Keyboard Shortcuts for Ubuntu

For those who are not familiar with Linux, Ubuntu is one of the most popular and most widely used Linux distributions.

Over the years that I have used Ubuntu, other than the usual Ctrl + C (copy) and Ctrl + V (paste) shortcuts, I have discovered quite a number of keyboard shortcuts that are very useful, but seldom used by many. If you are looking for more keyboard shortcuts to add to your collection, I am sure you will be able to find some new tricks here.

1. Switch to the next/previous workspace

If you make use of the workspace very frequently, you can easily switch between different workspaces by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Left/Right Arrow. The Left key brings you to the previous workspace while the Right key brings you to the next adjacent. If you have enabled Compiz, you can even get it to show all the workspace by pressing Super + E on the keyboard.

2. Move the current window to another workspace

By pressing Shift+ Ctrl + Alt + Left/Right Arrow, you can easily move your current window to another workspace in the specified direction. This keyboard shortcut works very well with the one mentioned above. If you have the habit of opening many applications/windows when doing your work, but don’t like to see your desktop and menubar cluttered with all the application windows, you can use this shortcut key to move your applications to another workspace and get your desktop organized.

3. Show the desktop

Ctrl + Alt + D enables you to quickly minimize all windows and give focus to the desktop. When all windows are minimized, this shortcut can also maximize all the windows to their previous state.

4. Keyboard shortcut for the mouse right-click

In most applications, you can always right-click on the mouse to access the options menu. On the keyboard, you can simply press Shift + F10 to achieve this ‘right-click‘ effect

5. Restart session and recover from crashes

There are very few instances where Ubuntu will crash totally. But if it does, you can press Ctrl + Alt + Backspace to restart the session, and 90% of the time, it will recover from the crashes.

6. Lock the screen quickly

If you need to leave your workstation for a while, you can quickly lock up your screen by pressing Ctrl + Alt + L and prevent unauthorized access by others.

7. Switch between windows in the reverse direction

Alt + Tab is a common shortcut key that allow you to switch between open windows. But do you know that by including the ‘Shift‘ button, you can reverse the windows switching direction? This is useful when you press Alt + Tab too fast and passed the window that you want to switch to. Simply press down the ‘Shift‘ button to go back to the previous window in the switch cycle.

8. Move windows with arrow keys

Press Alt+F7 to activate the Move window function and use any arrows key (up, down, left, right) to move the window around the screen.

9. Show hidden files

Most of the time, you won’t need to view the hidden files in your home folder, but in the event that you need to, you can press Ctrl + H inside the Nautilus (the file manager for Ubuntu) to show all hidden files.

10. Show file properties without right-clicking the mouse

The conventional way to view a file/folder properties is to right-click the mouse and select ‘Properties‘. Now you can just press Alt + Enter to get the Properties window to appear.

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5 Myths about Internet Safety

“Internet Safety” the term has been getting vague with the increasing virus outbreaks nowdays. PC Magazine once conducted a survey in which they asked the participants to rate their broadband ISP services and the results were astonishing. Most of users didn’t completelty understand the seriousness of potential threats or how to protect their PCs. Here are the top 5 Myths about safe surfing over internet.

Myth 1 - I don’t keep important things on my PC, so I don’t have to worry about security. Your PC can be infected over internet

Long time ago,this was partially true… but the hybrid worms and viruses of today like Blaster, hidrag and others blindly spread across internet to thousands or millions of PCs in a matter of hours, without regard for who owns them, what is stored there, or the value of the information they hold for the sole purpose of wreaking havoc. Even if your computer is not attacked directly, it can be used as a zombie to launch a denial-of-service or other attack on a network or to send spam or pornography to other PCs without being traced. Therefore, your civic responsibility is to protect your PC so that others are protected.

Myth 2 - I can protect my PC if I disconnect from the Internet or turn it off when I’m not using it.

Wrong. You are a target,If you connect to the Internet at all. You could download a virus when you connect to internet and it may not be activated immediately, not until you read your email offline days after. Viruses nowadays spread wildly through USB/Pen drives, pirated cd’s or torrents or file from networks.

Myth 3 - I can protect myself from viruses by not opening suspicious e-mail attachments. Some viruses simply get activated by reading or previewing an e-mail

Wrong again. The next virus you get may come from your best friend’s or boss’ computer if his e-mail address book was compromised for simulating an attack. Hybrid worms can enter through the Web browser through loopholes and it is possible to activate some viruses simply by reading or previewing an e-mail. You simply must have a PC-based antivirus package or a firewall.

Myth 4 - I have a Macintosh (or a Linux-based system), not a Windows system, so I don’t have to worry about being attacked.

It is true that most attacks target Microsoft Windows–based PCs, but there have been attacks against Mac OS and Linux systems as well. Some experts have predicted that the Mac virus problem will get worse, because Mac OS X uses a version of Unix. And although these systems have some useful securityfeatures, they can still be attacked.

Myth 5 - My system came with an Anti-virus package, so I’m protected.

