1. To block websites we need to edit Host file which is usually inC:/Windows/System32/drivers /etc

2. To edit Hosts file open notepad click open and go to  C:/Windows/System32/drivers /etc

Alternate

Open “Run” from the start menu (or press WinKey + r). Just copy paste the following path and hit ENTER.

notepad %windir%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

3. Find the file named “HOSTS”, Open it using notepad.

When this hosts file is opened in Notepad, at the end of the file you will see something like “127.0.0.1 localhost”.

4. Under “127.0.0.1 localhost” just add another website URL that you want to block.

Example :
127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.0.2 www.orkut.com

- www.orkut.com will not be accessible anymore.

If you want to add more sites then just increment the IP address by one and add it to the list.

i.e. 127.0.0.3 www.yahoo.com
127.0.0.4 www.msn.com
127.0.0.5 www.google.com

5. Save the file and exit.

6. If you find it difficult to do it manually every time  you can make a batch file to block websites

Example :-
@echo off
echo 127.0.0.1    www.google.com >> C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts.txt
echo 127.0.0.1    www.yahoo.com  >> C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts.txt
exit

7. Copy the above code in a note pad and save it as something.bat .Now once you click
the the batch file google.com and yahoo.com are blocked you can modify the batch file
according to your needs.

Make sure every time you add another website, the last digit of the address 127.0.0.x should not be the same.

What Tools Can I Use to Manage My Hosts Files?

I recommend HostsMan. Apart from providing a simple interface to add entries to your Hosts files, it also allows you to import blocking lists from hpHosts via the > Update Hosts button.

You can either merge this data with your current Hosts file or overwrite it. I recommend merging, since this allows you to simply delete the added information later and not lose anything you have in there already.

You can also edit the Hosts file using a convenient user interface.

Unfortunately, HostsMan does not currently allow you to import your own text files and merge them with your Hosts files. This is something you need to do manually.

Where Can I Find Blocking Lists?

A great resource for a customized Hosts files to block ads, banners, and other parasites, can be found on WinHelp2002. The Hosts file on offer has been updated regularly, most recently in June 2011. You can download the file in plain text or as a ZIP file. The Zip file contains a batch file (mvps.bat) to automatically rename and replace your current Hosts file. However, you can also manually add the list via copy and paste from the text file to your Hosts file, following the instructions above.

You can also find Hosts files on hpHosts. You can either follow the installation instructions on the website, or manually copy and paste the list from their Hosts text file into your existing Hosts file.

How Does This Work

When you add www.facebook.com on the hosts file,This will tell
Windows that all domain name resolution requests for www.facebook.com should be
handled by the local machine instead of your configured DNS

What it fixes

• Period of time before the computer goes to sleep is set too long

• Screen saver is used instead of setting the computer to enter sleep mode

• Display brightness is set too high

• Power plan is not set to the most efficient power plan

• Wireless adaptor in not optimized for power saving

• Minimum processor state is set too high

How to apply this fix:

Download the fix MicrosoftFixit.power.Run.exe from here or from Direct link

Note: It works well on XP / Vista / Windows 7 / Windows  powered laptops and netbooks

This tool primarily fixes the settings that consume more power to a more balanced state. It is not possible to dramatically increase the battery back up using any tool, however this is as good as it gets so I highly recommend this.

Download Microsoft Fix it to extend laptop battery life & fix power consumption issues.

• Open Notepad and copy the following code.

Dim message, sapi
message=InputBox(“What do you want me to say?”,”COOL TIPS and TRICKS”)
Set sapi=CreateObject(“sapi.spvoice”)
sapi.Speak message

• Save the file with any name with an extension.vbs

• Now, close the notepad and open it again and you are done.

Warnings

Do not edit the code, or it may result any other operation to execute. Doing so, the user is sole responsible for their own work.
Make sure that you save the file as .vbs file.
This is meant for educational purpose only.

Note:- In  my view this works only with windows XP. If it works on any other version of windows, do let me know:)

This uses default Windows Narrator functionalities. (Again in XP).You can activiate this from

“Accessories –> Accessibility –> Narrator”

If you want to change the voice, you can download it from microsoft site and then can change it from

“Control Pannel –> Switch to Classical View –> Speech”.

You can also set frequency from here. Also, you can use this control in your programming and get it read by your computer whatever you want.

A Simple Visual Basic Program Which Will Speak Whatever You Type

Here is what you have to do:

    1. Firstly open notepad.
   2. Now copy and paste the below code there:

do
‘create the voice object
Set VObj = CreateObject(“SAPI.SpVoice”)
‘get what the user wants to say, exit if cancel or return no msg

MSG = InputBox(“Type what you want the PC to say” & VBCRLF & VBCRLF & VBCRLF & “To End enter Nothing or push the Cancel button”, “Voice Box By EverythingInAll”, “”)

If MSG = “” Then WScript.quit: Else

‘use the VObj to speak msg

with VObj

.Volume = 100

.Speak MSG

end with

loop

    3. Now save the file as filename.vbs
    4. Now double click on the file to use it.

Enjoy

New Folder.exe virus disables task manager, disables registry editor, disables folder options, and disables run option from start menu. Virus creates exe files like the icon of folders with the same name as the name of the folder, it also consumes more than 50 % of your processor usage so slows down your computer.

