MakeUseOf.com: “Cool Websites and Tools [March 8th]” plus 9 more |  |
- Cool Websites and Tools [March 8th]
- Create Cool Name Designs With CoolText
- How To Lighten Dark Photos In Photoshop
- Doris – A Minimalist Productivity App for the Task Masters
- Top 5 Most Exciting Bubble Shooter Games
- Top 4 Websites For The Cigar Aficionado
- MakeUseOf Must-Have Mac Apps Giveaway Day #7 – LaunchBar
- How To Get Started With Open Notebook Science
- Microsoft Windows 7: The 7 Most Noticeable New Features
- How Do I Unblock a Web Page From Behind a Strong Firewall?
| Cool Websites and Tools [March 8th] Posted: 08 Mar 2010 07:31 PM PST
These are just half of the websites that we discovered in the last couple of days. If you want us to send you daily round-ups of all cool websites we come across, leave your email here. Or follow us via RSS feed. Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section! New on Twitter ? Now you can follow MakeUseOf on Twitter too. Related posts
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| Create Cool Name Designs With CoolText Posted: 08 Mar 2010 05:30 PM PST
The 'professional' option would be to get to grips with Photoshop and spend your time setting up the various variables to get your logo or name looking just right. Not to mention having to download new fonts and effects to create the image. Well CoolText, a free online graphics generator, allows you to create thousands upon thousands of different text images, logos and even buttons to form your own cool name designs.
The first step in creating cool name designs or logos is selecting what style you want. Note that the colours, fonts and sizes can be altered later. This is merely selecting roughly how the finished image will look and what animations, if any, it will have. Below you can see some of the choices you will have on the site.
For the purpose of this demonstration, I decided to go with 'Glossy'. Once you select what style you want, you're brought to the 'Design Your Logo' page. It asks you for basic things such as what exact text you want in your logo, text size and of course, the font. CoolText has an excellent motley crew of fonts ranging from you basic word processor fonts to the artistic.
Some are even customised to resemble the fonts used in iconic logos such as NASA and Chicken Scratch. Once you select your font, you can continue to alter the text gradient. This is the colours used in certain areas of the logo. You can change the different gradients by clicking on different areas of the colour gradient bar, an example of which you can see below.
After this, you can select the shadow’s offset (if there is one in that particular logo style) and can select the background colour or image.
The final step is to select what file format to save it as. If you're going to use it as a logo or image on a social networking site then I suggest PNG. However, if you want to integrate the image into Photoshop or indeed just edit it further in Photoshop, then save it as PSD with layers.
A final cool feature about this web app is that you can download all of CoolText’s fonts and logo styles to use in Photoshop by clicking 'Fonts' along the top menu bar. This is great if you're an experienced Photoshop user but need some extra fonts for free. There are over 1,200 available so take your pick! Also, take note that CoolText will only host your image for short period of time so you will have to either upload it to your own web server or a free image hosting service in order to keep it online. So what cool name designs and logos did you create? Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!
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| How To Lighten Dark Photos In Photoshop Posted: 08 Mar 2010 03:30 PM PST
Thanks to digital photography, however, it's pretty easy to learn how to lighten dark photos in Photoshop or other similar photo editors. Here are a few methods you might try, using a recent version of Photoshop CS.
All of these methods will require you to duplicate the background layer of the photo. In the Layer's palette, click the on top right triangle, and then select Duplicate Layer.
Screen Blend MethodOne of the quickest ways to lighten a photo in Photoshop is to use Screen Blend mode. Open your photo in Photoshop and duplicate the background layer. In the layer's palette, click on the Normal blend mode button and change it to Screen.
Screen blending mode always lightens an image, but you are somewhat limited in how much you control you have over its effect. You can lower the opacity of the screen blend layer if the photo becomes too bright. Using LevelsIf you want to have more control over the exposure corrections, you might try the Levels command. Duplicate the background layer and click on Image>Adjustments>Levels. In the resulting controls box, you will see a histogram that reflects the pixel distribution in your image. Sliding the far right arrow under the graph toward the left will affect the white/highlight areas of the image. There's much more to Levels than what I touch on here, but it's one method you might try.
