Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Turn your symbian smart phone into a remote control using SmartTouch

SmartTouch is a free software available for Symbian series 60 phones (5th edition only i.e Nokia 5800). You will require three files to run this software.
  1. SmartTouch client for your phone
  2. Python to run the SmartTouch on your phone.
  3. SmartTouch software for your PC.
Install all this softwares on your phone and PC and see the video below to know that you can do with your smart phone ;-)



Friday, November 19, 2010

Encrypt/Lock Computer Drives Or Pendrive In Windows 7

Microsoft Bitlocker drive encryption is used to encrypt/lock any Local drive or removable drives like pendrives.Bitlocker encrypts the drives using 128 bit key.Once the drives are encrypted/locked it can only opened using the password.Microsoft introduced bitlocker encryption in windows vista.The bitlocker feature is currently available in Ultimate and Enterprise editions of windows 7 ,Vista as well as the Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 .Bitlocker requires that your hard disk should have atleast two NTFS drives :One of the operating system and the other with a minimum size of 100 MB.
Let’s Begin the step by step tutorial along with screenshots on how to Lock/encrypt Computer drives or pendrive in windows 7.

1.Plugin your Pendrive into your Usb port.
(Skip the above step if you want to lock/encrypt a local drive)
2.Click on Start button and type Bitlocker and click on BitLocker Drive Encryption
windows7bitlocker Encrypt/Lock Computer Drives Or Pendrive In Windows 7
3.Now you can see all local drives and your pendrive(If you have plugged in any)
bitlocker495x450 Encrypt/Lock Computer Drives Or Pendrive In Windows 7
4.Now click on Turn on BitLocker in front of the drive you want to lock/Encrypt.
5.Now it will ask you to choose your password
bitlockertogo03 Encrypt/Lock Computer Drives Or Pendrive In Windows 7
6.Once you have entered your password click Next you will be now asked to save the password or take a print out.
bitlockertogo04 Encrypt/Lock Computer Drives Or Pendrive In Windows 7
Note:If you save your password in your computer then make sure that it at some safe place.
bitlockertogo05 Encrypt/Lock Computer Drives Or Pendrive In Windows 7
7.Now bitlocker will start encrypting your drive.The encryption time varies according to the size of the drive.
bitlockerdriveencryptio Encrypt/Lock Computer Drives Or Pendrive In Windows 7
8.If you have encrypted/locked  a local drive then you will see a lock in front of the drive.
bitlockerlockeddrive Encrypt/Lock Computer Drives Or Pendrive In Windows 7
9.If you have encrypted/locked a pendrive then you will see a bitlocker setup file when you put this pendrive in computer.Install this in another computer.
(If bitlocker is already installed in another system then this step is not required.)
10.Now it will prompt you to enter your password.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Create a Password Reset Disk

If you’re running Windows XP Professional as a local user in a workgroup environment, you can create a password reset disk to log onto your computer when you forget your password. To create the disk:

Click Start, click Control Panel, and then click User Accounts.
Click your account name.
Under Related Tasks, click Prevent a forgotten password.

Follow the directions in the Forgotten Password Wizard to create a password reset disk.

Store the disk in a secure location, because anyone using it can access your local user account

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Windows 7 Tips & Tricks

1. Use Keyboard Shortcuts

Using the mouse, you can drag-‘n-dock windows to either side of the screen, or drag it to the top to maximize it. These keyboard shortcuts are even faster:
  • Win+Left Arrow and Win+Right Arrow dock the window to the left and right side of the screen
  • Win+Up Arrow and Win+Down Arrow maximize and restore/minimize
  • Win+M minimizes everything
  • Alt+Up, Alt+Left Arrow, Alt+Right Arrow navigate to parent folder, or browse Back and Forward through folders in Explorer
  • Win+Home minimizes/restores all open windows except the active window
  • Alt+Win+# accesses the Jump List of program number ‘#’ on the taskbar

2.Rearrange System Tray Icons

SystemTray
You can rearrange icons on the taskbar as you wish and start new (or switch to running) instances of the first ten taskbar programs using Win+1, Win+2, and so on. The cool thing is you can also rearrange system tray icons. Reorder them on the tray or move them outside or back in the tray. Take control of what you want to always keep an eye on, and from which apps you’ll require notifications.

