The USB is the acronym of Universal Serial Bus. The USB cable or any USB device is nowadays a very useful and important device to connect any two gadgets or machines so that they can work for sharing, transferring, inputs, outputs and many more processes. USB Cables are used to connect devices such as keyboards, digital cameras, printers, music players and several other devices. In fact, you can also connect your mobile phones to the computer or your laptop for sharing different media files such as music file, video clips etc. By connecting your mobile phone to the computer, you can also gain access to the internet and this process is known as Tethering.

For the connection of two computers, USB cable is used which has two ends having USB ports. These two USB ports are bridged with the help of a portable chip which allows the connection of two computers. There are many USB cables which are available for the connection of computers, but they are the fake ones. You should be aware before purchasing the USB to USB cable that the cable is bridged at centre point which can actually connect the two computers.

The cable is named as USB –USB bridged cable or USB networking cable. The bridged part of the cable has a small circuit inside on which the hardware is installed using embedded system which results in allowing the two computers to talk to each other. The cables which don’t have a bridged circuit between them are known as A/A USB cables which only have two USB connectors. They don’t have the ability to connect to each other. In fact, they can result in the burning of your computer’s USB port or can reduce the power supplies of them.

The process of connecting the two computers via USB cable is not a tough job to do. If you want to do this, then you easily achieve your motive. For connecting two computers, firstly you should have a USB to USB bridged cable. Now make your computer to turn on and login to the operating system by using an “Administrative account”.

Afterwards, take your USB cable and insert one end of the USB bridged cable to the USB port of the First computer and then insert the second end to the USB port of the second computer. Now you are needed to install the software which is needed for the functioning of the USB cables to connect your systems. If in the case the availability of the software is not there on the computer, you can download the software for the USB bridged cables from the website of the manufacturing company of that cable.

The software which is available for the working of the USB bridged cables are classified into two parts. One is the Link Adapter and the other is the Networking Adapter.

You have to select any of these two modes to download the software. If you want that your computers which are to be connected only have the ability to transfer files from one to the other, then you can opt for the link adapter

If you want the full accessibility from one computer to the other you can select to download the network adapter as software for the process. Now install the driver software, only in the case when your computer asks you to do so.

After completing the software installation on both the computers for the bridged cables your computers will now be able to talk to each other.

How To Connect Two Computers Using USB is a post from: Snakebytez

Computer Maintenance Step #1—Don’t Ignore Errors

I break this rule myself sometimes—although I often come to regret it. I get a computer error, whether a “blue screen of death” or something more minor, but I don’t understand what’s wrong—so I ignore it.

But ignoring computer errors is kind of like ignoring traffic signs on the roads. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, if you ignore a Yield sign or Reduced Speed Limit sign, nothing bad will happen. But that hundredth time you could get into an accident.

Taking the time to understand computer error messages—or to read traffic signs—can help you prevent serious problems later. This is one reason I love the Internet: all you need to do is write down the key points of the error message (or take a screenshot) and then search Google for the keywords later.

Google will direct you to forums or websites filled with information about the error message—what caused it, what its long-term effects are, and how to fix it. Armed with this information, you can quickly decide what to do about your problem.

Computer Maintenance Step #2—Use Anti-Virus

If you’re almost religious about using anti-virus software on your computer, you can skip this section. But if you have any doubts about why you should keep paying for anti-virus updates, please keep reading.

In the olden days we had to deal with flaky hardware and frequent operating system crashes, but today the main cause of annoying computer problems are viruses and adware that deliberately mess up your computer.

Keeping viruses off of your computer is the only way you can take advantage of the improvements in modern computing. Once a virus gets on your computer, you’ll lose your speed and your stability.

Anti-virus software saves you from the much more onerous computer maintenance task of removing a virus, so don’t ever run a computer without anti-virus software.

Computer Maintenance Step #3—Keep Backups

Every single one of the toughest computer maintenance jobs I’ve ever had to do were some form of file recovery for people—usually family—who didn’t have backups.

Making a one-off backup will probably take you less five minutes. Setting up a good backup system will probably take you about 30 minutes. But recovering files from a half-dead hard drive without a backup can easily take you 100 hours or more. (I once spent over two weeks recovering a single file.)

Computer maintenance doesn’t get any easier than making a backup—just burn your important files to a CD or put them on a portable disk drive. For better backups, sign up for an online service like Mozy.

There’s no better computer maintenance for your computer than good backups.

