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Prevent Windows 8 File Explorer From Deleting Image Thumbnail Cache

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Apart from the new Modern UI look and tablet-optimized features, Windows 8 also comes with new network, personalization, system administration and security related options. Like previous versions of Windows, it enforces strict file access and system component usage restrictions to prevent users from tweaking the default system management, administration and security parameters. Almost all the Special Folders, including user profile folders, system32, library folders etc, have been assigned special permissions by System, and this virtual user allows them to create and read file listings, manipulate extended file attributes, delete folders and sub-folders, and remove junk files from the folders. The Explorer is one such User Profile-related special folder, which can delete thumbnail database as soon as its size reaches a certain limit. If you’re among those who deal with massive photo collections and want to restrict File Explorer folder from deleting your thumbnail database files, here’s is how you can do it in Windows 8. Read More

Disable Uninstall Option For Windows 8 Modern UI Apps [Tip]

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Windows 8 comes packed with a slew of new feature additions and enhanced user interface, but a lot of things have also been excluded from the latest release. With the release of Windows 8 looming on the horizon, we at AddictiveTips are trying to give you a preview of everything it will offer to the users. As most of us already know, the Start Orb has been replaced by the Start Screen, and instead of Desktop, the Start Screen is the main workspace that hosts all the installed applications. Whenever you install an application, instead of a shortcut on the desktop, a tile is created on the Start Screen that allows you to quickly launch it. In Windows 8, you can uninstall an app in multiple ways. The first method involves using Control Panel > Add & Remove Programs applet, but the second one lets you uninstall an app directly from the Start Screen. In this post, we will explain how you how can prevent your PC account holders from uninstalling Windows 8 UI based apps (formerly known as metro apps). Read More

Enable Account Lockout Policy And Set Lockout Threshold & Duration In Windows 8 [Tip]

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In Windows, User Account holds a lot of personal information related to the owner of that account. If any unauthorized person finds a way of accessing someone else’s account, it can be devastating for the account holder. Most users password-protect their user accounts to secure their personal information. Although it is quite risky, as accounts hold a lot of sensitive information, including financial information, passwords to different email accounts, online services, and communication clients, adding multiple layers of security sometimes makes it annoying for the users themselves to access the required information. Nowadays, smartphones hold as much, if not more, personal information, as computers. They also have the lock screen feature, and anyone attempting to unlock their phone must enter the password or PIN code. Entering the wrong password for a specified number of attempts locks the phone for a defined time. This option is also available in Windows, but it's disabled by default. In this post, we will explain how you can enable the Account Lockout option, set the number of logon attempts before locking the system, and specify the Account Lockout duration using the Local Group Policy Editor in Windows 8. Read More

Create & Name App Groups On Windows 8 Start Screen [Tip]

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Microsoft recently let out its Windows 8 RTM (Release to Manufacturing) build to MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Soon, people all over the globe will also be able to taste an all new flavor of the Windows OS, when it unleashes to retail shelves. Till then, you can check out our previous coverage of Windows 8 tips and apps, to get yourself acquainted beforehand. By now, most of you would already know that Microsoft has done away with the Start menu, replacing it with a brand spanking Start Screen, which presents all the installed apps in a tiled design. Well, your grandpa might miss that glowing Start orb and the easy-to-access Start menu – the new Start Screen is quite user-friendly, too, if you know how to make the most out of it. One of the features it provides is that it lets you create groups for the installed applications. For instance, you can group your favorite apps under one category or define a separate group for MS Office applications. In what follows, I will explain how you can organize your apps into different groups for ease of access and better ergonomics. Read More

Fix “App Can’t Be Opened Because It Is From An Unidentified Developer” Error In Mountain Lion

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The past few months saw quite a number of Macs get infected with Trojans and what not, implying that security needs to be taken much more seriously. Even Apple has admitted that its miracle machines are prone to attacks, and as opposed to their notorious stance from the past, Macs can now get infected, too. Apple rightly thought they needed to be more proactive about this and introduced new security features in Mountain Lion, some of which target apps. The new OS by default restricts apps from running if they haven’t been downloaded from the Mac App Store and that means some of your favorite and frequently used apps will not open. This new security feature is called Gatekeeper, and it will give you a message that says ‘Application cannot be opened because it is from an unidentified developer’. Here’s how you can solve that little problem. Read More

