Author: raymond

  • 3 Ways to Disable or Remove Advertisement in GOM Player

    GOM Player is one of the most popular media player that ranks slightly behind the most downloaded VLC media player in CNET’s Download.com. Normally when a person experience problems using VLC media player, GOM Player is an excellent alternative because the built-in codecs can also play many different video or audio formats and even play broken or incomplete media files. Most importantly, GOM Player is a free to use but it comes with advertisement embedded into the program.

    gom advertisement

    If you have been using GOM Player long enough and keep up with their updates, you may have experienced different ways of advertisements being served to you from the program. Back in 2012 when GOM Player was still in version 2.1.39, an annoying pop up advertisement window will be periodically displayed right after closing the program with an optional setting to not show any more ads for the day.

    The popup ad window has been removed in the newer versions probably due to complaints as it is too obtrusive which may drive their users away to use another media player. Now the only advertisement you’ll find in GOM Player is in the video screen itself when no video is being played which does not really affect the user’s experience.

    If you would still like to disable or remove the advertisement in GOM Player, here we show you 3 different ways on how to easily do it.
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  • 10 Sites to Verify E-mail Address Validity for Free

    A valid e-mail address is very important as it is the first line of communication on the Internet. If you haven’t noticed, your email address is almost always being requested when you sign up for any online account such as Facebook, or even when you submit a web form. This is logical because it allows the website operator to be able to contact/identify the person who submitted the form or registered for the account.

    Most of the time there is already a verification process built into a registration system. The person who registered the account will have to login to the email provided during the registration and click on a unique link to complete the sign up process. While this method seems to work, there is always a chance that the user submitted the wrong email address due to misspelling or a spammer using a disposable temporary email address. If you’re into online marketing, maintaining a list of valid email address is important to avoid over spending in sending newsletters to bad email addresses.

    A manual way of testing if an email address is valid or not is by sending an email to the recipient. Receiving an automated soft or hard bounce reply from the mail server shows that the email is invalid. Even if you don’t receive a reply, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the email address exist because some mail servers are configured as catch-all to receive both correct and incorrect email addresses. For a more robust and automated email verification, here are 10 sites that are able to perform deep level SMTP verification for free without even the need to send an email to the address.
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  • Export and Import Dial-up and VPN Settings in Windows

    Most of us don’t really need to create dial-up connections on Windows operating system anymore, thanks to routers which is very commonly being used today. Once the router is configured, it will automatically connect to the Internet when it is turned on and the computer that is connected to the router can instantly use the Internet connection.

    However, I still have a DSL modem that I have to manually connect through dial-up which is very useful to troubleshoot Internet connectivity problems to determine if it is the router or ISP’s fault. Other than that, VPN connections that uses PPTP and L2TP also needs to be configured from the same area where you create dial-up connections that is in the Network and Sharing Center.

    If you have previously setup a lot of VPN connections by saving the username, password and the VPN address in Windows, you may want to look for an automated way to export the VPN settings and then import it to another computer so that you don’t need to manually recreate the connections again. Here is how you can backup and restore the connection settings in Windows.
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  • List All NTFS Permissions on Windows

    Sharing folders in Windows XP is so much easier compared to Windows Vista/7 because of the Simple File Sharing. Simply right click on a folder, go to Sharing tab, check “Share this folder on the network” and anyone on the network is able to access the shared folder without logging in. When it comes to Windows 7, Simple File Sharing is no longer available and you will need to manually add the user and set the permission level. Setting the wrong permission level could be dangerous as it will allow unauthorized users to mess with the folder or files. Rather than checking everyone single folder if the permissions are set correctly, you can use NTFS Permissions Reporter tool which is a great time saver in automatically listing down NTFS permissions all the way down your directory tree.
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  • OpenVPN Portable Auto Uninstalls Virtual Network Drivers on Exit

    Other than PPTP and L2TP, OpenVPN is another protocol used by most VPN companies to connect to the VPN servers. OpenVPN is an open source program that uses the OpenSSL library to provide encryption and it is extremely secure if compared to PPTP. However you will need to install the OpenVPN software in order to connect to a VPN that uses the OpenVPN protocol. During installation of OpenVPN software, the installer will prompt the user to install some drivers which may cause some users to panic. OpenVPN will have to first install a virtual network driver called TAP-Win32/64 or else it will also fail to connect to OpenVPN servers.

