Network Utilities – Trace Routes, Ping Host And Run Nslookup

Network Utilities is an application developed for network administrators who need to run multiple network-specific commands from one window. You can perform many network commands, such as, ping, tracert, and nslookup without the need of entering convoluted command lines. With Network Utilities, one can simply trace a route by entering the host name instead of entering entire set of tracert commands.

All commands can be accessed from File – > New menu. All you need is to select the command followed by entering the host name. For example, if you wish to perform an nslookup, choose it from the list and enter the respective IP. If you are not familiar with nslookup command.

By entering a hostname, you can initiate a trace route, ping a host or perform a nslookup.  The main window displays all the information regarding selected command. The screenshot shown below exhibits the traced routes against specified host address with response time.

You can also quickly find out your IP, MAC, Default Gateway, etc., by selecting IP Address from the File menu.

From Settings window, enable minimize to tray option to always keep it at your fingertips. The Windows menu allows cascading the application window horizontally, vertically and in a maximized form. It works on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008/2003.

Download Network Utilities

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Trace Network Information Using Command Prompt

There are many applications that claim to help network administrators to trace, diagnose and resolve network related issue. However, I strongly believe that knowing your basics is always the key to success. Therefore, knowledge of performing simple tasks such as checking the latency of your connection and tracing a route is essential for network professionals. In this article I will tell you how to trace network related information using command prompt commands.

Tracert and netstat are command line names that are enough to scare any user from using the command prompt. Nonetheless, such command are still widely used by network and system administrators to diagnose and resolve some very important network related issue.

Tracert

The path between two computers connected via the internet cannot be defined as a straight line. It consists of numerous “hops” from one intermediate computer to another. Tracert or traceroute is a command that shows the time taken for each hop and the IP address for each intermediary computer (as shown below). An example of a tracert command would be something like: tracert addictivetips.com. You can also use the IP address instead of the hostname to use the tracert command. This command is used to see a network packet being sent and received and the amount of hops required for that packet to get to its destination. You can use tracert to determine where a packet stopped on the network. This can allow network professionals to establish if there is a router configuration problem.

Netstat shows the active TCP connections and ports for a computer, Ethernet statistics, the IP routing table, statistics for the IP, ICMP(Internet Control Message Protocol), TCP(Transmission Control Protocol), and UDP(User Datagram Protocol) protocols. One possible use for Netstat is to determine if a malware may have established connections that you might be unaware of. If you type netstat /? And hit enter in your command prompt, you will be able to see details regarding a list of netstat commands. For example nestat:

-a displays all connections.

-b displays the executable involved in creating each connection.

-e displays Ethernet statistics.

-f displays the FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) for foreign addresses.

-n displays active TCP connections (addresses and port numbers are expressed numerically).

-p proto shows connections for the protocol specified by Proto.

- r displays the routing table.

-s displays the per protocol statistics.

-t displays the current connection offload state.

interval re-displays selected statistics, pausing interval seconds between each display.

For more information simply use the netstat /? command.

Commands like netstat and tracert are by no means obsolete and will be used for many years to come.

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Migrate From IPv4 To IPv6 With Bitcricket IP Subnet Calculator

The advent of Internet Protocol version 6, IPv6, which is the next-generation Internet Protocol version as the successor to IPv4 has made IP address related calculations more elaborate than before. Although IPv4 is still in dominant use, it is inevitable for system and network administrators to gear up for working with the more complex IPv6. Bitcricket IP Subnet Calculator is a handy utility for Windows and Mac users for easy IPv4 and IPv6 related calculations. These include identifying the subnet, class I.D, CIDR and IPv6 related information. It also helps in migrating from IPv4 to IPv6. According to the developer, “the Bitcricket subnet calculator is the first to support IPv6″.

To find detailed information about an IP address, simply type it in the Conversions tab (in the Dotted Decimal text box). This will automatically display the maximum number of subnets, the number of host bits, or the maximum number of desired hosts.

The Class ID can be easily identified from the Classes tab.