Change The Notification Center Background In OS X Mountain Lion [Tip]

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Notification Center is one of the highlights in Mountain Lion, and it is a direct adaptation of the same feature from iOS. The execution is spot on, but you will see a rather familiar background in Notification Center; the very same grey linen background that was previously used in Dashboard, and is still used in iOS. Not many users felt enthusiastic about the said background in Dashboard, which could easily be changed with tweaking tools or from within the system files. It might not have mattered much though since the Dashboard can be disabled and few people use it; however, the Notification Center is an entirely different story. It can’t be disabled, and it’s also incredibly useful, which means you will be using it even if bleeding kittens are in the background. This post describes how you can change the Notification Center background easily for one that appeals to you. Read More

Turn Off Notifications For Individual Apps In Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

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Android 4.1 Jelly Bean’s hottest features are easily the new Google Now and the detailed notification drawer. For a summary of all the features that Jelly Bean has to offer, take a look at our overview of the new and improved features of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. These details, as welcomed as they are, and as excited as Android fans are about it, are not always best suited to everyday use if your phone shuffles through different hands - say, at the office or amongst friends. Being notified of an email is fine, but having the first few lines laid out in the notification menu, not so much - well, not for me, at least. Another prevalent issue with all versions preceding Jelly Bean was notifications popping up for apps that are irrelevant, or those that you just don’t need them at times. Unfortunately, Google offered no way to turn that off, except for removing the notification itself. With Jelly Bean, however, things have changed, and finally, you can stop these 'nuisances' from popping up without having to delete the app itself. Read More

How To Add Shutdown, Restart & Log Off Tiles To Windows 8 Start Screen

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Among many new things introduced in Windows 8, the Charms Bar is a UI element added to access different feature of the operating system, such as the Search option, Share, Start Screen, Devices, and Settings menu. While Microsoft has added some elements to the UI, they have also changed the functionality or the location of some others. The Start Orb, along with all the options included in it, is completely replaced by the Start Screen. Since the Start Screen is completely different concept from whatever was available in the previous versions of Windows, all the options available in the Start Orb are not included in the Start Screen. For instance, the shut down and other power options included in the Windows Start Orb are not available directly from the Start Screen, and you have to access the Charms Bar to access the shutdown options. You have to perform a lot more clicks for a simple operation, and a lot of people, included me, find that to be annoying. Today, we have a tool for Windows 8 called System Power Shortcuts that adds tiles on the Start Screen for Power settings, including Shutdown, Restart, Hibernate, Lock, Sign-off and Sleep.  It also allows you to perform delayed power operations at a user-selected time. Read More

Send Any Link From Mobile Safari To Chrome For iPhone & iPad [Tip]

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Chrome for iPhone and iPad came out a couple of days back, much to the delight of the iOS user community. The browser brought with a lot of the familiar goodies of its popular desktop and Android variants, including Google Sync, speed dial tabs and loads more. We even did an article elaborating the goodies in Chrome for iOS just yesterday. Whether Chrome is the best browser our there for your iDevice or not, is yet debatable, and while there are mixed feelings on that ground, a majority seems to believe Chrome is definitely better. faster, and more feature-packed. Wherever you lie in the spectrum, sometimes we do things just because we can. And so it turns out, while you cannot change the default browser in iOS (well, actually you can, if you are jailbroken), you can still play a cool little JavaScript trick to launch any page that has been opened in Mobile Safari directly in Chrome, with there mere tap of a button! Read More

Remove Or Turn Off Facebook Notifications Directly From Drop Down

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Facebook had the early-mover advantage when it comes to social networks, and although there were the likes of Orkut and Hi5 already in the market, the concept that the Paulo Alto-based giant brought to the market was entirely fresh and something that users took a liking to immediately. Despite its massive popularity, there were many qualms about a lot of Facebook’s offerings, privacy (or lack thereof) being the biggest among them. That aside, there were (and still are) the changes that are forced on users (Timeline, anyone?), and those that go unannounced altogether, until the blogosphere raises hue and cry over them. However, that doesn’t imply that all Facebook changes are evil, and some new ”features” can turn out really useful, too. One such unnoticed feature has been the ability to dismiss, remove and even turn off notifications from a certain user or application, right from within the notification drop down! Read More

