Quick Response Code (QR Code)

Introduction

QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response Code) is the trademark for a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional barcode) first designed for the automotive industry in Japan. A barcode is an optically machine-readable label that is attached to an item and that records information related to that item. The information encoded by a QR code may be made up of four standardized types ("modes") of data (numeric, alphanumeric, byte / binary, Kanji) or, through supported extensions, virtually any type of data.

The QR Code system has become popular outside the automotive industry due to its fast readability and greater storage capacity compared to standard UPC barcodes. Applications include product tracking, item identification, time tracking, document management, general marketing, and much more.

A QR code consists of black modules (square dots) arranged in a square grid on a white background, which can be read by an imaging device (such as a camera) and processed using Reed–Solomon error correction until the image can be appropriately interpreted; data is then extracted from patterns present in both horizontal and vertical components of the image.

Invention

The QR code system was invented in 1994 by Toyota's subsidiary, Denso Wave. Its purpose was to track vehicles during manufacture; it was designed to allow high-speed component scanning. It has since become one of the most popular types of two-dimensional barcodes.

Standards

Structure of a QR code, highlighting functional elements

There are several standards that cover the encoding of data as QR codes:

• October 1997 – AIM (Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility) International
• January 1999 – JIS X 0510
• June 2000 – ISO/IEC 18004:2000 Information technology – Automatic identification and data capture techniques – Bar code symbology – QR code (now withdrawn) Defines QR code models 1 and 2 symbols.
• 1 September 2006 – ISO/IEC 18004:2006 Information technology – Automatic identification and data capture techniques – QR code 2005 bar code symbology specification Defines QR code 2005 symbols, an extension of QR code model 2. Does not specify how to read QR code model 1 symbols, or require this for compliance.

At the application layer, there is some variation between most of the implementations. Japan's NTT DoCoMo has established de facto standards for the encoding of URLs, contact information, and several other data types. The open-source "ZXing" project maintains a list of QR code data types.

Uses

Originally designed for industrial uses, QR codes have become common in consumer advertising. Typically, a smartphone is used as a QR-code scanner, displaying the code and converting it to some useful form (such as a standard URL for a website, thereby obviating the need for a user to type it into a web browser).

A QR code in Japan used on a large billboard. Content: http://sagasou.mobi MEBKM:TITLE:探そうモビで専門学校探し！;URL:http¥://sagasou.mobi;

"In the shopping industry, knowing what causes the consumers to be motivated when approaching products by the use of QR codes, advertisers and marketers can use the behavior of scanning to get consumers to buy, causing it to have the best impact on ad and marketing design." As a result, the QR code has become a focus of advertising strategy, since it provides quick and effortless access to the brand's website. Beyond mere convenience to the consumer, the importance of this capability is that it increases the conversion rate (that is, increases the chance that contact with the advertisement will convert to a sale), by coaxing qualified prospects further down the conversion funnel without any delay or effort, bringing the viewer to the advertiser's site immediately, where a longer and more targeted sales pitch may continue.

Although initially used to track parts in vehicle manufacturing, QR codes are now (as of 2012) used over a much wider range of applications, including commercial tracking, entertainment and transport ticketing, product/loyalty marketing (examples: mobile couponing where a company's discounted and percent discount can be captured using a QR code decoder which is a mobile app, or storing a company's information such as address and related information alongside its alpha-numeric text data as can be seen in Yellow Pages directory), and in-store product labeling. It can also be used in storing personal information for use by government. An example of this is Philippines National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) where NBI clearances now come with a QR code. Many of these applications target mobile-phone users (via mobile tagging). Users may receive text, add a vCard contact to their device, open a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), or compose an e-mail or text message after scanning QR codes. They can generate and print their own QR codes for others to scan and use by visiting one of several pay or free QR code-generating sites or apps. Google had a popular API to generate QR codes, and apps for scanning QR codes can be found on nearly all smartphone devices.

