Search Engine Redirect fix

     Recently I was asked to help a neighbor with a PC problem.  I grabbed my handy flashdrive full of goodies and walked down the street.
     I have a philosophy about software problems, I don't reinstall windows.  I believe all problems are actually fixable.  Not a popular philosophy but I think repairing someones computer means they should have to reinstall all their software again when you're done.  If you are a real expert you shouldn't have to take the "lazy techs" way out.
     His problem was in his search engine.  Every search he did redirected to an ad site, it is actually pretty clever the sites are related to the search.  I ran spybot and Malware bytes and found nothing, and I searched the internet and found no answers.  So as a last resort I looked up reviews of other anti-spyware.  Hitman had positive reviews and a 30-day free license so I tried it out. almost imediately the problem was found and repaired.
     So that being said I added the Hitman install to my flashdrive, and its part of my rotation of malware removal tools.
     The search engine redirect worked on all browsers and all search engines.  Just use Hitman Pro if you find it because it will save you some time.

http://www.surfright.nl/en

Fun with Chatroulette. How to get UnBanned.

    Well Chatroulette.com is the next big thing.  You and a stranger...judging each other in milliseconds.  I must say I get "nexted" all day long.  I guess I just don't look like a person people want to talk to.  Its an ego crusher.
    Well what can we do to exploit this social experiment for fun and profit.  A softcam is a good start.  Softcam cam is a piece of software that emulates a webcam without having one.  I use ManyCam.  It broadcasts picture or video files as your webcam.  Somedays I play Fight Club for the pleasure of the kind people of Chatroulette.com, but you can play anything you heart desires.  Remember to get rid of the ManyCam logo in the text section of effects (uncheck ManyCam logo).
    Recently I was broadcasting as Optimus Prime and got banned.  Apparently if you get "reported F2" by enough people it bans you from broadcasting.  I was angry the site is full of naked men but Optimus Prime gets banned  I call shenanigans.
    I have a simple solution to unban yourself.  Start Chatroulette.com and you will get the ban message but you click ok and allow your cam.  Then right click on your cam window and choose settings.  A small window will open, click one the folder icon at the bottom of this window.  Now a slider will show up in the window, move it to 0.  It will warn you this will cause saved info for Chatroulette.com to be removed(GOOD). Click OK and then close.  Congratz  you are unbanned.
   Remember no one wants to see you naked...I'm talking to the guys. So please use this technique for good not wanking.  I only reveal this because I was wrongfully banned and it pissed me off.

UPDATE:  This post is over a year old.  If they are banning IP's you need to use proxies or get you ISP to renew your IP.  Most ISP's dont give static IPs so there are techniques for getting them to issue new ones.

Pulling music off of an iPhone.

    In a previous post I told you how to use iTunes with a non apple device.  Now in the next question is how do you pull music off your iPhone if it doesn't exist on your computer.  I have found a couple of options depending on your setup.
    If your iPhone is jail-broken there is a free app called iPhonebrowser. You have to install the afc2add app from Cydia(this is for jail-broken phones only).
    The other option is a xplay. Its not a free program, but it has a 15 day trial.  This worked well for my non jail-broken iPhone.  It wouldn't let me copy the entire music folder, but I went inside the music folder and copied all those folders. 
    Now you can pull you music held hostage by Apple and put it on your Android phone...or anywhere you want it.

Bootable Windows USB Thumbdrive

    In a previous post I told you how to make a Linux bootable usb thumb drive. Ive been working with ways to use windows 7 bootdisks and found an easy way to do it with Vista and Windows 7.
    Step one format the thumbdrive you want to use to NTFS filesystem.(right click on the thumbdrive in "My Computer" and choose format.  Make sure you choose NTFS filesystem and choose ok)

    Then in the start menu right click on the "command prompt" and choose "run as administrator".

    Next in the "command prompt" type "diskpart" then enter.

    Then type "list disk".  The results will tell you which Disk the thumbdrive is(Disk X).

    Now type "select disk X" (X is the number displayed for thumbdrive)

    Type "list partition" (it will display a partition number probably 1)

    Next type "select partition 1"(or whatever partition you choose)

    Then you take all the files from a boot cd/image and put them in a folder you create, and know the path to.  (c:\windows7 in my case)

    Now in a new "command prompt" type cd \windows7\boot (this is the path to your folder for your files windows disks will have a boot folder)

    Then type bootsect /nt60 X:  (X is the partition letter of your thumbdrive)

    Now copy the contents of your boot cd/image you put in that folder directly to the thumbdrive.

This worked great for my windows 7 install image.  Now its on a bootable thumbdrive.

Using Google as a resource for computer problems.

    If you are like me you already know how great Google is, but I am finding most people don't realize how robust a tool it really is.  I start with Google as a jumping off point for any research I do.
    Computer errors you don't understand can be solved quickly by simply searching them.  I find that when an error pops up, typing it into the search word for word brings up the exact answer you need.  If the problem exists odds are someone else has had it also.
    Forums that Google crawls will pop up with solutions to your specific problems.  I find being adept with Google solves 90% of my tech problems.   Being persistent pays off if the answer doesn't present itself right away. 

