Tuesday 21 June 2016

How to Unblock Websites at School, Work, Home or Anywhere

  Author : Unknown     No comments
02:06

Internet censorship has grown drastically over the past few years with countries like China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran taking the lead over others in blocking sources of free unbiased information. China is known to have even forced Google to filter its search results. Government censorship is not the only reason why websites are blocked. Some network administrators also prevent users from accessing certain websites which they believe are of no use in places such as schools and sometimes, even offices. In such times, you may need to access a website that is blocked. This article explains how.
Which websites are most commonly Blocked?

Unblock Websites
The most commonly blocked websites include websites about pop culture, health, medicine, women, religion and politics. Social websites are also often blocked and include the likes of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, Reddit, Digg, Hulu, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Blogger (Blogspot), MySpace, Bebo, Flickr, Yahoo! Messenger, Typepad, Technorati, StumbleUpon and Delicious. Sites like Google News, Wikipedia, Wikileaks and eBay are also blocked at certain places.

Access Blocked Websites at School, Work or Anywhere

There are many genuine reasons for which you might want to visit blocked websites at your school or office. Given below are the ways you can use to regain access to the blocked website you wish to visit.

1. Cache method: Most search engines maintain a cache of web pages indexed by them. You can search for a website on Google , Yahoo! or Bing and click on the cached link that is given next to the result. To load the web pages more quickly, you can visit the text-only version. Since the website is provided from the search engine's servers, it can be used to overcome IP address and URL based filtering.

2. Using Google Mobile Search: For users browsing on a slow mobile internet connection, Google Mobile search removes all CSS styling and JavaScript to present a stripped down version of the web page from Google's own server. As the content is provided from Google's servers, the blocking software feels that you are visiting Google, whereas in reality, you are viewing the blocked website. Go to Google Mobile Search. To visit the website of your choice, just replace tweakandtrick.com in the URL with the address of the website. Despite the name, Google Mobile Search can be accessed from your PC as well.

3. Access blocked websites with Google Translate. You can use translation service from Google to visit blocked websites. To do so, enter a language different from the website's language in the 'From' field and English in the "To" field. You can also use this method to bypass software that block websites on the basis of specific keyword mentions. Just translate the URL you wish to visit in a different language to overcome the keyword block.

4. Create a 2 layered unblocker: Go to Google Translate, open any proxy website inside it and then use that proxy website to access your blocked website. In this way, you can achieve two layered website unblocking.

5. Use RSS Readers for accessing restricted blogs: All blogs syndicate their content via RSS feeds which you can subscribe to in web based RSS readers like Feedly to access blocked content.

6. To access a blocked website, you can enter its IP address instead of the URL in your browser's address bar. This can bypass most basic forms of website blocks. Although if the blocking software maps the IP address to the website domain, the website will still remain blocked. You can find the IP address of any website by pinging the website domain name in the Command Prompt in Windows (Terminal in other operating systems) and noting its IP address. Execute ping pc-trick1.blogspot.com in the Command Prompt to ping     pc-trick1.blogspot.com.

7. Use IP Address to Decimal conversion: If you cannot access your blocked website by entering its IP address, you can enter the decimal equivalent of the URL's IP address to get access to it. Search Google for IP to Decimal + IP Address of the banned website and Google will convert it into decimal. Enter that into your browser's address bar and see if the blocked website opens.8. Opera Mini Simulator: Opera Mini, the mobile browser for users with a slow internet connection, can be installed on your computer. You can use this PC version to visit blocked websites as Opera Mini accesses content from Opera's servers instead of accessing it from the servers on which the website is hosted. Most websites will load through this method, although the quality of the results obtained may not be that good for JavaScript heavy websites.

9. TOR: TOR or The Onion Router is a free software that protects the privacy and security of its users by channeling data through multiple nodes so as to prevent the original data from being unscrambled. Although browsing through TOR is a bit slow, it is one of the most effective ways of bypassing restricted websites and protecting your privacy.

10. Proxy websites: There are many proxy websites (anonymizers) which open blocked websites on their servers and present the data to you. This hides the address of the website you are trying to visit from your internet service provider. Few popular free ones include Anonymouse and KProxy.

11. VPN software: VPN or Virtual Private Network software can be described as a tunnel under the public network that offers more anonymity than proxy websites as it also encrypts the data transferred by the blocked website thus, offering complete anonymity. Although most VPN software are available as paid software only, HotSpotShield is a popular free alternative.

