How to Display the Windows Defender on the Windows 8 Notification Area

Windows Defender is a Microsoft anti-virus built-in Windows 8. By default this light weight AV is enabled. It is running on the background although you are not going to see it on the notification area (or sometimes called system tray) and on the context menu. The context menu is the menu that pops up when you right click on a file. 

If you want to show it on the notification area and on the context menu you are going to need an application called Windows Defender Status Manager. You can find this small and free application at http://www.itknowledge24.com. During the installation you have to click the Yes button when you are ask to add a context menu. See the screen shot below.

There is one minor issue with the WDSM. After it is successfully installed you will notice a red "X" on it which conveys that it is disabled. To fix this issue, you have to open the WDSM settings by right clicking it. Go the Settings tab toggle off and on the real time protection. Do not forget to save each time otherwise you will not see the result. See these screen shots below to give you an idea.

There is another issue with WDSM which I find quite awkward. It does not show up on the context menu if you right click on a folder or a group of more than fifteen files. To scan a folder you may do a custom scan on the WD. In the case of more than fifteen files you may either scan it by group or scan its folder.

Having said all these issues about WD and WDSM both are worth using. Windows Defender Status Manager is patching up of what is missing with Windows Defender. Despite of being a light weight AV, Windows Defender is effective because it prevents and removes most of the viruses. Moreover, it does not slow down the computer.

Christmas is just around the corner so I want to greet all my readers a merry and meaningful Christmas. God bless everyone.

North Korea's Red Star Operating System

When I learned that North Korea developed their own operating system called "Red Star" I started to become curious about it. I tried to look for some sources where I can get a copy luckily I found one website which I think the only website that has. Some people say that there are also some sources on the torrent sites.

According to www.wikipedia.com, the development of Red Star started way back in 2002 and in 2010 it is already on version 2.0. We rarely hear any news from that country except when they have confrontation with the South or the US. Their isolation makes the people more curious about what is going on in there. Anyway, Red Star is North Korea's version of Linux.

I find it difficult to install because everything is written in Korean language. I tried looking for an English version but no success. Despite of it I am still able to successfully install it on my Virtual Box machine with the help of a little intuition. Here below you will find some screen shots during the installation and afterwards the desktop.

The welcoming screen and the rest of the installation procedures.

 

 

Beware of a Ransomware called Cryptolocker

Beware of a ransomware called Cryptolocker. Nowadays, the malwares are becoming more destructive and more sophisticated compared in the previous years. The authors of these malwares have gone too extreme to the point that they are demanding a ransom money from their victims if they want to get their files back.

Early this afternoon, the laptop of one of our managers got infected by the Cryptolocker. Apparently, the malware is able to evade his anti-virus. It is already too late when it is detected because all his files are already encrypted by this destructive malware. Thus, he cannot open his files. As you can see on the screenshot that after a given time he will not be able to get his files anymore. If you go on further the author of this malware is extorting a money amounting to $300 to decrypt the files so he can have his files back. If you have many important files on your computer as he is you may probably give in to the author's demand.

Until now he does not know where he got the malware or he is probably just playing innocent that he did not download anything. As I make a research on the internet about this malware the victims got it from the email. They received emails with these subjects "USPS Tracking, Dunn & Bradstreet rating or similar subjects" with a .zip or .rar attachment.

As of this writing there is no way to decrypt the files although the malware may be removed from the computer. The best way to defend ourselves from such desctructive malwares next to having a reliable anti-virus is to use a sound judgement. If we get an email from an unknown source do not open the attachment or click the link. The people spreading these malwares are luring their victims by using too good to be true email subjects. Be cautious if you receive suspicious emails such as these subjects "For instant access, Cashcashcash and Potential earnings" aside from the subjects mentioned above.

How to Hide the Keywords from the Firewall

Would you like to hide from the firewall the keywords that you are searching on Google?

If you want to have some sort of privacy whenever you are searching on the internet while you are behind the company firewall. You can use the encrypted Google search by simply typing on your browser https://encrypted.google.com instead of the usual http://google.com.

As you can see on the two screen shots above. I searched for "ruby on rails developer jobs" on Google. On the DOS window shows the IP address of my computer which is 192.168.1.62. However, if you are going to take a look on the screen shot of the Cyberoam firewall log you will not see there the keywords that I typed on Google neither my IP address.

Did you notice the time? Take a closer look at the time I started searching on Google you will see there 03:51 pm. Now take a closer look on the firewall log. At the top most the time that appears on the log are 15:52 and 15:47. The firewall did not record my search that took placed at 15:51 or 03:51 pm in a 12-hour format.

This simple tip will only help you hide the keywords that you are searching on Google. If you open a website that will be recorded on the firewall log.

HeidiSQL

I was looking for a lightweight and easy to use application that I can use to manage MySQL database while I was working on some Ruby On Rails codes. Until I found HeidiSQL that match exactly what I want. I have just started using it and I must say that as you explore its features you tend to like it more.

HeidiSQL is an opensource application that can be used to manage MySQL and MS SQL. In order to manage the database the user with authenticity must login locally or remotely. And once you are inside you can browse, edit data, create and edit tables, view, export structure and data to SQL file and a lot more.

To give you an idea of what HeidiSQL has to offer here is a list of its features:

• Connect to multiple servers in one window
• Connect to servers via commandline
• Connect via SSH tunnel, or pass SSL settings
• Create and edit tables, views, stored routines, triggers and scheduled events.
• Generate nice SQL-exports
• Export from one server/database directly to another server/database
• Manage user-privileges
• Import text-files
• Export table rows as CSV, HTML, XML, SQL, LaTeX, Wiki Markup and PHP Array
• Browse and edit table-data using a comfortable grid
• Bulk edit tables (move to db, change engine, collation etc.)
• Batch-insert ascii or binary files into tables
• Write queries with customizable syntax-highlighting and code-completion
• Pretty reformat disordered SQL
• Monitor and kill client-processes
• Find specific text in all tables of all databases of one server
• Optimize and repair tables in a batch manner
• Launch a parallel mysql.exe command line window using your current connection settings

How to Archive Emails in Outlook 2010

From time to time some of our co-employees are calling us up that their mailbox is already full, thus they are not receiving emails anymore. What we usually do is to archive their emails to free up some space on their mailbox so it can accommodate the incoming emails. Archiving is moving the emails from the mail server onto another folder or drive. You need to be sure that the new folder or drive is safe enough otherwise you might lose your important emails. It is a good idea to keep a backup of the archived emails just in case if something goes wrong with your computer you can retrieve it at anytime.

On the picture above my mailbox has not yet reached the full level but for the sake of demonstration I had to archive it.

Here's how to archive emails in Outlook 2010:

1. Click the "File" tab
2. Click the "Cleanup Tools"
3. Click "Archive..."
4. Click the "Archive this folder and all subfolders"
5. Specify the date on "Archive items older than". This will archive the emails starting from the date you specify here backward.
6. Under the "Archive File", you may change the default archive file name or leave it as it is. 
7. You may optionally save the archive file on another location or leave it as it is. You have to be sure that you have enough space on the drive you specified for the archive file.
8. You may optionally put a tick mark on "Include items with Do not AutoArchive checked" or leave it as it is. If you put a tick mark on this option it will include any items that might be individually marked to be excluded from automatic archiving.
9. Finally, click "Ok"

This process may take some time depending on the number of emails that you are archiving.

When you go back to your emails you will notice at the bottom the "Archive" you have just created wherein you will also see the folders created identical to that of your current email. If you want to see where your archive file is saved you may do so by going to the "Account settings" and clicking the "Data Files" tab.