Trace the source of an e-mail

Gmail 'Show original' (15/11/12)

Have you ever received an e-mail and wondered if you could check where it really came from? You can find out using the header information from any e-mail you receive.

Most e-mail software have a way to show the header information, for example:

• In Gmail you can click the Show original option - see the example opposite.
• In Outlook 2013, with the e-mail open click File | Properties.

Once you have the header text, copy it (select it and press Ctrl-C). 

You can paste the header text into an e-mail tracing website - it will analyse the information for you. For example:

http://www.iptrackeronline.com/email-header-analysis.php

(last accessed 16/04/2014)

Websites such as the one above can show you where in the world the e-mail was sent from - interesting!

However, a word of warning, sophisticated spam e-mails may be able to fake the header text. Another problem is that the header may only show the ISP (Internet Service Provider) of the e-mail. This of course maybe enough for you, just to know which country the e-mail came from of course. The most important thing to remember is that these websites (like the one above) can give you an indication or confirmation of the source of an e-mail but don't rely on the information 100%.



Updated 16th April 2014

Runtime Error when starting Photoshop Elements

Problem
I had installed Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 on my Windows 7 Professional 64-bit PC. It was working fine for a few hours and then when I started it, I clicked the Edit button to start the editor and it displayed the following error message:


Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library

Runtime Error!

Program: C:\Program Files (x...

This application has requested the Runtime to terminate it in an unusual way. Please contact the applications' support team for more information.

Solution

1. Browse to: C:\Program Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\9.0\Locale\en_us
2. Rename: MediaDatabase.db3 to MediaDatabase.old
3. Start Photoshop Elements, it should work now. Be patient the first time you start it though, it is a bit slow starting the first time.

NOTE:

If you can't see the folder C:\Program Data it is because by default Windows Explorer is set not to show hidden files/folders. To change this, in Windows Explorer click Organize | Folder and Search Options | View 

Make sure Show hidden files, folders and drives is selected - see the screen shot opposite.

Reference

Thanks to Brett N for this solution, I found it here:

http://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/pse9_editor_run_time_c_win7_64_bit (last accessed 06/10/2011)

Backup your data!

Introduction
For anyone who has suffered a hard drive crash you will know the worth of having a backup of your data files. Application software like MS Office can be reinstalled but your precious holiday snaps or your dearest musings are priceless to you. You need to keep your files safe - you need to backup!


Backing up is a Pain!
Backing up really is a pain. You have to remember to do it and the hard drive crash or other disaster comes always at that time just before you were going to do another backup. It's a chore and let's face it, we're all a bit lazy and complacent when it comes to backing up.

Windows XP and Windows 7 Professional have nice backup programs, there are also many others available. But these traditional programs need to run at a scheduled time. That means your backup is like a moment in time. If a day after you last backed up your computer crashes, you've lost a day's worth of files! Also, what do you backup to? DVD? How many and how long will that take? A lot and a long time!


The Solution
Wouldn't it be good if the computer would backup the data for you, without you have to do anything much? My advice is to purchase an external USB hard disk drive that comes with 'on-the-fly' backup software. In other words, a drive that backs up files automatically as you use your computer.

A few months ago (during 2011) I bought a Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1TB. It's a very small portable hard disk. It supports USB 2.0 and USB 3.0. This drive comes with WD SmartWare software, install it onto your Windows computer and it'll run in the background. When a file is saved or created, it is backed up automatically to your external drive. If you accidentally delete a file from your C: drive, you can still restore it from your backup because WD SmartWare stores multiple versions of files.


My Requirements
Everyone has their own requirements for purchasing any product, this is no different. But I thought I'd explain my reasons for getting this particular model, the My Passport Essential SE. I wanted 1TB of space. I wanted USB 3.0 so it would be very fast. I attached the drive to my desktop computer - you may wonder why I wanted a portable drive as it's more expensive than a desktop hard drive. The reason is that I don't have to plug it into the power, it's powered directly from the computer's USB port. It's small, it takes up very little physical space. As I said, these are personal reasons, you may have different requirements, I thought I'd share mine in case it helps you decide on what's best for you.


Conclusion
My computer's hard disk had a problem recently and I had to reinstall the whole computer. I restored my files from my My Passport Essential SE, it worked like a charm. This is the ultimate test, to restore the data, WD SmartWare worked for me. I'm sure other manufacturer's similar solutions also work well. My most important advice here is to backup and to get an external drive like the My Passport Essential. I think it's worth the cost, it's like an insurance policy and I can tell you from my experience that it works.


Reference
Western Digital My Passport Essential SE (last accessed 04/10/2011)
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=430

TechCrunch review 2009 (last accessed 04/10/2011)
http://techcrunch.com/2009/10/20/review-western-digital-my-book-essential-with-smartware-backup-software/

TechRadar review 2009 (last accessed 04/10/2011)
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/storage/disk-drives-hdd-ssd-/western-digital-my-passport-essential-500gb-475325/review