So what’d the darker side of IRC, what does it have to offer? You name it and they have it. Hacking into e-mail accounts, hacking into hotels database for credit card information, buy expensive laptops for cheap no matter where in the world you are, buy paypal accounts, buy thousands of e-mail addresses, buy hacked roots, Bank Logins, Paypal accounts, etc.. etc..

Most of the channels and servers where the real action happens is either inaccessible as it is under secret mode (+S), password protected or only on invite basis, never the less, there are a few channels where you can still see such trading happening.

You can join the following channels where such information is shared and traded.

On UnderNet

• #debit
• #visa
• #cchack
• #carding

Following image shows one of the messages by a trader. (click on the image to enlarge it)

There are hundreds of network on IRC but the most busy and popular ones are 1) EFnet, created by Greg Lindahl, in 1990, 2) Undernet was created by Danny Mitchell in 1992 and 3) DALnet created by “dalvenjah" in 1994.

Click here to download mIRC. Click here to quick start at IRC

Lets start with the easiest one..

This tool is called “Image Resizer” and is part of Microsoft PowerToys utilities for WindowsXP. This is one of the simplest utilities which does the job excellently well.

• Download the utility from here or click here to visit the downloads page.
• After installation, right click on any image and click on “Resize Pictures”
• Select from the options available to you as shown in the image below.

• Once you select from the options, click “OK” and it will create a copy of resized image.

Another option is by using Microsoft PowerPoint (2007):

• Insert the image to a presentation you want to resize or compress and using the points at the edges change the dimensions of the image  and double click on it.
• From the “Format” options click on “Compress Pictures”

• Click “OK” if you want to go with the default options or click on “options” to see advance options for compression.

• Choose from the available options as shown in the image and click on “OK”

• Now right click on the image and choose “Save As” and save the compressed image. (Note: These steps are for PowerPoint 2007, however other versions follow similar steps too)

Irfanview is another option which can be used for resizing or compressing an image. Click here to visit Irfanview downloads page.

Another easy way of reducing the size of an image is by uploading it to any of the picture sharing sites. Such sites offer image downloads at different sizes. Following sites will offer images at different sizes once uploaded.

• Flickr
• Picasa Web
• Photobucket
• Kodak Gallery
• SmugMug

Hope this helps

How to record or capture video chats or webcams? You have been chatting which the coolest chick in the world and because you are a geek you friends wont believe you if they don’t see it (that’s lame, lets try another one). You are in a important meeting and there are several things you want to remember from the meeting, what do you do? Record the video chat?

That’s exactly what YCC Cam Cap lets you do. It automatically saves the streaming video to an .avi file on your computer for later references. To visit the download page click here  or click here to download the application directly. WebCam Companion is another software which is free and offers more features. It lets you capture, edit, print and share photos and videos from your Webcam.

How to setup live streaming on a website? Let’s say you want to add live streaming of your web cam to a site or a web page. What do you do? You download CoffeeCup WebCam 4 for windows. This is not a free software but you can certainly try a full version of this software for free. Click here to read more and download the software’s.

Here is another one. “How to use a webcam with more than one application at a time?” CamSplitter will help you split your cam with different applications. This will be helpful in case you have two friends, one on Yahoo and another on MSN. Using this software you can have a video chat with both of them. Click here to visit the download page or here to download the software directly. This software will cost you around $30 but you can try it for free.

How to convert a web Cam to a security camera? Download and install 123Motion this will help you setup a cheap but effective security system at home. 123Motion is capable of doing a lot of intelligent things like Motion Detection, Capturing images are regular intervals, capture images and send e-mails, upload images to ftp, sound the alarm, etc… Click here to visit the download page or here to download it directly.

How to create video greetings or change backgrounds using Webcam? WebcamMax is one of the softwares which will let you do multiple things such as change the background, create greetings, add images, record and share videos, etc.. the coolest thing about the software is it lets you change background while a live video chat is on. Click here to visit the download page or here to directly download.

I hope this article helps you do a lot of things you always wanted to do!

One of the sites owned by Network18 is BookMyShow. Its and online ticket booking system which started with movie tickets only but now it offers more, it offers tickets for concerts and theatre.

The only option to book tickets so far was on the internet. Now you can download a mobile application from http://m.bookmyshow.com and book movie tickets on mobile phone. I have used this application and I found it to be really simple and easy to use. I encountered a few server errors; I think they must have been because of the slow GPRS speed.

This application is worth a try and comes really handy when you want to book tickets on the fly.

Hackers are fooling many users by circulating an “exclusive video” of the assassination which is actually a malware package.

This video mail started off just hours after Ms Bhutto’s killing.

All those who wanted to watch the video were asked to download a codec file.
The code file in turn opened the doors for an alternative of Zlob Trojan which additionally downloaded other malware.

To know more about Zlob Trojan,its technical details and removal, click here.

Google Maps for Mobile

This software can be installed on latest smart phones and does not require the handset to have GPS capabilities to function. "My Location" on Google Maps uses the mobile towers information to locate you on the map.

Remember this service is still under "Beta" so do expect to see some erratic behavior occasionally.

Visit the following link to download and try My Location v2.0 from Google Maps
http://www.google.com/gmm/mylocation.html

The new version of the popular browser was released last year and until now Microsoft had restricted it to those who could prove that they had a legitimate OS.

Earlier, all users had to undergo a validation test before getting IE7.However, the company changed its mind the other day and made IE7 available to all windows users. It can now be downloaded from the site:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/ie/getitnow.mspx

This is the first time Microsoft has given up on the validation check for a major product. Users feel that this change must be due to the growing popularity of Firebox.

