How to determine the gender your Desktop or laptop

I recently discover this funny and interesting VBS code to determine whether the Desktop or Laptop that you’re using is a male or female. To try it, follow the steps below.

Step 1. Open Notepad.

Step 2. Copy and paste the code below;

CreateObject("SAPI.SpVoice").Speak"I love you very much"

Step 3. Save it as "aaa.vbs".

Step 4. After this file has been created then double click.

Note: Make sure the speaker of your desktop or laptop is turn on with an appropriate volume level.

Selecting printers in MS Excel not responding - Solve

Recently, we encountered this weird problem with MS excel in windows 7 Pro, in the print section, Choosing a specific printer to print my file makes my PC hangs up. Fortunately, my colleague has a clever solution and this is how he do it.

Step 1. Go to "Device and Printers" and it will display all the installed printers on the PC.

Step 2. Select the printer the you wish to use and right click, select "Set as default printer".



Step 3. Open the excel file that you wish to print. Press "Ctrl" + "P", in the print dialog box, you will notice the printer that you set to default previously will appear automatically under the "Printer Name".

This steps is not a solution to the problem but the idea is that searching some workaround just to finish the important task that is assigned to you. Cheers!

How to import bookmark (Mozilla, Chrome and Internet Explorer)

Importing a bookmark is very useful when you are transferring to a new PC or your PC is newly formatted.
You don't have to remember and bookmark manually all your favorite websites in this easy simple steps.

For Mozilla
Step 1. Press "Ctrl" + "Shift" + "B".

Step 2. A "Library" window box appear, click "Import and Backup".

Step 3. Then click "Import bookmarks from HTML" and navigate to the "HTML" file that was previously saved during exporting of bookmarks and click "Open".

or

Step 1. Under "Import and Backup", you have the option to directly import from any browser that is currently installed on your PC.



For Chrome
Step 1. Press "Ctrl" + "Shift" + "O".

Step 2. A "Bookmark Manager" window tab will appear, click "Organize" -> "Import bookmarks from HTML file...".

Step 3. Look for "HTML" file and click "Open".

or

Step 1. Press "Alt" + "E".

Step 2. Select "Bookmarks" -> "Import bookmarks and settings...", you can import from any browser same in Mozilla.



For Internet Explorer
Step 1. "Ctrl" + "Shift" + "I", a new pane window will appear

Step 2. Click on "Add to Favorites..." -> "Import and Export...", same as to the previous browser, you have the option to either to import from another browser or from "HTML" file.

Cheers!

Margin problems when printing on Xerox machine SOLVE

One of my colleagues are having problems with our Xerox machine printer. When previewing his report using MS word on Windows 7 Pro OS, it looks fine but when printing, the margin is not even specially on the right of the paper. Upon trial and error, he got it right and this is how he do it.

Step 1. Go to "Devices and Printers" and all lists of installed printers will be displayed.

Step 2. Select the printer (Xerox) and right click then select "Printer properties".




Step 3. Under printer property box, select the "Advance" tab and click "Print Processor...".

Step 4. On the "Print Processor" window box, select "winprint" for "Print processor" and "RAW" on the "Default data type:".




And it solves the problem. Cheers!

How do I delete browsing history and clear cookies on my browser

Browsing history is a lists of websites saved in any internet browser every time the user surf the net. This is to provide a go back to pages that the user previously visited. It is saved based on months for Firefox Mozilla and date, time for Chrome.

On the other hand, a cookie or other call it browser cookie is a small piece of text file saved on to the users  PC everytime the user load a website. The purpose of this is to store the informations like users preferred language and settings so that everytime the user visit the same site, there's no need to manually configured again the user preferred settings to that site.

For safety and security purposes, the user needs to delete it all. Here's how to do it,


For FireFox Mozilla browser
Step 1. Press "Ctrl" + "Shift" + "Delete".

Step 2. A "Clear Recent History" window will pop up. Under "Time range to clear" dropdown button, the user has 3 options what range of history to be deleted.

Step 3. Click "Details" dropdown button, be sure "Browsing & Download History" and "Cookies" are selected
.
Step 4. Click "Clear Now" button.


For Chrome browser
Step 1. Press "Alt" + "E" to pop up menu.

Step 2. Select "Settings", scroll to bottom of the page and click "Show advance settings..."

Step 3. Click "Clear browsing data..." and go to "Privacy"

Step 4. Under "Privacy", click "Clear browsing data..." button

Step 5. A new window "Clear browsing data" will pop up, checked "Clear browsing history" and "Delete cookies and other site and plug-in data".