Not quite. Firstly, if you haven’t activated your antivirus to scan incoming web traffic automatically, you don’t have a good Anti-virus and malware protection software. Secondly, new threats appear daily, so an antivirus package is only as good as its last update so its a must to activate the auto-update features to keep your guard up against the latest threats. Thirdly, an antivirus package can’t protect you from every threat. Malwares, spywares are running in the wild out there and every now and then malicious code penetrate weak systems. You need a combination of solutions, including, at minimum, antivirus, a personal firewall ,an anti spyware/malware package and a plan for keeping your operating system and software up to date with security patches.

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3 Reasons Everyone Should Clean Their Windows Registry

Windows Vista Registry

Just like older Windows operating systems, the registry is an important component of the Windows Vista operating system. It is the central database in which your Vista operating system stores configuration information related to installed hardware and software. The registry also stores preferences of various users configured on your PC and the system setup information. Because the registry controls almost all functions that occur on your PC, the chances of registry errors are quite high.

Furthermore, because your operating system, hardware, and applications are dependent on the registry to carry out various activities, registry errors have a direct affect on the performance of your system and the way applications work on it. The top three problems caused by an unhealthy registry are discussed here.

Frequent System Errors

Overtime, a large number of unwanted data accumulates in the registry causing it to grow uncontrollably, making it cluttered and fragmented. A corrupted registry is unstable and generates frequent system errors, application errors, and causes system freezes and crashes.

To prevent these errors and system crashes, you need to regularly scan the registry for errors and get rid of all unwanted information stored in it. Doing this will help you maintain a compact and healthy registry and also prevent system errors.

Deteriorated System Performance

If you monitor the activity of your Windows Vista registry, you will see hundreds of entries being accessed, removed, and added to it within a short amount of time. Due to this constant addition and removal of information, registry files tend to get fragmented. Many times, when a key is removed, it leaves behind a place holder in the registry, which is actually an empty registry key and is of no use. These registry holes also unnecessarily contribute toward increasing registry size and making it unstable.

A fragmented and unstable registry deteriorates the performance of your Vista computer. Therefore, to speed up your PC, you need to regularly clean and defrag the Windows registry to maintain its contiguity and prevent it from growing too large.

Accumulation of Malicious Registry Keys

You know that all programs on your Vista PC have to access the registry to perform various operations. Well, the same goes with malware programs such as viruses, Trojans, spyware and adware too. If your PC is infected by any kind of malware, your registry is likely to be filled up with many malicious registry keys added by these programs. Although you may get rid of malware using antivirus and antispyware tools, a few registry keys may get left behind.

You can easily get rid of these left-behind malicious registry keys when you perform registry cleanup.

How Registry Cleaners Can Help

A large number of registry cleaner tools are available in the market today that you can use to perform registry fix and cleanup. Using a reliable registry cleaner tool you can:

* Scan and remove all unwanted information from the registry and ensure yourself an error-free PC.
* Defrag the registry to make the registry files contiguous and the registry compact, thereby reducing the data access time and boosting the performance of your PC.
* Perform a deep scan of the registry and weed out hidden malware registry keys.
* Make registry backups that you can use to restore the registry in case it fails.

To ensure that your PC is free from system errors and malware and is at its best performance, you should regularly clean your registry. The simplest and the most efficient method to do this is by using a registry cleaner utility.

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IP AdressinG.....

Here you will learn about ip address network introduction and general overview of routing, subnet mask, subnetting, data communication. IP address is an identifier for a computer or device on a TCP/IP network and Internet. Networks that use the TCP/IP protocols route traffic based on the IP address of the destination computer or network device. The format of the IP address is 32 bits 4 octets 4 bytes such as 100.100.10.1, 210.100.22.30, 1.10.1.2 these are the examples of the IP address. The format is a 32-bit numeric value written as four numbers and separated by periods.

Each number in the IP address can be between 0 and 255. In your private network, you can assign unique IP address randomly. However, when you want to connect your private network to the Public network such as Internet then you must need a registered IP address to communicate on the internet and to avoid duplicate address. The four numbers in an IP address are used in different ways to identify a particular network. The general internet registries such as APNIC, RIP, NCC and LACNIC assigns internet or IP addresses from the following 3 classes.

1. Class A- IP address from 0-126. It supports 16 million hosts and 126 networks.
2. Class B- IP address from 128-191. It supports 65,000 hosts and 16,000 networks.
3. Class C-IP address from 192-223. It supports 254 hosts and 2 million networks.
The number of unassigned IP address is running out and a new classless scheme called CIDR is replacing the classes based system of the IP address. In this system the A, B and C class is tied to adoption of IPV6.


Every device connected to the Internet must need a unique identifier, which is called an IP address. An IP address is a numeric value separated by periods into four octets. These numbers are usually assigned to the ISPs (internet service providers) within region-based blocks. An IP address can be used to identify a region or a country. An internet user’s geographical location can be determined with the help of an IP address. The number system is generally difficult to remember so the IP address may also assign to a Host name.

The host names are usually easy to remember. In simple words, every website on the internet must bound or mapped with an IP address. At one time ISPs usually issue one IP address to each user. Within each ISP a DHCP (Dynamic host configuration protocol) server is configured, which dynamically assigns IP addresses from a given pool to each user who connects to the ISP. Dynamic IP addresses also limit the ability of a user to host websites, mail servers, ftp server, mail server and web portals.