QR codes storing addresses and Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) may appear in magazines, on signs, on buses, on business cards, or on almost any object about which users might need information. Users with a camera phone equipped with the correct reader application can scan the image of the QR code to display text, contact information, connect to a wireless network, or open a web page in the telephone's browser. This act of linking from physical world objects is termed hardlinking or object hyperlinking. QR codes also may be linked to a location to track where a code has been scanned. Either the application that scans the QR code retrieves the geo information by using GPS and cell tower triangulation (aGPS) or the URL encoded in the QR code itself is associated with a location.

QR codes have been used and printed on Chinese train tickets since 2010

Recruiters have started placing QR codes in job advertisements, while applicants have started sporting it in their CVs and visiting cards.

In June 2011, The Royal Dutch Mint (Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt) issued the world's first official coin with a QR code to celebrate the centenary of its current building and premises. The coin can be scanned by a smartphone and link to a special website with contents about the historical event and design of the coin. In 2008, a Japanese stonemason announced plans to engrave QR codes on gravestones, allowing visitors to view information about the deceased, and family members to keep track of visits.

Fig: Sample of QR Code

Some Best Free Color Picker

Introduction

A color picker allows you to identify the color codes of any color present on your screen. This information can be helpful when editing an image, programming, writing HTML language or setting up a web page, etc.

There are many free color pickers to choose from. This review picks out a select few, based on the following features:

Color code support:

- RGB (Red, Green and Blue)

- Hex (hexadecimal in HTML mode, etc)

- HSL, HSV, HSI or HSB(Hue, Saturation, Lightness/Value/Intensity/Brightness)

- CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key/Black)

Some best free color picker are following:

Color Cop impressed me with its combination of simplicity and effectiveness. It comes with a compact and powerful user interface which takes up very little screen space. A color grabber is provided to drag and drop at any pixel of the screen, and RGB and Hex codes are presented instantly.

The front interface provides a built-in magnifier and an active color palette. If you want to adjust a picked color, you can click the ‘custom’ button and call up Windows’ default color mixer. When you right click on the interface a menu pops up with extra features. In this way, the interface is cleverly made small but powerful.

The extra features include web-safe color, display color reverses, random colors, conversion to gray-scale, additional hex codes, application options and settings, etc. The only drawback is that CMYK color space has yet to be incorporated.

Color Archiver Color Archiver is another good choice but it has a slightly bigger interface than that of Color Cop. It provides RGB, CMY, CMYK, HSL and HSV color spaces. A color grabber, active color palette and RGB sliders are included.

You can name the color you pick and save it in a collapsible color table alongside a default web color table.

Similar to Color Cop, Color Archiver supports a Windows' default color mixer and a magnifier (up to 16 times).

Color Selector If you need a color picker with a converter built-in, then Color Selector is a good try. You can enter a color value in a chosen format and press the Convert button to get all values in other formats easily.

Color Selection has a click-and-drag color picker, 9x magnifier, color preview, configurable color sliders, a Darker slider and a default color mixer. It supports color values in RGB, HSL, HSB/HSV, CMY, Hexadecimal and Decimal.

The palette tool is shown on a separate window while the program's main interface takes up some desktop space as well.

CPick has a collapsible user interface and comes with a color grabber by Click and Drag. It allows you to pick a screen color behind a magnifier zooming from 10 to 100.

You can copy a color to the clipboard as Hex, Decimal, RGB or HSV value and modify the color with the RGB or HSV slide bars.

The program provides standard and websafe color lists. It also allows you to create your own color lists for your projects. In addition, it features saving the image captured by the magnifier as an icon or bitmap file.

Just Color Picker also features a small interface. It supports RGB, HTML Hex and HSB/HSV/HSL color codes. The 3x/9x/15x zoom helps you pinpoint a color specifically.

RGB and HSV sliders are included in a collapsible lower section. Picked colors are presented in a color palette with codes indicated, and can be saved in a normal text file. However, Just Color Picker uses a hot key to pick a color, rather than a grabber which is more handy.

Just Color Picker is a portable application and can be run directly from a USB stick. No installation required.

ColorMania Similar to Color Archiver, ColorMania also supports CMYK in addition to RGB and Hex codes in various modes. 

