Geek Zone

YOU WILL BE REDIRECTED

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 12:09:00 +0000

This web site has MOVED to HERE

Your browser should automatically take you there in 7 seconds.

If not, please go to

http://aravinth.wordpress.com

Finished ‘Potter’? Rowling tells what happens next

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 17:57:00 +0000

Spoiler alert: This story reveals some key plot points in the final Harry Potter book. So if you've haven't finished the book, J.K. Rowling asks that you not read this story.

If you found the epilogue of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” rather vague, then J.K. Rowling achieved her goal.

The author was shooting for “nebulous,” something “poetic.” She wanted the readers to feel as if they were looking at Platform 9¾ through the mist, unable to make out exactly who was there and who was not.

“I do, of course, have that information for you, should you require it,” she told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira rather coyly in her first interview since fans got their hands on the final book.
Ummm … yes, please!

Rowling said her original epilogue was “a lot more detailed,” including the name of every child born to the Weasley clan in the past 19 years. (Victoire, who was snogging Teddy — Lupin and Tonks’ son — is Bill and Fleur’s eldest.)

“But it didn’t work very well as a piece of writing,” Rowling said. “It felt very much that I had crowbarred in every bit of information I could … In a novel you have to resist the urge to tell everything.”

But now that the seventh and final novel is in the hands of her adoring public, Rowling no longer has to hold back any information about Harry Potter from her fans. And when 14 fans crowded around her in Edinburgh Castle in Scotland earlier this week as part of TODAY’s interview, Rowling was more than willing to share her thoughts about what Harry and his friends are up to now.

Harry, Ron and Hermione
We know that Harry marries Ginny and has three kids, essentially, as Rowling explains, creating the family and the peace and calm he never had as a child.

As for his occupation, Harry, along with Ron, is working at the Auror Department at the Ministry of Magic. After all these years, Harry is now the department head.

“Harry and Ron utterly revolutionized the Auror Department,” Rowling said. “They are now the experts. It doesn’t matter how old they are or what else they’ve done.”

Meanwhile, Hermione, Ron’s wife, is “pretty high up” in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, despite laughing at the idea of becoming a lawyer in “Deathly Hallows.”

“I would imagine that her brainpower and her knowledge of how the Dark Arts operate would really give her a sound grounding,” Rowling said.

Harry, Ron and Hermione don’t join the same Ministry of Magic they had been at odds with for years; they revolutionize it and the ministry evolves into a “really good place to be.”

“They made a new world,” Rowling said.

The wizarding naturalist
Luna Lovegood, the eccentric Ravenclaw who was fascinated with Crumple-Horned Snorkacks and Umgubular Slashkilters, continues to march to the beat of her own drum.

“I think that Luna is now traveling the world looking for various mad creatures,” Rowling said. “She’s a naturalist, whatever the wizarding equivalent of that is.”

Luna comes to see the truth about her father, eventually acknowledging there are some creatures that don’t exist.

“But I do think that she’s so open-minded and just an incredible person that she probably would be uncovering things that no one’s ever seen before,” Rowling said.

Luna and Neville Longbottom?
It’s possible Luna has also found love with another member of the D.A.

When she was first asked about the possibility of Luna hooking up with Neville Longbottom several years ago, Rowling’s response was “Definitely not.” But as time passed and she watched her characters mature, Rowling started to “feel a bit of a pull” between the unlikely pair.

Ultimately, Rowling left the question of their relationship open at the end of the book because doing otherwise “felt too neat.”

Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom: “The damage is done.”

There is no chance, however, that Neville’s parents, who were tortured into madness by Bellatrix Lestrange, ever left St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies.

“I know people really wanted some hope for that, and I can quite see why because, in a way, what happens to Neville’s parents is even worse than what happened to Harry’s parents,” Rowling said. “The damage that is done, in some cases with very dark magic, is done permanently.”

Rowling said Neville finds happiness in his grandmother’s acceptance of him as a gifted wizard and as the new herbology professor at Hogwarts.

The fate of Hogwarts
Nineteen years after the Battle of Hogwarts, the school for witchcraft and wizardry is led by an entirely new headmaster (“McGonagall was really getting on a bit”) as well as a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. That position is now as safe as the other teaching posts at Hogwarts, since Voldemort’s death broke the jinx that kept a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor from remaining for more than a year.

While Rowling didn’t clarify whether Harry, Ron and Hermione ever return to school to finish their seventh year, she did say she could see Harry popping up every now and again to give the “odd talk” on Defense Against the Dark Arts.

