See What the Web’s Largest Websites Looked Like When Launched [Images]

Are you ready for a trip down Nostalgia Lane? Then you will definitely enjoy this picture slide show of the early launch designs for the web’s biggest websites.
You can view the complete slide show over at Mashable using the link below.
What the World’s Biggest Websites Looked Like at Launch [via Reddit]

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Building a New Compute

So you’ve picked out and purchased the hardware for your new computer, and you’ve already completed the most difficult step: Waiting for the parts to come in the mail. The next step is putting all of the pieces together, which we’ll cover here.
Note: This is meant to be an overview, to explain the basics… each configuration will be somewhat different, and you should always read the manuals carefully. If you missed Part 1 of the series, we covered picking out the hardware.
Putting the Computer Together
Tools required: Screwdriver, free time, patience, some cable ties or electrical tape, and maybe an anti-static band.
The first thing to do is start carefully removing the packaging from everything and enjoying the geek moment… be very careful when unwrapping the processor, and don’t drop it on the floor like I did.

I usually put the processor on the board before putting the board into the case, which makes it a little easier. Open up the latches on the processor socket…

…making sure to remove the little piece of plastic that protects the pins, of course. Note that these instructions are for an Intel processor, and might be slightly different for AMD.

Now very carefully insert the processor, making sure to align it correctly with the notches. Close the hatch carefully when you are done. You should wait to attach the fan until the motherboard is securely in place.

Your motherboard should come with a little metal cover for the back, where the ports will go. You should put that in before trying to stick the motherboard into the case.

Note: Before putting in the motherboard, make sure that the case has the right “pegs” in place for the motherboard to stand on. Some cases have the pegs built-in, but you might have to add a few. Check your manual.

Now you can carefully put the motherboard with the processor into the case, matching up the holes with the pegs.

Make sure that the motherboard lines up correctly with the holes in the port hole cover… you might end up having to bend some of the metal tabs on the inside if they were bent during shipment. The key is that all the ports should be unobstructed… make absolutely certain before screwing in the motherboard!

Now you can finally screw in the motherboard. Most motherboards have 9 screws, but that could vary. The key thing is that you should be putting the screws into the pegs so that the motherboard sits slightly above the case… and don’t fasten these screws too tightly… just snug enough that the board won’t be moving.

Next you’ll need to start plugging in some cables… most motherboards have a 4-pin power cable that needs to be plugged in near the processor. It’s important to plug this cable in first before adding the processor fan, otherwise it’s usually very difficult to reach.
Tip: When putting a computer together, you should think ahead… if you connect one cable or add in a new piece, is it going to block you from putting in the next one?

Now you can add the processor fan, carefully matching up the holes and making sure that you have enough slack in the cable to plug in the power. Notice how difficult it would have been to plug in the 4-pin power cable with the fan in the way!
Tip: It would be wise to use some thermal compound between the CPU and the fan, as it helps keep the temperature down. It’s pretty simple, just follow the directions on the back of the package. It’s not technically required, however.

Make sure to adjust the four fasteners so that they are positioned correctly according to the manual. If you are using a stock cooler, the bigger part of the groove needs to be pointed inwards.

Once you have the fan in place, you need to push down on each of the four fasteners in a diagonal pattern. For instance, I’d push down the upper left one in this picture first, since it’s crammed in the corner. Then I’d push down the one on the lower right next, and then the other two. (This is usually the most difficult step in the whole build process. Everything else is easy from here)

Next you’ll want to connect the motherboard wires to the wires coming from the case for the power and reset buttons. This will be completely different based on your motherboard, so you need to check the manual. My motherboard came with a little plastic piece that made it really easy to match them up…

This was then easily plugged into the motherboard (in the lower right on this picture). You’ll also need to connect your audio, USB, and any other cables coming from the case at this point, including the main motherboard power connectors. (Check your manual)

Now we’re getting somewhere… slide the DVD drive in place…

And make sure to align it with the front panel in place so that it fits correctly before adding the four screws on the side (it’s pretty simple). Make sure to fasten those tightly… remember that the DVD drive is a moving part and you don’t want it rattling.

Now you can add the hard drive to the case. I like to put mine so that the case fan is drawing air across the hard drive. You probably want to connect the SATA cables first before putting it into place. Make sure to securely screw in the four screws, because your hard drive can make a whole lot of rattling noises if you don’t.

At this point you should have most of the major pieces in place… but your cables are probably dangling all over. You should be able to use some of the included zip ties or some electrical tape to neatly tie the cables up so they aren’t dangling.

Something more like this… although I’ll admit I didn’t do the best job of making them look nice. The point is to make sure that the cables aren’t hanging around and hitting the fans if you move the machine. Making them look “pretty” is up to you. =)

I’m sure you probably thought I forgot about adding the RAM… well I didn’t. I’ve found that on many cases adding the ram first will block you from being able to insert the hard drive, so I wait to add it until we’re almost done.
First, consult your manual to figure out which memory slot you need to use. Next, make sure that the fasteners on either side are pushed Out, like you can see below:

You’ll notice that the notch in the memory indicates that you can only put it in facing one direction. Line up the notches, and simply push down on the memory stick, and the fasteners should snap into place magically like this:

Now you can add in your video card and any other add-on cards. Make sure that you knock the slot cover off the back first, and screw it into place securely. Remember that you’ll be connecting things to the back, so take a look to make sure you lined them up to make it easy to connect the cables later.

Checklist Before Closing Up the Computer
Before you go to the trouble of putting the case back together, you should check through this list to make sure you got everything. (Note that depending on your config you might need to plug in extra items… remember to read the manual)

1. Did you plug in the power cables to the motherboard? There’s usually a 24-pin connector and a 4-pin one.
2. Did you add the CPU with the fan… and did you plug in the fan power cable?
3. Did you plug in the memory (RAM) securely?
4. Did you plug in power cables to each of the drives (hard disk and DVD). What about the SATA cables?
5. Did you remember to put four screws in each of the hard drives or DVD drives?
6. Did you remember to screw in the motherboard?
7. Did you plug in all the wires coming from the case into the motherboard?
8. Are any cables dangling that might get caught in a fan?

Now you can add the panels back on the side of the case…

And you are done! That was rather fun, wasn’t it?
Plug in a monitor and turn your new machine on, and hopefully it will work immediately like mine did… success!

If It Doesn’t Turn On or Start Up
If the computer doesn’t turn on or work right away, don’t panic… the problem is most likely that something isn’t connected correctly. Go back through and verify that every single cable is connected exactly as the manual says it should be.