Understanding IP Addresses Scheme

An IP address is an address that is used to uniquely identify a device or computer on an IP-based network. An IP address is an address used to uniquely identify a device on an IP network. An IP address can be divided into two parts network portion and a host portion. Each IP address is associated with a subnet mask. The 32 bit address is broken into 4 octets and 1 octet=8 bits. Each octet is converted to a decimal and is separated by periods.

For example 0000000000.11111111.00000000.11111111 this is a binary representation of an IP address. Each octet’s decimal value ranges between 0 and 255. The binary octets convert into decimal value. Here you can see that how a binary octet converts into decimal value. The right most bit or least significant bit of an octet will hold a value of 20.
The bit left to that bit will hold a value of 21. This process continues until the left most bit or the most significant bit holds the value of 27. If all the binary bits are one the decimal representation will be like this.

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1 (128+64+32+16+8+4+2+1=255)

Now here is a sample conversion of the octet if not all the bits are set of 1.

0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
0 0 32 0 0 0 0 1 (0+64+0+0+0+0+0+1=33)
In the following example you can see the IP address representation both in binary and decimal values.

64. 2. 135. 19 (decimal)64+2+135+19=220
01001010.00000010.1000111.00010011 (binary)

The octets are broken down to provide a large number of the addressing scheme that can accommodate small and very large networks. There are five different classes of the IP networks. Class A, B, C, D and E. The classes from A to C and mainly in use, D and E are experimental and reserved so they are not commonly in use. Due to the classless inter domain routing (CIDR) these addresses are not practically in use.

Network/Subnet Masks

A network mask helps you which portion of the address identifies the network portion and the host portion of an IP address. The three different classes of the IP addresses have their own default masks as shown below.
Class Subnet Mask

Class A: 255.0.0.0
Class B: 255.255.0.0
Class C: 255.255.255.0

An IP address on a class A network that has not been subnetted would have an address and subnet mask pair such as 10.111.20.1 255.0.0.0. If you want to know in more detail that how a mask help you identify the network and host part of the address simply convert the IP address and subnet mask into the binary numbers.

4.16.15.1= 00000100. 00010000.00001111.00000001
255.0.0.0 = 11111111. 00000000.00000000.00000000
If you have the address and the subnet mask in the binary forms then identifying the network portion and the host portion is very easy. Any address value that has the corresponding subnet mask binary value set to 1 show the network ID. Any address bit that has corresponding subnet mask value to 0 represents the host ID.

4.16.15.1= 00000100.00010000.00001111.00000001
255.0.0.0 = 11111111.00000000.00000000.00000000

Network id | host id
If you know your IP address of a computer, you can access the services such as online games, FTP, Web and Mail servers, and remote access utilities such as Remotely Anywhere, PCToGo, PCAnywhere, Remote control etc.

How do I change my IP address?

There are a number of methods by which you can change the IP address of your computer.

What is a Proxy Server?

A proxy server is a computer that offers network and internet access services to the client computers in a network. A client computer connects to the proxy server, requests a connection, services, files and other resources on the other servers. In some cases, the proxy may alter the client’s request and the server’s response for various reasons. By using the proxy server you can hide, conceal and make your network id anonymous by hiding your IP address. To get the anonymous status on the network or Internet, strong intermediate methods are employed like cryptography etc. Examples are remailers, P2P systems etc.

There is a large number of the software available that allows you to hide your IP address with the help of the proxy servers. The well known software for this purpose is Hide IP, Stealth surf, Netconceal, Anonymous surfing, Proxify and Ghost surf.

An IP address is a unique identification number for communication between computer networks, network devices such as computers, fax machines, printers and servers. It is like the number of an apartment or a phone number. IP addresses are of two types Static and Dynamic. Internet service providers’ use dynamic IP addresses and servers usually use static IP address.
The class A of the IP address constitutes almost 50% of all the IP addresses. This class is meant for large networks like the big multinational companies. Class B networks are medium sized like used in the colleges, Universities and other educational and training institutes. Class C IP addresses are usually used for the small companies.

The Regional Internet Registry (RIP) provides the IP addresses based on the geographical distribution. RIP also offers protection against the hackers that try to access the confidential data. All the personal information recorded by the ISP is kept in confidentiality.

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What is Subnetting?

Two network segments are restricted by distance limitations. Submetting or dividing the network into the segments is also required when localized network management is required for example accounting, sales, customer service departments. There is another reason for the subnetting, which is that the computers on the network, which use more bandwidth, needs to be separated from the rest of the computers. There are certain advantages and disadvantages of the subnetting. Before you start dividing your network into the different segments, you should assign the IP address to each computer in your network segment.

Subnetting makes the network management easier and it is also very helpful for the troubleshooting of a network segment. The internet is a collection of networks where users communication with each other. Each communication on the internet carries the source and the destination address of the computer. This address is called IP address. This 32 bit address has two parts: one part represents the network portion and the other part represents the host portion of the IP address. A company can use some of the bits in the machine or host portion of the address to identify a subnet. In this scenario, the IP address contains three parts: the network address, the subnet address and the machine address.