Shadow/HighlightAll these methods have a similar effect on how they lighten your image, but sometimes one works better than the other. This method involves using the Shadow/Highlight controls. This method is particularly useful if say one aspect of your image is too dark or light.
Click on Image>Adjustments>Shadow/Highlights. The default setting will be 50%. Photoshop assumes that your image will be too dark, so it defaults to the bright side. But if it makes your image too bright, simply adjust the Shadows slider toward the left or right to get the correction you want. And of course use the Highlights slider to correct areas that are too light.
Brightness/ContrastOne of the least useful methods, I think anyway, is to use the standard Brightness/Contrast controls. Click on Image>Adjustments>Brightness/Contrast. This method typically affects your entire photo and not just the shadow areas. However, the tool has been improved in Photoshop CS3 and CS4, so it may work well for some underexposed images. Give it a try.
You don't want to rely on Photoshop or other image editors to always fix exposure problems in your photo, but sometimes it's difficult to set the correct exposure in-camera when you're shooting say candid shots or when you're shooting in mix lighting conditions. So Photoshop is helpful in these cases. Also, if you're concerned about the loss of detail in underexposed or overexposed shots, you should consider shooting in RAW mode, which enables you to get more control over exposure settings, when you edit them in a RAW image editor. I will explain this further in a future article. Let us know how these techniques work out for you, and what other techniques you use to lighten images in your favorite image editor. Related posts
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| Doris – A Minimalist Productivity App for the Task Masters Posted: 08 Mar 2010 01:30 PM PST
Well, as a harassed freelancer, I have spent a lot of time on productivity how-tos. Personal productivity by the way is a universe of its own. Just stick the word in the Google search field and check out the number of resources and productivity apps that gets listed. Along with many blogs and websites, what also gets listed are tools that help us make headway with the day ahead of us. There's a whole Amazonian forest of productivity apps out there. Some like Remember the Milk are standard examples of to-do applications.
So with a shout of more the merrier, let's say a polite hello to Doris. Doris is a web-based productivity tool. It also has an iPhone app available at the App Store [iTunes link]. So, let's check out if the beta persona of Doris has beauty as well as brains. As Doris herself says, it's about three things – simplicity, usability and speed. A Quick To-Do for the Day with DorisWith a login that's quick and straight, you are presented with the My Tasks interface. As principles of productivity and GTD theories say, it's important to offload all pending to-dos from the head to the paper. The interface is designed around quick listing of all tasks that need to be done for the day. After listing everything out in a random list, the interface supports drag and drop of the items into an order of priority i.e. how d you plan to go through them from top to bottom.
The drag and drop feature also makes it easy to create Groups and add related tasks into them. In the next screenshot, two similar tasks have been hived off into a group named as Work Related.
Another approach is to drag and drop tasks from the Groups into the Today view so that the immediate tasks can be brought to the fore. When the list and groups get too much for the length of the monitor, you can collapse the individual groups to manage the view. Completed tasks can be marked off with a simple checkmark. The task gets crossed out. And yes, I agree with what Doris claims…crossing out completed tasks does give a high.
To enhance that feeling, you can go into Task History at the end of the day and gloat over your accomplishments. Any task that that been crossed out by mistake can be restored to the list with a click on Restore.
An End of the Day OpinionDoris does live up to the three virtues. There's nothing complicated about the interface, you can log-in and straightaway start creating your to-do list. The drag 'n drop feature makes prioritizing slick and smooth. Keyboard usage is limited to typing out the tasks. The interface is uncluttered and the only piece of clutter that's there is some informative stuff from the Doris blog feed. Doris seems to suggest that you should get the things to do off your mind into an organized list as rapidly as possible and then focus on doing them. If you are starting off with to-do's and productivity tryouts, then do give the Doris productivity app a try. Its apparent lack of advanced features could be a blessing in disguise for the guy who hankers after minimalism. Try it out for a day, and tell us if you felt happy, crossing out a few tasks from a Doris to-do list. Image credit: gothick_matt Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!
