UK to insist on online visa applications only

Kenyans wishing to visit the UK will have to apply for visas online.
The British High Commission in Nairobi announced on Monday that it would change its mode of visa application from filling of hard copy forms.
“The British High Commission in Nairobi, in conjunction with the UK Border Agency, wishes to announce that with effect from 15th June 2011 the method of applying for a visa will change,” said a statement from the embassy.

This means that application through hard copies will no longer be accepted.


The procedure will involve three steps.

First, all applicants will have to visit www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk and fill the online application form.

They will then be required to make an appointment online for a time and date to submit their application form to the Visa Application Centre (VAC) in Nairobi.

After this, they will be required to attend VAC interviews at the selected time and date.
One is advised to make appointments at the time of making the online application.
Emergency forms
The high commission launched online applications in 2008 but they have been running alongside hard copy ones.
Applicants who successfully book their appointments must print their completed application forms and submit them at the VAC, along with their supporting documents, passport photographs and the visa application fee.
Initially, the embassy might agree to offer services at the VAC to emergency applications without necessarily going through online applications.

The visa application fees remains the same.

How to Remove Windows XP Genuine Validation

Windows automatically checks your copy of Windows to see if it's valid. If your copy is or appears to be pirated, Windows XP will display a Genuine Validation message. The Genuine Validation, or Genuine Advantage Notification, appears as a log-in message, log-in timer and a balloon notification in the notification bar. Reasons this message may appear include the installation of a pirated copy of Windows XP, changed Windows XP license key or a Windows error.

Instructions

1. • 1
     Open a command prompt window by going to \"Start\" > \"Run.\" Type "cmd." Click "Enter" to open the command prompt window.
   • 2
     Type "CD C:\\Windows\\System32" and click "Enter" to access the System32 directory.
   • 3
     Open a blank Notepad document by going to \"Start\" > \"All Programs\" > \"Accessories\" > \"Notepad.\"
   • 4
     Type the next three lines into the blank document. Press "Enter" after each line. Note that for Windows Home systems, the command is \"tskill\" instead of \"taskkill.\"<br />"taskkill -IM wgatray.exe"<br />"del wgatray.exe" <br />"del wgalogon.dll"
   • 5
     Press "Ctrl" + "a" to select all three lines. Press "Ctrl" + "C" to copy the lines. Open your command prompt windows and press "Ctrl" + "V" to paste and run the lines.<br />This will stop the Windows XP Genuine Advantage Notification task and delete associated files to prevent the notification from appearing again.
   • 6
     Restart your computer by going to \"Start\" > \"Turn Off Computer\" > \"Restart\" to ensure the notification is gone.

Read more: How to Remove Windows XP Genuine Validation

Remove Windows Genuine Notification

I recently again came up with the situation that Windows Genuine Notification popped up because Windows Update again installed it via Automatic Updates. It pops up while a user logs in to windows, displays a message near the system tray and keeps on reminding you in between work that the copy of windows is not genuine. It has been reported since its first release that even genuine users are getting this prompt, so Microsoft has them self release instructions for its removal. When I searched on Google about this issue, I landed up on pages which were providing many methods of its removal including those patching up existing files with their cracked versions which I would highly recommend avoiding them as they might contain malicious code and can be used to get you into more trouble. I found out this method of removal of Windows Genuine Notification :

1. Launch Windows Task Manager.
2. End wgatray.exe process in Task Manager.
3. Restart Windows XP in Safe Mode.
4. Delete WgaTray.exe from C:\Windows\System32.
5. Delete WgaTray.exe from C:\Windows\System32\dllcache.
6. Launch RegEdit.
7. Browse to the following location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Notify
8. Delete the folder WgaLogon and all its contents
9. Reboot Windows XP.

But the latest version of the WGN tool is a little tricky to handle. It will pop up again as soon as you end it from the task manager and while it is running in the memory, you can’t delete it too.
Here is how I did it :

• Ignore Step #2 of ending wgatray.exe before restarting to Safe Mode as it serves no purpose.
• At Step #4, wait on the deletion confirmation dialog box and then open task manager to end wgatray.exe
• When you are again prompted for a confirmation for terminating the process, align that confirmation box over the delete confirmation box.
• Press Yes on the Task Manager prompt and then quickly press Yes on the deletion confirmation. (You need to repeat this if you miss it)
• If you did it quickly then you will be able to delete the file.
• Step #5 can be missed. I was able to do it without the Step #5.
• Complete Step 6 to 9 as instructed.

After you have followed all the above instructions, then

• Go to Control Panel > Security Center > Automatic Update Settings.
• Select the third option “Notify me but don’t automatically download or install them“.
• Click Ok.
• Now when Windows Updates icon will appear in the system tray (it will take some time), click on the icon and it will display a list of available updates.
• This time unselect the checkbox of Windows Genuine Advantage Notification Tool, and click on Download.
  
• Select “Don’t notify my about these updates again” so it will ignored every time updates are downloaded.
• From the next time, make sure to check the list of download so that you might not install any new version of this tool.