Browsing the web and checking out your favorite social networking site can be a good way to pass the time. But what about when you don't have enough time? You certainly wouldn't want to waste the few hours you have left to prepare that report or do your homework and the PC's become such an important part of out lives that we can hardly work without it. At times like these, your most visited websites can become a bit of a distraction and your IM client certainly doesn't aid your concentration with it's noisy alerts. In this post, I hope to share with you some basic things you might find to be useful when you want to get something done quickly.
First of all, if you need to be online to do your work, say, if you need to check up on some facts, right down exactly what you need to accomplish on a piece of paper and keep it near you.
This will help you to decide if what you are currently looking at on the screen is relevant or not. If it is, great! If it isn't, search for something more suitable.
Ah.. that bring me to the next pointer. Searching.
Searching through the millions of web pages on the net today would be beyond impossible withoug search engines. (Don't worry... I'm not going to tell you how to use google or yahoo.. You presumably arrived at this blog via one of those... ). However, for all the features and tricks that google and yahoo (and other search engines) offer, sometimes the information you're looking is just hard to find.. or it simply just doesn't exist on a web page.
You can save a lot of time by using the search customization features in the seach engine.
Check these links for google
Google search basics.
Google more search basics
and yahoo help documents.
yahoo search basics
Yahoo Search Tips
You may not not know everything in those help files.. and in this case, what you don't know may bite you. ;-)
Sometimes, like I said before, the info you are searching for just may not exist. In that case, after and ONLY AFTER a few attempts at using different search keys.. .give up. yes.. give up. If you've phrased your search in different ways and didn't find what you were looking for then it's probably not there and you'd be wasting your time looking for it. Try to find a book that will provide the answers.
Your browser is your friend.
Know the ins and outs of your preferred browser. A few keyboard shortcuts can always come in handy... Other features built into your browser may also help you. For example, Firefox's "awesomebar" is great tool. I don't use other browsers (yes.. that was an advertisement for firefox ;-) so I don't know about other browsers. One other thing.. If you find what you are looking for, you might find it useful to bookmark the page. You never know when you'll need it again and a bookmark can make the difference between hours and minutes.
I also find that switching your browser to full-screen mode allows you to read more of the page without scrolling.
What not to do with your browser.
(yeah.. I just said your browser was your friend... but you have to keep it happy.)
First off, don't go opening tabs for every link you see. From experience, I find that that can be extremely distracting. Looking for the correct tab can sometimes be frustrating... and frustration is bad when you are pressed for time no? Then again, opening just a few of the MOST IMPORTANT links can also save time. Just make sure they are absolutely essential.
Help your PC... and it will help you.
Don't open more applications than you need. If you are making notes from wikipedia, all you need is your word processor and your browser. Exit the IM client and shut down the media player. For one thing, it help you concentrate and it also lessens the burden on your PC. If you run a modestly fast PC (like I do) extra applications can reduce speed and on rare occasion cause instability. You wouldn't want to loose everything you just worked on would you?
Have a few good websites.
Make a list of two or 3 websites which you would normally find interesting. Sometimes, you might find what you are looking for on them.
There.. Hope that helped someone.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
A new python tutorial
Some time ago I developed a liking of programming and after googling (google is my eternal friend) a bit a found out about python and since then I've been making tiny programs which do mostly nothing. (I'm not a geek)
Anyway, recently , the python 3.x versions have been released. However, most of the tutorials on the web haven't been updated or are just meant of older versions of python.
Of the very few python3.0 tutorials I found, I recommend the following very highly.
A byte of python by Swaroop CH
and
http://diveintopython3.org/
If you are interested in learning python 3.0 then these are some of the best tutorials there are.
Anyway, recently , the python 3.x versions have been released. However, most of the tutorials on the web haven't been updated or are just meant of older versions of python.
Of the very few python3.0 tutorials I found, I recommend the following very highly.
A byte of python by Swaroop CH
and
http://diveintopython3.org/
If you are interested in learning python 3.0 then these are some of the best tutorials there are.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Edit the extension of a file.
Have you ever downloaded a file and mistakenly assigned an incorrect extension to it? for example, .png instead of .jpg or .wav instead of mp3..
Or you just might want to rename a simple .txt file as .html so you can conveniently open it in a web browser (if you want to test HTML code you wrote)
In this post I'll tell you how to do just that.
If you found this page via google, you've probably tried renaming the file by right clicking and clicking rename. you'd also know that that doesn't work when it comes to changing the extension.
What you should do is go to windows explorer, click on Tools> Folder options> View tab
and then deselect the option which says "hide extensions for known file types".
