evolving to a faster Web
Open Source and Browsers
19 Things Later

Click here to go to the "20 Things I Learned" site

Find out if your email has been read

2010-12-18T06:00:00.016+05:30

SpyPig is a site which notifies when an email sent by you is read by the recipient. The service is free and easy to set up.

For that you need to browse to their website and enter your email address, the message title, select the image of your choice and the number of notifications you like to receive. Once you have done that, the image is displayed below the form, which you will have to copy to your mail before the activation counter reaches 0.

That is it and you will get an intimation once your mail is read.

Click here to visit SpyPig's website

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Access blocked websites using UltraSurf

2010-12-12T05:31:00.000+05:30

UltraSurf is a free software which can be used to browse websites which are otherwise censored.

The software uses advance encryption techniques which makes your surfing truly anonymous. The advance proxy technology used by them hides your real IP address from everyone else and hence it can ideally be called an anti-censorship software.

A Firefox addon is also available for this software.

Using the software requires some knowledge of IP addressing, proxy settings etc. The file is only 924 KB in size.

Click here to download UltraSurf

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Boot Multiple Operating Systems from a USB drive

2010-12-12T05:10:00.000+05:30

MultiBootISO is a free software with which you can put multiple Operating Systems in your USB drive and then boot through it.

This utility made for Windows can make your USB drive to boot through a number of Operating Systems. The number depends only on the size of the USB drive that you have. On other words, the software is a GRUB Multiple OS loader on your pendrive.

To make your USB drive bootable, first you will have to download the software. Then by the help of the software, you can drop ISO files of the Operating Systems you choose.

Apart from the OSes, there are rescue programs and utilities like GParted Partition disc, Ophcrack, and virus scanners.

Essential requirements for creating Multi-OS bootable USB drive.

FAT32 formatted USB drive.
A PC that can boot through USB drive.
Windows XP/Vista/7.
ISOs/Distributions of Operating Systems.

MultiBootISO can create a USB drive with the following Operating Systems:-

Click here to download MultiBootISOs

Organize your Photos and Videos with Pictomio

2010-12-07T07:30:00.000+05:30

Pictomio is a free photo and video organiser with excellent features. Its interface is very cool and those who like those 3D views and wonderful features would certainly love to have it.

Pictomio is essentially a software for managing, categorizing, searching and archiving your photos and videos. It also allows you to generate animated 2D and 3D slide shows. Browsing through your pictures in a 3D style is a different experience all together.

Pictures can be rated by the users. Initially the ratings would be empty. Users can also geotag your digital photos with latitude, longitude and altitude information.

Apart from these, there are various tools for web developers for improving their design. Pictomio offers support for various websites such as Picasa, ImageShack, Facebook, Flickr and Photobucket. With its EXIF editor, users can view, edit and save the meta data of JPEG files.

Click here to go to the Pictomio website

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How to Delete an "Undeletable" File

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Download images from websites in a single click

2010-12-04T07:00:00.000+05:30

All of us copy various images from websites. While there may be other ways of doing it, most of us would click on the image and then save it to our computer. The other option for us is to hit the PrintScreen button and then save the images.

OutWit images is a very useful Firefox addon for those who regularly download pictures from websites. It is free and easy to use. With a single click, all the pictures in the webpage are downloaded to your computer. It is even possible to select individual pictures too.

The application also gives options for filtering, saving the pictures. It is light weight and is just 2.6 MB in size.

The application reside as a small button near the address bar of the Firefox. All you have to do is to simply browse to the website and click the button. The OutWit Images will do the rest for you.

Its interface, I should write is super cool and easy to use.

Click here to go to OutWit Images website

Click here to install the Firefox Addon

An Excellent alternative for Windows Explorer

2010-11-28T08:39:00.000+05:30

FreeCommander is a very good alternative for Windows Explorer. Apart from being free, it has excellent capabilities. It uses Dual Panel technology and is capable of reading RAR files. It has a built in FTP client, multi rename tool and enables users to modify file date and attributes.

Its capabilities as extracted from its site are appended below:-

Dual-panel technology - horizontal and vertical
Tabbed interface
Optional tree view for each panel
Built in file viewer to view files in hex, binary, text or image format
File viewer inside archives too
Built in archive handling: ZIP (read, write), CAB (read, write), RAR (read)
Nested archive handling
Built in FTP client
Easy access to system folders, control panel, desktop and start menu
Copy, move, delete, rename files and folders
Multi rename tool
Wipe files
Create and verify MD5 checksums
File splitting
File properties and context menu
Calculation of folder size
Folder comparison / synchronization
Modification of file date and attributes
Folder / program favorites
File searching (inside archive too)
File filters for display
User defined columns for detailed view
DOS command line
Multiple language support

Click here to download FreeCommander

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How to remove SemiAntiVirus.vbs

2010-11-27T07:30:00.000+05:30

SemiAntiVirus.vbs is a Visual Basic Script and is a virus. It exploits the capability of Visual Basic Scripts to access file system and Windows Registry. When I ran a scan on Virscan.org, the file was displayed as having a virus named Worm.VBS.Autorun.bf!IK.