Likewise, the CIDR (Class Inter-Domain Routing) can also be calculated from the CIDR tab. CIDR or “supernetting”  is a methodology of allocating IP addresses and routing Internet Protocol packets. This way IP routes (especially Class C) can be aggregated into a smaller set of routing table entries. For more details about a routing table, you can see our post here.

There are no subnets in IPv6 (and thus no subnet masks). However, there are different types of IPv6 addresses and bits/fields with different interpretations. The best part of the application is that it provides intricate information about an IPv6 address, which makes it easier to calculate related information. Moreover, this IP calculator helps you migrate from IPv4 to IPv6 by supporting the 6 different IPv6 flavors that embed IPv4.

It is available for both Windows and Mac. Works on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Mac OS X.

Download Bitcricket IP Subnet Calculator

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Hover IP Checks Ports, Routing Table, Monitor And Trace Routes

Recently we reviewed, Network Utilities, which is a GUI application for running network specific commands. HoverIP is a similar, yet more advanced application that enables users to obtain related network information. This includes MAC address, DHCP assigned IP, DNS, Default Gateway and IP Lease expiration time. Other tasks that can be performed with the help of HoverIP include nslookup, trace routes, port scanning,  pinging systems and and monitoring routes of a routing table. What makes HoverIP unique from others is the GUI based port scanning utility and routing table. A routing table is a set of rules, that is used to determine where data packets traveling over an Internet Protocol (IP) network will be directed. IP-enabled devices, such as routers and switches, use routing tables. Being able to add routes to monitor in a GUI (Graphical User Interface) is indeed quite convenient for system and network administrators.

The IP Config tab displays general information, such as, the currently assigned DHCP IP address, MAC address, default gateway, DNS and IP lease expiration information of a selected network card (from the drop down menu). Although this information can also be obtained from the IP config command line in command prompt, however, being able to see it in a GUI is quite convenient, specially when the IP release option is available by clicking on a single button. If you would like to know the reason why a DHCP IP might have to be released or renewed, you can see our guide “How To Renew IP Address From The DHCP Server “

The Nslookup tab, as the name implies, is used for performing an nslookup i.e. (queries a DNS server for machine name and address information). A detailed overview of the nslookup command line and its advantages can be found here.

The best feature of HoverIP is the Routing Table utility. A routing table is stored on a router that keeps track of all possible routes between sources and destinations in a network. In some cases, it also stores the metrics associated with the routes. From the Routing Table tab, users can add routes to monitor, by entering the appropriate IP, subnet and gateway. Its is useful for system and network administrators since, a routing table information is used by routers for packet forwarding decisions (routes).

The Ping tab is used for performing Ping commands in order check if a system is connected to the network, to check packet loss information and latency. In the Options section of this tab, the number of pings and packet size can also be defined.

To trace a route, simply go to the Traceroute tab, enter a host name and click Start. HoverIP provides the option to resolve the router’s hostname (of the given IP). This can be done by checking the Perform Reverse Lookup checkbox. A detailed information of the tracert (route tracing) command line can be found here.

The Port Scanning tab provides three options for scanning ports. These tabs can be used for scanning open ports (Search Machines With Open Ports option), searching the computer for existing ports (Search Machines With Open Port option) and for having an overview of the ports table (ports Table sub-tab).

HoverIP is a good application for performing complex command prompt related tasks in an easy to use GUI based interface. It works on Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Download HoverIP (2nd from the list)

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How To Renew IP Address From The DHCP Server

Any disruption in connection with the DHCP (Dynamic Host configuration Protocol) Server with the client can result in a failure to acquire an IP address. This results in what is famously known as APIPA (Automatic Private IP Addressing). In such a case it is necessary to renew the IP address from the DHCP Server, in order to make the internet connect functional again. This command line will help you renew your IP address in case of an APIPA.

There can be multiple reasons why a user may not be able to acquire an IP address from the DHCP, this can be because the server is down or the server turns off. The APIPA IP address can be identified by going to the network adapter or your internet connection status and clicking on the “Details” button. Or by going to the command prompt and typing ipconfig /all and hitting the enter button. If the IP appears to be like 169.254.0.23, then you will need to renew your IP address. The APIPA reserved range is 169.254.0.0 – 169.254.255.255.

