Tech Tips
Installing Microsoft Fonts on Linux Ubuntu
Aug 31st
Even with the most recent version of Ubuntu, it still lacks the truetype font kits that come with Windows. Sometimes we might want to use Trebuchet MS, Verdana, or — heaven forbid — Arial.
This is a quick tutorial on how to install the most common windows fonts on your Ubuntu OS. We will need to use the power of terminal. For all the newbies out there fret not! Just follow closely and you will have no issues!
What We’ll be Doing
We’re going to be installing the msttcorefonts package which consists of the following:
- Andale Mono
- Arial Black
- Arial (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
- Comic Sans MS (Bold)
- Courier New (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
- Georgia (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
- Impact
- Times New Roman (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
- Trebuchet (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
- Verdana (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
- Webdings
Step 1: Open Terminal
Since we’ll be using terminal we need to open it. For those running Ubuntu 11.04 (or later), you can simply search for terminal via the search function in the upper left-hand corner (click on the ubuntu icon). On older versions of Ubuntu you can look for terminal under System to find Terminal.
Step 2: Install the fonts
Type the following command
1 | $sudo apt-get install msttcorefonts |
You will be promoted to agree to various licenses, just scroll down and select OK and hit enter.
Step 3: Flush Font Cache
After all new fonts are installed, we need to flush the font cache via the following command:
1 | $sudo fc-cache -fv |
Installing the Missing Font
For some reason this package is mission the Tahoma font, not sure why. But to install the Tahoma font follow the instructions below:
Step 4: Installing Tahoma
Download the font here
Locate the IELPKTH.CAB file via the GUI controls and move the font to the desktop for ease of use.
Create a folder in the desktop to house all the files that we’ll need to use, call it something like tahoma.
Note: you can do this via terminal as well via the following commands:
If cd Desktop isn’t working then you’ll need to find your way back to your user home, typically /home/%username%/Desktop/
1 | cd Desktop |
1 | mkdir tahoma |
1 | mv IELPKTH.CAB tahoma |
Step 5: Extracting the Goods
Once we have the .CAB file, we need a way to extract the goods inside since it’s a complication of files. We need to use a utility called cabextract. This utility may or may not be installed, we can see by issuing the following command:
1 | cabextract IELPKTH.CAB |
If your are promoted to install cabextract, then do so now. Otherwise, the utility will run and the .CAB file will extract to the tahoma directory we created on our Desktop.
Step 6: Copy the Font
We need to copy the two .ttf files from our extracted .CAB file into the msttcorefonts file. We can do this by issuing the following command:
1 | sudo cp *.ttf /usr/share/fonts/truetype/msttcorefonts/ |
Step 7: Flush the Cache again
Flush the cache again.
1 | $sudo fc-cache -fv |
Finally
To make sure our Ubuntu OS is recognizing the fonts we recently installed, open Libre Office, Open Office, or your favorite word editor and verify the fonts show in our font list and show correctly.
Wireless Security Explained
Nov 4th
Wireless internet access has been around since the mid 1990s and has quickly become a hot item since then. Most computers we purchase today come with the capability to receive wireless internet signals in the form of radio waves.
Wireless Network Interface Cards or NICs for short, come in anything from a camera to a network printer. We even have NICs in our smartphones such as Android, Blackberry, and the iPhone! Wireless internet is convenient and relatively easy to setup around the home.
Security
One of the biggest criticism for wifi is its lack of security methods for keeping unwanted visitors out of your network and keeping your personal documents safe. There are now, however, several measures we can implement to keep our wireless network to ourselves.
Logging onto your router
Logging into our wireless router is extremely easy. The only thing we need to to is open up our favorite web browser and type the IP address of the router. For most routers, the IP address is either of the following:
- 192.168.0.1
- 192.168.1.1
It may also be - 192.169.1.254
If you’re not certain how to do this task, then search the web for your router and type something like, “how to log onto [router brand]” or “default login into for [router brand] router”.
Once the IP is entered correctly, a prompt will show up requesting a username and password. This user name is admin and the password (if it’s still default) is either blank, 1234, or admin. If the password has been changed, then enter in the proper password for the router. Note: this password is different from the password to access the internet from the router. Once on the router, look for a menu item that says Wireless Settings.
