05 Thursday Apr 2012
Since September 2011, over 600,000 Macs have been affected with the Flashback Trojan. The malware pretends to be Adobe’s Flash installer. After installation, the malware will gather personal information such as username and passwords and send them back to a remote server.
A further guide here will tell you how to detect and remote it.
15 Thursday Mar 2012
To correctly setup Remote Web Access, the router must open the ports for HTTP and HTTPS services. If the router supports UPnP standard then it is possible that Microsoft can automatically set it up correctly. Most modern routers do anyway. But in most cases, you need to manually enable it first. Microsoft Technet has run a very useful article and have some screenshots showing you how to enable it. It is well worth the time to read through it if you wish to set up the server correctly.
Some routers may have already had preset values for the HTTP and HTTPS services. In that case, it will save you time to enter the numbers. Just make sure you have enabled BOTH of them, and the device name (which is your wireless router, for example) is correct. Unassign and then reassign when necessary.
If your network, like mine, has more than two routers, then you need to setup UPnP in the router that connects to telephone or cable socket. After that, you also need to make sure WHS 2011 has pointed to the router (e.g. the wireless router, which is normally the one that is physically connected to the server). Most modern routers should have set this up automatically if the UPnP services has been enabled.
13 Tuesday Mar 2012
Posted in Apple, IPad, OS X, Server Apps
Siri has been a hit on iPhone 4S. Other iOS devices haven’t had much luck. Apple said that they might consider opening Siri to other iOS devices but it has not given any timeline. For those who cannot wait, this following description is a possibility. The good thing is that you will have fully functional Siri. The downside, however, is that its performance is a bit patchy.
There are two ways to get Siri to work. One is to use Siri Proxy Server and the other is not. You will need a jailbroken iOS device running 5.0.1 and above.
I will go through the method with Siri Proxy Server in step by step.
First, you need to launch Cydia and search for an app called Spire. Obviously, install the app and restart your device as required.
Next, go to Settings -> Spire. Enter https://i4sirifree.mooo.com/ (notice the three o’s).
Now, launch Safari and open the following website http://i4siri.com/installcertificate.html
You will receive some warnings. Just confirm the installation regardless if you wish to use Siri. (As of press, there is no report of any security bleach. I am not associated with the developer in any way so I can be certain that it will never happen.)
After completing the installation, go back to Settings -> General -> Siri to activate Siri.
Once do
ne, come back to the home screen. Press and Hold the Home button and say “Hi Siri”.
Whenever you need Siri, just press and the Home button. That is it.
You can also find a separate guide here. The guide shows a slightly different process.
For a list of other Siri Proxy Host server if the above one is not working, this is it.
Other than Spire, there are other similar apps such as Siriport (add new Cydia source: repo.siriport.ru) or AssistantConnect. More information can be found here and here.
Lastly, for those who are super adventurous and blessed with advanced technical skills, you can create your own Siri Proxy server. You can find instruction here.
20 Monday Feb 2012
Tags
Bootcamp, Disk Utility, installation, Mac, NTFS, OS X, unmounted, Windows
One of the most useful features on Mac OS X is Bootcamp.
Bootcamp allows a user to create a partition in which a secondary operating system such as Windows or Linux can be installed. Many people install a Windows operating system on it. However, some users complained that after a while the bootcamp partition has become unusable. Further details include:
– files in the bootcamp partition are simply inaccessible, regardless any Paragon NTFS, or NTFS-3G, MacFuse, etc are installed or not
– in disk utility, the bootcamp is shown unmounted and it cannot be mounted
– WinClone cannot find the Windows partition and hence cannot clone the Windows partition
– Parallels and other virtual machines cannot find the bootcamp partitions either.
This problem happens across Windows 7, Vista, Windows XP, etc and Mac OS X 10.7 and 10.6 (and possibly more). Some people blamed this to the installation of NTFS access software or virtual machines software.
The root cause of the problem, could very well be the way that Windows was installed in bootcamp. During Windows installation, it will give you a list of drives for you select where the new OS will be resided. One of the drives should be labeled BOOTCAMP. DO NOT DELETE THIS DRIVE. Just click on the drive and format it in order to proceed. Again, Do NOT DELETE this drive. Once the drive is deleted, the new Windows partition WILL NOT be accessible from within OS X. It can still be accessed through the startup menu (by pressing the ALT key while hearing the startup chime).
20 Monday Feb 2012
To fight piracy, DVD are protected from being copied. Whether it is fair or not, I will not discuss here. However, the restriction can create a problem to legitimate DVD owners. When the original copy has been lost, damaged, scratched or simply unreadable, DVD owners have to buy a second copy of the same media.
There are other ways. It is possible to create a backup copy and it will take two steps.
First, use MTR 4 from RipDifferent.com to extract the DVD content from a protected DVD. Will add more detailed screenshots. Save the extracted content in a folder.
Second, burn all the contents in the folder with Roxio Toast. Again more screen shots will follow.
Now you have a copy of your beloved DVD.
31 Tuesday Jan 2012
It is possible that sometimes you need to make some modifications to pdf document. Because Acrobat is not primarily a word processor, these functions may not be as obvious. This article will tell you how. (Some of these changes may only appear in the full Acrobat X, but not in the reader only installation. Although this is written for Acrobat X, it is possible that that similar steps will be applicable to Acrobat 9 or even Acrobat 8).