More details to come?
Rowling said she may eventually reveal more details in a Harry Potter encyclopedia, but even then, it will never be enough to satisfy the most ardent of her fans.

“I’m dealing with a level of obsession in some of my fans that will not rest until they know the middle names of Harry’s great-great-grandparents,” she said. Not that she’s discouraging the Potter devotion!

“I love it,” she said. “I’m all for that.”

Find Hidden passwords in Firefox

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 04:43:00 +0000

Whenever you log in to a website using your username and password, you'll be prompted by Firefox whether you'd like Firefox to remember this password.

If you click on Remember, the next time you visit the website, it'll automatically enter the username and password for your convenience.

Now, back to the topic. Let's say you saved your GMail password in Firefox. After months or years gone by and you don't remember the password you set for my GMail. You started to panic and desperately need to get back your GMail password.

Don't worry, here's how you can find the hidden GMail password in Firefox.

Firefox is much better than Internet Explorer in terms of managing "remembered" logins. In Internet Explorer, there is no built-in feature where you can manage or view your saved login information. That's why you need third party tools to reveal the passwords hidden under asterisks. As for Firefox, you can access remembered passwords with a few clicks.

To view your remembered passwords in Firefox browser, go to Tools, and click on Options. Go to Security tab and click on the Show Passwords button. A remember password dialog box will appear. Click on the Show Passwords button again and a new column with password will appear.

With this feature, you won't need any tools to reveal the hidden passwords under asterisks. This topic has nothing to do with cracking or hacking. It's a feature that's included in Firefox browser.

There's a tool I found called FirePassword designed to decrypt the username and password list from firefox sign-on database. It works on similar line as Firefox's built-in password manager but it can be used as offline tool to get the username/password information without running the Firefox. It is DOS based and the manual says that FirePassword requires only 3 files which is key3.db, cert8.db and signons.txt. This 3 files can be found in Firefox profile directory.

All you need to do is place the 3 files together with FirePassword and run FirePassword.exe. Weirdly, I am able to decrypt all my username and password by copying ONLY the signons.txt file. Looks like it's not necessary to include the other 2 files.

You can export the decrypted username and password into text file by running this command "firepassword.exe > logins.txt".

Note: If a "master password" is being used and you don't know the master password, you won't be able to view the remembered passwords in Firefox and also use FirePassword to decrypt the the username and password list from firefox sign-on database

Download FirePassword

Google is a Friendly Search Engine

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 05:27:00 +0000

Without doubt, Google is the most useful website on the Internet. You can search almost anything on it. Google search engine is also very friendly because when you visit google.com, you only get a clean and simple page where you just type what you would like to search.

Because of Google powerful and smart crawling robots, there are also many sensitive information being made available in Google search results. You can search for MP3s, Windows XP serial numbers, ebooks, videos, passwords and etc... Johnny Long has the largest Google hacking database search strings. Yeah I know you most probably been there and you find the search strings confusing.

Here's a a front end graphical user interface program for google hacking. You no longer need to copy and edit the search strings.

Google Hacks is a compilation of carefully crafted Google searches that expose novel functionality from Google's search and map services.

You can use it to view a timeline of your search results, view a map, search for music, search for books, and perform many other specific kinds of searches.

The installation file is only 777KB. If you don't want to install Google Hacks on your computer, you can download and use the portable version of Google Hacks. There's a note in the program saying that the hacks should ONLY be used to test the security of YOUR own domain. So use it wisely and don't abuse it.

Download

Difference between Boys and Girls while using ATM

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 03:59:00 +0000

Boys:

1. Drive to the bank, park and go to the Cash Dispenser.
2. Insert card
3. Dial code and desired amount
4. Take the cash, the card and the slip

Girls:
1. Drive to the bank
2. Engine stalled
3. Check make-up in the mirror
4. Apply perfume
5. Manually check haircut
6. Park the car - failure
7. Park the car - failure
8. Park the car - Success
9. Search for the card in the handbag
10. Insert card, rejected by the machine
11. Throw phone card back in handbag,
12. Look for bank card.
13. Insert Card
14. Look for Secret Box (where secret code is written)in Handbag
15. Enter code
16. Study instructions for 2 minutes
17. #Cancel#
18. Re-enter code
19. #Cancel#
20. Call Boyfriend/husband to get correct the code
21. Enter desired amount
22. #Error#
23. Enter bigger amount
24. #Error#
25. Enter maximum amount
27. Take cash
28. Go back to the car
29. Check make up in rear mirror
30. Look for keys in handbag
31. Start car
32. Drive 50 meters
33. STOP
34. Drive back to bank machine
35. Go out of the car
36. Take card and ticket back from machine
37. Go back to the car
38. Throw card on passenger seat
39. Throw slip on the floor
40. Check make up in rear mirror
41. Manually check haircut
42. Go into roundabout - wrong way
43. BRAKE
44. Go into roundabout - right way
45. Drive 5 kilometers
46. Remove hand brake

