There are many different providers of DNS (Domain Name Servers) available on the Internet, from the one you get using your ISP, to Google, UltraDNS, OpenDNS etc.

In this tutorial I am going to show you how to change your DNS settings in XP, no matter which DNS provider you choose. In the tutorial I am however going to assume that you have set up an account at OpenDNS.

Changing DNS settings

1. Click Start-Button and Open The Control Panel.
2. Locate and open Network Connections
3. Double-Click your default Network Connection from the available list
4. Click Properties
5. Highlight Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click on Properties again
   
6. Click on: “Use the following DNS server addresses”
   The text fields below will be enabled
   Type in DNS IP addresses you have obtained from the DNS provider
   
   Example:
   Preferred DNS server address for Open DNS is: 208.67.222.222
   Alternate DNS server address for Open DNS is: 208.67.220.220
7. Click OK
8. Close any open dialogue window and Control Panel
9. Restart all Browsers

Further Reading

• Acer Gridvista Enables Aero Snap Features [Vista and XP]
• FlashHacker, Watch FullScreen Flash Videos without Interuptions [Freeware]
• Get Windows 7 Style Taskbar Thumbnail Previews in XP [How To]
• MouseExtender is an iPhone-like Menu for Windows
• Clean Up old Windows System Restore Points [How To]

Present Like a Pro

To present like a pro, you should:

1. Use your own equipment when possible.
2. Test equipment before presenting.
3. Make sure your presentation is clear and easy to read.
4. Relax.

I’ll cover the first three steps in this guide; the fourth step should come naturally–you’ll feel more relaxed when you’re prepared and in control.

Use Your Own Equipment When Possible

Knowing and understanding your own equipment can be a big factor in how well you present. When possible, try and use your own laptop and wireless presentation device. If you have a wireless mouse, this can also be used to transition slides.

If you’re using Windows 7 (which I recommend highly for its capabilities with all modern projectors), press the WINKEY+P to switch displays and go into Projector only mode.

Test Equipment Before Presenting

Whether you’re using your equipment or someone elses, always do a “dry” run before you present. Make sure your laptop is communicating with the projector, make sure your wireless device has fresh batteries and communicates with your laptop from where you will actually stand to present, and make sure everyone can see (and hear) from all corners of the room. You’ll either need a cloning of yourself or a friend (probably easier) to stand at the far extermeities of the room to test visibility and audibility.

Make Sure Your Presentation is Clear and Easy to Read

Please follow the advice in the following illustration I put together:

There’s nothing more distracting than busy, text-packed, hard-to-read slides.

More Tips

Here are some more useful tips to help you with your presentations:

• PowerPoint Presentation Advice
• Tips for Effective PowerPoint Presentations
• Top 10 Slide Tips

Now relax and present like a pro!

Random Posts

• StumbleUpon Trick to Get More of What You Want
• MyWindowsPC Blogs Start: Chaos Ensues
• Bluescreen BSOD Screensaver for Windows
• 30 More Really Stylish Free Fonts for Windows [Set 2]
• Happy Holidays from mintywhite.com

That being said – sometimes you may find yourself in the situation where you are doing work related research – and end up at restricted sites – what then? Okay, I know that one is a bit far-fetched, you would probably just want to be able to use your Facebook or Tweeter or whatever. So Being the nice guy that I am – here are Three ways to breach security…

1. Anonymous Surfing – Proxy Wise

There are literally hundreds or even thousands of free proxies offering to  hide you from your ISP or Company Firewall. Some are fake (of course), some place large ads on your screen so you can’t even read the page you are looking for, and some are in fact very good. Some Company Firewalls not only block sites from content or URLs, but also based on the language or country – so you might need to try a few.

The following list are amongst my favorites:

• hidemyass.com
• can’t bust me
• anonr.com

What is a Proxy, anyways ?

A Proxy is a server that fetch the information you want, but without revealing your true identity or location. Think of it as a two-way mirror, the person standing in a dark room, on one side of it, can see the person in the other room (Where the lights are on), but not the other way around. Therefor your ISP or Company Firewall can only see the Proxy Site you are surfing to, but not the site you are actually viewing.

