Bauer-Power

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Backup Media: Tape, DVD, CD....Paper?
2008-01-22 09:00:00
Hello folks! You read that title correctly, paper can be used as a form of backup media. I am not talking about printing out your documents and filing them away in some nondescript binder to gather dust, no this one is a little more complicated than that.I first want to point out that I would probably never use this as I don't really think that paper makes for a reliable backup media. The main reason for writing about it is that the particular program I am about to talk about is simply fascinating as hell.Without further ado, on today's what the f@^k o'meter, I present Paper Back. Like it says above, this program lets you backup all your files to...PAPER. Very weird.What it does is it converts the binary data of your files and converts them to over sized bitmaps that you print out. To restore it all you need is a local scanner. If you want to try it out, I created a paper backup of a cool new FREE anti virus software I am testing out called PC Tools Antivirus. You can download the...
More About: Media , Backup

More With The Blackberry Upgrade
2008-01-21 18:02:00
Happy Martin Luther King Day everyone, if you have the day off you are lucky, and I hope yo are having a great three day weekend. If you have to work like me, then I am sorry. What can you do right?Well if you have been reading recently, I asked all of you guys for advice in creating a test environment for upgrading from Blackberry Enterprise Server 4.0 to 4.1. I am sorry to say that you guys were no help at all. I did have one comment on it, but it was a sales pitch for Blackberry Hosting services which is not an option here so I deleted it. I'll tell you what I found out on my own though.For this upgrade you pretty much have three ways of doing it. One is you backup your database, then upgrade and hope for the best. For 98% of you this is fine. The upgrade is supposed to be a fairly smooth one. I have some friends at another company that did this and it worked for them.The second option which we are going to do is use a cut over process. You build a second almost identical server...

How To Take Care Of Your Computer Hard Drive To Prevent A Crash
2008-01-20 19:49:00
The computer has become one of the most important tools in our daily lives. In fact, there are so many people all over the globe who simply can't live without this technology. These people usually work and communicate through their compute that when their personal computer would malfunction, it would seem like the world have caved in on them.Technically, all computer hard drives would eventually fail us. These are just hardware that could weaken with age, constant use, mishandling and worst of all, the intrusion of computer viruses that have the power to wreck havoc on our computer systems. However, the good news is that we can actually prevent our hard drive from crashing down sooner than they should. Of course these ways and means of preventing hard crashes is not foul proof as there are always some factors, which we cannot seem to control at all. However, let us look at the bright side of things.As for viruses that are often deadly when they latch into our system, one can instal...
More About: Computer , Drive , Care , Hard , Crash

How to Manually Update any FireFox Extension XPI File
2008-01-20 09:41:00
OpenSource is perhaps one of the greatest things about the web. Using OpenSource programs, however, can sometimes be frustrating because when some programs are updated, others are not. Usually, you will have to either wait for updates of your non-workable programs or delay the updating of other programs to retain functionality. With FireFox extensions, however, you can usually update yourself. Let me tell you how.Download the extension you want to update to your hard drive.Rename the extension from *.xpi to *.zipOpen the file with your .zip application.Open "install.rdf" with your favorite text editor.Change the "maxVersion" setting as in the following example: REPLACE maxVersion=1.0+ WITH maxVersion=1.5.*Replace the "install.rdf" file with the one you just edited.Rename the extension from *.zip to *.xpiInstall your updated extension.Congratulations! You just updated your extension, which in most cases will work with the higher version. It is that easy.By now, you have figured out (...
More About: Firefox , File , Update , Extension

Copying DVDs Is As Easy As Pie
2008-01-19 21:53:00
Often, dvds are expensive and need to be backed up. However, a lot of people misuse this and using software technology, rip off and copy dvds to share among friends. The worst part is that people do not stop there either. Some even go and put it up on the Internet for others to download and copy. This is against the law. The biggest concern today is how to stop piracy. Although no foolproof method has emerged, companies are trying their best to copy protect as much of their media as possible. This makes it hard for the serious consumers to copy and backup their dvds.DVD disks are encrypted with something called the Content Scrambling System (CSS). The DVD player decrypts the data on the fly as it's reading the disk. People who want to make a DVD player have to get an expensive license to this secret encryption algorithm from the DVD Copy Control Authority (simply "Copy Control"). Each applicant gets his or her own secret key with which to unscramble the DVD so it can be played. And...
More About: Dvds , Easy