    If you are always on the move and would only want to use OpenVPN rather than PPTP or L2TP because of secure encryption, then you can use OpenVPN Portable which simplifies the whole process of downloading, installing and configuring the OpenVPN.
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  • Using Different Credentials to Access Shared Folders in Windows 7

    One of the fastest method which I have always been using to access a shared folder on a computer in a local network is by pressing Win+R followed by double backslash and computer, for example, \\raymond which will access a computer named Raymond in the network. If the shared folder is not password protected, then anyone is able to access, no problems there. However if the shared folder requires you to enter username and password, entering a valid credential will cache the credentials until you restart or log off Windows.

    This is a convenience feature that Microsoft has implemented since early versions of Windows. However there may be times when you do not want to log off or restart the computer so that you can use another login to access the shared folder. Although Microsoft did not include a simple button to flush the credentials cache so that you can try a different password, here is how you can do it via a simple command line.
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  • USBOblivion Erases All Traces of Connected USB Drives and CD-ROM

    When we connect any USB drives or CD-ROM to a Windows computer, the USB device will be recorded deep inside Windows for the convenience of automatically making the drives available without checking and reinstalling the drivers. Both USBDeview and IntelliAdmin USB History Viewer is capable of revealing all USB devices that you previously connected on the computer. If for some reason you are looking for a way to erase information about devices that have been connected to the PC, USBDeview seems to be able to offer such feature which is by right clicking on the USB device listed in USBDeview and select “Uninstall Selected Devices”.

    The “Uninstall Selected Devices” option in USBDeview works but unfortunately it doesn’t fully clean up all history traces that is left in Windows. USBOblivion would be a more suitable utility to serve the purpose of erasing all traces of USB-connected drives and CD-ROM drives from the registry in Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 7 32/64-bit versions.
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  • Restore Deleted Services and Reset to Default Services Settings

    Windows Services is an important hidden part of Windows where it allows programs to run automatically before even logging in to a user account. Many features in Windows depends on the services for it to work properly. For example, if the Windows Update service is stopped and disabled from startup, checking for updates via Windows Update will give you the error code 80070422 with the message “Windows Update encountered an unknown error”. That is a very general error message and a normal computer user wouldn’t even know where to start checking in order to fix the Windows Update problem.

    Some malware modifies the Windows services and even after removing the malware, unfortunately the services which has been disabled by the malware are not be re-enabled back by antivirus software. This is when you will start to notice that some parts of Windows are broken even though the virus is no longer on the computer. Here are some free tools that you can use to reset Windows Services to default state.

    The default Windows Services setting is definitely safe because I have never seen a case that you have to manually enable a service from the default Services settings for something to work. Most of the time only experienced computer users will disable unnecessary services hoping to squeeze every inch of performance out of their computer.

    There are a couple of ways to restore the Services settings back to default.
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  • 3 Ways to Record Skype Video Calls for Free without Limits

    There are lots of instant messengers and voice-over IP software available to use today and Skype is one of the most popular with more than 300 million monthly active users. While Skype comes with features you’ll normally find in a standard instant messaging app such as text chat, file transfer and screen sharing, it is primarily a VoIP service that is more focused towards video and voice calls. Skype to Skype calls are free while calling mobile or landline numbers are charged at affordable rates.

    Skype is an excellent VoIP software that can make clear and crisp video or voice calls, but it lacks of an important feature which is the ability to record calls. This is a disadvantage to professionals who want to use the free Skype to Skype calls for conducting video/audio interviews, meetings, conferences, one to one online training, and even consultation.

    skype for business recording

    Actually the call recording feature is available in Skype for Business which is a part of Office 365. Business plans require paid subscriptions per user with annual commitment. If this business plan isn’t suitable for your needs and you just want Skype for free with recording capabilities, here are 3 third party applications for Windows that can record Skype video and voice calls for free without limits.
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  • Virtual Audio Cable Enables Multiple Audio Outputs in Windows 7

    Windows 7 by design does not support multiple audio output and that is the limitation that many Windows 7 users are not happy with. Some people may want to play sound simultaneously to both speaker and earphone but that is not possible. Once you’ve plugged in the earphone, Windows 7 automatically recognizes it and routes all sound to the earphone. For more complicated scenarios such as wanting to output the sound from a computer game to the earphone while the main speakers plays music from a media player, then it would seemed even more impossible.