Step 6. Click "Clear browsing data" button.


For Internet Explorer browser
Step 1. On the menu bar, Press "Ctrl" + "Shift" + "Delete".

Step 2. On the "Delete Browsing History" window, checked "Preserve Favorites website data" and "Cookies".

Step 3. Click "Delete" button.

All of the above steps are based on updated browser that I have, it is not guarantee that this steps will still be valid for any future browser update release. Cheers!

How to display thumbnails in windows 7

By default, windows 7 thumbnails feature is disable for it can slow down the performance of your computer when loading the pictures to preview. To enable, follow the steps below.

Thumbnails disable




Thumbnails enable



Step 1. Open “Folder Options”



Step 2. On the “Folder Options” window, select view tab and unchecked “Always show icons, never thumbnails”




Step 3. Click "OK"

For slow desktop machine, this setup is not recommended. Cheers!

Microsoft word keyboard shortcuts that saves time

Microsoft word is the popular software use for making reports and documentation for its flexibility and user friendly. Increasing your productivity can save you a lot of time so here’s a number of shortcuts I compile for your reference.

1. Copy Shortcut - simply select the words or sentence to copy then press “Ctrl” and hold then press “C”.

2. Paste Shortcut - after performing the copy shortcut, just position your cursor where you want to paste then press “Ctrl” and hold then “V”.

3. Select All Shortcut - If you have more than two pages of reports, selecting all text by dragging the mouse all the way down is not a good idea, instead press “Ctrl” and hold then “A”.

4. Adjusting font size shortcut - Simply select the word to adjust the size and then press “Ctrl” and “Shift” simultaneously and hold then press “>” to increase or “<” to decrease the font.

5. Saving Shortcut - Saving your work from time to time is highly recommended and can be perform quickly by pressing “Ctrl” and hold then “S”.

How to fix network limited connectivity in Windows 7

Recently my colleague was asking me because he has some network problem. His desktop PC network status shows limited connectivity. So I checked the network cable, ethernet switches and DHCP server, everything seems working fine. I disabled and enabled the network adapter a couple of times and the problem still exist.

Our IT personnel takeover to fix and he solve the problem and this is how he do it.

Step 1. Open "Device Manager"




Step 2. Under "Network adapters", right click on the network connection driver and uninstall.





Step 3. On the "Confirm Device uninstall", DO NOT check the "Delete the driver software for this device" and click "Ok".


Step 4. After uninstalling, click on the icon "Scan for hardware changes" to reinstall the driver.



Installation duration will depend on the PC performance but I will not take too long. Cheers!

Rotate a PDF and save it

Its been 6 months since my problem with scanned PDF orientation has began. Everytime I close and open a pdf scanned document, I keep on rotating the page to its correct orientation. Finally, I've got a solution about a week ago to put its page orientation permanently.

Requirements: Adobe Pro 8 or later

Step 1. On your keyboard, just press "Shift" + "Ctrl" + "R" simultaneously.

Step 2. Select the desired page direction.

Step 3. Save it.


Cheers

Speed dial avaya phone setup

Avaya IP phone doesn't comes with speed dialing features but there's a workaround on how to do it.

Note: This configuration is only valid for AVAYA IP phone model 1616 and 1608


Step 1. Press the gray button that correspond the "Features" on the screen of the phone.



Step 2. Navigate to "Features->Phone User->Self-Administer->Abbreviated Dial".

Step 3. Now the screen prompted "Press Button To Assign", you must type the telephone number first before assigning the button.

Step 4. Press button that you what to speed dial.

In my case, I selected this button.

Step 5. Screen prompted to "Save", press the button to save or it says "Replace" if already assigned to a particular telephone number.

To speed dial, just press the button that was previously setup and it will automatically dial to the number that previously assigned.

Enjoy

Maximum length for meta name title and best for SEO

In order for a meta tag title and description to be search engine friendly, it is recommended that the number of characters would be 55 for the title and 150 for description.

As an example, I have a blog title "How to backup and restore settings on Thomson Speedtouch ST605 router." that exceed 55 characters. This is what google search engine will display.

How to backup and restore settings on Thomson Speedtouch ST605 router.

I've been using this router for a couple of years and configured to match with our current office setup. For unknown reasons, this router suddenly reset to it's default or factory setup so it is highly recommended to backup its settings.

To backup configuration:

Step 1. Using the web browser, access the router by typing the ip address on the address bar.

Step 2. Enter the username and password if required.