Are Hard Disks Going To Be Obsolete in a Few Years From Now?
2008-01-19 00:06:00
Hard drives have ruled the roost in the world of computers and laptops for the last few decades. They enjoy complete dominance as primary data storage devices and have now even begun to be used in such consumer electronics devices as DVD players and mobile phones.There has been no technology until now that was able to come close to hard drives in terms of data storage capacity, reliability, functionality and cost. The commonly available hard drives have capacities of 80 GB, 120 GB and 160 GB. This is a huge amount of storage space available to a typical computer user. Hard drives are also quite cost-effective and easily affordable by anyone.However, they have some drawbacks. The drives are based on decades-old technology and their basic design has remained more or less the same over the years. They are notorious for crashing unexpectedly, leaving the users staring at the prospects of total data loss. Also, hard drives are mechanical and have many moving parts which undergo tremendou...
More About: Hard , Obsolete , Years

How Much Ram is in Your Box?
2008-01-18 20:50:00
I have just completed another poll. Sorry I didn't have this one open as long as I normally do, but that did not stop a bunch of you from answering. The poll asked you Bauer-Power readers how much RAM you guys had in your computer. The poll is closed, and the results are in. The numbers make me just so damned proud!Almost half of you answered that you have 2GB of RAM in your box! That is great. I personally don't like anything less than 2GB myself. 23% of you even answered that you had more than 2GB. Unless you are a gamer, or you are running a server more than 2GB may be a little over kill, but still very cool.Here is a chart with a break down on the numbers:For those of you still sporting 256MB that is just sad! Seriously, you need to add more ram, or get a newer machine with more RAM. Are you wondering why it is so slow with all the newer applications? Stop wondering!Don't forget to checkout my newest poll on the right. I want to know what kind of power supply you are packing!...

Some Things To Know About Digg's Shout Feature
2008-01-17 19:23:00
I have a lot of friends on digg. Sure some of you may have way more than me, and if so that is great. The purpose of this post isn't to measure who has more friends. This isn't MySpace after all.One thing about having a lot of friends on digg is it give you the ability to get the items you are submitting in front of more eyes, and in doing so you get more diggs. If you have a lot of friends and they all digg your submission it can give it the momentum it needs to get to the front page.The best way of letting your friends know about your new submissions is the digg shout it feature. It allows you to post something new, then tell your friends about it and ask them to digg it for you if they like it. The problem with it is that it can be abused. To combat what digg has deemed "shout spam" digg put some limitations on the shout feature. These limitations are something you need to know.The first thing you should know is that you are limited to 20 shouts at one time. Have you wondered w...
More About: Feature , Things , Shout

Mac, PC...and Linux?
2008-01-17 00:44:00
I have posted about the Mac vs PC ads on tv in the past. I love them, they are so funny. I am certainly not a Mac guy, so it isn't about Mac fanboy love, they are just a kick in the pants.I found this video on Youtube that spoofs not only Mac and PC, but they throw Linux into the mix. The guys that made this certainly got Linux nailed down. Check it out:There are a whole series of these on Youtube. Just do a search for mac vs pc spoof and you will find a bunch of these.Did you make a New Years resolution? I did! I am going to lose 52lbs in 4 months! Track my progress at FAT.PDBAUER.COM!