ColorMania has a color grabber, magnifier, mixer and sliders for RGB and HSV. It provides a color palette for picked colors and allows saving. Predefined HTML colors are ready for use.

Compared with other programs, it takes up slightly more screen space as none of its modules are collapsible.

Pixeur Alternatively Pixeur can be used to support CMYK color space, in addition to RGB, HSB and Hex color values. This program is automatically set on top of other windows. It has a color grabber, magnifier, color mixer, color scheme and a slider.

Pixeur keeps a history of all the colors you have selected, and allows saving for future reference.

With a collapsible section for color scheme, it takes up about the same screen space as ColorMania.

gcolor2A color picker that runs on Linux?

gcolor2  is a simple color selector to provide a quick and easy way to pick a color on the screen. It supports HSV, RGB and HTML codes with an opacity slider. A color grabber is supported. Users are allowed to name a picked color and save it in the list.

On the downside, no magnifier is supported.

Other Color Pickers

These are a number of other free color pickers which were brought up in comments here or noted from other sources. As they are not rated in this review, I am listing them here with brief descriptions and links to their sites for ease of reference.

Visual Color Picker supports RGB, HSL and CMYK color codes with complete sliders and 2D color mixers. Features include grabber, zoom and color preview with codes. It takes up a relatively large desktop area.

ColorPic supports RGB, HSV and CMYK codes with features including sliders, palettes and advanced mixers. It takes up a relatively large desktop area and uses hot keys to pick colors.

ColorPix supports RGB, HEX, HSB and CMYK codes and has a very small user interface, but it lacks quite a lot of features such as a color grabber, color mixer, slider, color palette, etc.

Pixie is a small and simple program. A portable version weighs in at only 11KB. Pixie shows you Hex, RGB, HTML, CMYK and HSV color values when you point to a pixel on the screen. It allows you to use hotkeys to copy HTML codes, call up Windows' default color mixer and show a floating magnifier. If you don't remember the hotkeys, the program will show them up when you move the mouse cursor over the interface.

ColSel (homepage not in English) supports HEX and RGB color values, but CMYK and HSV values are not supported. The program features color mixers, websafe color, etc., but its color grabber together with a magnifier is located at the secondary user interface and requires more steps to just pick a color from the screen.

Pickard lets you drag an eyedropper on the screen, then pick a color from a magnified area in the applicaton. Supports RGB, HSL, CMY and YUV color spaces. A relatively large user interface area and no color palette is available.

Color Puller is portable freeware, completes with various useful features such as a grabber, a color palette, and a magnifier up to 50 times. The program supports RGB, CMY, CMYK, HSV, HSL, HSI and Hex values. Its user interface is relatively larger but can be minimized when you choose a color code to display with the On-top option.

Pipette runs straight from the executable and provides Hex, RGB, CMY, CMYK, HSV and other values. Large user interface, no color sliders nor a magnifier are supported.

Autoexec.bat and Config.sys information

About the autoexec and config

The autoexec.bat and the config.sys were files created for MS-DOS and Windows 3.x as an easy solution of loading the files required for various devices as well as the operating system to properly run. These files are required for later revisions of MS-DOS and Windows 3.x to load. Because Microsoft is trying to steer away from MS-DOS, these files are not required for Windows 95, Windows 98,Windows NT, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP, or later operating systems. However, in some cases it may still be necessary for users to edit or configure these files.

How to edit the files

The auotexec.bat and the config.sys are edited by the MS-DOS command file Edit. To edit these files, type edit c:\autoexec.bat to edit the autoexec.bat file, or edit c:\config.sys to edit the config.sys file. If the mouse drivers are not loaded properly you will not have the capability of navigating the mouse.

If you have Windows 95, Windows 98, or later versions of Windows it is recommended that you use the sysedit command; to run this program, click Start, Run, and type sysedit.

Remarking information

Remarking lines within the autoexec.bat or the config.sys allows you to temporarily or permanently prevent a line from loading each time you boot the computer. This is done by placing "REM " in front of the line you wish to skip.

If you are encountering issues with a line in the autoexec.bat it is highly recommended that you remark the line instead of removing it. This will prevent issues from arising if the line needs to be placed back into the autoexec.bat.