Quick Introduction to Adobe AIR:
Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) was previously known as Adobe Apollo. AIR is a cross-operating system runtime which allows web developers develop applications using their existing web development skills.

Now that you know what AIR is, let’s look at 10 best applications build on Adobe AIR. (Before you Install the applications below make sure you have AIR installed on your computer. If you don’t click here to install AIR)

1.    DiggTop on Adobe Air
Description: Displays a list of top Diggs and also shows the content in each of the top 10 posts.
Project Page: http://www.gskinner.com/DiggTop/
Download: Available on the site

2.    AOL Top 100 Videos on Adobe AIR:
Project Page: http://music.aol.com/help/syndication/desktop-widgets
Download : Available on the site

3.    Tweet-r on Adobe AIR:
Description: Tweetr allows people using twitter.com to send and receive messages from their desktop in 140 characters or less.
Project Page: http://www.tweet-r.com/
Download: Available on the site

4.    Adobe Kuler on Adobe AIR
Description: Shows a lit of color themes for different purposes.
Project Page: http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/kuler/
Download link: http://download.macromedia.com/pub/labs/kuler/kuler_desktop_061407.air

5.    CleVR Stitcher on Adobe AIR
Description: This software stitches photos together to create that perfect panorama picture. The interface is really easy, all you have to do is, drag & drop and hit “Stitch”
Project Page: http://www.clevr.com/blog/air-stitcher/
Download: Available on the site

6.    Air iPhone on Adobe AIR
Description: People who missed on the iPhone rush, this is your chance to own one for absolutely free. This AIR application was not only created to look exactly like iPhone but also to function and make calls just like the original masterpiece iPhone.
Project Page: http://merhl.com/?p=29
Download: http://www.merhl.com/air/AIR%20iPhone.air

7.    Google Analytics on Adobe AIR:
Description: This application helps you track your site traffic from the desktop. Currently it does not provide all the information and reports Google Analytics shows but does a good job of showing pretty basic ones.
Project Page: http://www.aboutnico.be/index.php/analytics-widget/
Download: http://www.aboutnico.be/index.php/downloads/

8.    AirPress on Adobe AIR
Description: This application lets you blog without login on to your website or wordpress admin panel. It is compatible with Wordpress and dotClear.
Project: http://www.airpress.org/
Download: http://www.airpress.org/airpress.air

9.    FineTune on Adobe AIR
Description: Music Player build on AIR technology.
Project Page: http://www.finetune.com/desktop/
Download: Available on the site

10.    DigiMix on Adobe AIR
Description: This application helps you create your own mix by adding multiple sound files to the console.
Project Page: http://www.digidood.com/digimix/
Download: http://www.digidood.com/digimix/deploy/DIGIMIX.air

Let us know what other applications you like.

Click here to download Facebooked Or Here to visit the Facebooked post

Sites like Youtube, Cinematube, tv-links, etc.. Offer free videos and Realplayer Download Plugin lets you download videos from ANY site on the internet, great isn’t it?

Here is the problem, these videos are downloaded in flash format i.e. .flv format which is not supported by traditional media players. This article will help you convert files in flash (.flv) to .avi, .mpeg or in any other desired format.

I did a little bit of research and found two free yet useful products which will help us convert media files format from .flv to avi or mpg or from .avi, mpg to .flv, etc…

1. Riva FLV Encoder 2 (http://www.download.com/Riva-FLV-Encoder/3000-2140-10320097.html)
2. SUPER 2007 Build 23 (http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Video/Encoders-Converter-DIVX -Related/SUPER.shtml or http://download.videohelp.com/download/SUPERsetup200723.exe)

I personally recommend “Super 2007 Build 23” as it supports a long list of media formats, offers more control to the user at the time of conversion and is easy to use.

Download Super 2007 Build 23 from Here (The file is fairly huge, 26.7MB)

How to Convert[tags]How to convert[/tags] from .FLV to .AVI or .MPG using SUPER 2007

1. Once the download is complete, Double click on the file and follow the wizard to install Super 2007 Build 23
2. Run the software once the installation is complete
3. From the first option “Select the output container” you can select .avi, .mpg, .mov, .asf, .mp4 and lot of other available formats.
4. From the second option “Select the output video codec” DivX, XviD, MPEG1, MPEGII, MPEG4, etc…
5. From the third option “Select the output Audio codec” you can select MP3,AAC, AC3, WAV, etc.

These are the three most important options you have to choose to change the format for the media file but do play around a little bit with the other options to get a high quality video after conversion.

Now select the video you want to convert, you can either drag & drop the media file you want to convert or just right click and select “Add multimedia file(s)” to select the file as shown in the picture below. Once you select the video files you want to convert, hit “Encode (Active Files)” button to start the conversion.

How to convert Flash Video .FVL to .AVI, .MPG etc.. using Riva FLV Encoder  (Riva converts FLV to AVI and MPG and it’s very easy to use however the quality of the video after conversion is debatable.)

1. Download Riva FLV Encoder 2 from here (4.7 MB)
2. Double-click on the file to run the installation wizard once the download is completed
3. Run the software after the installation is complete
4. Select the media file you want to convert from “Input Video File”
5. In “destination video file” change the format extension from .flv to .avi or .mpg
6. Now hit “FLV Encode”, you are done!

Play around with the other options for better results.

I hope this helps everyone who is trying to convert.FLV [tags]convert .FLV[/tags] or any other media type. Thanks to Mike for requesting an article on how to convert FLV to AVI, we should have done this long ago