Skip to Content

Free TUAW iPhone app -- try it now!
AOL Tech

executable posts

Filed under: E-mail, Productivity, Google, Freeware, Web

Using Gmail as an impromptu drop-box for any file type

Gmail Attachments

If you have the ability to install software on your work computer, by far the easiest way to move files back and forth between your home and work computer would be a file synchronizing product like DropBox. But if you don't, what's the best way to move a relatively large file between two remote computers? For small files, email is usually the answer, and for users of Gmail that expands to files of up to 25 MB in size. But with what can often be a big catch: Gmail won't allow you to transfer executable files, even if they are inside a zip archive.

However, if you're simply wanting to move a file between computers, you can exploit the fact that Gmail doesn't actually scan a file to see if it is an executable until you actually try to send the email containing the file. This means that you are free to attach any file up to 25 MB in size to an email in Gmail, as long as you don't send it. You can then log into your Gmail on another computer, and download the attached file, without ever running into the executable file restriction.

Of course, the other easy way around Gmail's limitation is to change the file extension of the file you are sending. If you have an executable file inside a Zip archive, and you change the archive's file extension from .zip to .zzz, for example, Gmail doesn't know what a .zzz file is and does not scan it. Voila, you can now easily send executable files through Gmail.

Filed under: Audio, Utilities, Video, Windows

Make your audio and video files executable without a media player

NIN exe

Want to send a friend an audio file, but don't know if they've got an audio player that can handle your OGG files? You could point them to the appropriate player and codec combo, or you could just make the file an executable. Audio/Video to Exe is a utility that lets you turn pretty much any audio file into a standalone media player.

The player is probably the simplest you've ever seen. There are no controls for play/pause or fast forward/rewind. In fact there are no controls at all. If you want the file to stop playing, you just close the program. But the media you create should be playable on any PC.

You can also use the program to convert files from one format to another. It can handle a wide array of audio and video formats, including 3GP, AAC, FLAC, MP2/3/4, OGG, and WAV, and WMA, WMV, FLV, SWF, ASF, and MOV. Audio/Video to Exe is available as a free download. Or you can buy the Pro version, which lets you adjust bit rates, for $32.27.

[via Technospot]

Filed under: Security, Windows, Web services

What's that mystery process? Ask exeLibrary

Windows Task ManagerexeLibrary isn't the only site of its kind, but it's certainly the simplest and least cluttered. It's a database of executables that you might unexpectedly find in your task manager along with descriptions and , in the case of ones that shouldn't be there, threat levels. My one gripe with the site is that when you enter a process that isn't in its database, it give you a scary notice that says it's "a potentially very dangerous executable" and then recommends that you buy a program called WinTasks through its affiliate link. But as long as you steer clear of those, exeLibrary is a great resource.

Featured Time Waster

The World's Hardest Game 2.0 - Time Waster

So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

View more Time Wasters

Featured Galleries

Defective by Design, London: Protest Pictures
Microsoft Security Essentials
Chromium Pre-Alpha on CrunchBang Linux
Safari 4 Beta
10 Firefox themes that don't suck
IE8 RC1
Download Squad at the Crunchies After-Party
Download Squad at the Crunchies
WordPress 2.7
Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals
Windows 7 Hands On
Comodo Internet Security
Android First-look: Amazon.com MP3 Store
Android First-look: Twitroid
Google Reader Android
Android Hands-On
Twine 1.0
Photoshop Express Beta
Mozilla Birthday Cake
Palm stuff
Adobe Lightroom 1.1

 


Follow us on Twitter!

Flickr Pool

www.flickr.com

More Tech Coverage

AOL Radio

Joystiq

TUAW

Daily Finance

Autoblog

Urlesque

Engadget

WoW

Switched.com

FanHouse