Top 10 Computer Tricks Every Geek Should Know

 

We've talked before about the things every computer user should know how to do, but we geeks are special: we want to go above and beyond, to explore every nook and cranny of our system and make everything easier. Here are ten ways to do just that.

Read More

How to Access Blocked Website Without Using Any Software

Hi everyone, today's tutorial is about how to access blocked website without using any software.
Already i have given a simple trick, to access blocked websites, 
Click here to read Simple Trick to Access Blocked Websites (Facebook, YouTube, etc...)

When I'm browsing internet at college, the biggest headache is always getting error messages while trying to access some famous websites, like Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.

I'm 100% sure, you might have also felt the same headache while trying to access the above mentioned websites at college or office. This is what you do when you get error messages.

You will go to Google search and start to type how to access blocked websites. Google is your best friend, because it knows many solutions for your single problem and it will show you a large number of working and not working tricks as result.

I have also did many googling and tried to find a way to access blocked websites. Finally i found an awesome trick to access blocked websites without using any software. And i'll share that trick with you all, i hope this trick will be useful to you while accessing websites at college or office. This trick is called as Bypass URL Filtering for Access Blocked Websites.



Lets see how to access blocked websites without using any software.

Go To Start -> Run -> In Run box type cmd and hit Enter

Now Open Command Prompt window will appear

In command prompt type Ping websites Address and Enter
For Example : If you want to access Facebook, type as follows
ping facebook.com

Now a IP Address will appear in command prompt to access facebook.com

After then type the particular IP Address (which appears in your command prompt) in address bar and open any websites. Now you can access any websites by using this simple method.

Read More

Protecting children from harmful material and people on the Internet

Question

Protecting children from harmful material and people on the Internet.

Answer

Some web pages and content on the Internet are not suitable for all audiences. Below is a listing of different steps you can do to help ensure your child is protected from harmful material or web pages you believe are not suitable for your children.

Talk

Talk to your children about the dangers of the Internet and what they should not do while on the Internet. Below is a basic listing of what you may consider discussing with your child.

• Personal Information - Never give personal information about yourself in chat rooms, web pages, or online forms. This includes age, area code, e-mail address, home address, home city, Internet Service Provider name, Instant Messenger name or address, other location related information, passwords, personal web page, phone (mobile phone) numbers, pictures of yourself, school name, school grade, school web page, weight, webcam address, workplace, or zip code.
• Never meet someone - Never agree to meet an individual from the Internet without the parents or guardian at the agreed meeting location.
• Internet Purchases - Never enter an area that costs money, requires a credit card, requires personal information, asks for passwords, or requires you hang up and dial another number with your computer without explicit permission from the parents or a parent present.
• Downloads - Never accept a file or download from another user.
• Web page - Do not visit web pages that are sent to you in e-mail, chat, or instant messengers without a parent or guardian present.
• Gifts - Never accept any gift from users you meet online.
• Friends - Don't give out your friends information as it could be tied to you.
• Personal pictures - Never send someone a personal picture online or on a cell phone.
• Talking about sex or provocative images - When online don't talk about sex, post provocative images, or tease other people online.
• Talk to you - If your child ever witnesses something that upsets them or makes them feel uncomfortable, make sure they know it's ok to talk with you.

Monitor use

Monitor or browse the Internet with your kids and try to keep the computer in an open area. Don't allow your child to have their own computer in their own room. If you need to monitor your children's use while you're away consider a third-party filter programs that help protect your computer from inappropriate sites. See the Internet filters section for a listing of these programs.

Users using Microsoft Internet Explorer can help protect their family from harmful material by enabling Internet Explorer Content Advisor.

View Internet History

Make sure your child is not viewing any web pages they should not be viewing by looking at the Internet browser's history or make sure they are not deleting the history in order to hide what they are viewing.

Look at the browser address bar or location bar for additional information about what was typed in the browser address bar.

View IM buddies

If your computer has an Instant Messenger program such as MSN, make sure that their friend list or buddy list doesn't have anyone you do not know of.

Social networking sites

Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace are a very popular destination for teens and younger users on the Internet because of the ability to communicate with friends and make new friends over the Internet. Unfortunately these locations are also frequently visited by online predators because of online pictures and personal information posted by many of users participating on them. If you allow your children to use these sites make sure they are not posting personal information about themselves as mentioned earlier in this document. We also strongly encourage that parents or the child who setup the account set their profile to private so only their friends and family can view the profile.

