Sunday, December 28, 2008

TestDisk

TestDisk - CGSecurity
TestDisk is a powerful free data recovery software! It was primarily designed to help recover lost partitions and/or make non-booting disks bootable again when these symptoms are caused by faulty software

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Poke

How To Cheat In Every Computer Game With Poke | MakeUseOf.com
how Poke works, you need to understand the basics of how games

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Troubleshoot laptop Hibernation and Standby issues

Wake up! Troubleshoot laptop Hibernation and Standby issues
Some programs or devices—particularly those with outdated drivers or drivers that aren't ACPI compliant—can cause this error to occur. If you have trouble determining which program is causing the problem, try the Windows Power Management Troubleshooter, which is available as free a download from Microsoft. It is written specifically for Windows 98 but may be of some use in other versions, as well. Also, look for a file called Nohiber.txt in the main Windows folder in Explorer. If present, it will give you clues about which device is preventing the laptop from entering Hibernation or Standby mode.

Wake up Windows Automatically

Online Manuals - WakeupOnStandBy
Wake up Windows from a Stand-by mode or Hibernation using a this program. WakeupOnStandby can be run from a command line.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

More Windows decorations

More windows decorating

Pong Clock screen saver

BootZilla

BootZilla
BootZilla is a compilation of tools intended for use in diagnosing and fixing viral and spyware-related infections on computers. It also has the ability to test memory and hard drives through the use of a BootCD function called CGT.

Craigslist

clhack has a tabbed, picture-oriented interface for Craigslist

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

5 Apps For Painless Windows Reformats

Software installation

Windows Post-Install Wizard
WPI is a simple to use automation program for the choice and installation of multiple programs, tweaks and scripts.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

An experiment into connecting the Web with language.

Mozilla Labs » Blog Archive » Introducing Ubiquity
# Empower users to control the web browser with language-based instructions. (With search, users type what they want to find. With Ubiquity, they type what they want to do.)
# Enable on-demand, user-generated mashups with existing open Web APIs. (In other words, allowing everyone–not just Web developers–to remix the Web so it fits their needs, no matter what page they are on, or what they are doing.)
# Use Trust networks and social constructs to balance security with ease of extensibility.
# Extend the browser functionality easily.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

BootZilla

BootZilla
BootZilla is a compilation of tools intended for use in diagnosing and fixing viral and spyware-related infections on computers. It also has the ability to test memory and hard drives through the use of a BootCD function called CGT.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Faster share browsing

Windows XP checks for Scheduled Tasks on the host computer which can add up to 30 seconds of delay. To disable this process.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace
delete {D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF} and restart.

Convert any text to MP3

HearWho
Convert any text to MP3 audio for use in your iPod or mp3 player.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Convert any text to MP3

HearWho
Convert any text to MP3 audio for use in your iPod or mp3 player.

Fix Firefox 3 mimeTypes to save rar files

close Firefox
add this to mimeTypes.rdf in your %userprofile%\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles

<RDF:Description RDF:about="urn:mimetype:application/zip"
NC:value="application/zip"
NC:editable="true"
NC:fileExtensions="rar"
NC:description="WinRAR ZIP archive">
<NC:handlerProp RDF:resource="urn:mimetype:handler:application/zip"/>
</RDF:Description>

save, open firefox, test it

Read NTFS with Ubuntu

Use Ubuntu Live CD to Backup Files from Your Dead Windows Computer :: the How-To Geek
"Unable to mount the volume", because Windows didn't shut it down cleanly.

Ultimate List of Free Windows Software from Microsoft

Fix most AU and WindowsUpdate problems

Automatic Updates and WindowsUpdate Reset tool - Home
This tool contains scripts to fix most AU and WindowsUpdate problems.

Free sound effects and loops

Soundsnap.com: Find and Share Free Sound Effects and Loops
Soundsnap is the best platform to find and share free sound effects and loops- legally. It is a collection of original sounds made or recorded by its users, and not songs or sound FX found on commercial libraries or sample CD's.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Fix most AU and WindowsUpdate problems

Automatic Updates and WindowsUpdate Reset tool - Home
This tool contains scripts to fix most AU and WindowsUpdate problems.