Step 3. Besure you are in "Basic Mode" setup.

Step 4. Navigate to "Speedtouch->Configuration->Backup&Restore.

Step 5. Click "Backup Configuration Now"

Step 6. Save the "user.ini" to a safe place of your PC.

To restore configuration:

Step 1. Follow above steps 1 to 4

Step 2. Under "Restore Saved Configuration", click "Browse" button.

Step 3. Point to the "user.ini" file.

Step 4. Click "Restore Configuration Now"

Step 5. Wait for 1 minute for the router to configure itself and your done.

What Is An IP Address

IP Address (Internet Protocol Address)

This number is an exclusive number all information technology devices (printers, routers, modems, et al) use which identifies and allows them the ability to communicate with each other on a computer network. There is a standard of communication which is called an Internet Protocol standard (IP).

In laymans terms it is the same as your home address. In order for you to receive snail mail at home the sending party must have your correct mailing address (IP address) in your town (network) or you do not receive bills, pizza coupons or your tax refund.

The same is true for all equipment on the internet. Without this specific address, information cannot be received. IP addresses may either be assigned permanently for an Email server/Business server or a permanent home resident or temporarily, from a pool of available addresses (first come first serve) from your Internet Service Provider. A permanent number may not be available in all areas and may cost extra so be sure to ask your ISP.

What are Private and Public IP addresses?

A computer on the Internet is identified by its IP address. In order to avoid address conflicts, IP addresses are publicly registered with the Network Information Centre (NIC).To determine your public IP address. Click here

Computers on private TCP/IP LANs however do not need public addresses, since they do not need to be accessed by the public. For this reason, the NIC has reserved certain addresses that will never be registered publicly. These are known as private IP addresses, and are found in the following ranges:

From 10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255

From 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255

From 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255

To determine your machine private IP address
1. Go to “Start”
2. Select “Run”
3. Type “cmd” without the quote
4. On the “Command Prompt” window, type “ipconfig”

Note:  this is only applicable if your PC or laptop is connected to the network

Sources: whatismyip.com and vicomsoft.com

Hidden Programs in Windows XP Revealed

Most of us are very familiar with Windows XP and have explored almost all the programs that come default with XP. Here are four programs you most probably didn’t know existed on your computer.

1. Private Character Editor

There is an accessory program called the Private Character Editor included with Windows XP that is quite obscure and little-known. It is used in conjunction with the Character Map and provides a way to create your own fonts or logos.

How to open?

1. Go to “Start” and “Run”

2. Type “eudcedit” without the quote

3. Click “OK”

2. iExpress

IExpress is a technology designed to simplify creation of a setup program. Using the step-by-step IExpress Wizard, you can create self-extracting files that automatically run the setup program contained inside. IExpress technology automatically removes the setup files after installation, saving the user time and frustration. So now you know how to create your own installers!

How to open?

1. Go to “Start” and “Run”

2. Type “iexpress” without the quote

3. Click “OK”

 

3. Dr. Watson

Dr. Watson for Windows is a program error debugger. The information obtained and logged by Dr. Watson is the information needed by technical support groups to diagnose a program error for a computer running Windows. A text file (Drwtsn32.log) is created whenever an error is detected or a program crashes, and can be delivered to support personnel by the method they prefer. You also have the option of creating a crash dump file, which is a binary file that a programmer can load into a debugger.

How to open?

1. Go to “Start” and “Run”

2. Type “drwtsn32” without the quote

3. Click “OK”

4. Media Player 5.1

Yes Media Player 5. You probably have Windows Media Player 10 or 11 installed but the fact is even if you upgrade your media player, version 5.1 will remain on your system.

How to open?

1. Go to “Start” and “Run”

2. Type “mplay32” without the quote

3. Click “OK”

Types of Computer Virus That Might Infect our PC

There are Different Types of Computer Viruses could be classified in (origin, techniques, types of files they infect, where they hide, the kind of damage they cause, the type of operating system or platform they attack) etc. Let us have a look at them...

Computer Virus is a kind of malicious software written intentionally to enter a computer without the user's permission or knowledge, with an ability to replicate itself, thus continuing to spread. Some viruses do little but replicate others can cause severe harm or adversely effect program and performance of the system. A virus should never be assumed harmless and left on a system. Most common types of viruses are mentioned below:

Resident Viruses
This type of virus is a permanent which dwells in the RAM memory. From there it can overcome and interrupt all of the operations executed by the system: corrupting files and programs that are opened, closed, copied, renamed etc.

