The MAC address is "Media Access Control " address which is the unique identifier assigned to network interface cards(NICs) by the manufacturer for the purpose of identification. It may also known as an Ethernet Hardware Address, Adapter Address or Hardware Address. MAC addresses are 12-digit hexadecimal numbers (48 bits in length). By convention, MAC addresses are usually written in one of the following two formats:
MM:MM:MM:SS:SS:SS
MM-MM-MM-SS-SS-SS The first half of a MAC address contains the ID number of the adapter manufacturer. These IDs are regulated by an Internet standards body. The second half of a MAC address represents the serial number assigned to the adapter by the manufacturer.In the example,
00:A0:C9:29:B8:36The prefix 00A0C9 indicates the manufacturer is Intel Corporation.
MAC Spoofing is a technique of changing an assigned Media Access Control (MAC) address of a networked device to a different one. The changing of the assigned MAC address may allow the bypassing of access control list on servers or routers either hiding a computer on a network or allowing it to impersonate another computer. MAC spoofing is the activity of altering the MAC address of network cards . In windows change of MAC address can be change by editing the registry or via "My Network Places" . To change the MAC address via Network Places go to properties of "local Area Connection", press configure.. button then go toadvance tag In advance tag select Local Administrative Address , select value radio button and insert any MAC address you want. To alter the MAC via the registry, open the Windows Registry Editor and change the appropriate values. The value " NetworkAddress" is located in a subkey underHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}.
Here’s 6 Great Tricks for Windows 8 that You Probably Don’t Know...&*&*&*&*&*
We’ve covered a lot of tips, tricks, and tweaks for Windows 8, but there are still a few more. From bypassing the lock screen to instantly taking and saving screenshots, here are a few more hidden options and keyboard shortcuts.
Whether you love Windows 8, hate it, or just wish Metro would go away, these options will help you make Windows 8 work the way you want it to.
Disable the Lock Screen
Windows 8 shows a lock screen when you restart your computer, log out, or lock it. It’s very pretty, but it just adds one more keystroke to the login process. You can actually disable the lock screen entirely, although Microsoft hides his option very well
This option is located in the Group Policy Editor. To launch it, type “gpedit.msc” at the Start screen and press Enter.In the Group Policy Editor, navigate to Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Control Panel\Personalization.Double-click the “Do not display the lock screen” option, set it to Enabled, and click OK.The next time you restart your system, log out, or lock the screen, you’ll see the login screen instead of the lock screen . Combine this with skipping the Start screen and you can boot to a login screen and log straight into the desktop, just like on previous versions of Windows. The desktop will be the second screen you access instead of the fourth.
Take & Save Screenshots Instantly
Windows 8 has a new hotkey combination that lets you take and save screenshots instantly. To take a screenshot, hold the Windows key down and press the Print Screen key. Your screen will flash and Windows will save a screenshot to your Pictures folder as a PNG image file.
You might assume that WinKey+Alt+Print Screen would take and save a screenshot of the current window, but it doesn’t. Maybe this will be implemented in the final version of Windows 8.
We’ve also covered other new keyboard shortcuts in Windows 8.
Prevent Files From Opening in Metro
If you prefer to use Windows 8’s desktop and try to avoid Metro, you may be surprised the first time you double-click an image file in Windows Explorer and get kicked back into Metro. By default, Windows 8 launches images, videos, and music in Metro apps – even if you open them from the desktop.
To avoid this, launch the Default Programs control panel by pressing the Windows key to access Metro, typing “Default Programs,” and pressing Enter. Click the “Set your default programs” link. In the list of available programs, select the “Windows Photo Viewer” application and click the “Set this program as default” option.
Repeat this process for the “Windows Media Player” application. You can also set the desktop version of Internet Explorer as your default Web browser from within Internet Explorer.
Of course, if you have a preferred image viewer or media player, you can install it and set it as the default application instead.
Display Administrative Tools
By default, Windows hides the Event Viewer, Computer Management and other Administrative Tools from the Start screen. If you use these applications frequently, you can easily unhide them.
From the Start screen, mouse over to the bottom or top right corner of the screen and click the Settings charm. You can also press WinKey-C to view the charms.
