Walker News » Know-how

How To Send Program File As Attachment In Gmail?

Walker — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:00:30 +0000

If you’re trying to send a program file as attachment in Gmail, an error message similar to this will be shown: “Error – HoboCopy.exe is an executable file. For security reasons, Gmail does not allow you to send this type of file.”

It won’t works if you simply rename the program file extension (.exe) to other file type that is allowed by Gmail anti-virus scanner / attachment filtering system, according to Gmail Help on “attachment” topic:
Gmail will not deliver email with application program file attachment (even if the program files are zipped into .zip, .tar, .tgz, .taz, .z, .gz, etc format.

Encrypt the zipped file might able to bypass the attachment filtering system, but Gmail doesn’t allow an encrypted zipped file, as outlined in this section.

A trick to send program files as attachment in Gmail

If you’ve a useful program (like SWF-Exporter) to share over email, it should be a tiny program (Gmail allows email not greater than 20 MB) and “green” software (i.e. no virus, malicious code, Trojan, etc).

For example, the open-source HoboCopy.exe for my buddies who are interested to extract FLV movie cached by Google Chrome in Windows temp folder.

Next, use the trick of Microsoft Office embedded object to send the document as attachment in Gmail:

Compress the program files into zip file format. Indeed, any compression format will do, but .zip is the common compression format and thus is preferred.
Open up Microsoft Word 2007 (any Microsoft Office version that support embedded object, preferable Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel),
1. Access to Insert menu,
2. Click the “Object” button under the “Text” ribbon,
3. Go to “Create From File” tab,
4. Uncheck the two check-boxes that related to “link to file” and “display as icon”,
5. Use the browse button to select the zipped program file,
6. Click OK button to insert it as an embedded object in Word document.
Send the Word document (that already embed the zipped program file) as a normal attachment in Gmail

I’ve just tested this trick again, and it’s still working in machine that running Vista Ultimate SP1, Power Archiver 2007 and Microsoft Word 2007.

Windows Movie Maker: How To Extract Audio Track From Video Clip

Walker — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 08:00:28 +0000

A low-end, self-made video posted to YouTube, demonstrating how to extract audio music from a video clip with Windows Movie Maker (a video editing application bundled with premium Windows editions, e.g. Windows Vista Ultimate that I’m using now…)

If the Windows Movie Maker is in your Windows machine and wonder how to cut the rhythm out of a video file for mobile ringtone, watch the following video footage.

(Bear with my poor video demo skill, I’ll try to make it better as time goes, hopefully!)

How To Reboot or Shutdown Windows Vista In Remote Desktop Connection?

Walker — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 13:50:17 +0000

Remote Desktop allows Windows users to remotely access another networked computer (normally is Windows machine) that supports Remote Desktop protocol (RDP).

For the sake of security and performance, I recommend my friends to use RDP, simply because RDP is Microsoft own solution and is supposed well integrated.

That’s the reason of why I only remote back to Vista Desktop at home over RDP.

However, my friend rang me an hour ago, asking for help on how to reboot his Windows XP in Remote Desktop Connection?

Well, I thought he could just click the Restart or Shutdown option in Windows Start menu? No, he said.

^{How to reboot or shutdown remote Windows machine in Remote Desktop Connection?}

Now only I know that there is no Shutdown or Restart option in Windows Start menu of the remote computer, whenever you’re in the Remote Desktop Connection window. There are only two options – Log off or Lock the Desktop.

How to restart / shutdown remote Windows machine in Remote Desktop Connection?

You’ve two options; both are easy to follow, except that the second option required some typing. And I confirm these options work on my Vista Ultimate SP1 machine at home too:

While the Remote Desktop Connection window is in focus (i.e. while you’re in the remote Windows Desktop) press CTRL+ALT+END hotkey to bring up GUI menu with options for restart / shutdown (you might find these options on the red colour power button at bottom-right corner in Windows Vista).
Type shutdown /i in Windows Vista Start Search text-box and press Enter key (when the “shutdown /i” shortcut is highlighted in Programs list)

Although the first option is easier, but there is no harm to remember both options.

