How to shorten a URL???

Very often we struggle with long URLs. They are not email  or chatbox friendly, and it is impossible to remember them. There’s a very simple method to shorten URLs. Just go to a URL shortener website and enter the URL. It will give back a short URL without any delay.

http://ow.ly/1RhXb This is the shortened URL of this blog created using ow.ly

The shortened URL I created may not be the easiest to remember but it is useful. Most of these websites nowadays allow us to create customized, short URLs. tiny.cc is one of them. Here is the one I created for my blog : http://tiny.cc/princeofheartz       It is easy to remember this URL.

notlong.com is another url shortener.

 

But there’s a problem with these shortened URLs. How can the others trust your link? Especially if you post it in a blog or email. The user is straightaway directed to the site as he clicks the link. They wont know where the shortened URL is going to take them. This is actually a big problem. I use shorturl.com and I only post the preview URL which they provide so that they wont go directly to the real site. So regular visitors will follow the link without any worry. They also provide a free custom subdomain service.

 

Note: There’s no need to use this service every time you see a slightly long URL. Use them to shorten something like

 

http://techwizardonline.blogspot.com/2010/05/download-videos-and-images-in-simplest.html 

 

to  http://preview.alturl.com/4rj5 or http://alturl.com/4rj5 or http://videotutor.notlong.com

Google Chrome now for Linux and Mac

After a loong effort, Google has now released the first stable version of the Chrome browser for Linux and Mac.

The stable release comes with a host of new features. You’ll be able to synchronize not only bookmarks across multiple computers, but also browser preferences -- including themes, homepage and startup settings, web content settings, preferred languages, and even page zoom settings. Meanwhile, for avid extensions users, you can enable each extension to work in incognito mode through the extensions manager. HTML5 support has improved. And this is also the fastest Chrome ever. New features+speed! That’s a rare occurrence.

Another good news for Chrome fans: They’re planning to integrate Flash Player to the Chrome browser. This feature will hopefully be added to Chrome with the release of Flash Player v.10.1 So, there will be no need to install Flash Player separately.

Download Links

Google chrome for Windows

Google chrome for Linux

Google chrome for Mac

 

Linux applications that run on Windows

I recently came to know that many people setup Linux on their PC just to run some basic applications. Many institutions now use Linux as a part of cost cutting. The employees and students don’t really like it. But they are forced to use it and they often get entangled in the mysterious loops inside Linux.

Actually UNIX is user friendly. It's just selective about who its friends are. :P

It is OK if you use it in your institution. But is there a need to setup Linux in your PC itself for doing work/learning at home? Thankfully, many of these apps are now available for Windows also. You can download and install them very easily on your Windows PC.

 

Some of the widely used general purpose apps in Linux are given below:

 

Gimp: It is an Image Manipulation Program. Used for retouching photos, creating logos etc. Widely used by students

 

OpenOffice: A Linux alternative for the MS Office Package. Many people find it very useful. Infact it is the most used.

 

Blender : Blender is a free open source 3D content creation suite. Very very famous.

 

Lyx: It is a document processor that encourages an approach to writing based on the structure of your documents (WYSIWYM) and not simply their appearance (WYSIWYG).

 

VLC Player: I think Windows users are more familiar with this software. Very famous video player. :-D

 

Tuxpaint: Used by kids/students. But it found a place in the widely used apps list.

 

Avidemux: A very famous video editing software. Not very user friendly. Just like the Linux OS itself.

 

Amarok : An audio player. There are better alternatives. But I added it because of its popularity.

 

All these applications(there are much more) can be downloaded separately for the Windows platform. Click on the app name and you will be taken away to the respective websites.

 

And there are people who use other KDE tools in Linux. KDE is now available for Windows. The latest stable version is 4.4.0. It is still in its early days but I tested it and it worked very smoothly. I only downloaded a few apps. But almost all KDE apps can be downloaded. Some screenshots are added in the album below.For more info regarding KDE for Windows and its installation, visit http://windows.kde.org

 

View Full Album

 

 

Of course advanced users may use Linux because there these apps will be more stable and there are many other Linux features that they can exploit. But for all day to day uses of an average user, this method is better. I strongly recommend all of you to try Linux (not as a replacement for Windows), but only after learning its strengths and weaknesses. As I said, using it for running a few apps is like using a super computer for basic calculations.