How To Save Extraordinary Amounts Of Money On Ink
2008-01-16 09:30:00
Please read this article it could save hundreds or even thousands of dollars on ink cartridges. I've been in the cartridge refill business for 6 years now and there's one thing that I have learned. There is a lot of BS going around about ink cartridges. I'm here to set you straight and save you plenty on ink.Of coarse the manufacturers will try to force you to buy their cartridges and that's understandable because of the very high markup on ink cartridges. They will try to make you think that compatible or refilled cartridges will damage your printer. Lets look at it this way if you used 5 compatibles you would save enough to buy that $99.00 printer. So what are you afraid of?Now let me tell you I have customers bringing their printers to my shop all the time. The fact is print heads clog up just as often with originals as they do with compatibles. There is no magic in original cartridges, although billions in advertising has brought the manufacturers to almost the level of gods...
More About: Money , Save , Extraordinary

Just How Secure Is Your WPA Encrypted Wireless Network?
2008-01-15 18:39:00
We all know how crappy WEP is. It has been proven time and time again that it can be broken. I have even done posts on cracking WEP. What about WPA? WPA is supposed to be pretty secure right?One of my favorite tech sites on the interweb, Hak.5 (http://www.hak5.org) decided to put their own WPA access point to the test just to see how secure it really was. They used the eeePC, Backtrack 3, and Aircrack-ng to see if they could Hack their AP. Want to know if they did it or not? Watch their video:If you want to watch this full episode, you can catch it on Youtube here (Hak.5 Youtube) or you can download it directly from their website. (http://www.hak5.org)So what's the moral of the story boys and girls? Strong passwords!If you have a wireless access point, make sure you have a complicated enough password so that it will be virtually impossible, or take an un-godly amount of time to guess. You want to make your network harder to hack than the next guy's. Nine times out of ten, the aver...
More About: Wireless , Network , Secure

Make Windows XP Look Like Fedora Linux!
2008-01-14 19:34:00
Every now and again I post software to transform your boring Windows box and make it look like something cooler. A few months ago I wrote about the Vista Transformation pack for those of you not willing to endure the pain of Vista, but still want the prettiness of it. Not too long after that I wrote about a tool bar to make your Windows XP box look more like MAC OSX, and somewhere in the comments somebody mentioned yet another method.What about you Linux fans? Do you have all things linux at home, but at your day job you are forced into a world of Windows? Would you like to take some of your dignity back? If so, I have something cool for you.It is the Fedora Transformation Pack for Windows XP. It is a skin that makes Windows look a lot like Fedora Linux. You can impress your friends, and show your ultimate geekyness by making Windows XP look like Linux.I read a while back about some other packs like this, including one for Ubuntu. I will try to track it down and write about that at...
More About: Make , Windows Xp

Checking CD or DVD Images: Virtual Disk Drive
2008-01-13 18:18:00
There have been plenty of times when burning disks that I have incidentally made a few extra coasters. It is inevitable really. Most often, the problem is with the media. If you buy cheap disks you get a lot of bad burns. This can be fixed sometimes by burning the disk at a slower speed, or by making sure the disk is cleaned first.What if you have a bad disk image though? What if there is a problem with the burning utility you are using and it somehow corrupts the data when creating the disk image (Even if you burn straight to disk the burning utility first creates a disk image in a temporary folder before actually writing). If the data is bad, the burn will be bad. It is that simple.In order to prevent bad burns, you have to have a way to check the image. The way I do it, is by using a virtual disk drive. There are a few out there, but my all time favorite is Daemon Tools. Daemon Tools lets you mount the disk image and browse the files, or if it is a movie disk, you can play it on ...
More About: Drive , Images , Disk , Virtual , Ages

Open Source E-mail Encryption
2008-01-12 16:00:00
"...Perhaps you think your email is legitimate enough that encryption is unwarranted. If you really are a law-abiding citizen with nothing to hide, then why don't you always send your paper mail on postcards? Why not submit to drug testing on demand? Why require a warrant for police searches of your house? Are you trying to hide something? If you hide your mail inside envelopes, does that mean you must be a subversive or a drug dealer, or maybe a paranoid nut?..."-Philip Zimmerman, Creater of PGPOf course it doesn't, it simply means you value your privacy.PGP, or more specifically Open PGP is a great, and more importantly FREE method of securing your data and your e-mails. You don't want "The Man" reading your e-mails, and neither do I.There are many PGP and OpenPGP programs out there, but the one that is the most versatile that I have seen is called GnuPG. It comes in some form for every operating system. It comes standard with Ubuntu Linux, and there are versions for Windows and...
More About: Mail , Open Source , Encryption , Source

