Month: October 2013
How to check for and fix OS X boot drive errors?
Description
Are you facing problem with your Mac? Is it running slow?? Due to formatting errors in Mac’s hard drive, the system may suffer with slowdowns, failure to save or read data and file corruption. Thus, you can reboot your system into Safe mode periodically which can run the “fsck” command-line tool to check the hard drive for errors.
Solution:
For this, you can use Apple’s Disk Utility program available in the Applications>Utilities folder. This is the most standard method for checking the system’s hard drive. Select the bot volume in the device list and then hold the Option, Command or Shift key. After that, select the drive device itself having the size and manufacturer in its name. Click the “Verify Disk” button after this selection and the system can check the partition tables and formatting of the drive.
Checking of the hard drive may result in system hanging. Even if your system gets paused for a long time then it will resume sooner or later. Also, there are other alternatives to the Disk Utility program built in to OS X. You can use these options if you are logged in in Single User mode or logged in remotely through an SSH connection.
There are two options present in the Terminal including “diskutil” command, and the “fsck” command. In fact, both of these commands can be used to check the hard drive for errors using following syntax:
diskutil verifyDisk DRIVEID
diskutil verifyVolume VOLUME
In these commands, DRIVEID is the device ID of your boot disk which is generally “disk0.” But, you can change it as per the number of physical drives in your system. For seeing the available devices as well as their respective IDs, you can run the command “diskutil list.”
Talking about the second command, VOLUME is some name that will target the boot partition. This you can do in three ways. Firstly, use the name of the boot volume which should be surrounded by quotes if the spaces are present in it. Secondly, use the slice ID for the volume. It looks like the device ID but with the addition of “s1″ or “s2.” As OS X systems have an EFI boot partition commonly thus, the boot drive’s slice number is usually offsets to disk0s2. Thirdly, target the root of the boot file system using a single forward-slash character.
Below are the examples of all three options:
•diskutil verifyVolume “Macintosh HD”
•diskutil verifyVolume Macintosh\ HD
•diskutil verifyVolume disk0s2
•diskutil verifyVolume /
Running these commands, system will check the boot drive as well as output status.
Finally, you can use the “fsck” routine. To use it, simply run the following command at the OS X Terminal prompt:
sudo fsck_hfs -f /dev/disk0s2
This will check the various formatting database files as well as shows any potential problems. If problems come then you can resolve them by using Disk Utility or run diskutil commands listed above again. But, use “repairVolume” instead of the “verifyVolume” command.
To use the fsck command, you can run it with the following flags to perform the repair:
sudo fsck_hfs -fy /dev/disk0s2
Make sure that while booting to the OS X installation or recovery drive, the “disk0” ID should represent the recovery drive instead of the system’s main boot drive. Therefore, before running the command you have to run “disktuil list” again to find out the proper ID to use.
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How to Write a Twitter Bot in 5 Minutes?
Description
Twitter Bot can be used for word meanings, weather conditions, language translation, conversion of time zones, data calculations, and many more. If you want to know how to write a Twitter Bot then go through this tutorial.
Solution:
For writing Twitter bot, you need to know little bit about JavaScript but it is not compulsory. Basically, a bot is a program which runs in the background and whenever it encounters a command; it processes it and then sends a reply to the tweeter in another tweet.
Nowadays, Google scripts can be used to write the Twitter bot and host it on your Google Drive.
Here are some steps to write a Twitter Bot:
Setup a Twitter App
Firstly, create a new account at Twitter that work as a bot. Go to dev.twitter.com, sign-in with your new Twitter account and create a Twitter app. Now, give your name, description, website and callback URL to the app.
- After the creation of Twitter app, click “Settings” and choose “Read and Write under Application Type.” It is important as you want the bot to read and post tweets. Now, click “Update” button to save changes.
- Switch to the OAuth tool tab and make note of the Consumer Key and Consumer Secret. This will require later in your Google Apps Script.
