Saturday, February 15, 2014

VirusTotal: Online Virus Scanner




There is no way to escape from virus, spam or malware. Whenever you're with PC or Internet, you're at least the neighbour of virus or spam. But when you get headache, you can't cut your head. That's why our effort to keep something minimum will never end. Today I would like to talk about VirusTotal - A Free Online Virus, Malware & URL Scanner. 


About VirusTotal

There are many virus scanner you can find online. But VirusTotal is a subsidiary of Google that aims to make the internet a safer place. Most importantly VirusTotal demands itself a non commercial site. VirusTotal doesn't advertise any third party products and this prevents it from any kind of bias. 

VirusTotal is a strong site with PR 7 and below 5000 in Alexa Global Rank. It proves the engagement of the users with the site. 


How to Use? 

VirusTotal is designed with the simplest user interface. A person with minimum browsing knowledge should be fine here. Hit on the image below to visit the site




After accessing the site you will get the following interface. 



You will get 3 options: 
  • File: This is the default option. Hit on the Choose File button, then choose your file from PC and finally hit on the Scan it button to get the result. 
  • URL: A very useful one. Select the URL option to scan any website or blog to check it's vulnerability. Type the URL or copy-paste in the box. Then hit on the scan button. 
  • Search: If you would like to search for any domain, URL or IP Address then you have to select the search option. Then enter the item and hit on the search option. 


Note: VirusTotal stores the reports for every single scan requested by its users. This allows users to query and render them without having to submit the items (URLs and files) for scanning.


Understanding the Result

After hitting the scan button it may take few minutes to complete the scanning. A file will be scanned by approximately 50 antivirus programs. And a URL will be scanned by 53 URL scanners. You will get the detection ratio. And an indicator will be available at the right site. It will show you the reputation of the file or URL. 

If you're a member of the VirusTotal, then you can take part in voting and commenting. You can join their community to be a member. Join button is located left to the sign in button. 


If you have any query, don't hesitate to leave a comment . . . 



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Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Add Google Custom Search to your Site


Google Custom Search Engines for Sites

Search engines run the world. Internet world is useless without search engines. You may argue that Facebook is not a search engine. But it's a big search engine. Facebook needs to search appropriate person, place or group for you! When you need to find something, we usually search this either in Google, Bing or Yahoo. But a tiny blog or website should also have a search engine. 


Most of the websites and even blogs have a search option. It makes easier to find something in your site. And it could be also helpful for you to search something on your site. In Marks PC Solution, there are more than 300 posts so far. Being the author of the site, sometimes I forget what topics are published here! So how do visitors get something without search box?


If you're using a blogger blog then you should be familiar with the default search box of blogger. You can easily add this from Layout tab through Add a Gadget option. But today I'm gonna talk about Google Custom Search. It's a nice tool by Google that lets you create a custom search engine for your blog or website. Now I'd like to show you the step by step procedure to create a custom search engine for your site. Before that, have a look at the custom search engine of Marks PC Solution- MPS. Let's begin -

  1. Visit and sign in to Google Custom Search Engine home. 
  2. Hit on the Add button to create a new engine.
  3. Enter your site's URL in the Sites to search box (ie. http://munnamark.blogspot.com)
  4. Choose your desired language
  5. Type a name in the Name box. (ie. Marks PC Search Engine)
  6. Hit on the Create button. Done! 
If everything is okay, you will get a confirmation message. 
  • Hit on the Get Code button to get your search engine script. 
  • Hit on the Public URL to view your search engine page.
  • Hit on the Control Panel to edit your search engine settings. 

How to Install? 

It's as simple as adding a JavaScript! 
  1. First you've to select your search engine. 
  2. Then go to Setup > Basics > Details > Get Code.
  3. Copy the script and Place it in your template properly.
Example: You've to place the code within the <body> </body> tag. See the structure below. And choose a proper location where you wanna setup the search box. 


<html>
<head>
<title>my site</title>
...
<head>
<body>
<div1>...</div1>
PASTE THE CODE HERE
<div2>...</div2>
</body>
</html>

And in blogger, installing the script is much easier. Simply go to the template. And then Add a JavaScript. I suggest you to place it either below the title or at the right side bar. 



Customization:

As this is a custom search, you can customize it as your wish. Let's customize - 

First go to the Google Custom Search Home. Select your search engine from here. Now you will see a control panel as the image below:


Google Custom Search Settings Panel

There are different options to customize your search engine. You can go to every option and change settings if necessary. First you can start with Setup option. Here you will get Basics, Make Money, Admin, Indexing etc. You can rename your search engine, give it a description, provide keywords, change language and add more sites to include in your search engine. 

In the Make Money option, you can add your AdSense account here. If people use your search box and hit on Ads by Google, you will be paid through AdSense. 