Nominate Bauer-Power For A Bloggie
2008-01-12 08:55:00
It's that time of year again. Time to vote for your favorite blogs of 2007 and I am asking all of you loyal Bauer -Power readers to nominate Bauer-Power for a 2008 Bloggie. You better hurry up though because nominations will only be accepted until January 11th at 10:00PM Eastern.Here are is how it works according to the Bloggie website:From now until 10:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (GMT-5) on Friday, January 11, 2008, anyone can nominate their favorite weblogs. That Sunday, January 13, three panels of 50 voters will receive an e-mail. It will list the weblogs that have received the most nominations in ten categories. They will have until 10:00 PM EST on Friday, January 18 to privately submit their five favorites (six for Weblog of the Year) for each category. The five (or six for Weblog of the Year) receiving the most votes will become finalists. I (Nikolai Nolan) will only vote for the panel in the case of a tie for fifth place. This panel is on an opt-in policy; there is a checkbo...

I Need Your Help Upgrading Blackberry Enterprise Server
2008-01-11 17:05:00
I recently got promoted at my real job and one of my first projects in my new position is to upgrade our Blackberry Enterprise Serve r from version 4.0.6 to version 4.1. It sounds easy enough on paper, but we don't want to go in and make any changes to our production server without testing it first. That would just not be a good thing to do, and besides I do not want to be the guy responsible for hosing up our 300 blackberry users phones because I didn't do a little planning first.Some of the features we are looking forward to in version 4.1 are:Wireless Email Reconciliation Hard-delete SupportWindows® Messenger BlackBerry® ClientAddress Look up Enhancements for Hosting OrganizationsAttachment Viewing Pan and Zoom EnhancementsArchiving SMS, PIN-to-PIN and Call TrafficTwo-factor Authentication SupportData Group PushBackup and Restore of Saved MessagesA full comparative listing of the changes between version 4.0 and 4.1 are available here: (BES Comparison)So where do you come in? T...

Make Your Own Spy Camera Sunglasses
2008-01-10 09:00:00
One of my favorite movies of all time is the first Mission: Impossible with Tom Cruise. One of the coolest scenes in the movie in my opinion was when he was on the train wearing glasses looking into the face of the man who framed him and says, "I'm not the only one who has seen you alive!"Just then he rips the glasses of his face and tosses them at the bad guy (Jim Phelps). The bad guy looks at the glasses and the screen cuts to the head of IMF watching the whole scene on his closed circuit television watch. The glasses hid a secret camera!What if you could make those glasses yourself? Now you can! One of my favorite websites, KipKay.com shows you exactly how to make your own spy sunglasses! Check it out:The applications for this are limitless. Well, maybe not so much, but it sure would be a fun toy to play with. Just don't take these into the girls locker rooms at the gym ;-)Did you make a New Years resolution? I did! I am going to lose 52lbs in 4 months! Track my progress at FAT...
More About: Camera , Make , Sunglasses

Windows TCP/IP Stack Could Allow Remote Code Execution
2008-01-09 20:06:00
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-001 – Critical: Vulnerabilities in Windows TCP/IP Could Allo w Remote Code Execution . Affects ALL current Windows versions W2K SP4, WXP SP2, WXP x64, W2K03 SP1 & SP2, W2K03 Itanium-based, Vista, Vista x64Here is the executive summary from Microsoft Technet:This critical security update resolves two privately reported vulnerabilities in Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) processing. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.This is a critical security update for all supported editions of Windows XP and Windows Vista, an important security update for all supported editions of Windows Server 2003, and a moderate security update for all supported editions of Microsoft Windows 2000. For more information, see the subsection, Affected and Non-Affecte...