Create a Wolfram Alpha App
- Wolfram App is used to determine answers that users will be posing to your Twitter bot.
- Go to developer.wolfram.com, create an account and then choose “Get an App ID” to create your new app.
- This App ID will be needed in the Google Script. Remember that your free Wolfram Alpha App can only be used for a non-commercial purpose.
Host the Twitter bot on Google Drive
- Create a copy of the Twitter bot into your Google Drive.
- Edit the values of TWITTER_CONSUMER_KEY, TWITTER_CONSUMER_SECRET, TWITTER_HANDLE (your new Twitter account) and WOLFRAM_API_ID – you know them all from the previous steps.
- Go to Run -> Start to initialize the Twitter bot. Click yes if the script asks you to authorize access to certain Google Script services.
- Go to Run -> Start to actually run the Twitter bot. It will show an “Authorization Required” dialog and will redirect you to Twitter where you can grant the script access to your Twitter account.
Now, close the Google Scripts and your Twitter bot is ready to run and take commands. For more from the XpertCrewTM team, please follow us on Twitter @Techvedic or contact Techvedic’s computer support helpdesk, as per below contact-details:
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CryptoLocker Is The Nastiest Malware Here’s What To Do
What is CryptoLocker?
Basically, it is a piece of malware which targets computers running Microsoft Windows operating system. It generally gets spread as an email attachment and seems to be from a legitimate source. After it gets installed in your computer, it encrypts your documents stored on your local computer as well as those stored on other removable storage.
Its encryption is very strong with the decryption key for your files stored on a remote server. For returning your files back, CryptoLocker asks you to give some ransom. If you don’t pay this amount within three days then your access will be lost forever. According to a blogger Javvad Malik, CryptoLocker comes via phishing emails. To protect yourself, you need to be vigilant before clicking on links within emails. And, if you get infected then don’t pay the ransom.
There is software called CryptoPrevent, designed by American security expert Nick Shaw, which can be used to prevent CryptoLocker attacking your computer. Also, it checks emails before you open any email attachment.
Having backup is important
Always keep proper backup of your important data. For this, you can use cloud backup services which can keep your data safe. In case, your computer gets compromised then there is no other option to get those files back without paying ransom. Thereby, it becomes a need to pay that amount in order to get your important stuff back. But, by paying the ransom you make this trick more profitable as well as allow it to continue. In fact, you don’t even know who the recipient of your money is?
Having backup is important
Always keep proper backup of your important data. For this, you can use cloud backup services which can keep your data safe. In case, your computer gets compromised then there is no other option to get those files back without paying ransom. Thereby, it becomes a need to pay that amount in order to get your important stuff back. But, by paying the ransom you make this trick more profitable as well as allow it to continue. In fact, you don’t even know who the recipient of your money is?
So, it is better to think twice before clicking any link. For more from the XpertCrewTM team, please follow us on Twitter @Techvedic or contact Techvedic’s computer support helpdesk, as per below contact-details:
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How to create a bootable OS X Mavericks USB install drive
Now that Apple has released OS X 10.9 Mavericks, you might want to consider creating a USB install drive for clean installs and future use.
On Tuesday, Apple released the latest version of their desktop operating system, OS X 10.9 Mavericks. Available as a free download via the App Store, OS X Mavericks is supposed to bring power and performance improvements, as well as some new features, including the new Maps app.
Creating an OS X USB installer from the App Store download hasn’t been very straightforward in the past, and the old methods no longer work for OS X 10.9. However, there’s a new Apple utility with Mavericks that makes it relatively simple, and thanks to MacForums member, tywebb13, we know how to use it. With a USB installer, you’ll be able to perform a clean installation ofMavericks whenever you want and without having to download it again from the App Store. Here’s how to create a bootable OS X Mavericks install drive:
Step 1: Download the OS X Mavericks installer from the App Store, but don’t run the installer yet. If you’ve already upgraded, you’ll have to download the installer again from the App Store, since it deletes itself after the upgrade. Make sure the installer is located in the Applications folder.