Click the “Settings” link under Start and set the “Show administrative tools” slider to “Yes.”The Administrative Tools will appear on the Start screen and in the All Apps list. Control Automatic Maintenance
Windows 8 has a new scheduled maintenance feature that automatically updates software, runs security scans, and performs system diagnostics at a scheduled time. By default, the maintenance tasks run at 3am if you aren’t using your computer. If you’re using your computer at the scheduled time, Windows will wait until the computer is idle.
To customize this time, open the Action Center from the flag icon in the system tray.
You’ll find Automatic Maintenance under the Maintenance category. Click the “Change maintenance settings” link to customize its settings . From this screen, you can set the time you want to run automatic maintenance tasks. You can also have Windows wake up your computer to run maintenance tasks, if it’s asleep.Customize Search Applications
Metro apps can appear as options when you use the search feature.
You can control the apps that appear here and trim down the list. First, click the Settings charm from anywhere on your system and click the “More PC settings” link
From the PC settings screen, click the Search category and use the sliders to hide apps from the search screen.
Do you have any other Windows 8 tricks to share? Leave a comment and let us know
Samsung has launched Samsung Galaxy Note II in India for Rs39900.
Galaxy Note II has a 1.6GHz Quad-core Exynos processor, a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED HD display with Gorilla Glass 2 and has a resolution of 1280×720 pixels. It also has 2GB of RAM, a 8-megapixel rear camera that can shoot 1080p video, a 1.9-megapixel front facing camera, and a huge 3,100 mAh battery.Galaxy Note II will be available in three memory variants of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB and will also have a microSD slot.
Important Specifications:
Features Samsung Galaxy Note II
Processor 1.6GHz Quad-Core Exynos processor RAM 2GB Display 5.5-inch Super AMOLED HD (Non-Pentile) 1280×720 Camera 8-megapixel rear camera, 1.9-megapixel front facing Input device S-Pen Operating System Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with TouchWiz Nature UX Battery 3,100 mAh Expansion Micro-SD card slot up to 32GB of storage Memory Options 16GB/32GB/64GB
Sony has launched the Xperia Tipo in India for Rs 9,999. It runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The phone is available in single-SIM and dual-SIM variants. The dual-SIM model costs Rs 10,449.
It has a 3.2-inch display with scratch-resistant mineral glass, a 800MHz single-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a 3.2-megapixel camera, 1,500 mAh battery, 2GB internal memory, up to 32GB of expandable memory , and free 50GB of Box cloud storage.
HTC is back to launching Windows Phones after a slew of Android launches from its stable.HTC has launched Two new Windows 8 phones namely HTC 8X and HTC 8S.
HTC 8X has a 4.3-inch S-LCD 2 display with a 720p resolution, a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal memory, a 8-megapixel camera with a BSI sensor, a 88-degree lens for wide shots and a f/2.0 aperture. For the front facing camera HTC has added 2.1-megapixel sensor with a f/2.0 aperture.
HTC 8X will be available during early NovemberThe HTC 8S is more of a budget offering.HTC 8S has 4-inch WVGA display with a resolution of 800×480 pixels, a 1GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal memory.It has a 5-megapixel camera with f/2.8 aperture, a 35mm lens and it can only shoot 720p video. It doesnt have a front facing camera. There is only 4GB of onboard memory but it has a microSD card slot.The battery is not removable.
Google's latest version of its Android software takes it up to version 4.0 and higher, which is commonly known as the Ice Cream Sandwich update of the mobile OS.
The big selling point is that it unifies the experience across all hardware, so users of phones running ICS see largely the same interface, albeit with some layout changes for the bigger screened devices.
Of course, there's still the issue of manufacturer skins to take into account. While Android 4.0 offers a basic and seriously updated feature set, some tools and features may be missing or accessed through different means when using the same OS on phones made by different companies.
So Samsung's Android 4.0 update, which we're seeing arrive on its Galaxy S II right now, looks and works differently to the Android 4.0 you'll shortly see arriving on HTC's exciting new One Series of phones.
Which makes compiling a list of tips that work on all versions of the OS out there rather hard. But enough of our moaning. Here are a few useful shortcuts to getting the most out of your Ice Cream Sandwich serving, whenever the metaphorical waitress decides to bring it to your metaphorical table.