Become their friend

It's also a good idea that if your child is on a social networking site that you do the same and become their friend. Doing this is a great way to see what your child is doing and posting.

• Questions and answers regarding MySpace.

Know the lingo

The Internet especially with younger users is full of acronyms, lingo, codes, and other terms that can be used to disguise what is being talked about. See the top 10 terms every parent should know for commonly used terms and codes and links to further information.

Disable webcams

If your computer has any digital camera or webcam connected to it prohibit your child from using it without your presence or disconnect or disable it when you're not using it.

Watch school websites

Watch your child's school web page for any personal information about your kids such as pictures of a student, full name, address, etc. This information can be found using search engines if a predator knows your child's full name, school, or grade.

Protect them in games

Many children and adults play online games. Just like the Internet children should know not to give out any personal information to other players or participate in any trading of in-game items for in-game services or real life personal information.

Read More

Phishing

 

Pronounced like fishing, phishing is a term used to describe a malicious individual or group of individuals scamming users by sending e-mails or creating web pages that are designed to collect an individual's online bank, credit card, or other login information. Because these e-mails and web pages look like legitimate companies users trust them and enter their personal information.

Below is an example of what a phishing e-mail may look like.

Dear eBay customer,

Your Account has been Suspended. We will ask for your password only once. We will charge your account once per year. However you will receive a confirmation request in about 24 hours after the make complete unsuspend process.You have 24 hours from the time you'll receive the e-mail to complete this eBay Request.
Note: Ignoring this message will cause eBay TKO delete your account forever.

To make unsuspend process please use this link:
http://fakeaddress.com/ebay
eBay will request personal data(password;and so on) in this email.
Thank you for using eBay! http://www.ebay.com/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This eBay notice was sent to you based on your eBay account preferences. If you would like to review your notification preferences for other communications, click here. If you would like to receive this email in text only, click here.

To a user who frequently uses eBay or any online service, these e-mails may appear as if they have come from the company described in the e-mail. However, phishing e-mails are designed to deceive the user and trick them into visiting the links in the e-mail that are designed to steal personal information such as usernames, passwords, credit card information, etc. Below are some helpful tips on identifying these e-mails and how to handle them.

How to identify a phishing e-mail.

1. Company - These e-mails are sent out to thousands of different e-mail addresses and often the person sending these e-mails has no idea who you are. If you have no affiliation with the company the e-mail address is supposedly coming from, it's fake. For example, if the e-mail is coming from Wells Fargo bank but you bank at a different bank.
2. Spelling and grammar - Improper spelling and grammar is almost always a dead give away. Look for obvious errors.
3. No mention of account information - If the company really was sending you information regarding errors to your account, they would mention your account or username in the e-mail. In the above example the e-mail just says "eBay customer", if this really was eBay they would mention your username.
4. Deadlines - E-mail requests an immediate response or a specific deadline. For example, in the above example, the requirement to log in and change your account information within 24 hours.
5. Links - Although many phishing e-mails are getting better at hiding the true URL you are visiting, often these e-mails will list a URL that is not related to the company's URL. For example, in our above eBay example, http://fakeaddress.com/ebay is not an eBay URL, just a URL with an ebay section. If you're unfamiliar with how a URL is structured , see the URL definition for additional information.

What to do if you're not sure if an e-mail is official.

• Never follow any links in an e-mail you're uncertain about. Instead of following the link in the e-mail, visit the page by manually typing the address of the company. For example, in the above example, instead of visiting the fake ebay URL, you would type: http://www.ebay.com in your web browser and log in through the official website.
• Never send any personal information through e-mail. If a company is requesting you send them personal information about your account or are saying your account is invalid, visit the web page and log into the account as you normally would.
• Finally, if you are still not sure about the status of your account or are concerned about your personal information, contact the company directly, either through an e-mail address provided on their website or over the phone.

Issues phishing e-mails commonly address

Below are some of the issues a phishing e-mail may inquire about in order to trick users.

• Account issues, such as account or password expiring, account being hacked, account out-of-date, or account information needing to be changed.
• Credit card or other personal information, such as credit card expiring or being stolen, incorrect social security number or other personal information, or duplicate credit card or other personal information
• Confirming orders, such as request that you log in to confirm recent orders or transactions.

Common companies affected by phishing

Below is a listing of some of the companies phishers often send e-mails about.

• Any major bank
• Popular websites such as Amazon, Facebook, MySpace, PayPal, eBay, Microsoft, Apple, Hotmail, YouTube, etc.
• Government: FBI, CIA, IRS, etc.
• Internet service providers such as AOL, Comcast, Cox, MSN, etc.
• Casinos and lottery.
• Online dating or community websites.