All the free Proxies are filled with ads and it may be difficult to see how to use it. However, If you look closely you will find a text field with a prefilled URL, like http://www.youtube.com (or similar). Delete that text and enter your desired URL.

Some Proxies also offer settings that let you block such things as cookies, JavaScript etc. that actually might tell your ISP and Company Firewall what you are really up to.

You can find more at sites like this one: http://www.proxy4free.com/page1.html. This site provides a list of hundreds of free proxies and in which country they reside.

2. WebPage as PDF

If you are not in a hurry, this is also a nice way to fool your Firewall and ISP. Create a PDF of any URL and have it sent to you by Email or as a PDF Download. I have previously written about two solutions, html-to-pdf and PrimoOnline (By NitroPDF) (Read here).

Which of them You use, depends on how restrictive your environment is. If you cannot download anything from an external URL, you should use the Email Solution.

Granted, it is not the most effective way of surfing the net, but as we say here in Norway: “Distress, teaches the naked woman to spin yarn“. Yes, I do Know the English saying: “Distress is the mother of invention“, but I like the Norwegian version better. . .

How do you do It ?

1. Open the URL (Html2PDF | PrimoOnline)
2. Type in the URL of choice and Email Address if applicable
3. and Enjoy

3. Remote desktop

This is probably the sneakiest of them all. Set up a VPN or a Remote Desktop to your Home Computer. That way you may use your home based Computer and Internet as your own personal Proxy. This may sometimes require some permission settings from the Network Administrator, tho I don’t foresee that as being much of a problem. After all, you do work from home on occasion don’t you ??

I recommend the Free Service from www.logMeIn.com, because I have tested it and I know that it works. It is also a well-known Service and most network administrators should have no issues with you using it. If you need to download files using this method, you can email the files from your home Email to your Office.

You may also consider the other free solution from LogMeIn, previously mentioned here on MintyWhite (Read Here). Just remember that this one requires you to have someone on the other site to grant you full access (when it’s set up).

Further Reading

• FlashHacker, Watch FullScreen Flash Videos without Interuptions [Freeware]
• The No-Help-At-All Tech Support [Share your Story]
• ImgBurn, Free CD/DVD Burning and Backup Tool
• Acer Gridvista Enables Aero Snap Features [Vista and XP]
• Outlook 2010, Part 3: Contacts

• Invalid Adobe PDF
• Error Locating Object Handler
• Adobe reader could not open the file ‘ABC.pdf’ because it is either not a supported file type or because the file has been corrupted (for example it has been sent as an email attachment and wasn’t correctly decoded
• An Internal Error Occurred
• Other obscure and unhelpful messages

This guide will take you through basic troubleshooting steps you can use to view PDF files that seem to work for every one else but you.

Note: This guide does not teach you how to fix a corrupted PDF file; this guide teaches you how to fix a corrupted PDF download. In other words, the PDF file is not the problem, what happened when it downloaded to your PC caused the problem.

Fixing a Corrupted PDF Download

To fix a corrupted PDF download, I recommend you do the following, in this order (check the download after each step so you don’t create more work than you need to do):

1. Get the latest version of Adobe Reader (or your PDF reader of choice.)
2. Clear your internet cache and try the download again.
3. Use a different browser and try downloading the file again i.e. if you used Internet Explorer, try Mozilla Firefox.
4. Update your internet browser, clear your cache (again), and try the download (again.) Get the latest version of your browser of choice—which is likely much more secure anyway.
5. If you’re unsuccessful after trying all the steps above, you can ask for help in the forums.

Hopefully, one of these steps will help you open the PDF file you’re trying to download. If you want to learn more tips like this, why not subscribe and download free Windows books, which are packed with tips and tricks just like this.

Random Posts

• Consumer version of Surface could hit by 2011
• Need Vista SP1 help? Call Redmond toll-free
• Get Back Lost Off-Screen Windows [How To]
• Quick Media Converter Does What it Says
• The Windows Guides Text to Speech Tool

Now there is a solution…

A tech savvy person, named Jmaxxz has developed a Tool that hack The Flash Player so it ignores any activity on the other monitor. Thus enabling you to keep watching the Full Screen Flash Video without interruptions.