Windows Movie Maker: Fix The Half Green Bar Problem In The Movie Made

Walker — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 08:01:35 +0000

Windows Movie Maker (WMM) is one of the value added software bundled with premium editions of Windows Vista, that allows users to edit and publish movie into supported video formats.

Although WMM is not competitive as compare to professional, commercial video editing software, it’s good enough for general purpose of most users.

You could mix all supported video, music and picture files to create your own movie with creative combination of transitions, effects, titles and credits.

WMM allows users to split video or to extract audio track from video clip too.

However, there is a potential problem that could make the published movies look really suck!

It happen to me this morning and I’m really upset and frustrated as this Windows Movie Maker published the video with half green stripe problem in Windows Vista.

As shown in this screenshot, that annoying Windows Movie Maker-made “half green bar” split the video full screen resolution into a half horizontally:

^{Windows Movie Maker published half green bar movie problem.}

How to fix the Windows Movie Maker half green bar problem?

I believe that’s caused by some video decoders/encoders (a.k.a. video filters). But, I’ve no idea which specific filters are exactly causing the green stripe problem.

Luckily, Bernie knows the solution! Now, the Windows Movie Maker green stripe problem has gone (I believe):

^{Windows Movie Maker published Star War movie footage with a perfect screen resolution, without the annoying half green stripe problem.}

All you’ve to do is disable the Xvid MPEG-4 Video Decoder before clicking the Publish Movie button.

^{Disable the Xvid MPEG-4 Video Decoder to fix the Windows Movie Maker half green bar problem.}

Click the Tools menu, and then Options…, go to Compatibility tab of the Option dialog box, locate the “Xvid MPEG-4 Video Decoder” filter and un-tick the check-box to disable it.

UPDATE: As suggested by Dan, Lassie, and Kristian (in comments section), the DivX Video Decoder could be a potential culprit of this ugly green stripe as well. Thanks everyone for sharing with me!

How To Crack Targus DEFCON CL Laptop Lock BY CHANCE In 3 Seconds?

Walker — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 05:41:45 +0000

Believe me, it’s not a 3-seconds or 3-minutes job to unlock, to break or to crack a laptop cable lock, especially the Targus DEFCON lock that built with cut-resistant, vinyl-coated, galvanized steel cable and a user-settable combination lock with up to 10,000 possible settings!

But, you’ll know how could someone “crack” your laptop lock “by chance” in just three seconds…

Question 1: Where do you normally use the laptop computer cable lock? Most likely the answer is in the office.

Question 2: How many people used to scramble or reset the security code after unlocking the laptop for a meeting at next door?

Well, I’m afraid that not many users remember to reset the security code, i.e. leave the cable lock in unlock state.

^{How to crack a highly secured Targus DEFCON CL laptop lock in just 3 seconds?}

So, it happened last week in my office. A 3rd-party office cleaner, who came for cleaning works during lunch hour, stole a premium Dell XPS M1330 that was secured with a Targus DEFCON CL lock (the branded cable lock bundled with most Dell laptop package).

The CCTV footage shows that the guy unlocked the “super secured” cable lock as if he knows the security code.

Is there a master unlock code of this 30 over bucks cable lock, that allowed him to crack it so easily?

(We highly believe that) the answer is the careless of owner. The manager recalled that he used to leave the cable lock in unlock state whenever he took the laptop away his office, especially when rushed for a meeting.

So happen that he used to back his cubic after lunch in case the meeting was in morning session, and the cleaner is so smart to remember his security code of the cable lock that was left in unlock status.

That’s how the cleaner crack the Targus DEFCON CL Laptop lock BY CHANCE in 3 seconds on the next day lunch hour, when the manager left for lunch with his Dell laptop “locked” in office.

This careless could lead someone to break just any cable locks, not limited to the tough Targus DEFCON CL lock!