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| Top 5 Most Exciting Bubble Shooter Games Posted: 08 Mar 2010 11:30 AM PST
I first discovered the original bubble shooter game when I was writing a niche analysis on the gaming industry. At one of the free online game sites, I was curious, so I tried a few – and one of those was the bubble shooter game. I was hooked every since. Today I’m going to cover the top 5 offshoots of the original Bubble Shooter game.
#1 – Can’t Beat the Original Bubble Shooter GameOn any of the websites dedicated to bubble shooter games, you’ll find an honorary status for the original game that started it all. However, if you want to play the original, you should really go to the website of the game creators over at Bshooter. There, you’ll find both a free online version and a free download version of the famous, classic bubble shooter game.
The goal of the game is deceivingly simple. Just shoot the bubble alongside three or more similar touching bubbles of the same color and voila – they all pop and disappear. Manage to pop enough bubbles so that you cut off an entire section – and all of the bubbles underneath will pop as well. What’s the catch? Well, as you play the entire field of bubbles drips closer to the bottom, shrinking your available playing space (unless you can keep up). To say that this game is addictive just doesn’t describe how completely this game will erase several hours of your life and you won’t even notice. #2 – Shields of GemlandShields of Gemland is a game offered by King.com, which puts a whole new twist on the bubble shooter genre. Instead of just an action-based arcade game, the makers of Shields of Gemland attempted to add a little bit of a plot to this particular game. By advancing through each level, you collect another gem and advance through the map to the next point in the game.
This game is really fast paced and fun. The cannon has a cool little recoil action going on, and as you advance through the levels, different objects start falling that can either hurt you or help you. There are also shielded bubbles that you can’t pop – the only way to get rid of those is to pop the bubbles above it. This bubble shooter takes a bit more strategy and planning. #3 – WoobiesI think Woobies is a cute game, but it’s also a bit disturbing a the same time. Essentially, you’re in control of a slingshot. You catapult these little buggers (they’re essentially furballs with a set of eyes) into the crowd of Woobies and if you match up the color with 3 or more, they all explode in a mess of feathers (not sure how the PITA folks would feel about this game though.)
The graphics are great, the sound effects are fun, and there something really funny about the expressions on these little guy’s faces as you aim and shoot other Woobies at the crowd. Clear the entire field before the huge press pushes all of the Woobies into the ground, and you’ll advance to the next level (where there are even more colored Woobies to deal with). #4 – Jungle ShooterAnother very popular bubble shooter game is one called Jungle Shooter. Jungle Shooter is one of those games that you can tell is well programmed. The graphics are superior to most online games, the gameplay is fluid and fast-paced, and the music and sound effects really make the game a blast to play.
As the jungle boy aims the cannon, the jungle girl holds the next fruit that will be loaded so that you can see what’s coming next. Like Shields of Gemland, this game provides a navigation screen that you work through as you advance in level with your sharpshooting skills.
As you collect more fruit and advance through the levels, more of these locations are unlocked for you to explore and advance even further. This game is great fun, and a wonderful time-waster! #5 – Bubble StruggleYet another great game based at least subtly on the original bubble shooter game is an addictive game called Bubble Struggle. This game is a bit different because you don’t start off with a ceiling filled with bubbles. Instead, you start out with one or two large bubbles (at least in the early levels), and then as you shoot them, they divide into smaller bouncing bubbles. Once you split all of them into the smallest sizes, then you can pop them with one more hit.
As the bubbles bounce around, you not only have to worry about timing your shot right in order to hit them, but you also have to dodge the bounce. If any of the bouncing bubbles hit you, you’ll hear a “smack!” sound, and your character will go flying to the ground. These are only a few examples of my favorite bubble shooter games, but there are a lot of additional ones out there. Some are better than others, but one thing is for certain – bubble shooting games have become one of the most popular online pastimes in the world. So why don’t you give it a shot? Do you know of any other fun shooter games like these? Share your input in the comments section below. em>Got Tech Questions? Ask Them on MakeUseOf Answers! Related posts
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| Top 4 Websites For The Cigar Aficionado Posted: 08 Mar 2010 10:30 AM PST
In the old days, the only places to buy and get information on cigars were local cigar shops or maybe a magazine. With the onset of the information age, cigars went digital and now there are plenty of cigar websites and blogs to tickle your tobacco fancy. But which are good? Well, do not fret, here I will layout the must-bookmarks for any cigar lover.