Read More

How can I protect myself while online?

Question

How can I protect myself while online?

Answer

Verify data is encrypted

When sending confidential information over the Internet such as usernames, passwords, or credit card numbers only send it securely. To verify this look for a small lock () in the bottom right corner of your browser window or next to the address bar (as shown below). If visible, this lock should also be in the locked position and not unlocked.

Internet Explorer 7 secure address bar

We also suggest making sure the URL begins with https as shown above.

While the lock is in the lock position, data is encrypted, which helps anyone from understanding the data if it's intercepted. When no lock is visible or in the unlocked position all information is plaintext and if intercepted could be read. If a webpage is not secure, such as an online forum, use a password you wouldn't use with protected sites such as your online banking website.

E-mail is not encrypted

Websites should not transmit confidential data over e-mail, such as passwords, credit card information, etc. E-mail is not encrypted and if intercepted by a third-party could be read.

Be aware of phishing scams

Familiarized yourself with phishing scams and techniques, which are used to trick you into divulging your account information. Online banking sites, Paypal, EBay, Amazon, and other popular sites that require logins are popular targets.

Use a safe password

Websites that store confidential data, such as an online bank site need to use strong passwords. Also, it is highly recommended that you use a different password for each website that requires a login. If you need help remembering your passwords consider using a password manager.

Use caution when accepting or agreeing to prompts

When prompted to install any program or add-on make sure to read and understand the agreement before clicking on the Ok button. If you do not understand the agreement or feel it is not necessary to install the program cancel or close the window.

Additionally, when installing any program watch for any check box that asks if it's ok to install a third-party program, toolbar, etc. These are never required and often cause more issues than good. Leave these boxes unchecked.

Be cautious where you're logging in from

Business

Your place of work can install key loggers or use other methods of monitoring the computer while online. Someone who has access to this information could read these logs and gather usernames and passwords. Also, do not store any passwords in your browser if your computer is shared with other coworkers.

Wireless network

When on a wireless network realize that all information being sent to and from your computer can be intercepted and read by someone nearby. Prevent this from happening by only logging into a secure network using WEP or WPA. If this is a home wireless network, make sure it is secure.

Friends house

Be concerned when logging into an account from a friends computer. A computer or network you are not familiar with could intentionally or unintentionally log usernames and passwords. Finally, when logging into any site on a friends computer never save the password information on their browser.

Be aware of those around you

While at work, school, library, or anywhere that has people around who could look at the monitor be cautious of anyone shoulder surfing. Someone could watch you type in your password, which would give them access to your account.

If you need everything displayed on the screen to remain private, consider a privacy filter for the display.

Update Internet browser plugins

Often many attackers find security vulnerabilities through browser plugins such as Adobe Flash. Make sure all installed Internet plug-ins are up-to-date.

Secure saved passwords

Make sure to store passwords and login information in a secure area. Never write login information on a sticky note or in a text file that is not encrypted.

To save your passwords we recommend using a password manager, which stores all login information and securely encrypts and password protects that information.

When saving password information in a browser, it may be visible by anyone who has access to your Internet browser. For example, without a master password setup in Firefox anyone can see all stored passwords.

Use a third-party service to confirm the safety and security of a page

We recommend the free Web of Trust (WOT) tool to verify the safety of all websites on the Internet.

Read More

Top 10 unknown Google tricks

Below is a list of our top ten Google tricks many people who use Google don't know about.

Definitions

Pull up the definition of the word by typing define followed by the word you want the definition for. For example, typing: define bravura would display the definition of that word.

Local search

Visit Google Local enter the area you want to search and the keyword of the place you want to find. For example, typing: restaurant at the above link would display local restaurants.

Phone number lookup

Enter a full phone number with area code to display the name and address associated with that phone number.

Find weather and movies

Type "weather" or "movies" followed by a zip code or city and state to display current weather conditions or movie theaters in your area. For example, typing weather 84101 gives you the current weather conditions for Salt Lake City, UT and the next four days. Typing movies 84101 would give you a link for show times for movies in that area.

Track airline flight and packages

Enter the airline and flight number to display the status of an airline flight and it's arrival time. For example, type: delta 123 to display this flight information if available.

Google can also give a direct link to package tracking information if you enter a UPS, FedEx or USPS tracking number.

Translate

Translate text, a full web page, or search by using the Google Language Tools.

