Download stuff without registering

Hey, How you doin? Now then, many of us have tried downloading from sites but most of them pop up asking for registration or account details. Now, I didn't want the hassle of  becoming a registered user. Well let's face it most of the time you would have to clean up your inbox for junk from these websites, and besides it's just one download right, it's not like I am asking for their entire suite or something.

Now down to business. Here is the method to avoid it. Well, I have tried it myself (a couple of times only) and it works. It may or may not work for you but atleast give it a try

• Go to your web browser and in the address bar type www.bugmenot.com
• Enter the websites name in the address bar (Don't be lazy type the www also)
• Use the logins provided (Surely one of them will work)

This is easy, but wait there is another way (I haven't tried it myself). The method is to change your user agent from your web browser to something else (like GoogleBot). This way you would have access to the restricted material.

A word of advice, this method doesn't work on hidden forums.

So, go ahead and download what you need without the hassle of registration and as always please comment.

Tweak Firefox for Speed

Yes, yes, it is true. You can increase the speed of Firefox. Most of the time when you click a link or search or do whatever you want to do, you have to wait a couple of minutes before it happens. This is not the case in Chrome or Maxthon. But if you want to you can increase the speed.

Here's the how-to:

• Start Firefox.
  
• In the address box, type about:config and press Enter.
• There is a warning, click I'll be careful, I promise!
  
• Now you have got a search box and whole lot of settings, so search for these settings and double click them to change them to the new value:

browser.tabs.showSingleWindowModePrefs – true
network.http.max-connections – 48
network.http.max-connections-per-server – 16
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy – 8
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server – 4
network.http.pipelining – true
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests – 100
network.http.proxy.pipelining – true
network.http.request.timeout – 300

• Right click on an empty part of the screen, then choose New and then choose Integer.
• Name the Integer as nglayout.initialpaint.delay and set it's value to 0 (Zero).

And it's done. But a point to note that most of these settings are for broadband connections, so before doing this make sure you have a good speed for the internet. I haven't tried this for slower speeds or even for that matter on dial-up connection. If someone tries, then please comment and let us all know. If these settings doesn't work, then also comment. If something is amiss or I forgot something, then also comment.

Block websites without any software

As title reads, you can block any website without any sort of software (Well technically you do need Notepad). The type of software I am referring to here is a third party software.

Now, this is for parents, you guys want to block certain websites that you know your children visit like some website that allows for downloading of games and so on. The first thing that comes to mind is parental control software. Let's assume you do install something like that but there is another way for you to do approx the same but with much less hassle.

So, here it is:

• Go to C:(Usually where Windows is installed) -> Windows -> system32 -> drivers -> etc.
• Open HOSTS in notepad.
• You would find something like "127.0.0.1 localhost".
• Under that add "127.0.0.2 www.yourwebsitenamehere.com"

And that's it. So the sequence would become something like this

127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.0.2 www.site1.com
127.0.0.3 www.site2.org

Now this way you get to block certain sites. If this helps you guys (or not) then please comment.

Test your antivirus installation

Now, now don't get calm after you have installed some fancy new antivirus. Let me ask you a question, "Is your antivirus working as it is supposed to?" . Now, you probably are thinking this guy has some screws loose. I am not joking around. There are hundreds and thousands of antivirus out there and all of them promote themselves by saying stuff like "You won't catch a virus" or so on.

So, here I have a test, a simple test to check whether what you have installed is the real deal or not. This test was actually created by EICAR to test an antivirus.  Don't worry, I am not saying go ahead and download a virus. Nope, all I am saying is:

• Open Notepad.
• Copy and paste: X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*
• Click the File menu and choose Save as.
• Change the Save as Type to All files.
• Name the file eicar.com

Now, if your antivirus is working it should stop you from saving this file. If not, then don't worry, just tell your antivirus to scan the folder containing this file. Your antivirus should be able to find this file. If you didn't get it this time, it is better for you to install a new antivirus.

Thanks for reading and as always please comment.

How to make a file of the size you choose?

Hey, I have thought several times How do I make a file with size 15 GB or more. Being a technical person, the solution to the problem was either it should be a massive program or a BRRip movie. What if I want to make a file and when I make that file it lets me choose it's size. Now that idea was awesome. I read a lot and finally came to following method:

• Choose the file size you want.
• Start Windows Calculator. Now, it should look like this

Now click on View and choose Scientific (in Windows XP) and Programmer (in Windows 7/Vista).

Type in your number and then select Hex (it's on the left side along with Dec, Oct and Bin)

• Check if your converted number has 8 digits (like F457 has 4 digits) then pad with zeroes on the left (Then my number becomes 0000F457).
• Start command prompt.

          For Windows XP, click Start and then click Run. Type cmd and press Enter.
          For Windows Vista and 7, Click Start and then in Start Search Box type cmd and press Enter.

• Enter the command debug filename.dat and press Enter. Ignore the file not found message.
• Type RCX and press Enter.
• Enter the last four hexadecimal digits and press Enter.
• Type RBX and press Enter.
• Enter the first four digits of the hex number and press Enter.
• Enter W and press Enter.
• Enter Q and press Enter.

There you have it, a file with the size you told the computer to be. And as for what the file contains or is made up of. The answer is pretty simple: JUNK .

Update: The file size in step 1 has to be in bytes.

How to see blocked sites

Well, you are working at your office and want to see some site but can't because your ISP is blocking it or your firewall won't allow it. No matter what the cause be, there are a couple of ways of getting what you want:

• Use IP instead of URL

          Some times, the blocking software uses names instead of IP numbers, so doing so you maybe able to  bypass the censorship.  So, instead of typing http://www.facebook.com, you could type something like http://123.234.345 (Note: The IP address here is for example and is not the correct one).