Stogie ReviewA great little blog, Stogie Review gives you tons of information on all sorts of things, from humidors to reviews of local cigar shops and lounges. The reviews are great, giving you a breakdown of what the reviewer thought during the entire smoke process of a cigar, something that is sometimes hard to find.
Some of their reviews even have videos, which are great fun to sit back and watch.
Overall, Stogie Review is a cigar website, by cigar lovers for cigar lovers. They have informative reviews that even a seasoned veteran can find useful. Best Cigar PricesMaybe you already know the cigar you want. Well those things can get pretty pricey, so surely you want to find the best deal possible. Luckily, there are a few sites you have to check out when looking for your favorites, Best Cigar Prices is one of them. I've found that Best Cigar Prices combines great prices with a good selection. I've yet to not find a cigar I was looking for on their site. What I like most about Best Cigar Prices, outside of the good deals I can usually find, is the no-nonsense info about the cigar. For example, here is the page for La Unica #600
I'm given the Strength, Wrapper, Origin, and Shape, all right there. I don't have to search for it and all the information is complete. You can get other things on their site too, like ashtrays, lighters, humidors, and cases. They even provide some recommendations which is nice to check out from time to time.
In all, Best Cigar Prices is a must if you're out to pick up a particular cigar. Cigar PlaceLike Best Cigar Prices, Cigar Place has a good selection of cigars to purchase, but I find Best Cigar Price's better. The search features are clearly placed on the front page and allow you to search a bunch of different parameters.
The best feature of Cigar Place is their "Best Price Guarantee”.
Basically, they will match a lower price if you can find it, so when you shop at Cigar Place, you know you're probably going to get a deal. Cigar AficionadoKnown more for their magazine, Cigar Aficionado also has a great cigar website that is full of awesome resources for the cigar lover. Unfortunately, most of the usefulness of Cigar Aficionado's website goes away because you need a paid subscription to access it. Luckily there are still a few things you can check out that are free, the best being the videos section. Just click "Video" on the side navigation pane and you should see the following.
Here you can see video reviews of the top cigars from as far back as 2006 along with other interesting videos about the manufacture of cigars and great hotspots in various cities. There are plenty of other cigar websites out there. These are just the ones I check out regularly and felt others would like to know about if that didn't already. So go, enjoy a stogie after a long work week! Know any other great sites you think others will enjoy? Let us know in the comments below. Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!
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| MakeUseOf Must-Have Mac Apps Giveaway Day #7 – LaunchBar Posted: 08 Mar 2010 10:00 AM PST
One; Quicksilver is no longer is active development. In other words, it’s an abandoned project with no support. Two; LaunchBar is an actively progressing platform and is welcoming QS switchers with open arms. Those two reasons good enough for ya? So that’s why we’ve got 10 LaunchBar licenses worth $330 to giveaway to 10 fortunate productivists. Will you be one of them?
But first, a short introduction (for those who aren’t familiar) about what LaunchBar is. From its name, you would probably have guessed that it’s a launcher of some sort. However, it may surprise you to know that it is actually way more than just that. It’s a productivity tool that will help you in so many ways you wouldn’t have thought possible. Let’s take a quick look. Invoke LaunchBar by pressing a defined hotkey and you’ll get an unobtrusive bar at the top of your screen that’s ready for a command. What command? Well, just about anything works. It’s pretty smart in the sense that it learns your habits. Type “saf” and Safari returns as the first result. So, that’s the application launcher aspect of LaunchBar. What about other things? LaunchBar can also be used to open a URL in the default browser, even if the browser isn’t already running.
It can help you invoke a “Compose new message” window without having to click on Mail; all from the keyboard.
