By Satish |

Friday, March 19, 2010

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• Speedy Fox To Optimize, Speed up Firefox Profiles For Faster Firefox Browsing
• Word Press iFrame Hacking. Dealing With Malicious Code Injected on Wordpress Blogs
• Best Free Remote Backup Softwares For Windows

Speedy Fox To Optimize, Speed up Firefox Profiles For Faster Firefox Browsing Firefox browser is lucrative in many ways – The exhaustive collection of addons and the easy to use functionality makes it the best web browser, and it has glued to that spot from quite a long time. As the amount of addons, bookmarks and url history adds up, firefox browser gets heavy and consumes a lot of memory resources that none of the other browsers could do. Firefox stays ahead, once again! (Being sarcastic) Thanks to Crystal Idea who has developed an simple application especially for firefox browser that optimizes the firefox profile. As you might know, your bookmarks, the history and all the information are stored in your default firefox profile. So, optimizing profile can greatly speed up your browsing activities. The app Speedy Fox can be directly downloaded from here. It's portable and optimizes the database of files that are in your profile in a couple of minutes. Just make sure that you've closed your firefox browser before running speedy fox. You have to click the button "Speed up my Firefox" and choose your profile. I used this app. on my firefox browser and I must say I am pleased with the performance and speed it has achieved after optimizing. So, go ahead and give this an try!

Word Press iFrame Hacking. Dealing With Malicious Code Injected on Wordpress Blogs WordPress, as an blogging application is prone to be hacked apart from being an easy to use blog software. Several thousands of wordpress blogs are hacked everyday – Blame the plugins, old wp version and some unsealed loopholes. Yet again, this blog was hacked, let's say an malicious code was injected onto this website and let me tell you, we don't host any Trojan, virus on this blog which you might have witnessed in these couple of days if you were using an good antivirus program. Right now, it is completely clean and it will be the same in the future. So, this website was in the hacked state for more than a week. An rogue code was forcibly injected onto the website in the footer field, which I believe was up here for more than 10 days, letting every visitor know that this is an harmful website which of course is completely untrue. Indication of a blog being hacked If you've been following this blog then you would know I am quite an lazy person when it comes to updating the blog. However, while checking out the blog statistics, I saw an 25% decrease in the revenue (usually they are quite consistent) and to make it worse, the traffic went down with the same percentage making it an terrible start for the month of march. Only if I was active enough in blogging, this would not have happened. In anyway, I want to share my experience which I believe might be helpful for other's so that they can get an idea on how to deal with malicious code and remove such iframes javascript from the blog. Before that, here are some of the indication (with regard to this blog) that were seen when it was hacked.. Decline in overall traffic, thanks to Google analytics. Firefox browser was shutting down whenever I visited my website. In the status bar of the browser, unknown components were loading along with the site elements. (the harmful code coming from roguenet.info which is hacked as well) Website went slow despite having an reliable server and compressed css. Finding the malicious code The instant way is to check out avoid malicious code is to see source code of your homepage. You can click on view –> page source in firefox to view the source of the page. I found out 4 lines of unknown code embedded between <iframe>.. </iframe>. And I quickly knew that I never iframe any code, so the obvious – site under attack was sensed. To confirm it's existence, I used firebug addon that cleared the minimal doubt I had. Check out the screenshot to get an idea.. Dealing with the malicious code on Wordpress I panicked for a moment, but that had to happen. Now the real deal was to take this line of code out from the website. I did face an similar situation few months ago and tried the same actual method. Do read that post and come back.. Okay, so now I downloaded all the theme files and used Notepad++, it has an exclusive option to search for text in whole files/dir which is very handy and made my search easier than ever. I was very close to find out the line of code, however, I couldn't. Luckily, at the right time the guys hosting this blog (knownhost) came up with the information of the file that is infected which was not a wordpress theme file. In actual, the malicious code was in the plugin, the contact form plugin for wordpress which was unexpected! In no time, I downloaded the plugin .php file and removed the malicious code. So, that's it! It took me around 2 hours to figure all this out, do remember to contact your hosting support, use firebug or check out the source code, download all the files and use notepad++ to bulk search the text.