In Look and Feel option, you can change the layout and theme. In the customize option, you can change everything as you wish. In thumbnail option, you can choose whether pictures appears with search or not. 


I'm not going to extend the post. Because this post has already crossed 600 words! This is a simple topic. I would like to stop here. Explore the custom search engine page and find the features by yourself. And I'm waiting to reply any question from you. Don't forget to leave comments . . .


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Saturday, February 08, 2014

Understanding HTML Colors



Standard Color of HTML


A single blog post can never provide you the sufficient knowledge on HTML colors. Thousands of words could be written about colors. But today, I'm just gonna share my little knowledge about HTML colors

All of you are familiar with the basic colors - Red, Green & Blue. In brief, this is known as RGB. What you see in the screen is nothing but the combination of these three colors. I mean Red, Green and Blue. 


There are 16 Million Different Colors!

The combination of Red, Green and Blue can produce more than 16 million colors! Each color has a value from 0 to 255. Couple of years ago I heard that human eyes can detect almost 17000 colors. And most of the modern monitors are capable of displaying more than 16000 colors. 


Color Names Supported by the Web Browsers

There are 140 color names defined by the HTML and CSS color specification which are supported by almost all web browsers. But only 17 of them are considered as standard colors. These are as follows:
Aqua, Black, Blue, Fuchsia, Gray, Green, Lime, Maroon, Navy, Olive, Orange, Purple, Red, Silver, Teal, White, Yellow. 
Look at the table below. 17 standard colors are shown with Hexadecimal values. 


Color Name
HEX
 Color
Aqua
00FFFF 
          
Black 
000000
       
Blue 
0000FF

Fuchsia 
FF00FF

Gray 
808080

Green 
008000

Lime 
00FF00

Maroon 
800000

Navy 
000080

Olive 
808000

Orange 
FFA500

Purple 
800080

Red 
FF0000

Silver 
C0C0C0

Teal 
008080

White 
FFFFFF

Yellow 
FFFF00
                                              


Understanding the Color Values

The web browsers can't see as we human do. We can see Red, Green, Blue, Black or White. But a browser don't see anything. But it can take color value as input and show color as output. 

So, when something is created to be displayed through web browsers the web developers must input the codes. Thus when are working with HTML or CSS colors you should have a basic idea about color codes. 

RGB colors are defined by the HEX code. If you work in photoshop you should know the formation of colors. When you pick a color in photoshop you will see the value of each color. If you choose fully red color, the value of R will be 255. And the value of G and B will be 0. And the HEX code will be #ff0000.

HEX Values are written as 3 double digit numbers starting with the # sign. The lowest value that can be given to a color is 0 (Hex 00). And the highest value is 255 (Hex FF). So when you choose a complete Red, the RGB code will be 255, 0, 0. And the HEX code will be ff0000. Here ff is for 255, and 00, 00 is for 0 and 0. 

When you choose complete white, RGB will be 255, 255, 255. Then you will get HEX code as ffffff. And if you choose black then you will get the opposite code. RGB will be 0, 0 0. The HEX code is 000000. That means white includes all the three basic colors. And black includes none of the colors. 


Example Color Values

  • White: Hex Code - #FFFFFF, RGB (255, 255, 255)
  • Black: Hex Code - #000000, RGB (0, 0, 0)
  • Red: Hex Code - #FF0000, RGB ((255, 0, 0)
  • Green: Hex Code - # 00FF00, RGB (0, 255, 0)
  • Blue: Hex Code - # 0000FF, RGB (0, 0, 255)
  • Yellow: Hex Code - # FFFF00, RGB (255, 255, 0)
  • Aqua: Hex Code - # 0000FF, RGB (0, 255, 255)
  • Fuchsia: Hex Code - #FF00FF, RGB (255, 0, 255)
  • Silver: Hex Code - #C0CoCo, RGB (192, 192, 192)

Hopefully this color values will clarify your understanding of HTML color codes. 



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Friday, February 07, 2014

Free Payoneer Master Card with Bonus $25 !!!


Payoneer Free Prepaid Master Card

Hello Guys! Several times I've discussed about monetizing blogs and websites. Such as AdSense, YllixMedia, Infolinks etc. I've also discussed how to get AdSense money through Bank Accounts. But I never discussed about any other global way to receive online earning funds. Today I am gonna talk about how to get a free master card with bonus $25! 


Brief on Payoneer 

Supports & Services of Payoneer is available in more than 200 countries. Payoneer Prepaid Debit Master Card makes your online transaction easier. Once funds are available, you can use the card in stores, online transactions and ATM booths wherever Master Card is supported. 