    Thanks to Virtual Audio Cable, it offers multiple possibilities on how you want to transfer the audio streams between applications and/or devices. Before immediately scrolling to the bottom of this article to download and install Virtual Audio Cable, please be noted that this tool does not work alone just under operating system control. It requires configuration and also must be worked together with audio applications.

    The official website of Virtual Audio Cable contains a lot of text and jargon which makes it difficult for any non-audiophiles to configure and use it. After spending some time trying out VAC, I personally believe it is best to try to get it working on one or two scenarios to understand how it works, then only configure it to work with your situation.
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  • Raymond.CC Year 2007 in Review – Site Statistics and RSS Subscribers

    Happy New Year 2008
    Since today is the last day for the year 2007, let’s take a look at how Raymond.CC did this year. I never really keep track of statistics because the main reason of this blog’s existence is for me to record down WHAT I LEARN so that I can easily refer to it whenever I need it. Before I started this website, I use to keep a lot of bookmarks. When time passes, many links either outdated or the website no longer exist. When I try to look for the article or software again, I can no longer find it… It’s really frustrating because I know there’s a way or software that can do it but I can’t find it.

    Just wanted everyone to know that I don’t do this full time as I still have my full time computer engineering job which I enjoy working. I know the meaning of “blog” comes from “Web log” and it means an online diary published on a Web page. Yeah, my diary is all about computers and I am happy that many of you learn together with me everyday. Thanks for all your kind emails and comments. There are also haters but it is only 1 or 2 people which I ignore.

    For those who wonder is curious about Raymond.CC’s web statistics, here are the numbers for year 2007.


    Raymond.CC 2007 Usage Summary
    Visits: 8 million+
    Pages: 19 million+
    Hits: 375 million+
    Alexa: 16000+
    Google PR: 4
    RSS Subscribers: 12000+

    December is the best month for me as I am getting 36000+ unique visitors daily. The numbers for my web statistics is increasing steadily every month but I don’t know why my Google PR is still at 4. It has been 4 since last year. To tell you the truth, I never really do much search engine optimization (SEO). Just basic stuff that I so happen to read at Sabahan. Great stuff there and I visit that site every day.

    Before I end my last article for year 2007, I’d like to inform you that team ETH0 has released an updated Windows Genuine Advantage Validation crack for version 1.7.59.1. Team ETH0 updated their release because Microsoft has started to push out updated WgaTray.exe and WgaLogon.dll files, but they are still using the same LegitCheckControl.dll. This release also includes a new version of their batch installer. They’ve added an uninstall function. This will make it easy for people that want to restore the files like they was before applying the crack. There are 2 switches to use with this installer:

    installer.bat /u – uninstall the crack
    installer.bat /c – cleanup old cracked files

    If you don’t want to use any of the switches above, you can run the batch installer like normal. Running the installer as usual will remove old backup files, create new backup files and install new cracked files. You can get more information from 9Down.

    Last but not least, I’d like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and may year 2008 be a better year for everyone! Enjoy partying with your friends but remember, don’t drink and drive 😉

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  • Easily Edit Multiple WordPress Posts with Search Regex

    This website has been running on WordPress since the beginning and back then it was very new to me. I didn’t have a lot of knowledge in creating dynamic websites, PHP, hosting and etc because I was more involved with fixing computers, managing networks and servers. WordPress has tons of free themes and plugins whereby if you are not careful, you will end up installing a lot of unnecessary plugins which can cause conflicts and slow downs that can lead to crashing Apache.

    There is a plugin that tags Technorati which I have been using for a very long time and I find it unnecessary now. Actually I don’t even know what it does because I simply followed the crowd since a few popular blogs used it. Deactivating and uninstalling the plugin is real easy but there are hundreds of posts which contains the tag [tags]tag1, tag2, tag3, tag4[/tags] at the bottom which I have to remove. Editing the posts one by one to remove the tags is a very time consuming and tedious task. Fortunately there is an easier way to search and replace in all post content using a plugin called Search Regex.


    There are two methods to search using the Search Regex plugin. The first one is an exact search which is useful in changing characters or words that are static. For example I want to point all images URL from my website to CDN which is from www.raymond.cc/images/ to cdn.raymond.cc/images/. All I need to do is specify www.raymond.cc/images/ as the search pattern and cdn.raymond.cc/images/ as the replace pattern. Clicking the Replace & Save button will automatically make the changes on all post content.

