Thursday, July 24, 2014

Allow a program to connect only a particular internet IP address



How to specifically allow an application from connecting only a particular online IP address, but none others? Sometimes you want to block a particular program from connecting to internet. You can use a firewall program to do it. I recently wanted to allow a program to connect only a particular web server to allow it to download some data. Here is how I did it

Install COMODO Firewall (Free for home use)
Version tested and verified: 7.0.31 on July 22nd 2014
https://www.comodo.com

Steps:

  • Open the COMODO firewall interface and go to "Tasks".
  • Firewall tasks > Advanced setting > Application Rules
  • Right click somewhere inside the window and "Add". A new 'Comodo Application Rule' window will pop up.
  • On the top "Name" field, give the full path of the application EXE file.
  • Check "Use a Custom Ruleset"
  • Add > Copy from > Ruleset > Blocked Application





  • Double click on "Block All Incoming and Outgoing Requests"
  • On the "Destination Address" tab (middle one), drop down "IPv4 Single address" and type in the IP address you want the application to access. 
  • Click the checkbox "Exclude". Now it means that the application can only access the specified IP address and any other IP address connection will be silently blocked by the firewall.





You can check the log by going to COMODO interface > Tasks > general tasks > View Logs > View firewall events.

Did it work for you?

More information:
Application Rules, Firewall Protection, Best Firewall | Internet Security v6.3 http://help.comodo.com/topic-72-1-451-4772-.html

Monday, March 31, 2014

Calibre: Author as "Last name, First name" in Calibre GUI display

Calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com) is a fantastic tool for managing ebooks. One of the things I wanted was to display author name as "Last name, First name" in the GUI for easy viewing. I could not find a single click way to do it, but here's one workaround.

You can create a custom field and show author name displayed as "Last name, First name" in the Calibre GUI.

1. Write click on the header bar. (put your cursor on "Author" and right click)
2. Click Add your own columns
3. Click the + sign on the right
4. Click 'Quick Create' ISBN
5. Replace the filed as follows:



Lookup name > author_sort
Column Heading > AuthorSort
Column type > Column Built from other column
Template > {author_sort}

6. Don't forget to click OK and then "Apply" at top left. Calibre should now ask you to restart.
7. Restart Calibre and now you should be able to see an additional column to the right most with author name displayed as "Last name, First name" format.

P.S: This assumes that your Calibre library metadata has been properly formatted.  

More info:
Last name, first name in calibre folder tree structure - MobileRead Forums http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112044

Question about displaying the authors - MobileRead Forums http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=139783

Calibre newbie needs help with author sort. - MobileRead Forums http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100956

calibre tips and tricks: calibre custom columns
http://blog.calibre-ebook.com/2011/11/calibre-custom-columns.html