Getting additional memory

The below commands will help allow your computer to load programs into memory more efficiently allowing you to have more memory for MS-DOS programs and games.

Make sure you have the below three lines at the beginning of your config.sys file.

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DEVICE=C:\Windows\HIMEM.SYS

DOS=HIGH,UMB

DEVICE=C:\Windows\EMM386.EXE NOEMS

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By placing the DOS=HIGH,UMB on the second line, this can, in some cases, save memory because it is loading DOS into upper memory before loading the memory manager. Additionally, the first and third lines cannot be loaded into high memory because these lines are the memory managers.

Load all your devices in your config.sys and autoexec.bat into high memory.

Autoexec.bat layout

Below is an example of what an autoexec may look like.

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@echo off

SET SOUND=C:\PROGRA~1\CREATIVE\CTSND

SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 E620 T6

SET PATH=C:\Windows;C:\ 

LH C:\Windows\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE /D:123

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Command Explanation

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@echo off Tells DOS to just read the lines but don't echo them back to the screen.

SET SOUND=C:\PROGRA~1\CREATIVE\CTSND This example is for the particular sound card that we have in one of the machines that we have. The set sound is telling the computer to send all sound events that the computer may run to that directory.

SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 E620 T6 Tells the computer to set the sound blaster settings. This is a good line for game players; if you have this line in your autoexec.bat you will know all settings players; if you have this line in your autoexec.bat you will know all settings for your sound card. A220 = port address "220", I5 = IRQ 5, D1 = DMA 1 usually being the settings you will need for any game out on the market.

SET PATH=C:\Windows;C:\ Sets the computer to look in the C:\windows directory or the root if a command used at the prompt is not found.

LH C:\Windows\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE /D:123 Line used for the CD-ROM. If you have Windows 95+, the MSCDEX will always be in the C:\Windows\COMMAND. In Windows 3.x or 

DOS, this will usually be either in C:\DOS or C:\Windows directory. The /D:123 is the name of the driver name that loads in upper memory; this can be anything, usually /D:MSCD0001. However, this is not an actual driver, this is just the name for the driver. Ensure if you change this line that you change it in the config.sys on your CD-ROM line. If the two are not the same, your CD-ROM drive will not load.

LH C:\MOUSE\MOUSE.EXE Loads the mouse driver into memory. However, not all mice use the same drivers. Although the mouse may use mouse.exe it could also be "mouse.com" or "mouse.sys", which is loaded in the config.sys.

C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE /X Loads the smartdrive disk cache utility into memory. See the smartdrv command page for additional information about this utility.

DOSKEY DOS command to load DOSKEY into memory so when in DOS you can use it without having to load it.

CLS MS-DOS command to clear screen.

WIN      Used for users using Windows 3.x, this line will load Windows automatically when booting the computer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Config.sys layout

Below is an example of what the config.sys may look like:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DEVICE=C:\Windows\HIMEM.SYS

DOS=HIGH,UMB

DEVICE=C:\Windows\EMM386.EXE NOEMS

FILES=30

STACKS=0,0

BUFFERS=20

DEVICEHIGH=C:\Windows\COMMAND\ANSI.SYS

DEVICEHIGH=C:\MTMCDAI.SYS /D:123

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Command Explanation

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DEVICE=C:\Windows\HIMEM.SYS The Himem.sys line is a very important line; this line will allow you to load drivers into high memory. If this line is not present, Windows 3.x will not load.

DOS=HIGH,UMB This line will load DOS into high memoryin an upper memory block. Note the location usually best placed after the HIMEM.SYS.

DEVICE=C:\Windows\EMM386.EXE NOEMS The EMM386 line loads the extended memory manager. However, some older MS-DOS games have problems with extended memory and will not run without the NOEMS statement.

FILES=30 The files line allow Windows to load 30 files at the same time. Usually, however, going higher may decrease the computer's performance; 30 is found to work the best. Also ensure that this line is all as one line and that there is not a space between and after the =.