Examples include: Randex, CMJ, Meve, and MrKlunky.

Direct Action Viruses
The main purpose of this virus is to replicate and take action when it is executed. When a specific condition is met, the virus will go into action and infect files in the directory or folder that it is in and in directories that are specified in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file PATH. This batch file is always located in the root directory of the hard disk and carries out certain operations when the computer is booted.

Overwrite Viruses
Virus of this kind is characterized by the fact that it deletes the information contained in the files that it infects, rendering them partially or totally useless once they have been infected.

The only way to clean a file infected by an overwrite virus is to delete the file completely, thus losing the original content.

Examples of this virus include: Way, Trj.Reboot, Trivial.88.D.

Boot Virus
This type of virus affects the boot sector of a floppy or hard disk. This is a crucial part of a disk, in which information on the disk itself is stored together with a program that makes it possible to boot (start) the computer from the disk.

The best way of avoiding boot viruses is to ensure that floppy disks are write-protected and never start your computer with an unknown floppy disk in the disk drive.

Examples of boot viruses include: Polyboot.B, AntiEXE.

Macro Virus
Macro viruses infect files that are created using certain applications or programs that contain macros. These mini-programs make it possible to automate series of operations so that they are performed as a single action, thereby saving the user from having to carry them out one by one.

Examples of macro viruses: Relax, Melissa.A, Bablas, O97M/Y2K.

Directory Virus
Directory viruses change the paths that indicate the location of a file. By executing a program (file with the extension .EXE or .COM) which has been infected by a virus, you are unknowingly running the virus program, while the original file and program have been previously moved by the virus.

Once infected it becomes impossible to locate the original files.

Polymorphic Virus
Polymorphic viruses encrypt or encode themselves in a different way (using different algorithms and encryption keys) every time they infect a system.

This makes it impossible for anti-viruses to find them using string or signature searches (because they are different in each encryption) and also enables them to create a large number of copies of themselves.

Examples include: Elkern, Marburg, Satan Bug, and Tuareg.

File Infectors
This type of virus infects programs or executable files (files with an .EXE or .COM extension). When one of these programs is run, directly or indirectly, the virus is activated, producing the damaging effects it is programmed to carry out. The majority of existing viruses belong to this category, and can be classified depending on the actions that they carry out.

Companion Viruses
Companion viruses can be considered file infector viruses like resident or direct action types. They are known as companion viruses because once they get into the system they "accompany" the other files that already exist. In other words, in order to carry out their infection routines, companion viruses can wait in memory until a program is run (resident viruses) or act immediately by making copies of themselves (direct action viruses).

Some examples include: Stator, Asimov.1539, and Terrax.1069

FAT Virus
The file allocation table or FAT is the part of a disk used to connect information and is a vital part of the normal functioning of the computer. This type of virus attack can be especially dangerous, by preventing access to certain sections of the disk where important files are stored. Damage caused can result in information losses from individual files or even entire directories.

Worms
A worm is a program very similar to a virus; it has the ability to self-replicate, and can lead to negative effects on your system and most importantly they are detected and eliminated by antiviruses.

Examples of worms include: PSWBugbear.B, Lovgate.F, Trile.C, Sobig.D, Mapson.

Trojans or Trojan Horses
Another unsavory breed of malicious code are Trojans or Trojan horses, which unlike viruses do not reproduce by infecting other files, nor do they self-replicate like worms.

Logic Bombs
They are not considered viruses because they do not replicate. They are not even programs in their own right but rather camouflaged segments of other programs.

Their objective is to destroy data on the computer once certain conditions have been met. Logic bombs go undetected until launched, and the results can be destructive.

Twin Tower Terror Attack, Amazing Discovery on your PC

The flight number of the plane that had hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center on 9/11 was Q33N?

1. Open your Notepad in your computer.

2. Type the flight number:  Q33N

3. Increase the Font Size to 72

4. Change the Font to Wingdings.

Font – Arial


Font - Wingdings


You will be amazed by the findings.

How to Encrypt File Without Encryption Software

I recently discover that encrypting files in windows 7 is just simple as ABC, This is very useful when you’re using a shared PC or a PC where anybody has an access. To encrypt your file, follow the steps below.

Before encrypting


After encrypting


1. Open windows explorer
2. Set views to “Details”


3. Now select the file you want to encrypt
4. Right click and rename the file whatever file extension (ex. .dll, .pdf) as long as it is not the same extension with respect to the original file.

To decrypt the file, simply rename the file extension to its original state.

You’re done!