Now you should be able to edit the extension by simply right clicking on the file and selecting "rename"
Or you just might want to rename a simple .txt file as .html so you can conveniently open it in a web browser (if you want to test HTML code you wrote)
In this post I'll tell you how to do just that.
If you found this page via google, you've probably tried renaming the file by right clicking and clicking rename. you'd also know that that doesn't work when it comes to changing the extension.
What you should do is go to windows explorer, click on Tools> Folder options> View tab
and then deselect the option which says "hide extensions for known file types".
Now you should be able to edit the extension by simply right clicking on the file and selecting "rename"
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Learn HTML CSS Javescript and XML the easy way..
HTML and XML are two languages that are everywhere. Many of the webpages you see everyday are constructed with HTML. The word documents you write are stored as XML and Javascript makes the web more active.
Learning HTML and XML have many benefits. Countless applications use the XML format to exchange data. So in short, it's well worth your time to go learn a bit of XML.
The place to do that is w3schools.com
They've got great tutorials for a whole load of languages related to web building... Check 'em out
Learning HTML and XML have many benefits. Countless applications use the XML format to exchange data. So in short, it's well worth your time to go learn a bit of XML.
The place to do that is w3schools.com
They've got great tutorials for a whole load of languages related to web building... Check 'em out
Monday, August 17, 2009
A mosquito repellent which works on ants!
At present there's a bit of a problem with mosquitos where I live. Not wanting to use copious amounts of mosquito spray to try and drive them away I turned to a much less used natural mosquito repellent called "citronella oil". (It's available in the supermarkets.) I don't think it'm much of a mosquito repellent. It has an extremely strong smell which seems to be more adept at repelling humans than the mosies.
However, by sheer chance, I noticed that it was a VERY effective ANT repellent. Just a single drop near a line of ants was enough to cause an immediate response. They just ran away from oil. The ant's just gave the general area a wide birth after that. (upto a radius of about 5cm from the drop) So a few strategically placed drops and line of oil spread with your finger can work wonders when it comes to repelling ants. What's more, I don't think it harm them. So if you're worried about killing the ants then .. well .. there's no need to worry.
Hope you find this useful...
However, by sheer chance, I noticed that it was a VERY effective ANT repellent. Just a single drop near a line of ants was enough to cause an immediate response. They just ran away from oil. The ant's just gave the general area a wide birth after that. (upto a radius of about 5cm from the drop) So a few strategically placed drops and line of oil spread with your finger can work wonders when it comes to repelling ants. What's more, I don't think it harm them. So if you're worried about killing the ants then .. well .. there's no need to worry.
Hope you find this useful...
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
How to get rid of the MaHasona Virus
Scroll down to the section titled "how to delete MaHasona" if you want a quick fix. (For those who might be interested, the paragraphs below explain how I got round to figuring it out)
Just a few days ago I came across a particularly annoying worm called MaHasona. (Mahasona is a phantom of sri lankan folklore and if I remember correctly it had something to do with a human body with a bears head.. and the head faced backwards.. but let's not get carried away.) Annoying because my antivirus software wouldn't detect it and I was more or less powerless to remove it. Of course, your own antivirus solution may work better than mine but just in case it fails, I think I might be able to help you. (WHY do people create virusses? Couldn't they just create a good piece of software that could do some good in the world?)
The basic process.
After some digging around in the bowels of my windows PC and some googling I found two things related to MaHasona.
First of all, I found that MaHasona is a worm and according to my experience spreads via pen drives which are also called flash drives. So , obviously, there had to be a malicious file on the infected flash drives.... and hey presto! there it was... an ugly .exe file called MaHasona.exe. (It's not visible in windows explorer straight away.. i'll get to that in a minute).
Second, no matter how many times I tried to delete this .exe file from my flash drive, it just kept reappearing. That meant there had to be something causing the reappearing or more specifically, something that kept on making new copies of MaHasona in the flash drive.. and it had to be running in the background as all worms and viruses do (I don't know much about viruses.. pls post a comment if I'm wrong.) A bit of googling on the MaHasona virus told me that in this case it happened to be a process called explorar.exe
I think these two components (the MaHasona.exe file and the explorar process) work by creating each other in a kind of cycle.
First an infected flash drive is plugged into an uninfected computer. The computer then runs the "autorun.inf" file of the flash drive. The virus has turned the normally innocent autorun file into something that tells the computer to run the virus.. i.e MaHasona.exe which is on the flash drive. The MaHasona.exe in turn creates the process Explorar.exe in the host computer(which will run in the background every time you turn on your computer... until you get rid of it). Explorar will constantly be on the look out for new flash drives to be plugged in to the computer. When new flash drives are plugged in, it (Explorar) will then create MaHasona on those flash drives.. Those flash drives will be plugged into other computers and the copy of MaHasona on them will create the Explorar process on those other computers... and the cycle continues.. (This is just my guess at how this thing works.. and it agrees pretty well with the rudimentary experiments I did)
After all those juicy (and possibly uninteresting) details let's get down to business......