STACKS=0,0 The stacks line was first used in MS-DOS 3.2 and was used to swap the stack whenever an asynchronous hardware interrupt occurred. Later in MS-DOS 3.3 the line 

STACKS=0,0 was added into the config.sys. In special circumstances, this line was changed to STACKS=9,128.

The STACKS statement has a range of 8-64, 32-512. If a higher value is entered you will receive a FATAL : Internal Stack Failure, System Halted error message.

BUFFERS=20 Buffers line is to load buffers into memory allowing Windows to load memory.

DEVICEHIGH=C:\Windows\COMMAND\ANSI.SYS The ansi.sys line is a driver for DOS to allow you to have different colors and sizes and special characters at the DOS prompt.

DEVICEHIGH=C:\MTMCDAI.SYS /D:123 This line is the name of the CD-ROM driver on the particular system we are working on. The /D:123 represents the name of the driver, which in this case is named 123, however, can be named anything, usually MSCD0001. Note, however, that /D:123 must be exactly the same in config.sys and autoexec.bat; if they are different, the 

CD-ROM will not work in DOS.

LASTDRIVE= Allows you to specify the last drive installed on the computer. It is not recommended this line be used unless you are using Windows 3.11 or below. This line can cause issues with Windows 95 and 98 and will be remarked by Windows automatically.

FCBS= Line used to specify the number of file control blocks for file sharing. This line should only be used when programs require it, and today, is not used or required. FCBS can utilize between 1 and 255.

How to Use a Windows PC as an Internet Hotspot

It's a device-laden world out there, and that means we all have numerous Internet connections to maintain when we're out and about. One solution is to create a routerless wireless network for your devices using an existing laptop Internet connection. That's where tools called "virtual routers" or "hotspot creators" come in, including Connectify Hotspot Lite.

If you're like many, you're sprouting portable devices. Tablets, e-readers and phones are taking over our pockets and bags; add mobile games consoles and phoneless iPod touches for the kids, and that's a lot of Internet connections to maintain when out and about.

It's a gaggle of device connections that's hard to sustain because each one needs configuring onto a hotspot.

There are solutions, however. For some years Windows included an ad hoc WiFi network-creation tool as part of its OS. You hard-wire your computer to an Internet router and create an Internet-connected PC. You then use the PC's wireless card to create a WiFi network.

The problem with this method was that you had to use a hard-wired connection for the Internet element -- no good for WiFi in hotel lobbies and other public places. You could have bought additional hardware like a second wireless USB stick and configured it, but that's complicated, more work and conceivably a point of failure.

Microsoft dropped the ad hoc network feature altogether in Windows 8.

I've been exploring solutions to this problem and have been looking in particular at ways to travel with numerous portable devices while only having to connect one of them to the public network, with the others connecting parasitically.

Tools enabling such capabilities are called "virtual routers" or "hotspot creators." One freemium software solution I've used recently is Connectify Hotspot Lite, and it runs under both Windows 7 and 8.

The setup uses a laptop as hotspot. Here's how to do it.

  

Step 1:

Switch on your laptop and connect to the wireless network that you'd like to share.

Connect as you normally would by choosing the network name and entering any network-provided password. Then open a browser window and agree to any network-specific terms and conditions or session payment options.

Step 2:

Browse to the Connectify website and choose the Continue button within the Connectify Lite download panel.

Step 3:

Follow the prompts to save the file and allow it to download. Then run the file.

Tip: Follow any prompts to install Microsoft.Net 4.5 and any Microsoft Visual C++ updates.

Step 4:

Allow Connectify to pass through the Windows Firewall when the Firewall dialog appears on the screen.

Tip: The Firewall defaults to allowing connections through Home and Office networks, but you should check the "Public networks" checkbox too.

Step 5:

Choose the free Hotspot Lite option by clicking on the button. Connectify Hotspot Lite will let you create an access point, share the Internet and see which of your devices are connected.

Tip: There are also paid versions that allow firewall controls, sharing 3G and 4G connections, creating a WiFi repeater and unlimited hotspot uptime -- among other things.

Step 6:

Follow the setup tutorial to configure the software by first creating the hotspot name. Then choose the password that you'll use to connect the portable devices to the laptop hotspot.

