Lando411 - Technology Articles, Tech Tips, Computer Tips, and more

Currency Converter

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 02:46:00 +0000

Today's post highlights a new type of category I'm introducing: Internet Info. This category will help you help yourself - it will include many useful tidbits and links for using the World Wide Web.

Today's Internet Info post is a currency converter. Definitely useful if you're vacationing to a different country!

Eliminate Fade Effect in Windows XP

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:14:00 +0000

Some people don't like how the menus fade in and out when they're pressed in Windows XP.

To fix this, go to Start, then Control Panel.
If you're in Category display mode, click Appearance and Themes, then Display. Or, in Classic View, just click Display.
In the Display Properties box, click the Appearance tab, then click the Effects button.
The very top option controls the settings you're looking for.

Download My Toolbar!

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 04:03:00 +0000

I just created a toolbar that works with both Internet Explorer and Firefox. It contains many useful items, like an e-mail notifier, weather reports, a pop-up blocker, and a lot more. Check it out, and if you don't like it, you can always uninstall it. Here are the download instructions.

Don't worry, it's spam free!

Happy Birthday, World Wide Web

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 22:41:00 +0000

Today (March 13), the World Wide Web turns 20 years old. It's already been twenty short years since Tim Berners-Lee proposed the original idea of sharing information through hypertext, which is a fancy word for clickable links. The triple-W has certainly come a long way since the beginning.

Here's to many successful years of delivering information across the globe.

Change Text of Windows Media Player Title Bar

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 01:53:00 +0000

This handy hack will let you change the wording of the Windows Media Player title bar, kind of like changing Internet Explorer's title bar. Here's how:

Go to Start, Run, regedit.
Navigate to this key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Policies \ Microsoft.
Create a nested key called WindowsMediaPlayer (right-click on Microsoft, hover over new, and click key).
Make a value named called TitleBar and give it the following information: Data Type: REG_SZ, Value Name: TitleBar. For the Value Data, enter the text you want.

So, an example: If I entered Lando, the title bar would read Windows Media Player provided by Lando.

Quick Tip: Change IE Title Bar Text

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 22:46:00 +0000

Have you ever wanted to change Internet Explorer's title bar to something interesting? If you are a dialup user, your ISP may use this edit. You can too, if you follow these steps:

Like we usually do, go to Start, Run, regedit.
Go to this key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Internet Explorer \ Main.
Make a new value called Window Title.
Fill in the new value with the following information: Data Type: REG_SZ, Value Name: Window Title. For the Value Data, enter the text you want.

Make Firefox Look Just Like Internet Explorer

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:29:00 +0000

Internet Explorer is really a love/hate kind of browser, and for many people, there's one good reason for this: design. In other words, how IE looks. However, Microsoft's browser drives some people paranoid because of security. So, how can we combine Internet Explorer's sleek looks with the safety of Firefox? There's only one option, since IE is closed source. We need to customize Firefox.

Step Zero: Download Firefox. Well, duh. Click here.

Step One: Download Plugins. For your convenience, I've rounded up a list of add-ons right here. These links direct you to their description page in Mozilla's add-on repository, except for Firesomething, which comes as a zip file you need to extract.

Menu Editor
Vista-aero
Old Location Bar
Firesomething - extract the zip once, then open it in Firefox (File --> Open File)
PlainOldFavorites
Tabs Open Relative

Step Two: Restart Firefox and Mess Around. Okay, just kidding about the messing around part. There's business at hand. But seriously, it already looks a lot better...WAIT! We have bookmarks and favorites? And I'm using Mozilla Superpossum? And (gasp) is that the Firefox logo?

Step Three: Fix the Name. Go to Tools, Add Ons and then Firesomething, and click on the Options button. Delete all of the strings of text in all of the scrolling boxes, and enter Windows for the vendor, Internet for prefix (you also need to add a space after), and Explorer for the name.

Step Four: Fix Menu Problems. Go to Tools, Add Ons, and then Menu Editor. Click Options. From the drop-down menu near the top, choose Bookmarks and uncheck the 'Visible' checkbox. Do the same for the History menu.

