Change the Guest Account Name in Windows 7 for Better Security

Windows 7 features a guest account that can make it easy for friends and housemates to quickly check their email or the web on your system. Giving it a different name, however, makes it a bit more secure.

We're not talking totally, hacker-proof, locked-down secure, here—but giving the Guest Account a different name makes it just a little harder for those trying to guess username/password combinations to your computer, remotely or through malicious software. When Guest Account is just "Guest Account," in other words, it's an easy way in for anyone, or any software, that knows that account exists.
At the How-To Geek's home away from Lifehacker, writer Mysticgeek runs down the process for changing the Guest Account name in Windows 7, which requires a little switch and name change by an administrator. Want to pull off the same kind of trick in Windows Vista? Try DotNet Wizard's guide.

Rename the Guest Account in Windows 7 for Enhanced Security [the How-To Geek]

Google Now Personalizes Logged-Out Searches

Google has long had the ability to track a user's web history and offer personalized results, based on how often you search for, and click on, certain results. CNET's Webware points out that Google has also started customizing results on browsers that aren't logged into a Google account as well, done through an anonymous browser cookie. You can turn it off, but it's worth keeping in mind that, if you're seeing the same kinds of results get higher ranking, it's probably because Google thinks your computer wants that kind of thing

Use Your PSP as a Wi-Fi Scanner

While having a netbook slightly decreased the hassle of whipping out your laptop to check for wireless nodes, it's still a pain. If you keep your PSP in your gadget bag, put it to work as a Wi-Fi scanner. If you live in a city you're surrounded by free wireless nearly everywhere you go, the key is knowing what's available and open for use. Much easier than stopping every hundred feet and busting out your laptop is using your tiny PSP as a scanner. At MakeUseOf they cover two techniques for using your PSP to sniff out Wi-Fi locations. The first can be done with a stock PSP. You simply go into the network settings on the PSP and tell it to look for new wireless networks. That will work, but it won't look continuously just when you ask it to.
If you've set up your PSP to run homebrew software you have access to a superior option. Road Dog scans continuously, shows you the strength of the signal, and can even be set to alert mode where it will notify you on new finds even when you're not paying attention to the scanner. You don't need to write down the spots it finds, just press the NOTE button on the PSP and it'll save the information of the network you're looking at for later use.

Fix Common Windows Problems with a Click

Is your computer unable to recognize the CD or DVD drive? Has the recycle bin suddenly disappeared from your desktop? Are you unable to start programs like the Registry editor or the task manager when you yourself are the owner of the computer but unfortunately not the administrator?
These are some common issues faced by Windows users and luckily, the solutions to most of these tiny but annoying programs are hidden inside the Windows registry and can be found with a simple “google search”.

Fix Windows’ Problems without opening the Registry Editor

However, if you don’t like to fiddle directly with the registry and need something more simple, check out Fixwin.
This is a free utility for Windows that, as the name suggests, can repair a few dozen Windows annoyances and problems with a single click. It works on both 32-bit and 64-bit version of Windows Vista and Windows 7.
Fixwin weighs less than a MB and it requires no installation so you can carry it on a USB drive. The program archive is available in RAR format so you may have to use either 7-zip or Winzip to extract the utility.
So the next time you get a “tech-support” call from a friend because he’s unable to change the homepage of his Internet Explorer browser, you exactly know where to point him to. Thanks Abhishek.

 

Build a Wireless Home Network without a Router

Let’s say you have one internet connection at home that you want to share across all your desktop and laptop computers, your Wi-Fi enabled mobile phones, media players (like the iPod Touch), video game consoles (like the Xbox), digital photo frames and any other wireless devices that you may have at home.
How do you do this?
The easiest way to setup a wireless network, as we all know, is with the help of a router -- just attach a wireless router to your modem and any Wi-Fi enabled gear, that’s located inside the signal range of your router, will be able to connect to the web using that lone Internet connection.