Using iTunes with an Android phone.

   Recently I ran into my cousin who was complaining about his iPhone.  I asked him why he didn't switch to an Android phone, His answer was he didn't want to lose all his music off iTunes.  We can't have that, so I offered to find him a way to us iTunes with an Android phone.
    I had heard of an app on sourceforge.net(I love sourceforge) a while ago so I went looking.  Searching the word iTunes on Sourceforge.net I found iTunes Agent.  It runs in the background and puts a device you setup on iTunes.  This sweet little proggy will do what he needs.
    You need iTunes on your PC, and the latest Microsoft .NET framework.  Install iTunes Agent.  Once installed open the preferences and chose the "New Device" button. I named it Android but you can call it whatever you want(maybe the name of you phone).  The "Synchronize pattern" I left as iTunes. For the "Music Location" and "Recogonize by" field I chose a folder I named Music on my phone(I'm assuming your phone is plugged in). The last field I left default, you use this to limit what gets put on if you are worried about your phone getting full.  Now I clicked "Save Device".
    Now iTunes Agent should be running in your task bar.  Right click on it and select "Synchronize devices"
this will put all music on you phone.

Preferences break-down:
click "New device"
"Name"-What you want to call device.
"Synchronize pattern"-Order of music on your device.
"Music location on device"-Folder where your music needs to be on the device.
"Recognize by folder/file"-Folder where agent will install a necessary file on the device.
"Associate with playlist"- Playlist device will sync with.
 Click "Save device"

Download iTunes Agent Here

Don't Pay to Much for HDMI Cables.

    When I purchased my Playstation3 I grabbed one of the HDMI cables on the shelf right next to the systems.  At the register I almost pooped a little when it scanned at $69.99.  I politely told the clerk that i wouldn't be taking that, which was my way of saying FU.  I went to a neighboring store and found that prices weren't much better.  Cheap ones were $40.
    Like with most situations I decided the internet would have the answers.  I found that I could get a cheap 10' cable for under $10.  I had to wait 5 days but I couldn't pay so much for something that should be one-fourth the price.
     The cable arrived and worked amazingly.  The reason theses stores sell them for so much is because consumers are willing to pay it.  The same used to be true for USB cables as well, not as much these days. Don't get taken advantage of.

Turning an old wireless router into a wireless access point

  In my lan party essentials blog I mentioned a router I turned into a wireless bridge.  I chose this option because the xbox wifi adapter is $100 for each Xbox.  For $20 you can turn an older router into a bridge and give 4 xboxes a wireless internet connection.

    The first thing I did was buy an old router of craigslist  (Ebay has good prices aswell). Now you need to make sure the router is flashable and compatible with dd-wrt in the supported devices list. Mine is a Linksys wrt54g, probably the most popular router for this kind of project. (note:I used 2 browsers and when it didn't load right in the first browser I tried the second. switching back and forth worked good.)
    Once I followed the directions to get it installed, I changed the settings to bridge to my wireless gateway.  I followed these instructions.  Worked great for my AT&T  U-verse.

For U-verse the gateway IP is 192.168.1.254, so use this in place of 192.168.1.1

What have you done for me lately Iphone.

    Ive had an iPhone for a couple of years now, and its OS is a beautiful thing.  Apple has the most elegant and beautiful code by far.  That being said, I'm a power user.  I need to be able to do whatever I want with the phone including tethering and multitasking.
    Ive tried the G1 in the past and it was a great phone. In fact the only reason I got rid of it is because it was worth more than my iPhone in resale value.  Android is a little bit harder to use, but for a power user its abilities are amazing.
    I am going to go with the Nexus 1 as soon as my contract with AT&T is up.  I need more from my phone and the Nexus is jammed full of hardware with an OS I know will do what I want.  The camera is amazing and it has an SD slot for expandable memory.
    I think Apple needs to realize the we as consumers are tired of "nerfed" products and if they would just let something do all its capable of we will eat it up.

Media Server Revisted

The first time I tried using my media server the playback continuosly stopped and loaded. My spare parts server was under powered for Windows Media Player 11 and PlayOn. Whats a man to do, spend money on more memory? No BlackViper it.
BlackViper.com is a website that has mapped out the service components on windows operating systems. This is awesome because there is alot of them and you don't need most of them. But windows loads them and runs them for you anyway, Thanks windows.
I followed the directions for windows service pack 3 "tweaked", and found my windows media player 11 wasn't sharing to my PS3. I looked at the windows media component to see its dependencies(components it depends on to work properly), and found 3. I turned those three to automatic and BLAM I was in business.
Now I have save enough system resources that my play back is perfect on my PS3, without buying anything more for the machine. Thank you BlackViper.

