Hackstacks » Guides

How to Transfer Google Reader items to a Different Google Account

Renjith — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 07:42:59 +0000

Suppose you have multiple Google mail addresses and you have got so much feed subscriptions added on one of your Gmail address and you wanted to transfer those subscriptions to a new mail address? I wanted to do this since I planned to keep all the subscription under one Gmail address as it will reduce the pain of reading feeds by opening multiple accounts and it helped me to organize the feeds under one roof.

So what are we going to do now? We can do it by exporting the OPML file and importing it to a different Google Reader account. Every feeds will come as it is from your previous Google Reader account.

On the Old Google Reader Account
1) Login to your old Google Reader account.

2) Then Click on the Reader Settings and Select Import/Export tab.(On the Right side Top)
3) Now click on “Export your subscriptions as an OPML file” link to save the file locally.

On the New Google Reader Account
1) Repeat the step 1 and 2 then click on the Choose file button to select the saved OPML file.(By default its file name is google-reader-subscriptions)
2) Now click on the Upload button. Once its uploaded you can see the feeds added on the new account.

How To Access your Home PC or Mac Computer from Anywhere

Renjith — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 15:52:19 +0000

How about accessing your Home computer from anywhere in the world? Most of us will have a home desktop computer which is permanently used for downloading purposes or even as common computer for everyone at home. Ever wanted to remote access this computer from elsewhere? It could be for checking the download status or a quick view of some documents or even for transferring some important files from that computer. Let it be anything but there is only one solution and that is Remote Desktop.

Remote Desktop makes it happen and help you to remote access to a particular computer from anywhere in the world. LogMein is supreme in this category of service since they provide this service free and easy to use form. The features like Wake on Lan, 256-bit AES encrypted remote session, Web browser based remote session, PC and Mac support etc makes this service supreme in it’s class.

You need to have an account to be created on the LogMein website to use this service.

Let’s see how to use this service

(1) Go to the computer which you wanted to access remotely and Login to LogMein Free service with your Email ID and Password.
(2) Once logged in click on the Download button and then save and run the Installer file (This file is the client side application which helps for remote access)

(3) After installing the client software on the computer the computer name will be registered under your LogMein account and it will become visible on your LogMein dashboard.
(4) So whenever you need to access your computer login to your Dashboard and click on Remote Control to sign in to your computer (You will be prompted enter the Windows ID and password if there is any)

So that’s it its easy and useful service. Try it and let us know how it helped you!

Microsoft is Up with New Wireless Keyboard with 128-Bit Encryption

Renjith — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 17:27:48 +0000

Microsoft recently announced a Wireless Keyboard and Mouse combo in 2000 series. Microsoft has released many wireless keyboard combo’s but the attraction of this model is it supports 128-AES encryption. The keystrokes and mouse movements are completely encrypted over the air while it passes to the wireless receiver. Intercepting the Microsoft keyboard’s data is not that widely known but the techniques are knows to the bad guys from late 2007. While having 128-AES encryption on the device make it secure and boosts the confidence level while typing.

Microsoft Mouse is designed with Bluetrack technology so that the mouse works on any surface and provides better tracking. It works on Wood, Granite, Marble even it works on carpet and fabrics. But don’t expect this mouse work on clear glass surface and mirrored surfaces.

This model of Microsoft devices works on Windows platforms as well as Mac OSX 10.4 or later operating systems. This device is priced at 39.99 USD

List of things that a Tech Savvy person may ignore in Computer Security

Renjith — Thu, 26 May 2011 19:54:26 +0000

Tech savvy’s might feel that their knowledge on computers systems and technologies will be more than enough to secure their computer and defend against any malwares or vulnerabilities. But then I have seen instances like, lack of proper security measures and pure ignorance caused the computers systems to go haywire. So I am trying to list out some common mistakes or ignorance which usually done by any techies.

(1) An up-to date computer system – No matter operating system or the software’s installed on the computer should be fully patched with latest available updates from the Software vendor. For example an operating system with older updates can cause the operating system vulnerable to any potential threats.

(2) Short and Common passwords – It is a common practice that always selecting a short easily predictable passwords. It is always recommended to set a mixed character and at least 8 character long passwords. ( Never put any password hints on your Windows Vista or Windows 7 operating systems)

(3) Turning off the Windows firewall or not using any software firewalls on the computer – Most of the techies used to turn off the firewall for some testing and always forget to turn it back on. This can cause any attacker to intrude in to your computer while you are on any wireless network.

(4) Usage of VPN application – VPN’s are always a network shield when you care about online privacy. VPN’s will help you to encrypt your current session with the internet. It is very useful while browsing from a public Wi-Fi.

(5) No proper security software – Meaning no proper Antivirus tools installed on the computer. A techie person will know which website is good or bad and what software is good to install. That will sometimes stop him installing an antivirus by thinking that he can save some system resources. But believe me over a period of time if you load a good antivirus and do a complete scan you will at least find 5 virus infected files.

