[Windows 11] Hide/Remove WSL Linux icon from Desktop

After installing WSL/Ubuntu 22.04 from the Microsoft Store on Windows 11, a Linux icon was added to the Desktop which could not be removed the usual way.

After reading the following site I found a solution.

TweakNow – RegTweakHideDesktopIcons

I added the CLSID for the Linux icon {B2B4A4D1-2754-4140-A2EB-9A76D9D7CDC6} to the HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel section of Explorer at HKEY_CURRENT_USER. (See Registry file below)

Then rebooted the system after adding the registry entry (shown below).

After reboot the Linux icon was not present anymore on the desktop. Problem solved.

A. Download the Registry File: HideLinuxFromDesktop.reg
OR
B. Save and the following snippet to a .reg file and import it into the Registry Editor:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel]
"{B2B4A4D1-2754-4140-A2EB-9A76D9D7CDC6}"=dword:00000001


Please read the following disclaimer before making changes to your device / software:

Disclaimer

* I'm not responsible for bricked devices, dead SD cards, thermonuclear war, or you getting fired because the alarm app failed.
* YOU are choosing to make these modifications, and if you point the finger at me for messing up your device, I will laugh at you.
* Your warranty will be void if you tamper with any part of your device / software.

 

 

Launch Fork from Total Commander

I discovered that it is easy to open the current selected Git repository with Fork through Total Commander.

  1. Add a new Toolbar Button to the Total Commander Toolbar.
  2. Select the Fork Executable: C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Fork\Fork.exe
  3. Parameters: “%P.”
  4. Start path: C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Fork\
  5. Select Icon
  6. Tooltip: Fork

Attention: Replace “User” with your own Windows Username!

Save this Button and it will be shown in the Toolbar.
Clicking the Button results in Fork being launched with the selected repository.

Total Commander Fork Toolbar Button

Create a Self-Signed Wildcard SSL Certificate with OpenSSL

The following guide creates a Self-Signed SSL Certificate for internal use with a validity of 1 year.
Sources used to create this guide:

Mozilla Wiki – SecurityEngineering/x509Certs
Medium – Create your own Certificate Authority

I used Raspberry Pi OS (bullseye) to create the SSL certificates.

Step 1 : Create the CA Private Key
openssl genrsa -des3 -out CAPrivate.key 2048

Step 2: Generate the CA Root certificate
openssl req -x509 -new -nodes -key CAPrivate.key -sha256 -days 365 -out CAPrivate.pem

Step 3 : Create a Private Key
openssl genrsa -out MyPrivate.key 2048

Step 4 : Generate the CSR
openssl req -new -key MyPrivate.key -extensions v3_ca -out MyRequest.csr

Step 5: Create extensions file to specify subjectAltName
Create an extensions file named: openssl.ss.cnf

File Contents of openssl.ss.cnf (replace *.mydomain.tld with your domain):

basicConstraints=CA:FALSE
subjectAltName=DNS:*.mydomain.tld
extendedKeyUsage=serverAuth

Step 6: Generate the Certificate using the CSR
openssl x509 -req -in MyRequest.csr -CA CAPrivate.pem -CAkey CAPrivate.key -CAcreateserial -extfile openssl.ss.cnf -out MyCert.crt -days 365 -sha256

Step 7: Install the Certificate / Private Key on your Web Server / Application
Read the manual of the Web Server / Application to install SSL certificates.

Step 8: Copy the CA Root certificate and import it in the proper Certificate Store of the OS/Application
[Windows] Copy CAPrivate.pem to computer, rename to CAPrivate.crt and import to Trusted Root Authorities Store.

Please read the following disclaimer before making changes to your device / software:

Disclaimer

* I'm not responsible for bricked devices, dead SD cards, thermonuclear war, or you getting fired because the alarm app failed.
* YOU are choosing to make these modifications, and if you point the finger at me for messing up your device, I will laugh at you.
* Your warranty will be void if you tamper with any part of your device / software.

 

[Arduino] Burn JTAG Enabled Bootloader on Arduino Mega (ATmega2560)

To enable the JTAG Interface on an Arduino Mega the JTAGEN fuse bit must be set to zero.

A modified Arduino bootloader with JTAGEN fuse bit enabled can be programmed by using an Arduino Uno as ISP (In-circuit Serial Programmer).

The Arduino IDE can be used to burn the bootloader after making the following modifications to <Arduino IDE Path>\hardware\arduino\avr\boards.txt

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Arduino\hardware\arduino\avr\boards.txt"

The following calculator can be useful to calculate the correct value: Fusecalc

The mega.menu.cpu.atmega2560.bootloader.high_fuses value is modified from 0xD8 to 0x98

## Arduino Mega w/ ATmega2560
## -------------------------
mega.menu.cpu.atmega2560=ATmega2560 (Mega 2560)

mega.menu.cpu.atmega2560.upload.protocol=wiring
mega.menu.cpu.atmega2560.upload.maximum_size=253952
mega.menu.cpu.atmega2560.upload.speed=115200

# mega.menu.cpu.atmega2560.bootloader.high_fuses=0xD8
mega.menu.cpu.atmega2560.bootloader.high_fuses=0x98

Connect the Arduino ISP (Arduino Uno) to the target (Arduino Mega).
Connect the Arduino ISP (Arduino Uno) to the PC with an USB cable.