Step 7:

Choose the Internet connection that you'd like to use. This is the hotel room or other network name that you're already connected to. Then press Start Hotspot.

Tip: The already-connected network name will appear as the default.

Step 8:

Open the WiFi network connections settings on your parasitic portable device. Scroll through the list of available connections and you'll see the hotspot that you created.

Connect to this hotspot by choosing it and entering the password.

Step 9:

Repeat with your other portable devices. Now, when you need to connect multiple devices to a public network, connect the laptop first and then the devices to the laptop.

All of your devices will be online with minimal configuration and conceivably economically using one session.

Tip: Check the "Clients" tab within the connected Connectify Hotspot Lite software for a list of currently connected devices.

Restart the hotspot service with the Start Hotspot button if you encounter issues obtaining an IP address for your portable device.

How to Get Rid of Bloatware on Your Phone or PC

You've seen these programs cluttering up your screen. Unfortunately, they also load to memory in Windows and take up valuable RAM resources. In Android, there's less resource-hogging because of the operating system design, but the bloatware still takes up storage memory and launch screen space. It is possible to get rid of some of this junk -- with varying degrees of effectiveness depending on how far you want to go.


You know all those free programs that typically come on PCs and mobile devices whether you want them or not? Common examples include paid antivirus programs within the PC environment and phone company add-ons like music stores within Android.

Often called bloatware, they are usually manufacturer- or carrier-sanctioned stripped down come-ons designed to get you to buy a subscription or upgrade to a fully featured version of the software. When you do, the sanctioning company gets a cut of the price.

You've seen these programs cluttering up your screen. Unfortunately, they also load to memory in Windows and take up valuable RAM resources. In Android, there's less resource-hogging because of the operating system design, but the bloatware still takes up storage memory and launch screen space.

It is possible to get rid of some of this junk -- with varying degrees of effectiveness depending on how far you want to go. Here's how to perform this task for three current operating systems: Windows 8, Windows 7 and Android.

Windows 8 Programs

Step 1: Launch Windows 8 and, from the Start page, right-click on the appropriate tile for the program you wish to remove.

Step 2: Select the Uninstall button.

Step 3: Scroll through the list of installed programs and highlight the program you wish to remove. Then choose Uninstall.

Tip: Excel, Word, PowerPoint and other Microsoft try-out programs can be uninstalled using the Microsoft Office 365 Home Premium link.

Step 4: Follow any prompts and agree to allow programs to shut down. Restart the computer if prompted to do so.

Step 5: Repeat as necessary by scrolling through the list, highlighting and choosing Uninstall.

Tip: You can find the list again in the Control Panel under Programs and then Programs and Features.

Windows 7 Programs

Step 1: Click on the Start button and open the Control Panel.

Step 2: Choose Uninstall and Program from the Programs menu item.

Step 3: Scroll through the list of installed programs and highlight the program you wish to remove. Then choose Uninstall.

Step 4: Follow any prompts and agree to allow programs to shut down. Restart the computer if prompted to do so.

Step 5: Repeat by scrolling through the list again, highlighting and choosing Uninstall.
Android Apps

Uninstalling apps in the Android ecosystem is trickier than in Windows because uninstalling programs can destabilize the system -- programs rely on each other.

The safest and simplest way to proceed for early versions of Android is to freeze bloatware apps with Titanium Backup (an app available in the Google Play store) if your phone is rooted.
If your phone is not rooted and your device uses a recent version of Android, you can disable bloatware apps in much the same way as is accomplished with Titanium Backup.

Disabling apps removes them from the app drawer and freezes their activity.

Step 1: Touch the Settings icon.

Step 2: Choose Apps or Applications and then Applications Manager or Manage Applications. Then choose the All tab.

Step 3: Scroll through the list of apps and touch the app you'd like to remove or freeze -- a phone company-provided navigation app, for example.

Step 4: Touch Clear Cache and then Clear Data if available. This will remove any superfluous storage memory in use.