Let’s see how we can remove this virus without formatting the drive.

Fix:
In order to remove the newfolder.exe virus you can use two types of tools, again there is a manual procedure also but the tools mentioned below are much better:

Note: Manual removal of folder viruses may be difficult, as the removal process requires knowledge of the operating system command prompt. If not performed properly, your system and data in USB flash might experience permanent damage. we highly recommend you use a good virus remover to automatically detect and remove the new folder.exe virus.

Search for autorun.inf, svichossst.exe, new_folder.exe, regsvr.exe files on USB drive and system, and then delete them.

Remove the following keys from registry

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System] “@”=

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] “Yahoo Messenger”=

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon] “Shell”=”regsvr.exe “

Do a cold reboot.

This virus creates an exe file in your usb drive with the name New Folder.exe. Here are some symptoms of this virus.

Task manager is disabled.
Registry Editor is disabled.
Folder options not working.
Taking too much time for accessing pendrive.
Uses half of your computers processing power.

Whenever you plug a USB drive in your system, a window will appear similar to the one shown below

Don’t click on Ok , just choose ‘Cancel’. Open the Command Prompt by typing ‘cmd‘ in the run box. In the command prompt type the drive letter: and press enter . Now type dir /w/a and press enter.

This will display a list of the files in the pen drive. Check whether the following files are there or not

Autorun.inf
Ravmon.exe
New Folder.exe
svchost.exe
Heap41a
or any other exe file which may be suspicious.

If any of the above files are there, then probably the USB drive is infected. In command prompt type attrib -r -a -s -h *.* and press enter. This will remove the Read Only, Archive, System and hidden file attribute from all the files. Now just delete the files using the command del filename. example del Ravmon.exe. Delete all the files that are suspicious. To be on a safer side, just scan the USB drive with an anti virus program to check whether it is free of virus or not. Now remove the drive and plug it again. In most of the cases, the real culprit turns out to be the “Autorun.inf” file which mostly gets executed when someone clicks Ok in the dialog window which appears above. Thus the infections can spread

Download Smart Virus Remover
OR
Download and install combofix from here
 

For you who used mozilla firefox, mozilla thunderbird, Mozilla Sunbird, Flock, SeaMonkey, Mozilla Suite, Spicebird, Songbird, and netscape, now you can backup your profile setting from those softwares, so that when you re-install your computer, or so on, you can restore all your profile setting software.

With MozBackup, you can backup mozilla firefox, mozilla thunderbird, and other softwares profile setting easily. For you who has interest to download and install MozBackup, please follow this guidance:

visit this site to download MozBackup:

Using this freeware you can easily backup your browser data, bookmarks, cookies and  many other things with only few clicks of your mouse and all from a single window. Which makes your task much more easier.

This app allows you to backup your Firefox in easiest way. This app is available for Windows operating systems only. Profile setting you can backup by MozBackup such as bookmarks, mail, contacts, passwords, extensions, cache, history etc.

Manual Backup

Backing up Firefox and Thunderbird manually is as simple as copying their respective profile folders to another location. If you do that, you’ll have a full backup with all your setting and personal data saved.

An advantage of manual backup is that you don’t need to have Firefox or Thunderbird functioning in order to restore your backup; it’s just a case of copying the backup profiles. That’s a good thing because the most common reason you want to restore is that your Firefox or Thunderbird installation is not working!

The hardest part is finding the profile folders. First up, they are not located where you would expect to find them. Secondly, they are located in different places for different versions of Windows. Thirdly, they may be assigned random file names that make them difficult to recognize.

On Windows 2000/XP machines the locations for your Firefox and Thunderbird profiles are respectively:

C:\Documents and Settings\<Windows login/user name>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<Profile name>\
C:\Documents and Settings\<Windows login/user name>\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\<Profile name>\

On Windows 9x/Me PCs they can usually be found at:

C:\Windows\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<Profile name>\
C:\Windows\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\<Profile name>\

If you can’t locate your profiles then check out this document for more information: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_Folder#What_is_in_my_profile?

Just as it did before, the new version of Soluto gives you an at-a-glance view of your boot time and the processes involved. But now the desktop app is also providing you with similar information about application crashes including historical data about your computer’s app crashes and solutions to fix the problem.

Manage Your Browser

The new beta version of Soluto also analyzes your browser to help you tweak it to your specifications. The interface here is similar to what you see when you analyze your boot time. Soluto shows you by name every plug-in, add-on and toolbar in your browser and how many people have disabled each component. Your browser components are broken down into three categories: Safely Remove, Possibly Remove and Disabled. Items found under “Safely Remove” are components you can remove without worrying about your browser crashing or becoming disabled. Items under this category are typically toolbars and add-ons so make sure you don’t disable something you use every day.