Heck, if you want, you can even write up the entire email in LaunchBar.
What I really like about LaunchBar is the fact that it can retrieve data from within applications without launching them. This save a lot of time. For example, if I needed some contact information of a friend of mine; I’d invoke Launchbar using the hotkey and start typing the person’s name.
LaunchBar finds it and boom, instant results.
But let’s say I forgot his or her name — I’d type “AB” to summon Address Book and browse my contacts right from LaunchBar.
If you’re just starting out, it’s a good idea to check out everything LaunchBar is capable of by going to its Index where you can view the possible actions and services.
A few more examples of useful LaunchBar features is automatically creating archives of files and folders.
And one that I regularly use — automatically resizing images by preset percentages.
Like I said, it isn’t easy listing every possible feature LaunchBar has to offer. The trial version of LaunchBar is unrestricted for 30 days. Download it and try it free for a month. Are you a believer now? How do I win a copy?All you need to do is; Join our Facebook page by clicking on the Become a fan button below.
If you can’t see the fanbox above, click on this link. To seal the deal, click on the Facebook Share button below the article to spread the news to your friends. Then in comments section of this article, post a link to your Facebook profile (be sure to enter your real email address so that we can contact you if you win!). Existing fans only need to share the article and post a link to their Facebook profile in the comments section below. This giveaway ends tomorrow, just before the next one starts. Between now and then, you can share this post or comment as many times as you want! The more you interact, the higher your chances of winning. Let the giveaway begin! Have fun! Want to know what else we’re giving away? Check out this post 15 Must-Have Free Apps For Your Mac & Giveaway. MakeUseOf would like to thank Norbert and Objective Development for their generosity while participating in this giveaway. Interesting in sponsoring? We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with us via email. em>Got Tech Questions? Ask Them on MakeUseOf Answers! Related posts
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| How To Get Started With Open Notebook Science Posted: 08 Mar 2010 09:30 AM PST
Open Notebook Science (ONS) is “the practice of making a researcher’s laboratory notebook, and all associated supporting data, public in as close to real time as possible,” says Dr. Jean-Claude Bradley, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Drexel University in Pennsylvania and pioneer of ONS.
While his open approach is not the standard for science (especially in Chemistry), ONS is gaining rippled momentum in the scientific community as more and more scientists are seeing the value in collaborating on lab experiments. What is the Difference Between ONS and Open Access?Open Access (OA) and ONS are similar in that data is shared freely. Open Access means there is no charge to the reader when the article is published. Typically, a library has to pay for journal subscriptions, but Open Access journals are made free via the web. The main differences between OA and ONS are timing and detail. In ONS, the scientists are working and documenting their research live. Both successes and failures are published. This is not the standard for science where only successes are published (even in OA). In OA, the articles are polished and can happen any time after an experiments concludes. The publication is not live, and all of the failed experiments are removed.