12. IP hiding software: Sometimes, websites block users on a particular IP address from visiting themselves. In such cases, free IP hiding software like UltraSurf can be used to visit them. While free software offer very less features as compared to paid ones, they are still effective for overcoming most common blocks.

13. Changing DNS servers: A common way of blocking websites is preventing DNS servers from giving the locations of the blocked website's servers. In such a scenario, changing your DNS servers to those of OpenDNS or Google DNS will be your best option to get over the block. As an additional advantage, this can also increase your internet speed.

14. Edit your host files: Some malware and blocking software edit your host files and add a website's address in them to prevent you from visiting it. In such a scenario, you can edit your host file with Notepad by visiting “C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc” if C is your system drive. In Windows 10, Windows 8(.1), Windows 7, a warning from UAC might be displayed.

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7 Wi-Fi Tweaks to Increase Your Speed

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02:02

Chances are if you have a wireless internet connection at your home, you have had some trouble with the speed of the connection at least once before. That being said, a slow wireless connection can be frustrating to deal with. You are probably paying good money to your internet service provider, so slow speed is something you should not have to deal with, right? Well, the truth is wireless speed can be affected by a number of things. Luckily there are some Wi-Fi tweaks you can try that should help boost your speed and get you rolling in no time.
 1. Reposition Your Router

The position of your wireless router plays a major role in the speed and strength of your wireless connection. If you are having trouble, you should try to reposition your router in a centrally located area, where the signal can equally reach each wireless device in your house. If your router is near an outside wall, try to move it closer to the middle of your house. Routers that are placed near outside walls can send some of the signal outside, which can risk your wireless connection’s strength and speed. 

 2. Purchase a Wireless Signal Repeater

Adding a wireless signal repeater to your home network can greatly increase the speed of your connection. A repeater works by extending your signal without having to add any additional wires. All you have to do is simply place the wireless repeater in a location that is between your router and your wireless device(s). It will instantly boost the wireless signal that is sent from the router to your devices, meaning faster speeds for you. 

 3. Install a New Antenna

Most wireless routers come standard with an omnidirectional antenna, meaning it broadcasts the wireless signal in a circular radius to reach various places in your home. If your router is in a perfectly centered location between all of your wireless devices, this is probably fine. But if your router isn’t perfectly centered among devices, you should think about replacing the existing antenna with a stronger one, known as a high-gain antenna. You can usually remove your old antenna and replace it with one of these stronger antennas to boost your signal strength, therefore increasing the speed of your connection. Another perk of a high-gain antenna is its ability to focus the wireless signal in any direction you prefer.

Increase Wireless internet Speed

 4. Use One Brand of Equipment

You may not think that using different brands of equipment can reduce the speed of your wireless connection, but in reality it can. If you use different brands of equipment, your components may not work as efficiently. This is because many manufacturers of wireless networking equipment pre-install enhancements in all of their products. These enhancements can boost speed, but will only work if products from the same manufacturer are used simultaneously. If you are using various brands of equipment and your speed is suffering, this is definitely worth a try. 

 5. Reduce Frequency Interference

Many household electronics, such as cordless telephones and baby monitors, run at the same frequency as wireless routers. This means that these electronic devices can interfere with the wireless signal that is being broadcast from your router, which can affect the speed and performance of your connection. Check the box of your router to see what frequency it runs at, and try to avoid using other electronic devices that operate at the same frequency. You can also try to change the channel on your router to avoid frequency interference. 

 6. Check for Firmware or Driver Updates Regularly

The manufacturers of wireless routers and network adapters often release firmware or driver updates that can improve the function of your wireless connection. You can find and download these updates at the manufacturers’ websites. Updates are usually done to fix issues, add features, and strengthen your equipment’s performance. Check for these updates on a regular basis to make sure your firmware and drivers are always kept up to date. 

 7. Secure Your Wireless Network

If your network is not properly secured, neighbors could be using your signal. This can reduce the speed of your connection because you are in a sort, sharing the wireless signal. Set up secure passwords and some sort of wireless encryption that will prevent anyone else from accessing your wireless network. All of these Wi-Fi tweaks can greatly boost the speed of your wireless connection. If one of them does not seem to do the trick, try another or even a multitude of options. It may take a little time and patience, but once you figure out what works to speed up your connection, you will be happy you put forth the effort.

