Black's Web

I got a an email from my other abandoned Word Press blog regarding a SPAM comment.  I immediately thought of my new blog with BlogEngine.NET and wondered what features or extensions it has to handle or block SPAM.  Sure enough, someone has already written an extension incorporating Akismet, the same comment spam protection used by Word Press.

You can get the extension Akismet from CodeThinked.com.

What you download is a .zip file with two .cs files in it.  Copy these files to the \App_Code\Extensions folder.  Then log in as admin to your blog and click on the Extensions link.  There you will see the AkismetExtension listed, click on the edit link under settings.

On the settings page you will need to enter your API key and associated URL.

But, where do I get this API key.  You need a WordPress.com blog account.  In your WordPress blog settings, (Click on My Dashboard) you can find you WordPress API key.

So, I got it installed and comments still work, though I have no proof that it has blocked any SPAM comments yet, I haven’t had this new blog set up long enough I guess.

Tags: akismet, anti spam, blogengine.net

Google updated Gmail, and now the folks at LifeHacker have followed up with Better Gmail 2, a Firefox extension that adds features to the new Gmail interface. Like its predecessor, Better Gmail 2 is a compilation of Greasemonkey user scripts that add features to Gmail, but Better Gmail 2 works with Gmail's overhauled interface. So, if you've got the snappier Gmail interface enabled and you're ready for some tweaks courtesy of scripters far and wide, hit the jump for the Better Gmail 2 Firefox extension download.

Learn more about Better Gmail 2 and download it here.

Add Row Highlights—Highlight message rows as you roll over them:

Attachment Icons—Adds attachment filetype icons:

Filter Assistant—Appends an easy filter creation button on a message:

Show Message Details—Display the full details of the top messages in a conversation:

Folders4Gmail—Lists labels in a folder-like hierarchy:

Redesigned Skin:

Tags: plugin, gmail

It's hard to stand out in the crowded field of defraggers, but Smart Defrag is able to do so with an unexpected twist.

Along with quick analysis and scans, Smart Defrag boasts an automated defragger that continually defrags the files that you use the most, and does it without becoming a persistent drag on your system resources. When running in the background, the program only eats up 14MB of RAM, so it's possible to run it smoothly on older machines.

Other solid features include a scheduler you can set up to defrag whenever you want and some customization features if you want the program to start when Windows loads or right before logging off. You also can set it to shut down your computer when it's done defragging your hard drives and partitions. Overall, if you would like a handy defragger with options for scheduling and more, this is a great defragger for both novices and more experienced users.

Tags: computer system