Setup Wireless Network without a Wireless Router

Now consider a slightly different scenario -- you have all these Wi-Fi enabled devices at home but there’s no router. Well, there’s no reason to buy one because you can still easily setup a wireless network as long as your computers have a wireless network adapter*.

[*] Most new desktops and laptop computers are already equipped with internal network adapters so you are ready to go without a router.
If your computer doesn’t have built-in wireless capabilities, you can either buy a USB network adapter that plugs into the USB port of your desktop or go for a wireless adapter that directly plugs into your notebook’s PC Card slot. Desktop users can also opt for an internal wireless PCI card but you’ll have to open the computer case in order to install this network adapter.

Hide your Email Address with the help of Facebook

You probably know that Facebook uses an image format to display email addresses on profile pages.
While most people use this technique to protect their email addresses from spam bots, Facebook converts addresses into images for a completely different reason. They want to prevent their own users from exporting email addresses of their own friends out of the Facebook wall (through scrapping).
Use Facebook-generated Email Images outside Facebook
If you right-click and copy the web address of any email image inside Facebook, the URL would be something like this:
http://facebook.com/string_image.php?ct=ABCD1234&fp=8.7
where ABCD1234 is a unique string that is different for every email address and 8.7 is the font size that is used while rendering the image.
What’s interesting here is Facebook doesn’t require authentication for these URLs.
That means you can directly mention these image addresses in your Twitter messages, in online forums or any other public web pages where you are worried about mentioning your email address in plain text as spam bots might harvest them for the purpose of spamming you.
So the next time someone wants my email address on Twitter, I can point him to this Facebook URL – http://bit.ly/my-email. If I want to embed this email address images on a web page, the code would be:

You can vary the font sizes by changing the value of the fp parameter in the URL as I have done in the following examples – these are all dynamically generated images.

AeroWorks Reskins Your Windows 7 Taskbar Without Patching

Windows: If you want to mess around with reskinning your Windows 7 or Vista taskbar without having to muck around with patches, AeroWorks is a no-fuss method for skinning the taskbar without modification to your system.

AeroWorks swaps out the taskbar background and special effects with those of the seven included skins. You can combine your own images and special effects by clicking on the Choose Base and Choose FX buttons in the upper right hand corner.
It doesn't patch or modify your system beyond changing the appearance of the taskbar while the application is running. If you don't like the changes you can undo them within the program and try a new skin or simply close the application to revert the taskbar to its default state.

AeroWorks [via Download Squad]

[brainw4re]

Find Subtitles for Movies and Shows at AnySubs

Don't let a lack of subtitles detract from your enjoyment of a movie or television show. Visit AnySubs and grab a set of subtitles.

The most obvious reason for using subtitles is understanding a movie or show filmed in a language you don't speak. Another great use is for understanding soft spoken dialogue without having to crank up the volume—I discovered the value of this while trying to watch LOST without the shifts from soft whispering to giant explosions waking up the entire house.

Anysubs catalogs subtitles in multiple languages for popular movies and television shows. You can use the service for free without registration—which is only required for uploading subtitles, not downloading them.

If you'd like to permanently embed subtitles into a movie you can use previously reviewed DivXLand Media Subtitler to so do and for more information about subtitles and applications you can use to work with subtitles, check out how to add subtitles to any movie or television show.

AnySubs [via MakeUseOf]

[brainw4re]

Create a Secure Password with an MP3 or Web Site

The CyberNet News blog posts an interesting take on creating secure passwords you can actually remember, or at least remember how to retrieve—by posting a favorite web site, or an MP3 file, into an MD5 hash generator.

CyberNet splits up the method into two different takes, both utilizing the MD5 codes normally used to verify a downloaded file's integrity. Entering a favorite, or, more securely, strange and unique web site into an online MD5 hash generator gives you a seriously long string of characters, uniquely linked to that URL. Grab the first eight characters from the string, and you've got a fairly unique password to use. Using this method for every site isn't advisable, though, as anyone who figures out your methodology can grab all your passwords. Combine it with Gina's method of a secure password plus a unique suffix, though, and you've got a system that only mind-readers could really crack.

