Archive for the ‘Tips & Tricks’ category

Restrict Logon Hours for Any Windows Account

January 11th, 2012 by Admin

One of my friends complained that his child spends too much time on his computer. He was very worried for his kid’s health. He tried to talk with the child but you know how stubborn they are. It was almost impossible to convince a six-year-old kid that spending too many hours in front of the computer can have a bad influence upon his health condition. I am a person who sustains children should learn how to use computers but I am against excessive use.

Regarding my friend’s problem, I advised him to try software applications that restrict access to computer for a defined time interval. He was reticent about this idea asking me if there was a costless solution. He didn’t want to use software trying to avoid his child getting suspicious. He just wanted a trick to restrict access in Windows without additional software and at no cost.

I immediately thought that the net user command would be perfect for this issue. Follow the steps outlined below to easily limit the user’s logon hours:

  1. Open an elevated Command Prompt.

  2. Enter the appropriate net user /time command for the user(s) you wish to restrict access for.

Example 1:
Limits the user john to logon Monday- Friday between 8am and 5pm:
net user john /time:M-F,08:00-17:00

Example 2:
The same thing can also be expressed as above using the 12 hour clock :
net user john /time:M-F,8am-5pm

Example 3:
This shows the easiest way of setting limits that differ on multiple days.
net user john /time:M,8am-5pm;T,1pm-3pm;W-F,8:00-17:00

Example 4:
To remove time restrictions:
net user john /time:all

Note: The system limits time to one-hour increments, which means you can only restrict the user on the hour (e.g., 13:00 or 1pm, not 13:30 or 1:30pm). You can use the abbreviation for the day (i.e., M,T,W,Th,F,Sa,Su).

Windows accounts can be restricted from logging on to the computer at specific hours or days. You can only restrict when a user can log on to the system, but you cannot force a user to log off when their hours expire.

The next time when you try to log onto the same account, the operating system will check the time restrictions you set to determine if you are allowed to log into the  account. For restricted time periods, the system will required you to enter your password, even if you haven’t set any password on that account. Furthermore, it will always reject you regardless if you enter a valid or invalid password.

 

How to Remove Restrictions for Protected PDF Document

December 15th, 2011 by Admin

Some PDF files come with restrictions that limit our work. We can’t print, copy or edit the content of an encrypted PDF file. And this could be the case even when you have the legal right to modify the document or copy from it. So in such situations, the best way out is to remove PDF password security and restrictions.

With PDF Password Recovery tool, you can instantly remove all PDF restrictions on printing, copying and editing. And this tutorial will show you how to remove PDF Permission Passwords (also known as Owner Password) and Get access to password-protected PDF files quickly and efficiently!

  1. Install PDF Password Recovery

    Click here to download the latest version of PDF Password Recovery package. Install it on your computer, then launch PDF Password Recovery program.

  2. Select PDF Document

    Click the button to select your protected PDF document you haven’t permissions to print / copy / edit it.

  3. Remove PDF Restrictions

    Select the Remove Owner Password option, then click Next button. The program will remove the PDF restrictions immediately. You should now see a copy of your document that can be opened without requiring a password.

How to create unique passwords you’ll never forget

December 14th, 2011 by Admin

I’ll admit it. I’ve used the same password for many of my online accounts, which is terribly dangerous in today’s online-driven society. I changed this unsafe practice by coming up with a very unique system and in this article I’ll show you how to create unique and easy-to-remember passwords for all your online needs.

Imagine for a second having the same password for all your accounts, and somehow (either using social engineering or other tactics, such as a key logger) someone gets a hold of it and has locked you out of everything. Your Gmail, your online banking accounts, your goDaddy account and your domains, etc. Now imagine trying to regain possession of all of these accounts. Surely, a nightmare.

In an ideal world, we would have different convoluted (numbers, lower-uppercase, symbols) passwords for every single one of our accounts. Now, at least for me, it would be impossible to remember all of these given the numerous online accounts I’ve got all over the internet. Sure, you can use a program that automatically stores and fills in unique passwords for you, such as Roboform, but just imagine how horrible it would be if, one; your computer caught on fire or got stolen, all your passwords are all gone! Two: if someone got discovered Roboform’s master password. Either way, you’re screwed.

Now imagine a system where you would have easy to remember AND unique passwords for every single account. I’ve come up with the perfect solution. I’ll give you an example of how to achieve this, but remember, just create your own unique way. Just bear with me.

First of all, think of 2 memorable short words and a number. You can use 2 of your current passwords, just to keep things simple, and a number.

  • first word: dog
  • second word: red
  • a number (someone’s birth year, reversed): 37

We’ve got dogred37. Remember, play with upper-lower case combinations.

Now we’ve got doGreD38.

Lets take this combination and make it the base of our unique passwords, and this is how:

For your Hotmail account. Grab the first letter of hotmail, h and the last letter, l. Now combine it with your master password, reversed, and we get: LdoGred37h

  • For Gmail: LdoGred37G
  • For eBay: YdoGred37e
  • For Amazon: NdoGreD37a

Now there you have it. Unique and easy to remember passwords. You’ll never have to click the “forgot your password” link and wait for an email in return EVER AGAIN! Even worse, you won’t be tempted to write down your password on that sticky note on your monitor.

Create your own system. Be creative, but not too creative, where you won’t remember your own combination. Keep it simple.

Please share (without revealing, obviously) how you create and remember passwords in the comments.