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How NASA Makes Super High Resolution Images of Earth

Last month we shared an ultra-high resolution image of Earth with you, courtesy of NASA’s Suomi NNP satellite. Now we’re back to highlight the process by which NASA generates such beautiful images.
Wired Magazine shares a great overview of how the satellite creates such fantastic and high-resolution images. They write:
How were these highly detailed images created? The satellite flies 512 miles above the Earth, but the images appear as if they were taken from a much higher perspective: an altitude of 1,242 for the first image and 7,918 miles for the second. This little trick was accomplished by stitching together data from several orbits, creating an image that appears to be “pulled back.”
NASA launched the 4,600-pound Suomi in October to remotely sense variations in the Earth’s oceans, continents, and atmosphere and get a better understanding of climate change. It passes directly from pole to pole 14 times a day, imaging 1,865-mile swaths of our planet with each trip.
Hit up the link below for more information on the process.
How NASA Makes Those Incredibly High-Res Images of Earth [Wired]

Satellite Image Captures North American in 8,000 Pixels [Astronomy]

If you’re looking for a new wallpaper this ultra-high resolution image of the Earth’s surface spans a whopping 8,000 by 8,000 pixels.
Courtesy of NASA and the Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), the image provides an intimate look at North America. Although this image is floating around the internet with the claim attached that it is the highest resolution image of Earth ever taken, that’s simply untrue. The Los Angeles Times explains:

Some media outlets have reported that the image is the largest image ever made of our planet, but Norman Kuring, the NASA oceanographer who actually made the image, told The Times that simply is not true.
“I’m surprised that it’s gone viral,” he said. “I think what’s happening in the general public is seeing a larger image than they are used to seeing, but there have been higher sensing instruments around for a number of years.”
Kuring explained that this particular image was made using data collected by the Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite, which is on a satellite flying 512 miles above the Earth. VIIRS is not really a camera — rather it has a scanning telescope that measures the difference between the amount of light coming down to the surface of Earth from the sun as compared to the amount of light that is reflected back to the telescope. Kuring made the image above by running code that translates that data into an image.

The last paragraph is really what makes the image the most fascinating for us–the massive image is actually a composite of data collected from scanning instruments and not, as one would expect, simply a panorama of photographs snapped from space.
Hit up the link below to grab pre-sized wallpaper images or the master 8000×8000 image to custom crop for your desktop.
Blue Marble [via LA Times]

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QuickFix: My program is running, but I can’t see the window on the desktop!

Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed to receive updates.
Everyone has run into this problem at least once: you are running a program, and you minimize it to the task bar. Later, you try to restore the window by clicking the program on the task bar, and nothing happens.
You’re program is running, but its window has somehow moved outside the desktop area. Firefox – bless its flaming little heart – just loves to do this to me.
Since it was such an annoying problem, I managed to figure out a couple of ways to restore the “hidden” window…

The follow methods can be used to restore your missing Window. They are presented in order from the most pimped out to the least:
Method 1:
If you are using Windows 7 – and you should be – then just do this:

1. Click the program icon on the task bar
2. Hold down the Windows key, and press the left or right arrow key

Win-LeftArrow and Win-RightArrow are the keyboard shortcuts for a fabulous Windows 7 feature known as Aero Snap.
Aero Snap is seriously useful if you’d like to line up 2 windows side by side such that they take up the entire screen. What’s really cool is that when you “unsnap” the windows either with the mouse or with the keyboard shortcuts, they will automagically revert to their original size (and position on the desktop if you use the keyboard shortcut).
Method 2:
For all versions of Windows:

1. Right-click the task bar itself and pick “Cascade windows” or “Show windows stacked”

That was easy! Unfortunately, then you have to rearrange all your windows, which is seriously annoying.
Method 3:
Here’s another less effective trick for all versions of Windows:

1. Right-click the program on the taskbar, and pick “Move”. If you’re using Windows 7, hold down Shift and then right-click to get the old right-click menu instead of the new jump list menu.
2. Use the arrow keys to move the hidden window back onto the screen

This method actually sucks, because you don’t know where your window is hidden! But when all else fails, sometimes it can save the day.
Method 4:

1. Close the program by selecting it on the task bar and then typing Alt-F4
2. Restart the program

This is the last resort…
So there you have it. If you have a Method 0, I’m all ears!
Happy New Year!

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Upgrade Your Motherboard Without Reinstalling your OS

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If you’re one of those people who likes to build and upgrade your own computers, or if you have just decided to make your first attempt at upgrading an older system, there is one thing you may be wondering: Do I have to reinstall my OS?
Unfortunately, most people I talk to say one of two things:

1. “I just always reinstall the OS.”
2. “I upgraded once and I didn’t have to do anything to the OS, so that’s what I’m going to try this time.”

Well, Option #1 will certainly work all the time, no matter what. As for Option #2, whether or not the OS will boot depends on the hard disk controller driver. So, just because #2 worked for one upgrade doesn’t mean it will work for another.
Fortunately, whether you use Windows or Linux, there is a very easy way to prepare for a motherboard upgrade.

Now, I’m going to assume that if you think you can upgrade a motherboard, that means you kind of know what you are doing and you can find your away around Windows. If you don’t know how to get to Device Manager in Windows, well, stop right there and either get somebody to help you, or edumacate yourself right quick!
So, to start with, I will assume you are using Windows. For Linux users, see below.
Whether you have Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7, the process for prepping your puter for a motherboard upgrade is exactly the same. What you need to do is to set the hard disk controller driver in Windows to the standard, plain vanilla Windows version. The reason for this is quite simple, and is illustrated in the following example:

• You have an AMD processor and VIA chipset in your current machine
• You want to upgrade to an Intel-based system
• When you swap out the hardware and try to boot, Windows will use the hard disk controller driver for your old chipset, and thus you will get a blue screen because it can’t load the OS. Oops.

The same can be true if you are moving from Intel to AMD, or even from AMD to AMD or Intel to Intel. It’s also possible that you are already using the default Windows hard disk controller, which means you don’t have to change anything. But just in case, do the following:

1. Go to Device Manager
2. Expand the “IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers“
3. If you have an entry like “Standard AHCI 1.0 Serial ATA Controller” or “Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller“, you’re all set. Just stop and upgrade your hardware, and you should be fine 99% of the time. If not, carry on to #4.
4. Right-click the non-standard disk controller entry and choose Properties -> Driver tab -> Update Driver. I’m talking controller entry here, not “ATA Channel o“, “Primary IDE Channel“, etc.
5. Choose the “Browse your computer/Let me pick” options until you get a list of compatible drivers. Select the default “Standard” driver:
   - For a SATA drive: Standard AHCI 1.0 Serial ATA Controller
   - For an IDE drive: Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
6. Click OK, and don’t reboot – shut down your computer and perform your hardware upgrade. If you reboot before your upgrade, Windows may automatically replace the standard driver with the custom one that you just tried to replace!

