Firefox.

Firefox has taken the browsing wars by storm. It has been very successful. Browsers are no more browsers and are never complete without the extensions. In the next series of posts (it is vacation time), I will try to help make your web experience secure. Assuming here the installation is on Windows (Desktop). I will try to cover other OS later.

1. First stage is of course you need to install Firefox. 

Click here to download. Run the EXE file and select the default options and complete the installation. Run Firefox and make it as your default browser if you are asked for it. And then get these extensions.

2. How do download the extensions?

I have installed the wallnut theme. Never mind if your browser does not look the same.

3. In the list you see, select Extensions from the left. Your list should be empty. The Extensions that we need are listed here.

4. We start with the list. Adblock Plus. This was the original adblock software. You can read more about it here.

So what are the visible effects after you install this extension?

When you click on the circle on the lower left in your browser, you see filter subscriptions. The first item is already added by default. What you need is the other next 4 in the list that I have added.

Uncheck this box, to make the filter complete.

 

Next extension tomorrow.

“Take care on social networks”

For those who are using Facebook (or any other social networking site) there are some precautions that you can take. I have listed a few.

1. All you post on Facebook is public. So please be careful on what you are posting. Try to enter your name in google.com search box, and it will bring out so many surprises. When you apply for job or admission to university, or offer your services anywhere, your future employer or manager can always check this information.

2. What you post on your wall or your friends wall stays there forever. So before posting double and triple check on what you write. Do not post anything that you are not sure of, that you have not verified, or that you have no document to prove it is right or wrong.

3. Many applications and games that you play, ask you for your permission. Please read the details carefully. It may be taking your personal information, your friends list, your pictures etc.

4. What information you don’t like don’t post. For example information like date of birth, phone numbers, company names, family names (brothers, sisters, and parents), place of birth etc is considered personal. Think twice before you put them.

5. Limit the time you spend on social networking sites. You can save time and use it for better purposes.

6. Posting Photos. When you post photos be sure that either you are the owner of the photo or you have taken permission from the photographer or the photo is already in public domain. Internet may look like it is public, but those are in network administration can tell you everything that we do (login, logout, machine, etc all information is logged).

7. Give credit to what you take. If you taken a quote from somewhere or you have taken an article from somewhere, it is always good to mention the source. Give credit.

Let us have a safe and productive surfing.

Suresh Ranga

30.01.2011

 

 

* I posted this on one of the Facebook groups that I was an admin almost 2 years back. Thought would be helpful.

PDF Books from Wikipedia

Wikipedia is just brilliant.

One of the great features of this site, I liked was, the ability of combine a few pages of our interest and convert it to a PDF file. This can be used for either

• later reading
• sending to customer.

This blog post is showing how to create a PDF of some of our like minded pages. Let us say we need to create a PDF of some information on Storage Area Networking, Fibre Channel and SCSI.

Step 1.

1. Goto the page of Storage Are Networking

2. Choose Create a Book

3. Start Book Creator

5. Goto the next page on Fibre Channel Protocol

6. Add this page also.

7. Goto the SCSI page and add it as well. You should now be able to see 3 pages.

 

8. Click on Show Book, and on the next screen enter the title.

9. On the right click on download

10. There are many formats to choose from. Let us say you choose PDF and Download.

Ultimately, you get a Download link. (Press F5 to refresh)

The book is ready a PDF file.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

MD5

MD5 is or message digest 5, is a cryptographic algorithm to generate the hash value (say of a file). It generates a 16 byte or 128 bit value. Often it is used to check the integrity of downloads. Once you download a file, how sure are you that what you have downloaded is what the file is supposed to be.

For instance, let us say you are downloading Ubuntu. At the page you can see the file and know what is the md5. Once your download completes, you should get some utility to check the md5. If the strings match, you are sure that you downloaded what you want. This is useful in cases where there are mirror sites, that allow for download files in local regions. From the main site you get the MD5 checksum (string), and once you have downloaded the file, you run a local MD5 generation program on the downloaded file and compare.

So how do we generate MD5. There are plenty of utilities available. There is one from Microsoft itself. You can download it from this KB Article. Download and run the file. Instructions are here.

Run the program to calculate the checksum, like this.

The md5 of the downloaded file, calculated by fciv utility from Microsoft. The original value of iso I got from the web site.

That guarantees that I got the file right.

 

Sources.