Google Introduces Encrypted Search

Today, whatever we do on the internet is virtually visible to anyone.

Questions have been raised against the heavyweights like Facebook and Google about the privacy of their users. Even though it was known to many, serious discussions about this issue have taken place only in the recent past.

Issues like these tarnished Google’s reputation.

So they came up with a new idea: Encrypted Search!

According to Google:

With Google search over SSL, you can have an end-to-end encrypted search solution between your computer and Google. This secured channel helps protect your search terms and your search results pages from being intercepted by a third party. This provides you with a more secure and private search experience.

This is a beta product so it is NOT ON by default. To use this service, go to https://www.google.com (instead of http it is https). But services like Image search, maps etc are not available. Try it!

Download videos and images in the simplest way

I know that this is not the first time you are reading an article with a similar heading… Most of them are useful for downloading Youtube videos only. Click a link on the article and you will be directed to the page of some snake oil downloader software or to some snake oil download websites.


I’m not saying that this is a perfect article but I’m gonna tell you my way of doing it using a tiny addon. Using this trick you can download videos virtually from any website.


I assume that you’re already using Mozilla Firefox if you’re not, download it from here. I’m not asking you to download it for the sake of trying this tip but because it is undoubtedly the best web browser out there right now. OK. So let’s move on.
Now open Firefox and go https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3006/


You’re now on the download page of DownloadHelper, a tiny addon for Firefox. Now click on add to firefox button, click allow(pop up), click install and then restart firefox. Done!













You will be able to see a new icon in the Navigation Toolbar.

When DownloadHelper detects it can do something for you, the icon gets animated and a menu allows you to download files by simply clicking an item. When you are on a page containing links to images or movies, you can download some or all of them at once.
The latest version allows you to convert the downloaded movies to other file formats. The conversion process is explained in detail here.
It has got some other useful functions too and advanced users can access them by right clicking the addon icon. For me this is the most convenient and reliable way to download videos and images. Plus you get a video converter for day to day use. You cant ask for anything better.
NOTE:The author cannot be held responsible for any issues associated with copyright.

Khobe 8.0 vulenerabilty: The reality

Technorati Tags: News,Security

Most people believe that after installing a popular security suite their system is safe from viruses. Well the fact is that you are NEVER protected from viruses. According to the tests conducted by Matousec most or all of the leading security suites that we use today are vulnerable. The article describes how the argument switch attack can be used to get around those security products that use hooking in SSDT(System Service Descriptor Table) or kernel patcher. Software that do not use this technique can't be attacked using this method. I know what is going through your mind. "I'm using a reputed security suite. So they shouldn't be using such stupid techniques. So I shouldn't worry about it." In a way you are right (I will explain why later)
Here is the list of programs they published:

Product name and version
Result
3D EQSecure Professional Edition 4.2
VULNERABLE
avast! Internet Security 5.0.462
VULNERABLE
AVG Internet Security 9.0.791
VULNERABLE
Avira Premium Security Suite 10.0.0.536
VULNERABLE
BitDefender Total Security 2010 13.0.20.347
VULNERABLE
Blink Professional 4.6.1
VULNERABLE
CA Internet Security Suite Plus 2010 6.0.0.272
VULNERABLE
Comodo Internet Security Free 4.0.138377.779
VULNERABLE
DefenseWall Personal Firewall 3.00
VULNERABLE
Dr.Web Security Space Pro 6.0.0.03100
VULNERABLE
ESET Smart Security 4.2.35.3
VULNERABLE
F-Secure Internet Security 2010 10.00 build 246
VULNERABLE
G DATA TotalCare 2010
VULNERABLE
Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 9.0.0.736
VULNERABLE
KingSoft Personal Firewall 9 Plus 2009.05.07.70
VULNERABLE
Malware Defender 2.6.0
VULNERABLE
McAfee Total Protection 2010 10.0.580
VULNERABLE
Norman Security Suite PRO 8.0
VULNERABLE
Norton Internet Security 2010 17.5.0.127
VULNERABLE
Online Armor Premium 4.0.0.35
VULNERABLE
Online Solutions Security Suite 1.5.14905.0
VULNERABLE
Outpost Security Suite Pro 6.7.3.3063.452.0726
VULNERABLE
Outpost Security Suite Pro 7.0.3330.505.1221 BETA VERSION
VULNERABLE
Panda Internet Security 2010 15.01.00
VULNERABLE
PC Tools Firewall Plus 6.0.0.88
VULNERABLE
Prevx 3.0.5.143
VULNERABLE
PrivateFirewall 7.0.20.37
VULNERABLE
Security Shield 2010 13.0.16.313
VULNERABLE
Sophos Endpoint Security and Control 9.0.5
VULNERABLE
ThreatFire 4.7.0.17
VULNERABLE
Trend Micro Internet Security Pro 2010 17.50.1647.0000
VULNERABLE
Vba32 Personal 3.12.12.4
VULNERABLE
VIPRE Antivirus Premium 4.0.3272
VULNERABLE
VirusBuster Internet Security Suite 3.2
VULNERABLE
Webroot Internet Security Essentials 6.1.0.145
VULNERABLE
ZoneAlarm Extreme Security 9.1.507.000
VULNERABLE


I bet 9/10 people must be using one of these products. It definitely is a shocking discovery! read the complete article here
well that is not the end of the story! After reading that article, you might think that your pc will be flooded with viruses when you wake up tomorrow. naaaay never :D... Sophos have already given a strong reply to this article and Paul Ducklin explains things in detail on his blog . He says the khobe code is never a headache for them because Sophos's on-access anti-virus scanner doesn't use SSDT hooks. He also said that the claims that it "bypasses virtually all anti-virus software" is scaremongering.

Graham Cluley is another sophos expert who in his blog said: "What Matousec describes is a way of "doing something extra" if the bad guys' malicious code manages to get past your anti-virus software in the first place."

I think you are really confused right now.
As far as I'm concerned, this is not an emergency situation but definitely a wakeup call. These revelations conclude that viruses are still in with a chance of getting into our machines and we HAVE TO BE CAREFUL with everything that we do on the net.

Edit: Here's the response from ESET, my favourite.

Get Error Code Meaning Using ErrMsg

We often see dialogue boxes with some error code (usually when we do something wrong) while using Windows . Even the experts sometimes fail to understand what they mean. It is not practical to google or search a tech dictionary every time we see an error code. So what do we do? FavesSoft has developed an application called ErrMsg which explains the error code that we enter. It is a small but extremely useful tool. I just entered the error code 23 which stands for CRC error and I got the result immediately and accurately.





It can be downloaded from this page: http://www.favessoft.com/downloads.html

The author has developed some very useful utilities.

So from now on don't raise your eyebrows when you see those error codes popping out. :D

Have fun!

Changing the default installation directory

In windows, all the programs are installed into the C:\Program Files directory by default. I don't like it because I always install software to another volume. Filling the C drive with files can cause problems and I use that partition for so many other purposes also.

Today you will learn to change the default installation directory so that you wont have to change the path manually. First open registry editor by typing regedit in the run box (in XP) or by doing the same in the search box in Windows 7 start menu. Then, navigate to : HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion

Find the key named ProgramFilesDir. By default, this value will be C:\Program Files. Edit the value by double clicking on it. Close the editor and reboot your PC.

Change folder background in Windows XP

Here is an interesting and funny trick to change the background image of folders in Windows XP. It is an old trick but still many people don't know about it.

Note: this trick will not work in Windows 7.

First open notepad and copy the following code:

[ExtShellFolderViews]
BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC=BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC
[BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC]
IconArea_Image=Image Location

Now replace the Image Location to the path of the image. For eg F:\Images\Image1.jpg

Then save the file with name "Desktop.ini" and copy the file to the desired location.

Done! Now reopen the folder and you will see the background image .

Regards,
Prince