    To be on the safe side, it is better to click on the Search button first to verify if you have specified the correct search pattern. The Search button will only search but won’t replace or change anything.

    Deleting the tags from the posts will require the use Regular Expressions since the tags are all different words are not static. As far as I know, the tags starts with [tags] and ends with [/tags]. After a little trial and error with Expresso, I managed to find the correct Regex which will highlight all the tags.

    Select the source as Post Content, specify the Search Pattern as ^\[tags\].*\]^ and leave the Replace Pattern as blank. Click the Replace & Save button, the tags are automatically removed from hundreds of posts.

    Search Regex

    This plugin makes changes directly to the database so if you’re not sure what you’re doing, always use the Search button to verify if you’re searching the correct pattern. It is also good to backup the database so that you can restore it if sometimes goes terribly wrong. After finished using Search Regex, you can go ahead to deactivate and uninstall the plugin as there is no reason to keep it active all the time.

    [ Search Regex WordPress Plugin ]

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  • Impressive ZEMANA AntiLogger Proactive Protection + Free 1 Year License

    Perhaps you’ve already heard of this security software because some tech blog sites has already published methods on how to obtain a 1 year free license without paying the normal price $39.50. Honestly I have not heard of ZEMANA AntiLogger so I didn’t have the interest to test it out. Moreover last year I’ve spent many hours on testing 8 anti keylogger and anti screen capture software to search for the best. Recently hellnoire, a forum member reminded me about it and I decided to check it out since my ISP is having some problems.

    Zemana developed AntiLogger software specifically to detect harmful applications, spybots, and malware that existing anti-virus software might not recognize due to out-of-date, signature-based algorithms. Rather than relying on signature updates to recognize known malware, the program uses proactive analysis to detect potential threats based on their behavior. How effective is Zemana AntiLogger? Let’s check it out…


    Zemana AntiLogger contains many different modules designed to protect malicious softwares and provides you a complete protection. These modules keep your information security under control and made up of anti-action methods. AntiLogger protection consists of 6 modules that perform different fuctions:

    Free Best Anti Keylogger

    Anti-SSL Logger: First in the world developed by zemana technologies. A unique module particularly designed to prevent your personal information to be stolen while performing online banking transaction or e-commerce encrypted with 128-bit SSL (Secure Socket Layer).
    Anti-WebCam Logger: Unique security module that protects your system against WebCam Loggers.
    Anti-Key Logger: Unique security module that protects your system against KeyLoggers.
    Anti-Screen Logger: Unique security module that protects your system against Anti-ScreenLoggers.
    Anti-Clipboard Logger: Unique security module that protects your system against Anti-Clipboard Loggers.
    System Defense: Unique security module that protects sensitive areas of your system against malicious applications and also prevent any malicious applications from injecting malicious codes or DLL injection ito trusted system components.

    In short, Zemana AntiLogger protects your computer against any form of internet threats that could steal your data or intrude your privacy. The last time I put 8 anti keylogging software into test, only PrivacyKeyboard, a shareware that cost a whopping US$ 119.95 manage to block all except Bifrost keylogging method.

    As for Zemana AntiLogger, believe it or not, it is able to detect ALL keylogging, webcam capture and screenshot capture methods from different trojans (Bifrost, Poison Ivy, The sHark, SpyNet, Bandook, Nuclear RAT). No matter what I tried to do on the infected computer, Zemana AntiLogger just kept on intercepting it! See the screenshot below.

    Zemana AntiLogger Security Alert

    Other than that, a lot of advanced trojan is able to inject itself to trusted application like your default web browser and Zemana AntiLogger is able to detect that as well. EVEN IF you accidentally allowed the injection, Zemana AntiLogger will let you know IMMEDIATELY when the intruder tries to enable keylogging on your system, webcam capture and screenshot capture. Unlike SafeSpace, GeSWall and DefenseWall where once you allow it through, it will treat the application as safe and won’t even give a damn about what it does to your system.

    I guess you don’t need to worry much about compatibility problems because it Zemana AntiLogger has been tested and certified to run side by side with either one of the following antivirus listed here: Avira, Avast, AVG, BitDefender, CA, F-Secure, Kaspersky, Ad-Aware, McAfee, Microsoft Defender, Norman, NOD32, Norton, Outpost Firewall, Panda, Sophos, Sunbelt, Trend Micro and Zone Alarm. The few security programs that are NOT compatible with Zemana AntiLogger are Quick Heal, Ikarus and eSafe.