1. Add quick controls to the browser.
One of the options buried beneath the Labs section of Android 4.0's web browser is the Quick Controls option. This adds a pop-out menu to the browser, which pulls in a little semi-circular collection of shortcuts to the main browser features, removing the URL bar and giving you more screen to play with. Also, holding down the Back button is the Android standard way of bringing up the bookmarks and history tool, too. But that's been around for years.
2. Long-press to uninstall
Long-pressing on an app within the app drawer lets you drag it to a Home screen, but it also pops up a couple of menus along the top of the screen. App Info gives you the boring technical stuff about how much memory it's taking up, or you can fling it off the other way to uninstall it.
3. Flying Android screensaver
One odd undocumented little secret within Android 4.0 is this strange little collection of flying Androids, which you can... look at. Look at for as long as you like. To activate it, head into the phone's About screen and hammer away at the Android Version tab and it'll all happen.
4. Save your eyes with inverted rendering
Inverted rendering is a posh way of saying it makes the pages black and turns the text white, so it looks like you're reading the internet from 1997. It also supposedly saves battery, plus is easier on the eyes if you're reading in the dark. It's under the browser's settings tab, within the accessibility area - and there's a contrast slider, too.
5. Set a custom rejection text message
When your Twitter action is rudely interrupted by someone actually telephoning you, there's a polite way to give the caller the boot. Android 4.0 lets users ping a rejection text message to callers - and you're able to customise this too. Just answer a call and ping the lock screen notification up to access to custom rejection messaging area.
6. Stop app icons automatically appearing
One of the many new ICS features is the way Google lets apps automatically add shortcuts to themselves on your Home screen when they've finished installing. It's useful, but if you're a control freak and wish to remain 100% in charge of your Home layout, head to the Google Play app's settings tab and untick the Auto-add Shortcuts toggle.
7. There's a Settings shortcut in the Notifications pane
That little settings icon in the ICS notifications area isn't just art to fill the space. It's a shortcut to your phone or tablet's settings area. So use that instead of giving it a Home screen icon slot all to itself.
8. Manually close apps
Google's lovely new recent apps multitasking menu also lets you close apps quickly, should you suspect one's gone rogue. A Long-press within the Recent Apps listing lets you visit the app's info page, from where you can easily force close it.
9. Remove the lock screen
It's possible to entirely bin your Android 4.0 lock screen, making the phone instantly turn itself on when you press the power button. It's a security nightmare, but if your phone lives entirely on your desk and you demand instant access without any unlocking, head to Security > Screen lock and select none. Then be very careful.
10. Folders in the dock
Android's new official love of folder formation makes it dead easy to combine app shortcuts and make folders, simply by dragging one icon on top of another. You can make these groups of apps even easier to access by dragging a folder onto the ICS floating dock, meaning you can squeeze stacks more content on to each creaking Home screen.
11. Take photos while recording video
The Android 4.0 camera app that arrived with the Galaxy Nexus has one cool little extra feature - the ability to fire off still photos while recording video clips. Simply tapping the screen takes a shot at full resolution, which is saved to the phone's gallery while the video's still happily recording away.
12. Bin animations and transitions
Hidden within the Developer Options section of the Ice Cream Sandwich software are quite a few nerdy ways to adapt your phone. Most won't be of any use to those who are just using their phone as a phone, but if you want it to feel faster, or at least look a little different, the scrolling, zooming effects on windows and menus can be edited in many ways.
13. Take a grab of your phone
Screen grabbing of your phone's display is finally in Android. On the Galaxy Nexus, it's activated through holding the power button and volume down switch. On HTC's new models it's done by holding the power button and pressing Home. Other phones had different techniques for doing this before Ice Cream Sandwich, but it's good to see this now becoming part of the standard Android feature set in Android 4.0.
14. Long-press dotted words
When typing on the Android 4.0 keyboard, you may see some suggested words appear with the "..." icon beneath. Doing a long-press on this one will pop up a much bigger window of suggested words, letting you bail out on some of that tedious typing a little quicker.