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MD5

2.http://support.microsoft.com/kb/841290

Random Characters Folder Deletion (Windows 7)

After a windows update it not un-usual to see a folder with random characters. This folder cannot be deleted with regular deletion. For example, there is this folder with random characters after an update.

I try to delete the folder and get the message.

How to go about deleting the folder. The process is to change the permission and try the deletion.

1. Right click the folder, Select Properties.

2. Select Advanced, Owner Tab, Edit, and change the owner to Administrator. Check the check box to ensure everything inside the folder changes as well. Confirm with OK button.

3. Goto Command Line (cmd.exe and run as administrator) and get the ACLs on the folder

Brief explanation what the command is doing.

a. cacls is for changing permissions (access control lists). In Windows 7 it is replaced with icacls.

b. This command has been since Windows NT days and is a convenient way to modify ACL’s of a large number of folders. (Alternative would be to go via Windows Explorer)

c. /t is for replacing the permissions.

d. /g is to grant permission, with :F meaning full control.

e. /f will give a “Yes” by default. else you need to answer the question “Are you sure (y/n)”

 

So there you are. You can now go and delete the folder.

What’s hot on Google Plus Removal.

Since I am moving over to Google Plus slowly, one annoying feature has been “What’s hot on Google Plus”.

You suddenly see your page filled with something like this.

I have filtered the Author’s name etc. Now yes the feature may have its good intentions. But sometimes

we are not interested in it. Finally there is a proper way to hide this stuff (or rather tell Google + that,

Please, I am not interested to see them). How should it be done.

1.

(Select what’s hot as shown in the circle)

or

or

or

I choose the last option. And yes there are no more the extra posts.

 

Hope it helps.

ePUB files.

Every smart phone today can read ePUB files. These files are the preferred ebook reader files. But how do we convert a web page to these files. The following post will show you how.

1. Get Google Chrome browser if you are not using it already. Go to this page to download.

2. Next we need Google Chrome extention, dotEPUB. This extention can be downloaded from this place. Remember we are downloading the extention from Chrome Store.

3. After you install it, your chrome will have a green dot.

4. You need a ePUB reader as well to test. So get a chrome extention that is a epub reader. Download the magicscroll reader from this place.

5. Now goto a page of your choice, Let us say this blog as well.

6. Click on the green dot.

7. Ignore the warning and click ok.

file is downloaded.

 

8. click on Add a book to your library. And begin reading

 

Try to get your favourite articles and read them on phone.

For all PC Windows users, CCCleaner

One good thing of PC is the ability to install and uninstall software. Install, try we like, use it and sometime later we remove.

All applications are not disciplined enough to clean back the registry entries, during uninstall. They leave out a lot of unwanted stuff. The average user may not not what rubbish is left. A simple and decent software is CCCleaner. It is free. You can download the software from here.  Once you download and install it.

Part 1: Run it.

Click on Analyze.

Your list will look different. (Close all browsers before running)

Click Run Cleaner. (It might ask if entries listed needs to be deleted, Confirm it if asked).

Click on Analyze again. And you should see a clean screen.

 

Part 2: Click on Registry on the left. Select “Scan for Issues”.

Select “Fix Selected Issues”, and If asked, select to delete entries.

Part 3: Select Tools and you can uninstall unneeded programs.

 

Part 4: Now for this you need to be CAREFUL. Certain times lots of programs like to start automatically when the machine starts. Some of the programs like to keep their updater to run all the time. These programs un-necessarily occupy RAM and slow down your PC.

Click on Startup and disable the entries. If you see something you are not very sure then do a quick search on google.

 

So that is the end of the post. Keep your desktops and laptops within your control.

Welcoming 2012

It is a Happy New Year for 2012. Mood is feel good.

There are some things I too would like in this year.

1. I would wish that SSD intake increases on the major storage boxes.

2. This would change the game in the storage industry, the way OS are written, the way file system drivers are written, and ultimately how we see applications.

3. SSD’s can be a role changer at all levels. The most effect in the storage industry would be seen around best practices. Best practices seem to be a decade behind current technology.

 

The second change I would like to see, basically in Singapore where I live now is, adoption of cloud computing at the enterprise, SME as well as the home model. The Community Centres can become data centers. Computing as well storage can be centralized here. Home laptops or desktops can harness this power. But this looks something that might materialize only in 2013 or later.

 

By the way, at the personal level I would like to do some basic video editing this year. I have hundreds of video clips taken using my mobile. I wanted some discipline to come in this direction.

 

Happy New Year again.