ArduinoISP

Arduino Uno as ISP <-> Arduino Mega 2560

Read more

Install HP Laserjet 1018 on Raspbian

[Update: 26-2-2022] The foo2zjs download link from rkkda seems to be offline.
According to a post on the Ubuntu Forum foo2zjs can still be downloaded from a mirror on Github.

I managed to successfully install the HP Laserjet 1018 printer on a Raspberry Pi 4 with Raspbian Buster by following the instructions below. It makes use of the foo2zjs linux printer driver.

These instructions are based on andrum99’s blog-post which is available on the Internet Archive.

1. Install pre-requisite packages:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install tix groff cups

2. Add user pi to lpadmin group:

sudo usermod -a -G lpadmin pi

3. Download and build foo2zjs:

wget -O foo2zjs.tar.gz http://foo2zjs.rkkda.com/foo2zjs.tar.gz
tar zxf foo2zjs.tar.gz
cd foo2zjs
make

Read more

[Release] WLAN Hosted Network Manager 0.2.1

A small but important update for WLAN Hosted Network Manager has been released.

The previous version 0.2.0 contained x64 Qt dependencies while it was built x86. This resulted in a fatal error when starting WLAN Hosted Network Manager.

The packages have been updated with the correct Qt dependencies.

Downloads are available here: WLAN Hosted Network Manager

[Release] WLAN Hosted Network Manager 0.2.0

Today, WLAN Hosted Network Manager 0.2.0 has been released.

This release contains an auto-start feature that allows you to automatically start the hosted network on startup of WLAN Hosted Network Manager.

Simply said, the Start button is pressed automatically.

To use this feature, add the command line option -a to the executable.
The easiest way is to make a shortcut and change the target field.

e.g. Target: “C:\Program Files (x86)\WLAN Hosted Network Manager\hostednetwork-gui.exe” -a

Downloads are available here: WLAN Hosted Network Manager

Project Downloads Available Again

After making some modifications, all project downloads are available again :)

The downloads are now hosted local instead of external.

Thank you for your patience.

Project Downloads Temporarily Unavailable

The download URLs of the Projects on this website are temporarily unavailable, due to an upgrade of a WordPress plugin.

The issue will be fixed soon.

Sorry for this inconvenience.
Thank you for your patience.

Overheid oordeelt: E-sigaret ongevaarlijk

Keep Calm and Vape On

Keep Calm and Vape On

Volgens de Raad van State kleven aan het gebruik van een elektronische sigaret geen gevaareigenschappen, toch wordt over de e-sigaret hel en verdoemenis gepredikt. De landelijke brancheorganisatie Elektronische Sigaretten Bond Nederland spreekt van bewust demoniseren van de e-sigaret: “Hierdoor durven mensen de overstap naar de nagenoeg onschadelijke e-sigaret niet te maken, met als gevolg dat men blijft roken met alle gezondheidschade van dien.”

De Raad van State is van mening dat de elektronische sigaret minder schadelijk is dan de reguliere sigaret . Deze mening wordt gedeeld door ondermeer het KWF, Longfonds en Stivoro. Benadrukt wordt dat de e-sigaret goed gereguleerd dient te worden om de veiligheid te waarborgen en om de verkoop onder de 18 jaar te verbieden. De brancheorganisatie kan zich hier volledig in vinden. “Al sinds onze oprichting staat onze organisatie verkoop van e-sigaretten aan minderjarigen niet toe. Iets dat bij wet helaas nog steeds niet geregeld is. Liquids (de vloeistof voor in een e-sigaret) worden uitsluitend verkocht wanneer zij voorzien zijn van kindveilige sluitingen en juiste etikettering. Helaas is er momenteel een wildgroei aan webshops en aan verkopers op markten, zoals die in Beverwijk, die deze regels aan hun laars lappen. We mogen verwachten dat de overheid via de Nederlandse Voedsel en Waren Autoriteit haar verantwoordelijkheid hierin neemt en hier harder tegen optreedt”, aldus de brancheorganisatie.

Volgens recent onderzoek blijkt dat de elektronische sigaret minder verslavend is dan de tabaksigaret. Ook blijkt nicotine lang niet zo verslavend te zijn als dat men ons doet geloven. De Harvard School of Public Health publiceerde in 2012 al dat nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs), zoals nicotinepleisters en -kauwgum, niet effectief lijken te zijn om de roker op lange termijn te laten stoppen. Zelfs niet wanneer dit gecombineerd wordt met een stoppen met roken therapie.
De elektronische sigaret is daarin aanzienlijk succesvoller. Arts Philippe Presles, die onlangs een boek over de e-sigaret als therapie publiceerde, stelt zelfs: “Deze uitvinding zal verantwoordelijk zijn voor het redden van een recordaantal levens in de 21ste eeuw”.

Bron: ANP
Link: Overheid oordeelt: “E-sigaret ongevaarlijk”