This can be used as a check list to avoid any ignorance next time when you wanted to harden your computer systems security.

Image Courtesy @Flickr

How to run Older Applications in Windows 7 32 bit or 64 bit?

Renjith — Thu, 19 May 2011 14:35:59 +0000

Ok! So you have upgraded your operating system to the new Windows 7 or bought a new computer with Windows 7 pre-installed. Have you ever experienced a problem of in-compatibility of few utilities which you have used in your Windows XP for many years? It was a freeware and it was very nice tool too. But Windows 7 did not accept it! The reason could the tools are either in 16 bit or missing some required files.

Troubleshooting Methods

Method 1

Windows 7 is capable of fixing this issue by configuring the compatibility mode.
(a) In order to do this Right click on the application shortcut then click on Properties.
(b) Click on the Compatibility tab on the properties window.
(c) Enable the “Run this program compatibility made for:” and select the appropriate operating system. (You can select the operating system were this tool has successfully worked.)

Method 2

If the above did not solve the problem try it with Program Compatibility Troubleshooter. (a) Click on Start and type in Program Compatibility in search box and that will display “Run programs made for previous version of windows”
(b) Click on it to launch the Compatibility troubleshooter)This will scan the installed application and when you select the application that failed to run, it will scan it and suggest you with a possible settings to run the application.

Method 3

When the application gives any specific error messages. I will give you two error messages as an example which I have experienced recently.
#This program can’t start because MSVBVM50.DLL is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem.
#Class not registered. You need the following file to be installed on your machine. MSSTDFMT.DLL

I was using a Windows 7 64-bit and couple of applications were not working on it, I found the problem is due to some runtime files. So I have installed libraryfiles.exe and Visual Basic 5 Runtime files. You will get different version of VB runtimes files from Microsoft

One more thing I want you to note is where to install the Runtime files in Windows 7 64 Bit. Installation folder should be C:\Windows\SysWOW64. SysWOW64 folder is the x86 emulator that enables 32-bit Windows-based applications to run seamlessly on 64-bit Windows systems.

I hope it was helpful! Let me know your feedback.

A Guide to Printer Management in Windows 7

Renjith — Mon, 16 May 2011 15:48:58 +0000

Managing printers were quite easy task in Windows XP but when moved to Windows 7 everything had changed and as part of the operating system enhancement the features has become more advanced and kind of complicated. Printer management feature is one of a kind feature in Windows 7. Printer Management in Windows 7 has every feature that required for a Printer Server. In Windows XP server properties on the Printers and Faxes was everything to configure the printers. You will not find that option in Windows 7 but instead of that you will see Print management under the Administrative Tools>Print Management. If you expand the Print Server and then the Local computer name you will find complete features for printer management. The print manager classified the printer components in to Driver, Forms, Port and Printers.

Under Drivers heading you will find the relevant printer drivers for the installed printers.
Under Forms heading you can add/delete printer forms as per your requirement.
Under Ports heading you will find the already added printer port’s information. Also you can manage the existing printer ports and add new ports as well.
Under Printer heading you can find the printers available on the local pc. You will see the name of the printer, driver version, printer status etc. Adding/Deleting of printers is possible here.

One added feature in Printer Management is the ability to create custom filters rules for printer activity. By default you will find 4 custom filters like filters for to show the Not Ready printers and the busy printer etc. If you left click on the Custom Filters heading you will find options for creating a New Printer Filter or New Driver Filter.

These filters are pretty intelligent and can be configured to trigger a mail notification up on any printer breakdown or any other major failures such as paper jam. It can also be configured to run certain scripts to fix the problem or gather certain information.

So when you plan to set up a print server next time don’t forget to explore Windows 7’s print management capability.

You can configure print management feature under Control Panel>Administrative Tools> Print Management
Or else you can easily navigate to Print Management by typing in Print on the search box on the start menu. It will show the Print Management icon on the first place.

Was it helpful? let us know!

How to create a Next-Gen business card with QR code

Renjith — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:58:16 +0000

QR is a short form for Quick Response is a two dimension code readable by special QR code readers or a QR code reader application installed camera phone. QR code is more convenient than the old barcodes. It can store maximum of 7.089 characters of numeric codes or 4,296 alphanumeric codes so for embedding of more data is convenient with QR codes.

There lot of scope for QR codes in technology and I would like to share a quick tip for creating a next-gen business card using QR code. iPhone, Blackberry and Android smart phones has already QR code readers available in their respective app stores.

Creating a QR code with all your Business address is quickly possible with goqr.me

1) Go to the goqr.me website
2) Click on the vCard tab
3) Type in your Business card information.
4) Once you fill in all the fields it will generate the QR code on the right side.
5) Now your QR code is ready to be downloaded but you can use the Option to customize the QR code’s colour, margin, encoding method etc.
6) So once you are done you can download the QR code, by default it is saved in PNG format.

Here is my QR code enabled sample business card. Anyone with a QR reader app installed on their mobile can read all the information and save it as a contact on their mobile.