Subnet Mask Basics

The most recognizable part aspect of subnetting is the Subnet mask. A subnet mask contains 4 bytes, 32 bits and is divided into 4 period separated octets. Typically, a very common subnet mask in binary looks like this.

11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000
255 255 0 0

How to Apply a Subnet Mask

A subnet mask does not work like an IP address and it cannot exist separately without an IP address. An IP address and subnet mask work together to form a network. An IP address splits into two main parts when applying the subnet mask. The leftmost bits of a subnet mask must be set to 1. For example

11111111.00000000.00000000.00000000
11111111.11111111.00000000.00000000
11111111.11111111.11111111.00000000

The above example shows the valid representation of a subnet mask into the binary numbers.

00000000.00000000.00000000.00000000 is an invalid subnet mask.
11111111.11111111.11111111.11111111 is also invalid subnet mask.

All valid subnet masks contain two parts: the left side with all mask bits set to '1' (the extended network portion) and the right side with all bits set to '0' (the host portion), such as the first example above.

Subnetting an IP network can be performed for a variety of reasons such as using the different physical media in an organization, such as FDDI, WAN and Ethernet, preservation of the addresses and for the purpose of security, management and ease of troubleshooting. The most

common reason of the subnetting is to control the network traffic. In an Ethernet network, all computers in a segment see all the packets that are transmitted by all the other computers on the same segment.

In this situation, the network performance can be badly affected due to the heavy traffic loads, collisions and the retransmission of the packets. A router is used to connect the IP networks and it also helps to minimize the load of the traffic.

Subnet Masking

By applying the subnet mask to the IP address you can identify the network and host portion of the IP address. The decimal number 1 represents the network portion in the subnet mask and the node is represented the 0s. Performing a logical AND operation between the IP address and the subnet mask resulting in the network address.
For example, using our test IP address and the default Class B subnet mask, we get:
10001100.10110011.11110000.11001000 140.179.240.200 IP address of the class B
11111111.11111111.00000000.00000000 255.255.000.000 Default subnet mask of class B
--------------------------------------------------------
10001100.10110011.00000000.00000000 140.179.000.000 Network Address value

The following example shows the default subnet masks.
• Class A Subnet Mask- 255.0.0.0 - 11111111.00000000.00000000.00000000
• Class B Subnet Mask- 255.255.0.0 - 11111111.11111111.00000000.00000000
• Class C Subnet Mask- 255.255.255.0 - 11111111.11111111.11111111.00000000

Subnetting Review

Subnetting allows network and system administrators some flexibility in defining relationship among the hosts of a network. Hosts on the logically and physically different subnets can talk to each other through specialized devices called gateway or router. The ability to filter the traffic between

subnets can make the more bandwidth availability. Subnetting referred to as subdivision of a class based networks into subnetworks.

A router can exchange subnet routes with the other routers in the network. A subnetted network can’t be split into the isolated portion. All the subnets must be contiguous because the routing information cannot be passed to a non-network member. Router can exchange subnet routes with other routers within the network. Since the subnet masks are identical across the network, the routers will interpret these routes in the same manner. However, routers not attached to the subnetted network can't interpret these subnet routes, since they lack the subnet mask.

Therefore, subnet routes are not relayed to routers on other networks. This leads to our second

restriction. Subnetting allows you to create multiple logically different networks within the same class A, B or C. If you break a major network into smaller networks, it allows you to create a network of interconnecting subnetworks. Any device or gateway that is responsible for connecting the different subnetworks must have the distinct IP address one for each subnetwork.

To subnet a network use and extend the natural subnet mask using some of the bits from the host ID portion to create a subnetwork ID. In this example, given a Class C network of the IP address 4.15.5.0 which has a natural subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, you can create subnets in this manner:

11001100.00001111.00000101.00000000 204.15.5.0
11111111.11111111.11111111.11100000 255.255.255.224

---------------------------------|subnet|----

By extending the natural subnet mask to be 255.255.255.224, you have used three bits from the host portion of the mask and used them to make subnets. By using these 3 bits, it is possible to create 8 subnets. The remaining five ID bits of the host portion, each subnet can make 32 host addresses and the 30 addresses out of 32 are assigned to the devices or computers. The host IDs

of all zeros and all ones are not allowed.

204.15.5.0 255.255.255.224 host address range 1 to 30
204.15.5.32 255.255.255.224 host address range 33 to 62
204.15.5.64 255.255.255.224 host address range 65 to 94
204.15.5.96 255.255.255.224 host address range 97 to 126
204.15.5.128 255.255.255.224 host address range 129 to 158
204.15.5.160 255.255.255.224 host address range 161 to 190
204.15.5.192 255.255.255.224 host address range 193 to 222
204.15.5.224 255.255.255.224 host address range 225 to 254.

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Ftp Error Codes What They Mean

FTP Error Messages
some nice info about ftp error codes so you know what they mean. i am sure you see them all the time and sometimes you dont know what they mean, so take a look here.