Before firing up your upgraded puter, be sure to connect your primary boot drive up properly and configure the BIOS with that drive as the first boot hard disk. Normally, I try to connect all the drives in the computer and configure the BIOS boot order and such exactly as it all was in the old computer.
When you turn on your new monster, Windows should load and be able to access the boot hard drive just fine. It may take a bit longer than usual since Windows will be detecting your new hardware and trying to install drivers. Don’t freak out if everything doesn’t work at first – the important thing is to get the OS booted so you can install drivers and get the rest of your hardware configured and functioning properly.
That’s pretty much it. I have found this works 99% of the time. For the 1% of the time that it does NOT work for whatever reason, you can always throw the Windows disc into the optical drive, boot from it, and select a “Repair Install”. This will probably overwrite all your Windows files, and you’ll have to reapply all your Windows updates and such, but at least your data will remain intact. Just be sure not to accidentally wipe the drive. That would be bad, especially if you don’t have a backup. But, you DID make a backup first, right??
Now for Linux.
I recently had the opportunity to upgrade the hardware in a box running Ubuntu. The only thing that remained the same was the two hard drives. Everything else changed. I had read that linux just loves being upgraded, so I figured what the heck.
With my Ubuntu install, I didn’t have to set any hard disk controller drivers to a default or anything like that. I simply assembled the new machine, transplanted the hard drives to the new puter, configured the BIOS, and let ‘er rip! The machine booted without a hitch, and this was an “Ancient AMD to Modern Intel” type of upgrade. The only problem I had was that it didn’t want to detect the new ethernet controller. Rather than fighting with it by trying to install an ethernet driver without a net connection on the box, I just plopped an old ethernet card in a spare PCI slot, rebooted, et voila! The ethernet was autoconfigured and I was 100% up and running again.
Pretty easy, really.
So, whether you have Windows or Linux, you really shouldn’t have to reinstall your OS with every major hardware upgrade. If your OS installation is really old and bloated, it’s probably not a bad idea to start fresh on the new system. But if you keep your system lean and mean, why bother with a complete reinstall when you don’t have to?
Have fun!

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64-bit Printing Using a Driver for a Similar Model

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Printing with 64-bit Windows can be a lot of fun if you don’t have a 64-bit driver.
As I mentioned in Windows x64: How to Print to Any Printer Even Without a 64-bit Driver, there are ways to make your printer talk, even if they are a bit involved.
There is one other trick in particular that you might want to try first, though: use a similar 64-bit driver from the same manufacturer and fool Windows into thinking that everything is working fine!
Before you read any further, do visit the manufacturer’s web site again and check for the availability of a 64-bit driver for your specific printer model. It turns out that Canon, for example, released a boatload of 64-bit drivers a few weeks ago. So, if you have, say, a Canon LBP5100 color laser printer, there is now a 64-bit driver available! WOOHOO! Took long enough, though…
For the rest of you, read on!

The 64-bit version of Windows 7 is very popular, and manufacturers know it. There are also a lot of people who are complaining that their make and model doesn’t have a 64-bit driver. Don’t underestimate the power of complaining! If enough people complain, they will move their butts and get you your driver. The squeaky wheel gets the grease and all that…
For those of you who are still unlucky enough to not have:

1. An official 64-bit driver
2. A spare computer to use as a print server as mentioned in the post linked above

Fear not! There’s still another trick to try.
This one is not exactly “easy”. By that I mean that you will have to actually find a printer by the same manufacturer that is similar to the one you have. Then you will have to download the driver files, expand them, and edit an .INF file. If that sounds daunting, don’t worry. It’s easier than it sounds.
Using Canon as an example again, let’s say you have a multifunction Canon MF3110. This is one of those “scanner / copier / dishwasher / monochrome laser printers”. One of them “all-in-one” jobbies. Of course, Canon has previously let it be known that certain older all-in-ones will never have 64-bit drivers. Well, that’s just ridiculous.
Fortunately, there are other similar printer models that DO have 64-bit drivers, which makes the lack of a driver for the MF3110, for example, all the more ridiculous!
In any case, on Fixya.com, we find a most interesting thread. On that page, we read the following  instructions:

i found a solution for printing with Canon MF 3110
1- Download Driver For MF5730/5750/5770 For Vista 64-Bit
File Name : L7602ENx.exe
http://software.canon-europe.com/products/0010260.asp
Follow These Steps
1- Add Printer
2- add a local printer
3- Use an existing Port : Choose : USB ( Virtual Printer for USB )
4- Have Disk
5- Locate the File Name : MF5700AK.inf
6- Printer Name : Change From Canon MF5700 Series To Canon MF3110 Series
7- Print Test Page
it Work for me on Vista Home Premium SP1 64-Bit
P.s
still Cant Manage to use the Toolbox 4.9.1.1.mf04 for Scanning ( Any Ideas ? )

Whattaya know? It works! I done tried it myself! I should note that I used this driver:
http://software.canon-europe.com/software/0037099.asp
I changed 2 sections in the MK5700AK.inf file as follows:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

;64-bit x64 [Canon.NTamd64] "Canon MF3110"    = MF5700,USBPRINT\CanonMF5730c609,CanonMF5730c609,"MF5730" "Canon MF3110"    = MF5700,USBPRINT\CanonMF5750660a,CanonMF5750660a,"MF5750" "Canon MF3110"    = MF5700,USBPRINT\CanonMF5770060b,CanonMF5770060b,"MF5770"   ;32-bit x86 [Canon] "Canon MF3110"    = MF5700,USBPRINT\CanonMF5730c609,CanonMF5730c609,"MF5730" "Canon MF3110"    = MF5700,USBPRINT\CanonMF5750660a,CanonMF5750660a,"MF5750" "Canon MF3110"    = MF5700,USBPRINT\CanonMF5770060b,CanonMF5770060b,"MF5770"

Of course, as the poster notes, the Canon Toolbox software for scanning will not work. That’s a big problem if you actually wanted to use all the multi-functions of your multifunction device (crazy, I know!). But at least you will be able to print again, and all the printing options will usually work fine.
The same principle can work for other makes and models of printers. Find a similar printer (probably one that’s a bit fancier), download the driver, change the name of the printer in the INF file to match your model, and try to install the driver. If it doesn’t work, try a different driver. It’s important to get a driver in the same type and series of printers. For example, you probably will not have any success if you try to use a color laser printer driver for your monochrome multifunction.
Sure, it’s not exactly as simple and automatic and as installing an official driver for your model, but if it works, at least your paperweight will be able to print again!
If anyone finds any other examples of “substitute drivers” that work, please let us know in the comments. Thanks!

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Windows x64: How to Print to Any Printer Even Without a 64-bit Driver

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So, let’s say you’ve taken the plunge and installed 64-bit Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7. All is going well, until you try to install your printers.
It’s at that point that you discover that Windows doesn’t have a 64-bit driver for your printer. Worse yet, the manufacturer may not provide one, either!
What the heck are you supposed to do now?
Fortunately, there IS a way. And, strangely enough, you have Mac OS X to thank for this solution!
There is one teensy little detail that is kind of important: this solution will not allow you to print to a printer attached directly to your 64-bit Windows computer. You will need to have another machine on your local network that acts as a print server. This machine can be an old laptop, desktop, or whatever. The print server computer should be running Windows XP. This is mainly due to the RedMon utility, which only works on XP at this point. A new version that also works on Vista and Windows 7 should be available in the coming months.
Alrighty. The first step is to go load this lovely web page:
How to Use a Printer Attached to a Windows XP Computer in Mac OS X
Read through it once, starting at “Step 1: A Working Printer“. Yeah, like right now.
I’ll wait…
Now that you’ve read through it, you can heave a sigh of relief – you can ignore everything after Step #3. This is because you aren’t printing from a Unix-based Mac; you’re printing from Windows! On the other hand, if you want to print from a Mac too, that’s how to do it. I’ve done it before, and it works like a charm.
As for what you actually need to do for your 64-bit Windows, the short version is that you are going to set up Ghostscript, GSview, and the Redmon utility on your XP print server. The download link for Redmon is notoriously crappy, so if it’s not working, just search for “redmon” and you’ll find the small download from plenty of other places. Then, you’re going to find a printer driver for a PostScript printer on both your 64-bit Windows machine and a matching driver on the XP print server computer. And then you’re going to configure everything such that you can print from your 64-bit Windows to the Ghostscript printer on the XP print server. The XP print server will then work its ghostly magic and seamlessly redirect the print job to your actual printer.
Okeydokey, so let’s get started.
I’m actually using the 64-bit Windows 7 RC, but these instructions should be pretty similar for Vista 64.
The first thing to do is to find a printer driver that is on both your XP computer and your x64 computer. In my case, Windows 7 has a lovely 64-bit driver for the “HP Color Laserjet 2800 Series PS”. On the XP box, I used the “HP Color Laserjet PS” driver. The two seem to work just fine for printing monochrome, color, etc. The reason you need matching drivers is because your 64-bit machine needs a driver to use for the networked printer, and the XP print server itself needs to be able to understand the directions from that driver as well. Both drivers should be of the PS – or PostScript – variety.
So, follow the instructions at the OS X -> Windows printing link.
When it comes time to select a printer driver, choose: HP Color Laserjet PS (or whatever driver you choose)
Once the “Ghostscript printer” is set up, try to print a test page. If it works, sing and dance! If it doesn’t, check the “Configure Port” properties for RPT1. You may need to include “-copies 1“, remove “-color“, or possibly add in some other commands. You can find more options for gsprint here: GSPRINT help
Some options you might want to consider are:

• -grey for greyscale printing
• -portrait for portrait page layout
• -landscape for landscape page layout
• -duplex_vertical for double-sided printing

Once you get the test page print working from your XP machine, right-click your Ghostscript printer and pick “Properties”. Click the Sharing tab and share the printer so your 64-bit machine can see it on the network. You’re now done on the XP machine.
Move back over to your Vista/7 machine and add a printer. If you try to just add the printer normally, it won’t work. Instead, do the following:

• Select "Add a local printer"
• Select "Create new port"
• Select "Type of port: Local port"
• In the little popup window, type the network path to your XP printer following this example: \\printserver\64bit Canon
• Next pick the appropriate printer driver. I chose: HP Color Laserjet 2800 Series PS
• Give the printer a nice name

When you’re done, you should have an “emulated printer” sitting on your 64-bit Windows machine that you can print to. Try printing a test page from within Vista/7 this time. If it works, you’re done! If not, you may need to pick a different printer driver combo, or play around with GSview commands a bit.
Note that because of the little ghosties doing their thing on the XP box, printing will take a couple of seconds longer than usual.
I’ve read that Vista 64 is outselling the 32-bit version. Microsoft also expects the 64-bit version of Windows 7 to be pretty darn popular. Don’t miss my post The 3GB Barrier: Why you want a 64-bit OS. At that point, I’m sure a lot of printer manufacturers will get on the ball and release some 64-bit drivers – I’m looking at you, Canon!!!
In the meantime, this little trick will get you back up and printing. It’s not quite as good as having a real 64-bit driver and all its fully functional options, but for basic printing needs, it rocks!
In any case, it’s better than nothing.

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Activate an Invalid Copy of Windows Without Reinstalling

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What happens when you discover your copy of Windows is invalid? You probably will get a Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) notification informing you that you’re illegal, and you need to purchase a legal license.
This can happen for a number of reasons, and not simply piracy. Perhaps you bought a computer second-hand and were told your Windows install was valid, only to find out later that it wasn’t. That’s a pretty common scenario, and a darn annoying one. If you search the net and Microsoft’s web site for a way to activate your copy with a legal key you purchased, you may find yourself in a bit of a mess.
You see, it isn’t terribly obvious that you CAN in fact simply activate Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 with a new legal key – and without reinstalling anything at all. Finding the information on how to do this is rather difficult, and I’m not sure why.
Not to worry though – it’s a piece of cake!

First of all, let me just add here that this post will not tell you how to illegally use any Microsoft product. If you’re looking for a keygen or an activation hack or something, you’re in the wrong place.
Alrighty, now that that’s out of the way…
I recently ran into this problem, and I was pretty peeved when my Google searches turned up only info on how you must reinstall if you have, say, Windows XP Corporate Illegal, and you want to purchase and use an XP Pro Retail key with it. Even Microsoft’s own tech support peeps were not much help. Reinstalling seemed to be the only option, which was seriously frustrating.
Then I stumbled upon a real solution, which involves actually downloading a little app from Microsoft itself to change your product key without reinstalling. Go figure! I guess the tech support people were out of the loop on this one…
First, I should mention that if you’re using Vista or Windows 7, the process is even simpler:

1. Click Start
2. Right click “Computer” and choose Properties
3. Scroll down and click “Change Product Key”
4. Enter new product key and validate

Wasn’t that easy?
If you’re trying to legalify a copy of Windows XP, the process is only slightly more complicated:

1. Download Microsoft’s Key Update Tool for XP
   (if link is dead, try downloading here instead)
2. Run it, and enter your new key
3. Reboot, and you’re done

Wasn’t that easy?
Of course, you WILL need to have or purchase a legal Product ID Key to use with your copy of Windows, and you can only use 1 key for 1 computer. But at least now you don’t have to listen to the bozos on the net who claim that you must always reinstall Windows in order to make your copy legal!

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How to fix “Windows cannot connect to printer” Errors in Windows 7

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Let’s say you’re running Windows 7 on a computer connected to a local network. There is a shared printer running on a different machine on the network. The drivers for the printer are installed on the remote machine, and the printer is shared.
You think that you’ll just sit down at your puter, use the Add Printer feature, connect to the remote printer, the driver will be copied over to your machine automagically, and you’ll be off and running. But then you see this:

Windows cannot connect to the printer. Operation could not be completed (error 0x0000007e).

There is a common solution you can find on the web involving creating a new local port and inserting the network path to the remote printer, but you may find that doesn’t work either!
The solution to your problem is very simple, and is even available as a Hotfix from Microsoft. You don’t really even need the hotfix, though. Here’s how you “fix the glitch”.
It turns out that this “cannot connect to printer” error (0x0000007e) is well-known to Microsoft. Check out this Technet forum thread entitled “Windows 7 Printer Problems”:

winerror  0x7e
126 ERROR_MOD_NOT_FOUND <–> 0xc0000135 STATUS_DLL_NOT_FOUND
When the printer was added to the server, the driver created a registry to copy this file which in not neccessary since the client already has the file.
During the connection process, the driver resets the path from \windows\system32 to the print drivers directory \windows\system32\spool\drivers\x64\3 (or w32x86\3)  but never sets it back to default and the spooler process does not reset it either and looks for the color module mscms.dll in the drivers directory.
Look at the registry setting of the problem printers on the server
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers\PRINTERNAME\CopyFiles
Is the module value  \windows\system32\mscms.dll  or just mscms.dll?
I think if you copy the mscms file to the drivers directory on the client you can workaround this issue.  You could also remove the data from the Module value and verify creating the connection succeeds and printing is as expected.