Verdict: Remember to scramble / reset the security code after unlock the laptop!

How To Fix Windows Photo Gallery Yellow Tint and Photoshop Monitor Profile Problem?

Walker — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:56:36 +0000

Do you notice that when you view a picture in Windows Photo Gallery on a Windows Vista PC, Photo Gallery software renders image and the background of image in yellow tint? Is your Photoshop CS3 starts up with a dialog box that said the monitor profile appears to be defective?

Well, I don’t have this problem while I was using the 15″ Samsung CRT monitor. Even my Dell Latitude D410 that powered by Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 could shows the white color perfectly, not tinted with yellow or orange alike color.

(I was gifted a copy of Vista Ultimate SP1 license during the “Heroes Happen Here” event. Then it caused me to get a 2GB RAM upgrade for running Vista Ultimate without fancy Aero interface :-(

However, I just notice that unwanted glitch happens in my own Vista machine, where Windows Photo Gallery exactly renders the white background in yellow color, right after replacing the CRT with LG Flatron LCD monitor!

Next, I also found that the Photoshop CS3 starts up with a warning dialog box, said that the monitor profile “LG L1753S” appears to be defective, please rerun your monitor calibration software!

OMG! What happen to this out-of-the-box LG Flatron LCD monitor?

How to fix the Windows Vista Color System related problem?

After google a while for the subject, I found this Microsoft Article ID 939395, which I’ve referred to fix these two problems, i.e. Photoshop warning my LG monitor profile appears to be defective and Windows Photo Gallery in yellow tint background:

Click Vista Orb, type Color Management in the Start Search text box, locate and click the “Color Management” shortcut that appears in “Programs” listing.
In the Color Management dialog box, tick the check box that labelled with “Use my setting for this device”
In the “Profiles associated with this device” section, remove all the color profiles by selecting to highlight them and click Remove button.
Now, close the Color Management dialog box and restart Windows Vista.

If the problems are still not resolved, you may try to remove all the color profiles and click the Add button to install a Vista-bundled color profile sRGB IEC61966-2.1, as suggested by MDL.

If you’re going to change a LCD monitor for Vista-based computer, remember where to find the solution if the Vista Color System related problems happen to you :-p

Linux Dummy Guide: How To Send Email With Content And Attachment?

Walker — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:42:51 +0000

For those who are using graphical-based email client should have no problem on how to send an email with attachment.

This dummy guide is for those who want to send an email with content and attachment at the same time in Linux command prompt, not at the Linux Desktop.

But, why you need to do so when there are plenty of email clients appear with intuitive GUI (graphical user interface)?

Well, system administrators or programmers who write Linux shell script to send email with attachments of log file, report, music, picture, etc, will find it easier if working with command-line email client (e.g. sendmail or mail program).

How to send email with attachment in Linux command prompt?

Basically, you need two programs for this topic, i.e. an email client (e.g. mail that bundled with most Linux distributions) and a binary file encoder (e.g. uuencode which is bundled with sharutils package).

For example, to write an email message that’s attached with Logo.JPG:

(echo "This is the content of email and it's attached with a jpeg file called Logo.JPG"; uuencode /tmp/1.JPG Logo.JPG) | mail -s "This is email subject" walker@walkernews.net

The parenthesis groups the both echo and uunencode commands to run as subshell processes, where the output of subshell appears as single input to the mail client.

The uuencode encodes the binary picture file (i.e. /tmp/1.JPG) to ASCII format (i.e. Logo.JPG), which is then sent as email attachment.

If you just want to email attachments without writing the content/message, then the command will be as this:

Update: This

 shouldn't be here!

uuencode /tmp/1.JPG Logo.JPG | mail -s "This is email subject" walker@walkernews.net 


So, the correct code is as this:

uuencode /tmp/1.JPG Logo.JPG | mail -s "This is email subject" walker@walkernews.net


So, it's your choice, whether to email attachment with content/message or not. But, those two options are available.


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