    Another important factor is the memory usage. When you open it from system tray (notification area), Zemana AntiLogger would take up less than 15MB. Once you minimize it back to the tray, the memory usage automatically lowered down to 2MB.

    Powerful detection, doesn’t slow down computer and it’s FREE (if the offer is still valid). If you’re convinced that Zemana AntiLogger is truly impressive, here’s how to get the free key valid for 1 year. Go to this page and complete the form to join the beta test. Check your email and will get the license number. Download the latest version of Zemana AntiLogger from here, install, and you can enter the license number at Services > License.

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  • Web Based Help Desk Software

    I was looking around the internet for Web Based Help Desk software or script and I found Trouble Ticket eXpress.
    web based help desk software

    This web based help desk software is free and very easy to install.
    The requirements to install this Trouble Ticket eXpress web based help desk software is:

  • Hosting account with CGI scripting enabled. Both Unix and Windows NT servers are fully supported.
  • Access to sendmail or smtp relay.
  • That’s all!

    Installing the Trouble Ticket eXpress web based help desk software takes less than 5 minutes.
    1. Unzip ttx.zip on your local drive.
    2. Edit *.cgi files if needed: the very first line contains full pathname to Perl. Default settings work on most systems, but you should check with your administrator if not sure.
    3. Create Scripts Directory (if does not exist) on your web server. Make sure web server can execute scripts from this directory. Set access rights (Unix servers only) to 755.
    4. Upload all *.cgi and *.pm files to the Scripts Directory on your web server in ASCII mode. Please note, you must use ASCII mode when uploading scripts to your web server.
    5. (Unix only) Set 755 mode for all *.cgi files you have uploaded to your server.
    6. Upload all *.gif files to the Scripts Directory directory in BINARY mode.
    7. Enter URL of setup.cgi script into your browser address string and hit Enter key. You should see System Setup Wizard screen.
    8. Complete setup using Setup Wizard and enjoy using the FREE web based help desk software!

    [Download Trouble Ticket eXpress]

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  • How To Clear Your Google Search History from Browser and Toolbar

    One of the main reason why some people would like to clear their Google search history from web browser and Google Toolbar is to maintain their privacy. If you own your own desktop or laptop which is used only by you, then it’s fine. But if your computer is shared with a few people, sometimes it’s just not nice to let them “accidentally” find out what you were looking for. An example below would be embarrassing.
    Clear Google Search History

    Here’s how you can clear Google’s search history from Firefox, Internet Explorer and Google Toolbar for Firefox and Internet Explorer.


    The below instruction A and B is for deleting search history from the Google home page search box. This is if you use either Firefox or Internet Explorer and manually type in Google.com address to perform the search.

    A. Internet Explorer 7
    1. Go to Tools menu
    2. Select Options
    3. On General tab, click on the “Delete…” button from the Browsing History area.
    4. Click “Delete forms…” button from the Form data area.
    Remove search history
    5. Click Yes to confirm.

    B. In Mozilla Firefox
    1. Go to Tools menu
    2. Select Options
    3. Select the “Privacy” tab
    4. On the Private Data area, click on the “Clear Now…” button.
    5. Make sure the “Saved Form and Search History” is checked and click on the Clear Private Data Now.
    Clear Visited Link

    The below instruction C and D is if you have Google Toolbar installed on your Firefox or Internet Explorer browser.

    C. Internet Explorer with Google Toolbar
    1. Click on the Google logo on the Toolbar to access the drop-down menu.
    2. Select the “Clear History” option.
    Clear Internet Explorer Google Toolbar Search History

    C. Firefox with Google Toolbar
    1. Click on the Google logo on the Toolbar.
    2. Select “Clear Search History” option.
    Clear Firefox Google Toolbar Search History

    As you can see, clearing search history from Google Toolbar on Internet Explorer and Firefox is slightly a bit different. Not sure why they made it that way… Although it seems easy to clear Google search history, I did not immediately knew where to clear Google search history in Firefox Google Toolbar. I was searching through the options and the drop-down but I missed clicking the Google logo where the “Clear Search History” option is.

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