HERE'S HOW TO DELTE MaHaSONA
First, make sure you don't have any flash drive plugged in.
Next enter the windows task manager (Ctrl + Alt + delete) and go to the processes tab. There should be a process called explorar.exe (be careful to select explorar and not explorer.) Select it and click the "end process" button. Then click "Yes" on the warning dialog that appears.
You've stopped exlporar.exe
Go to windows explorer and go to you system32 folder.
Is should be in a path such as C:\windows\system32
If you can't find it [the system32 folder] try making "hidden files and folders" visible by clicking
tools>folder options and under the view tab select the option button saying "show hidden files and folders". (do not change these setting untill we've completed dissinfecting the flash drive as well... I'll tell you how to do that in a minute)
The explorar.exe file is inside the system32 folder... but even when you get inside the systen folder it's not visible straight away.
To make it visible, again go to tools>folder options and under the view tab deselect the entry which says "Hide protected operating system files". There... Now it should be visible...
Change the view type in windows explorer to "details" and then organize the file in alphabetical order (by clicking the header of the name coloumn) to make it easier to find the file we need.
Once you find explorar.exe delete it. (click "yes" on the warning dialog that appears when you hit delete")
You've disinfected you're computer.....
Now for your flash drive.
Plug it in and do not let autorun open the drive. Autorun is the feature which asks you what you want to do when the flash drive is first plugged in. Click "cancel" on this dialog box. (it may or may not appear depending on the flash drive. )
Go to "my computer" and check the drive letter assigned to your flash drive. (again do not double click or open the flash drive here. Just check the letter written in front of the icon which represents the flash drive.)
Go to Start and click Run and type the drive letter of your flash drive in the field titled "open". For example if your flash drive is drive H: type "H:" (without the quotations) and hit enter.
Explorer will then open your flash drive. If you didn't change the settings in the "folder options" dialog and left them the way they were when we deleted "explorar.exe" you should be able to
see two files called "MaHasona.exe" and "autorun.inf".
Delete both of them
(If you get an error like "cannot delete etc etc..." check if a process called MaHasona.exe is running under the process tab of the task manager.. If it is then I've got a bit of bad news. If you read the description above, you'd know that if MaHasona.exe is executed it will make a copy of explorar.exe in the system32 folder. You'll have to go back to the beginning and start again....This is why it's so crucial that you don't open your flash drive using autorun or by simply double clicking in windows explorer.)
Congrats.... you now have a MaHasona free PC!
Hope I helped.
That's as far as I got on my own. A little more research showed me an additional step.
Go to Start> Run and then type "Msconfig" and hit enter.
Under the "startup" tab there should be an entry titled "explorar.exe". I personally 'feel' that it's now harmless because we deleted the file that this entry runs but just to be through let's deactivate that as well. Just deselect the check box and click apply. You may need to restart your computer.
A disclaimer..
I am not a computer professional and I have described the procedure above because it worked on my computer. While there is a good chance that it will work for you as well, I cannot guarantee it. Also, please be careful when you are using the Msconfig the utility. Misuse may cause serious damage to your operating system according to the Msconfig help file.
Just a few days ago I came across a particularly annoying worm called MaHasona. (Mahasona is a phantom of sri lankan folklore and if I remember correctly it had something to do with a human body with a bears head.. and the head faced backwards.. but let's not get carried away.) Annoying because my antivirus software wouldn't detect it and I was more or less powerless to remove it. Of course, your own antivirus solution may work better than mine but just in case it fails, I think I might be able to help you. (WHY do people create virusses? Couldn't they just create a good piece of software that could do some good in the world?)
The basic process.
After some digging around in the bowels of my windows PC and some googling I found two things related to MaHasona.
First of all, I found that MaHasona is a worm and according to my experience spreads via pen drives which are also called flash drives. So , obviously, there had to be a malicious file on the infected flash drives.... and hey presto! there it was... an ugly .exe file called MaHasona.exe. (It's not visible in windows explorer straight away.. i'll get to that in a minute).
Second, no matter how many times I tried to delete this .exe file from my flash drive, it just kept reappearing. That meant there had to be something causing the reappearing or more specifically, something that kept on making new copies of MaHasona in the flash drive.. and it had to be running in the background as all worms and viruses do (I don't know much about viruses.. pls post a comment if I'm wrong.) A bit of googling on the MaHasona virus told me that in this case it happened to be a process called explorar.exe
I think these two components (the MaHasona.exe file and the explorar process) work by creating each other in a kind of cycle.