To get rid of this notorious IP and to renew your IP simply go to the command prompt and type ipconfig /release and hit enter. This will release the APIPA. then type ipconfig /renew and press enter again. This will renew your IP from the DHCP server and provide you with a proper static IP from the server to connect you back to the internet.

Your IP address will be renewed. To verify that you have received the right IP, you can simply check if the static IP is not from the APIPA range.

An Automatic Private IP Address might not seem like much of a nuisance, however, whenever you are unable to browse the internet, it might be worth checking out if you have the right IP address.

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Windows Server DNS 2003 / 2008 Monitoring Management Pack

DNS (Domain Name System or Service or Server), translates domain names into IP addresses. As alphabetical domain names are easier to remember as compared to IP addresses, therefore, the human brain is far likely to remember a word or phrase such as addictivetips.com instead of an IP address. The Internet however, is based on IP addresses. Every time you use a domain name, a DNS service must translate the name into the corresponding IP address. For example when you type www.google.com, DNS translates it in relation to 78.46.99.12. DNS saves us from the impossible task of remembering hundreds of thousands of IP addresses. Microsoft recently released Windows Server DNS 2003/2008/2008 R2 Monitoring Management Pack. This management Pack (as the name implies), monitors DNS infrastructure health, availability and performance on Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 32-bit and Windows Server 2008 R2.

This DNS Management Pack is meant to monitor DNS health, DNS availability, its configuration, security and zone-transfer issues. This DNS management pack obtains performance related data which can be used for making capacity related plans for DNS servers running Windows Server 2003 or 2008. For instance, if the available DNS server(s) are becoming over capacitated, this can be calculated in due course of time with the help of the Windows Server DNS Monitoring Management Pack and additional DNS servers can be brought online, in order to make sure that the available resources can match user needs.

Features for DNS Windows Server 2003/2008 include DNS Global Zone support, Native Systems Center Operations Manager 2007 MP, Windows 2008 DNS Server Support, updated Knowledge Base Information, which Coexists with the included DNS 2000 MP.

Features for DNS Windows Server 2008 R2 include, Windows 2008/R2 DNS Server Support, changes in how “Primary Server” and “Serial Number” properties are updated, Enhancements to Forwarder Availability Monitor, New views defined ( Forwarder state view and Zone state view), Scripts-Timeout changed from 30 to 300, all monitors changed from “Internal” to “Public”, all classes made “Public” and new rules defined for all monitors with manual reset.

Supported Operating Systems: Windows 2000 Server;Windows Server 2003;Windows Server 2008

• Windows Server 2003 DNS (workgroup and domain mode)
• Windows Server 2008 DNS (workgroup and domain mode)
• Windows Server 2008 R2 DNS (workgroup and domain mode)
  (The number of DNS management devices supported is based on the supported limit for the number of agents in a management group. These management packs are supported on System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2).

• Additional Software Requirement: Systems Center Operations Manager 2007 SP1/R2

Download Windows Server DNS 2003/2008/2008 R2 Monitoring Management Pack

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LookInMyPC: Generate Complete Windows System Profile Report

An average computer user in US will spend thousands of bucks on tech support every year, most users do not have complete knowledge on the software and hardware installed on their system. Windows 7 does a good job in displaying the basic information, for more advanced information you can use Speccy and SIW(more detailed).
LookInMyPC is another useful tool but works quite differently. Instead of showing all information in one window, it lets you select the type of report you want to generate. If you want the complete report of both hardware and software, click Check All, and then click Generate Report.

The report is generated in HTML and can be viewed in the default browser. We have posted the screenshot of the partially visible result below, you will find the full sample report in LookInMyPC website.

Download LookInMyPC
Apart from Windows 7, it works on all previous versions of Windows till 2000.

Fix Printer Paper Jam With A Simple Batch File

There are two big annoyances with Printers, one is when Windows cannot kill the print job and second is when the paper is stuck. In both situations hitting the Cancel button is useless, since Windows can in fact never kill the print job while the temp file is created and the job is still in use.

