IRDA's website hacked!!

Today morning I was reading an article on Hinustan Times about Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority's (IRDA) regulation policy. Just to get a detailed perspective about the article I visited the IRDA's website at www.irda.gov.in. That’s when I noticed on the top-left there's a working link to a porn site, for a moment I thought I am on a wrong site.

IRDA'S website hacked and links inserted

I rechecked the web address and realized the site must have been hacked and unwanted links been inserted. Lots of hidden links were also inserted, which all point to the sleazy corners of the net.

God knows how long it has been there, and how long will they take to remove and secure their site.

Transform Xp into Mac

Whether u like it or not....Apple's OS looks pretty. Its sad the Macs are quite unaffordable for many people, but don't be disheartened, I will tell you how to change your Windows Xp looks into Mac . For this download and install Flyakite OS X transformation pack. It changes the complete look of your boring Xp system.

It is not a single program but different third party softwares compiled into one installable file. This makes the installation process very simple, just select the components you want to install and keep pressing the next button. I have added couple of high resolution icons in the dock as per my need. You can easily find them on Google and use it in your dock.

After the installation, reboot the system and enjoy the new look of your desktop. If you have installed all the components, your system would look a complete replica of Mac OS. Have fun.

Firefox Vs Opera- Browser War Reloaded

Last week two of the most coveted browsers Mozilla Firefox and Opera released there new versions. Firefox-3 hogged all the lime light by creating a new Guinness world record. Where as Opera had a silent launch of its latest version 9.5. Most net users get confused and bogged down by which browser is better and which they should use.

Talking about Firefox, there is not much visible difference between FF3 and its previous version. But Mozilla has improved the browser code, which reflects in the increased speed and better memory handling. The other most notable features of FF3 are resumeable downloading across sessions, one-click bookmarking, full page zoom, enhanced add-ons manager, bookmark tagging etc. The best thing about Firefox is its wide range of plug-in and high degree of customizability.

Opera also has been doing a good job and is really a good piece of work. Although Opera is not open source as FF but still it has made remarkable innovations, remember tabbed browsing, mouse gestures and speed dial. Opera also is the browser that provides the most functionality upon initial installation. It acts as a complete browsing suite which includes a RSS reader and the only browser that has a built-in mail and chat client.

I first tried Opera from the days it was a adware and the main reason was tabbed browsing and faster page rendering. From those days Opera has came a long way. It has kept on improving and getting better and better. Features such as Quick Find, allows you to search for a website that you have visited over the last few days and ability to synchronize between your Opera cellphone browser and your PC Opera come quite handy. Other newly incorporated functions are same as in Firefox, so its on par with FF.

Now which browser you should use completely depends on personal choice and browsing style rather than to do with mind-blowing features. This debate is like Pepsi Vs Coke or Mac Vs Windows and the fans of either browsers wont be influenced by what other has to say.

I have installed both of them on my system and use them depending on my need. For specific purpose such as web development I use Firefox but for casual browsing I prefer Opera. Personally I feel, Opera seems to be faster than Firefox on slow connections which may be due to Opera's better caching. If you have a slow connection I would recommend using Opera. For now, Firefox3 would be the default browser on my computer because of its vast plug-in. But that doesn't means I will abandon Opera, it still would be there on my desktop sharing space with Firefox.

What do you think, which one is for you? Share your opinion. Get the latest version of Firefox here and Opera over here.

New Day, New Problem

I don't know whats happening with me, earlier it was my phone now my laptop's charger has gone, due to a power surge in the hostel. Interesting thing is i am not the only one affected by this, many students have lost their laptop adapter and desktops too. Right now a lot of new ideas are floating in my mind for future posts, but i am unable to write them because of this "small technical glitch".

I have already given my charger to the electrician hoping it gets repaired, otherwise i have to buy a new one. I am writing this post from my friends laptop, thankfully who was saved from this annoyance. Keep reading the blog and i will be back with new discoveries from the tech world.

Tips and Tricks: Resetting symbian mobile phones

I did it again !! I corrupted my cell phone once more as it refuses to start again. I own Nokia N73 Music edition from last eight months and fiddling with it like a hobby to me, and it had got used to my crude handling! Almost everyday I install new softwares and stuffs to try them out and several times it ends with the phone being unusable.

Yesterday was the same day, I installed a couple of softwares for a review thinking that I will uninstall then later. But alas, after a restart my cell wouldn't boot and I had to hard format and reinstall my favorite softwares back. So I thought sharing the procedure would make life a bit easy for many people. I had tried and tested this on my N73, but hopefully this will also work with other Nokia symbian phones. Before starting remember to backup all your important data, incase something goes wrong.

You can Soft Reset your device with the code *#7780# + security code (default- 12345 if you didn't change it) so your device will be back to factory settings. This code doesn't erases your personal data, it only changes the phone settings.

WARNING - Use the following steps at your own risks !

You can Hard Reset your device with the code *#7370# + security code (default- 12345 if you didn't change it) so your device will be as the first day. You will loose your all data because the phone is formatted completely.

In extreme case if your phone has seriously crashed and won't boot, remove the MMC card if any and then try to start the phone. If the phone starts the problem lies with the MMC. you can now format the card on your computer through a card reader and then again on your phone, as cards formatted on the computer doesn't work with the phone but reformatting would solve that problem.

If the problem is with the phone you can perform the same hard reset this way:

1. Make sure your battery is fully charged or is connected to the charger.
2. Switch-off your Nokia Symbian phone.
3. Press and hold 3 keys; Green dial key, * Star key, no. 3 key on keypad and then press the power on/off to switch on phone.
4. Remember, do not let go the 3 press and hold keys until you see the formatting screen.
5. After a few minutes when the process is over, your phone will be back to the original delivered system.