The browser feature also lets you manage your browser’s default search engine and choose between alternatives such as Bing, Google or Yahoo. It’s a handy feature to have in case a toolbar or program tricks you into switching your default search engine. This is exactly what happened to me several years ago after installing a free security program for my Vista machine. The program was particularly obnoxious and wouldn’t let me easily change my search engine back. Soluto’s new browser feature will come in very hand if I encounter problems like that again. Despite managing your browser’s default search options, Soluto does not have an option to change your system’s default browser.

Solve Crashes

you can open Soluto to see whether there is a solution for the problem you just experienced by clicking on “Heal crashes.”This will show you which of your apps have crashed in the past, how many times they’ve crashed, roughly when they crashed, and, if Soluto has a solution.

PC Genome

Soluto is able to offer fixes to your system problems by monitoring how you interact with your PC and aggregating that data into a database the company calls the PC Genome.It can identify which hardware has had issues with which software. It can also help you pick out software that runs well on the specific model of PC you’re using, based on other users.

Soluto, which is free, has had 2 million downloads since the company debuted its product to the public last year. And that’s without any real marketing or advertising for the software. What makes the application so successful is that it is incredibly easy to use, even for those with limited technical knowledge. Next up, the company says it will be tackling other platforms (Mac OS, please?), including mobile.

1. Dark is an open source .net framework utility that sits in your system tray and turns of your monitor on double clicking the icon.

Download Dark – Turn off Monitor

This is the simplest of tools to turn off laptop monitor and also very easy to use.

2. MonPwr is a freeware utility that lets you turn off your Laptop’s monitor. You just need to click a button and the monitor will turn off.

To turn it on again, press space or enter key. When you turn off the monitor using MonPwr, the processes running in the background are not affected. The current version of MonPwr is compatible with all versions of Windows.

Download MonPwr – Turn off Monitor

Now today we are here with complete step by step guide on how to use Office To-Go Device Manager to create Portable Office 2010 starter edition. Using this guide you can now crate portable Office 2010 USB Flash drive and carry anywhere you want and start using it.
How to Create Portable Office 2010 Starter USB Flash Drive

1. You must have installed Office Starter 2010 edition

2. Start Microsoft Office To-Go Device Manager from start menu

3. Click on Start button and let Office To-Go Device Manager to download required files

4. When you get screen asking for Select a device, insert your USB flash drive and select respective flash drive from the selection screen & click on install.

5. Now Office To-Go Device Manager will start installing Office Starter 2010 on selected USB drive.

6. A message will be displayed when Device To-Go completed installation. click on Close button.

7. Now Start Office.exe from USB flash drive to start portable Office starter 2010,

If you want to repair of uninstall portable Office starter 2010 from USB flash drive then follow steps 1-4. In step four inset USB drive on which you want to repair or uninstall Office Starter 2010.

On selecting USB flash drive, Microsoft Office To-Go Device Manager will automatically detect installed Office Starter 2010 and let you to Repair or Uninstall.

AppLocker provides a comfortable way to block software programs from being executed on a target system. If you need to prevent an application from running accidentally or would like to disable an application you can’t uninstall, AppLocker provides a simple interface to do so.

The application willdisplay a list of popular computer software programs including Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer or Nero Burning Rom at startup. These applications will be displayed even if the programs are not installed on the system. A click on a checkbox will block the software on the computer system.

The only problem is there is no password protection provided for this application so that any body can access it and unblock all other apps. But still it is good for servers and can be very useful.

Other than the default lock application list, you can lock other programs by clicking the “Configure” button to open the configuration window. Type the caption you want displayed on the ‘Lock application list’. Then, type the programs executable file name and click the ‘Add’ button.

The only problem is there is no password protection provided for this application so that any body can access it and unblock all other apps. But still it is good for servers and can be very useful.

Download Smartx

Facebook has launched a HTTPS secure connection, which is implemented by many banks and ecommerce sites.  This will make it very difficult for people to hack your your profile.

Facebook also offers a guide to Facebook privacy that gives some simple explanations about how Facebook privacy can be controlled.

When you choose your privacy settings you have the option to preview your profile so you can see the result of the settings you have set.

This post will show you how you can enable a secure connection on Facebook, and give you a few other tips for staying safe and secure on Facebook.

1. Go to Account > My Settings. (From the account menu in the top right corner)

2. Scroll to the Account Security section

In this section you can check two boxes, the first to enable  a secure connection when possible, and the second to recieve an email when a new computer or device accesses your account.


Facebook Displaying Name New Computer On Every Log In

Facebook new feature – “Name New Computer” allows you to control the computers that are allowed to access your account by naming various computers you use to log-in to your account and add them to your list of trusted devices.

While that does sound reasonable enough, it raises the question why I’m seeing the Name New Computer (previously know as Register this computer) page whenever I log in from the same computer. This should not be the case, considering that I have checked the Don’t ask me again from this computer box.

No information are posted on the page how Facebook determines if a new computer is used to log into the social networking site. My guess is that they use a computer’s IP address and / or cookies to determine that. Which in turn means trouble for all users who get a dynamic IP address every time they log on to the Internet.

These threats include:

Clickjacking
Spam
Money Transfer Scams
Fake Notification Emails
Fake Emails from Facebook Employees
Suspicious Apps

Check out this security page for more information about these threats, and how to avoid them.