Michalis Nicolaides

Author's details

Name: Michalis Nicolaides
Date registered: June 22, 2011
URL: http://michalisnicolaides.com

Latest posts

Windows 8: Disable Maintenance Tasks — May 20, 2013
WordPress: Fix maintenance mode — May 19, 2013
France Dreams of Free Software Digital Age — May 17, 2013
Authorities need Apple to decrypt iPhone data — May 12, 2013
BubblePop — April 30, 2013

Author's posts listings

May 20

Windows 8: Disable Maintenance Tasks

Categories:

Articles, Technology

by Michalis Nicolaides

Microsoft has default maintenance tasks running without you even knowing about them. One is running when the system is idle and the other by default every day at 03:00. This second one is very annoying and it causes many strange problems and behavior. If your computer is waking up is because of this scheduled task and another setting that I will tell you in a next post how to disable. In this post I will explain how to disable those maintenance tasks for those who doesn’t like them.

May 19

WordPress: Fix maintenance mode

Categories:

WordPress

by Michalis Nicolaides

If you installed or updated a plugin and your website is unavailable for a long time with the message “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check back in a minute.” then something went wrong. It is stuck in the maintenance mode but don’t worry, the fix is easy and fast. Open the file manager or go with your FTP to the root directory and you will find a .maintenance file. If you delete it your website will come back to normal. I told you that it is easy and fast! If you have, or had, more issues with your WordPress then contact me to post it and help others that might have the same issue.

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May 17

France Dreams of Free Software Digital Age

Categories:

Articles, News

by Michalis Nicolaides

France has so much respect for its cultural industry, including the ones produced in this digital age. In order to further improve and preserve the works of its artists, the government has made various steps as forms of protecting their culture. One proposal that is receiving so much attention is Mission Lescure, a study commissioned by the government and led by Pierre Lescure, the former CEO of the French broadcast group Canal+. This study aims to fight commercial counterfeiting and protect French cultural works, including music. It also suggests CSA as the new watchdog that will replace Hadopi. Its task will be to enforce antipiracy regulations and serve as vanguard for all “cultural and audiovisual media, linear as well as non-linear.”

May 12

Authorities need Apple to decrypt iPhone data

Categories:

News, Technology

by Michalis Nicolaides

Authorities seize digital devices and they want to use the data inside them to find evidence. Some times they can’t decrypt the data and in case of iPhone they ask Apple to decrypt the data for them. In fact, the number of those cases is so big that Apple has a waiting list for them. I don’t think even Apple can decrypt the data as the algorithms used in such devices are not that easy to crack but they don’t have to either. If someone, and in this case Apple, bypass the security lock can gain access to all your unencrypted data. It is believed that Apple built a backdoor to its OS to gain access to any device for whatever reason. Apple then sends the unencrypted data back to the police and they use it to catch bad guys or put them into jail. Some times it is scary how easy it is to unlock a phone, even if it is the company who created its operating system.

Apr 30

BubblePop

Categories:

Funny, Software, Website News

by Michalis Nicolaides

BubblePop is a fun and addictive bubble pop game to entertain children and at the same time make them smarter. It is a clone of BubbleBurst with added options and colors to help (red-green) colorblind people to distinguish the bubbles. As I watch people playing, I noticed that at first they just click the bubbles but of course unless they are very lucky they fail. The second time they do the same but they are more careful. After few times they create a plan to finish the game successfully. It is not chess but it is a good and funny way to make you think before you act.

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Apr 27

Japan authorities try to block Tor

Categories:

News, Technology

by Michalis Nicolaides

Japan authorities ask from internet service providers to block access to Tor network. Tor is a web service that help users to surf the internet anonymously without the fear that prying eyes are watching them and police use their internet activity against them. It is a way to make internet users to feel some kind of freedom and of course police is not happy about it and they started making efforts to block it. You might think that it is Japan and it doesn’t affect you but this is not true. If Japan authorities block Tor then other countries will do the same, this is happening always.

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Apr 26

Flaw in Viber allows full access to smart phones

Categories:

Hacking, News, Technology

by Michalis Nicolaides

About 50 million android smart phones have Viber installed and a critical flaw in that app make all those devices vulnerable. It is as easy as sending two messages through Viber and attacker can gain full control to your device. It is scary how easy it is and I would expect a fix and ultra fast by the Viber app creators. You can watch the video to see exactly how it can be done and you can try it with a friend. It is the easiest and fastest exploit that I learned so far for android smart phones.

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Mar 30

RPG Excel Game

Categories:

Funny

by Michalis Nicolaides

I have found an RPG game that Gary Walkin, an accountant, made in Excel. The graphics are poor but its Excel not flash. There is also storyline and bosses every few levels. I tried it and it works in both Excel 2007 and 2010 but not on the Mac version. There are 2000 enemies that appear randomly, 4 different endings based on the choices the player makes, 36 achievements, 31 spells and 15 unique items. I am glad that someone used his knowledge to create a game even if he is not a programmer. I played it few times but in order to do it you need to enable editing of the file. Also, range attacks do not work so don’t bother, but enemies can use them! Of course there are bugs like any other game. Download and enjoy your Excel for the first time.

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Mar 28

Free soda from vending machines

Categories:

Funny, Hacking

by Michalis Nicolaides

I really want to try this but for now I will just post it. Of course after a successful or not try I will give the money to the machine. I don’t show it for you to have free drinks but to gain the knowledge on how to do it easily. I found it mostly funny and entertaining. It reminded me a trick I was doing with a billiard when I was kid. I enjoy seeing ways to hack machines to do something they are not supposed to. Enjoy the video and note that it is not legal to do it.

Mar 21

Disable lockscreen on Samsung devices

Categories:

Hacking, News, Technology

by Michalis Nicolaides

I wrote several posts on Apple security holes and how to bypass lockscreen. Security researches found also similar flaw on Samsung devices. Even though this doesn’t work on all Samsung devices but it works and it is a serious issue on those devices. I can’t explain it in words and you need to be patient and fast but in order for bad men to gain access to your smartphone few minutes is nothing. You can try it and if it happens to your device you can contact Samsung to help you protect your device and your personal data.

Michalis Nicolaides

Personal Development – Software Solutions