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

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

Domain transfer steps: site downtime, delay for GoDaddy to Namecheap

I have a domain registered at GoDaddy and hosted at BlueHost. I wanted to transfer domain from GoDaddy to Namecheap because of better deal at Namecheap. Here are the steps I followed and the time these steps took.

1. Purchase the domain renewal at Namecheap.com. Now you should get an e-mail receipt from Namecheap.com with order/purchase details. You should also get another email asking you to get EPP code from GoDaddy.
2. Login to GoDaddy.com and get EPP code. This will be emailed to you instantly. (Check the 2nd link at the bottom References section for step-by-step instructions)
3. WhoisGuard protection needs to be turned off. Go to DomainByProxy and do it. It will be turned off instantly and your Whois information (name, e-mail, physical address etc) will be disclosed to the world!
4. You should now get another email from Namecheap involving eNom Inc for domain transfer authorization(from info@transfer-approval.com). It is legit email, not a scam since it looked suspicious to me initially at first look. You can immediately approve it.
5. Then finally GoDaddy will send you domain transfer confirmation. Accept it immediately.
6. Now your domain will be deleted from GoDaddy and the process from your end is done. All the above steps took 30 minutes or less. No website downtime at any point so far. Wait for the transfer completion.
7. If you login to Namecheap, you should see the pending transfer information
8. In another 30 minutes, I got the confirmation email from Namecheap about the completion of transfer. All done with no pain!!

All the above steps took 1 hr or less. No website downtime at all

Additional Info:

• The nameservers for the domain (from your hosting provider) does not change. You do not need to do anything on hosting side
  
• Make sure that you have full access to the admin e-mail of your current domain (at GoDaddy). EPP code will be sent to this e-mail.
• Here you can find some info for avoiding downtime. I did not follow it as I was fine with short downtime, if it happened.

How to transfer a domain into Namecheap without a huge downtime? (Free DNS, Transfer to Namecheap, ) • Namecheap.com Knowledgebase

http://www.namecheap.com/support/knowledgebase/article.aspx/582/0/

References:

1) 6 Steps To Transfer Domain Name to New Registrar http://www.thegeekstuff.com/2008/07/how-to-transfer-domain-name-to-new-registrar/

2) How to transfer a domain from GoDaddy (Transfer to Namecheap) • Namecheap.com Knowledgebase

http://www.namecheap.com/support/knowledgebase/article.aspx/876

3) Time for Successfull Domain Transfer? - Domain Names - Web Hosting Talk

http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=569481

4) Things to Know About Transferring a Domain | DNSimple 
http://blog.dnsimple.com/things-to-know-about-transferring-a-domain