Computer Maintenance Step #4—Dust

My grandmother dusts her house every day. I have to admit that I’m a bit lazier than that. But I do dust one place Grandma doesn’t—I dust inside my computer.

See, one of the problems all high-performance electronics have is that they get hot. Several parts inside your computer get especially hot:

• Your CPU can get hot enough to give you third-degree burns. Dispersing that much heat is the job of the heat sink and fan over your CPU.
• Ditto for your Graphics CPU (GPU), which can get even hotter than a typical CPU.
• Your Hard Drive spins at between 5,000 and 15,000 times a minute—that’s about 100 to 300 times a second, generating a lot of heat.
• Your power supply converts the ragged alternating current power in your house into the steady direct current needed by sensitive electronics, but this conversion creates a lot of waste heat, especially in powerful gaming computers.

All of this heat needs to escape your computer, so the people who made your computer case supplied it with generous vents. But when dust covers those vents, the heat builds up inside your computer and starts to cook your computer like a slow-roasted hog.

A computer clogged with dust can go from peak operating condition to unsuitable even for spare parts in less than a month.

But you can quickly fix this problem: buy a can of compressed air, open your computer case, cover your face, and blow out all the dust. In most places, you need do this only once a year, or twice a year if you have smokers in your house.

Computer Maintenance Steps #5—Remove Unnecessary Stuff

The number one complaint I hear from computer users is that their computer slows down every year. “It was so fast when I bought it, but now it takes 10 minutes just to start up.”

The problem usually isn’t hardware—hardware usually either works at 100% or works not at all. The problem isn’t Windows—Bill Gates, though possibly evil, didn’t really sabotage Windows to force you to upgrade every 3 years.

You can find the source of this problem by asking a simple question: what has changed since you first bought the computer? For most people the answer is simple: “I installed a bunch of programs.”

Each program on your computer takes up resources even when it isn’t running. If you’re like most people and you have a bunch of programs you don’t use, try this simple computer maintenance: remove the unused programs.

Just removing unused programs can bring back much of that lost computer speed you had when you first bought your computer. It’s simple but great computer maintenance.

Guest post by Mitz Pantic

Regular computer maintenance can speed up your computer and keep your computer error free. Hardware computer maintenance will also ensure that your components last longer and save you money.

5 Steps To Great Computer Maintenance is a post from: Snakebytez

It’s not all bad news though, as computer maintenance is relatively easy to perform yourself. There are many different things that I could list when it comes to computer maintenance; however I am just going to give you five often forgotten computer maintenance tips.

#1: Clean Inside the Case

The average computer user forgets to clean the inside of their computer and does not realize that dust is building up inside day by day. This dust buildup can block your computer’s air vents, making the computer run hotter than it usually should be.

Having dust inside your computer can make your CPU hot which in turn hampers its performance. All you have to do is take 5 min of your time, unplug your computer and open the case, and blow the dust out with a simple can of compressed air. Before you proceed I suggest that you simply search in Google for some safety suggestions from a tech professional.

#2: Check The Cords

This sounds like it is a waste of time, checking the chords on your computer. However doing this can save you a lot of hassle later on. For example if you have an external hard drive connected to your computer or backup purposes, you want to make sure it is plugged in correctly so all of the data gets sent to the device. Loose cords can also make your data transfer 50% slower.

Imagine having your monitor cable just hanging in there by a thread. I have seen loose monitor cables before and they cause bent pins and faulty display.

It will only take you a couple of minutes to check your cords and make sure they are plugged in correctly.

#3: Scan For Bad RAM

Having faulty computer RAM in your computer is one of the most common causes of computer errors. Faulty RAM can cause your computer to run slow, computer error messages, or can stop your computer’s from starting at all.

There is an easy solution to all of this that many computer users neglect this part of their computer maintenance. All you have to do is download the free memtest86 which is a RAM scanner. You do not have to be a computer technician to find out that you have bad RAM.

#4: Check the Disk

Your hard disk drive is the major component in your computer as it stores all of your files. Hard disk drives have moving parts, and we all know that moving parts eventually fail. They are not made with a lifetime guarantee.

Therefore, just like checking your memory, we also need to check the hard disk drive inside your computer. Again you will simply have to download a program such as DiskCheckup to get a report on the health of your hard drive. You can also go to the manufacturer’s website where they will also offer a diagnostic tool for your hard drive. For example if you have a Western Digital hard drive then that company will probably have a diagnostic tool for that.