The most common codes:
421 - often means: too many users logged to the same account.

530 - wrong loginass, some servers auto-switch to 530 from
421 when they reach the max # of users. so notice the
error message attached to the code.

550 - common in Ratio site, If the file exsist it means you have no
access to the file or dir.
if you try changing dirs in an FTP and you`re getting a 550
message, it means you don`t have access to the dir, but,
It doesn`t mean you don`t have access to a dir
inside that dir. (meaning when getting a direct path, log into
the path directly, not 1 dir by 1).

All others:

110 Restart marker reply. In this case, the text is exact and not left to the particular implementation; it must read: MARK yyyy = mmmm Where yyyy is User-process data stream marker, and mmmm server's equivalent marker (note the spaces between markers and "=").
120 Service ready in nnn minutes.
125 Data connection already open; transfer starting.
150 File status okay; about to open data connection.
200 Command okay.
202 Command not implemented, superfluous at this site.
211 System status, or system help reply.
212 Directory status.
213 File status.
214 Help message. On how to use the server or the meaning of a particular non-standard command. This reply is useful only to the human user.
215 NAME system type. Where NAME is an official system name from the list in the Assigned Numbers document.
220 Service ready for new user.
221 Service closing control connection. Logged out if appropriate.
225 Data connection open; no transfer in progress.
226 Closing data connection. Requested file action successful (for example, file transfer or file abort).
227 Entering Passive Mode (h1,h2,h3,h4,p1,p2).
230 User logged in, proceed.
250 Requested file action okay, completed.
257 "PATHNAME" created.
331 User name okay, need password.
332 Need account for login.
350 Requested file action pending further information.
421 Too many users logged to the same account
425 Can't open data connection.
426 Connection closed; transfer aborted.
450 Requested file action not taken. File unavailable (e.g., file busy).
451 Requested action aborted: local error in processing.
452 Requested action not taken. Insufficient storage space in system.
500 Syntax error, command unrecognized. This may include errors such as command line too long.
501 Syntax error in parameters or arguments.
502 Command not implemented.
503 Bad sequence of commands.
504 Command not implemented for that parameter.
530 Not logged in.
532 Need account for storing files.
550 Requested action not taken. File unavailable (e.g., file not found, no access).
551 Requested action aborted: page type unknown.
552 Requested file action aborted. Exceeded storage allocation (for current directory or dataset).
553 Requested action not taken. File name not allowed.

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Important Things to know about Vulnerability Assessment

This article intends to cover following topics about Vulnerability Assessment / Vulnerability analysis in brief.

1. Meaning of vulnerable

2. What is Vulnerability?

3. What is Vulnerability Assessment?

4. Who can exploit Vulnerabilities?

5. Use of Vulnerability Assessment

6. How Vulnerability Assessment is different from Threat analysis?

1. Meaning of vulnerable

Vulnerable means weak and liable to be attacked.

2. What is Vulnerability?

Vulnerability in relation to Information System / Networking is a problematic condition because of which the system can be attacked, exploited and /or compromised. These problematic condition could be:

1. Software /Programming bug
2. Backdoors
3. Unnecessary Open ports
4. Hardware Bugs
5. Improper configuration
6. Improper parameters
7. Improper patch/update management etc.

3. What is Vulnerability Assessment?

Vulnerability Assessment or Vulnerability Analysis is the process of identification, Classification, mapping and rating of vulnerabilities of Information System / Networking System.

4. Who can exploit Vulnerabilities?

Vulnerability can be exploited by Crackers, Some kind of hackers, script kiddies for malicious intent. Some times it is exploited by Penetration Tester/ IS Auditors / Good hackers for the benefit of the general public/group and strengthening / hardening the system.

5. Use of Vulnerability Assessment

Vulnerability Assessment is used for:

1. Risk Rating and Risk Analysis
2. potential Threat Measurement
3. Protect Information assets and their integrity.
4. Prevention and correction tool for Information System

6. How Vulnerability Assessment is different from Threat analysis?

One common question asked is whether Vulnerability Assessment or Vulnerability Analysis is same as Threat Analysis. Answer is "no". No because Threat analysis is generally done after Vulnerability Assessment. Threat analysis is evaluation/examination of threats against detected /known vulnerabilities.

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About IP

Before you can change your IP you need some information. This information includes your IP range, subnet mask, default gateway, dhcp server, and dns servers.


1. Getting your IP range - Getting information about your IP range is not difficult, I recommend using Neo Trace on your own IP. But for my test just look at your IP address, say it's 24.193.110.13 you can definitely use the IP's found between 24.193.110.1 < [new IP] < style="font-weight: bold;">Subnet Mask, Default Gateway, DHCP Server - These are very easy to find, just open a dos/command prompt window and type 'ipconfig /all' without the ' '. You should see something like this:
Windows IP Configuration:

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : My Computer Name Here
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .: Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . . . . . . .: xxxx.xx.x
Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : NETGEAR FA310TX Fast Ethernet Adapter (NGRPCI)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . . . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 24.xxx.xxx.xx
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .: 255.255.240.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 24.xxx.xxx.x
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .: 24.xx.xxx.xx
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 24.xx.xxx.xxx
24.xx.xxx.xx
24.xx.xxx.xxx
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .:Monday, January 20, 2003 4:44:08 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .:Tuesday, January 21, 2003 3:43:16 AM


This is all the information you will need for now, I suggest you either keep your dos/command prompt window open or copy & paste the information somewhere, to copy right click the window and select text and click once.