To fix this issue, you need to first open the task manager, stop spoolsv.exe service, and then delete everything inside the following directory,

C:\windows\system32\spool\printers\

Now open Run dialog box, enter spoolsv.exe and hit Enter. Doing this will run the spoolsv.exe service again.

If you face this problem frequently, why not create a simple batch file which can perform all these actions for you? To do so, copy the following text in the notepad and save it as “AddictiveTipsFixPrinter.bat”:

@echo off
echo Stopping print spooler.
echo.
net stop spooler
echo Erasing Temporary Junk Printer Documents
echo.
del /Q /F /S “%systemroot%\System32\Spool\Printers\*.*
echo Starting print spooler.
echo.
net start spooler

To make it easier, we have provided the batch file below. All you need to do is to double-click it and try printing again.

If you have Lexmark printer, you need to add the following code after the “net stop spooler” command:

sc config spooler depend= RPCSS

This is important because Lemark printer can seriously mess up the services and makes it impossible to start the print spooler. Thanks goes to Print Flush for the code.

Instantly Hide Active Program Windows And Disable Sound With Magic Boss Key

When working on confidential content, it is necessary to keep it safe from prying eyes. This is particularly the case for individuals who work in sensitive divisions of an organizational unit (e.g. officials from the  Business Intelligence department of a company). Unfortunately, Windows does not provide any default feature to hide actively open files, folder and programs. This can however, be done with the help of Magic Boss Key which is a free application to instantly hide active program windows by using a hotkey. We are familiar with Win+M hotkey but this only minimizes the  open windows, not hides them.

With Magic Boss Key, you can hide the browser, folder, and applications windows, as well as, all your desktop icons and taskbar. Items can also be excluded from the list of content to be hidden. This application can also be helpful for privacy cautious people and those who might be willing to hide some active applications from their boss. For example, lets say you are browsing through Facebook or playing a computer game at work. In the event that your boss suddenly arrives, the selected content can be easily hidden via a simple hotkey.

To hide any active item(s), launch Magic Boss and check any item that you would not wish to hide. For example, you may wish to keep your Excel sheet open if your boss suddenly arrives while you are playing Chess Titans. In such a case check the checkbox of the folder, application or browser that should be visible when you execute the command to hide the content. The default hotkey is F12, pressing F12 automatically hides the unchecked items, whereas pressing F12 again, bring them back.

In case any of the application or folder does not show up in the list. Click on Refresh to reload the available items. The Options button enables downloading additional language files for changing the language of the app, changing hotkey (the available options include F12 or left+right mouse button for show/hide functions), enabling the application on startup, muting sound, enable hiding taskbar and desktop icons.

Although when the content is hidden, it also disappear from the taskbar, there still might be some important items still pinned to your taskbar which might be confidential in nature. Therefore, being able to hide the taskbar is indeed quite a handy option.

Magic Boss Key is a kind of application that delivers a utility for a diverse range of users. It provides privacy options for home users and even lazy game playing employees. A very thoughtful feature of this app is the option to disable sound from a related application. As when you hide a game window from your boss, the last thing that you would like him to hear is “Die Alien Invaders Die”. It works on Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Download Magic Boss Key

Add Subtitles To YouTube, Vimeo, Blip.tv Videos With Universal Subtitles

 

Universal Subtitles is a web service that allows users to create and share subtitled versions of YouTube, Vimeo, Blip.tv and USTREAM videos. It supports famous video formats, such as, MP4, WebM, theora, HTML 5, etc. After a video is subtitled, it can be shared across Facebook, Twitter and with an embedded code that is provided by Universal Subtitles. The transformed video can be further edited by anyone to add translations.

Universal Subtitles is a project of PCF (Participatory Culture Foundation), the same organization who is behind the popular Miro Video Converter.

To start creating subtitles, go to the Universal Subtitles website, enter the URL of the video and hit Submit Video. Make sure that you are logged in with your Universal Subtitles account so that you can save your work after completion.