Step 2: Format a USB flash drive that’s at least 8GB, as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and keep the default name as “Untitled.” Make sure that you don’t have another volume with the same name. If you do, unmount the other volume or rename it temporarily. You can also name the USB flash drive to something other than “Untitled,” but just make sure to change the command in Step 3 to reflect the correct name.
Step 3: Open a terminal window and enter the following command:
sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/Untitled –applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app –nointeraction
Since the utility requires root privileges, you’ll need to enter your password to continue. It shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes or so for it to complete.
That’s it. You should now be able to boot with the USB installer while holding down the Option key and begin your clean install of OS X Mavericks. If the utility seems to be stuck at “Copying installer files to disk,” try switching to a different USB flash drive. Another issue that seems to come up is the USB installer not appearing in Startup Manager. Again, try switching to a different USB flash drive if you have problems booting into it.
Tags: USB flash drive, clean install, Mac, OS X, Apple, bootable drive, OS X 10.9, OS X Mavericks,Computers and hardware
Enable Hidden Secret “Stacked Tabs” Feature in Google Chrome
Description
If you have used both Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome then you must have noticed a difference. In Google Chrome, when you open various tabs then browser starts shrinking the tabs and after one stage you can only view a cross(x) button. This is really irritating as you need to open each tab for getting your desired tab. But, Mozilla Firefox does not shrink the tabs to that much extent. Instead, they shrink it to a limited size and after that it starts stacking new tabs to the right. If you want this feature in Google Chrome web browser also then this tutorial can help you.
Solution:
With this, you can enable the hidden feature “Stacked Tabs” in Google Chrome. As this feature is not enabled by default thus, you need to enable it.
Check out the following simple steps:
1.Firstly, type “chrome://flags/” in Google Chrome address bar and press “Enter.” An advanced configuration page gets open.
2.Press “Ctrl+F” keys together to launch find box and type following in the find box:
Stacked Tabs
It’ll highlight an option with the same name.
Stacked Tabs Windows
Tabs never shrink, instead they stack on top of each other when there is not enough space. #stacked-tab-strip
3.Click on the “Enable” link given below the option.
4.At the end click on “Relaunch Now” button and now Google Chrome have the secret stacked tabs feature similar to Mozilla Firefox web browser.
This is all you need to do for enabling the hidden feature in Google Chrome. For more from the XpertCrewTM team, please follow us on Twitter @Techvedic or contact Techvedic’s computer support helpdesk, as per below contact-details:
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Create the perfect parallax wallpaper in iOS 7
Description
iOS 7 provides an exclusive interactive layer throughout the operating system. On changing the viewing angle of your device by tilting it in different direction, any graphics present on the screen will give realistic feeling of movement. Basically, iOS 7 adds a realistic layer of depth on wallpapers. Now, you can create perfect parallax wallpaper in iOS 7.
Solution:
In fact, you can use photos available in your device for making cool-looking wallpapers. For getting your desired look, you need to move the photo around while setting it as wallpaper. Also, you can preview the parallax effect by tilting your device before setting it as wallpaper.
While choosing photo, try to go for that one which has plenty of depth to it. This depth makes it look moving. Talking about quality artistic wallpaper, it should have some depth and texture. You can look at the backgrounds Apple included with iOS 7. All of those have some sort of gradient, pattern or texture.
Furthermore, you need to size it up. Below are the suggested sizes for parallax wallpapers by device (WxH):
iPhone 5/5C/5S: 1,040×1,536
iPhone 4S: 1,040×1,360
iPad (third and fourth gen): 1,936×2,448
iPad Mini: 1,168×1,424
iPod Touch (fifth gen): 1,040×1,536
For resizing or cropping any image, you can use Photoshop or go for free program like Gimp. To adjust larger image or wallpaper, crop it so as to fit it in proper dimensions. Resizing may distort your photo.