The Script alters the system registry and changes the title of Internet Explorer to LRI Internet Explorer. Let us see how we remove the virus.

1. Download and install LockHunter.

2. After having installed LockHunter, search for SemiAntiVirus.vbs. It probably will be in the System32 directory. Right click it and click on "What is locking this file?" option.

3. You will find that the wscript.exe is the process which is locking the file. Delete the SemiAntivirus.vbs with the program. If you are unable to do it, first click "Unlock It" button and then delete the vbs file. wscript.exe is a genuine Windows process and hence do not delete it.

4. Once you have deleted SemiAntiVirus.vbs, you need to edit system registry too. Browse to the following location:-

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Userinit

Change the value to "C:\Windows\System32\userinit.exe"

5. To change the title of Internet Explorer, go to the following registry entry:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Window Title

Change it to any string you like.

6.   Restart your computer.

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Install Windows XP in less than 15 minutes

2010-11-21T07:15:00.000+05:30

Windows XP, the most popular OS from Microsoft requires around 40 minutes to set itself up. The installation time can be reduced to near 15 minutes. This will be particularly helpful for those who frequently setup Windows XP. This is how we do it.

1. Boot from Windows XP disk.

2. After the setup has copied all the files which are required for installation of Windows XP, it will prompt you to indicate a location to install the OS.

3. After having selected the drive, the setup would now format it and reboot.

4. On reboot, the installation starts and the screen will tell you that you require around 40 minutes to complete the setup.

5. Now press Shift + F10 to bring in a Command Prompt window. Type "taskmgr" (without quotes) which will open up the Task Manager.

6. In the Task Manager, click on the Processes tab. Search for a process named Setup.exe.

7. Right click the process and set its priority to"High".

Now the installation will be faster and will complete within 15 minutes approximately.

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How to Delete an "Undeletable" File

2010-11-20T07:28:00.000+05:30

Very often we come across some files which we find are undeletable. System will simply not allow you to delete them, no matter you are in the normal or the safe mode. This situation is very common now a days and is mostly due to virus activities.

Here is where the freeware LockHunter comes to our help. LockHunter enables us to unlock, delete, rename and copy a locked folder or file.

The features of this freeware are:-

Displays the process/processes locking a file/folder.
It allows you to unlock, delete, rename or copy the file/folder.
It allows you to remove the locking processes from the hard disk.
It can integrate into the Windows Explorer.
The software puts the folders/files you delete in the Recycle Bin, so that you restore them, if you have deleted a wrong file.
Support for both 32 and 64 bit Windows.

Click here to go to LockHunter's website

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Torrent downloader for Firefox

2010-11-14T08:02:00.000+05:30

FireTorrent is a Firefox addon which integrates BitTorrent client into the Firefox browser. You can download your torrents via your browser using the addon.

All you have to do is to search for the torrent and click on the torrent link. The FireTorrent will do the rest, downloading the files like other regular downloads with a much faster speed. The addon is fully compatible with torrent clients such as BitTorrent, Vuze and uTorrent.

Click here to install the Addon

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Create Matrix effect in your Computer using Batch file

The Best Free File Recovery Software

2010-11-13T07:22:00.000+05:30

Recuva is a free software which helps you in recovering your files which got deleted accidentally. This can be documents, photos, music, video, compressed files and even mails. The software also works on rewritable media and can even recover deleted photos and images from your camera's memory card.

The file size is 1.48 MB which is quite small compared to other recovery softwares available in the internet. The interface is very simple to use. The Filename or path can be used for scanning for files. There is a portable version of this software which can run from your USB drive. It supports FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, NTFS5, EFS file systems.

Recovery from a damaged or corrupted disk or even a formatted disk can be done using the software. The software supports email recovery from email client such as Outlook Express, Thunderbird, Windows Live Mail. It can help you recover your favourite music from your iPod, mp3 player etc too.

Go to Recuva's homepage here

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Right Click to open Command Prompt inside any Directory

2010-11-08T08:20:00.000+05:30

If you use the Command Prompt very frequently, you might had thought of opening the Command Prompt right where you want to. By Default the command prompt opens in your user profile's home directory. There is a way of bringing it on in to the right click menu and then you can be able to open Command Prompt in every Folder. In Windows 7, this is fairly simple. Select the folder you wish to open the Command Prompt. While keeping the Shift key pressed, right click the folder. You will get the option "Open Command Window Here".

In Windows XP, we will have to edit the Registry for it. Lets see how we do it.