FileASSASSIN

Malwarebytes.org
FileASSASSIN is an application that can delete any type of locked files that are on your computer. Whether the files are from a malware infection or just a particular file that will not delete

Ultimate List of Free Windows Software from Microsoft

Portable Freeware

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Shadow Copy in Vista home additions

ShadowExplorer.com
ShadowExplorer allows you to browse the shadow copies created by the Windows® VistaTM Volume Shadow Copy Service. It's especially thought for users of the home editions, who don't have access to the shadow copies by default, but it's also useful for users of the other editions.

Unable to save or download files in Firefox 3

Unable to save or download files - MozillaZine Knowledge Base

"Starting in Firefox 3, downloads of executable files (e.g.,
.exe or .msi) may fail and the Firefox Downloads window will contain
this message, under the filename:


  • This download has been blocked by your Security Zone Policy.

This issue occurs because Firefox 3 now honors your Windows security
settings for downloading applications and other potentially unsafe
files from the Internet"

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Fix Firefox 3 mimeTypes to save rar files

close Firefox
add this to mimeTypes.rdf in your %userprofile%\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles

<RDF:Description RDF:about="urn:mimetype:application/zip"
NC:value="application/zip"
NC:editable="true"
NC:fileExtensions="rar"
NC:description="WinRAR ZIP archive">
<NC:handlerProp RDF:resource="urn:mimetype:handler:application/zip"/>
</RDF:Description>

save, open firefox, test it

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Free file storage

Quickly remove USB devices

USB Disk Ejector | Quick And Easy Software
Is a command line program or a normal gui program.

Command line options are:
  • Eject the drive that the program is running from.
  • Eject a drive by specifying a drive letter.
  • Eject a drive by specifying a drive name.
  • Eject a drive by specifying a partial drive name.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Connecting to multiple IEEE 802.11 networks with one WiFi card

VirtualWiFi Home
(VirtualWiFi is an old project, and we started working on it in 2002. We are not actively working on this project for the last 2 years, and will not be supporting this software at Microsoft Research. Thanks for your interest. However, the software and code will still be available for you to play around with.)

Virtual Machine

VirtualBox
VirtualBox is a family of powerful x86 virtualization products for enterprise as well as home use. Not only is VirtualBox an extremely feature rich, high performance product for enterprise customers, it is also the only professional solution that is freely available as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL). See "About VirtualBox" for an introduction.

Presently, VirtualBox runs on Windows, Linux, Macintosh and OpenSolaris hosts and supports a large number of guest operating systems including but not limited to Windows (NT 4.0, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista), DOS/Windows 3.x, Linux (2.4 and 2.6), and OpenBSD.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Free Icons

Icon Archive - 18,400+ free icons, buddy icons, xp icons, vista icons, desktop icons, aim icons
Icons can be used for Windows (XP, Vista, etc.), Macintosh (OSX, OS) and Linux (as PNG Files). Copyright of icons belong to original authors. Public usage license can be found on each icon set page.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Stopping Ctfmon.exe

What is ctfmon.exe And Why Is It Running? :: the How-To Geek
Ctfmon is the Microsoft process that controls Alternative User Input and the Office Language bar. It's how you can control the computer via speech or a pen tablet, or using the onscreen keyboard inputs for asian languages.

Controlling services from the command line

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Simple, secure group websites

Google Sites
Simple, secure group websites
Sign in to Google Sites with your Google Account

Share information with a few people, a whole organization, or the entire world.

Friday, May 23, 2008

vbs file to sent text to phone

Lifehacker Code: Clipboard2Phone (Windows)
Windows only: Zap that phone number, grocery list or set of driving directions directly from your PC desktop to your cell phone with Clipboard2Phone.

Clipboard2Phone is a simple script that emails the contents of your clipboard to your cell phone with a key combination you define.

Google Send to Phone

Google Send to Phone for Firefox
Google Send to Phone for Firefox is an extension that enables you to send short text messages of web page content to your mobile phone.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

OP-Out of Charter Communications third-party ad network

Ultimate Boot CD

Ultimate Boot CD - Overview
Bunch of Linux based utilities for rescuing your Windows or Linux PC.