III. Changing your IP Address


To change your IP address first pick any IP you like out of your IP range and remember it or write it down. It is usualy a good idea to make sure the IP is dead (except for what we are going to do later on) so just ping it via "ping x.x.x.x" and if it times out then you can use it. Now go to My Computer, then Control Panel. In Control Panel select Network Connections and pick your active connection, probably Local Area Connection or your ISP name. Open that connection by double clicking on the icon in Network Connections, then select Properties under the General Tab. In the new window that pops up select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click properties, it's under the general tab. In this new window select the General tab and choose "Use the following IP address" and for the IP address enter the IP you would like to use (the one you picked from your subnet earlier) and for the Subnet Mask enter the subnet mask you got when your ran ipconfig /all, same goes for the Default Gateway. Now select "Use the following DNS server addresses" and enter the information you got earlier. Now just click OK. Test that it worked, try to refresh a website and if it works you know everything is okay and you are connected. To make sure the change worked type ipconfig again and the IP address should have changed to your new one.



IV. DDoS & DoS Protection


If your firewall shows that you are being DDoSed, this is usually when you are constantly getting attempted UDP connections several times a second from either the same IP address or multiple IP addresses (DDoS), you can protect your self by changing your IP address via the method I described above.



V. Web servers & Other Services


If you know someone on your IP range is running a web server and he or she has pissed you off or you just like messing around you can "steal" their IP address so any DNS going to that IP will show your site instead because you would be running a web server yourself.

To "steal" an IP is to basically use the changing IP address method above and picking an IP that someone that is running a web server has in use. Often you will be able to keep that IP at least for some time, other times you wont be able to use it so just keep trying until it works. You your self will need to have a web server on the same port with your message. You can do this with other services too. You can also DoS or DDoS the IP address you are trying to steal to kick him off the net, but I don't recommend as its pretty illegal, an your ISP will get pissed

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Find And Download Old Version Of Software Quickly

Did you upgrade your software and found that a feature is missing or you are having compatibility problem? Don’t fret yet, you can download the old version of the software from the company’s website. But sometimes they don’t link to old version of the software, in such cases you can try out OldVersion, it is a website dedicated to multiple versions of all software that are old.

Sometimes Old Is Gold.



It contains categories such as Communication, Graphics, Multimedia, Internet, File Sharing, Utilities, Security, Enterprise, and FTP. There is a build-in forum where you can request some old software or just talk about general topics.

According to them,

Sometimes upgrading to a newer version can be a good thing. Other times, your computer may not be compatible with the new version, the new version is bloated, or all the options you liked are no longer available.

And…

OldVersion.com assists computer users who are unable to continually upgrade their computer. Those who find that their machine is not able to run the latest version of a certain application have no choice but to use an old version of the program. Unfortunately, the vast majority of software companies do not offer this opportunity. We are doing our small part to help bridge the digital divide by allowing everyone to enjoy the same software titles regardless of their hardware.

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LetMeGoogleThatForYou.com

LetMeGoogleThatForYou.com allows you to enter any search query, then grab the resulting permalink to share it with someone else. For instance, if someone in a forum would ask “What does ’AFAIK’ stand for?”, you could (somewhat impolitely) point them to this search, which would then interactively perform a Google search for “afaik” for the visitor. (Kind of the next version of this even more impolite site… and nope, neither site is an official Google site…)

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What's a Digitally Signed Driver?

I'm trying to install the drivers for this new device, and all of a sudden, Windows warns me that the drivers are not digitally signed. Is this something to worry about?

Not even a little. A driver with a digital signature is one that has earned Microsoft's esteemed seal of approval, indicating that it has passed a series of rigorous compatibility tests administered by the Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL). In theory, this warning is supposed to scare customers into rejecting any driver that does not come with Microsoft's digital signature, thereby coercing hardware manufacturers into submitting their drivers to the aforementioned WHQL tests.

In practice, however, digitally signed drivers are rarely any more stable, reliable, or safe than drivers lacking the signature. In other words, if you see this warning, just click the Install Anyway button and forget about it.

If the decision makers at Microsoft had thought about it, they might have applied this sort of warning to all software installations, not just hardware drivers. If Windows users were warned before installing software components that weren't digitally signed, we could probably say goodbye to spyware, viruses, Trojan horses, worms, and all the other forms of malware that can make their way onto your PC without so much as a peep from Windows!

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Generate Colors Pallete Of Any Image Online

I covered a post on extracting colors from websites. But what if you want to extract colors from an image? CSS Drive’s Image to Colors Palette Generator is a free online service that lets you generate colors pallete instantly. You can either upload the image from your computer or enter an image link. Only png, .gif, .jpg and .jpeg images are supported and they must not be bigger than 1MB in size.