#5: Fix Error Messages

Did you know that when most computer users have a major computer problem, they had already viewed error messages or warning messages prior to this? For example people might see a blue screen appear and their computer might shut down. The problem is they do not act on this because they simply restart their computer and forget about it.

An important part of computer maintenance is to act on any error messages that you see and get them repaired as soon as possible. The computer is warning you that something is wrong and you should not ignore it.

About the Author: Hi my name is Mitz from http://tips4pc.com and I enjoy the teaching people how to perform their own computer maintenance in order to keep their computer running in tiptop condition. I also love sharing computer tips and tricks in an easy to understand way.

Five Often Forgotten Computer Maintenance Tips is a post from: Snakebytez

The key combination differs depending on your browser.

•       Windows + Chrome use “ALT + Shortcut Key”
•       Windows + Firefox use “ALT + SHIFT + shortcut Key”
•       Windows + Internet Explorer use “ALT + Shortcut Key”
•       OSX + Firefox use “Function + CTRL + Shortcut Key”
•       OSX + Other use “Option + CTRL + Shortcut Key”

Here is the list of the shortcut keys:

So If you’re using Firefox and you wish to send a message, on Facebook page simple press ALT+SHIFT+M

Facebook Keyboard Shortcuts is a post from: Snakebytez

This feature was added few months ago but still many users unaware of it. Follow these steps and start multi-account browsing without logging in and out.

1. sign into you Gmail account and go to the “Gmail account settings” on top right of the page.

2. On the settings page, Under Personal Settings > Multiple sign-in, Click Edit. 

3. Now, at the multiple sessions page check the radio button which says “On – Use multiple Google Accounts in the same web browser” and Click the Save button.

4. You will get a message: Your account information has been updated and saved. and you are done.

Start using two or more accounts on same browser, Select your desired account by clicking the arrow next to your address on top right of your page.

This new feature works with Google Calendar, Google Reader, Google Voice, Google Finance, Google Sites, Google Code and Gmail. Offline Mail and Offline Calendar will be disabled and you may lose any unsent mail.

UPDATE: Lately Google made some changes in interface and added a navigation bar on top, so you won’t see the Blue Down Arrow as in Step 4. Now you have to click the “Switch Account” button for the same.

After entering additional account’s credentials the  account switching options will look like this.

Open Multiple Gmail accounts in same browser is a post from: Snakebytez

• More than 500 million active users.
• 50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day.
• Average user has 130 friends.
• People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook.

On Facebook usually you add more people through suggestions, buddies on Facebook games, lost school/college friends, new friends around you, etc. The number of friends in your list goes on increasing, but have you noticed friends list going down? You sure would like know who un-friend’s you? Who deactivated their account?

Twitter has an option to find out who is Un-following you. Facebook however has no such option yet. But you can still find out using a Script to know who secretly deleted you off their list.

Unfriend Finder is a simple script that provides all its users to know which one of their friends are unfaithful.
The script betrays the contacts that removed you, despite the Facebook’s transparency on these "Unfriend".
One the script added, you will be able to discover which of your contacts are your old "friends" virtual.
The script can show people who disappeared after installing it, it is NOT retroactive.

Let’s get started:

1. If you are a Google Chrome / Chromium user Simply download the Unfriend Finder extension here and start using.

Firefox users need to install the Greasemonkey Add-on. Install and restart browser.

2. Install Unfriend Finder script.

3. Once the script is installed. Login to Facebook. The Unfriend Finder settings window will pop up. Just go clicking NEXT, you can change the desired setting on step 5/6.

4. Now you can see a new “Unfriends” tab on the Facebook menu bar. You can edit the settings by clicking

Account > Unfriend Finder Settings.

5. You will be able to see who removed you off their list in notifications,left panel and menu bar.

Currently this script is available for 4 major browsers. I have already explained how to use in Chrome and Firefox, Safari and Opera users can download the script at www.unfriendfinder.com

How to know who Unfriended you in Facebook is a post from: Snakebytez

First, click on the Start Button and type in regedit and hit Enter.

Then, navigate through HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SYSTEM, CurrentControlSet, services, TCPIP6 and Parameters. Right click on Parameters and select New and then DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the new value DisabledComponents and hit Enter. Now right click on the new DisabledComponents value you just created and select Modify. Set the value of DisabledComponents to FFFFFFFF and click OK.

