Raymond.CC Blog

Author: raymond

  • Make Firefox Faster By Putting Profile and SQLite Database in RAMDisk

    One of the biggest problems with Firefox that still remains today is it can get terribly slow after using it for a few months or even years. Similar to the Windows operating system that feels fast after a clean installation and then the performance slowly degrades as you use it. This is the same as Firefox where the files in the Firefox profile folder get bigger and it takes longer to process. If you browse a lot of websites everyday and never clear it, chances are you’ll experience frequent and lengthy pauses in Firefox.

    This is because the places.sqlite file that is used to store bookmarks, downloads and browsing history has grown to a file size that your hard drive requires more time to process the information in the database. Clearing the browsing history definitely solves the problem but you’d lose all the websites that you’ve visited and also the very convenient autocomplete feature that saves the the trouble of typing the full URL. Another solution is to store the Firefox profile in memory through RAM Disk software to dramatically speed up the processing of sqlite databases by 10 to 20 times.
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  • 7 Command Line Utilities to Easily Send Email Using SMTP

    Not only is email very useful for communication between friends and families and sending messages with attachments such as reports, photos, documents, presentations, video clips and music files, it’s also useful for notification purposes. For example, a website monitoring service such as Pingdom has alerts where you’ll be notified through different methods such as email, SMS, twitter or in-app when your server is down. Third party backup software also normally has at least an email notification feature where you can set it up to automatically email you when the backup process has completed or failed.

    If you are writing a batch file and want to send an automated email when the batch has completed running or if you’re faced with a third party software that does not even support email notification, then the simple solution is to use a command line email sending tool for Windows. Here we have 7 ways to look at.
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  • Disable Remote Desktop Auto Lock Screen on Idle

    I often use the Windows Remote Desktop function to connect and remotely manage another Windows server. As you might know, there are many other better remote control software such as the free Virtual Network Computing (VNC) or even the popular Teamviewer, but I try to minimize the installations of third party software on the Server machines. If you don’t know what Remote Desktop is, it’s a protocol developed by Microsoft which allows you to view the display and control the mouse and keyboard of another computer at different location, as if you were sitting in front of the computer.

    remote desktop auto locked when idle

    I never have any problems with Remote Desktop and it works as I expect it to, except for only one annoyance which is if I leave it idle for a few minutes, it auto logs off and I have to re-enter the password to login again. This is very annoying whenever I am reading the log files or the console messages that are displayed on screen. Fortunately there is quite a simple solution for how to disable remote desktop auto logoff on idle.
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  • 8 Ways to Block Visitors to Your Website by Country

    Obviously when you are the owner of a website, you’d want to allow visitors from all over the world to access your website. However, there are times when there is a need to block visitors from some countries on a certain webpage or vice versa. One good example is when you host a local contest online and you only want people from your own country to participate. Allowing visitors from your country while blocking the rest is the way to go, so there is no need to manually prune ineligible participants when choosing the winner. If you don’t have a powerful server that can handle the load created by unknown or unimportant bots, it is also best to temporarily block them from accessing your website.

    The easiest way to block visitors from a country is by using .htaccess because we can do it ourselves through FTP without installing or messing with the iptables firewall rules. Here we have different places to obtain a generated country IP list in CIDR format for free and another method using a cloud-based web application firewall.

    An important note if you want to block visitors by country using htaccess. Make sure you periodically generate a new list because the IP address database changes from time to time or else you might either miss or wrongly block visitor from other countries.
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  • Fix Avira Free Antivirus Slow Update Problem

    Avira is a well known company from Germany that creates very good antivirus software. It used to be the most downloaded software on CNET Download.com but unfortunately it is no longer listed in the top 20 downloads today. The popularity of the Avira free antivirus started going downhill ever since they partnered with Ask.com whose toolbar is often being criticized as spyware/adware. Other than that, Avira also encouraged the installation of Ask Toolbar bundled in the setup by enabling the Web Protection module only if it detects that the toolbar is installed.

    Previously Avira had two versions of the antivirus which were the Personal (free) and Premium (paid) but now they’ve replaced the Premium with Pro. One of the restrictions that the personal version had was it cannot download the latest program updates and virus definitions from Avira’s fast premium servers which are only available to their paid premium subscribers. The free users probably had to endure the slow and sometimes non responding update servers which are very critical in keeping your system protected against the latest 0-day viruses.

    In the current Avira, the Free version connects to personal.avira-update.com for updates while the Pro version connects to a different hostname which is premium.avira-update.com. Although they are different subdomains, both actually connect to the same CDN server that belongs to Akamai. This is why you will no longer find any information on Avira’s website stating that the paid version gets to download updates from a fast server.
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  • EASEUS Todo Backup Free Disk Imaging Software (Norton Ghost Alternative)

    Creating a full backup of a partition or hard drive is essential for quick restoration whenever Windows starts acting up or slowing down over time. This saves you the trouble and time of having to manually install and configure Windows and third party applications. Other than that, you have to go through the hassle of re-activating Windows through telephone if the license key that is acquired via retail purchase has already been activated more than 5 times.