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Monday 20 June 2016

Cool Facebook Status, Chat Tricks and Tips

  Author : Unknown     No comments
19:30

Most of us use Facebook to interact with some of our long separated friends but that does not mean we cannot have fun on Facebook. Here is a collection of tricks, tips and Easter eggs you can use to enjoy your experience on Facebook.

Facebook Easter Eggs: Pirate Language ,Turn Facebook Upside Down

Facebook is not as famous for its Easter eggs as Microsoft, but that does not mean that Facebook's Easter eggs are not entertaining. The one which I especially find interesting is the Pirate Language trick. To enable Pirate Language in Facebook, login to Facebook, click on the down arrow at the right of the top navigation bar, click on Account Settings, click on Edit at the right of the Language option, and in the Primary Language dropdown menu, select English(Pirate) located somewhere near the bottom and be the captain of your Pirate Ship.
Facebook tricks
Blabber t' yer mates

Similarly, you can also turn Facebook upside down by selecting English(Upside Down) from the Languages dropdown. This will flip the entire Facebook interface but your status updates would still be "normal".
Facebook Tips
See. Mark Zuckerberg does know how to headstand.


Chat on Facebook in your Firefox sidebar while browsing other Websites

To do this, you need to bookmark http://facebook.com/login.php. Then click on Show all Bookmarks (Manage Bookmarks in older versions) in the Bookmarks menu, then locate the newly created bookmark, single click on it, then click on more in the footer, then check Load this bookmark in Sidebar. Now, you can open that bookmark in Firefox's sidebar and keep on browsing other websites too.
Facebook chat

Show Facebook Status Updates only to Specific People or Hide them from someone

Facebook gives you the option to show your status updates to everyone or only your friends. You can further optimize Facebook so that your status updates are shown only to people you wish. Go to Privacy Settings by clicking the Settings icon at the right of the top navigation bar and clicking Privacy Settings. Then, in the Who can see my stuff? section, click on "Who can see your future posts?". Then, customize who you wish to show your posts by clicking on the down arrow that appears next to the Post button on the non-functional status update box. You can also hide your statuses from specific people by adding their name in the Hide from These section under Custom settings. You can also individually change the audience of your posts. Go to the post whose audience you wish to change and choose a different audience by clicking on the globe icon (which denotes that the post is public).
Hide Facebook Status

Hide your past posts so that only your friends can see them

Now you can also customize your past posts so that only your friends can see your past activity. To do this, open Facebook Privacy Settings and under the "Limit the Audience for Past Posts" option, select "Limit Old Posts."

Tag people in Status Updates, Wall Posts, Comments or Text

To tag someone in text in a manner that a link is created to the person's profile, use the @ symbol. eg. If you wish to tag John Jamison in your comment write @ John Jamison without any spelling mistake. If the person is in your friend list, a link in blue will be automatically created to the person's profile and he would be "tagged".
Tag Statuses Text Comments
Facebook text tagging in action

Write Upside Down, In Bubbles or Inverted Mirror-like text on Facebook

You might have seen many people update their Facebook status saying that "this was the last time they bought a keyboard on eBay" or "they have finally learnt how to update Facebook statuses while doing a headstand" written upside down. Here is how you too can flip text like that and add much more cool effects. Just go to Upside Down Text, uncheck Backwards effect, enter your text and copy the inverted one from the inverted text column and paste it in your status update or chats. You can also write inverted mirror like text by un-checking the upside down effect. To write in bubbles, click on the Bubble Ball text in the top Navigation bar.

e.g. Mirror Effect:- !rorrim a ni deppart ma I !oN hO

e.g. Upside Down Effect:- ɯɐp ʞǝʎqoɐɹp¡

e.g Both Mirror and Upside Down Effect:- ¡poפ ǝɯ dlǝH ˙ʎzɐɹɔ ƃuıʇʇǝƃ sı uıɐɹq ʎW

e.g. Text in Bubbles:- Ⓞⓗ Ⓝⓞ! Ⓜⓞⓡⓔ ⓑⓤⓑⓑⓛⓔⓢ

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Why Facebook is Blue in Color?

  Author : Unknown     No comments
19:29

When you open Facebook, the first thing that you notice is the blue color it uses. Ever wondered why is Facebook so blue in color and not changing its color scheme?