First an infected flash drive is plugged into an uninfected computer. The computer then runs the "autorun.inf" file of the flash drive. The virus has turned the normally innocent autorun file into something that tells the computer to run the virus.. i.e MaHasona.exe which is on the flash drive. The MaHasona.exe in turn creates the process Explorar.exe in the host computer(which will run in the background every time you turn on your computer... until you get rid of it). Explorar will constantly be on the look out for new flash drives to be plugged in to the computer. When new flash drives are plugged in, it (Explorar) will then create MaHasona on those flash drives.. Those flash drives will be plugged into other computers and the copy of MaHasona on them will create the Explorar process on those other computers... and the cycle continues.. (This is just my guess at how this thing works.. and it agrees pretty well with the rudimentary experiments I did)
After all those juicy (and possibly uninteresting) details let's get down to business......
HERE'S HOW TO DELTE MaHaSONA
First, make sure you don't have any flash drive plugged in.
Next enter the windows task manager (Ctrl + Alt + delete) and go to the processes tab. There should be a process called explorar.exe (be careful to select explorar and not explorer.) Select it and click the "end process" button. Then click "Yes" on the warning dialog that appears.
You've stopped exlporar.exe
Go to windows explorer and go to you system32 folder.
Is should be in a path such as C:\windows\system32
If you can't find it [the system32 folder] try making "hidden files and folders" visible by clicking
tools>folder options and under the view tab select the option button saying "show hidden files and folders". (do not change these setting untill we've completed dissinfecting the flash drive as well... I'll tell you how to do that in a minute)
The explorar.exe file is inside the system32 folder... but even when you get inside the systen folder it's not visible straight away.
To make it visible, again go to tools>folder options and under the view tab deselect the entry which says "Hide protected operating system files". There... Now it should be visible...
Change the view type in windows explorer to "details" and then organize the file in alphabetical order (by clicking the header of the name coloumn) to make it easier to find the file we need.
Once you find explorar.exe delete it. (click "yes" on the warning dialog that appears when you hit delete")
You've disinfected you're computer.....
Now for your flash drive.
Plug it in and do not let autorun open the drive. Autorun is the feature which asks you what you want to do when the flash drive is first plugged in. Click "cancel" on this dialog box. (it may or may not appear depending on the flash drive. )
Go to "my computer" and check the drive letter assigned to your flash drive. (again do not double click or open the flash drive here. Just check the letter written in front of the icon which represents the flash drive.)
Go to Start and click Run and type the drive letter of your flash drive in the field titled "open". For example if your flash drive is drive H: type "H:" (without the quotations) and hit enter.
Explorer will then open your flash drive. If you didn't change the settings in the "folder options" dialog and left them the way they were when we deleted "explorar.exe" you should be able to
see two files called "MaHasona.exe" and "autorun.inf".
Delete both of them
(If you get an error like "cannot delete etc etc..." check if a process called MaHasona.exe is running under the process tab of the task manager.. If it is then I've got a bit of bad news. If you read the description above, you'd know that if MaHasona.exe is executed it will make a copy of explorar.exe in the system32 folder. You'll have to go back to the beginning and start again....This is why it's so crucial that you don't open your flash drive using autorun or by simply double clicking in windows explorer.)
Congrats.... you now have a MaHasona free PC!
Hope I helped.
That's as far as I got on my own. A little more research showed me an additional step.
Go to Start> Run and then type "Msconfig" and hit enter.
Under the "startup" tab there should be an entry titled "explorar.exe". I personally 'feel' that it's now harmless because we deleted the file that this entry runs but just to be through let's deactivate that as well. Just deselect the check box and click apply. You may need to restart your computer.
A disclaimer..
I am not a computer professional and I have described the procedure above because it worked on my computer. While there is a good chance that it will work for you as well, I cannot guarantee it. Also, please be careful when you are using the Msconfig the utility. Misuse may cause serious damage to your operating system according to the Msconfig help file.
First post..
I've come across some really tricky problems.. and like most of us, have gotten quite frustrated on the way to finding the solutions. It's not a big surprise that some of the question I've had are pretty common. I mean.. we've all wanted to know what would happen if all the people in the world jumped up and down at the same time right? Well, I hope to answer questions like that and those which are a little bit more realistic on this blog and hopefully help someone in the same situation as me.. You can look out for stuff relatedto subjects ranging from biology to software.
Best
007
Best
007
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