There are two ways to create a text box, by the typewriter function or through adding a comment. The typewriter can be found under Tools -> Content -> Add or Edit Text Box. This feature is good for adding text at open white space. There is no way to change the background.
If you need a text box in which its size can be made larger or smaller according to your requirement, and you can change the background to over-write certain area, then you need to add a text box through the Comment menu. So go to Comment -> Drawing Markup, and select the square icon with a capital letter T in it.
If you need to change the format of the box, you need to hightlight the box first. You know that it is being highlighted if you can see eight tiny squares on the sides and corners of the text box area. You can right click inside the box and select Properties in the pop up menu.
To change the fonts of the text, however, you need to first highlight the texts themselves. You can now either press ‘cmd+E’ on the keyboard OR move the mouse to the empty gray areas on the menu bars and then a right click and select Properties Bar. Now a new window titled Text Box Text Properties will appear near the top of the file. You can change the fonts, color, spacing, alignment, sizes, etc as long as the texts are highlighted.
To draw a square to mask an area on a pdf file, you need to go to Comment -> Drawing Markups again. You can then choose the square icon without the letter T in it. Once rectangle is drawn, highlight it and press ‘cmd+E’ or the mouse, following exactly the same steps as indicated above. Now you can change the box properties and even set your change as the default. Now the next time when you draw a rectangle or square, you do not have to repeat making change to the format again and again.
Hope this helps!
30 Monday Jan 2012
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
cdr file, cdr files, iso file, iso format, iso joliet, mac os x
It is a good practice to keep a backup copy of a CD or DVD in case they are scratched or lost. On Mac OS X, it is very easy to create a CD / DVD image. The usual format is .cdr, .img or .iso. It should be the .iso format image can also be made Windows compatible.
To start, obviously you need to insert the CD/DVD into optical drive first.
Open Disk Utility in the Applications -> Utilities folder.
On the left hand side under SuperDrive, verify that it shows the name of the CD/DVD that you have just inserted. Click on the CD/DVD name so that it is highlighted.
Go to the menu bar on the top of the screen, and select File -> New -> Disk Image from “[THE CD/DVD NAME]”
Now give a name in the textbox after Save As: and change the location (remember where you have put it) when necessary. Under Image Format, change the value to DVD/CD master. Once it is ready, click Save.
Now a progress bar will show and that you can see a .cdr file is being created.
Wait until it is finished, then open Terminal in Application -> Utilities -> Terminal
In the terminal, first change the directory to where the .cdr file has been created. For example, if it is in the Documents folder, type
cd Documents
or it is at the Desktop, then type
cd Desktop
After you hit enter, you can type the following command in the next line.
hdiutil makehybrid -iso -joliet -o [filename].iso [filename].cdr
You can give a new filename for the .iso file. But you have to write the same filename as you have created for the .cdr file.
Open Finder and navigate to the folder to verify that both the iso and cdr files are there. Now you can safely delete the .cdr file, and have an .iso that can be read by both Windows and Mac OS X.
23 Monday Jan 2012
WHS 2011 has a handy app called Launchpad (do not confuse this with the LaunchPad that comes with Lion) for connecting from a Mac.It does three things:
1. Connect your computer to the server.
2. Monitor the health of your computer.
3. Manage your server using this computer.
4. Backup through TimeMachine
5. Remote Web Access (with the correct setup)
Due to the two apps have exactly the same name, users have problem with the installation of the WHS 2011 Launchpad. When they try to install the app, the installation console will suggest that the app has already been installed (in which it has confused with the LaunchPad that comes with Lion). See the last comment from NightFox for the solution.
Adding to that, if you do not like the LaunchPad from Lion to be called LaunchPad copy, you can rename it to something more friendlier by opening up the Application folder and highlight the filename (keep the mouse pointer stay on the file name). After about half a second delay, a rectangle will appear on the name. Click the mouse again to see the cursor and modify the name as you wish. Click somewhere after finishing renaming that you will have a friendly name.
03 Thursday Nov 2011
While many reasons may cause this to happen, one of them is caused by a corrupted folder structure of an external hard drive or USB stick. This problem seems to affect all Mac OS X, with a connection to a FAT32 device such as external hard drive or USB stick. It happens after files are deleted on the external hard drive or USB stick. When a user try to empty the Trash bin, OS X will show an error page and force the system to shut down.
The problem is caused by the corruption of the folder structure on the external hard drive or USB stick. The corruption is normally caused by accidental or abrupt disconnection of the memory device without ejecting it properly through the system.
To solve the problem, first connect the device to a Windows system, and then use the command chkdsk [drive] /f to correct the corrupted file structure. You need to first open a command prompt on the Windows system first. To do that, type cmd in the search box.After using the chkdsk comment, delete the files on the Windows system if possible.
If chkdsk does not correct the problem, try the instruction on this page
If the operation is successful, you should be able to empty the Trash now.
22 Monday Nov 2010
Apple iOS 4.2 has been released on 22 November (Monday), from 6PM BST. It boosts over 100 new features, including the long awaited ‘multi-tasking’ feature and AirPrint. For those who has an Apple TV, you will now be able to stream media files to your TV. One more important feature in iOS 4.2 for all devices, including iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone, is the ability to locate a lost or stolen device. Also, a person can remotely lock and wipe the data from a lost device. It is a great feature but we will see if it opens a can of worm. Just imagine you have bought a new iPad and the original owner has reported it lost. Go figure the chaos. This is a 550Mb update so do it only when you have some free time.
Techinteract's Technology Blog 