Best Free Remote Backup Softwares For Windows A remote backup service is one which backs up or saves important files and folders on a remote server via some kind of client software which is typically provided by the backup providing company. The client program collects, encrypts and transmits data on a regular basis to the backup service company's server. A few such best backup service providers which features free backup options on windows machine are discussed below. CUCKU.COM This is one of the best backup service providers available in the market. It provides a dual option of both local as well as remote backup. When you decide to backup your files, bookmarks, emails etc, the software prompts for a choice of backup place. Local option would save it on the hard-disk or on an external hard-drive. If you select remote backup then first the files and other necessary information are encrypted and saved on the computer's hard-drive as a local backup. Then a copy is sent to your backup partner for storage. Since the files are encrypted, they are not accessible by your backup partner. Moreover a real-time check ensures that any change in data on your computer is immediately relayed onto your remote backup. If you accidentally delete any file then it can be immediately restored via the local backup. In case of a bigger problem like fire or theft, you have to download the entire file base from your remote backup partner. Fast broadband connection and high bandwidth would be quite helpful in this case. IDRIVE.COM This software combines the work of a client software as well as that of a remote backup partner. The free option offers a maximum of 2 GB of backup space and hence can be used for backing up the most important of files. It incorporates features like automatic selection and continuous data protection (CDP). CDP provides a constant update of any change in data (every 10 minutes) and accordingly changes the data on the host site. Needless to say the data is protected and also archived for easy access. The site has a virtual hard-drive interface and the entire data can be accessed from any location. MOZY.COM Here we have another backup service provider which offers comprehensive storage and ease of use. There are two plans offered by this site, free and paid. The free option offers 2 GB of space which can be used for backing up essential documents, pictures, music files and other smaller files. If you require a larger backup space then you have to opt for the unlimited but paid option. Files are stored with a decent level of encryption and the site also allows backup of both open and protected files like the Outlook PST files. Other features include automated or schedules backup timings and bandwidth selection which provides the user with options to limit his/her bandwidth for other important services.

Podcast Manager Recommendations

By Satish | 0 comments

Podcast Manager Recommendations Podcasting offers a wonderful world of user-created content ranging from small, independent (or even one person) podcasts such as the Mr Brown show, a popular Singaporean comedy program, to large studio project such as The Official Lost Podcast. There are literally thousands of streams of podcasts out there, some more exciting than others, but I am sure what whatever your preference, there are bound to be some that will suit your fancy. But how does one get access to the world of podcasting? Well first off, podcast, or their video equivalent, vodcasts, are nothing more than a fancy term of calling an audio or a video file. Most podcasts are news-like in nature, bringing you the latest updates in the world of X, where X is pretty much anything you can imagine of, from celebrity entertainment to photography tips. Most of them are filmed or recorded no more than 30 minutes long, although longer podcasts, such as the ones from SlashFilm, can last hours on end. Podcasts are a great complement to my habit of commuting from home to work. I just fire up something from Howstuffworks then proceed to my destination. Some people love to listen to music, but I find that podcasts are a great way of enriching yourself with knowledge, as well as learning quite a lot of useful tidbits as conversation starters. Podcasts are often delivered as an RSS URL (also called a Feed), which simply means that its a self-updating link where the author will insert their latest episodes into the link. A podcast manager's task is to collect and record all these links then provide a means of checking each 'Feed' for updated content. Then the option of downloading the recording as well as archiving it completes the task of a podcast manager. With this in mind, what are some of the podcast managers that you can use to get yourself started on the world of podcasting? gPodder - This is a free, multiplatform podcast manager, useful when you are working on multiple systems and don't want to have a different program for each platform. The interface is sparse but does all you need in a small, neat, efficient package. I find the exclusion of any built-in players to be especially liberating because it keeps the system drain low. Miro - This open source project started off as a video player, then slowly evolved to become a podcast manager. It's great at giving smooth playback of vodcasts and offer a slightly nicer interface than gPodder, as well as being great for streaming online media or other web-based tasks. Check it out of gPodder looks too dated for your taste. iTunes - If you have an iPod, iTunes offers a great podcast manager built right into the software. However, looking for feeds are a little bit cumbersome due to there being no ability for you to directly specify the URL of your podcast feeds. You need to trawl through iTunes' own database of podcasts, and not every podcast is available on their database, although a lot of useful and quality content is tracked by iTunes so it's probably doing you a favor by filtering out all the junk on the Internet. And until another software comes out with a way to sync podcasts to your iPod Touch, iTunes will sadly remain your only manager. Juice - Yet another free podcast manager that's even lighter than gPodder, this manager's sole task is to track and download podcasts, making it every light and useful on netbooks and older computers. In the past, I've had a few problems with Juice and have moved on to iTunes ever since, but in the meantime, the programmers at Juice have probably fixed all the bugs. There you go, four great podcast managers for you to start. Now start gathering your favourite podcasts online!

By Satish | 0 comments

• Find out Fake Memory Stick in PSP 3000, PSP 3004
• Fix Image Quality Loss in Windows Live Writer?
• Windows Phone 7 Series Videos
• About ntvdm.exe And How to Fix ntvdm CPU Usage on System

Find out Fake Memory Stick in PSP 3000, PSP 3004 Wouldn't it suck to own an fake memory stick? And still pay the same amount of money you would pay for the original Sony memory stick? It does. So, here is a quick tip for those of you who are planning to buy memory card or who wants to check the genuineness of the psp memory card. As a matter of fact, memory sticks with the brand names typo are sold in the market, but the price tag is half of what you pay for the Sony memory stick.. the reason being it's not an original stick. Whether it is an PSP 3000 or PSP 3004, you can find out if it's an fake memory card or not by simply following these steps.. Detecting PSP Fake Memory Stick Assuming that you've already inserted the memory card into your psp device, navigate to the PHOTO drive where you'll find Camera and Memory Card sub drives. Head over to the memory stick icon and click the ^ button (top right).. which will display options such as Slideshow, Receive & Information. Click on Information, if it shows MagicGate as supported then you have original memory card. And, if it shows MagicGate as unknown then you've been fooled big time. So, that is it.. an pretty easy way to detect if you've an genuine memory card or not.. mine is genuine 8GB stick. How about yours?