This Computer Will Self Destruct!
2008-01-09 17:19:00
Have you ever felt that you may need a self destruct button for your computer? Maybe your an international jewel thief, or a secret agent, or even a mob boss and you know that someone might be preparing to kick down your door and get your valuable information off your computer in a few hours? Perhaps you got a tip on the phone, or something just doesn't feel right. What is a shady character to do in this situation?I'll tell you what they can do, they will hit their virtual self destruct button! Actually, it won't say "Self destruct" but you get the point.I'm talking about HDD Wipe. This thing will perform a low-level wipe on your hard drive while windows is running! Don't ask me how that works. I suppose it is because most of everything you see on your screen is actually running in memory, and not actually on the hard drive. (If someone knows for sure, please leave a comment)I have tested it out on one desktop machine of mine, and a virtual machine I was running. I wasn't able...
More About: Computer

Side Jacking With A Hamster And A Ferret
2008-01-08 09:00:00
A new mod started at school this week. For you not in the know, a mod is what we call a semester at my college. It is short for module. They call it that because our semesters are only 10 weeks long, and we go year round without breaks (Except two weeks at the end of the year).Last night I had my first class in Security Policies and Procedures. In that class our teacher starts out with current events related to security. One of the things he mentioned which I though was really cool was a relatively new method of hacking your accounts and stealing your goodies. This method is called Side Jacking . The term is so new, I couldn't find anything about it on Wikipedia (Can you believe that?). I did find something on Webopedia.com about it though. They describe Side Jacking as a:Term used to describe the malicious act of hijacking an engaged Web session with a remote service by intercepting and using the credentials that identified the user/victim to that specific server. Typically, SideJa...
More About: Hamster

Cool Elevator Trick You Can Try Yourself
2008-01-08 00:48:00
I hate getting into elevators that stop on every floor. I want to go where I want to go and everyone else can screw off! I also don't like riding in the elevator with anyone. Don't we all feel that way?Apparently there is a trick you can do with all elevators that will allow you to do just that. If you hold down the right ones for the right amount of time the doors will close and the elevator will take you directly to your floor without stopping to pick anyone else up. They will just have to wait!Now, I haven't tried this out myself as I haven't been anywhere recently that uses an elevator for more than two floors so I am not sure if this works or not. The next time I go to Horton Plaza Mall in downtown San Diego I will have to try it because their elevators are busier than all hell.Enough about that. The buttons you need to push are the floor you want to go to while simultaneously pushing the door close button. You need to hold both down for 5 or 6 seconds and that should put t...
More About: Cool , Trick , Elevator

Take A Screenshot Remotely
2008-01-07 17:40:00
Have you ever had a user call you with a computer problem when they have some strange error on their screen? They have no idea what it means, and usually have no idea how to explain it either. That is when a screen shot comes in handy.The problem with the screen shot is that often times users don't know how to take a screen shot. In my own experience, it can be painful explaining to someone over the phone how to press CTRL (or ALT) + Print Screen, then have them paste it in MSPAINT or MS Word. The biggest issue when I try to tell them how to take a screen shot is when they press CTRL + Print Screen they say, "Nothing happened!"Wouldn't it be nice if you could just take a screen shot remotely for them? I found a free utility that does just that! It is called Screen Grabber.Here are a few remarks from their website:You must have administrative permissions on the target computerSomeone must be logged on to the target computerWorks on Windows 2000, Windows 2003, XPDo not use this too...
More About: Screenshot

Want To Watch A PC Explode?
2008-01-07 01:34:00
Having been working in the computer industry for the last 4 years or so I have seen some people get really frustrated with their computers. I have seen a lot of hitting and swearing, and some seriously lost tempers.I too have been guilty of frustration with the PC when things don't work right, or when a sure fire fix for a computer problem doesn't work. Yes sometimes I just want to take that computer out side and blow it up. Lucky for us, someone has already done that and decided to video it. I grabbed this off of MySpace Video:I love when they slow it down! Friggin' awesome!Did you make a New Years resolution? I did! I am going to lose 52lbs in 4 months! Track my progress at FAT.PDBAUER.COM!
More About: Watch , Explode