• Use short URL service

          There are services available on the internet like MooURL or SnipURL that shorten the URL. It might work.

• Proxy

         There are several proxy websites available that might get you there. You can get a list here and here. There are others but I won't mention them here.

• Translate Sites

          You can search your websites using Google or any other search engine but in different language. You can something like instead of typing your common URL of www.google.com, type www.google.fr or something like that.

• Tor Browser bundle

          This is a free software available at here . One thing before you go all out, when you use this software, each time you open Google, it would be in a different language and each website may take sometime to load.

• HTTPS instead of HTTP

         Just change the HTTP to HTTPS and just maybe you could access it.

• VPN software

          There are paid and unpaid services available like OpenVPN, among others.

• Setup proxy in your browser

           There are always some way for setting up proxy in your browser. Since this is just a list, I can't tell how to do so for each browser. 

• Registry Hack

         Just open up notepad and copy-paste the following:

regsvr32 SOFTPUB.DLL
regsvr32 WINTRUST.DLL
regsvr32 INITPKI.DLL
regsvr32 dssenh.dll
regsvr32 Rsaenh.dll
regsvr32 gpkcsp.dll
regsvr32 sccbase.dll
regsvr32 slbcsp.dll
regsvr32 Cryptdlg.dll

         Change file type to All Files and save it as something like internetsecure.bat.
         Then, just double click on it.

I know, this list may not be complete. If you find a method that works for you, please let us know. If you still can't access your website, then still comment, perhaps we can work something out.

How to disable autorun in Windows?

Most virus spread by a simple file called autorun.inf. Even, you can make an autorun file. One way to stop most viruses is by antivirus. But precaution is better than cure. So, its better to disable this feature:


For Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista (Method one)

1. Click Start button (you know that little green circle at the bottom left of the screen).
2. In the Start Search Box, type gpedit.msc and then press Enter.
3. Under Computer Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, expand Windows Components and then click Autoplay Policies.
4. In the Details pane, double-click Turn off Autoplay.
5. Click Enabled, select All drives in the Turn off Autoplay.
6. Restart the computer.

That's method one, now for method two:

1. Click Start button.
2. In the Start Search box, type gpedit.msc and then press Enter.
3. Under Computer Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, expand Windows Components and then click Autoplay Policies.
4. In the Details pane, double-click Default Behavior for AutoRun.
5. Click Enabled, then select Do not execute any autorun commands in the Default Autorun Behavior.
6. Restart the computer.

 For Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Professional and Windows 2000

1. Click Start button.
2. Click Run, and type gpedit.msc, press OK.
3. Under Computer Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, and then click System.
4. In the Settings pane, right-click Turn off Autoplay, and then click Properties.

(Note: In Windows 2000, the policy setting is called Disable Autoplay)

     5.  Click Enabled, select All drives in the Turn off Autoplay box.

     6.  Click OK.

     7. Restart the system. 

Now, if you have Windows 7 or above, then don't worry, just follow the steps for Windows Vista. If you found this article helpful or not, then please comment.

Shit! This junk is too slow

I know, I have been there too. I click on an application and it takes freaking forever to start. The first doubt that comes to most minds it "This junk is too slow". It may be or may be not. Try opening another application. If that too is slow, then may be you're right.

Now, what to do. Most people, just format their windows, plain and simple. There are a number of things you can do:

• First check that the system that you have meets the requirements of the operating system installed. Complex thing simple, install the right OS on the right hardware. If not, then either downgrade or upgrade the OS. (Sorry, lads cannot list system requirements of every windows available now, can I.)
• Download the Piriform CCleaner. Then, run it.
  
  You should get a screen like the above. First click Analyze and then after it's completion, click Run Cleaner . Now click, the Registry tab on the left. You should see something like
  
  Same as before, click Scan for Issues and the choose which issues to fix and then click Fix selected issues. When you click on that, a window will pop up asking you to make a backup of the registry. Choose Yes for that and fix the issues.
• Check if you have installed any McAfee or Norton software, then please uninstall them. They usually are resource hogs and take up a lot of resources.
• Update the antivirus and scan the junk.
• Lastly, run Disk Defragmenter and scan the entire system. After that, restart your system a couple of times.

This should solve most problems. If, I have not mentioned your favorite trick, then please comment.

A thing or two about Antivirus

Let's start at the beginning, The question is What is a virus?
From www.thefreedictionary.com we have

(Computer Science) computing an unauthorized program that inserts itself into a computer system and then propagates itself to other computers via networks or disks; when activated it interferes with the operation of the computer

Some signs that may indicate you have a virus are:

• Your computer becomes slow, I mean really slow.
• Your internet connection is slow, your downloading sucks.
• There are softwares installed that you don't know of.

These may indicate a presence of a virus, but they could also be due to other factors. These days, due to the media frenzy about virus, THE VIRUS has broaden it's territory to a very big extent. Nowadays, it includes ad-wares, mal-wares, spywares and pretty much every other wares.

Now, lets go back to the topic: What is an Antivirus?
From www.thefreedictionary.com we have

A software program designed to identify and remove a known or potential computer virus.

Now, I have seen people, that just install a simple antivirus and then they say protection of the system is complete. They do not follow THE PROCEDURE. Installing an antivirus and then doing nothing does didly squat. So, for everyone's sake here is THE PROCEDURE:

• Keep the antivirus updated.
• Scan any media (USB, external hard disk,etc...) you attach to you PC before opening it.
• Scan you whole computer atleast a month.

Just following THE PROCEDURE does not guarantee 100% safety but for a PC, it does the job. There are antivirus suites,but for a common PC, just go ahead and download the free version. For a complete list of antivirus click here . If this list does not contain your antivirus, then please tell them.

If, I have missed something or you want to add something, then please comment.