Tag Archive | "hacks"
How to Fix Duplicate Gmail Messages in Windows Live Mail
If you download your Gmail into your Windows Live Mail (WLM), you may notice duplicate emails in the handy “Quick Views” folder in WLM. What is up with that? The problem lies with the IMAP settings for your Google account. The fix is amazingly easy, but there’s also a second step that you should not [...]
Continue reading...Disable the Windows Installs Updates and Then Shuts Down Button
Friday, August 26, 2011
I work at night sometimes, typing away into the late hours. When I’m ready for bed, I’m READY for bed. I want to kick off my womens boots, shut down the computer and relax. But then I accidentally hit that stupid little “Updates” Shut Down button. Gah! I have to sit in the dark and [...]
Continue reading...How to Speed Up Your Computer
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Computers are much more stable than they used to be, and it seems that operating systems are distributed less frequently now (thank God). You may be one of those folks who still works from a 5- or 10-year old computer. Over time, the computer system slows down. The hard drive becomes clogged with excessive files [...]
Continue reading...Apple Devices Keep Detailed Logs of Your Activities: iSpy Extraordinaire
Monday, May 2, 2011
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Surprise, surprise. Another Big Brother company is watching our every move, storing the data and keeping it in a safe place for anyone (except the user, of course) to access. In case you haven’t heard, Wired.com reported that Apple devices (iPod, iPhone, 3G iPads) track and log your location and data. When you sync your [...]
Continue reading...How To Tell If Your Blog Has Been Hacked
Friday, April 1, 2011
It’s a heart-stopping moment, when you get an email from one of your blog’s readers notifying you of “weird popups” or “redirects to other websites” when they visit your blog. Or, worse still, Google has emailed you informing you that they have blacklisted your blog and removed it from their search engines, due to a [...]
Continue reading...How to Hide Your WordPress Plugins Directory
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
It’s becoming more common so you may have heard of it: someone’s WordPress blog was hacked. Usually it is by a spammer, who inserts images or code to spread the spam. You can protect your WordPress blog in numerous ways. One of the easiest is to hide your plugins directory. Plugins are wonderful little tools, [...]
Continue reading...How to Prevent Popups in Internet Explorer
Thursday, February 24, 2011
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Browser popups are much more than annoying. Popups are a security threat. Whenever you go on the Internet, an exchange of information is relayed between your computer and the website’s server computer (and sometimes through a number of other server computers along the way) through open doors called “ports.” Internet Explorer opens certain ports to [...]
Continue reading...How to Block and Unblock Specific Videos and Images Using AdBlock Plus
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
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In my previous post, I showed you How to Block Flash and Java Videos Using AdBlock Plus. If you have not yet read it, I recommend it, as it will provide a little background, enabling you to better understand this tutorial. AdBlock Plus very easily blocks Flash and Java videos– all you need to do [...]
Continue reading...How to Block Flash and Java Videos Using AdBlock Plus
Saturday, February 12, 2011
AdBlock Plus is my favorite Firefox plugin. It’s why I stick with the Firefox browser even though there are others that are faster and flashier. I’ve written about how to use AdBlock Plus for custom ad blocking and unblocking of images, but did you know that AdBlock Plus can also block Flash and Java videos? [...]
Continue reading...K9 Internet Filter for iPhone, iPod, and iPad
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Got a child using an iPod, iPhone, or iPad? My young son loves my iPod, and I enjoy seeing him have such fun with it. But I cringe inside every time he uses it, because the browser and Apps Store is unfiltered. I know my son wouldn’t go seeking out the filth that’s so abundant [...]
Continue reading...How to Ban Certain IPs From Your Visiting Your Blogger Blog
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Yes, you can ban certain viewers from your Blogger blog by banning their IP addresses. Now unfortunately, Blogger offers no native assistance for its users to ban unwelcome visitors. Your only choice is to ban ALL viewers from your blog, unless pre-approved by you (whitelisting). Unless your blog is a highly personal blog, this move [...]
Continue reading...How To Test Your Firewall Effectiveness
Saturday, December 25, 2010
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Every computer that connects to the Internet should have a firewall. Windows Firewall is a mediocre firewall offering very limited protection in the event of an attack or security breach. I wrote a post about firewalls and where to find some excellent free software: Free Security Software. So you have a firewall, hurray. How do [...]
Continue reading...How to Minimize Windows Live Messenger to System Tray in Windows 7
Monday, December 20, 2010
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Windows 7 is a very nice operating system with many improved features over Vista. I was dismayed, however, to realize that many programs no longer sit neatly in the system tray next to the clock, but sit in the taskbar, clogging up my neat work station. I have used Windows Live Messenger waaaay back when [...]
Continue reading...How to Fix the Netgear Router Invalid MAC Address Problem
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
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I have a very nice Netgear Wireless-B+G+N gateway router for our DSL connection. And I have a very nice Belkin Wireless-N adapter for one of our computers here. Since both gadgets are relatively new technology, I figured that connecting the Belkin to the Netgear would be a piece of cake. WRONG. I admit– this Belkin [...]
Continue reading...How to Spoof Your Vista Computer’s MAC Address
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Introduction I sometimes like to do stuff that is considered ethical hacking, or “white hat hacking.” I’m not computer expert by any means, but I like to tinker with software and operating systems. Sometimes software and operating systems, by default, do not allow configurations through their basic interface. It is times like those that I [...]
Continue reading...How to Block Images in Emails Until You Allow Them
Saturday, February 27, 2010
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Here’s a handy hack and a security benefit: configure Windows Mail or Windows Live Mail to block images from displaying in emails. You can easily choose to view the images by clicking a bar in the email itself, after you have opened it. Emails are the most common means of the spread of viruses and [...]
Continue reading...How to Hide the NavBar in Blogger
Sunday, January 31, 2010
The Blogger NavBar is a long narrow bar at the top of Blogger blogs. It has its uses (you can sign in to your Blogger account very conveniently), but beyond that, it is wasted space. Blogger hasn’t changed it much in the 10+ years it’s been around…. the NavBar allows you to search for other [...]
Continue reading...Meet The Older Geek
I'm Rebecca Mecomber. I have been a professional blogger and writer since 2006. I've written for or been interviewed by such media outlets as "TIME," The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press, "iMedia Connection," NewYorkology.com, Manhattan User's Guide and Salon.com, covering topics such as Federal Trade Commission policy and media regulations, pro-blogging, home improvement, technology how-to, and New York travel.
I currently maintain more than a dozen blogs of various niches, including technology and computers, travel, politics, home renovation, parenting and gardening. You can check out my blogs on my About Page. Thanks for reading TheOlderGeek.com!
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Tuesday, December 13, 2011
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