1. Download Here, and Run it.
2. Close all browsers before you continue.
3. To Activate the Full Screen Mode, Click: Hack My Flash!
4. Start your Browser and open your Flash Video in Full Screen Mode.
5. Click UnHack Flash to Reset the Flash Player

Further Reading

• Acer Gridvista Enables Aero Snap Features [Vista and XP]
• Get Windows 7 Style Taskbar Thumbnail Previews in XP [How To]
• Clean Up old Windows System Restore Points [How To]
• Really Take Control over Your Right-click Context Menu [How To]
• Advanced Defrag that Really Works

There might, however, be  some reasons to shut this feature off. Like, when my kids discovered the burn to disk feature, they tried to “make movies” by placing tons of YouTube links on the disk and burn them. Suddenly my stash of 50 DVD’s were gone. Filled with nothing useful what so ever.

Therefor, I needed a way to disable the Burn To Disk Function in my Windows 7. Now This may also work in Vista, tho I haven’t tested it.

1. Click the Start-Button, and type: gpedit.msc, in the Search Field
2. In the Left Pane, Locate the following Folder:
   Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components > Windows Explorer
   
3. In the Right pane, scroll down until you find: Remove CD Burning Features and Double-Click it.
4. In the Options Window, Click on Enabled, then Click OK
   

That’s it.

If you want to Enable the Burn Function again, follow the above steps, and choose Disabled.

Further Reading

• Acer Gridvista Enables Aero Snap Features [Vista and XP]
• Can’t Delete a File? Use the Command Prompt [How To]
• Really Take Control over Your Right-click Context Menu [How To]
• MouseExtender is an iPhone-like Menu for Windows
• Clean Up old Windows System Restore Points [How To]

Create a Photo & Video DVD

To create a photo and video DVD:

1. Click the start button, type DVD, and click Windows DVD Maker.

2. Click Choose Photos and Videos.

3. Browse your hard drive for videos and pictures you’d like to include, and put them in the order you would like to see them in.

After you select your videos, you can customize the menu text, menu, and slideshow.

4. Click Customize menu. From here, you can change the font used, pick a video that runs in the background of the menu, and even add music.

5. once you’ve customized the menu and the slideshow to your needs,you are ready to burn a DVD. Click Burn.

Your DVD is now ready to share with friends and family (be sure to check it in your own DVD player first.) I wish this program was available to me in the past; there have been many times when I’ve created DVD with rickety software and nothing I’ve used use is both as simple and as solid as Windows DVD maker.

Random Posts

• Enable or Disable Taskbar Thumbnail Previews in Windows 7 [How To]
• Customize Windows 7 Send To Menu [How To]
• Install Drupal on Your Local Windows Installation
• 100 Free Desktop Wallpapers [Set 10]
• 100 Free Desktop Wallpapers [Set 03]

As it stands right now, I have tens of thousands of entries in the Event Viewer which is unnecessary and bogs down the loading time. Maybe for a corporate administrator this is required but for average Joe, it isn’t.

What is the Event Viewer?

“Windows NT has featured event logs since its original release in 1993. Applications and operating system components can make use of this centralized log service to report events that have taken place, such as a failure to start a component or complete an action. The system defines three log sources:

• “System”
• “Application”
• “Security”

Microsoft intends the System and Application log sources for use by the Windows operating system and Windows applications respectively. Only the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (lsass.exe) can directly write to the Security log.”

With that out of the way, on with the guide to show you how to clear the Event Viewer.

Step 1.

Click the Start Menu and type notepad.  Click on Notepad from the results.

Step 2.

Name the file, Clear Event Viewer.bat and click Save.

Your new file should now look like this:

If it doesn’t and it looks like this:

Go back and try again.

Step 3.

Find the batch file we created a second ago and double click it.  The command prompt window will now pop-up and run through the batch file commands.  Let it finish and it will automatically close.

Now you can go ahead and open up the Event Viewer and have a completely clear view!

Alternatively, you can download the batch file here and run it in the same way.