Fix Image Quality Loss in Windows Live Writer? Windows Live writer is without a doubt the most used desktop blogging application. However, not everyone are accustomed to live writer because of those certain defects. The loss in image quality is one among the several drawbacks that needs to be dealt with. A regular user of live writer would have known the uses of live writer which are not to be ignored. The image editing features are exceptional. No doubt. But, have you noticed that whenever you change the dimension of the image, the image loses it's quality.. i.e, a normal image turns more into an blurry image quality. For instance, here are two images that I've uploaded in this post. The first image is unaltered – I've captured it in such a way (regarding dimensions) that it fits in this content area. I haven't re-sized the image. And the quality of image remains as that of the original. The second image.. which is an replica of the first one seems to be blurred. Because I've resized the image, even though if I bring back it to the original dimension – the image quality won't be retained. So, here is the image quality loss as you can see… So how to fix the image loss issue? By now you must have figured out the solution..YES, to upload images that fits in your blog content area. If you try to change the dimension of the images, then those blurry images are bound to be seen. In all seriousness, this fix is not at all the solution.. but with no other ways around, perhaps this is the only acceptable method you've to follow to avoid image quality loss on live writer! Anyone from the live writers team reading this?

Windows Phone 7 Series Videos Seems like Microsoft has pulled out all the stops for their upcoming Windows phone. This latest Windows Phone – The Windows Phone 7 Series, as Microsoft claims – is the phone that will bring about an unrivaled mobile experience for the users. Microsoft have been gradually revealing the Windows 7 phone's features. The disadvantages that were figured out with the Windows Phone 7 Series are no support for multi tasking, no flash and no copy paste feature which has let down most of the people. As similar to iPhone marketplace, Windows Phone 7 Series will have it's own marketplace; but with an panoramic view which is definitely an added perk ensuring more application to be developed as things move on positively. Here are some of the videos on Windows Phone 7 Series that you can watch to get an idea why Windows Phone 7 is claimed to be much more superior than iPhone (Yes!?). Check 'em out.. Windows Phone 7 Series Video Windows Phone 7 Live Demo Video From Chris Pirillo Windows Phone 7 Marketplace Video

About ntvdm.exe And How to Fix ntvdm CPU Usage on System Posted: 16 Mar 2010 08:07 PM PDT One of the common system files found in 32-bit operating systems, like Windows XP, is ntvdm.exe. It stands for Windows NT Virtual DOS Machine. This file is typically found under C:\Windows\Sytem32. The file size in Windows XP is 520,192 bytes and is a core Windows file which is Microsoft signed. Therefore the technical security rating on this file is 2% only. This file is extremely prone to virus attacks and lots of viruses have been known to disguise themselves as ntvdm.exe to avoid suspicion. The ntvdm.exe file is normally used when you want to run a 16-bit application on a 32-bit machine. These may include older softwares as well as classic games like Counter Strike which incorporates the half-life 2 engine. A very common problem that users face when using 16-bit applications is an ntvdm.exe error. Sometimes the file fails to execute whereas in most cases it takes too long to respond thereby hogging on system resources. Sometimes CPU usage can go up to 99-100%. This is typically due to the fact that ntvdm.exe has stopped working. There are a few methods to try and prevent this. Fix ntvdm.exe CPU Usage A simple method would be to stop ntvdm.exe from starting up during booting of the computer. To do this, follow the following steps: Select "RUN" from the START menu. Type "msconfig" and press enter Select the "startup" tab Find ntvdm.exe and remove the tick from its side. Reboot your computer. For emergency cases you can call up the task manager by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL and stop the process named ntvdm.exe. Keep in mind that this will consequently stop the application which had brought it up in the first place. Another trick to prevent ntvdm.exe from hogging on system resources is discussed below: This is in case you are using a shortcut (DOS program) to call up ntvdm.exe Right click on the shortcut and select "PROPERTIES" Go to "MISC" and find "ALWAYS SUSPEND" Set the idle sensitivity to "HIGH" Save and exit This prevents the exe file from using too much of resources when it is waiting to be executed, that is it is in idle status. Another very common reason of trouble is a virus. Since the ntvdm.exe file is a Windows verified file, hence it is easy for a virus to disguise itself as the file and bypass some scanners. Common problems would include multiple ntvdm.exe processes in task manager, too many unknown processes when you start a DOS application, too many .bat files getting opened etc. In such cases use a good quality anti-virus to scan and remove any forms of virus on your computer.