A second technique uses the same MD5 hash characters, but uses an MP3 file as its unique generator. Assuming very few people know of your secret love for Starship, it's also a fairly safe way to get a secure password, but also have a backup means of retrieving it. Hit the link for details and step-by-step tips on both methods.

How to Remember Secure Passwords Without Writing Them Down [CyberNet News]

[brainw4re]

Roll Your Own TV Guide With FreeGuide

There are plenty of online TV listing services that detail what programs are showing in your area. Then again, you probably don't care what's on every single channel. Create a personalized TV guide with FreeGuide and skip The Flossing Network.
FreeGuide grabs data on only the channels you're interested in and displays them in a list or grid format. You enter your region, ZIP code, and time zone while setting up the software, as well as whether you'll be using a free or paid channel listing guide, and FreeGuide sets up your personalized listing window. You can search for shows by channel, time, title, or sub-title, and highlight favorites so you can find them quickly in listings in the future.
FreeGuide is available as a free download for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. It requires at least the Java 2 Runtime Environment v1.6 or higher to work, and Mac users will also need to grab XMLTV

FreeGuide

The Mac Lover's Bedroom

Putting your workspace in your bedroom is a gamble. Do it poorly and you invite a clutter magnet into your sleeping space. Do it well, and you can put your bedroom's extra space to stylish, productive use.
Today's featured workspace pulls off the office-as-bedroom tact without introducing clutter or bulk into the bedroom. Tucked neatly in the corner and with dual monitors to boot, reader ryopang can get work done in style in his bedroom office. You can click on the picture above for a closer look or the pictures in the gallery below.

iTiVo Downloads Shows to Your Mac for On-the-Go Viewing

Mac OS X: If you like to watch shows from your TiVo with a handheld device—like an iPhone or PSP—when you're on the go, free, open-source application iTiVo converts them to a portable format with a few simple clicks.
iTiVo connects over your wireless network to your Series 2, Series, 3, or TiVoHD DVR and collects information on shows stored on the device's hard drive. iTiVo will let you know what non-copyrighted shows can be transfered to your Mac, along with episode and files-size information. Queue up the items you want to transfer, and iTiVo takes care of the rest.
This free, open source application converts shows to MPEG-2, MPEG-1, H.264, or decrypt-only, so you can play them right on your iPhone, iPod, or PSP. You can even plunk the files onto your Apple TV, Xbox 360, or Playstation 3.
You can schedule iTiVo to perform regular downloads, and likewise schedule it to perform an iTunes sync with a connected device. The tool also has optional commercial removal and supports subtitles for closed captioning data, so if you're a Mac user with a TiVo, downloading this one is a no-brainer.

The Lightsaber and LEDs Workspace

What has three screens, a couple test servers, and a lightsaber? Possibly a remote rebel-sponsored code farm, but also today's featured workspace.
Lifehacker reader cGarst has put together a simple and uncluttered workspace for himself. A combination of dark colors—green on the walls and black for the work surface, chair, and file cabinet—combined with downlighting provided by some inexpensive IKEA LED pucks makes for a dramatic workspace.
You can click on the photo above or this one below to get a closer look. If you want additional information about things in the picture check out the photo notes on his Flickr stream at the link below

If you have a workspace of your own to show off, throw the pictures on your Flickr account and add it to the Lifehacker Workspace Show and Tell Pool. Include some details about your setup and why it works for you, and you just might see it featured on the front page of Lifehacker.

Remains of the Day: The Declaration of Google Wave Edition

The Declaration of Independence hits Google Wave, Firefox CPU problems are causing some laptops heating issues, and a brilliant little application may someday your webcam into an impressive 3D scanner.