How To Update To Windows Phone Tango Right Now Without Losing Unlock

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Microsoft announced Windows Phone 8 a few days back, and consigned all current WP7 devices to the consolation update labelled WP 7.8. However, WP8 is still a few months away, and going by the news making the rounds on the internet this morning, the 7.8 update will arrive even later than Apollo. Fortunately, this doesn’t mean that there will be no updates in the intervening period. In fact, the Tango roll out has started already. Although this is a relatively small update when you compare it to Mango or the upcoming 7.8 one, there are still a lot of performance improvements on offer, and that might be no small matter for many users. For Lumia devices, Tango also brings internet tethering. Officially, the rollout has started only for Nokia Lumia devices, but luckily, there is a method using which all Mango users can update to Tango right now! This force updating method can also prove to be useful for Lumia owners who are experiencing delay in receiving the update via Zune. Read More

How To Hide Your Facebook Email Address From Your Timeline

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A while back, Facebook launched its very own email service and encouraged users to claim their @facebook account. The feature wasn’t that popular because, in all honesty, yourname@facebook.com on your resume might make an employer think twice about hiring you. Considering the lengths companies go to prevent people from using social media sites at work, that email might have been trouble anyway. The good thing about it was that it was totally opt-in until yesterday, when Facebook decided it was going to give you your @facebook email whether you liked it or not. If your About page displays your email address to everyone, it will now have your @facebook address as your primary email contact. In case you were wondering when you allowed Facebook to change your contact info, you never did. Read on to see how you can hide it, and what implications the change will have. Read More

Stop Firefox 13 Speed Dial Thumbnails From Showing Secure Content [Tip]

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Firefox 13 was released earlier this month, and among the top six features, the new tab page was one. Not only was this new feature well received by Firefox users, it was also one of the major interface changes the browser has implemented since going on a rapid release cycle. Unfortunately, it’s hit a bug all too soon. The speed dial feature that so many users were glad to have incorporated by default in the browser takes snapshots of websites, regardless of whether they are viewed over an HTTP or HTTPS protocol. This puts secure HTTPS content captured on several websites in plain view. Why is this dangerous? Sites that mandate an HTTPS protocol are usually ones where sensitive information, like banking details, credit card numbers etc, are exchanged, and that isn’t information you want out in the open. The issue was first discovered by The Register, and Mozilla have acknowledged this breach. An update has been promised, but in the mean time, here is how you can disable the new tab page, which is the only way of staying safe. Read More

Downgrade iOS 6 Beta To iOS 5.1.1 On iPhone, iPad & iPod touch

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iOS 6 is not yet available to the general public for a reason: it’s not ready for everyday use as of now. However, despite all the broken things within the OS, there would still be those out there who’d venture to try out the new version as soon as it became available – whether through legitimate means or otherwise. Perhaps you’re a developer who installed iOS 6 beta on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad to ensure the compatibility of your apps with the 6th major iteration of iDevice operating system, or you may be a tech enthusiast like me who just had to install the operating system to see how it felt. If you belong to the latter, chances are high that you’d be looking for means to go back to the 5.1.1 firmware version, for many reasons. The good news is, it’s very much possible, and fairly easy. Interested? Continue reading. Read More

How To Prevent CPU & GPU Temperature From Hindering System Performance

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Have you ever felt the heat emitted from your PC when subjected to high-end games that demand high system resources? Now, you can easily manage both your CPU and GPU temperature levels and set rules of action for situations where a violation occurs. By viewing the CPU and GPU performance from various aspects with emphasis on core-by-core or overall temperature readings, you can become fully aware of the heat building up inside your computer. With TThrottle, an application for Windows, you can easily define, monitor and react to temperature changes in the processor and GPU in multiple modes, which enable performance throttling for the greater good. In addition, programs running in Virtualization software like VMware or VirtualBox are also monitored for an effective operation optimization experience. Read More

How To Skip Windows 8 Start Screen & Go Directly To Desktop On System Startup [Tip]