Disabling SSID
One very obvious security measure is to disable the Service set identifier or SSID. Once the SSID is disables then it would show up as Unnamed Network (or something like that). If someone wished to connect to the network then they would have to manually enter in the correct SSID for that network.
Uncheck this setting and the SSID will no longer show up and everyone else will have to enter in the proper SSID.
Encrypting the Connection
Encrypting the connection is the biggest security feature of wireless networks. This basically blocks everyone from connecting to our wireless router unless the have the proper password. There are usually several different types of encryptions available to us:
- WEP
- WPA-PSK[TKIP]
- WPA2-PSK[AES]
- WPA-PSK[TKIP] + WPA2-PSK[AES]
The first one is WEP. This security method is actually deprecated for encrypting 802.11 networks and really shouldn’t be used. The best option for encrypting networks is WPA2-PSK[AES] since it supports both ultrastructure networks and ad hoc networks (WPA cannot support ad hoc networks). AES is also a stronger encryption method than TKIP.
MAC Filtering
MAC (Media Access Control) Filtering deals with the physical address of a wireless NIC. Our wireless cards and ethernet ports all have a physical address formatting like so: 00-00-00-00-00-00. This uniquely identifies our NICs. Generally, the first three groups refer to the manufacture of the NIC and the last three refer to the “serial number” of the NIC. Every interface, whether it’s gigabit ethernet or a wifi card, must have a MAC address.
Under an option like Advanced Wireless Settings, there should be an option for Mac Filtering (I believe for Linksys routers there’s an option that is called MAC Filtering).
Simply label the device like Kitchen-PC and to find the MAC address do the following:
- Open run and type the following: cmd
- Once command prompt is open, type the following command: ipconfig /all
- Look for your Wireless LAN Physical Address and input that number into the router.
Mac addresses are highlighted below:
MAC Filtering literally limits the MAC addresses that can connect to the router. This is a great security feature of most routers but should not be used alone. MAC addresses can easily be spoofed by editing the number in the registry or by using a third-party application.
MAC Filtering adds an excellent layer of security to our network. When combined with disabling SSID broadcast, setting a WPA2 password and enabling MAC Filtering, our wireless networks are safe and secure. It may take a little more work to add users, but it’s worth its weight in gold in the long run.
Changing the Default Login Password
Perhaps one of the most significant security measures we could implement on our routers is to change the default password for logging onto the router. In the very beginning of this tutorial, we logged into our router via the IP address. If this password is either of the following, then the password must be changed:
- [No Password]
- admin
- 1234
There should be some menu item that allows us to change the password to log onto the router. Most of the times we cannot change the username that logs onto the router, only the password.
Summary
Above is a common list of things that can be done to secure a wireless network for your home or very very small office. To recap we can do the following:
- Disable DDIS
- Encrypt Internet Connection
- MAC Filtering
- Changing the password to the router
Additional Things that can be Done
There are a few additional things we can implement on our router that will add an additional layer of security and content filtering for children/employees.
- Schedule Internet Hours
- Block sites
Scheduling hours
Scheduling hours literally limits the hours that the router will function. During the “off hours” the router will not allow internet access from any system that is connected to it (whether it’s wireless or wired). This is a simple method for controlling when children or employees are able to access the internet.
As you can see by the image above, we can limit the time frame for the internet to work on any given day of the week. The only contingency for this is that the time on the router be correct and that Day Light Savings Time is correct too.
Blocking Sites
Blocking malicious websites is always a must on any network. If a malicious bit of software were to infect a system on a network, it could potentially infect other systems in the same network if it’s insecure. Websites that contain pornographic material, websites that reduce employee productivity, and other assorted websites can lead to malware infections.
These last two techniques can be used to limit the hours that anyone may use the internet and to limit the keywords or specific domains names. This can help prevent users accessing malicious websites and accessing the internet at unwanted times.
Wireless routers are useful and convenient. Securing these devices is essential for keeping networks from being accessed by unwanted users.
My Computer is Slow!