• Declaration of Independence on Google Wave
  Folks may or may not ever catch onto Google Wave for productive purposes, but it's been gangbusters for fun ideas like this Declaration of Independence wave. (You'll need a Wave account.) [Google Wave]
• Thanksgiving themes for Firefox
  Weblog Mozilla Links rounds up a few fun Thanksgiving-themed Firefox personas for your one-click skinning enjoyment. [Mozilla Links]
• Firefox: Heat and the CPU usage problem
  Firefox CPU usage problems can is apparently causing some problems on laptops, particularly of the ultraportable variety. [CNET]
• Amazing Software Turns Cheap Webcam Into Instant 3D Scanner
  A very cool 3D-scanning software turns your regular old webcam into a saucy 3D scanner. [Wired]

Diagnose and Protect Your iPhone from Worms

There's been a lot of talk about malicious software on jailbroken iPhones lately, but if you haven't been paying close attention, tech site Network World has a breakdown of the worms running wild and how to eradicate them from your device.
As of right now, there are a total of three known iPhone worms, some more harmful than others. You're only vulnerable if you've jailbroken your iPhone and enabled SSH without changing the default password, though, so if you're still running on factory settings, fear not. If you do fall into the jailbreaker crowd, though, read on to make sure you're not infected, and then scroll to the bottom for steps on how to re-secure your device.
The first worm is the Ikee worm, which merely changes your wallpaper to a picture of Rick Astley (of Rickroll-meme fame). If you're familiar with Rickrolling, you may proceed to feel embarrassed. It's pretty easy to tell if you have this worm, unless your wallpaper was already a picture of Rick Astley, in which case check the top of the wallpaper, which, if installed by the worm, says "Ikee is never going to give you up."
The other two worms (the first called iPhone/Privacy.A and the second being unnamed at the moment) are more dangerous, as they collect personal information from your iPhone. If you have the second, unnamed worm, it will direct Dutch bank customers to a fake phishing site in hopes of collecting your bank information. An infection of the unnamed worm exhibits low battery life as a symptom, as it's running a background process to spread itself to other iPhones via WiFi. It also changes your default SSH password to keep you from easily deleting it.
The iPhone/Privacy.A worm is harder to detect, as it doesn't leave anything on the iPhone itself—it uses computers to steal information from iPhones connected to nearby wireless networks. You should, however, have no problem identifying if it's made its way to your computer as long as you have antivirus software (and yes, you're vulnerable even if you're running OS X or Linux, so pick up some antivirus software to make sure you aren't spreading this stuff around!).
If you think you may be infected, hit the link to get directions on how to remove them from your device. Also, whether you have a worm or not, make sure you protect yourself by changing your iPhone's default root password. It also might be a good idea to install SBSettings from Cydia so you can turn SSH off when you don't need it—no sense in having your iPhone more vulnerable than it needs to be.

De-Worm Your iPhone [Network World]

Sending Mass Emails Using Gmail? Don’t Get Locked

The holiday season is near and you want to send personalized email greetings to all your friends, family members and customers using the standard Gmail (or Google Apps with Gmail) service.

How to Send Bulk Emails using Gmail

Since the web interface of Gmail doesn’t support personalized emails, you should connect your Gmail account with Microsoft Outlook (via POP3 or IMAP) and also import the Gmail address book into your Outlook Contacts.
Now you can use the mail merge feature of Outlook to send personalized messages to every single Gmail contact from the desktop.
This may sound like an easy plan but there’re strict sending limits and, if you aren’t careful, Google may even block your Gmail account temporarily for up to 24 hours and you’ll neither be able to send nor receive any emails during that lock-out period.

Email Sending Limits in Google Apps

If you are using Gmail with Google Apps, you cannot send messages to more than 500 unique email addresses per day.
For instance, if you send one email to Person A and another one is addressed to Person B and C, you have already exhausted three slots (out of 500) even though only two messages left your Inbox.