Advantages: 
  • Globally Accepted - supported in more than 200 countries.
  • Easy Sign Up - No bank account is required.
  • Use wherever Master Card accepted - Online, Stores & ATMs.
  • Quick - Access to cash within 2 hours!
  • Supports - Multilingual customer supports available through Email, LiveChat & Telephone. 


Pricing & Fees:
  • Annual Charge $29.95 (Will be taken from your account balance per year)
  • Card Replacement $12.95 (Will be taken when issuing a replacement card)
  • ATM Widthdrawl $3.15 (Per Transaction)
  • ATM Decline Fee $1.00 (When ATM Request is declined)
  • ATM Balance Inquiry Fee $1.00 (When balance inquiry is made)

Sign up Procedure:

Hit on the below button to sign up. If you want to get free 25 dollar then you must sign up through the button below. But if you directly go to Payoneer and sign up, you will miss the bonus amount. So follow the button below. 


Order a Free Payoneer Master Card


Now you will be redirected to the sign up page. Hit on the sign up button. Fill up the necessary fields.
  • Your Personal Details
  • Account Details
  • Personal Verification
  • Agree with their terms and conditions
Finally Hit on the finish button. A confirmation mail will be sent to your email. Confirm it. Your account will be verified within few days. 

There are four steps in verification process. Before activating the card you will be able to see your current status. 

After verifying your account, Payoneer will send you the card to your mailing address. Within few weeks you will get your card. Then you've to activate the card using PIN number and card number mentioned in the card. Look at the sample card below:








This is the Prepaid Debit MasterCard of Payoneer.  You will get a letter from Payoneer including this card. Card Number, Expiry Date, Account Name will be embossed there as you can see in the image. 


Also read Frequently Asked Question about Payoneer MasterCard.


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Saturday, February 01, 2014

Create New Volumes without Partition !!


Shrink Drives to Create New Volumes

Disk Management is a nice tool to manage your hard disk drives. With this tool, you can easily format, shrink and extend your existing volems. You can do some other tasks too. But today I'm gonna discuss about creating new volumes by splitting existing volumes. 


Background Story

Two weeks ago, one of my acquaintances got a new laptop. It comes with Windows 8, Intel Core i5 processor and 1 TB Hard disk. Not very extraordinary nowadays. But I was really surprised when heard there is only 1 partition in his laptop!! Can you believe it? One partition for a 1 TB hard disk! My goodness - this is a thousand GB partition! 

I know how to split a drive to create new partition. But didn't even try this earlier. After getting the case of 1000 GB partition, I tried to shrink a drive in my own PC. After successfully trying this on my PC, I advised him how to divide the one partition into several drives. By this time maybe he has fixed this. :) 


Supported Versions:

Disk Management tool is same both in Windows 7 and 8. Windows XP may have the same advantage but I'm not sure. If XP users has any problem, you can inform be through comments. 


Create New Volumes Without Partition - No Restart! No Interruption!!

Make sure you're the Admin of your PC. And right now you're logged in as Administrator. Now start -
  1. Right click on My Computer icon from desktop. (How to show My Computer icon on desktop)
  2. Hit on the Manage option. 
  3. Computer Management window will appear. 
  4. Choose Disk Management under the Storage option from the left pane. 
  5. Here you will get the list of your volumes with capacity and free spaces. 
  6. Right click on the drive you wanna shrink.
  7. Select Shrink Volume and you will get the below window.
Shink Size Before and After

Here you will get the total size before shrink. Now enter the space to shrink. Simply count the 1000 MB for 1 GB. In the image I've used 5000 MB for 5 GB. Then check how much you will have in the drive after shrink. Before proceed, make sure everything is okay. 

Now Press Shrink > You will get the following image > Right click on the Free Space > New Simple Volume > Pres Next > Enter Simple Volume Simple > Next > Assign Drive Letter (Suppose L) > Format the volume (Choose format type, label) > Next > Finish.

Within few seconds, you will get a brand new drive! 

Creating New Volumes by Disk Managment

How to Get it Back? 

Suppose you made a mistake. Or you were just trying to do it. But don't want to divide the volume actually. How do you get the new volume back to your old volume? Very simple!
  1. Right click on the new volume.
  2. Choose Delete Volume.
  3. You will get the above image again. 
  4. Now right click on your old volume and choose Extend volume. 
  5. Press Next > Next > Finish. 

This procedure doesn't require any restart. Even you don't need to close any program running on your PC. It's fast, simple and reliable. 


Precautions:

While running this operation you should be very careful. Though this tool is safe to use, but you may lose your data for any wrong command. Suppose, you may delete a volume which contains your valuable files. Or you may format an existing partition which contains important data. So, before making a click, be sure you're really doing the right job. 


If you have any query, don't forget to leave a comment . . .


Related Topics:


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