Step 5: Choose Uninstall if available, or Disable if uninstall isn't an option. Choose Uninstall Updates and then Disable if that's an option.
Follow any prompts and the app will become uninstalled or disabled.

Tip: If neither an Uninstall nor a Disable option is available, you may be running a pre-4.0 version of Android; in that case, you can't disable the app unless you perform root and install Titanium Backup. Alternatively, the app is an important system app and can't be uninstalled or disabled.

Select About from the Settings menu to see which version of Android is installed.

source

Block a program in Windows 7 Firewall to access Internet

You may want to block a program from accessing the internet in the Windows Firewall. For example, whenever you run a program with digital signatures, Windows Explorer (explorer.exe) accesses the internet to verify the signatures. This can be very annoying. You can block it in the Windows Firewall using the steps shown below :

1. Press the key combination Windows logo key + R to open the Run dialog.
2. Type wf.msc in the Run dialog and press Enter. This would open the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security window.
3. Click on the Outbound Rules in the left side menu in the Windows Firewall window as shown,
4. Click on the New Rule... on the right side menu as shown,
5. In the New Outbound Rule Wizard, select Program in Rule Type window and click Next,
6. In the Program window, either manaully type the full path and file name of the program you want to block, or click on the Browse button to browse the program file. Click Next to continue.
7. In the Action window, select Block the connection and click Next,
8. In the Profile window, select all options and click Next,
9. In the Name window, give a name to the new rule like Block Explorer.exe and click Finish,

You have done.

Send , identify , trace Fake/Spoofed Email | Email Bombing | Email Spamming

Basics of working of Email

Email stands for Electronic Mail. Email sending and receiving is controlled by the Email servers.Email service providers configure Email Server before anyone can Sign into his or her account and start communicating digitally.Users from across the world register in to these Email servers and setup an Email account.

Email Travelling Path :-

Let’s say we have two Email providers, one is gmail.com and other is yahoo.com, ABC is a registered user in gmail.com and XYZ is a registered user in yahoo.com.

• ABC signs in to his Email account in gmail.com, he then writes a mail to the xyz@yahoo.com and sends the message.

• But what happens behind the curtains, the Email from the computer of abc@gmail.com is forwarded to the Email server of gmail.com. Server of gmail.com then looks for yahoo.com on the internet and forwards the Email of the yahoo.com for the account of XYZ@yahoo.com. Yahoo server puts that email in that account.

• XYZ then sits on computer and signs in to her Email account.Now she has the message in her Email inbox.

Sending Fake/spoofed Email -:  Fake or spoofed email means the email from any email ID. It doesn't matter whether the sender's email really exists or not. Sender's email ID can be anything@anything.com. 

Methods :-

1. Using Open Relay servers :  An open relay server is that which allows people to send email by connecting to it. User connect to it via telnet and instructs server to send email. This method is outdated or simply I should say that, it doesn't work. I would not talk about it more.

2. Using Websites : There are numberless websites that provide free service to send fake emails. But the problem is that they attach the advertisments along with your email.  But the best two, I have found that do not attach the advertisments.

www.emkei.cz      {have some advance options}

www.hidemyass.biz/fake-mailer/

3. Using mail sending scripts : The PHP contains mail sending function which allows us to send email with fake headers.

Download a php script from here.

We just need to upload the mail sending script on a web hosting site. It doesn't work on every webshosting site because there is no email sending support.  I have tested x10hosting.com (could take upto a day for account activation) , it works perfect. Some of the other are www.000webhost.com,byethehost5.com

Note: This script contains options of sending spoofed email, spamming and email bombing. Your hosting account might be immediately suspended on spamming/bombing. But it works perfect if you have any your own premium web hosting account. If you want to try email bomber, I could let you to use my own if sufficient people request in comments.

What is Email Spamming and Email Bombing ?

Email Bombing as clear from the name is sending the mass emails that is large number of emails to a email ID in a single click. Email spamming is like sending an email to large number of email IDs in a single click. These activties are performed mainly for the advertisements of the products or services provided by a company. Many spammers spam to collect individual's personal information through some stupid things like 'fill these details to get your lottery amount' and that information is sold to businessmen looking for the people of different categories. There could be many more reasons of spamming. Spammers use automated tools to collect as many emails available on websites,forms,chat rooms and send spams to them.