After a reboot IPv6 will be disabled on all interfaces.

Note:

In Windows XP IPv6 is not installed by default so if you manually enabled it you can uninstall it by opening up a command prompt, type in and run:

netsh interface ipv6 uninstall

How To Properly Disable IPv6 in Windows is a post from: Snakebytez

The greasemonkey  script called Fluff Busting Purity cleans up your Facebook wall by removing all idiotic messages, annoying quiz messages and other silly application spam, leaving behind just the standard Facebook apps such as status updates, wall posts, links, notes, photos, etc.

Fluff Busting Purity lets you hide messages like "Became a friend of", "Joined a group", "Became a fan of", "Is attending event" etc that floods your Facebook wall.

After you install the script (remember, Greasemonkey scripts also works Opera, Safari and Chrome, apart from Firefox), a barely noticeable line appears on top of your profile page.

Here you will find links to hide app notifications and other extra elements from your wall. There’s also a link to the script’s configuration options.

These options enable you to choose exactly which type of updates you don’t want to see on your Facebook profile. Blockable updates include the following types:

• Became a Fan Of"
• "Joined a Group"
• "Became a Friend of"
• "Is Attending an event"
• "Attended an Event"
• "Commented on/Likes Status"
• "Tagged in/Likes/Commented on Photo"
• "Tagged in Album"
• "Commented on/Likes Album"
• "Commented on/Likes Link"
• "Wall Comments"
• "Group Wall Comments"
• "Liked" (Became a fan of)
• "Page Wall Comments"
• "Posted an Event"
• "Attending an event"
• "Attended an event"
• "Updated profile info"
• "Changed profile pic"
• "Changed relationship status"

Fluff Busting Purity works fine but still leaves a lot to be desired. If you are looking for more firepower, checkout Better Facebook.

Better Facebook has options like highlighting new comments , top blue header bar "sticky", so it is always visible as you scroll the page. A friend tracker for notification of Un-Friends and many more which will be discussing in coming post.

Fluff Busting Purity : A script to clean up your facebook homepage is a post from: Snakebytez

Luxand Blink is face recognition software for Windows PCs. Now you don’t have to type the password every time you login. Just look into a webcam for a moment, and you’ll be logged into your account before you notice. The most secure way to login so only you can login and nobody else can use your password. you can login day or night. Sophisticated face recognition algorithms adjust for varying lighting conditions automatically, making login possible without additional training no matter whether window or artificial lighting is being used.

Changed Haircut? Swapped Glasses for Contacts? No Problem!

Advanced biometric identification algorithms used in Blink! help it cope with changes of your personal appearance. Grow or shave off beard and mustaches, use makeup or dye you hair, wear or remove glasses or contact lenses – Blink! will let you in to your PC no matter what.

Improved Security

No one remembers those long, complex passwords demanded by your corporate security policy? They don’t have to! With Blink!, users sign into their accounts by simply looking at a webcam. There are no false positives and no delays in letting authorized users into their accounts.

Catch Identity Thieves

Blink! provides additional security benefits by making it simpler to computer users to automatically unlock their PCs by simply looking into a webcam. Stolen passwords are becoming less of an issue as Blink! photographs and timestamps users every time they log in, no matter whether they use a password or biometric sign-in. Journaling account logins helps identify hijacked accounts and find out about who logged in using stolen credentials.

Download Blink! : Click Here (8.3 MB)

Look into webcam and login to PC without typing password is a post from: Snakebytez

In my earlier posts i wrote about Protecting your private data by encrypting and decrypting files to the core, Locking USB drives with passwords, Making Folders invisible without any software, etc…

Well, The Encryption and Decryption process take a lot of time if you have many files, so here is a better way to hide all your private files using a free program. Secret Disk lets you have separate disk on your PC which may be locked and unlocked with a password within a second. Moreover, when locked it is invisible in the Windows system.

Once installed it will ask to choose a password. A secret disk with drive letter X: will be created which can be accessed only using the password provided earlier. The programs warns if any bad attempt was made to unlock secret disk. It can lock your private disk when screensaver is launched or simply lock by pressing the F8 key.

In case of power (or Windows) failure secret disk will be locked on next system boot. It happens automatically because secret disk information are kept in memory and if memory fails secret disk will not be restored on next system logon. This adds maximum protection for your files located on the disk.

Download Secret Disk : Click Here (2MB)

How to create a Password Protected Secret Drive is a post from: Snakebytez