47. Call boyfriend/husband to tell how miserable she was because of HIM.

Restore Taskmanager, Regedit, Folder Options disabled by virus

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:52:00 +0000

Let's face it. All of us have been infected by virus before. Even if you have anti-virus installed, you can still be infected by a new or custom virus that is not recognized by your anti-virus. Sometimes after removing the virus completely from our system, you'll face new problems such as you can no longer bring up Windows Task Manager from CTRL+ALT+DEL. You get the error message saying "Task Manager has been disabled by your administrator".
Task Manager has been disabled by your administrator

You think that it's easy to fix this problem by going to Registry Editor but you can't! You get the error message "Registry editing has been disabled by your administrator".
Registry editing has been disabled by your administrator

Folder Options and even Show Hidden Files & Folder is disabled! How frustrating! Don't worry, here's how to restore your Windows Task Manager, Registry Editor, Folder Options and Show hidden files & folders.

This problem is most commonly caused by a virus called "Brontok". Brontok virus will make some changes to the system restrictions in order to hide itself from easy detection and also from easy cleaning.

Here's a free tool called Remove Restrictions Tool (RRT) which is able to re-enables all what the virus had previously disabled, and gives you back the control over your own computer.
Restore windows restrictions

Remove Restrictions Tool is able to re-enable:
- Registry Tools (regedit)
- Ctrl+Alt+Del
- Folder Options
- Show Hidden Files

Small and easy to use. Make sure you boot in to Safe Mode to use Remove Restrictions Tool (RRT). Just click on the buttons and it'll do it's job.

Download Remove Restrictions Tool (RRT)

Think You're Computer Smart? Play this to prove it

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:50:00 +0000

What makes this logic game different from others? This logic game has something to do with computer and will test you if you're computer smart enough to figure out both the question and answers just by looking at what is presented in front of you. Some of the test include viewing HTML source code, searching Google, picture editing, sound editing and etc... If you don't know how to view HTML source code, edit picture and audio, then you need to improve your computing skills before you play this logic game. On the first day when this game was open to public, it already hit 3000 unique players! They are targeting 10000 players now...

When I started playing, it "looked" kind of easy. But when after getting the answers wrong again and again, I started to pay more attention what's on the screen. I think it'll be a challenge to all computer geeks who thinks he knows it all but then couldn't even get far on this game.

OddPawn is a game of logic. You need to see what is presented in front of you and then figure out how you can use that in order to answer the question on hand. Sometimes you need to look really hard to find both the question and the answer.
Test your IQ

It's easy to play this game. No complicated registration required. Just click on the image that says "START THE GAME". The page thing you need to do is provide your name for OddPawn to identify you.
Play logic IQ game

Please take note that OddPawn recognizes you by your IP address. If you play on the same network, everything stays as you left it. There is no need to save anything as you're automatically remembered by the system. So if you play OddPawn on another network with a different IP address, you'll have to start all over again.

Currently there are official hints up to level 7. Here's a good hint for you to go far in this game... "Google is your best friend".

Before starting this game, a simple rule for all of you to remember. Do NOT be a spoiler and reveal answers that you already know. If you post out the answers, it wouldn't be fun anymore for honest players. So keep them to yourself okay?

Last but not least, I hope you'll leave a comment on up to which level you've reached. For me, I am still at Level 4 (feeling shy). I will continue when I have more time.

Play OddPawn

Rapidshare Premium Account Alternative

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:48:00 +0000

Need to download some files that is around 1GB from RapidShare very urgently and can't afford the wait time? 1GB equals to 10 parts because RapidShare only supports 100MB per upload. Definitely a lot of time will be wasted in waiting. Thinking of signing up RapidShare Premium account but none the packages are worth it because you very seldom download files from RapidShare.

Here's a cheaper alternative which you can use to download from RapidShare, Megaupload, Megarotic, and more to come without paying for full RapidShare Premium account packages.