Email Sending Limits for Gmail users

If you want to send bulk mails using a regular Gmail account, the rules are similar.
You can only send out emails to a maximum of 500 recipients during a 24 hour* period but if you are using a desktop client (like Outlook), that limit is reduced to 100 messages in a day.
[*] The Gmail help site mentions this limit as 500 recipients per message but a Google employee on the Gmail support site has confirmed that this cap is not just per message but per day.
Workarounds for sending mass emails
With all these limitations in place, Gmail is obviously not the best option for reaching out to a very large customer base. However, if you have no other option, it may be a good idea to plan well in advance.
For Gmail: Distribute the mail merge process over 2-3 days so that you never exceed that 100 messages per day quota.
For Google Apps:  You can either upgrade to a Premier edition or create multiple accounts in Google Apps as each will have its own 500-recipients limit.

[brainw4re]

The First Desktop Application to have AdSense Ads is Google Earth

Google Earth is probably the first and only desktop application to have AdSense Ads. These ads are is now showing in at least two different places inside the application:
Figure A: When you search for a location or business, the ads are displayed in the search results itself.

Figure B: When you click a placemark (any red pin on the map), the ads are displayed next to the review /address of that location

Google makes an exception
I find this interesting because Google policies strictly don’t allow software developers to integrate AdSense ads in their desktop applications. If that policy changes, we could see more and more of Office 2010 Starter or FeedDemon like applications that are completely free to the end-user but supported by web advertising.

[brainw4re]

An Image Editor and Screen Capturing Tool for your USB Drive

PicPick is an useful Windows utility that includes a decent screen capture program, a Paint like image editing software and a whiteboard tool to help you draw freehand on the desktop using your mouse (handy when you are giving presentations).
During screen capture, you can select the "Capture Window Control" mode and capture objects that extend multiple screens (like a long Word document or a lengthy web page). And like SnagIt, PicPick can send screenshot images directly to another programs after capture or it can automatically upload them to an FTP server.

Portable Image Editor

The image editor included with PicPick sports an Office 2007/2010 like ribbon interface and supports tabs so you can edit multiple screenshot images / photographs from the same window.
If you are a web designer, you can use the built-in crosshair tool to determine the coordinates of any point on the desktop screen or for capturing the exact dimensions of an object (in pixels).
And since the software doesn’t require installation, you can put it on a USB drive and use it on any computer.

Write Your Own eBooks in the Browser with Acrobat.com

If you looking for an online service that will let you write and publish your own ebook in a format that is compatible with most ebook readers (including Sony Reader, Nook and Amazon’s Kindle), check out Adobe Buzzword at the new Acrobat.com.

Adobe Buzzword, if you are new, is an online word processor (like Google Docs but "more beautiful") that you may use to create and edit documents in any web browser. The service supports collaborative editing so multiple authors can work simultaneously on the same document from their respective location.
Now if you are looking to write an ebook in the browser, Buzzword can be a great choice as the service can export documents directly as EPUB files, a format that is supported by all popular ebook readers including apps like Stanza that let you read ebook on a mobile. Simply compose a document inside Buzzword, export it as an ePUB file and then import it in your ebook reader.
Other than creating new ebooks from scratch, you may also use the Buzzword application to convert your existing Word (.doc and .doc), or Open Office (.odt) documents into the ePUB format without requiring any desktop applications.

[brainw4re]

Create Screencasts in Linux with Screenr

Screenr, which is probably the best web-based screencasting application, can now be used for recording screencast videos in Linux as well in addition to Windows and Mac machines.
Video: Screenr running on 32-bit Ubuntu Linux

With Screenr, you can create HD-quality screencasts of up to 5 minutes in length using any web browser that has the Java plug-in installed. The published screencast is available as a Flash video (for embedding in web pages) and as a Quicktime (MP4) movie so anyone catch watch your screencasts on mobile devices like the iPhone.
The only downside is that everything you record with Screenr becomes available in public by default and there’s no option to create private or password-protected screencast videos.