After that, you can either upload subtitles, add a translation or click Subtitle Me to add your own subtitles from scratch. You will be prompted to select a language in which the subtitles are to be added, along with a prompt to identify the native language of the video.

Simply, start the video and add subtitles as the video moves on. You can select between three different editing levels to suit your need. The beginners level and Magical Auto Pause mode pauses the video periodically, whereas, the Expert mode plays the video nonstop (it can be however be paused/played by hitting the tab key).

After adding the subtitles, you can start reviewing and managing them in the next step. After which you can save your work and share it across Facebook, Twitter or add an embedded code to your website. Anyone who watches the video can add translations to further enhance the subtitle options for the video.

Universal Subtitles is a great project to help millions of deaf and hard of hearing viewers.

Visit Universal Subtitles

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How To Setup Your Own Wireless Internet At Home

In the last few years wireless internet has become a necessity for most users rather than a luxury. Although there are many wireless internet packages and devices available from numerous ISPs, yet due to signal constraints it can be difficult to acquire a decent wireless connection in some areas. Users in such scenarios have no option but to rely on ADSL connections for using the internet. In such a case an ISP may or may not provide a package for getting a wireless router installed at your premises. Many a times such packages can be more expensive than simply buying your own wireless router. In this post I will tell you how to configure your own wireless internet in order to make your ADSL connection available for wireless usage.

For this configuration we are using a TP Link 54m (802.11g) wireless router. Normally connecting your wireless router with your active ADSL switch with a cross cable will instantly provide wireless connectivity. However, this method will also allow unrestricted access to adjacent systems in the neighborhood to use the internet connection. This can also cause network security issue. To prevent this from happening you can secure your connection with a key. To do this you will have to access your router by connecting it to your system with a straight cable. The reason I am advising connecting the router to the system directly is because if you have a new router it is possible that it may have the same IP as your ADSL switch i.e. 192.168.1.1. In case the IPs are separate you can simply connect the router to the ADSL switch with a cross cable (If you don’t know how to make a ethernet cable you can ask your vendor to make a cross/straight cable for you). Nonetheless, many routers normally come with ethernet cables. To get started, type the IP of your router in a browser or Windows Explorer and press enter. Most routers have a default IP of 192.168.1.1. For checking the factory default settings of your router, you can consult the manual. After that you will be prompted to login with your user ID and password. Most routers by default have admin as both.

Since most routers come with the same default IP, therefore, in case you mgith not be able to connect your internet wirelessly as well as to a a system which has no wifi card. In such a case you may be unable to the internet on both systems. To resolve this issue you can always go to the network settings to change your IP to be able to connect both wirelessly and via the network cable to seperate systems. this option can be located in the LAN tab in the Network drop down menu.

You can change the default login credentials to make your router more secure from external attack. This option in my router was located in System Tools, in the Maintenance drop down menu. The location of certain settings may be present in separate sections of different, switches, routers, IP Phones, etc.

To add a key to your router you can go to the security section and configure your wireless settings. You can use ASCII or Hexadecimal key format with a 64, 128 or 152 bit key type (depending on your router options).

• For 64-bit encryption – You can enter 10 hexadecimal digits (any combination of 0-9, a-f, A-F, zero key is not promitted) or 5 ASCII characters.
• For 128-bit encryption – You can enter 26 hexadecimal digits (any combination of 0-9, a-f, A-F, zero key is not promitted) or 13 ASCII characters.
• For 152-bit encryption – You can enter 32 hexadecimal digits (any combination of 0-9, a-f, A-F, zero key is not promitted) or 16 ASCII characters.

After you have configured these settings anyone with the key and a Wi-Fi card attached to their system can connect to your wireless network (within a certain range).

If you ever wish to revert to the default settings you can always restore to the factory default settings from the Factory Defaults section. This will restore your login credentials, IP address, etc back to the original factory settings.