3. Access Jump Lists with the Left Mouse Button

Jump Lists usually show up when you right-click on a taskbar icon. However, they can also be accessed by holding the left mouse button and dragging upwards. If you’re using a laptop touchpad or a touch screen, this is convenient because you do not have to click any button to access a context menu.

4. Add Any Folder to Favorites

AddToFavorites
You can add any library or folder to the Favorites section in Windows Explorer. To add a folder, navigate to it in Explorer, right-click Favorites in the left navigation pane, and select Add current location to Favorites. Now you get quick access to your favorite folders in all File->Save As dialogs!

5. Pin Frequently Used Folders to the Taskbar

Right-click, drag, and pin your favorite folders to Windows Explorer on the taskbar. They will now show up in the Jump List when you right click on Explorer giving you quick access to your favorite folders.

6. Pin Control Panel to the Taskbar

PinControlPanel
You cannot pin the Control Panel to the taskbar via the Start Menu or by drag and drop. Open the Control Panel and right-click its taskbar icon to pin it to the taskbar. An advantage of this is that Control Panel’s Jump List allows quick access to recently used functions.

7. Create Keyboard Shortcuts for Programs

You can create keyboard shortcuts for any program in Windows 7. Right-click the program icon and select Properties. Select the Shortcut tab, click in Shortcut key, to set the keyboard shortcut for that program.
ProgramShortcutKey

8. Open Command Prompt in Any Folder

Like the command prompt? Miss the ‘Open Command Window Here’ Windows XP power toy? Press ‘Shift’ when right-clicking on a folder to get that option in the context menu. This also works on the desktop. No power toy required!
ExpandedContextMenu

9. View Expanded ‘Send To’ Menu

Press Shift when right-clicking on a folder to get an expanded Send To menu.

10. Adjust Screen Text with Clear Type

Use Clear Type Tuner for the best look on your LCD monitor or laptop screen. Run ‘cttune.exe’ from the Start Menu search box, or go to the Control Panel Display applet, and select Adjust ClearType Text from the left.
ClearType Tuner

11. Get Exact Colors On Your Screen

If you are an artist or you work with colors, use the Calibrate Color option in the Control Panel Display applet or run dccw.exe from the Start Menu search box. You can adjust gamma, brightness, contrast, and color balance, ensuring that colors are displayed correctly on your screen.

12. Customize the Power Button

If you restart your computer more often than you shut it down, change the default Shutdown power button to Restart. Right-click on Start, select Properties, and choose the Power button action that you use the most.
StartMenuProperties

13. Customize Number of Items in Jump Lists & Start Menu

Right-click Start, select Properties, click Customize and choose the number of recent programs to be shown in the Start Menu and the number of items displayed in Jump Lists from the Start Menu Size section below.

14. Search Internet from the Start Menu

SearchInternetStartMenu
Enable Internet search from the Start Menu using your default browser. Run GPEDIT.MSC from the Start Menu search box to start the Group Policy Editor. In the left pane, go to User Configuration->Administrative Templates->Start Menu and Taskbar. In the right pane, right-click to Edit and Enable Add Search Internet link to Start Menu.
SearchInternet

15. Add Videos to Start Menu

Windows 7 does not place a link to your videos on the Start Menu by default. To add a link to your videos on the Start Menu, right-click Start, select Properties, click on Customize. In the Videos section at the bottom, choose Display as a link.
Add Videos
Did you like these tips? Tell us or share your tricks with us in the comments! Don’t forget to watch out for Part 2!