For Windows based disk
UBCD for Windows

another Linux based one
Trinity Rescue Kit | CPR for your computer

Easily Boot Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD) from a USB flash drive | USB Pen Drive Linux
"In this simplified USB Ultimate Boot CD walkthrough tutorial, we will demonstrate How To create a USB bootable Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD) using a Windows host PC to create the USB UBCD."

Portable Apps for Mac and Windows


100 Portable Apps for your USB Stick (both for Mac and Win) | MakeUseOf.com
This stuff can be installed on any portable drive, i.e. USB thumbdrive, PDA or an iPod.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Add GPS to EXIF using Google Earth

Panorado Flyer
Panorado Flyer is a small, yet very useful tool for linking JPEG image files to the location where the picture was taken, using geographical coordinates.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Network and Systems Monitoring


Overview - Open Source Network Monitoring and Systems Monitoring - Zenoss
Zenoss provides a complete suite of software and services to help you succeed in monitoring your IT infrastructure. Our software provides a single, integrated solution for monitoring your entire IT infrastructure - network, servers, applications, across the full lifecycle - inventory, configuration, availability, performance, events.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Pre-Production of Film, TV, Theatre, and New Media

celtx - It's The Story That Counts.
Celtx is the world's first fully integrated solution for media pre-production and collaboration. It replaces old fashioned 'paper, pen & binder' media creation with a digital approach to writing and organizing that's more complete, simpler to work with, and easier to share.
  • Screenplays
  • AV scripts, including Documentaries, Advertisements and Music Videos
  • Audio Plays, including Radio Plays and Podcasts
  • Theatre Plays (International and US standard)
  • Plain Text

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

GPS Photo logger adds GPS to EXIF without a PC

ATP Photo Finder
The ATP Photo Finder calculates and records GPS position data and allows you to precisely track the exact location and time of where your pictures were taken. Activate the Photo Finder while you’re taking pictures with your digital camera.

After you finish taking pictures, simply insert your SD, Memory Stick or MMC memory card into the Photo Finder's built-in card slot and the GPS data will be synchronized and added to all pictures on the card.
Designed for use with Google Earth & Google Maps.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Points of Interest files

How to make your own vehicles for a Garmin NĂ¼vi

It also has some vehicles available for downloading to a nuvi.

http://glad-you-asked.blogspot.com/2008/01/chicks-dig-car.html

Need to find GPS coordinates

GPS Coordinate finder - GPS Data Team

Download formats:
Garmin POI - CSV
TomTom POI - OV2
Navman POI - CSV
Navigon POI - CSV
CoPilot POI - XLS
MioMap POI - CSV
Destinator POI - CSV
GPX Exchange format - XML
Nokia Landmarks format - LMX [?]
Google Earth format - KML
Garmin upload (direct) [?]

POI database for Garmin & TomTom GPS


PhantomAlert.com: No More Speeding Tickets - Download The M.A.D. Database
"The database contains 3399+ speed traps, photo radar, red light and speed camera locations across the USA and Canada. With our data in your GPS device, you will get an audio alert when you are approaching speed traps or red light cameras."

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Bunch of video apps

Video Related Software
Professional video related programs by NCH
http://www.nchsoftware.com/software/video.html

ShadowExplorer

"ShadowExplorer allows you to browse the shadow copies created by the Windows® VistaTM Volume Shadow Copy Service. It's especially thought for users of the home editions, who don't have access to the shadow copies by default, but it's also useful for users of the other editions."

ShadowExplorer.com

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Vista "Send To" Menu Hangs or Open Slowly

"The problem is almost always caused because Windows automatically puts items for each removable drive into the Send To menu, but could also be caused by having an excessive amount of unused items in the list. We'll cover how to get rid of both."

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/why-does-my-windows-vista-explorer-send-to-menu-hang-or-open-slowly

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Prevent birds from hitting your window

I had a robin attacking a window. Robins are territorial in spring. This seems to have kept him away. The silhouettes need to be moved routinely to be effective.