Step Five: Create a Shortcut on the Desktop. Click Start, then My Computer. Click Local Disk and navigate to C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox. Right-click the application called firefox and chose Create Shortcut. Drag the newly created shortcut to your Desktop. Single-click it and press F2. Type in "Internet Explorer" and hit Enter. Right-click the icon and choose Properties. Click Change Icon and paste this into the box: %ProgramFiles%\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe. Click OK a few times and admire your new icon.

So, that's it. It's really simple and straightforward. Now, your friends won't know that they're actually using Firefox when they think they open Internet Explorer!

Quick Tip: Try Firefox

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 04:26:00 +0000

This tip is for those of you who use Windows' default web browser, Internet Explorer. Now, I love IE and use it all the time. However, there are various reasons for trying out a new browser like Firefox.

Many people use only one or the other, but there's a few important reasons to keep both IE and Firefox installed.

So, why not install Firefox? It's lightweight, and if you don't like it, you can get rid of it.

Quick Tip: Create a Shortcut to Regedit

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:39:00 +0000

I often feature registry editing tweaks on my blog, so we're often exploring the Windows registry editor. Instead of going trough the steps to manually get into regedit, why not create a shortcut icon? Here's how.

Click Start, then click My Computer.
Navigate to the Local Disk (for most people, this is probably the C: drive).
Go to the Windows folder, then find the application called regedit.
Right-click the icon and choose Create Shortcut.
The shortcut is created in the same folder, so you may want to drag it onto your desktop.

New Congress Bill Could Give You Headaches

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 21:31:00 +0000

A recently introduced bill in the U.S. Congress could make any network administrator keep a two year activity log - even for home networks. This would be very hard to do for the average user. There are many weaknesses to the bill, which, at its core, is supposed to protect children from child pornography.

The bill is S.436 in the Senate and H.R.1076 in the House. The title of the bill is "Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating the Exploitation of Today's Youth Act," which really rolls off the tongue and is 100% grammatically correct. For more information, check out this CNET article.

I also wrote a small letter to my representatives. You can do the same, and you may use a copy of this letter. Here it is:

Senator/Representative NAME,
I am sure that you know about the "Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating the Exploitation of Today's Youth Act of 2009," otherwise known as the "SAFETY Act" (S.436). I hope that you oppose this bill for numerous reasons, both technical and practical.

I do understand that, once it boils down, the bill is meant to protect the youth of our United States and children around the world.

However, enforcing the mandatory two-year record keeping will be
difficult for many people. The bill would require any household with a computer network to keep activity logs, which would confuse many people, most of whom have no prior experience in computer networking and would not know how to keep such records. As evidenced in the digital television transition, many people are unsure of technological change in their lives. Keeping network records would be much more difficult than buying a DTV converter box and plugging in a few wires.

In addition, home network administrators would not have to turn over records, as they are protected by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

Furthermore, such records could be bypassed by using technologies like TOR networks and MAC address spoofing. I will not go into detail on these processes because I assume you are well learned in them, considering that the Senate is attempting to pass a bill that is very technical.

In conclusion, I would once again like to ask you to oppose Senate bill number 436 ("SAFETY Act"). I hope you understand how difficult it would be to implement record keeping, and how it could be avoided.

Sincerely,
YOUR NAME

Website Wednesday: Best Websites Reviewed

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:05:00 +0000

This week's Website Wednesday may be the last one for awhile, but only for one reason: it's my own site, and it's called Best Websites Reviewed. This site basically takes my Website Wednesday posts a step further. There's two kinds of posts: quick finds and reviews. Quick finds are shorter, and reviews are longer.

I'm looking for submissions, so if you have a blog or website, I'd be happy to take a look at it!

What is Clickjacking?

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:24:00 +0000

Clickjacking is a dangerous Internet trick. Wikipedia defines it as:

...a malicious technique of tricking web users into revealing confidential
information or taking control of their computer while clicking on seemingly
innocuous web pages.