FileDownloader is a small and simple application which allows you to download any file from famous file sharing websites such as RapidShare and Megaupload in fast and easy way. All you need is to paste the links to FileDownloader and the download will start automatically. No flat-rates on fixed monthly fee. The benefits of using FileDownloader is that you pay for downloaded traffic. Just 0.5$ for 1GB.
FileDownloader - Download from RapidShare Megaupload no limits

Although just $0.5 for 1GB may seems cheap, but let's calculate to understand in what situation will FileDownloader be worth using.

FileDownloader charges $0.50 for 1GB.

RapidShare Premium account packages. RapidShare allows 5GB download per day.
48 hours(10GB) = $6
30 days(150GB) = $9.39

Let's calculate and compare FileDownloader with RapidShare Premium for 2 days/48 hours.
RapidShare Premium 48 hours(10GB) = $6
FileDownloader 10GB = $0.50 x 10 = $5 (CHEAPER)

Compare FileDownloader with RapidShare Premium for 1 month.
RapidShare Premium 1 month(150GB) = $9.39 (MUCH CHEAPER)
FileDownloader 150GB = $0.50 x 150 = $75

As you can see, FileDownloader will be useful IF you're downloading less than 10GB. That includes if you won't be downloading anything from RapidShare for the whole month. Otherwise, it will be more worth it to get the 1 month RapidShare Premium account.

The author of FileDownloader, Alexander Vetrin, is kind enough to provide me with free 5GB for me to test out FileDownloader. I've tested it and it is able to download files from RapidShare and Megaupload without limitations until your credit or balance runs out. One thing I noticed is that you won't be able to select which servers to download from for RapidShare. Some of the Rapidshare servers are very slow to me and if I use that server to download, the download speed will only reach about 30KBps when my connection can go up to 100KBps.

And one more thing, FileDownloader acts like a download manager that supports download resuming. If you'd like to stop downloading and continue the next day, it is able to start from where you previously stopped downloading.

The author of FileDownloader explains to me that he did not use any proxy or hacking method to bypass the RapidShare and Megaupload download restrictions. He buys premium accounts for various filesharing websites in bulk and then use it on FileDownloader.

A great solution to those people who needs to download short-term from RapidShare without waiting.

Download FileDownloader

MySpace launches YouTube rival

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:45:00 +0000

Online social networking powerhouse MySpace has set out to knock YouTube from its throne by launching a website devoted to Internet video and television shows.

MySpaceTV is a platform for homemade video and professional productions, such as news programs and "webisodes" made for the Internet of US shows like Prom Queen.

"This works just as well for NBC and Fox and for the aspiring Steven Spielberg as it does for the kid doing skateboard tricks on the weekend," MySpace vice-president Jeff Berman told AFP.

"We've seen video explode as a way for users to connect."

The test program unveiled is customised in seven languages for the US Internet firm's users worldwide.

The site's creators hope to replicate the success of MySpace, which gets more visitors than any other website in the United States and is the most popular online social community in the world, according to industry statistics.

The teen-oriented website is a forum in which people share pictures, journal entries, videos, music and more on personalised profile pages.

MySpaceTV is taking on YouTube, the undisputed king of online video sharing.

Its share of the US market surged 70 per cent in the first five months of 2007, reports tracking firm Hitwise.

Since February, MySpace has gained on Google-owned YouTube when it comes to the numbers of videos streamed to people's computers

Orkut ScrapMania

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 17:07:00 +0000

Orkut tips and messages made grouped in ScrapMania.com

These are some of the services provided by them

Messages
A huge collection of animated and static messages to send to your friends adding fun to their scrapbooks.

Generators
Create your own messages and send them to your friends. You can use our generators to instantly create cool scraps.

MSN and Orkut Profile Images
Select from an array of cool personalized pictures to represent you that others will see on your profile. You may change it at any time.

Emoticons and Smiles
Feel free to save as many emoticons and smiles as you want. You can use them in your MSN. Just save and use.

ASCII Art
Do you want to "color" your friend's scrapbooks? Check out a world of ASCII in full color that will make you look at the symbols on your keyboard differently.

Online Games
Over 3500 free online games for you to play.

Tabbed Yahoo Messenger

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 16:55:00 +0000

As you may have seen in the preview of Yahoo! Messenger for Windows Vista, tabbed IM windows are coming soon. This feature lets you group multiple conversations into one IM window and use tabs to navigate among them.

As it turns out, there are several hidden features that are built into Yahoo! Messenger, which can be turned on with changes to the Windows registry settings. One of our Messenger engineers, Hung Nguyen, developed some code that when installed, adds tabs to Yahoo! Messenger 8.1 (on Windows XP).