Open MMC Snap-Ins Directly From The Run Line
2008-01-06 22:41:00
For the longest time if I wanted to use any of the administrative tools in Windows I would either go into the Control Panel, or I would open MMC from the run line and add each snap-in individually. That is until I discovered that you can run each snap-in on its own directly from the run line. My buddy Karl over at Ask The Admin explains what those commands are:So Johnny command line needs to be cool and open his computer management console or maybe just his services...Here you Johnny Command Line :Computer Management - compmgmt.mscComponent Services - comexp.mscDisk Managment - diskmgmt.mscDevice Manager - devmgmt.mscDisk Defrag - dfrg.mscEvent Viewer - eventvwr.mscGroup Policies - gpedit.mscLocal Security Settings - secpol.mscLocal Users and Groups - lusrmgr.mscPerformance Monitor - perfmon.mscResultant Set of Policies - rsop.mscShared Folders - fsmgmt.mscServices - services.mscAnd for the n00bs hit Start---Run---type anyone of these commands (include the .msc extension) and viola.....
More About: Open , Snap , Rect

Removing Windows Components in Windows Vista
2008-01-04 21:16:00
I got a call out of the blue from a Navy buddy of mine who is stationed in Germany yesterday asking me how he can uninstall Windows Media Player from his new Windows Vista machine. Seeing as how I haven't gone down the Vista road yet I wasn't sure.I thought it would be just like in Windows XP where you go into Add/ Remove Programs, then go into Add/Remove Windows Components . Of course it wasn't that easy in Vista. No, once again they made a change for the sake of change.In order to Add/Remove Windows Components in Windows Vista, you have to do the following: Open Control Panel In the left hand pane choose “Classic View” Double click “Programs and Features” Look in the left hand pane and click on “Turn Windows Features on or off” Once the box is “updated” you will be able to Add/Remove Windows ComponentsI remoted into his computer in Germany using ShowMyPc and was able to go in and uninstall it for him. I'm glad to know that even though I am no longer in the Navy,...

Who Makes The Best PDA?
2008-01-04 16:08:00
As you loyal Bauer-Power readers know, I have been posting polls to get your opinions on stuff, and to see what you guys like. My last poll was on which type of PDA phone you prefer.The options in the poll were Palm, Windows Mobile/Pocket PC, OpenMoko, iPhone, Blackberry and other. I'll give you three chances on which one you guys picked as your favorite and the first two don't count.Yes, out of 49 voters, 38% said they prefer the iPhone. Here is a chart breakdown of the results:There you have it. The Apple fan boys are rejoicing! Don't forget to respond to my latest poll on how much RAM you have in your computer!Did you make a New Years resolution? I did! I am going to lose 52lbs in 4 months! Track my progress at FAT.PDBAUER.COM!

The Correct Pronunciacion of Linux
2008-01-03 16:00:00
I never really thought about this but there may be some confusion out there on how to properly pronounce Linux . You see, the creator of Linux, Linus Torvalds, pronounces his name in many different ways depending on which language he is speaking. In fact if you follow the link I put on Linus's name above, it will take you to a Wikipedia article on Linus and right after his name they post a link to an OGG file on the correct pronunciation of his name. (Click Here for The OGG File)Since Linux is partially named after it's creator Linus (The other part of the name comes from Unix) and there is a discrepancy on how to pronounce his name, it follows logically that some people may have problems correctly pronouncing Linux.To set everyone straight, here is a video of Linus telling people how to pronounce his name, and the name of Linux:Did you make a New Years resolution? I did! I am going to lose 52lbs in 4 months! Track my progress at FAT.PDBAUER.COM!
More About: Rect

Create Useful Shortcuts With Tooler. (Windows Download)
2007-10-21 05:09:00
Have you ever wanted to create a shortcut on your desktop to disable your screen saver or eject your cd-rom? You have seen it done and now you have some use for it? Don't fret End User! No need to... Visit www.Bauer-Power.net for the full story!
More About: Windows , Download , Shortcuts , Create , Shortcut

FREE Backup Solution for Windows Mobile
2007-10-19 19:58:00
Hey Boys and Girls, Every once in a while a proggy comes along that is simply a staple of your data diet. A requiem for your software library that just seems to always be useful, especially if you... Visit www.Bauer-Power.net for the full story!
More About: Windows , Mobile , Backup , Windows Mobile , Free

What a Dream Come True!
2007-10-19 17:03:00
I mentioned in a recent post that I recently aquired an older Pentium III laptop with only 384MB of RAM. It really isn't fast enough to run Windows XP without trimming the fat. I originally was... Visit www.Bauer-Power.net for the full story!
More About: Dream , True