Summary

1. Attach Your wireless router to your ADSL moden via cross cable in the LAN ports.

2. Access the wireless router via the IP.

3. Encrypt connection with a key.

4. Save your settings.

Optional

1. Change wireless routers IP.

2. Change login credentials.

It might be useful for many people to understand such basic configuration procedures as I can tell you with experience that whether one has to configure a Cisco IP Phone or a router/switch, the basic rules of configuration such as the ones mentioned above will apply. To avoid confusion, I have not referred to the rest of the settings as they are normally not required for setting up this kind of connection. As it is highly unlikely that you might have to configure your router options for  PPPoE (Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet), which by the way my ADSL device is configured for.

Auto Organize & Sort Large Files Before Backup With Capacity

How many hours have you wasted calculating the file sizes and trying to find out if they will fit in the spare CDs or DVDs you have lying around? Most of us make backup of all important files to the DVDs before formatting the hard drive and some users love to organize their files by date and file type. The procedure of manually calculating and organizing the files is usually quite tiresome, until today.

Capacity is a nifty little portable application that makes organizing the files as easy as possible. Just select drive or directory that you want to backup, select if you want to move or copy the target files, finally select the sorting criteria, and hit Go.

It will automatically sort the files according to the defined criteria. It can sort by file size, by month created, by month modified, and by file type. A perfect app for everyone who wants to make a clean backup without confusing themselves later.

At first we choose ‘By File Size’ option and selected the ‘CD Size’, the result can be seen in the screenshot below. Note the file size of each folder is exactly 700MB, you can however always define a custom size(in MB).

Next, I tried sorting by ‘File Type’ and result was brilliant as you can see in the screenshot below. Each folder contains files of one extension only, the pdf folder contains all pdf files, the exe folder contains all exe files, and so on.

The application automatically searches for the file types in each and every sub-directory and arranges them in perfect order. The move or copy option needs a little explanation, if you choose copy, all original files will remain intact and a new folder will be created where you will find all files neatly sorted ready to be backed up. The move option will move all files to the new folder(depending on your sorting criteria), thus they will no longer remain in their original location.

Our only wish is that there was a build-in progress bar since organizing large files can take some time and there is no way to keep check on the progress. Nevertheless, the app is brilliant and a must have.

Download Capacity

Since it is a portable tool, it works on all versions of Windows, including the latest Windows 7 operating system.

Microsoft Mathematics Add-In For Word And OneNote

Many MS Office users are in need of one advance mathematics-specific tool for carrying out complex operations, evaluating polynomials, plotting 2D & 3D graphs, etc. Microsoft recently realized this very need and released an advanced mathematics add-in, supporting both Office 2007 and Office 2010. It encompasses a set of useful tools which serves the need of novice and experienced users alike. As of now it is only for Word 2010, 2007 and OneNote 2010, but hopefully support for other applications will be out soon.

The add-in will help greatly in plotting graphs in 2D and 3D, evaluating numerical results, solving equations and inequalities, and especially assist you in simplifying the algebraic expressions. It adds a new tab on the ribbon called Mathematics, under the tab there is a list of mathematics relevant tools and functionalities. You will find a build-in intrinsic Equation menu, next to it a new tool Compute is placed which has multiple options for computing; Algebraic expressions, Differentiation, Integration, List, and Matrix set.

The Graph pull-down menu offers all the graph-related options and tools. Using these options, you will be able to plot 2D and 3D graphs without much effort involved. It requires you to select the type of graph you want to plot. It also facilitates user to plot 2D & 3D graph on both sides and allows you to plot inequality graph.

Under Mathematics field, you can switch from Complex to Real number fields whenever required and specify the decimal places to streamline the plotting, equations, numeric values with the work previously performed. Angle measures are also provided alongside, you can choose Radians, Degrees, and Gradians as per requirement.

There is a detailed help manual comes with the installation package, as the add-in offers wide range of mathematics-specific functions and tool, don’t forget to thoroughly go through the documentation for better understanding. Considering the diverse mathematics-related solution it offers, it will wholly satisfy the educational and corporate sector needs. The add-in was tested on Office 2010 running on Windows 7 32-bit.