To try it out, first close all the IM windows you have open. Then click the “Turn ON tabs in Yahoo! Messenger” link below. When the download window appears, click the “Run” button and follow the on-screen instructions to install it. The next time you’re in two or more IM conversations at the same time, you’ll see the tabs in action. To close a tab, just right click on it.

Turn ON tabs in Yahoo! Messenger 8.1

Turn OFF tabs in Yahoo! Messenger 8.1

Working Proxies for Orkut

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 10:41:00 +0000

Working Proxies for Orkut

* http://images.orkut.com
* http://images3.orkut.com
* http://backfox.com
* http://atunnel.com
* http://calculatepie.com
* http://bravebadger.com
* http://kproxy.com
* http://www.stupidcensorship.com
* http://www.vmathpie.com
* http://www.ipfaker.com

In many places like office, college, browsing centers....
Some of the websites have been blocked
Simply by using this websites you can able to browse them without any problem
This list will be updated if you came to known more websites
if you known some other websites like this please leave it on comments

Insert Extra Large Smileys in Orkut Scrap

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 10:38:00 +0000

Instructions:
----->Select the model u want to insert
----->Right click and select copy
----->Now go to orkut
----->and right click on message box and select paste

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•[/gold][yellow]•[/yellow]••[silver]••••••••••••••••••[/silver]••[gold]••[/gold]
•[yellow]••[/yellow]••••••[silver]••••••••[/silver]••••••[gold]••[/gold]
•[gold]•[/gold][yellow]•••[/yellow]••••••••••••••••[gold]••••[/gold]
••[/gold]•[/gold][yellow]••••[/yellow]•••[silver]••••••[/silver]•••[gold]•••••[/gold]
•••[gold]••[/gold][yellow]•••••[/yellow]••••••[gold]•••••••[/gold]
•••••[gold]•••[yellow]••••[/yellow]•••••••••[/gold]
••••••••[gold]••••••••••[/b]

Giving away Commercial Game and Licensed Software for free

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:45:00 +0000

Shocked to read the title of this article? It's something very new to me and I think this is a very good concept where both visitors and author of game/software will benefit. We, the visitors will get commercial game and licensed software everyday for free and the author of the game/software will gain more exposures.

Basically, one software title will be nominated everyday. The software will be available for download for 24 hours (or more, if agreed by software publisher) and that software will be absolutely free. That means - not a trial, not a limited version - but a registered and legal version of the software will be free for the visitors. The software product will be presented in its full functionality, without any limitations save for those mentioned in Terms and Conditions.

Giveaway of the day
Giveaway of the Day will provide the download link on their web-site for the agreed period of time, together with the review of the software product and the information about other products from the software publisher presenting the giveaway title. Once the software or game has passed the 24 hours giveaway time, you won't be able to active it for free anymore. This method really makes people to visit the Giveaway website everyday.

To license the game or software, you have to download from the Giveaway website. Inside the archive file, there should be a file Activate.exe. You need to run activate.exe first and only install the software or game.
Activate Shareware and Commercial Game
I noticed that each activate.exe that comes together with the software or game is different because of the file size.

One very good feature that's included in the Giveaway website is the "Rating" system. It helps new visitors to have an idea if the game or software is worth downloading or not. The more thumbs up, the better the software/game is.
Rate Software and Game

Please note that the software you download and install during the Giveaway period comes with the following important limitations. You won't be getting any free technical support from the author of the software, no free upgrades to future versions and you can't use it for commercial purposes.

Thanks to Matthew Votsikas for suggesting this website to me.

Software Giveaway | Game Giveaway

How to clear Google Search history

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:42:00 +0000

One of the main reason why some people would like to clear their Google search history from web browser and Google Toolbar is to maintain their privacy. If you own your own desktop or laptop which is used only by you, then it's fine. But if your computer is shared with a few people, sometimes it's just not nice to let them "accidentally" find out what you were looking for. An example below would be embarrassing.
Clear Google Search History

Here's how you can clear Google's search history from Firefox, Internet Explorer and Google Toolbar for Firefox and Internet Explorer.

The below instruction A and B is for deleting search history from the Google home page search box. This is if you use either Firefox or Internet Explorer and manually type in Google.com address to perform the search.

A. Internet Explorer 7
1. Go to Tools menu
2. Select Options
3. On General tab, click on the "Delete..." button from the Browsing History area.
4. Click "Delete forms..." button from the Form data area.
Remove search history
5. Click Yes to confirm.