Components to turn to Automatic.(for XP Service pack 3)
HTTP SSL
UPnP discovery service
SSDP device host
http://bbs.blackviper.com/index.php?topic=2422.0

Building a Media Server

I've been using my lappy as a media server for my Xbox360 and my PS3, not ideal. Every time it went to sleep or I rebooted my wife had to restart her movie. So I decided to take an old XP machine and use it as a media server.
I put a 300 gig harddrive in it and did a fresh install of XP. I then downloaded all updates. I also downloaded PlayOn and Windows Media Player 11. PlayOn isn't free but it allows you to watch streaming web content(HULU, Youtube, and Revision3). Windows Media Player 11 has built in media server. You have to click on library> Media Sharing> Share My Media, then your xbox or playstation will show up in the window you just have to activate them.
Once the server is setup just fill it up with movies and enjoy. I used and old machine for mine. you should check system requirements for PlayOn and Windows Media Player 11.

Specs on the old PC:
AMD sempron 1.6Ghz
512 MB memory
PCCHIPS Micro ATX(using onboard video)
300GB harddrive
Pretty old tech, nothing special.

XBOX 360 Lan Party Essentials

I have loved LAN parties for years now. My friends and I get together and stay up all night shooting. Originally we all built LAN party machines or gaming rigs just to carry around, but the gaming world has changed. Now we all have our XBOX 360 setups.

We use XBOX 360 VGA cables to hook them to monitors. I bought my cable from Amazon for under $10. Then for sound I use Turtle Beach X1 XBOX 360 headset $60, I found mine for $35 search around for a good deal. Together these two Items give you everything you need to play without a TV.

Now providing network connectivity I chose a wireless bridge. In the past we ran a wired router and a 75 foot Ethernet cable. Someone gave me an old Linksys wifi router and I used DD-WRT to flash the firmware. Once connected to the internet we party together through XBOX Live

Everyone needs to have a copy of the same game. We use gamefly to rent and plan our next games together. Then we have blast.

Creating A Bootable USB Drive

Creating a bootable USB thumb drive has always been a little complicated. Sometimes it worked for me and sometimes it proved to be difficult. Lili USB Creator (http://www.linuxliveusb.com/) allows you to easily create a bootable USB drive from your favorite Linux distribution. If you haven't use Linux before, don't be scared it's pretty easy to use these days. You use this to boot your computer into another operating system without changing anything existing on your PC. If you have a virus you just cant get rid of you can use this to get rid of it.
All you need is a thumb drive and Lili USB Creator. The program will even download the version of Linux you choose. I chose Knoppix 6.2, it has great features built in and its easy to use. I used a 2gb thumb drive and set "persistence" to 500mb, this gives you room to install and make changes later.
Once my drive was created, I booted from it and installed and antivirus program called BitDefender (http://www.bitdefender.com/), it runs from Linux but scans Windows drives as well. Knoppix comes with gparted and testdisk already, so now I have a great set of bootable utilities.

Dell OEM XP on a Non Dell PC

After the demise of my Dell laptop I needed to salvage what I could. I saved the hard drive and put it in an USB enclosure. All the other hardware was a loss so whats left? It has a legit XP PRO key right on the bottom.
Some of you may already know this but it was news to me. The OEM keys that large manufacturers put on their machines are not in the range of keys that work with off the shelf copies of the XP software. This is apparently part of the EULA so the software dies with the machine.
I researched google for a day trying to find a work around and couldn't find any useful info. So I found an ISO of the company's OEM install disk and I expanded it into a folder with my Ubuntu(Linux) machine using the archive manager(Aparrently ISOBuster works for windows). I then used nLite (windows application) on the expanded folder to create a usable boot disk of the folder I created. I'm sure there are other ways to do this but this worked perfectly for me. I only use this for legitimate purposes, key from a machine that I own for my own use.
I can use this disk to reinstall on machines with out all the extra OEM garbage manufacturers like to install on their PCs.

Aftermarket Laptop Battery Fail.

I am a frugal guy...Ok I'm super cheap. When I decided to buy myself a laptop I set my budget at $150 :)) I knew I could find a used one, low prices on new laptops have made them almost disposable. So I bought one from craigslist for $100. I actually talked him down in price, it needed a new battery.
New OEM batteries were over $80, ridiculous. I searched on amazon.com (a third party seller) and found an aftermarket one for $35, perfect and under budget. Everything was great for about three weeks, then the battery stopped holding a charge.

I couldn't find any warranty information for the battery, and didn't get any replies from the seller. I decided I made a bad choice on the battery and continued to use the laptop in its less portable plugged in state.

After a few weeks of normal use, I set the laptop on my bed and pushed the power button. Nothing happened for a second, then a hiss. I was at a loss, I had never heard a hiss from a PC before. Then a small amount of smoke came out of the vents. I was more angry than freaked out, until the explosion. It literally burst into flames with a loud bang. I instinctively dove beside my bed. I came up slowly to see what happened. The computer and part of my bed was on fire. When it started to pop again I threw it across the room. Then a second louder explosion. I put out the bed and ran for water to put out the laptop.

It was all over when I doused the PC with water. I learned something about the explosive nature of lithium ion batteries. When you are told they can explode they can really explode. I will never go cheap on batteries again.