Howto: Download TurboTax state forms for free

TurboTax is great for filling out those pesky tax return forms without relying too much on manual brainpower, especially if you have a complex tax situation. The federal forms are free, but TurboTax only lets you file one state return free of charge. If you need additional state forms, it’ll run you $39.95 each. Needless to say, this is a pretty ridiculous fee when you could buy another copy of TurboTax (Deluxe) for a similar price. Fortunately, there’s a way to remedy this…inconsistency.

DISCLAIMER: THE FOLLOWING TUTORIAL IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. I DO NOT CONDONE THE USE OF THIS INFORMATION FOR FRAUD OR OTHER ILLEGAL PURPOSES, AND AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY CONSEQUENCES SUFFERED AS A RESULT OF USING THIS INFORMATION.

The basic premise is to install and use TurboTax in a virtual machine. There are several VM solutions out there, but this guide will illustrate the use of VirtualBox. VirtualBox is free and lightweight, making it ideal for the relatively simple task here. We will use the snapshot feature of VirtualBox to create an image of the TurboTax install BEFORE downloading the first free state. After downloading the free state, the virtual machine can be reset to this snapshot, whereby another state can be downloaded for free.

You might complain about having to use TurboTax in a virtual machine – true, it’s slightly more inconvenient, but who doesn’t like the added layer of security?

Materials needed:

• VirtualBox (download here)
• Windows XP/Vista/7 install media
• TurboTax (2009) [duh!]

Prepare the Virtual Machine for TurboTax

Install VirtualBox if you haven’t already, using the download link above.

Install your virtual operating system of choice in VirtualBox. The intricacies of this will not be covered here. However, I recommend Windows XP since it is smaller in size than Vista or 7.

Install the VirtualBox Guest Additions (highly recommended). This enhances the video quality in the guest OS and also allows shared folders, which can make it easier to transfer files (e.g. tax documents).

*If your guest operating system is Windows XP or Windows Vista, you will first need to install the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1. (web installer, full offline installer)

Install TurboTax (2009) into the guest operating system. Run the application and allow it to grab updates, then exit out. Shut down the guest OS.

From the VirtualBox interface, create a snapshot of your VM.

Download the 1st free state

Start up the virtual machine and open up TurboTax.

Click “Start a New Return”.

Go to the “State” menu. Keep clicking “Continue” until a window pops up asking you to choose a state to download for free. Proceed with the download.

Once the download is finished, quit TurboTax. Navigate to the location “C:\Program Files\TurboTax\Forms”.

Of the directories listed, it should be relatively easy to pick out the one that corresponds to the state you just downloaded (e.g. ohi_09 corresponds to the 2009 Ohio forms). Simply transfer this folder (zip it up first if you’d like) to your real OS, or any other permanent storage location.

Shut down the VM.

Reset the VM and download more states for free

Go to the snapshots menu in the VirtualBox interface (see screenshot above). Right click the snapshot you made and hit the “restore” option.

Reboot the VM. The VM and the TurboTax install are now in the original state (no pun intended) where it will allow you to download one more set of state forms for free.

Repeat the process described above to download the state forms.

Rinse and repeat, if desired.

Add the state forms back into TurboTax

Now that you have all the state forms you need, it’s time to add them back into TurboTax. Copy/move these form directories back into the “C:\Program Files\TurboTax\Forms” on your virtual machine.

The next time you start up your virtualized TurboTax install, it should scan and pick up these new forms. You can now proceed to use TurboTax normally. If desired, the new form files can also be added into the forms directory of a TurboTax installed in a real OS.

DesktopIce for Windows 7

DesktopIce is a Windows 7-only applet that "freezes"
your desktop and locks your computer. This is in contrast
to the standard blue background that appears when the computer
is locked.

You need administrator privileges to run DesktopIce since the desktop image
is saved to a system directory.
Run the program executable. An ice cube icon will appear in the taskbar.
To lock the computer through DesktopIce, right click the tray icon and click "Lock".

If you already have a custom background saved, using DesktopIce will not affect it.
Your custom background will be backed up to backgroundDefault-orig.jpg, and
put back in place once the screen is unlocked. This allows you to use the "regular"
locking mechanism (Windows Key + L) too.