PeregrineCut-out_YG.jpg (JPEG Image, 2490x3192 pixels)
http://environmentyukon.gov.yk.ca/mapspublications/images/PeregrineCut-out_YG.jpg

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

unassociate a file types in Vista

Windows Vista doesn't have a GUI interface to unassociate file types.
Why Microsoft? Why?
http://www.winhelponline.com/articles/231/1/An-utility-to-unassociate-file-types-in-Windows-Vista.html

BtProx - Bluetooth Proximity Lock Utility

"BtProx is a small Windows application working both under Windows XP and Vista. I never tested it under Windows 2000, but there's no reason why it should not work. It locks your computer when you go away from it. How is it done.
It locks on one of your Bluetooth devices which are paired to the the machine. When you walk away from the computer the device is disconnected and the computer is locked after timeout."
http://btprox.sourceforge.net
(didn't work on a HP laptop with built-in, bluetooth was on and working, I hope they fix it soon)

Vista had its chance

The way to fix Vista is to go back to XP.
Since going back to XP
  • My Computer is much faster opening
  • Coping/moving/deleting files is faster
  • Bluetooth works even when the computer comes out of standby and hibernation (Very important to someone that has Bluetooth built in and wanted a bluetooth mouse)
  • Connecting to networks is easier
  • I can install a decent firewall
  • No annoying UAC (I eventually turned it off.)
  • No Aero (Aero is very annoying)
  • My system is faster
  • I have more hard drive space (Vista was using more than twice of XP)
  • No DRM crap to slow my system! I don't need a babysitter!! (I don't watch DVD's on my laptop. Why should I devote extra resources to prevent me from doing something I don't want to do?)
  • More applications work
  • I can get more themes
  • I can customize the toolbar in Explorer (had to add a link to the Recycle Bin to the sidebar, not as convenient as a button!)
  • No stupid required full row select!
I gave Vista a more than fair shot. I bought my laptop with it preinstalled. The laptop scored a 4.5 Vista performance level. I waited for SP1. SP1 messed up standby mode and caused frequent lockups. Enough was enough!
Things I'll miss
  • Voice dictation (I could not get it to work well anyway)
  • Using the Windows key to launch from the Quick Launch toolbar
  • The search in the Start Menu (using Find and Run Robot v2 now)
  • The breadcrumb trail in the address bar of Explorer
I just want a fast, light weight, secure system that I can do my work on. It is the applications that are important, not the OS!


Thursday, April 3, 2008

Transform Your Windows XP in Windows Vista without any Customization pack

Visual style (or theme)
Boot screen
Login screen
Sounds
Mouse Cursors
Windows Icons
Windows Explorer
Progress dialog box
Shutdown/log off dialog box
About Windows box
System Properties dialog box
Windows Classic Startmenu Left-side Image and Start button Logo
and a few other things
http://www.askvg.com/transform-your-windows-xp-in-windows-vista-without-any-customization-pack

OS Visual Enhancements

"InterfaceLIFT, your source for graphical user interface enhancements for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, and Linux. We specialize in desktop wallpaper, icons, themes, and news with a focus on community. New content is posted virtually everyday"
http://interfacelift.com

Social Wallpapering - Free desktop wallpaper
http://www.socwall.com

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

What does the lock icon mean on an account in Thunderbird?

"It means that the account uses a secure connection. GMail uses SSL for incoming which is a secure connection. This does not mean that the account is 'locked.'" - Daifne
http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=630102&sid=239bcedd71b4c0ae10d1898b8dfa92b0

Creating accounts in Thunderbird for popular email providers - MozillaZine Knowledge Base
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Creating_accounts_in_Thunderbird_for_popular_email_providers

Remove the profile lock file
"The application may have shut down abnormally, leaving the lock in place. To fix this, open the profile folder and delete the file,
  • "parent.lock" (Windows),
  • "lock" and ".parentlock" (Linux), or
  • ".parentlock" (Mac OS X)

For Mac OS X: You need to use a free utility like Onyx or Maintain to turn on visibility for invisible files to show ".parentlock". This file contains no information, and deleting it will unlock the profile.