    There’s quite a number of third party disk imaging backup software applications such as Macrium Reflect, Aomei Backupper, Clonezilla and System Image Backup from Windows that are available for free, but we will be taking a look at EaseUS ToDo Backup Free which is currently ranked #9 in CNET’s Download.com under backup software category. EaseUS is a company from China that is well known for its disk partitioning, data recovery, backup and transfer software.

    easeus todo backup free

    Different versions of EaseUS ToDo Backup such as Free, Home, Workstation, Advanced Server, and Technician with different pricing and features are available to cater to different markets. Obviously only the Free version of EaseUS ToDo Backup doesn’t cost a dime and is meant for personal use. In simple terms, EaseUS ToDo Backup Free allows you to backup, restore and clone.
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  • Create Full Windows Backup with Clonezilla to SAMBA or SSH Server

    Clonezilla is a well known free and open source disk cloning/imaging software which is mostly used by professionals, especially in mass cloning of multiple computers using multicast. The free price tag on Clonezilla helps a company or an organization to save a lot of money instead of spending hundreds or thousands of dollars for licensing on a corporate/enterprise edition of a disk imaging or cloning software.

    Although Clonezilla is text-based and does not come with a friendly graphical user interface like what you see in Acronis True Image/Macrium Reflect/AOMEI Backupper, it is not really that difficult to use. Most of the options can be selected using the keyboard while only a few steps require manual input such as providing the username, password and path. We’ll show you the step-by-step instructions on how to create a full backup using Clonezilla and save the image to another computer in a network.

    Downloading Clonezilla

    Downloading Clonezilla can be a bit confusing if you are not familiar with Linux OS or CPU architecture because there is a total of 10 different ISO/ZIP files to download due to the different combination between branch, version and architecture builds. There is no need to worry on running the wrong version because Clonezilla will simply inform you that it is unable to boot.
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  • Easily Install All Versions of .NET Framework plus Hotfixes with AIO Runtimes

    It is not that difficult to install Windows operating system from scratch today compared to older versions of Windows because Microsoft has tried their very best in making the whole installation process as easy as possible. However it can be very time consuming because after installing Windows, you may need to search for additional device drivers for newer hardware that isn’t recognized, installing third party software and restoring files/emails/settings from backup. One of the process that can take a long time to complete is the downloading and installing of runtime packages such as .NET Framework, Java, DirectX, Flash Player, Shockwave Player, Silverlight, and etc.

    Although these runtime packages are considered to be optional software, but they are becoming a necessity today due to a large number of services or software that requires them to run. Some examples are .NET Framework are required to run TheFolderSpy and Directory Monitor, Java for Screencast-O-Matic, Flash Player to play online flash games, and DirectX for a better gameplay and many more…

    One way to simplify the installation of the runtime packages is to integrate them by slipstreaming to the Windows installation disc which will require some knowledge in doing that. An easier way is to simply download a program called All in One Runtimes, extract and run it which will automatically install all the required runtimes without any hassle.
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  • Test Open Port Forwarding for Your Router or Computer

    Every web services must run on a port or else the service will be inaccessible. For example, when you visit a website, your web browser automatically connects to the web server using port 80 because that is the standard port registered in the IANA organization. It is also possible to configure a web server to run under a different port number such as 8080 and since the web browser connects to port 80 by default, you’ll need to instruct the web browser to visit the URL using the different port by adding the port 8080 at the end such as http://www.website.com:8080

    Even if you are trying to host a temporary game server, connect to a CCTV, remotely access your router configurations, download media files using a BitTorrent client such as uTorrent, all of the actions mentioned above requires an open listening port for optimal usage and in some cases it won’t work at all if the port is closed.

    torrent listening port

    Fortunately most modern routers already support UPnP whereby the router automatically opens and forwards the required port when it is triggered by the software, saving you the trouble of manually accessing your router settings to forward a port. The only problem is, how do you know whether the port forwarding either manually created by you or automatically through UPnP worked? Here we have 5 web services which you can use to test if the forwarded port is open or closed.
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  • 3 Methods to Recover Windows Product Key from Dead or Unbootable Windows

    If you’re a computer technician or the neighborhood tech geek, quite frequently you could find yourself having to reinstall Windows for people. One very common and annoying problem that often arises is the user doesn’t have their Windows license to hand and you have to spend time in retrieving the genuine Windows product key from the system if the hard drive is readable. A big pain these days is Windows product key stickers on many machines such as laptops and netbooks are paper and don’t have the plastic protective coating meaning the key can easily become faint and impossible to read accurately.

    There are a few ways to retrieve a key from an unbootable computer and most of them involve having access to another working computer. For example, taking out the hard drive and attaching it to a working machine, running a tool that can read product keys, load the registry hive from within the program and retrieve the product key. Or you can boot up PCRegedit, load the registry and then decrypt the key from a working computer. All those steps work but are a bit fiddly and time consuming.

    We’ve tried very hard to look for a linux live CD that can retrieve the license key but couldn’t find an obvious one that doesn’t involve a long process. But thankfully there are other ways you can do this by using very popular Live Windows CD’s that can get the key from a Windows system that cannot boot.