Further down the thread, we find there is actually a hotfix available:

I suppose this is the solution: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=982728

It turns out this hotfix will be included in Windows 7 SP1!! Apparently Microsoft didn’t think it was important enough to test the fix thoroughly and release it early – despite the huge number of people having this problem if my search results are any indication.
You can request the hotfix if you really want to, or even wait for Windows 7 SP1, but the “workaround” is so simple that there’s no point in trying the other options:

1. Go to the C:\Windows\system32\ directory and find the file “mscms.dll“
2. Copy that file to:
   • C:\windows\system32\spool\drivers\x64\3\ if you are using 64-bit Windows 7
   • C:\windows\system32\spool\drivers\w32x86\3\ if you are using 32-bit Windows 7

That’s it.
Now try to connect to the remote printer again. This time, it will work!
This error does not appear to depend on the type of printer you have, or what driver you use. On 10 computers, I saw the problem 5 times. It seems to be a toss-up as to whether it will happen or not.
Hopefully now you won’t have to spend 4 hours looking for the solution like I did!

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Move Your Docs, Music, Pics, & Vids to a Different Drive or Folder in Windows 7

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Let’s say you’ve got Windows 7, and you install a second hard drive. Perhaps you have an SSD as your primary drive, and you want to store your GB’s of MP3s, videos, and documents on your second data drive.
Well, you could just copy the data into a new folder the old fashioned way. Doing this tends to break Windows 7′s “libraries” feature, and suddenly you have to tell Windows where to find all your files. That’s kind of annoying.
Fortunately, there is a built-in feature for moving your My Documents, My Music, My Videos, My Pictures, and even your Downloads folder automagically – and Windows will still keep track of everything for you!
Here’s how you do it:

1. Open Explorer (Win-E if you like keyboard shortcuts)
2. Find your way to C:\Users\[YOUR ACCOUNT NAME]
3. Right click on the folder you want to move (such as “My Music”) and choose Properties
4. Select the Location tab
5. Click the Move button
6. Select a new location for your goodies. You can put the folder anywhere, and even create new folders and subfolders on any drive to store your loot
7. Click Yes when prompted about whether or not you want to actually move all the files over to the new location

That’s it! You can repeat the process for the rest of your “My” folders. Windows apps like Media Player will still know where to find your music and other files.
So, that’s great. But what if, say, you have a custom folder with a bunch of huge files on your C:, and you want to move those to your secondary drive as well?
Maybe you have a folder C:\Junk, and you’ve stored a bunch of files that some of your applications now expect to live in C:\Junk – but you’d rather have them off your boot drive and store them instead on your secondary drive. If you just move the folder to your second hard drive, all those apps will complain.
Enter mklink.
mklink is a seriously handy command line utility in Windows 7 and Vista that let’s you make your own fancy “virtual folders”, otherwise known as “symbolic links” and “hard links”  in Linux Land.
To move a folder C:\Junk onto E:\Junk and have your apps still believe that the actual contents in Junk still reside at C:\Junk, do this:

1. Move your Junk folder onto E: the old fashioned way
2. Click Start and type cmd (but don’t press enter)
3. Right click on cmd.exe in the Start Menu and choose Run as administrator
4. In the command prompt window, type: mklink /h /j c:\Junk e:\Junk

(For details of what the command is doing, just type help mklink in a command prompt window.)
Voila! Now you have a C:\Junk and an E:\Junk. The only difference is that your files actually live in E:\Junk, but C:\Junk is hardlinked to E:\Junk. So, if an application tries to access C:\Junk, it is fooled into reading the contents of E:\Junk, even though it still calls the directory “C:\Junk”.
Handy, yes?

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The 3GB Barrier: Why you want a 64-bit OS

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I’m sure you’ve all heard some hype about 64-bit this and 64-bit that. The thing I read the most is that a 64-bit operating system or piece of software is automagically twice as fast as a 32-bit one. Not so. Worse yet, some operating system vendors market their product as having an “advanced 64-bit architecture”, when the truth of the matter is that their OS is not fully 64-bit.
In any case, most people today are using a 32-bit operating system, but a surprising number have already switched to a 64-bit OS. Or in some cases, a quasi-64-bit OS…
There is one true reason though why you will actually want to switch to a 64-bit OS in the near future: the infamous 3GB barrier. Just what the heck is this mystical barrier, and why should you care?
Well, maybe you won’t care just yet. If you’re perfectly content running Windows XP with 1GB of RAM, well then more power to ya! But for the rest of us, computers are advancing, operating systems are advancing, and we like to take advantage of the new bells and whistles, security, productivity, etc.
Now, let’s talk about the 3GB barrier. Usually, it’s more like a “3.3GB barrier”. First, you have to understand that the “3GB barrier” refers to the RAM limitation inherent when using a 32-bit operating system. Why is there a limit? Simply put, the term “32-bit” refers to the width of the path coming out of the processor. When that path is 32 bits wide, the processor has an “address space” of 4GB. The address space is like a map where all the components in your computer are allocated a space to live in. The processor needs this address space “map” because it needs to have specified “street addresses” for each component. That way, when data needs to be sent to the graphics card for example, the processor knows where to send the data. With a 32-bit OS, the processor operates in 32-bit mode, and that means we have 2³² possible bytes, or 4GB of total space in which to map out all our hardware components.
Alrighty. So, say you have a new PC with 4GB of RAM, a graphics card with 256MB of memory, a 500GB harddrive, amd a bunch of other integrated components like 8.1 channel audio, gigabit ethernet, and so on. When the PC boots, the BIOS sets everything up before handing control over to the OS. One of the things the BIOS does is to run through a process where it enumerates (or maps out) all the components in your system. The dialogue will look something like this:
BIOS: Who’s there? We got a graphics card?
GRAPHICS CARD: Yo! I have 256MB of RAM. Give me address space, fool!
BIOS: You got it, 256MB mapped to Graphics Card. What else have we got?
ETHERNET: Dude, I so need some address space…
BIOS: You got it, here ya go!
And so on. Part of the address space is taken up by the actual RAM installed in the computer. In this case, we are imagining that our computer has 4GB of RAM. Now, as we’ve already established, the maximum amount of address space that is supported in a 32-bit OS is also 4GB. So, the BIOS can’t allocate the entire address space to RAM alone, because then your graphics card, ethernet, audio, and so on wouldn’t work at all!
So what happens? Well, the BIOS automatically reduces the amount of RAM available to the OS. With our computer example above, instead of your OS showing that you have 4GB of RAM available, it might show something like 3.3GB. That’s because 0.7GB of address space is used up by all the other components in your computer. Those components aren’t actually using the physical RAM – they are using the address space which would have all been handed over to the RAM, but in this case cannot be.
In other words, with a 32-bit operating system, the BIOS must make a map of all components and fit it into a space of only 4GB. What happens if you have a new gaming rig with 8GB of RAM? Sorry! You’re out of luck. You’ll only see 3.3GB (or thereabouts) if you have a 32-bit OS.
Enter the 64-bit OS. With a 64-bit processor, you have a HUGEMONGOUS address space that is way, way, way bigger than 4GB. Practically speaking, the limit is not as monstrous as 2⁶⁴ bytes = 16 exabytes. Since even the idea of 16 exabytes of RAM is completely absurd at this point in time, modern 64-bit processors don’t use the whole 64 bits for their address space. Still, you can easily have 8GB or 16GB or whatever of RAM, and your 256MB graphics card, and all the other components in the system. The BIOS no longer needs to cram all the components into a 4GB space, so in our imaginary PC example above, your 64-bit OS will report 4GB of RAM and you will actually be able to use all of it! Sweet.
This is the one reason why you want a 64-bit OS. RAM these days is dirt cheap. Especially if you buy a new computer, it will most likely have 4GB of RAM or more in the coming months and years. In fact, Microsoft expects that the 64-bit version of its new OS, Windows 7, will be far more popular than the 32-bit version. Already it seems that in the past 6 months or so, 64-bit Vista is outselling 32-bit Vista. The reason is the 3GB barrier. If you want to use all your RAM, get 64-bit.
“But hang on a minute,” you say. “If the address space is only 4GB with a 32-bit OS, then how can the processor access the whole 500GB of my harddrive?!” Ah, an excellent question. The answer is that addressing tricks are used so that a much smaller address space is allocated to the harddrive, and requests from the processor to that harddrive address space are a bit more complicated. The end result is that even if you have a 500GB harddrive, the address space required to access the whole drive is nowhere near 500GB!
Now, how do you know if your processor supports a 64-bit OS? Well, if it’s a modern processor, it does. Starting with the later series of Pentium 4 processors, almost all of Intel’s desktop processors support 64-bit. The same is true of AMDs processors. The easiest way to make sure is to find the model number of your processor, and Google it. If it says something like “64-bit extensions”, then you’re all set. The exceptions these days are the lower end laptop and netbook processors like Intel’s Atom, which is only 32-bit. But then, what the heck would you need more than 2GB of RAM for in a netbook?!
Next, how do you enable the 64-bit support on your computer? Normally, you go into the BIOS setup when your computer is first booting and look for a setting called “Memory Remap Feature” and set it to “Enabled”. This little trick will enable 64-bit support. Note that it also might make your 32-bit OS crash upon booting, so keep this in mind if you are dual-booting!
One final word: If you’re thinking about upgrading to Windows 7 64-bit and you’re worred about drivers, don’t be. Windows’ 64-bit driver support is excellent, and has been since about a year after Vista and Vista 64 were released.