For Windows: If you attempt to delete the "parent.lock" file and receive the error, "Cannot delete parent: The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable", restart the computer and run the error-checking tool Chkdsk (Windows 2000, XP) or ScanDisk (Windows 98, ME) [1]."
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_in_use

Online file conversion

Zamzar - Free online file conversion
http://www.zamzar.com
Convert bigger files (1 GB) if you signup.


Free online media file conversion (Document, Images, Audio, Video & Archives)
http://www.youconvertit.com
Supported Formats
http://www.youconvertit.com/HTMLFiles/ConvertTypes.htm
no signup needed

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Add to Download Actions in Firefox

MIME Edit :: Firefox Add-ons
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4498

To add WinRAR
MIME Type: application/x-rar
Description: WinRAR Archive
Extension: rar
Save it to Disk

Sunday, March 2, 2008

VirtualBox - Virtual Machine

"VirtualBox runs on Windows, Linux, Macintosh and OpenSolaris hosts and supports a large number of guest operating systems including but not limited to Windows (NT 4.0, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista), DOS/Windows 3.x, Linux (2.4 and 2.6), and OpenBSD."
http://www.virtualbox.org

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Drive Encryption

Function overview of the FREE CompuSec® Software Version:
* Pre boot access control
* Encryption for Hard disk using 256-bit AES algorithm and in hibernation mode
* Encryption for CD / DVD for secure publishing and sharing of CD data using CDCrypt
* Encryption for Diskettes and Removable Media Devices such as ZIP drives, USB thumb drives or Memory sticks
* Encryption of Individual Files or data transmitted via Email and FTP using new DataCrypt
* Encryption of Server Files & Subdirectories using SafeLan
* Single-Sign-On at Windows
* Identity Management for password encryption, policy database query, and supports BioClick for secure transactions based on fingerprint recognition
* Local and Central Administration
* [ClosedTalk]® for secure VoIP communication
* Intergrated support for Tablet PC
* [DriveCrypt] for container encryption

FREE for both Professional Business use as well as
Personal
use
http://www.ce-infosys.com/english/downloads/free_compusec/index.html

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Make your computer look better

High-resolution widescreen wallpapers, desktop icons, and themes for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, and Linux.
http://www.interfacelift.com

Friday, February 8, 2008

FileBox eXtender

Makes a drop-down menu on the titlebar of folders you specify
Adds "stay on top"
Makes many unsizable dialog boxes resizable
Adds a roll-up button to hide window contents except for titlebar
http://www.hyperionics.com/files/index.asp

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Open Source Alternative

Open Source Alternative
"Find open source alternatives to your favorite commercial products."
http://www.osalt.com

Monday, February 4, 2008

Vista Firewall Control

Vista Firewall Control
* Designed for Windows Vista
* Zone based network permissions management
* Integration with Window Explorer for direct access permission management
* Integration with Windows Security Center
* Instant notifications of blocked activity
* Free versions available
* Special editions for portable devices (USB flash/HDD drives, iPod etc)
* Special editions for U3 smart devices
* Protection from incoming and outgoing threats
* External network connection (firewall/router) box support
* Automatic network connection box detection/management
* External/worldwide access to selected local application
* Port Forwarding management
* Automatic Port Forwarding-to-applications synchronization
* Simplicity of operation
* Per-application security settings
* Group zone and application network access permission management
http://www.sphinx-soft.com/Vista/index.html

Update: It displays a message that my computer is under heavy load every so often. I click on the "switch to" button to go to the busy program and the Start Menu pops up.? It seems to work otherwise.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Taskbar Shuffle

Allows you to drag the Windows taskbar to items and the system tray icons around to rearrange them. There is a stand-alone version as well as an installer. XP/Vista/2000/NT/95/98
http://www.freewebs.com/nerdcave/taskbarshuffle.htm

Friday, January 4, 2008

Vista Missing System Tray Icons Fix

My battery, volume, and network icons were missing from the system tray.
I ended explorer.exe and restarted it from the Task Manager. They came back.
I got the idea from:
http://www.colincochrane.com/post/2007/10/Windows-Vista-Disappearing-System-Tray-Icons-Fix.aspx