So, how does clickjacking work? The user is somehow tricked into going to a fake site, like an online game site. This site is overlayed in a frame in front of a legitimate site. In our example, buttons in the game would be directly on top of buttons on an e-mail site, so players' actions would cause a select all, then delete buttons to be triggered, deleting the person's e-mail messages.

To prevent clickjacking, make sure you know what links you're clicking on, and be aware of any current online scams. Clickjacking could go beyond e-mail...and into your sensitive financial data.

The Digital TV Transition

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:45:00 +0000

As you may know, the transition to switch to all-digital television has been delayed until June 12, 2009. Congress decided to hold off on the big switch because many people have yet to take action. In this post, I'll help you make sure that your household is ready for DTV 2009.

There are three websites on the Internet that have reliable information put out by the government. There are available here, here, and here. The last one was also featured earlier as a Website Wednesday article.

So, who needs to take action? If you already get your local channels (like ABC or NBC affiliates, for example) from a cable company or a satellite TV provider, you probably don't have to do anything. You also don't need to do anything if you have a relatively new TV that has a built-in converter. Check your owner's manual for more information.

But, if you get local TV from an antenna, you will probably need a converter box. These small boxes switch the digital signal that TV companies send out into a signal that your television can use.

How much do these converter boxes cost? Most, depending on available features, cost around $45. You will need one for each television set in your house. Coupons provided by the government are available here. A CNET review of converter boxes can be found here.

Remember, if you have any questions, you can contact your television provider.

Quick Tip: Bypass Internet Explorer's Cache

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:07:00 +0000

There are many reasons why you would want to bypass the cache. You may be having problems with viewing a webpage or something like that. To override the cache, you can either:

Hold down the Ctrl key on the keyboard while pressing IE's Refresh button.
Hold down the Ctrl key and press F5.

Website Wednesday: Solar System Collisions

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:43:00 +0000

This week's Website Wednesday is Solar System Collisions, a site that lets you pick a target planet and launch a projectile (such as a meteor) at it! When you press the "Kaboom" button, you get interesting statistics like how much energy was expelled, the size of the crater that was made, the magnitude of the blast, etc.

Netbooks: Tiny Notebooks

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 03:50:00 +0000

If you've been to an electronics retailer in the past few months, you may have noticed a few really small laptop computers on the shelves. These tiny computers, called netbooks, are designed for ultraportablility. Although they aren't as powerful as regular full-size computers, they definitely have enough punch for everyday computing.

Asus is a very popular brand of netbook manufacturers, although other companies are catching on to the trend. Asus is probably the most inexpensive brand, but others may be better constructed or feel stronger. Prices vary between manufacterers, but are generally in the USD $250 to $600 range.

Various operating systems can be used on netbooks, but Windows XP and popular Linux distributions are the most common. Linux tends to be more streamlined and efficient, and different distros can be used depending on systems specs. Microsoft is working on a special edition of the upcoming Windows 7 to be used on netbooks.

Generally, you can't get more than 2 GB of RAM, but that should be plenty. There are many hard drive options, ranging from small and rugged solid-state drives to regular drives. Solid-state hard drives are just how they sound: they have no moving parts, so there's a smaller chance of drive corruption or losing data. They also run quieter and cooler and use less power.

My ideal netbook would probably be an HP that runs some sort of Linux distro. It would have around 2 GB of memory, a decent size solid-state drive, and an Intel Atom processor.

Website Wednesday: How to Tie a Tie

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:05:00 +0000

This week's Website Wednesday is ToTieATie.com, a site that shows you how to, well...tie a tie. There's pleanty of pictures for many different knots, as well as other tips such as necktie care.

Quick Tip: Using Google Reader

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 03:10:00 +0000

RSS feeds are handy for keeping you up to date on all of your favorite news items and more. Almost every blog, news website, and any other site on the Internet has some sort of RSS feed. Google, one of my favorite companies, offers a neat online RSS viewer called Google Reader.

Google Reader is simple to use. You need to sign up for a Google account before using it (avid readers should have one if they read my Gmail tips). After that, you just need to add a few RSS subscriptions. They're widely available on the web.