B. In Mozilla Firefox
1. Go to Tools menu
2. Select Options
3. Select the "Privacy" tab
4. On the Private Data area, click on the "Clear Now..." button.
5. Make sure the "Saved Form and Search History" is checked and click on the Clear Private Data Now.
Clear Visited Link

The below instruction C and D is if you have Google Toolbar installed on your Firefox or Internet Explorer browser.

C. Internet Explorer with Google Toolbar
1. Click on the Google logo on the Toolbar to access the drop-down menu.
2. Select the "Clear History" option.
Clear Internet Explorer Google Toolbar Search History

C. Firefox with Google Toolbar
1. Click on the Google logo on the Toolbar.
2. Select "Clear Search History" option.
Clear Firefox Google Toolbar Search History

As you can see, clearing search history from Google Toolbar on Internet Explorer and Firefox is slightly a bit different. Not sure why they made it that way... Although it seems easy to clear Google search history, I did not immediately knew where to clear Google search history in Firefox Google Toolbar. I was searching through the options and the drop-down but I missed clicking the Google logo where the "Clear Search History" option is.

WebTop - Your Personalized Desktop anywhere

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:39:00 +0000

You've heard of Laptop and Desktop but have you heard of "WebTop"? I don't think it's something very new but it's certainly new to me! A webtop or web desktop is a virtual desktop on the web, running in a web browser as software. Web desktops often are characterized by an environment similar to that of Windows, Mac, or Linux, but are now considered to have much more functionality being dependent on the internet. Typical benefits include the ability to save work and settings over the internet rather than to the local desktop.

Here's a scenario. You are going overseas for a month. You don't have a laptop and you only have a desktop. Of course you can use remote access to access your home desktop from another computer but to leave your desktop turned on 24 hours a day for the whole month is rather risky. What if there's a power failure and it shuts off your computer? Moreover, leaving your desktop turned on 24 hours for the whole month gives hacker plenty of time to hack in.

Here's how WebTop can be useful. You can upload your important files to a free WebTop service, and you can easily access your web desktop from any computer. You can also edit your documents from your webtop!

I got to know about WebTop when I heard about AjaxWindows.
AjaxWindows - Web Desktop
Then, while searching for more information on web desktop, I found 30 more web desktop. Some are free and some are commercial web desktop which requires you to pay. You can check the list at Wikipedia.

There are Pros and Cons in using WebTop.
Pros:
- Don't require installation of software. Can run directly from web browser.
- You can access your own personalized desktop from anywhere
- Works on any operating system as long as there is internet connection and web browser
- Ability to share application among users located at different locations

Cons:
- A high speed internet is a must. I think it'd be impossible to use if you're using a 56kbps connection.
- If someone manage to obtain your username and password, he is able to access your web desktop.
- If the webtop doesn't use secure connection (https), it is possible for a hacker to sniff your data while you're transferring documents from your desktop to your webtop.

WebTop is certainly a very good concept if you don't want to use remote access. Other than using WebTop to retrieve your own files, you can also use to write quick notes in case you might forget when you get home. For example, sometimes when I am on a servicing job, I learn a new tip or got to know a new website. Instead of logging in to my webmail, and sending it to my own email address, I can log in to my WebTop and write a sticky note. When I get home, I can note down the website or tip.

See how useful can a web desktop (webtop) be? I love computer so much because there's always something new to learn EVERYDAY.

About Windows Hosts File

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:36:00 +0000

There's a Hosts file on every operating system. Yes, Windows, Mac OS, Linux and Unix, all of them has it. For Windows XP, the hosts file is located at WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc and it's called HOSTS without any extension. You can open the HOSTS file with notepad and you should see something like this.
Windows HOSTS file
The hosts file is a computer file used to store information on where to find a node on a computer network. This file maps hostnames to IP addresses. The hosts file is used as a supplement to (or instead of) the domain name system on networks of varying sizes. This file is (unlike DNS) under the control of the user who is using the computer.

Your HOSTS file may now be empty and useless. I'll show you how you can put it to work and protect your computer from danger.

You can use HostsMan, the free hosts file manager and editor to manage your HOSTS file.
Repair HOSTS file
It has the ability to enable or disable your HOSTS file, edit your HOSTS file and update your host from 4 websites that maintain it. By updating your hosts file, you're able to filter out advertisements. This can save network bandwidth, as well, by eliminating a request to the DNS server normally used for obtaining address information, as well as by not downloading the advertisements.

Before doing anything to your HOSTS file using HostsMan, it is advisable to make a backup first in case you want to restore your original HOSTS file. To make your backup, press CTRL+B simultaneously or go to Hosts menu and select "Manage Backups...". Click on the Create Backup button to backup your current HOSTS file.