Access Yahoo Mail Account using Email Client for Free

I have two yahoo mail accounts which I sign up for free and I’ve been using these for nearly a decade. Using internet browser to check mails is pretty awkward. So I decided to use some email client applications such as outlook express but the problem is that you have to upgrade to yahoo mail plus in order to use this kind of applications. After several research, I found this free software called Zimbra Desktop and based on there website descriptions

“Free Zimbra Desktop client allows you to meld the online and offline worlds – storing and synching your email, calendar, contacts, files and documents in the cloud, yet having them locally accessible when on the road. Zimbra Desktop aggregates information across accounts (Zimbra, Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, Hotmail, etc.) and social networks (Facebook, Digg, Twitter, etc.) to help make communicating & sharing information easier than ever.”

To setup this application

1. You must download it first. Download here

2. After downloading, double click the “zdesktop_7_1_2_ga_b10978_win32.msi”

Application prompt “Welcome to the Zimbra Desktop Setup Wizard”

3. Click “Next”

Application prompt “End-User License Agreement”

4. Check the “I accept the terms in the License Agreement”

5. Click “Next”

For the “Destination Folder” leave it as default.
6. Click “Next”

Application prompt “Ready to install Zimbra Desktop”
7. Click “Install”

Application prompt “Do you want to allow the following program to install software on this computer?

Program Name: 28cee823.msi

Verified Publisher: VMware Inc.”
8. Click “Yes”

Application prompt “Completed the Zimbra Desktop Setup Wizard”

9. Check “Launch Zimbra Desktop”

10. Click “Finish”

Now the first part is done.
Next is to setup this application to enable access to your Yahoo mail account

On the Zimbra Desktop application

11. Click “Add New Account”

12. Select “Yahoo” as “Account Type:”


13. Enter your “Account Name”, “Your Full Name”, “Email Address”, and “Password”.
Account Name usually your email address without the “@yahoo.com” and Password is the password of your yahoo mail account.

Synchronization Settings:

You can leave the “Check messages” as what the default set. These are the time interval where your Zimbra Desktop synchronizes to your yahoo email server.

”Synchronize all calendars, contacts and groups and enable debug logging” check boxes are optional but I would recommend to “Synchronize contacts and groups”.

14. Click “Validate and Save”

Additional textbox will appear

15. Click “Click To Verify”
Internet browser will automatically launch. In my case “Firefox”.

Yahoo prompt “Zimbra Desktop – Allow sharing of your yahoo profile and connections info with Zimbra Desktop. Allow Zimbra Desktop to share information with Yahoo.”

16. Sign in to your yahoo account

Yahoo prompt “Click Agree to allow sharing of Yahoo! Info with Zimbra Desktop”
17. Click “Agree”

18. Copy the code as highlighted without the quote.

On the Zimbra Desktop application
19. Paste the code

20. Click “Validate and Save”

Application prompt “VMware Zimbra Desktop

Account added: ‘your account name’

Note the first synchronization may take up to several hours to complete depending on how much data is in the account. However, you may start using this account immediately”

21. Click “Launch Desktop”

Hooray! You’re done.

Outlook Express Print Preview Error- Solve

My colleague was asking me this morning for he cannot print in his outlook express. When I check, error prompted when previewing the inbox mail. Several attempts were made based on the suggestion found from google and re-installing outlook express   unfortunately it does not solve the problem. Until I found one forum with exactly the same problem of what we have. Here’s what he did.

1. On your desktop, click “Start”

2. Click “Run”
3. Type "Regsvr32.exe %Windir%\System32\Ole32.dll" without the quote

Hooray problem solved!

How to remove any virus without anti-virus software

If your connected on the internet, chances are big that your computer is
infected by a virus. This viruses operates quietly, altering and stealing
your private data. Having an updated anti-virus software is not guarantee
that you will not get infected. Every day, computer viruses are infecting
thousands or even millions of PC worldwide.

This guide will show one of the many ways how to remove virus files on your PC.

Image below is an example of a drive where virus is hiding


To unhide and reveal all files in your drive.
1. Go to your windows search box as shown below and type "Folder Options"


Automatically "Folder Options" will appear on the list
2. Click "Folder Options"


"Folder Options" windows will appear.
3. Select "Show hidden files, folders, and drives" and make sure that the following are uncheck:

"Hide empty drives in the Computer folder",
"Hide extensions for known file types" and
"Hide protected operating system"



Usually, computer virus comes with two files, an executable and autorun.inf
4. Just select the two files and press "Delete".