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Linux Tips and Tricks, Part 2

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Click here to read Part 1!
I’m going to assume that you know how to do some basic stuff in Linux. In other words, if you don’t know what a command line is, or how to traverse directories, this might not help you much.
I should also note that my preferred flavor of Linux is Ubuntu. These commands will work on Ubuntu, but I can’t make any guarantees for other distributions. Best to just try them out and see what happens!
Without further ado, here are some more of the top linux tips and tricks that I have gathered over the years…

Show current Ubuntu version:
lsb_release -a
Count number of files in the current directory:
ls -1 | wc -l
Find files edited in last 1 day in the current directory:
find ./ -ctime -1 -print
Empty a file’s contents of all but the last 5 lines:
tail -5 file.nam > file.nam
Truncate a file to zero length:
:>filename
Show version/dependency info for a given [package name]:
dpkg -s [package name]/mysql
See what installed packages still have stuff pointing to a location such as /etc/mysql:
dpkg -S etc/mysql
Set time, data, and timezone:
Set the time zone:

dpkg-reconfigure tzdata

Set time/date with 24-hour HH value:

date MMDDHHMMYYYY.SS

Sync hardware clock to system clock:

hwclock --utc --systohc

Get drive info:
fdisk -l
hdparm -i /dev/sda

(substitute /dev/XXX for /dev/sda)

Show partition info (UUID, TYPE, etc.):
blkid
That’s it for this round. Have fun!

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How to Determine the Master Browser in a Windows Workgroup

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Here’s a little problem that drove me crazy: How do you determine the Master Browser in a Windows Workgroup?
First of all, lemme explain a bit about how a workgroup works. When you have a LAN set up running Windows machines, each machine can see all the others in Network Neighborhood (or just “Network” in Vista). If you want to see the files on another machine, you just go to Network Neighborhood, click, et voila!
The other method you can use is to open Windows Explorer (keyboard shortcut: Win-E) and in the location/address bar, type:

\\COMPUTER-NAME

So, if you want to go to the computer called BALTHAZAR, you’d type:

\\BALTHAZAR

And hit enter. This is handy to know if Network Neighborhood is not working. And a grumpy Network Neighborhood is exactly the reason why sometimes, you need to find out which computer is the Master Browser.

On a local area network (LAN), each computer “talks” to the others. Each computer has an IP address, like 192.168.0.27, and also a name. The name is what you call your computer so you and your friends don’t have to remember the IP address. In our example above, the computer name is BALTHAZAR, but the IP address might be 192.168.0.27. Fabulous.
So, what happens is that each computer on the LAN must talk to the others. Since we’re only dealing with a workgroup, and there is no domain server, there is no computer to keep track of what machines are active on the network. This is where the Master Browser schtick comes into play. What happens is that all the computers on your LAN hold an “election”. This election depends on a number of factors, but for the purposes of this discussion, we just have to know that all the computers get together and vote on who will be the Master Browser on the LAN. Once a computer is elected, it will keep track of what machines are connected to the LAN by more or less sending messages to say, “Yo! You still there?”
Of course, you may ask: What happens when the computer that is the Master Browser gets shut down when, say, I go to bed? In that case, you will find that your Network Neighborhood may not work so well. At that point, all the computers on the LAN get together again and they hold another election. As I understand it, there are one or more “Backup Master Browsers” waiting in the wings, but we’ll ignore that for now.
Now, what happens when you have Network Neighborhood turning up blank on you sporadically, or possibly missing several of the computers on your LAN from time to time? Well, in that case, you need to determine who is the Master Browser so that you can narrow down the problem to one computer and see if maybe you need an updated ethernet driver, or there are firewall problems, or whatever.
The “fun” way of doing this is with DOS commands. Here’s how you’d do it:

1. Open up a command prompt
2. Type net view and hit enter
3. Look at the list of computer names. These are the computers on your LAN. Note that the format is \\COMPUTER-NAME like I talked about above.
4. For each name in the list, type the following command: nbtstat -a COMPUTER-NAME

One of the results from the nbtstat commands will show a row with “_MSBROWSE_” in it. That means that this computer is the Master Browser.
Wasn’t that fun?
No, it wasn’t.
So, I wrote a little script in Ruby to do this for you. I needed to in order to troubleshoot a networking problem on one machine on my LAN, and I didn’t want to type 10-20 commands every time. But as long as I was writing it, I figured I would jack it up a bit. Here’s what it does:

• net view net view /domain to determine the list of workgroup names
• net view /domain:[WORKGROUP] to determine the list of puter names for each [WORKGROUP]
• extracts the individual computer names and sticks them in an array
• iterates through the array and calls ping -n 1 -4 COMPUTER-NAME on each computer name (we only want to display IPv4 addresses, hence the “-4″ switch)
• iterates through the array of IP addresses and calls nbtstat -A IP-ADDRESS (the “-A” means “I’m giving you an IP address instead of a computer name”. This is a more reliable way of doing things.)
• After each call to nbtstat, it not only checks for the _MSBROWSE_ string, but it also records the MAC address of the network adapter in the remote computer.
• iterates through all the data and displays a nicely formatted table, like so:

Scanning LAN...