To update your HOSTS file, click on the middle button that says "Update Hosts" when you run HostsMan.
Edit HOSTS file
Check MVPS Hosts, hpHosts, Mike's Ad Blocking Hosts, Peter Lowe's AdServers List and click the Update button. It will then check for updates and prompt you if you want to continue to update hosts file. Click Yes to continue. Next, it will download all 4 hosts files, delete duplicates and update your HOSTS file. The next thing you'll notice on HostsMan is the number of Hosts Names that has been increased to tens of thousands.
Update HOSTS list

Please take note that your hosts file can be "hijacked", or used for malicious purposes. For example, adware, computer viruses, trojan horses, or other malware can edit the hosts file (particularly on Windows-based systems) to redirect traffic from a "safe" site (such as Google) to sites hosting content that may be offensive or intrusive to the user or the user’s computer system.

If you're afraid of your hosts file being hijacked, you can use limited accounts for normal everyday use. Not only it can protect your HOSTS file, but all system and program files as well.

Download HostsMan v3.0.42

Bypass Website Registration

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:33:00 +0000

You're browsing the web and you click a link to an article on a site (let's say nytimes.com) but instead of getting the article you get a screen asking you to login or register. Most of the time I don't really use my real information to register. I can easily use a temporary disposable email address to sign up and then verify my membership in order to be a member of the website. I think the biggest reason why most of us don't like registering to view full contents is we don't want to give people our real information away. Imagine if every site in the world required registration to access content! That'd really be annoying and the whole world has your info!

Here's a very useful website which "shares" logins so you don't need to waste your time in registering an account to access a website that requires compulsory registration.

Avoid website registration
BugMeNot.com was created as a mechanism to quickly bypass the login of web sites that require compulsory registration and/or the collection of personal/demographic information (such as the New York Times). All of the username and password listed on BugMeNot are added by users. So if the first login don't work, you can try the second one. If you can't find a working login for a site then you can register with that site using fake details and then do BugMeNot a favor by adding to the list for other users to use.

To find login for a website, just visit BugMeNot.com, type the website address and click on the "Get Logins" button. It will then show you the list of logins found with username, password and also the success rate. If you see a low percentage of success rate, chances are it won't work. So don't bother wasting your time in trying to use that login.
Search BugMeNot login

Some websites such as pay-per-view which require users to pay money to access the site, banking and e-commerce websites can be blocked from BugMeNot system by easily submitting a request form. At least we know that BugMeNot is not a website that shares all sorts of hacked passwords. It's for our own convenience.

Currently BugMeNot has logins for 162679 sites. Unfortunately, there is no way to view the list of websites that has logins on BugMeNot. You can only do a search from BugMeNot website.

To make Firefox users life easier, there's a great plugin that works with BugMeNot. Simply install the plugin, then visit any website such as New York Times website and click on the login. You'll then see a form which ask you to input the Member ID or E-Mail Address and Password. RIGHT CLICK in a username or password text field to see the option "Login with BugMeNot". Click on it and it'll automatically search for logins from BugMeNot and automatically input into the text field.
Login with BugMeNot

You can access some of the options in BugMeNot extension by going to Tools -> Add-ons and click on the Options button when you highlight BugMeNot. By default, all four options are unchecked and in my opinion, it's the best setting already.
Bypass Website Registration

Please note that BugMeNot's Firefox extension is NOT created by BugMeNot. It is created by Eric from RoachFiend.

Download BugMeNot Firefox Extension

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix filmed

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 17:56:00 +0000

YouTube in Local Languages

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 13:57:00 +0000

Literally, it might be known as Voustube, Voitubo or Vocetubo, but the world's most popular video-sharing site introduced local-language sites in nine countries on Tuesday that will all just go by YouTube.

Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, the co-founders of YouTube, which was acquired by Web search leader Google Inc. for $1.65 billion last year, told a news conference here that the nine country sites will eventually feature locally popular content.

YouTube unveiled national sites for Brazil (http://www.youtube.com.br), Britain (http://youtube.co.uk), France (youtube.fr), Ireland (youtube.ie), Italy (http://it.youtube.com), Japan (youtube.jp), the Netherlands (youtube.nl), Poland (youtube.pl) and Spain (youtube.es).

How to disable your (C:, D:, E: ) drives in My Computer

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 17:52:00 +0000

This is a great trick you can play on your friends. To disable the display of local or networked drives when you click My Computer.