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With Windows 8, Microsoft has let go of the iconic Start Orb and replaced the Start Menu with Start Screen. Now, instead of clicking the start orb to access installed software, users have to use the Start Screen and search for the items stored in their computer. It would be safe to say that Windows has seen, effectively, a replacement of the Desktop with the Metro Start Screen, and now Desktop is also just another app. By default, there is no option to make Windows 8 go to the Desktop app when the computer starts. Previously, we have covered a couple of ways that allow you to skip the Start Screen and go directly to the Desktop; however, since both methods work using the Show Desktop shortcut in Windows, the Start Screen does come on for some time before going to the Desktop. Today, we have an application that does not let the Start Screen appear at all during startup, and the system goes directly to Desktop. In this post, we will explain how to use the tool in Windows 8. Read More

How To Jailbreak iOS 6 Beta & Install Cydia [Complete Guide]

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Apple announced iOS 6 during WWDC 2012, and the world went into a frenzy (as it always does with any Apple offering). The 6th major iteration of the OS brought with it a lot of bells and whistles, like revamped Maps, more knowledgeable Siri, shared Photo Streams and loads more (you may want to check out the entire list of new goodies). On the same evening, iOS 6 beta became available for developers, ensuring that apps – the life and blood of iOS platform – became optimized before the operating system became available publicly. However, many, like us, just couldn’t wait to get their hands on the newest iOS for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, and many devices, despite not belonging to developers, got the new OS up and running in a matter of days. However, doing so resulted in one thing that most jailbreakers don’t like at all – breaking the jailbreak! The good news is, iOS 6 is jailbreakable, publicly, and even Cydia can be installed through some unconventional methods. We’ll get to that just after the jump. Read More

Download RTMP Flash Video Streams Using RTMPDumpHelper For Windows

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RTMP (Real Time Messaging Protocol) is a protocol for streaming audio, video and data over the internet. It takes the data from the server streaming the content, and sends it to the user’s computer running a flash player in the browser. Websites like YouTube use the normal HTTP streaming, while other websites, such as Hulu and Twitch.tv, use RTMP for streaming videos to the users. RTMP is different from HTTP in the sense that while HTTP streaming is done in a way that you put your file on an HTTP server, and any user can download and watch it, using RTMP for streaming, people can watch videos at the same time that they are being recorded. Another advantage of RTMP over HTTP is that it is much harder to steal or download a video over RTMP than over the regular HTTP stream. This is the reason why RTMP is one of the most famous protocols being used nowadays to provide protected content for the users. It is not possible to download videos from a website with RTMP streaming using programs such as Real Downloader and Orbit Downloader. If you are looking for an application that allows you to download RTMP streams, check out RTMPDumpHelper. Read on to find out how to download RTMP videos using RTMPDumpHelper. Read More

Set Up Google Chrome Metro App In Windows 8

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You may know that Windows 8 supports two types of applications - Metro Style Apps and Desktop Apps. In the Desktop mode, applications run normally as they do in Windows 7, but Metro Style apps, accessible from the Start Screen, are quite different from desktop applications. There are some apps, such as the Internet Explorer, that have the ability to run in both Metro UI and Desktop modes, depending on their launch location and default file association settings.  For instance, if you launch Internet Explore from the Desktop while it is set as the Default Browser, it will be launched as a desktop app, but if you launch it directly from the start screen, it will open  Metro Style Internet Explorer. A lot of people like to use either Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome as their default browser, instead of stock Internet Explorer. However, both Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome were only available as Desktop apps till now. Recently, The Chromium Projects team developed a new version of Google Chrome that can be run as Desktop app as well as Metro Style App. Since it is in experimental phase, you may encounter some bugs and exceptions while browsing. In this post, we will show you how to download, install and run Google Chrome as a Metro Style App in Windows 8. Read More

How To View Metro Apps Installed On Your Other Windows 8 Devices [Tip]

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In Windows 8, the concept of applications, in terms how they are installed and handled has been changed a little from what it used to be in Windows 7.  Other than the normal way of installing third party applications, Windows 8 features a Store with a collection of Windows 8 specific apps, known as Metro Apps. The Windows 8 Store is quite similar to the Apple’s Mac App Store. Developers are coming up with new and useful apps every day. Installing them is just a matter of going to the Store and downloading any app that you need. Once the download is complete, it will be automatically installed on your system. However, when installing new apps is so easy, we are sure to download a lot of apps from the Windows 8 Store and it is not easy to remember which apps are already installed on the system. In this post, we will tell you how to check which, and how many, Metro Apps are installed on your device (PC or tablet) running Windows 8. Read on to find out. Read More