Download Microsoft Mathematics Add-in for Word and OneNote

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Reduce Outlook PST File By Replacing Downloaded Attachments With Shortcuts

Even though Outlook 2010 offers a simple way to let users manipulate mail attachments, there are two problems regarding maintaining the size of Outlook mailbox, firstly, when you export/save an attachment, it doesn’t get deleted from the email, thus taking same disk space, secondly, when you delete the attachment after saving it on disk, the mail item will stop showing paperclip-imaged icon which indicates that message contain attachments, hence you cannot list down all the mails which had attachments.

Considering this very problem, Phil Holmes offers a simple solution through his product called Outlook Attachment Exporter. It is a small application which can export or delete attachments in specified mail item without removing paperclip-imaged icon, letting user visually find out ‘mails with attachments’. Using the application, even if you’ve deleted an attachment, it can replace the file with a small-sized icon file (having same file name) to reduce the overall size of Outlook message store.

The application runs only in company with Outlook, so launch Outlook and let it complete the Sent/Receive process. Now launch the application, you will see two big buttons to navigate through the messages. All the respective mail-related information can be seen alongside. To let application consider only messages with attachments, enable Ignore messages with no attachments option. You can also view the original message in Outlook by clicking Show Message button. In center pane, you can see all the attachments contained in selected message.

From the lower part, you have options to Delete Attachment and replace with either icon & filename or shortcut file which will refer to exported file. Finally, a click on Go button will process the attachments as defined by user. As you can seen in the screenshot below that it has deleted the original attachment file and added an icon file with same filename.

The application proves to be useful in controlling Outlook mailbox size while mitigating the probable of having duplicates. It works with Outlook 2003, Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2010, our testing was done with Outlook 2010 running on Windows 7 x86 system.

Download Outlook Attachment Exporter

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How To Open PST And OST Files Without Using Outlook 2010

PST and OST are two most important files which carries your Outlook’s mail items, contacts, events, tasks, etc. Considering the significance, it may become indispensable to access PST (Personal Storage Tables) and OST (Offline Storage Tables) files without having to install Outlook 2010 (or any other version) on your new system. Viewing PST and OST files also comes useful when Outlook is inflicted by viruses or simply doesn’t respond due to unknown reason. Kernel PST and OST viewer (two separate tools) are developed for gaining access to your PST and OST files respectively.

Using these tools, you can easily open and view the contents of Personal Storage Tables and Offline Storage Tables. Both applications are absolutely free and comes with a same snappy interface. The main navigation bar holds all the content of your PST/OST file in question. Beneath navigation bar, you will find links to Calendar, Tasks, Journals, Notes. The main window is extensible and comes with broad layout, you can easily move the separators for best viewing.

It is to be noted here that these application wont work if any of Outlook instance is running in the background. As these applications and Outlook are mutually-exclusive, you have to run one at a time.

The applications supports Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7, testing was done on Windows 7 x86 system.

• Download Kernel PST Viewer
• Download Kernel OST Viewer

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Transform Windows 7 Into Mac With Snow Transformation Pack

Windows 7 is quickly growing as a very popular operating system with its customizable features and appealing looks. Now, you can even transform your Windows 7 to give complete look and feel of a Mac operating system. Snow Transformation Pack enables you to swiftly modify your Windows 7 appearance so it takes on the Snow Leopard skin of OS X.
The transformation requires just a couple reboots. As soon as your PC restarts, you will begin to feel the magic of this amazing transformation. Right from Windows logon screen down to the theme, icons and controls, everything is replaced with a new, fabulous Mac view. It also includes the chic RK Launcher—any MAC user would tell you how incomplete his PC is without this pivotal tool.