BERT            192.168.0.102   00-18-C0-42-A3-B2   CHEESE
BIGBUBBALOU     192.168.0.103   00-26-32-1F-72-ED   WORKGROUP
RHINOX          192.168.0.101   00-00-00-00-00-00   WORKGROUP   MASTER
Q               192.168.0.100   00-28-F6-68-F5-48   WORKGROUP
RADDAR          192.168.0.105   00-02-0D-74-FC-33   CHEESE
ANGELINA        192.168.0.106   00-B0-7E-C3-F7-A4   CHEESE
MOP             192.168.0.104   00-1B-8C-56-01-52   CHEESE      MASTER
AI              192.168.0.107   00-6A-83-6B-A0-83   WORKGROUP

Press any key to exit...

I wrote this little script in Ruby because it was fast and easy. But I didn’t want to have to call it from a command prompt with ruby all the time, and I wanted others to be able to use it without having to install Ruby on their own computers. So, I compiled it into a self-contained executable using RubyScript2Exe, and I added a pretty icon with Resource Hacker. Now my nifty little 2kB script is a lovely 1.5MB executable. Well, ya know… You can’t have everything. It may be bloated, but at least it works!
You can run it from the command line, or from Windows. It’s best to put the file in your Windows directory. It won’t run properly unless it’s on your boot drive (usually C:). If plopped into the Windows directory itself, it will be executable from any drive or directory on your computer. Anyway, if you run it from Windows, it will just open up a command prompt window and pause before closing it so you can see the results. On my machine, it’s nice and speedy.
Oh, and one last note: it might take 30 seconds or so to scan your LAN. The more machines you have, the more work it was to do.
So, now you have a lovely tool to determine the IP address, MAC address, name, and Master Browser status of all the computers on your LAN.
UPDATE (8 June 2009): My little LANscanner program has been updated to version 1.1. It now supports the x64 flavor of Windows XP, Vista, and 7. Be sure to read the included .TXT file for install instructions!
UPDATE (27 February 2010): LANscanner has been updated to version 1.2. New in this release is the display of the workgroup for each computer, as well as formatting improvements that should make the output easier to read even with long computer/workgroup names.
UPDATE (20 March 2010): LANscanner has been updated to version 1.3. This release is mostly a bug fix for 1.2. In the older version, the only workgroup reported was the one your puter was on. Oops! That didn’t make the feature very useful. Now LANscanner will first scan for all available workgroups, and accurately report all machines on all workgroups, including which puter is the Master Browser for each workgroup. I also optimized some code here and there for good measure.

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Securing your Wi-Fi Connection

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Many people these days use a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) router, or they have a broadband modem with built-in wireless. It’s amazing to me that in this supposedly “high-tech” and “high-security” age, many people still are completely unaware just how wide open their home network really is.
With a Wi-Fi modem, usually your provider will be smart enough to lock down your wireless connection for you. But if you bought a wireless router or access point and set it up yourself, there are a few things you should know to keep others from “stealing” your connection and using it for nefarious purposes…

If you use a Wi-Fi-enabled broadband modem, check with your service provider or the manuals that come with it to figure out how to make sure things are nice and secure.
On the other hand, if you bought your Wi-Fi box yourself and set it up, you may have made Mistake #1: Plug and Play, baby! Sure, it DOES work right out of the box. But that usually means that you are using WEP, or Wired Equivalent Privacy. It turns out that severe security holes in WEP were identified way back in 2001. It’s a piece of cake to hack into a “WEP-secured” network.
Fortunately, there are other options, although it takes a bit of actual work. And yes, you might have to read a manual. Don’t worry – it’ll be worth it. Besides, I’m hoping to get you started so that you’ll be prepared for any strange acronyms and obscure technical terms you might encounter.
The most common alternative to WEP is called WPA2, aka Wi-Fi Protected Access. Although certainly not bulletproof, WPA2 is a much, much better alternative to WEP.
So, the first thing you need to do is access your router’s configuration page. Usually this is accomplished by pointing your browser to the URI: http://192.168.0.1/ or something along those lines. Check your manual!
I should note here that the following instructions are necessarily vague. Obviously I can’t give detailed instructions on how to set up every Wi-Fi router ever made, so I’m just going to try to give a nice overview that should help you get started.
Alrighty, where were we… Ah yes: After logging in, you’ll want to find something like “Wireless Configuration”. Sometimes you first have to go into a “Configure” page, and then you’ll see the link to configure the Wi-Fi settings.
The basic Wi-Fi settings page will probably include things like Mode, Band, ESSID, and Channel. The only one you should really have to pay any attention to is the ESSID. The ESSID is the name of the network that you will need later in order to set up the connection on your computer.
Once you’ve poked around the basic Wi-Fi settings, you’ll want to then locate the “Advanced” or “Security” options, and find some mention of WEP and WPA2.
You’ll want to make sure that the system is NOT using WEP, and is instead configured to use WPA2. This is often listed as:

• WPA2-PSK
• WPA2-Personal

“PSK” stands for “Pre-Shared Key”. “Personal” refers to the same thing. This is the mode you’ll want to use, since you probably don’t have a Wi-Fi authentication server on hand since you aren’t a giant corporation. The “Personal” or “Pre-Shared Key” part basically just means that you’ll enter a secret code, which you will then have to use to access the network from your computer the first time you connect to the wireless router/access point.
There will probably be some sub-options to go along with your choice of WPA2. If you are given the choice of AES, TKIP, or AES+TKIP, choose AES. TKIP is an outdated encryption scheme, whereas AES is relatively secure. You might want to pick AES+TKIP to maintain backwards compatibility if you’ve got some computers with older Wi-Fi cards and/or drivers. If you can, it’s better to upgrade your Wi-Fi cards/drivers in the old-school computer!
At this point, find the “passphrase” or “password” or “code” box or whatever they’re calling it, and type in your Top Secret Code. Make it something good – the longer the better. In fact, you’ll probably want to check out my post on creating secure passwords. Note that you will not have to type this code in every single time you connect to your wireless network, so it’s actually better if it’s much longer than a normal password.
Okay, you’re almost done.
There will be another option in the settings somewhere called “Broadcast ESSID”. If you enable this option, your Wi-Fi box will sit there and advertise itself continuously to the whole world. In other words, it will send out its identifier to computers within range saying, “Dudes! I’m a wireless network, wanna use me?” The ESSID broadcast should be turned off so that people can’t even see that you have a Wi-Fi network running. When you go somewhere public and suddenly you can see available wireless networks, that’s because the Wi-Fi access point is broadcasting its ESSID.
One last thing to do: Find the Wi-Fi option called something like “Access Control” or “ACL”. This page will give you a screen that allows you to enable Wi-Fi access for only specific Wi-Fi adapters. What you want to do is allow only those MAC addresses that you enter. A MAC (Media Access Control) address is like an IP address, except that it’s supposed to be unique to the specific Wi-Fi adapter in your computer. Even if two computers have the same make and model of network adapter, their MAC addresses should be different. To find the MAC address of your Wi-Fi adapter in Windows, do this:

1. Open a command prompt window (Win-R, then type cmd, then hit enter)
2. Type ipconfig /all and then hit enter
3. Find the section with a “Description” that involves the terms “wireless” or “WiFi” or “802.11″
4. Underneath the “Description”, there will be a “Physical Address” line with something that looks like: 01-2A-4F-16-97-B4
5. Write that weird-looking string of characters down – it’s your Wi-Fi adapters MAC address!