Oct 27th
After a few years in the industry of fixing computers, I’ve learned that there’s only so much that can be done software wise to speed up a computer. People often complain about slow and sluggish systems so we naturally do the following things on the software side:
- Install Updates for the OS
- Disable non-essential startup services and programs
- Clean up the system of unnecessary files
- Defragment the Hard Drive
- Scan and clean the system registry (in windows-based systems only)
After all of this time, we notice that the system is still running slow. What could the issue be? We poke around more on the software side, we contemplate reinstalling the OS, or we think about doing other things that could potentially solve our issue. The truth of the matter is that software may not be the only thing holding the system back.
Hardware and its Limitations
A little known fact is that hardware has limitations. Software can always be tweaked until it’s just right and works a certain way. Hardware, on the other hand, is extremely temperamental and cannot usually be tweaked too much before it actually died on you. There are several components that are critical to the machines performance:
- Hard Drive
- RAM
- CPU
- Memory Controller (North Bridge)
- I/O Controller (South Bridge)
Hard Drive
Hard drives are the portion of your computer where the information is stored usually on a magnetic drive. Data on these drives are stored as magnetic spots where small read/write heads will collect information from the spinning drive.
Data on these drives is split up into tracks and sectors.
- Tracks
- are literally circles of sectors that sprial into the center of the hard drive
- Sectors
- are 512-byte pockets where data can be stored
In order for the r/w head to retrieve data that is being requested, the hard drive must spin and the r/w head must move the proper location where the data is. The mechanics of this operation takes time which causes the system to slow down.
Options to Consider
- Consider purchasing a Solid State Drive (SSD)
- Consider purchasing a hard drive with a higher rpm
Memory
Random Access Memory (RAM) is basically like the red blood cells of the computer. The RAM stores information from software in chips that are close to the CPU. The CPU can access the information in the RAM at high speeds. The more RAM you have the more information you can hold in memory which means the faster your computer will be.
One important note on memory is OS version. Please see the table below on the minimum and recommeded memory requirements for Mac OSX, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7:
| Windows XP | Windows Vista | Windows 7 | Mac OSX 10.4 (Tiger) | Mac OSX 10.5 (Leopard) | Mac OSX 10.6 (Snow Leopard) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Memory | |||||
| 128MB | 1GB (512MB for Home Basic) | 1GB for 32-bit and 2GB for 64-bit | 256MB | 512MB | 1GB |
| Recommended Memory | |||||
| 1GB | 2GB (1GB for Home Basic) | 2GB for 32-bit and 4GB for 64-bit | 1GB | 2GB | 4GB |
Note: on Windows x86 (32-bit systems) the maximum amount of memory that can be used is 3GB. Even if you add a total of 4GB the OS will only see 3GB of memory.
Using this table as a reference, this will allow you to quickly see the recommended amount of RAM for your system. Be sure to check with your manufacture to see the maximum amount RAM that is allowed by your computer. See Upgrading RAM for additional information.
Upgrading the RAM on your computer will greatly increase the speed of your system in all cases.
CPU
The CPU is essentially the brain of the computer. The CPU does all of the logic for the computer and does calculations in a matter of nanoseconds. CPUs are a large part of the computer but cannot always necessarily be replaced. If you’re using a Laptop or Mac then you should not attempt to upgrade your CPU. These systems are almost always tailored to match the other major components like GPU, Motherboard, Socket, and Chipset.
If you’re using a PC Desktop then you can probably upgrade your CPU if you want. Although, much consideration has to go into the purchase of a new CPU.
- Will the new processor be compatible with the current hardware?
- Will the new processor fit my current socket?
- Will the new processor take too many watts?
- Will the new processor have the right specs that will work on my system?
The CPU isn’t the most practical solution to increasing the speed of a system and is usually the absolute last option in any computer related issue. We do NOT advise anyone replacing their CPU without proper knowledge beforehand.
A final note
The most practical solution there is to keeping a computer running healthy is to do the following:
- Keep OS up-to-date with the most current service packs, security patches, and other software updates
- Regularly defragment your hard drive using Defraggler
- Disable all non-essential system services and programs
- Keep a working anti-virus program running at all times and keep definitions up to date (We strongly recommend Microsoft Security Essentials (it’s free).