At startup, you are greeted with the Welcome Center, which also offers several options, such as Configure user account, Repair system files and Remove Snow Transformation Pack. From the Configure user account link, you can control the desktop enhancements and other 3rd party apps that are to take effect. The settings are confirmed by clicking on the Apply Configuration button

An amazing transformation pack for Windows Vista and Windows 7 that totally changes how your computer looks.
Tested on Windows 7 x86 system.
Download Snow Transformation Pack

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Skype Multiple Accounts Login

Are you looking for a solution to login to multiple Skype accounts simultaneously? CalimSkypeLauncher allows users to sign in to multiple Skype accounts at the same time. With this application, you can open multiple Skype accounts for your professional and personal contacts and keep all of them running at the same time.
It is a portable application that can be launched instantly after download. The first step is to enter the username/password of all your Skype accounts. It supports multiple login of upto 3 Skype accounts. When done, providing this information, open CalimSkypeLauncher file to sign into multiple Skype accounts. You will be prompted when it successfully signs in to all your accounts.


A handy application for signing into multiple Skype accounts. You must have Skype 4.0 or later for this app to work.
Download CalimSkypeLauncher

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Record Your Skype Calls With CallGraph Skype Recorder

CallGraph Skype Recorder is a free application for recording Skype calls. No matter how long the conversation, this program will record as long as you are connected. With this application, you just have to focus on communicating with the other party and the application will take care of everything else.

It offers a small interface that’s easily managed. You will first be prompted to connect the application with Skype. It takes five simple steps to get connected, and users are guided throughout the way. The application icon in the System Tray will display a green tick when it is properly configured with Skype. If you still don’t see the green tick, you should try restarting Skype. Once the application is connected with Skype, you can start making calls. The application will start recording as soon as the conversation starts. You will be prompted when the recording starts and finishes.

For advanced configurations, right-click on the application and select Configuration. Under these settings, you can specify the location of the recorded files. You can choose to record the files as MP3 or WAV. Other audio options, such as Channels, Sampling Rate and Bit Rate can also be specified. You can also decide if you want to record calls automatically or manually.

It offers a simpler interface and is more easily managed than other Skype recording tools we’ve tested. Like other similar applications, this tool also has to be connected with Skype before recording can be initiated.

This application supports Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. Testing was carried out on Windows 7 x86 system.

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Schedule & Remotely Shutdown/Restart Your PC From Mobile Phone

By Aatif on Jul 01 2010

Downloading a large file that has an hour left to complete, and you don’t want to stay up just to shut down your PC? Stepped out in a rush and forgot to put your system to hibernate? Perhaps you want your VPN connection to terminate after a certain interval, or want a certain application to automatically launch at a certain time? For all these cases, Airytec Switch Off comes in handy.

Available in both installable and portable flavors, this light and small tray application can automatically turn off, suspend, lock or hibernate your computer, based on either a pre-defined scheduling or through remote access. It can also launch any program through its highly configurable script support.

When running, you get a tray icon with some preconfigured options, with intervals of 30 minutes, 1 hour and 2 hours. They can also be based on CPU inactivity. Selecting ‘Schedule Task’ gives you more freedom, where you can program a task to execute based on a timer (including one for CPU idle time) or a one-time task with time and date setting. The program can be set to run silently,where it won’t generate any alerts before running the defined task.

One of the most powerful features of Switch Off is its predefined scripts. By default, the software comes with only one; Open calculator, but you can add as many as you like. Click Edit predefined scripts to access the scripts folder. You can create any new scripts in the notepad, saving them with .cmd extension, and they will appear in the pull-down menu. In the screenshot above, the Open Notepad script being shown is my own creation.

The options dialog offers three sets: General, Other and Remote. You can set language, notification and quick-action parameters here.

The Remote tab is of more interest (not available in the portable version) since it allows you to enable and configure remote access parameters for Switch Off. You can also set a remote access password (recommended but not required) to keep your settings secure.

To access remotely, you need to enter your PC’s external IP address followed by the port that you have specified, so that it looks something like http://12.34.56.78:8000, where 12.34.56.78 is assumed to be your PC’s external IP address. Enter this in any web browser, including mobile web browsers, and you get access to your PC’s remote Switch Off panel. Please note that the application must be running in order to access web interface. Check out more details here.

Airytec Switch Off is a user-friendly and useful utility that can come in handy at many a times. It works on all versions of Windows starting with 2000, all the way up to the latest Windows 7, and is gentle on memory usage.

Download Airytec Switch Off