If you can't find any feeds that you like, may I suggest mine?

Stop Windows From Rebooting After Installing Updates

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 17:12:00 +0000

If your computer is set to download and install updates automatically, it will try to restart itself after a successful update. It's awfully annoying. If you want to prevent this from happening, follow these simple steps.

Make sure your registry is backed up.
Open the registry editor (Start, Run, regedit).
Go to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Policies \ Microsoft \ Windows \ WindowsUpdate \ AU.
Go to the value named NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers.
Set the value data to 0 for normal rebooting, or 1 for not automatically rebooting.
Exit regedit. You may need to restart your computer.

That's it! It's pretty simple to edit the registry.

I've written quite a few registry editing posts lately, haven't I?

Website Wednesday: NutritionData.com

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:53:00 +0000

This week's Website Wednesday is NutritionData.com. This handy site gives you a ton of information on just about anything you eat. It also includes a calorie counter, a BMI calculator, and about a million other tools. The site also offers various browser plugins for quick calorie counting. Talk about handy!

Delete the Recycle Bin

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 19:18:00 +0000

Is your Recycle Bin taking up valuable space on your desktop? Do you wish that it would just disappear? No problem, then! I'll show you how to remove the recycle bin with a simple registry tweak.

Make sure that your registry is backed up before editing.
Open the registry editor (Start, Run, type regedit).
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ Desktop \ NameSpace.
Delete the entire key labeled {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}.

If you want your Recycle Bin back, just recreate the above key. If you don't want to delete the Recycle Bin, I can also show you how to rename it.

Website Wednesday: BeTheBot

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 13:15:00 +0000

Ugh, I hate registering just to view a webpage on the Internet. I mean, free registration is fine, but when you have to pay? Drives me over the edge. Today's Website Wednesday might help avoid such a problem. It's called BeTheBot. The site can "trick" other websites into thinking that you're a Google crawl bot, so the site might give you access. It doesn't work for all sites, but when it does, you'll sure be happy.

Dang It People! Update Your Computers!

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 01:09:00 +0000

For the past few days, my class was typing composition papers for English class. We were in the computer lab for a few days when it struck me: the computers we were using had antivirus software that was terribly out of date.

It's the most annoying thing to login to a computer and have the little pop up off the notification area say something like "AVG antivirus may be out of date." OK, so why doesn't our tech coordinator update?

It worries me, also, considering that many students are using their flash drives each day so they can back up their papers and finish them at home. Can you imagine how fast a brand-new virus could spread if it was introduced into our computer lab?

So, the moral of the story...always keep your system up to date, especially if someone like me comes around and goes off the deep end about little trivial things like this.

Quick Tip: Install and Use PortableApps

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 02:27:00 +0000

A few days ago, I wrote a post about using a USB flash drive. One of the things I said was on my drive was the Portable Apps launcher. This handy little (free) app packages many programs for use right off your flash drive. Let's learn how to install it to a flash drive and customize it for your perfect use.

Go to the PortableApps.com download site and choose what package you want: just the launcher, the lite version (which I have), or the standard edition. You should consider how much space you have on your flash drive.
Clicking on the download link will take you to the SourceForge download page. You may see an advertisement before you begin downloading.
Click "Run" when the download box appears. The download wizard will take you through installation.

See? Installing was a breeze. Now, let's customize this baby. If you downloaded the lite or standard version, you will already have a few apps to work with. If you chose the launcher-only version, you will have no apps on your drive (as of right now, of course!). To add more apps, go to the PortableApps.com application page.

Installing new apps is easy. Save the app download file to a place on your computer. Then, plug in your USB drive and start the PortableApps launcher. Click Options, then Get More Portable Apps.

You can customize to your heart's content. Although the list of apps is a little limited, the apps are pretty good in quality. Remember, PortableApps is open source, so you can help in developing new applications.

Website Wednesday: Bugmenot.com

lando411@gmail.com (~Lando) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:17:00 +0000

Today's Website Wednesday is Bugmenot.com. The site gives you access to thousands of login names and passwords for many sites that normally require you to register.