Ever since they started as 'thefacebook', Facebook has stayed with the blue color. Although major changes have been made in the Facebook theme since then, the major unchanged thing has been the blue color.

facebook blue color
Facebook from its early days when it was known as  thefacebook

An exciting fact: In its earlier days, thefacebook.com required you to have an  .edu email id to join.

Everywhere from its login page to Facebook groups, you find only blue.
facebook is blue
Facebook Login Page. All Blue!

The reason for this is that  Mark Zuckerberg, the young founder of Facebook is red-green color-blind and blue is the richest colour for him which he confirmed in an online interview with Leo Laporte.

Another important commercial factor for using blue color is the fact that most colors tend to distract the viewers. Blue on the other hand acts as a transparent background to the main content as visible to the human brain due to which most popular websites tend to use the blue color. It can easily be called a webmaster's favorite color. Blue color is also sometimes referred to as 'Nirvana' for the brain.

All these factors make blue a prominent color on Facebook.

If you are bored with Facebook's blue theme and want a stylish theme, visit Change Facebook Theme.

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Safety and Security Risks When Using Facebook

  Author : Unknown     No comments
19:26

There is no doubt that the biggest social networking site taking over the whole globe is Facebook. Since it’s the biggest thing the online world has ever seen for the last several years, it’s critical that you understand the guidelines and policies listed on the site. They’re very useful in keeping you informed with various aspects of the site and how it runs.

You should know by now that for every website that you go to, there’s always a good chance of encountering good and bad users. Facebook can be accessed by just about anybody so it’s imperative that you are wise and conscious with how you distribute or share information about yourself on it (and other social networking sites for that matter).
Facebook Security Risks

Identity theft is one of the biggest concerns in the online world today. They are real and can devastate a person’s life if the person isn’t aware of what’s going on.

The internet is fun to be on nowadays since it helps you to keep in touch with your old and new friends, family and associates. You can share content such as pictures with anyone who has an internet connection, play games seamlessly through a virtual portal, being aware of announcements and updates of certain events and entertaining friend requests. Such things have prompted users to come back for more and what many aren’t aware of is the fact that they are vulnerable to online predators and criminals.

So what should you do to help protect yourself from the bad guys out there? Here are just some helpful things that can help you in the long run if you follow them religiously:1. Understand how the security feature works on Facebook.
As you are well aware, Facebook is known for periodically modifying its security settings. You will observe posts from the site of the changes being made with regards to its security features that lets other users see content that you don’t want them to view. It’s critical that you look into this carefully and see if the changes can significantly affect you in some way.2. Don’t reveal too much information on Facebook.
One of the most obvious ways of getting in trouble within the biggest social networking site is by revealing too much information on just about everything (including yourself). You should be aware of the things that you’re sharing, be it your profile, wall posts, messages and even the content that you share such as pictures and videos. You’ll never know, criminals would use whatever it is you post for their own evil means.3. Pay attention to links, e-mails or friends
Social networking sites these can be penetrated by online criminals who use sites like Facebook to gain information about you. This can occur through a sent or posted link, which will in turn eject a virus or spyware to retrieve personal information about you. If you happen to receive a link that you find suspicious, ask your friends about it or simply delete it.

With the evolution of technology, cyber criminals are more smarter than ever. If you are constantly paying attention for any suspicious activity that comes your way, you can shield yourself from identity theft and other online criminal acts.

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Make Facebook Photos & Posts Private

  Author : Unknown     No comments
19:25

Do you have private pictures of yourself or your family on Facebook which you don't want the entire world to see? This guide will help you change your Facebook privacy settings to only allow your friends or people you know to see your Facebook photos (and everything else you do). You can even customize the privacy settings of individual albums to share them with a small group of people like your co-workers or relatives.

Make Facebook Photos & Posts Private
There are three ways in which you can do this. Either, you can customize each wall post's or photo's settings individually, or set the preferences for specific albums or use a general setting for all posts and photos you have.