Nature is an Open Access scientific journal devoted to environmental biology. Their material is made free to the public, but it is polished work and not the raw types of work found in Open Notebook science. Some OA journals are peer reviewed and some are not. The OA Librarian has awesome resources on the topic if you would like to learn more. What are the Benefits and Risks of ONS?While losing the right to a patent can be financially devastating, the effects of producing faster research can help cure world killers. Bradley estimates that we can cut down the time it takes to go from lab to medicine by 10-15 years with Open Notebook Science. While pre-tenured faculty and research scientists need peer reviewed publications and patents to advance in their fields, many tenured scientists are able to contribute to the body of knowledge without much risk. Time will tell is Bradley’s predictions are right, but, in the meantime, here are some tools for getting started. How to get startedIf you want to be start an Open Notebook for your scientific experiments, you need a few simple tools and a commitment to publishing successes and failures in real time. Tools:
Methods:
A Good Blog and Wiki Mix (Bliki)Dr. Bradley uses Blogger and Wikispaces to create his Bliki environment, but any blog or wiki platform will work. If you would like to explore and compare wikis, try wikimatrix. You can learn more about wikimatrix from our article here and learn about another free program called intodit here. While Blogger is super powerful because it is owned by Google, there are lots of other blogging platforms out there. Timely publishing is the key to ONS, and experiments should be documented in as near real time as possible. When possible, pictures and videos should be included in the bliki. It is crucial to make sure that you connect your blog and wiki so they are seamless. A Good RSS ReaderOpen Notebook Science requires that a scientist keeps up to date with the experiments of others. For example, in the Bradley Lab at Drexel, undergrad and grad students are working on a inhibitor to Enoyl Reductase, the root cause of malaria. It is important for scientists to report their findings immediately while the details are fresh, so that others around the world can duplicate or enhance an experiment in their own labs. Likewise, it is imperative for scientists to read the work of others so they can add to the body of knowledge. Open Notebook Science is about sharing data consistently in real time. Bradley predicts that, in the future, humans won’t be needed to aggregate data. But, for now, we have to collect and disseminate data the old fashioned way…by talking about it! Social networks like Facebook and Twitter allow for instant sharing, and Bradley uses FriendFeed to collect it all in one location. The WrapWill Open Notebook Science change the nature of the scientific community? Probably not. But, if more people share their data in real time, we can help people around the world combat disease. Do you share your scientific data in real time? Why or why not? Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!
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| Microsoft Windows 7: The 7 Most Noticeable New Features Posted: 08 Mar 2010 08:30 AM PST
Many people have had a taste of what it has to offer. Windows 7 brings with it a number of improvements in key areas. Here are some of the Windows 7 new features that stand out in the latest version of the popular operating system.
Taskbar and JumplistsThere are lots of tweaks to the Taskbar. The taskbar buttons are icon only by default, they group by default. You can pin applications to the taskbar, user Ctrl + <number> to invoke pinned applications. Applications now support jumplists, which help you launch a particular file or url from the button directly. The taskbar buttons show a progress indicator if the application is displaying a progress bar and many more.
LibrariesLibraries are like virtual folders. A library can draw its content from multiple folders. For example, if you have your Music stored under more than one folder across various drives, you can see them consolidated into a single virtual folder or library. Libraries can help you manage clutter and organize files the way you like while still being able to view them inside a single location. Details here.
Windows XP ModeWindows 7 offers something known as the Windows XP mode. What Windows XP mode is that it allows you to run a fully functional copy of Windows XP from within Windows 7. It is essentially the same as running Windows XP virtual machine inside a virtualization software like VirtualBox. You need to download additional files and make sure your computer can support Windows XP mode. Details here. Desktop and ThemingDesktop and Theming got a major overhaul with Windows Vista. Windows 7 manages to add new features to those changes. Themes are now easier to create and share. Right click on the desktop and click Personalize and you can access every aspect of the themes from the resulting window. Windows can now natively rotate the wallpaper choosing one from the collection you specify. There are also a number of themes available online as well.
Aero Snap and Aero PeekAero Snap and Aero Peek help you work with multiple open windows easily. Aero Snap can snap windows to the sides or the top, making them cover the entire screen or exactly half the screen. Just hold the title bar of a window and drag it to one of the edges of the screen. Aero Peek on the other hand lets you peek through all the open windows so that you can see you desktop easily. Aero Peek can be activated using Win + Space key or by hovering the mouse pointer over the bottom right corner of the taskbar.
Media StreamingApart from inclusion of new codecs to support even more filetypes, Windows Media Player can now be used to stream media files. The streaming can take place within your network or over the Internet as you please. You can stream to other computers as well as devices that are compatible with Windows 7. Details here. The HomeGroupIts not a stretch to own more than one computer these days. If you have more than one computer at your home you would most likely want to put them on a network so that you can share Internet Connection, share music, videos and pictures. Windows 7 now creates a HomeGroup that all other Windows 7 machines can be a part of and the network is up and running in a snap. You also get a password to control access to your home network.