1.Go to start->run.Type regedit.Now go to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

Now in the right pane create a new DWORD item and name it NoDrives(it is case sensitive). Now modify it's value and set it to 3FFFFFF (Hexadecimal) .Now restart your computer. So, now when you click on My Computer, no drives will be shown(all gone...). To enable display of drives in My Computer, simply delete this DWORD item that you created.Again restart your computer.You can now see all the drives again.

Create your Google Logo

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 17:51:00 +0000

This tutorial will teach you how to make the Google logo.

1. Create a new document; 300px x 120px.

2. Use the text tool and type Google onto your document. This tutorial uses the font catull, but if you don’t have it on your computer, you can use Times New Roman which also works fine, and looks very similar.

3. Now we need to add colours to Google. Highlight each letter, and change its colour as state below.

G #1645AE
o #D62408
o #EFBA00
g #1645AE
l #007D08
e #D62408

4. Now click on the layer styles button and choose Drop Shadow. Change the settings as shown below.

Drop Shadow
Blend Mode: Multiply (Black as colour)
Opacity: 75%
Angle: 116
Distance: 5px
Spread 0%
Size: 5px

Bevel and Emboss
Style: Inner Bevel
Technique: Smooth
Depth: 91%
Direction: Up
Size: 5px
Soften: 1px
Angle: 116

Press OK to apply the effects.

Draw Online

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 17:46:00 +0000

Now, you can make your own art online at Crayola, and even print it out! Sounds interesting? :) Yup, it is. Now, you can draw some really cool stuff at this site and best of all, you can even print that out :)

Draw something and do leave a comment with a link to you drawing. I would love to see what you people can make...

Just kidding .... Click here and enjoy....

Click Here

Apple Safari Browser

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 16:45:00 +0000

I was excited when I got to know that Apple Safari browser is available for Windows.
It's in Public Beta, meaning anyone can download and test it but it's not 100% stable. Apple claims that Safari is the fastest web browser on any platform. Safari loads pages up to 2 times faster than Internet Explorer 7 and up to 1.6 times faster than Firefox 2. On the comparison chart, Safari 3 is the fastest in terms of HTML Performance, Javascript Performance and Application Launch compared to Firefox 2, Internet Explorer 7 and Opera 9. I've tested it and I liked the way Safari loads the website while it's still downloading the site. It makes you feel that it's already loaded and it's fast.

We all know Apple develops very stable and easy to maintain products. However, it won't be easy to beat Firefox 2 because of the vast amount of add-ons/plugins currently available. Nowadays you can do almost anything on Firefox 2 browser. I did find plug-ins for Safari 3 but there's only Adobe Flash Player, Java, Adobe Reader, Real Player, QuickTime and Windows Media Player. Mostly used for a richer browsing experience and not extra functionality.

Safari 3 for Windows only runs on Windows XP or Vista with at least 256MB of RAM and 500Mhz Pentium-class processor or better. Windows 98 user would have to miss this great release. One thing I noticed about Safari 3 is it doesn't use as much Memory as Firefox 2 does.

Some of the shortcut keys available in Safari 3 is standard. Here's some of basic shortcut keys that we normally use:
CTRL + T: Opens a new tab
CTRL + N: Opens new Safari Window
CTRL + W: Close current tab
CTRL + Q: Quit Safari
CTRL + [: Back
CTRL + ]: Forward
CTRL + .: Stop
CTRL + D: Add to Safari Bookmark
CTRL + R: Reload page
CTRL + M: Minimize Safari
CTRL + P: Print page
CTRL + ALT + L: Open Downloads Window

Download Safari 3 for Windows below and try it yourself. You'll love it!

Download

Google Faces Fines

noreply@blogger.com (aravinth) — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 05:52:00 +0000

AP is reporting a judge in Brazil has ordered Google to hand over user information of some Orkut users.

Federal Judge Jose Marcos Lunardelli gave Google Brazil 15 days to release information needed to identify individuals accused of using Orkut to spread child pornography and engage in hate speech against blacks, Jews and homosexuals.

Federal prosecutors claim they’ve requested the information on 38 different occassions without response. Google’s arguing that it doesn’t store any user information at its Brazilian office. The judge is not convinced…

But Lunardelli dismissed that argument on Thursday, writing in his decision that “it is not relevant that the data are stored in the United States, since all the photographs and messages being investigated were published by Brazilians, through Internet connection in national territory.”

Google’s attorney claims they are preparing the information requested. If they don’t meet the deadline, they face daily fines of $23 million, which could be a nice “little earner” for any South American company.