Further Reading

• Disable Burn-To-Disk Function in Windows [How To]
• Remove Gadgets & Screen Resolution from Context Menu [How To]
• Acer Gridvista Enables Aero Snap Features [Vista and XP]
• Add a folder to the Windows 7 Taskbar [How To]
• Add Advanced User Account Options to the Control Panel [How To]

I really value your feedback; every day I receive feedback about this and other sites I run; this feedback helps me improve the site and improve your experience here.

Today I am asking you to take a moment to submit feedback to me about Windows Guides (mintywhite.com.) Please share any bugs, glitches, errors, annoyances, grammar mistakes, and problems in general.

How to make your feedback really helpful:

• Include the URL (address) of the page where the problem exists.
• Please detail anything you do to get the error.
• Please refrain from sharing feedback like “I wish the background was green and not blue” etc. While I do welcome this feedback, this will not help in this exercise.

I promise to read every email I get and, if you ask questions, I’ll get back to you.

Submit a Bug etc. to me

Random Posts

• 9 Free Screensavers for Windows
• Five (5) TuneUp Utilities 2009 Winners Announced
• Create a System Restore Point in Vista [How To]
• Microsoft Warns of Fake “Security Essentials 2010″ Anti-virus Software
• Best Windows Freebies and Guides 09 [December 2008]

This time, Let’s share stories about the Tech Support People who weren’t any help, or who never should have picked up the phone that day at all. I have a few stories here that made me laugh and I hope they can brighten you day as well.

What I’d really like thou, is for you to share your story, with me and the rest of our faithful readers.

“Who’s the MCSE Certified Expert here ??”

You probably already know where this is going, right ?
Okay, a System Manager Trainee was called over to a workplace together with the company’s MCSE. The computer in question would not log on to the network. After about 30 minutes of troubleshooting, the trainee tapped the MCSE guy on the shoulder, saying:” I might know what causes it..” The MCSE Replied: “Shut up, just watch and learn how a professional does things.”.. “But…” The trainee said, before he was cut off, yet again, “Hey, Who’s the MCSE certified Expert, here ? You, or me ?”

The Trainee, then crawled under the table and pulled out the Network Cable, which was unplugged from the wall socket. Guess who got blamed for not saying so in the first place…

“Let’s do it My way…”

Customer: “My laptop won’t boot.”
Tech Support: “Have you tried rebooting?”
Customer: “I can’t reboot, because it doesn’t boot in the first place.”
Tech Support: “Sir, we have to do things my way, okay?”

“Are you sure it’s not a CD-Rom Drive ??”

This one I found on the net somewhere:

Back in 2000 a family decided to get ISDN Internet connection. Now the computer they had at the time, was not the most modern one, it didn’t even have a CD-Rom Drive. The only tech savvy person in the household was out for the day (let’s call him Rich) when the Internet Tech Support guy showed up to install everything they needed.

When Rich came home, he found the tech support guy scratching his head, looking very confused. And Rich’s mother in front of the computer trying to pry out the CD-Rom from the 5 1/4″ floppy drive.

“I have no clue, mam”, The Tech Support Guy said, “I’ve never seen one of those before, are you sure it’s not a CD-Rom drive ??”

[Side Note: You might learn something...]
What is a 5 1/4″ (5.25″) Floppy ? Well, back in the good ol’ days – it was what we used even before there were Hard Drives. It was the predecessor of the 3.5″ diskette and was called a floppy because they were housed in bendable jackets. It could store a staggering 1.2MB. The Disk Drive had the approximately same size as the CD, but was mostly out of use in the mid 1990 ies.

Your Turn!

I’m sure you have a funny story around somewhere in the back of your mind. It doesn’t need to be self experienced. But it should have some plausibility to it. Please share your story in the comments.

I can’t hardly wait!

Regards, Thomas

Further Reading

• Remote Desktop, No Installation Required – Freeware
• FlashHacker, Watch FullScreen Flash Videos without Interuptions [Freeware]
• ImgBurn, Free CD/DVD Burning and Backup Tool
• Get Windows 7 Style Taskbar Thumbnail Previews in XP [How To]
• MouseExtender is an iPhone-like Menu for Windows