That’s all. After cropping the image to the right size, get ready to make some parallax wallpapers. For more from the XpertCrewTM team, please follow us on Twitter @Techvedic or contact Techvedic’s computer support helpdesk, as per below contact-details:
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How to move photos across Facebook photo albums?
Description
If you have too many photos then dumping all photos in one folder doesn’t make any sense. Thus, it is better to create multiple albums to categorize all photos. But, what about those photos which you have already uploaded and dumped in one folder? Well, if you are thinking that you have to delete all those photos to categorize it again then you are wrong. There is another option available.
Solution:
With this, you can move photos from one Facebook photo album to another. Also, you can find this option in Google Plus as well. For this, go to the album from which the photos are to be moved out. On clicking any photo, go to the bottom of that photo and you will find “Options.” Click on “Options” and you will get multiple options. Out of those, choose “Move To Other Album.” You can click on this and in the pop-up window choose the right photo album where you want to move that photo. In case, you don’t have any albums created then you can create a new album right from the pop-up.
That’s all you need to do. Your photos will be moved to the new album along with your photo likes and comments. Be careful while moving photos from a protected or restricted photo album. For more from the XpertCrewTM team, please follow us on Twitter @Techvedic or contact Techvedic’s computer support helpdesk, as per below contact-details:
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How to access Webpage while watching YouTube?
Description
While watching a YouTube video, there is a common problem which you might have faced. The problem is you can’t view any of the page content during this. If you do so then YouTube video gets hidden and you can only here the voice. Basically, you can’t do multitasking with this. Well, this tutorial can help you in accessing webpage while watching YouTube.
Solution:
If you are a Galaxy Android phone user then you can find a feature through which you can minimize the video screen size while watching video. By doing so, video that is playing in the small window comes on top of other activities you do on the phone. Now, you can easily move this small video window anywhere on the screen. But, this would be more helpful in terms of YouTube video.
For resolving this issue, there is an app on Google Chrome Store called “The Key for YouTube.” After installing this app, you can browse as well as watch video content online. You will find a “Get” button at the bottom of YouTube video to download the video you are watching. With this app, you can explore content discovery features; you can browse the comments on the video without scrolling to the bottom, browse new video and comments, view animated thumbnails for new videos and also download the video of different format.
Therefore, this is really helpful in watching YouTube video along with webpage content. . For more from the XpertCrewTM team, please follow us on Twitter @Techvedic or contact Techvedic’s computer support helpdesk, as per below contact-details:
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5 Things You’ve Done That Are Probably Crimes
Description
While using laptop, smartphone, or tablet outside, you break one of the laws listed below unknowingly. Thus, have a look on this tutorial.
Solution:
1. The first and the foremost thing is you use the unsecure Wi-Fi connections. It is very common that Wi-Fi connections are free and thus, people use it frequently. There are many states where one had to pay a fine for using Wi-Fi of any surrounded area.
2. Also, if you are copying any software and passing it on to others then you are breaking EULA. By installing software on a system where it is not allowed, you are breaking EULA.
3. Further, downloading any popular media without the consent of its owner comes under copyright infringement. However, if the owner says that it is free then it is not copyright. For example, many retailers like iTunes and Amazon make free music available all the time.
4. Another act is Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA) which prevent people from getting around digital rights management. Digital rights management prevents the piracy of everything. If you are unlocking your phone then it means it is the option for it to work on all carriers. Although jailbreaking of iPhones is allowed as per Librarian of Congress (LoC) yet, it is not allowed for tablets. Make sure Apple voids your warranty when you jailbreak an iPhone.
5. Lastly, it is illegal to use work computers for personal use.
Thus, next time don’t do anything that can probably be considered as a crime. For more from the XpertCrewTM team, please follow us on Twitter @Techvedic or contact Techvedic’s computer support helpdesk, as per below contact-details:
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Simple tool checks multiple Apple stores for iPhone 5S stock
Techvedic. Tech support 