15. Add additional faces
The ICS face unlock feature, as found in the Galaxy Nexus, lets you unlock it by scanning your face with the front camera. Which is great, but what if you haven't shaved for a month? The software can actually store multiple images of your face, so you can do left parting, right parting, shaved, unshaved - or even add a trusted a friend to the visually verified user list.
16. Experiment with GPU settings
Another hidden little gem found within the Development options tab is the hardware acceleration 'Force On' toggle. This makes ICS attempt to boost the performance of any apps that don't already use the feature. It may also break them in the process, though, so it's something of a trial and error fiddling exercise to do on a very rainy day.
17. Type like an adult
Make a stand for grammatical standards in this day and age by long-pressing on the stock Android 4.0 keyboard's full stop button. This brings up such doomed punctuation as commas and speech marks, plus even a semicolon for the extra brave mobile typist.
18. Nick wallpapers off the internet
Found a lovely photograph of some stars, a pretty computer generated planet or even the mighty Professor Brian Cox himself? Long-pressing on any image in the web browsers lets you instantly set it as your wallpaper, without the hassle of saving it, finding it, and setting it the long way.
19. Limit background process
If you fancy an even more serious bit of fiddling, the same ICS developer area contains the option to "limit background process" demands by the OS. You can use this to stop your phone or tablet storing so many apps in memory. Whether this has any effect of the actual battery life of us users is up for debate, but again, it's something to play with and see if it suits your phone use patterns.
20. Quickly access Notifications
Here's a simple yet huge change Google's made in Android 4.0 - the Notifications pane can be accessed from the lock screen. Press power, touch the Notifications area, then scroll down to read your latest messages. Obviously it's a bit of a security risk and lets anyone access your messages, so best be careful.
How To Install And Run Android 4.0 On Mac, Windows PC Or Linux [Tutorial]...;)
The mobile smartphone and tablet industry seems to have a very prominent divide, with a lot of consumers having their favorite operating system and choosing to stick to hardware which is powered by their chosen OS. Obviously fans of Apple’s iOS use the iPhone and iPad devices, whereas Android lovers have a wide range of hardware to choose from due to the fact that the OS is available to multiple manufacturers.
But what happens if you are a die hard fan of iOS, or Windows Phone but you still want to sample the delights that Android Ice Cream Sandwich has to offer? I personally am an Android User for the last three years and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. But after recently getting my first taste of Android, I am severely tempted to shell out for a second device so I can have the benefits that both provide. For those that can’t, or won’t, purchase a second device then why not run Android 4.0 in virtualization on your desktop or laptop in order to see the Ice Cream Sandwich experience first hand?
Android 4.0 is an operating system in its own right, but instead of running on a dual boot setup, we install and run ICS within a free of charge virtualization application known as VirtualBox. VirtualBox runs like any other application or program on your machine, but offers the benefits of being able to install a secondary OS within it which can be invoked quickly by the user. For all those die hard iOS and Windows Phone fans out there, this is a perfect way to experience the delights of Android.
Are you ready for a whirlwind journey down Ice Cream Sandwich lane? Buckle in and follow the simple steps below.
Step 1: Head over to the official Oracle VM VirtualBox site and download the relevant VirtualBox binary for your computers operating system (Windows/Mac OS X/Linux/Solaris).
Step 2: Find the saved location of the downloaded VirtualBox binary and install as you would with any other native application making sure to follow all on screen prompts and instructions.
Step 3: Head on over to the VMLite website and download a copy of the Ice Cream Sandwich which has been preconfigured for virtualization and features seamless mouse support for navigation. The download weighs in at 88MB in size so may take a while to download depending on your connection.
Step 4: Locate the downloaded ‘Android-v4.7z‘ file and extract the contents from within.
Step 5: Once the Android-v4.7z file has been opened, locate a file from within the archive called ‘Android-v4.vbox‘ which as you can tell by the file extension is a pre configured VirtualBox file.
Step 6: Double click on the Android-v4.vbox file which will load the VirtualBox application and boot up the ICS file.
Step 7: When the boot menu is presented in VirtualBox, press ‘start‘ on the top toolbar and then if required select the ‘Android Startup from /dev/sda‘ option.
Step 8: All steps are complete. Android 4.0 ICS should now be booting up allowing you to enjoy that Android goodness.