How to identify whether an email is real or spoofed ?

It can be done by checking headers. Email headers is simply the text which contains the information about the mail servers that the email encountered in its path from the sender to receiver. It contains a lot of other information too.

Note: I am just telling you a few points about this so that you would just get an idea about the approach. This may or may not depend on some factors.

We can view email headers in gmail by clicking at 'show orignal', in yahoo by clicking at 'Full headers' and such kinds of options in other email service providers.

If  you get an email displaying sender's email like someone@gmail.com, someone@hotmail.com, someone@yahoo.com . Then it should be orignated from gmail,hotmail and yahoo servers respectively. But if it doesn't, the most probably the email would be fake. 

I will show you by an example, I received three emails in my gmail inbox from sender's address "someone@gmail.com."  Sender's address shows me that they should have been orignated from gmail/google server, if they would be real.

Note : There is a field called "Return-path" in headers.  If the email ID shown in this field and email ID you get as sender's email ID doesnt match, then the email is surely fake.

Can we get sender's IP address from Email Headers ?

We may or may not. Gmail, yahoo normally do not reveal sender's IP address. But when we send an email from a php script,  the headers might reveal Sender's IP. The conclusion is that answer to this question varies from different email service providers and the way how email is sent.

Can we trace sender's location, if we get his IP address ?

The IP address could only tell that which Internet Service Provider (ISP) is used by sender. Further details can not be revealed without the help of that ISP. Normally the Public IP is dynamic that is it keeps changing. We need to ask ISP about the user who was assigned that IP at the time email was sent. If sender has purchased a static IP address, it doesn't matter that when exactly was email sent. He could easily be traced.

PHP Mail Configuration

If your system isn't configured for sending mail, all is not lost - you can change the configuration. This lesson explains how to configure PHP for sending mail.

The php.ini File

The php.ini file is where you configure your PHP installation. This is the file you need to edit in order to configure PHP to send mail.

You need to ensure that the php.ini file contains details of the mail server that should be used whenever your application sends mail.

To check/change your PHP mail configuration:

1. Open your php.ini file (if you don't know where this is, see below)
2. Search for the line that reads [mail function]
3. Add/change the details of your mail server. This could be a local mail server or the mail server of your ISP.
4. Save/close the php.ini file
5. Restart your web server

Here's an example of what the mail settings could look like when you first open the php.ini file:

_________________________________________________________________

[mail function]

; For Win32 only.

SMTP = localhost

smtp_port = 25

; For Win32 only.

;sendmail_from = me@example.com

; For Unix only.  You may supply arguments as well (default: "sendmail -t -i").

;sendmail_path =

_________________________________________________________________

If you're using a UNIX based system, you will need to change the line that reads ;sendmail_path =. You will also need to remove the semicolon from the start of this line (semicolons indicate that the line is a comment). For example,sendmail_path = /usr/sbin/sendmail.

If you're using a Windows system, you should change the line that reads SMTP = localhost to include your mail server (or your ISP's mail server). You could leave it at localhost if you're using your own local SMTP server. If you aren't using your own local SMTP server, you will need to enter a mail server that you have access to (such as your ISP's mail server). For example, SMTP = mail.earthlink.net.

You should also set a default "From" email address by changing the line that reads ;sendmail_from = me@example.com. For example, sendmail_from = you@earthlink.net.

Don't Know Your php.ini Location or sendmail_pathPath?

If you don't know where your php.ini is, or what your sendmail_path setting should be, read on...

Your php.ini may be located here: /private/etc/php.ini. And there's a chance that your sendmail path will be at /usr/sbin/sendmail). Having said this, each PHP installation is different, so you should check using phpinfo().

Fortunately, this is easy to do.

phpinfo() is used to view your PHP configuration details. You can do this by creating a .php file with the following line on it: <?php phpinfo(); ?>. When you run this in your browser, you will see a full list of PHP configuration variables. Simply search for the lines that contain php.ini and sendmail_pathto see the values you need to use.