I uploaded a very unique multicolored art image, the end results were astonishing.

Just move your mouse over any color and you will see it’s Hex number which you can use in art, web development or simply for inspiration. It’s great tool but unfortunately it only supports 1MB image maximum, perhaps the developer can increase the limit since most images these days are heavier in size. To use this tool you will have to compress the image first and then upload it.

It also generates Photoshop swatches and CSS stylesheet, just navigate all the way to bottom and you will find their links respectively.

Read rest of entry

Generate Colors Pallete Of Any Image Online

I covered a post on extracting colors from websites. But what if you want to extract colors from an image? CSS Drive’s Image to Colors Palette Generator is a free online service that lets you generate colors pallete instantly. You can either upload the image from your computer or enter an image link. Only png, .gif, .jpg and .jpeg images are supported and they must not be bigger than 1MB in size.

I uploaded a very unique multicolored art image, the end results were astonishing.

Just move your mouse over any color and you will see it’s Hex number which you can use in art, web development or simply for inspiration. It’s great tool but unfortunately it only supports 1MB image maximum, perhaps the developer can increase the limit since most images these days are heavier in size. To use this tool you will have to compress the image first and then upload it.

It also generates Photoshop swatches and CSS stylesheet, just navigate all the way to bottom and you will find their links respectively.

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What Is .DS_Store And How To Remove It?

What is .DS_Store?

.DS_Store, which stands for Desktop Services Store is a hidden file created in every local folder in Mac OS X. This file stores custom attributes such as position of folder icons and the choice of background colors. By default it will be created in every local folder accessed by Mac OS X.

Since it is hidden, it’s not a big problem through, it acts a bit similar to Thumb.db which is created automatically in every folder in Windows Operating System. Removing .DS_Store and Thumb.db is OK since they are not system files.

The question is why to remove .DS_Store when it is hidden in Mac OS X operating systems? When you copy any folder from Mac to your Windows OS, these files become visible and annoying.

Removing .DS_Store and Thumb.db

• Copy Folder From Mac to Windows = .DB_Store will become visible and annoying
• Copy Folder From Windows to Mac = Thumb.db will become visible and annoying

FolderWasher is a free tool for both Windows And Mac operating systems that removes .DB_Store and Thumb.db files from the folders instantly.

Jus drag and drop the folders that you want to clean in this tool and it will handle the rest itself.

After you drag the folders, it will ask you for a few options, select the desired action and click Wash.

Listed below are are some features of this tool:

• Deletes all files whose name begin with period of a given folder
• Ability to Zip compress the washed folder
• Ability to delete ‘Thumb.db’ files on Macintosh
• Ability to create on the fly a list of files that should not be deleted, like “.htaccess” files
• Very easy to use with its friendly interface

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Best strategy for Page File Management

On systems with 512 MB or more of physical memory, the large initial size of the page file can consume excessive amounts of disk space. On a system with 1 GB of RAM, for instance, the starting page file size is 1.5 GB, and under normal circumstances it's likely that this file will never be used. The best strategy for page-file management in this configuration is to set Initial Size to be relatively small—say, 512 MB—while setting a large maximum size so that Windows can increase the page file size if necessary. This setting keeps disk space use in check but prevents the possibility of experiencing out-of-memory errors. If disk space is really tight, set the initial page-file size to its minimum of 2 MB and set the maximum size to a value that is at least as large as the amount of installed memory. Use your computer normally for a few weeks and allow Windows to create a page file of the proper size. Use Task Manager to monitor the size of the page file and make certain that it's below the maximum size you specified.

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What Really Happens When a Computer Starts

So you want to know what really goes on when you turn on your computer.

Your computer follows a boot process that loads Windows XP, called the boot or startup sequence. This process loads all of the operating system files so you can actually use Windows XP. Here’s what happens:
1. When you first turn on your computer, a power-on self test (POST) process occurs. Your computer checks its hardware and memory and then begins to load your operating system.
2. Windows XP has a database of information called the Registry where information about your computer is kept. The Registry is loaded first so it can be read in order to boot Windows XP.
3. Next, Windows loads a file called System.ini. The System.ini file is used to load older system configuration information.
4. Next, Kernel32.dll is loaded. Kernel32.dll is the main operating system code used by Windows XP.
5. After Kernel32.dll is loaded, Gdi.exe and Gdi32.exe are loaded. These files give you the graphical Windows user interface.
6. Next, User.exe and User32.exe are loaded. These files provide code necessary to manage the user interface, including your windows.
7. Resources and Fonts load next.
8. Then, Win.ini is loaded, which provides older system programs and user support.
9. Next, the Windows shell loads, which is your basic graphical interface settings, and policies for your computer are loaded as well.
10. The desktop components are loaded next.
11. Next, a logon dialog box appears. Once you provide a valid username and password, the logon process begins. If you are connected to a network, any appropriate network policies are loaded.
12. Finally, all of the final information from any policies are loaded, and you see your desktop. The boot process is fast and efficient, and is more stable than ever before in Windows XP.

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Find Out More About Your Hardware

I've read of a bug that affects a certain type of motherboard chipset, but this information isn't exactly laseretched on the front of my PC. How can I find out what's inside my PC without having to pop the hood?