- Regularly clean your system with Ccleaner (PC only)
The best way to boot your performance hardware wise is to upgrade your memory. Most memory chips are relatively cheap and just about anyone can install the chips themselves!
PC Tune Up SE
Jul 20th
Does your PC run slow? Are you seriously contemplating taking it into a computer repair show where they’ll charge you $100+ to speed up your system? There are a few things you can do before you succumb to the computer “repair” shop.
PC Tuneup
Websites that claim they’ll scan your PC for free if you download their software are nothing than money mongers — seriously, it’s a rip off. Even if you have a fresh install of your operating system they’ll claim you have viruses and other malware. If you think you have malware see this lovely article on malware. There is also an article on virus removal if you know that your system is infected.
The Tools
Windows utilities don’t always have a good reputation with users (whether they are computer savvy or not). Utilities like Task Manager, Disk Cleanup, Disk Defragmenter, and Services Panel, Event Viewer, Windows Explorer, and System Restore.
These utilities can usually be found in the System Tools portion of the Accessories menu. All of the highlighted items are essential pc tools that you should be aware of.
Though this OS is Windows 7, the location of the tools is the same for Windows XP and Vista.
Step 1
The first step is something quite obvious but is commonly overlooked. You need to ask yourself, “Do I have the most recent updates for my PC?” As it was stated before, this may seem like a dumb question but it is not. Sometimes, problems due to speed or hardware not working are caused by out-of-date drivers and software patches. To see your most recent service pack, open Run by pressing Window Key + R or opening it via the start menu and typing winver.
| OS | Service Pack |
|---|---|
| Windows XP | Service pack 3 (all but XP Professional X64) |
| Windows Vista | Service Pack 2 |
| Windows 7 | None to date |
This shows you the version of Windows OS you are currently using and the Service Pack which is installed. As we can see from this example, we have Windows Vista with Service Pack 2 installed.
A Service Pack is a major OS update that updates core files of the OS. They are different than a regular OS patch. One key difference is the size of the update. Most service packs are well over 100MB in size.
To check and see if you have any updates, navigate to control panel and select Windows Updates.
For XP users it will be on the left-hand bar menu and for Vista users it will be under System as the first option. For Windows 7 users, click on System and Security and then on Windows Update.
Click on “Check for Updates” and Windows will check for any updates that you might need. If it finds any updates, be sure to install them and then restart your computer if you are prompted to do so.
Step 2
The next step is to remove unnecessary files from your system using Ccleaner which is a free and open source utility for all to use. It comes with a windows system cleaner and a registry cleaner together. This is a great utility to install and to run at least once a month.
Ccleaner will clean up various applications and various windows items that you select. Looking at the image, we can see that there are several applications and windows items that are using quite a bit of space on the hard drive.
Step 3
Next we want to defragment our hard drive. There are two utilities that are excellent and blow away the Windows Disk Defragmenter. Auslogics Disk Defrag and Piriform’s Defraggler. Personally, I prefer Auslogics over Defraggler because it comes with an optimization option and it is usually faster.
These examples are screen shots of Auslogics before defragmentation and after defragmentation.
| Before | After |
|---|---|
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But what exactly is fragmentation of the hard drive? First we need to understand how a hard drive works. Most hard drives that we have are called magnetic hard drives which consist of one or more platters and a read/write head. Data is written in these 512-byte slots on the hard drive called sectors. The amount of space on the hard drive is determined by the number or sectors in each track. A track is a full rotation around the disk platter.
Data is stored as a magnetic spot in the hard drive and the absence of data is stored as a non-magnetic spot in the hard drive. This is also known as storing data as binary (0′s and 1′s). The presence of a magnetic spot is “1″ and the absence of one is a “0″. 8 bits = 1 byte, so each sector can hold 4096 bits or 4.096 kilobits of information. Translated into the terms of bytes, each sector can hold 512 bytes of information.
When we write information to the hard drive, the information sometimes gets scattered because it is using the closest sector with free space. More notably, when we uninstall programs or delete files, that frees up the spot on the platter so data gets written to that spot where the old data used to be. This allows for data to get placed in different sectors on the hard drive and thereby increasing the access time for the read/write head to get the data we need.
