Notepad++ hacked due to releasing Je suis Charlie edition

The well-known and popular text editor Notepad++ recently joined the Je suis Charlie campaign by releasing a Notepad++ 6.7.4 Je suis Charlie edition. After you install this new edition and launch the program, a new text file will be created with the automatic typing of the following content: Freedom of expression is like the air we breathe, we don’t feel it, until people take it away from us. For this reason, Je suis Charlie, not because […]

Blog spammer uses your curiosity to increase traffic to their site

Recently an obvious spam comment somehow passed through Akismet spam blocker and landed in my moderation queue. The reason I say it is an obvious spam is that it asks if I want to have unlimited articles for my blog by copying content from other websites without being caught. Isn’t it called plagiarism? Or cheating? How can the spammer stupid enough to expect me or other bloggers to approve such stupid comments? But after re-read the […]

Intel Wireless-N 7260 loses connection after Windows wakes up from sleep or hibernate mode

My HP Envy 15 laptop comes with an Intel Wireless-N 7260 wireless card and recently I noticed that it causes weird connection issue. Every time when my laptop wakes up from the sleep mode or the hibernate mode, it loses the WIFI connection. Although the WIFI connection icon on the taskbar shows it is connected, it does not allow me to access any site. When this happens I have to reboot my computer to get the connection […]

Intel Driver Update Utility failed to load latest driver

Intel Driver Update Utility is a handy tool developed by Intel that can automatically detect, download and install the latest drivers from Intel. It is very useful because you don’t have to go through Device Manager in your computer to figure out what Intel products you have in your computer, and the utility will check all Intel products for updates, and give you a list of products with the installed version and the latest version, then you can […]

Remove McAfee Application Installer Cleanup and Boot Delay Start services

When I get a new computer, the first thing I usually do is to uninstall the junk software pre-installed by the manufacturer. I find the most annoying software bundled in new computer is McAfee security products such as McAfee LiveSafe, so when I first got my new HP Envy 15 laptop, I immediately removed all McAfee products. I thought the removal should not leave any trace behind, but how wrong I was. Recently I noticed […]

Stand with Paris to support freedom of speech with WordPress Je Suis Charlie plugin

If you are a WordPress user and If you would like to stand with Paris and show your support for the freedom of speech, then you can install a newly developed WordPress plugin called Je Suis Charlie. Once installed and activated, a black ribbon with the words “#JeSuisCharlie” will be put on in the top right or left corner of your website, linking to the twitter hashtag. This plugin was created by Julio Potier on January 7th, […]

Use Solid State Drive (SSD) to boost computer performance

If you have a Windows PC, have you noticed that your PC runs fast in the first couple of months, then it becomes slow? You probably also Googled the Internet to see how to improve the PC performance and came across lots of software claiming to be able to to it, but the truth is the performance gained from those software is marginal, and what is worse is that those software may make your PC unstable […]

Store needs reliable Internet connection

I went to a grocery store called Sprouts this afternoon to grab some routine groceries and never expected to stay in the store for long, but I ended up waiting in the store for a long time then coming out empty handed. Not because the checkout line was long, but because something we take for granted every day was broken. You probably already figured out the problem. Yes, their register could not process my credit […]

Retrieving the COM class factory for component with CLSID failed due to the following error

First of all, as .NET developer, you should NOT use COM components in your .NET applications any more, because it is old and unmanaged. The detailed error message usually looks like this:  Retrieving the COM class factory for component with CLSID {000209FF-0000-0000-C000-000000000046} failed due to the following error: 800xxxxx The error code may be different, but the cause of the error is usually the same. The most common cause of the error is that most […]

WordPress Self-Hosted Websites Hacked Due to Slider Revolution Plugin Vulnerability

While people are still bombarded with the recent Sony security breach, more than 100,000 self-hosted WordPress websites are reported to be infected by a SoakSoak.ru malware due to a critical security vulnerability in a plugin installed on those websites: Slider Revolution, and Google has already blacklisted more than 10,000 sites being infected by the malware. The vulnerability allows hackers to download wp-config.php file and if successful, then hackers will have full access to the compromised web […]