1: Choosing an individual wall post's or photo's privacy settings

While posting your photo or post, click on the down arrow left to the post button. Select Custom from the drop-down menu. Using the pop-up, select who you wish to make a post visible to. You can select if you wish to show a post to friends, friends of friends or specific people or a specific list of people.
Make Facebook Photos Private
Select Custom Privacy Options
You can even hide a photo from specific people or a list of people. This will be especially useful in situations where you don't want your colleagues to see a certain picture that makes fun of them or something similar. Normally, when someone is tagged in a photo, every friend of that Facebook user gets to know about it. So, if you chose to make a photo visible to friends and someone is tagged in that picture, all their friends will see that image. To prevent this, uncheck the Friends of those tagged checkmark.
Facebook Pictures & Posts Private

2: Limiting the Audience for an entire album

This is much similar to setting the audience for an individual picture. Just go to your albums, click on the Settings icon on the bottom right of the album whose privacy settings you wish to customize. Then select Custom from the drop down menu. The options Facebook offers are almost the same as those for an individual photo, however there is one difference.
Private Pictures Facebook Posts

All those people who are tagged and their friends would still be able to see the photos in your album. To prevent this, you will have to change the privacy settings of each individual photo.
Facebook photos & posts privacy settings

3: Making all your Photos and Posts Private

This is the permanent solution against worrying about your Facebook content. However, it doesn't offer much customization options and should only be used if you are sure how you will use Facebook. This is a 2 step process and involves customizing the audience for your past posts as well as those you will make in future.Step 1: Limiting Past Posts & Photos
Go to your Privacy Settings, and then go to "Limit the audience for posts you've shared with friends of friends or Public?." Then click on the "Limit Old Posts" button. In the pop-up, click Confirm. This is a permanent change and cannot be undone. However, all those tagged and their friends would still be able to see your posts. To prevent this, you will have to change each post's settings individually.Step 2: Limiting Future Posts and Photos

Facebook Content & Photos Private

While in the privacy center, click on "Who can see your future posts?" This will open a non-functional status update box. However, the privacy options that open when clicking on the down arrow right next to the post button are functional and act as global defaults for the content you post on Facebook in the future. Make sure to select friends if you only wish to share content with your friends. You can however, change this according to your needs; but for most people, friends would be the best option. You can further improve your privacy by selecting Custom and then unchecking the check box that appears next to "Friends of those tagged". This will customize your Facebook settings to show your Facebook activity only to your friends and those tagged.

You can also select who gets tagged in your content to further prevent your content from appearing in front of unwanted eyes. To do this, go to your Privacy Settings from the Settings icon located at the top right of the blue Facebook bar. Then, in Privacy Settings, click on Timeline and Tagging. Then under, "How can I manage tags people add and tagging suggestions?", select Enabled to review tags that friends add to your posts.

Facebook's privacy settings take some time to adjust but once you are done, you will never have to worry about your content ending up in front of unwanted users.

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Change Facebook Theme, Color & Appearance

  Author : Unknown     No comments
04:43

Facebook is a social networking site which enables people to connect with friends and people around. That's how Facebook is usually introduced. However, Facebook is beyond the need of being introduced as almost everyone is on it. Despite its popularity, Facebook has one flaw; the default blue theme is really boring.

Some even consider it an annoyance while visiting Facebook. As Facebook does not allow users to change its theme like MySpace used to, users are left with no other option but to bear the theme Facebook wants them to use.

However, it is relatively easy to change the Facebook theme to a stylish one using an addon and custom themes which are available free of cost on the internet.

An example of the final outcome would be something like in the image.

Change Facebook Theme
This is the Ferrari theme. More themes are available for you to choose.


Requirement: The basic requirement for this to work is to have Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome as your browser.
Steps to achieve this: If you use Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox users should carry out the following steps to successfully change Facebook theme.
  1. Open Mozilla Firefox and install 'Stylish' addon.
  2. Follow the basic steps to install the addon.
  3. Restart Firefox after successfully installing the Stylish addon.
  4. Login to your Facebook Account and click on the small 'S' button in your Firefox status bar.
  5. Click on "Find Styles for this Site" to open a new tab with free themes to use for Facebook.
  6. Click on any theme and a preview will be shown.
  7. If everything is fine in the previewed theme, click on "Install with Stylish" button at the top right corner of the page.
  8. A dialog box will open.
  9. Click on Install in the dialog box.

Steps for Google Chrome
  1. Install Stylish for Chrome from the Chrome Web Store.
  2. Navigate to Facebook.com and click on the S button.
  3. Click on "Find Styles for this Site" to open a new tab with free themes to use for Facebook.
  4. Click on any theme and a preview will be shown.
  5. If everything is fine in the previewed theme, click on "Install with Stylish" button at the top right corner of the page.

Stylish Button


facebook theme change

Install with stylish

Installing Ferrari theme for Stylish Firefox

Now whenever you open Facebook, it will show the theme that you have installed with Stylish instead of the boring old blue theme.

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