1. Open Registry Editor by typing "regedit" (without quotes) in the Run menu.

2. Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell.

3. Right click the shell folder and choose NEW-> Key from the context menu. Rename the key name as "Open_Command_Prompt_Here" and press Enter.

4. Now right click the Open_Command_Prompt_Here key and choose New -> Key from the menu. Type command for the new key name and press enter.

5. Right click the command key and double click the Default key in the right hand pane. Give it a value cmd.exe /k cd %1 It will be better if you copy the value from here and paste. Press enter and you are done.

Exit the Registry Editor and try right clicking any folder.

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Free Online File Converter

2010-11-06T20:38:00.000+05:30

We use a lot of applications to convert our files to another format to be able to be played/viewed in portable players. I found out a site which does Audio, Video, Image, Document, Ebook conversions and Hash Generation.

In Audio conversions, you have an option to convert your files to AAC, FLAC, M4A, MMF Ringtone, MP3, OGG, WAV and WMA formats.

In Video, the formats available are 3G2, 3GP, AVI, FLV, MKV, MOV, MP4, MPEG2, OGG, VP8 and WMV. Apart from these you can convert your video files to be viewed in iPhone, iPod, PS3, XBOX etc.

In the Image section, the formats available are BMP, EPF, GIF, HDR/EXR, JPG, PDF, PNG, SVG, TGA, TIFF and WBMP.

You can convert your documents to DOC, FLASH, HTML, ODT, PDF and TEXT files.

In the Ebooks, conversions can be made to EPUB, FB2, LIT, LRF, MOBI, PBD, TCR etc.

The conversions are pretty fast and are good in terms of quality.

Check out the website Online-Convert.com here

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Free Online Desktop

2010-10-31T20:30:00.000+05:30

Computers are indeed making our lives simpler, richer and more productive day by day. With the advancement of technology, next generation computers would be just devices with are internet-enabled. The amount of storage space, power of computing and the applications could be personalized online. You just require a browser and can perform everything online.

MyGoya is a free Operating System which runs in your browser. In order to access MyGoya, Adobe Flash Player & Java must be installed on your computer. The interface is extremely beautiful and simple.

It offers a number of applications like Private Messenger, Chat, Mail, Notepad, Calendar, Media Player, Bookmarks. You will also be able to use Magix Website Maker with your MyGoya account. Your storage space is on the web, so you need not be worried about a hard disk crash or theft.

The sign up is simple and just require your email address, name and country. A verification mail will be sent to your computer with login details and the activation link.

While describing all the beauties of MyGoya, a decent internet connection - with a minimum speed of 512kbps is required to experience the real action.

Get your MyGoya account here.

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How to Disable Advertisements in Foxit Reader

2010-10-30T08:44:00.000+05:30

Foxit Reader is a free PDF reader and it is very popular for its speed and other capabilities. I love its performance when compared to Adobe Acrobat Reader. Apart from that, it is really light weight when compared to other readers. Undoubtedly, its the best PDF reader available today.

Only little thing bad I noticed about the reader was the advertisement shown in the right hand top corner. If you don't like them there is a way to remove them.

In the older versions, it was as simple as clicking on "View "on the Menu bar and uncheck the Advertisement option five times. The advertisements would never show up again.

In newer versions, you will have to edit the Registry for removing the ads. First you will have to open Registry Editor by typing "regedit" (without quotes) in the Run menu. Browse to the following location:-

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Foxit Software\Foxit Reader\MainFrame

You will find the following keys in the right hand side pane.

ShowEditorAd

ShowReaderAd

ShowTypewriterAd

ShowPOAd

ShowSDKAd

ShowFFAd

Double click all the above keys one by one and give them a value of 0. The Reader will no longer show you advertisements.

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This Blog is now CommentLuv

2010-10-24T07:05:00.000+05:30

This blog has now been upgraded with CommentLuv. CommentLuv is essentially a plugin which is a reward for commenters. It places the title of the latest blog post under their comments. This way, CommentLuv can increase traffic from this site to sites which comment on this blog.

Now when you comment on this blog, you will get a link back to your site too. Start Commenting.

Optimize your Laptop's battery using BatteryCare for free

2010-10-23T08:06:00.001+05:30

I had earlier written about tips for saving your laptop's battery life. Here is a software which does exactly that. Optimizing your laptop's battery and saving it. The software is free and has many features.

1.   Battery's discharge cycle monitoring.

2.   Battery Statistics - This software displays several useful information like Charge, wear level, capacity, consumption, manufacturer etc.
3.   CPU and HDD temperature monitoring.
4.   Automatic switching of Power plans . Selects the suitable Power plan as per the power supply.

Apart from the above, the software is light and it will not hinder your system's performance. The software is just 1.4 MB and its free.

BatteryCare can be downloaded from here.

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