    Special Note: An important thing which needs mentioning is there are 2 different types of Windows product key you might have installed on your system. If you have an OEM machine made by a manufacturer such as Dell, Sony, Asus etc, and have never re-installed Windows, your product key will be different. This is a special generic key pre-installed at the factory and is NOT the same key as the one on a genuine sticker and cannot be used on a standard Windows re-install. If your key is from a sticker or has been typed in manually, these methods will work fine.
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  • How to Use NetCut or TuxCut to Kill or Disrupt Internet Connection Hogger in Your Network

    Sharing an Internet connection via wireless or even through cable is very common because a cheap home based router already comes with these features which are easy to setup. An annoying problem that people who are connected to the network can face is when one of the users is constantly using all the available bandwidth by downloading using BitTorrent, leaving practically nothing for other users. If everyone shares the Internet bill equally, obviously it is unfair for one person to hog it.

    There are a few ways to solve this problem. The first method is of course to talk to the person and get them to adjust their BitTorrent program so that it doesn’t aggressively use up all the connection and stress out the router. If they ignore your suggestion, try to check if the router is able to block P2P connections or to specific websites.

    If your router is very basic and not capable of blocking certain types of connections such as P2P that are used by BitTorrent, there are some programs that can forcefully cut off a person’s Internet connection when they are connected in the same network through ARP spoofing. Abusing these programs is unethical and can get you into trouble, so use it wisely and at your own risk.
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  • 5 Ways to Split or Break GIF Animation Into Individual Frames

    GIF is the standard file format to use when it comes to animated images although there are newer alternatives such as MNG and APNG. Basically an animation is created by playing a sequence of frames very quickly to get the desired result. If you would like to extract a particular frame from an animated movie, it is actually quite easy without the use of a third party tool by pausing the media player, pressing the Print Screen button on your keyboard and pasting it to Paint or Microsoft Word.

    Trying to do that on an animated GIF image can be challenging because you can’t pause the animation to take the perfect screenshot. An example is an animation of a text file containing a list of premium accounts that scrolls really fast which is impossible to read. If you’re looking for ways to extract frames from GIF, here we have 5 different methods that can help you to split a GIF animation into individual frames.
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  • Guide to Install Free SME Server Linux Operating System as File Server

    If you have a need for a file server, there are actually quite a few different methods to implement it. From a Windows computer, you can simply share a folder and assign the appropriate permissions. You can also install FTP server software to the Windows computer so that files can be uploaded or downloaded through the FTP protocol. There is also third party software such as HFS (HTTP File Server) that uses web technology to share files.

    However, if you’re looking for a really solid and yet free file server, you should consider using Linux to achieve this because the operating system is well known to be stable which will save you money in licensing costs. This is why you find that most websites are hosted on Linux because of the stability, and not Windows server.

    The only drawback is most of the people who are so used to Windows might find it difficult to handle a Linux operating system because things are very different. However, there is a Linux distro called SME Server that is based on CentOS which is easy to configure and manage. Once you’ve successfully installed SME Server, you can easily manage and configure the server using a web interface.
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  • 2 Tools to Detect Problematic Drivers causing Audio or Video Streaming Dropouts

    While most people will think that only old computers would suffer from lag in streaming audio or video in real time due to the slow hardware not able to cope up with the requirements of the operating system and software, new computers with a clean Windows can also experience such problems. When a dropout occur in an audio or video application that requires real time processing, one of the possible cause is the third party drivers of a device being implemented improperly and causes excessive latencies of Deferred Procedure Calls (DPC).

    If you know that device drivers can cause such problems, it is quite easy to solve the problem by using the trial and error method. You will just need to disable one driver at a time from the Device Manager which can be launched by typing devmgmt.msc in Start menu. Fortunately the Windows operating system only allows you to disable devices that are not essential for your computer to function. So it is safe to go ahead and disable devices one at a time while the audio or video streaming program is running.

    disable device driver

    If the dropout stopped occurring after disabling a specific device, then you have found the culprit. To have a better confirmation on the dropout problems, there are third party software that can detect the dropouts and even to the extend of showing which possible device is the cause.
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  • 3 Ways to Remove All Spam and Pending Comments in WordPress

    Although there are many different content management systems available to use, WordPress remains one of the most popular today and has won a couple of awards such as the Critic’s Choice Best Open Source PHP CMS and People’s Choice Best Free CMS in 2014. When many websites uses the WordPress platform, this will obviously attract spammers in creating a tool that can automatically spam links to the comment area in a post.

    While there are also many antispam plugins to block comment and trackback spam, Akismet remains the top plugin being used to detect spam comments. However these antispam plugins are not perfect as there are times when a spammer finds a way to bypass antispam detection and manage to slip through a few spam comments. Other than that, an unhappy visitor might use these tools to flood a website with thousands of useless comments in hoping to overload the server and causing it to crash.

    If one day you wake up to find thousands of spam or pending comments in your WordPress admin area, do not be afraid because there are easy ways to quickly delete the comments. If the spam comments keeps coming in, you should first configure your website to stop accepting any comments.
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