Now, back in your router’s Access Control configuration page, enter your MAC address and allow it access. You have just configured your router to only accept Wi-Fi connections from your specific wireless card in your specific computer. No one else will be able to access it, even if they have your ESSID and Top Secret Code. You’ll need to repeat the above MAC-address-finding procedure for all computers that you want to allow to access to your Wi-Fi network.
Now you can save your router’s configuration. Usually it will make you reboot the gizmo. Let it reboot.
When it’s done, go into your OS and set up a new WiFi connection. Be sure to select the option “Connect even if network is not broadcasting” or something along those lines. That tells your computer that your Wi-Fi router or access point is not broadcasting its ESSID, so it will have to just take your word for it and try to connect anyway. When the ESSID broadcast is turned off, your wireless network will not show up when your computer searches for local wireless networks! Don’t worry, it will still work since you’ve set everything up brilliantly.
In Windows XP and Vista, you’ll have to set up a wireless network manually since the ESSID is not being received by your computer. You’ll have to select WPA2-Personal, enter the ESSID, choose AES for the encryption, tell windows to connect even if your router isn’t broadcasting, and finally enter your Top Secret Code. Then, try to connect!
If it doesn’t work, don’t panic. One thing you can do is remove the MAC address Access Control and re-enable the ESSID broadcast. This will allow the network to show up automatically on your computer, and you’ll be able to connect more easily. Once you have connected, disconnect, change the settings in the router back to the way they were before (no ESSID broadcast, MAC access control on), and try again after tweaking your wireless connection settings on your computer to account for the now-enabled “no ESSID broadcast” option. This is a good way to troubleshoot in case your computer has bigger problems like a bad Wi-Fi card, a wonky driver, etc.
Okay, so this all sounds really complicated. And, well, it kind of is complicated the first time you do it. But there is a good reason for all of it.
First, you are using WPA2 with AES, which is far more secure than WEP. Then you added to that the “do not broadcast ESSID”, which basically put your Wi-Fi network into “stealth mode”. And then, on top of all that, you have another layer of protection in the form of MAC address-based access control. If you successfully set all this up, your wireless network will be far more secure than most out there! And then you can go tell everyone what a genius you are!
Finally, a few notes about real security vs. imagined security…
Assume that any publicly available encryption scheme is easily hacked by those with the proper tools. You are never 100% safe. You have never been 100% safe, so this shouldn’t come as a shock to you. You could keel over dead in the middle of this sentence. Such is life.
Also, MAC addresses are not a bulletproof way to identify a computer’s network hardware. MAC addresses can be “spoofed”, i.e. changed. Theoretically, I could change the MAC address of my laptop’s Wi-Fi adapter so that it looks like your laptop as far as your router is concerned.
And just because your Wi-Fi router/access point isn’t broadcasting doesn’t mean that people can’t see it – if they know how! It just means that most people can’t see it.
That’s the whole point of this exercise: you are making your Wi-Fi connection as secure as possible in order to make yourself less of a target to annoying people who want to cause you trouble. You won’t be surfing inside an impenetrable force field or anything like that. You will simply be safer than most people, not only because you have multiple layers of basic protection, but also because you have a lot more knowledge about how these things work.
A little knowledge can go a long way!

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Windows 7 File Sharing: Fixing the “Entire User Directory Shared” Problem

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There are many things to love about Windows 7. It truly is “Vista done right”, sad as that may be. But it ain’t perfect.
One of the most common problems, as I recently discovered, is that you tell Win 7 to share only your Public directories, but it doesn’t quite listen. Due to some apparent bug that is at least present in the Release Candidate build of Win 7, sometimes the OS will share your entire Users directory, which includes your Public files/folders. That means ALL your files are shown to the whole world on your LAN – not just the your public folders.
Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to fix this little problem once you know a few little bits of information…

I know, I know – you shouldn’t have to dig into the guts of file sharing and permissions. It should “just work”. Well, don’t feel bad. Try sharing some directories with the whole world on a Mac or Linux box without a password, and you will quickly find yourself delving into the horrors of Samba config files. At least Win 7 doesn’t make you do that sort of frustrating crapola. Count your blessings.
Anyhow, here’s how Windows 7 shares stuff: There is a Users directory, typically C:\Users. Under this Users directory is the directory for your user account, which we’ll say is C:\Users\Scottie. Then there is also another subfolder for publicly-shared directories: C:\Users\Public. Pretty easy, right?
Normally, yes. But sometimes, when you use the Win 7 GUI – the “Network and Sharing Center” – your C:\Users\Public folder is shared, AND your entire C:\Users\Scottie folder (“Scottie” will be different in your case) will also be shared, much to your dismay. Nevertheless, Windows will still tell you via the GUI that only your Public folders are shared. Oops.
You might think that you can simply right-click the Users folder, look at the Sharing tab, and just sort things out quickly and easily. Unfortunately, it isn’t quite so simple. In Windows 7, file sharing depends on two things: the file sharing settings, and the folder’s permissions.
So, if you want to keep your Public shared, but hide the files under your personal Users directory, here’s how to do it…
Step 1 is to hide the entire C:\Users directory:

1. Open Explorer and right-click on the C:\Users folder and select Properties.
2. Click the Sharing tab, and then click the Advanced Sharing button (NOT the “Share…” button!!)
3. Click the Permissions button, select “Everyone”, and then clear the checkboxes for “Full Control”, “Change”, and “Read”.
4. Click OK, and then clear the “Share this folder” check box in the Advanced Sharing window.
5. Click OK, and then close the Properties window

At this point, you will have successfully unshared the entire Users directory, including the Public dir and all its subdirectories. You can verify this by connecting to your computer from another machine on the LAN.
Okeydokey. Now, if you want to make your Public dir show up again, just do the following:

1. Open Explorer and go to C:\Users.
2. Right-click on the Public folder and select Properties.
3. Click the Sharing tab, and then click the Advanced Sharing button (again, NOT the “Share…” button!)
4. Click “Share this folder” and give it a Share Name of “Public”
5. Click the Permissions button, select “Everyone”, and then make sure to check the boxes for “Full Control”, “Change”, and “Read”. If you only want people to be able to read the files in your Public dirs, just check “Read”.
6. Click OK, OK, and the close the Properties window.

You’re done! Note that when you share/unshare folders, you’ll probably have to wait a moment or two while the permissions on all the files and folders are changed. In any case, you can now go once again to another computer on your local network and verify that only your Public folder is shared.
This little trick is also useful if you’d like to set up file sharing the way it worked in Vista. In Vista, when only your public was shared, it would show up on the network as: \\Scottie\Public
In Windows 7, Microsoft for some reason decided it would be more fun to confuse everyone by changing the network path to: \\Scottie\Users\Public
Because, ya know, confusing changes like that always help everyone!
But, no worries – you can now make 7 work like Vista, and anyone on your LAN with your drives mapped will actually see your files again instead of an error when you upgrade from Vista to 7.
Have fun!

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