fix posts

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware, Troubleshooting

Fix common Windows XP errors with portable XP Quick Fix Plus

by Lee Mathews Nov 3rd 2009

Even though it's getting a little long in the tooth, plenty of PC users are still perfectly happy with Windows XP. Of course, that doesn't mean running Windows XP is always a trouble-free experience. It's got its fair share of issues. Thankfully, though, there are loads of great programs out there which make fixing little annoyances as simple as point-and-click.

Programs like XP Quick Fix Plus. The tiny, portable application launches a dashboard with one-click fixes for 40 common Windows XP problems. Quick Fix makes short work of irksome situations like a disabled task manager, missing Device Manager tab, and the infamous CD/DVD missing/not reading bug.

The program is essentially a collection of registry fixes, since that's where most of these problems originate. You might want to create a system restore point prior to running Quick Fix (or backing up your registry) just in case.

XP Quick Fix is a free, portable download and - not surprisingly - runs on Windows XP systems.

Tags: errors, fix, fixes, portable, regsitry, windows xp, WindowsXp, xp quick fix, XpQuickFix

Filed under: E-mail, Google, Troubleshooting

How to turn off "on behalf of" in Gmail

by Jay Hathaway Jul 31st 2009

Even if you don't have a Gmail account, you may have seen an email message from a Gmail user with "on behalf of" in the "From:" field. This occurs when someone uses Gmail to send a message from a consolidated address that they've added to their account, but the message is delivered by Gmail's SMTP servers. Google has introduced a fix for the superfluous, confusing "on behalf of" language, though.

To fix the issue, you just have to set up your alternate account to use its own mailserver instead of Google's. Go to "accounts" in your Gmail settings, and under "Send Mail As," you should see your alternate addresses. Click "edit info" and "next step," and you should find the option to send using your own SMTP server.

You'll just need to enter the username and password, and you're good to go. Goodbye, "on behalf of!"

[via Lifehacker]

Tags: email, fix, gmail, google, headers, on-behalf-of

Filed under: Security, Mozilla, Browsers

Mozilla plugs first hole in Firefox 3.5

by Lee Mathews Jul 17th 2009

Yes, the JIT security flaw that was being buzzed about two days ago has already been corrected.

The bug was originally identified on July 9th. As I mentioned in the last post, the patch was going to be released at the end of the month - but Mozilla wasn't foolish enough to let the bug go unaddressed for that long. Sometimes a flood of criticism will alter timetables ever so slightly.

Apart from the one big exploit that was plastered all over the internet, the 3.5.1 update takes care of about 20 other issues, including slow startup and (thank god) a new icon for OS/2.

The new build has already been pushed to getfirefox.com and is also available via the check for updates option on the Firefox help menu.

Tags: bugfix, fix, mozilla-firefox, patch, security, update

Filed under: News, Windows, How-Tos

Top 12 ways to overcome PC disaster

by Ryan Carter May 25th 2007

PC World has put together a round-up of ideas to save you from the worst things that could happen to you. These end-game scenarios include:

These are some of the most frequent problems that an IT technician will be asked to deal with, but if you don't happen to have an IT person to beg and offer your life-savings, PC World has put together articles for each issue that may arise to help you out of your predicament.

You may want to bookmark these articles, or print them out and store them in a firesafe, just so when your PC takes a nose-dive, you'll have something to fall back on. There are a few gems that are not so common knowledge for your triumph over the untimely death of man's "new best friend" (that's the computer if you haven't had enough coffee yet today). Good luck, you're going to need it.

Tags: crash, disaster, fix, pc world, PcWorld, repair

Filed under: Internet, Security, Windows, Macintosh, Linux

Firefox 1.5.0.5 security update, 8 'critical' vulnerabilities patched

by David Chartier Jul 28th 2006

Mozilla has released a security update to Firefox, version 1.5.0.5. TechWeb is reporting that this update fixes 13 vulnerabilities, including 8 that have been deemed critical by Mozilla. For those keeping score: all 8 of these critical bugs are errors or vulnerabilities that have been found in JavaScript.

Firefox 1.5.x should automatically download this update, but users can still manually obtain a copy from Mozilla's site.