Pages linked to you

See what other web pages are linking to your website or blog by typing link: followed by your URL. For example, typing link:http://www.excelentworld.blogspot.com displays all pages linking to Computer Hope.

Find PDF results only

Add fileType: to your search to display results that only match a certain file type. For example, if you wanted to display PDF results only type: "dell xps" fileType:pdf -- this is a great way to find online manuals.

Calculator

Use the Google Search engine as a calculator by typing a math problem in the search. For example, typing: 100 + 200 would display results as 300.

Stocks

Quickly get to a stock quote price, chart, and related links by typing the stock symbol in Google. For example, typing: msft will display the stock information for Microsoft.

Read More

Top 10 Internet tips and tricks

You don't need the http:// portion of a web page

When typing an Internet address you do not need to type http:// or even www. in the address. For example, if you wanted to visit Computer Hope you could just type computerhope.com and press enter. To make things even quicker, if you're visiting a .com address you can type computerhope and then press Ctrl + Enter to type out the full http://www.computerhope.com address.

Quickly move between the fields of a web page

If you're filling out an online form, e-mail, or other text field you can quickly move between each of the fields by pressing the Tab key or Shift + Tab to move back a field. For example, if you're filling out your name and the next field is your e-mail address you can press the Tab key to switch to the e-mail field.

Tip: This tip also applies to the buttons, if you press tab and the web developer has designed correctly the button should be selected and will allow you to press the space bar or enter to push the button.

Tip: If you have a drop-down box that lists every country or every state you can click that box and then press the letter of the state or country you're looking for. For example, is a drop-down box of States in the United States you could press u on the keyboard to quickly scroll to Utah.

Use Internet search engines to their full potential

Make sure to get the most out of every search result. If you're not finding what you want try surrounding the text in quotes. For example, if you were searching for 'computer help' this actually searches for pages that contain both computer and help and not necessarily pages that have computer and help next to each other. If you search for "computer help" with the quotes around the search query this will only return pages that actually have computer and help next to each other.

Tip: Many new computer users also don't realize that in every search box you can press enter instead of having to move the mouse button over to the Search button.

• Top 10 unknown Google tricks

Protect yourself and avoid bad web sites

• How can I protect myself while online?
• Avoid Internet phishing.
• Protecting children from harmful material and people on the Internet.

Know your Internet browser shortcuts

There are dozens of different shortcut keys that can be used with Internet browsers. Below are a few of our top suggested Internet browser shortcuts.

- Pressing Alt + D in any major Internet browser will move the cursor into the address bar. This is a great way to quickly enter an Internet address without having to click the mouse cursor in the address bar.

- Hold down the Ctrl key and press the + or - to increase and decrease the size of text.
- Press the backspace key or hold down the Alt key + left arrow to go back a page.
- Press F5 to refresh or reload a web page.
- Press F11 to make the Internet browser screen full screen. Press F11 again to return back to the normal view.
- Press Ctrl + B to open your Internet bookmarks.
- Press Ctrl + F to open the find box in the browser to search for text within the web page you're looking at.

• Full listing of Internet Explorer shortcut keys.
• Full listing of Mozilla Firefox shortcut keys.

Take advantage of tabbed browsing

Take full advantage of tabbed browsing in all Internet browsers today. While reading any web page if you come across a link you may be interested in open that link in a new tab so it can be viewed later. A new tab can be opened by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking the link or if you have a mouse with a wheel click the link with the middle mouse button.

Try alternative browsers

Most computer users use the default browser that comes included with the computer, with Microsoft Windows this is Internet Explorer. There are several great alternative browsers that are all free to download and use and may have features your current browser does not include. Below are a few of our favorites, try one or try them all.

• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
• Opera

Install plugins and add-ons

Each of the above alternative browsers also have a large community of volunteers who develop add-ons and plugins that can be added into the browser. Each of these browsers have hundreds of thousands of these add-ons that can do such things as giving you live weather in your browser window, changing its color, and adding additional functionality.

• Top 10 Firefox add-ons

Make sure your browser and its plugins are up-to-date

Each Internet browser can have several additional plugins that give it additional functionality. For example, Adobe Flash is a great way to bring movies and other animated content to the Internet. Keeping these plugins up-to-date is vital for your computer stability and also security. Using the below tool you can quickly verify if your plugins are up-to-date and get links to where to download the latest updates.

• Computer Hope system information tool

Use online services

There are hundreds of free online services that can help make using your computer easier, more productive, and more enjoyable. See our top 10 online services for a listing of our favorites.

Read More