The defragmentation process places data in the proper sectors and tracks there the majority of the data is for that particular file or program is found. Auslogics does a little bit more with the optimization option, however. The optimization option “compresses” the free space we have instead of merely moving data to the right spot. This places all of the data we have in a single compacted block on the hard drive to further decrease the access time. Read more about the defragmentation process here with Auslogics’ great explanation.
These images below depict the fragmentation, defragmentation, and optimization process.
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Step 4
msconfig. Though this seems somewhat daunting, fret not PC users. Run is a great tool and is the gateway to many PC features and shortcuts. We must open Run by pressing the Window key + R or by opening run manually. Type msconfig and then navigate to the Startup tab. Hide and non-windows startup services (if you have the option) and begin unckecking all non-windows startup services. Leave core services like video drivers and wifi drivers checked. Items like iTunes, Adobe, Quicktime, and other programs can be unchecked because we don’t need them to startup right when our OS loads.
All of the items that are highlighted are things we don’t need to be loading during the startup process. There is a more advanced way of going about this; however, this is the practical and easiest way of increase your systems speed during startup.
Notice that we leave the NVIDIA, touchpad, google update, and our anti-virus programs checked so they launch during the startup process. These are all items we want to loading during the startup process.
Step 5
Run a virus scan with your existing antivirus software or by using Microsoft Security Essentials or you can browse paid anti-virus programs. But if you’re running any version of Windows, AtomicPages commends and endorses the use of Microsoft Security Essentials.
Be sure to update your virus definitions daily and scan your system at least once a week and stay off of websites with bad reputations. If you want to check how reputable a website is, we recommend the WOT Plugin for Firefox/Chrome/IE/Safari. This plugin check to see how reputable a website is from community votes. This plugin will warn you if you are visiting a website with a poor reputation.
How to Prevent a Virus
Jun 18th
Although this might seem like a silly question, “How to prevent a virus?”, some people really have no clue how and why we should protect against malware and other technological parasites.
Why Protect?
Let us assume “malware” is an all-inclusive term that includes, but is not limited to, worms, viruses, grayware, riskware, scareware, and trojans. Why on Earth would we protect our computers from these little bits of code that could possibly have no adverse effect on our systems? Well, you always must think to yourself, “what if?”
What if you did visit a website or opened an email attachment and you did get malware from this malicious website or email attachment. What if this malware took over your computer and copied itself into hundreds of directories and was secretly logging every keystroke you made on your computer. This malware could potentially have banking usernames and passwords, credit card information, or other personal information that is sent over the internet.
What if malware took over your computer and began deleting critical system files and folders? It would be annoying to have to reinstall your operating system because malware hijacked your computer. But this doesn’t happen with ever infection; we need to weigh the pros and cons of both sides.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Protects system against malware | Reduction of system performance |
| Peace of mind | Expensive anti-virus programs |
| Less chance of becoming infected | Doesn’t always catch everything |
| An extra set of eyes always watching out for your system | I don’t need it because I don’t visit malicious websites |
As wonderful as these arguments are, it is still better to have anti-virus than to not have it. When surfing the world wide web, you never know what your system might catch. Even if you visit a website that you know is malware-free, it still could give you malware. Malicious code writes are always coming up with better ways to infect systems and steal information or cause a nuisance.
What Programs to Use
It is a well know fact that there are a billion different anti-viral, anti-adware,and anti-malware programs. Not to mention email filters, spam filters, and popup blockers.
This begs the question, “What program should I use?” In my opinion, the best option is always the free option. This will save you money and will suffice in most cases. Great free programs are the following:
There are other paid options, however. According to CNET ( a widely respected and well known technology-based website), the top paid anti-viral programs were the following:
http://us.trendmicro.com/us/home/
To see the full list the CNET’s reviews, check out this link for the full list.
Personally, my favorite antivirus is free and it worked wonderfully. Download Microsoft Security Essentials for free and be protected from viruses and other malware. This software works very well and AomicPages strongly recommends this program.