Tags: bug, bugs, firefox, fix, java, javascript, script, security, update, vulnerabilities

Filed under: Security, Windows, Symantec

Symantec patches AntiVirus vulnerability

by Jordan Running May 31st 2006

Symantec moved quickly to squash a security vulnerability in its AntiVirus Corporate Edition which was disclosed by eEye Digital Security last week, and according to CRN Australia an official fix is now being rolled out in the form of an IPS signature update. An unnamed executive from another security vendor, however, says they are "scratching their heads in disbelief" regarding the choice, because hackers could reverse-engineer the signatures and get "a blueprint of the vulnerability." It seems to me that any fix released could likewise be reverse-engineered, but it may be true that an IPS signature is easier to dissect. Let's just hope all of those Corporate users have their AntiVirus set to keep those signatures up-to-date.

Tags: antivirus, fix, patch, security, symantec, vulnerability

Filed under: Productivity, Mozilla

Make Firefox allow "Open with" for all files

by Jordan Running May 29th 2006

A minor peeve of mine is the way Firefox tries to protect you from yourself, i.e. not letting you choose the "Open With" option when downloading certain files, and instead making you save it to your hard drive first. Usually this only applies to executable files, but Firefox's definition of executable is pretty broad, so sometimes this restriction kicks in even when opening, say, JavaScript files. Oddly, there's no option to fix this, not even in about:config. If you've had it with this "feature," though, there is something you can do, but as you've probably guessed already it requires editing some files hidden deep in Firefox's innards. If you're comfortable with the risk, though, click through to this tutorial on Opening EXE files directly in Firefox (the server seems a bit slow just now, so you may have to try a couple times).

Tags: download, exe, executables, firefox, fix, hack, open, openwith, tweak

Filed under: Windows, Microsoft

Wayward Windows patch patched

by Jordan Running Apr 24th 2006

I was sure we wouldn't see a fix for this one until May's Patch Tuesday, but Microsoft has announced that the fix for the troublesome patch released two weeks ago will be available tomorrow, April 25, halfway through its usual patch cycle. Microsoft also has a knowledgebase article on the issue which basically says "it's the fault of this old third party software" and gives a few registry tweaks if for some reason you can't wait for the patch. Plus one point for fixing it out of cycle, Microsoft. Minus two for releasing a broken patch in the first place.

Tags: bug, bugs, fix, microsoft, patch, patchtuesday

Filed under: Security, Windows, Microsoft

Unofficial patches fix Internet Explorer vulnerability

by Jordan Running Mar 29th 2006

Rather than wait two more weeks until Patch Tuesday as Microsoft has opted to do, two companies have released their own unofficial patches for the newly-disclosed Internet Explorer vulnerability that is rapidly being exploited in the wild. Security firms eEye and Determina have both announced the availability of unofficial hotfixes that they're touting as temporary solutions until Microsoft gets its act together. Both companies have released the source code of their patches for review, but installing either is still an at-your-own-risk undertaking. eEye's information and download page can be found here, and Determina's here.

[Via Slashdot]

Tags: determina, eeye, exploit, fix, hotfix, ie, internetexplorer, patch, security, vulnerability

Filed under: Mozilla, Browser Tips

How to make old extensions work in a new version of Firefox

by Jordan Running Feb 3rd 2006

Whenever a new version of Firefox comes out there's always some grumblings about it deciding that certain extensions are now incompatible. It seems especially needless with so minor a version change as 1.5 to 1.5.0.1. The fix is not new but not widely known, so it's worth posting here:

In the address bar type about:config. Use the Filter field to find app.extensions.version (if it's not present, create it by right-clicking and choosing New > String). Double-click on it and in the pop-up box enter 1.5 (or the previous version of your choice--if you're creating a new value the box will pop up automatically). Restart Firefox and when it's started go to Tools > Extensions. Find the "incompatible" extensions in the list (they'll be greyed out), right-click on them, and click Enable. Restart Firefox and you're done.

And as always, the above tip is at-your-own-risk and YMMV. For more technical information check out Extension Versioning at Mozilla.org.

Tags: extensions, firefox, fix, hack, tip, version

Filed under: Internet, Blogging

Wordpress 2.0 and a fix for file uploads

by David Chartier Dec 30th 2005

Back in November I posted about how much I was enjoying a WordPress 2.0 beta, and today I'm happy to say it has fortunately gone official. WordPress 2.0 is now available for your blogging pleasure, but there's just one problem for those of you who use external blogging clients like Ecto: WordPress 2.0 breaks file uploads. A post at Ecto's blog explains the whole situation, including good news for an eventual update from the WordPress crew themselves, but for now they also were generous enough to create a simple work-around. Altering two lines of code in one of the WordPress system files can re-enable file uploads for now, and I can personally verify this works on my own blog as I couldn't help but take advantage of that Ecto sale over the holidays.

Tags: 2.0, blog, ecto, fix, uploads, WordPress

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