Your PC is made up of dozens of separate components, most of which aren't made by your PC vendor. Although you can certainly open up your computer and look at the label on your hard disk or CPU, most of the "devices" are nothing more than chips soldered to your PC's motherboard. Rather than trying to read the microscopic text on each chip, you can use software to scan your system and produce reports in excruciating detail.

First, open up Windows's own Device Manager by going to Start --> Run and typing devmgmt.msc .

Here, you'll see a manifest of every device for which a driver is loaded. Unfortunately, the information can be spotty at best. For instance, your FireWire controller is probably called simply "1394 Net Adapter." If you're trying to find out whether or not it's a VIA VT6306, for instance, you'll have to look elsewhere.

One of the best tools for this, and a free one at that, is Everest Home Edition, available at http://www.lavalys.com . (Lavalys also offers commercial versions with more features.) Among other things, Everest displays copious details about your hardware, digs into your CPU (indicating, for example, whether or not it can be overclocked), and even performs system diagnostics and memory benchmark tests.

Another worthy tool is WCPUID/XCPUID, available for free at http://www.h-oda.com , which provides exhaustive details about your processor (CPU). This tool's output is useful for overclocking, as well as for finding a compatible CPU if you're interested in upgrading.

Read rest of entry

Best strategy for Page File Management

On systems with 512 MB or more of physical memory, the large initial size of the page file can consume excessive amounts of disk space. On a system with 1 GB of RAM, for instance, the starting page file size is 1.5 GB, and under normal circumstances it's likely that this file will never be used. The best strategy for page-file management in this configuration is to set Initial Size to be relatively small—say, 512 MB—while setting a large maximum size so that Windows can increase the page file size if necessary. This setting keeps disk space use in check but prevents the possibility of experiencing out-of-memory errors. If disk space is really tight, set the initial page-file size to its minimum of 2 MB and set the maximum size to a value that is at least as large as the amount of installed memory. Use your computer normally for a few weeks and allow Windows to create a page file of the proper size. Use Task Manager to monitor the size of the page file and make certain that it's below the maximum size you specified.

Read rest of entry

What Really Happens When a Computer Starts

So you want to know what really goes on when you turn on your computer.

Your computer follows a boot process that loads Windows XP, called the boot or startup sequence. This process loads all of the operating system files so you can actually use Windows XP. Here’s what happens:
1. When you first turn on your computer, a power-on self test (POST) process occurs. Your computer checks its hardware and memory and then begins to load your operating system.
2. Windows XP has a database of information called the Registry where information about your computer is kept. The Registry is loaded first so it can be read in order to boot Windows XP.
3. Next, Windows loads a file called System.ini. The System.ini file is used to load older system configuration information.
4. Next, Kernel32.dll is loaded. Kernel32.dll is the main operating system code used by Windows XP.
5. After Kernel32.dll is loaded, Gdi.exe and Gdi32.exe are loaded. These files give you the graphical Windows user interface.
6. Next, User.exe and User32.exe are loaded. These files provide code necessary to manage the user interface, including your windows.
7. Resources and Fonts load next.
8. Then, Win.ini is loaded, which provides older system programs and user support.
9. Next, the Windows shell loads, which is your basic graphical interface settings, and policies for your computer are loaded as well.
10. The desktop components are loaded next.
11. Next, a logon dialog box appears. Once you provide a valid username and password, the logon process begins. If you are connected to a network, any appropriate network policies are loaded.
12. Finally, all of the final information from any policies are loaded, and you see your desktop. The boot process is fast and efficient, and is more stable than ever before in Windows XP.

Read rest of entry

Find Out More About Your Hardware

I've read of a bug that affects a certain type of motherboard chipset, but this information isn't exactly laseretched on the front of my PC. How can I find out what's inside my PC without having to pop the hood?

Your PC is made up of dozens of separate components, most of which aren't made by your PC vendor. Although you can certainly open up your computer and look at the label on your hard disk or CPU, most of the "devices" are nothing more than chips soldered to your PC's motherboard. Rather than trying to read the microscopic text on each chip, you can use software to scan your system and produce reports in excruciating detail.

First, open up Windows's own Device Manager by going to Start --> Run and typing devmgmt.msc .

Here, you'll see a manifest of every device for which a driver is loaded. Unfortunately, the information can be spotty at best. For instance, your FireWire controller is probably called simply "1394 Net Adapter." If you're trying to find out whether or not it's a VIA VT6306, for instance, you'll have to look elsewhere.

One of the best tools for this, and a free one at that, is Everest Home Edition, available at http://www.lavalys.com . (Lavalys also offers commercial versions with more features.) Among other things, Everest displays copious details about your hardware, digs into your CPU (indicating, for example, whether or not it can be overclocked), and even performs system diagnostics and memory benchmark tests.

Another worthy tool is WCPUID/XCPUID, available for free at http://www.h-oda.com , which provides exhaustive details about your processor (CPU). This tool's output is useful for overclocking, as well as for finding a compatible CPU if you're interested in upgrading.

Read rest of entry