DesktopIce can be downloaded at:
http://www.box.net/shared/ammz5qxfzv

The Guide to Safe Torrenting: College Edition

The ubiquity and ease of use of the BitTorrent P2P protocol has attracted to it a countless number of users. But as with any P2P technology, it carries with it risks, especially in the context of copyrighted content. The MPAA, RIAA, and other so-called antipiracy outfits acting as mercenaries on behalf of content owners employ a variety of controversial techniques in an attempt to catch people downloading or uploading a torrent red-handed. The successful capture of a name, or more likely IP address can have some pretty undesirable legal consequences, particularly in the United States due to the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA). A cease-and-desist letter is usually sent, followed by a demand for a large, financially burdening out-of-court settlement. This threat is especially damaging on college and university campuses, where the user base is young and often ill-informed about P2P safety, not to mention poor! Furthermore, colleges and universities often have their own, equally undesirable sanctions should they have to forward a copyright claim letter to the student. The risk of being pursued for copyright infringement, however, can be significantly minimized if one knows how to keep a low surface profile on the network. Here are several tips and tricks that will help reduce the risks of using BitTorrent on a college network, or more generally, a high-risk environment.

1. Refrain from downloading new, high-profile content in the days following its release
   Content creators and their hired copyright watchdogs are almost certain to be monitoring torrents of newly released movies and (possibly to a lesser extent) music and software. Don’t let the temptation of downloading a brand-new film screw you over – if you wait at least a week, the dangers of connecting to bad peers is significantly reduced.
2. Limit your speed
   As with #1, it’s all about discipline, discipline, discipline. Is it really going to kill you to wait an hour or two extra to finish that torrent? If you’re maxing out your upload/download capacity for extended periods of time (especially likely if using a private tracker), red flags are going to start popping up. Any half-brained network administrator worth his salt will be suspicious and look to investigate. If your ISP doesn’t bust you, any antipiracy groups that happen to be monitoring the torrent will be drawn to high-speed peers.
3. Use protocol encryption
   All the modern and major BitTorrent clients, including uTorrent, Transmission, and Vuze, support a feature called protocol encryption. Basically, the headers of any BitTorrent packets are obfuscated to disguise the nature of the traffic. Note that the actual data in the packet is not encrypted, however. Though this method is not at all foolproof, it will at least create a shadow of doubt as to the nature and purpose of that high-volume traffic going through the network.
4. Use an IP blocklist
   As with #3, this method is nowhere near foolproof. However, it will afford you some protection in that it prevents you from connecting to known bad/malicious IP addresses that might be connected to watchdog groups/government agencies/etc. Several of the leading torrent clients support loading a blocklist in one format or anoather. If you’re using uTorrent, be sure to checkout my uTorrent IPFilter Updater, an in-house production of Binary Inspirations.
5. Use private trackers, if possible
   Of course, this is not an option that’s feasible for everyone, including the casual user and newcomers into the BitTorrent world. Since private trackers have a limited user base, the risk of being monitored by copyright outfits is lower than on a public tracker. The smaller and more obscure the site, the less likely that any members are “double agents”. Additionally, some private sites have entry requirements and interviews that make it more difficult for malicious users to infiltrate (though not impossible - *cough* TorrentLeech *cough*!) The fast speeds and other perks of private trackers make them an option worth investigating if you haven’t already.

Z-Alarm 2 (version 2.2) released

Time for a new Z-Alarm release. Version 2.2 brings:

• overhauled timer management and more responsive user interface
• randomized alarm buzzer tones (you’ll never, ever get used to it)
• Spacebar shortcut to hit the snooze button (no more stumbling around drowsily trying to move the mouse)
• Detailed artist-title tag info display (for supported file formats)
• More attractive-looking snooze button

More information and download:
Z-Alarm 2 (version 2.2)

mktorrent-GUI version 1.0 released

mktorrent-GUI is a Windows-based GUI frontend to the console-based (Linux/UNIX native) mktorrent tool. There don’t seem to be any decent standalone torrent file creators on Windows. There is MakeTorrent, but that was last updated in 2004 and doesn’t support more modern features like private flags. My frontend aims to address these shortcomings and expose all of the functionality of mktorrent to the user via an easy-to-use interface.

Of particular interest to hardcore torrenters is the batch mode feature. If a directory is specified as a source, mktorrent-GUI will scan one level deep for subdirectories and automatically create a torrent for each subdirectory. All of the usual features such as comments, piece size and the private flag can be set.

More information and download link:
mktorrent-GUI version 1.0