There are a host of other features and under the hood improvements that you may not notice in day to day use. It supports more hardware, boots faster, runs snappier. The games, media center and accessories like Paint and Calculator have been updated as well. Overall it wouldn’t be wrong to consider it the best Operating System from folks over at Redmond. There is nothing stopping you to hold on to the previous version of Windows and bypass Windows 7 altogether as was the case with Windows Vista. What are your favorite Windows 7 new features? em>Got Tech Questions? Ask Them on MakeUseOf Answers! Related posts
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| How Do I Unblock a Web Page From Behind a Strong Firewall? Posted: 08 Mar 2010 07:30 AM PST
I will show you some tricks I have seen in action as a network administrator over the years and some I have discovered myself. But before starting, know that your system administrator might not be partial to you circumventing their network security so do so at your own risk and make sure you are fully aware of the possible consequences first!
How to Unblock a Web Page – Retrieving The Site’s IP AddressThe first trick we will use gets around most firewalls or content filtering that work by domain name or URL. The trick is to ping the website from the command line from your home or another computer not on the restricted network. This can be done by hitting start ->run and then typing cmd. On Vista and Windows 7, just hit the start orb and type cmd. Then at the command prompt type ping www.site.com replacing site.com with the actual website you want to get to. Like so:
I chose a random site called www.restricted.com and pinged it as you can see above and it returned the IP address. Then I can type in http://216.34.131.135 in my browser and bypass the URL's restriction. The Google Cache Trick to Unblock a Web PageIf that didn't work for you we will move on to the Google Cache trick. Search for the website you are trying to get to. In this instance, we will use http://www.wtfluck.com. On this imaginary network we are blocking this site and its IP address. So what can we do? Google for it of course, like so:
Hit Google Search and you will see results that look like these:
Maybe you have never noticed it before but there is a Cached button after each entry and you can click on it to see the site like so:
And on closer inspection to the URL we see this:
The URL http://www.wtfluck.com does not appear in the main URL which here is http://74.125.113.132 but if you click the links then you will be taken to the real site so be forewarned! Wayback MachineThe next method to unblock a single web page from behind a restrictive firewall or filter is to use the Wayback Machine located here. Archive.org keeps a working replica of sites from way back when or maybe closer. This is a good way to get content that is a few years old. Check it out and lets take a look at what we can see:
Can you imagine a network blocking MakeUseOf? Well this is what we could do to read it regardless:
Clicking on one of the links will take you “back in time” and that will bring up a version of the site from that day like so:
And clicking on the links will still keep you in the archive like so:
Looking at the URL it is: http://web.archive.org/web/20080728061910/www.makeuseof.com/tag/get-your-computer-startup-under-control-with-autoruns/ And my final suggestion is one which is the one I always use, which is 100% effective, and is not monitored by your IT group. Use Remote Desktop to connect to your computer at home and browse away there. For even more security, open a VPN tunnel between the two machines and encrypt your traffic! You can find a post on this subject by Varun by clicking here. Also, check out Jack’s article on some more tips to bypass a firewall. How do you bypass security restrictions like this? Let us know in the comments! Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!
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When you have 25 hours of work and 24 hours of the day to do them in, one wonders where to start from. Well, as any productivity priest will tell…begin the night before. Task management is all about planning early and then following it through with some old fashioned 'bubble gum' attitude. That's right; you got to stick to it.
The first thing I have to say is that I honestly never thought I could possibly get addicted to a game that involves nothing more than shooting bubbles in order to pop them. That was, of course, before I discovered the dangerously addictive bubble shooter game.
Cigars, as anyone will tell you, are bad for you. There is no question about that. But there are plenty of guilty pleasures that people partake in that are bad for us. Regardless of the health risks, there are millions of cigar smokers around the world who enjoy a nice stogie once in a while.
Just wait a minute. If Quicksilver was one of the must-have free Mac apps then why this giveaway? If you’re a die-hard QS fan, then I have 2 very good reasons for you.
Many times we find ourselves on networks where we cannot get to websites that we want to see because of some silly restriction on particular subjects and all sorts of good stuff. There are instances where you will need to get to a specific site for homework or real work and you cannot get to them due to things like restrictive materials, dangerous knowledge and even reproduction. What do you do? Not do your work?
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