Category: Software, hardware and other IT

How to prevent money loss in international roaming. Setting up your phone for international roaming

Posted by Alex On March 5, 2023

Table of contents

1. How to disable mobile Internet in roaming

2. Setting up the phone to work with SIM cards in international roaming

3. Consider purchasing mobile data roaming packages

If you are traveling abroad, then you need to be prepared for the fact that mobile communications in roaming are quite expensive. Mobile Internet connection can also be expensive. But if calls and SMS are completely dependent on the user, and we decide on our own whether to receive a call while abroad, then it is more and more difficult with mobile Internet. Modern mobile phones are almost constantly online: instant messengers check for new messages, email programs check mail, the app store updates programs, and phone firmware looks for Android updates.

1. How to disable mobile Internet in roaming

You can disable mobile internet if your phone is abroad. This is a very convenient feature that does not affect the use of mobile Internet within your country. In addition, if you buy a SIM card abroad, you will still be able to use its mobile Internet, since for it the mobile networks of a foreign state will be local.

Go to “Settings”, to do this, slide the curtain down and click the gear icon.

Go to the “Connections” section.

Go to the “Mobile networks” section.

Turn off the “Data roaming” slider.

Now, when you get off the plane, and turn off Airplane mode, your phone will not try to connect to the Internet abroad.

But at the same time you will receive all SMS messages and incoming calls.

If you buy a foreign SIM card, then you can use its Internet without disabling the considered function (since mobile networks will be home for a foreign SIM card).

2. Setting up the phone to work with SIM cards in international roaming

If you purchased a SIM card for mobile data abroad, and if your phone supports dual SIM, you can explicitly specify which one should be used for different communication services.

Go to Settings → Connections → SIM manager.

Here you can explicitly select which SIM card should be used for calls, SMS messages and mobile data.

3. Consider purchasing mobile data roaming packages

Currently, many mobile operators offer packages for mobile roaming. Thanks to them, you can stay connected abroad without spending too much money. Check out your mobile operator's roaming offers.

ImageMagick error on Windows: “magick: unable to open image ”test’: No such file or directory @ error/blob.c/OpenBlob/3565. magick: no decode delegate for this image format `’ @ error/constitute.c/ReadImage/741.” (SOLVED)

Posted by Alex On November 3, 2022

If in Windows 11 open CMD: 

cmd

And then run the command: 

magick '.\Для теста.jpg' test.png

An error will be received that there is no such file or directory: 

magick: unable to open image ''.\╨Ф╨╗╤П': No such file or directory @ error/blob.c/OpenBlob/3565.
magick: no decode delegate for this image format `' @ error/constitute.c/ReadImage/741.

You can see that non-Latin characters are used in the file name, so you might think that this is the problem – that is, the “magick” program does not support alphabets other than English.

But if you try to rename the file and run the following command: 

magick 'test file.jpg' new.png

Then the same error will be received again: 

magick: unable to open image ''test': No such file or directory @ error/blob.c/OpenBlob/3565.
magick: no decode delegate for this image format `' @ error/constitute.c/ReadImage/741.

How to fix “magick: unable to open image ''test': No such file or directory @ error/blob.c/OpenBlob/3565. magick: no decode delegate for this image format `' @ error/constitute.c/ReadImage/741.”

1. Use double quotes instead of single quotes

If the filename is enclosed in double quotes instead of single quotes, then the command works correctly: 

magick ".\Для теста.jpg" test.png

That is, try putting the filename in double quotes. If the problem persists, then it is related to the encoding of the file name.

2. Use PowerShell instead of CMD

In Windows 11 and Windows 10, the default command prompt is PowerShell, not CMD.

If your Windows uses CMD by default, then either set it to use PowerShell in the settings, or run one of the following commands at the command prompt: 

powershell
pwsh

In Windows 11 + Windows Terminal Preview + PowerShell 7 command 

magick '.\Для теста.jpg' test.png

works without errors.

See also: ImageMagick guide: installing, using, and troubleshooting

Some program areas become transparent or invisible in guest OS Windows after upgrading to VirtualBox 7 (SOLVED)

Posted by Alex On October 26, 2022

The big update to VirtualBox 7 brought a lot of changes and, apparently, bugs. Some of them have already been covered in the post “Windows stopped booting in Virtual Machine after upgrading to VirtualBox 7 (SOLVED)”.

While working with a guest OS Windows 11 in VirtualBox 7, new issues were discovered, some of which were resolved, and some are still not resolved. In this note, we will look at how to fix the problem with invisible areas of programs.

This error does not occur in all programs, so I did not immediately pay attention to it. For example, the MS Word office editor window looks like this in the guest OS:

This is what the opened document looks like:

You may notice that the background of the context menu is transparent, although it shouldn't be.

Another unexpected transparency.

Search results are not visible in the “Settings” app due to inappropriate transparency.

It's an open Notepad with text in it.

The menu for closing a document looks like this.

How to fix transparency in Windows guest in VirtualBox 7

The problem was solved in the following way:

1. Shut down the guest OS

2. Go to its settings → Display.

Uncheck “Enable 3D Acceleration”.

3. Boot guest OS with Windows as usual

Now MS Word and the context menu look normal:

Notepad is working now.

Warning about unsaved changes looks correct now.

In the “Settings” app, search results are now on an opaque background so they're easier to read.

Error “The ‘<‘ operator is reserved for future use.” (SOLVED)

Posted by Alex On October 25, 2022

Analog “<” for PowerShell

On Linux, you can use the following construct: 

COMMAND1 < FILE1

In this case, COMMAND1 will be executed with FILE1 as the input source instead of the keyboard, which is the normal standard input source.

The “<” operator corresponds to the use of “|” to be passed to standard input. For example, the following commands are identical: 

COMMAND1 < FILE1
cat FILE1 | COMMAND1

Trying to use this construct in PowerShell throws an error.

For example command 

mysql -uroot < C:\Users\MiAl\Downloads\all-databases.sql

ends with the following message: 

ParserError:
Line |
   1 |  mysql -uroot < C:\Users\MiAl\Downloads\all-databases.sql
     |               ~
     | The '<' operator is reserved for future use.

Similar error in PowerShell 5: 

string:1 character:14
+ mysql -uroot < C:\Users\MiAl\Downloads\all-databases.sql
+              ~
The '<' operator is reserved for future use.
    + CategoryInfo          : ParserError: (:) [], ParentContainsErrorRecordException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : RedirectionNotSupported

Instead of syntax 

COMMAND1 < FILE1

you need to use the following structure: 

Get-Content FILE1 | COMMAND1

The Get-Content cmdlet will read the contents of FILE1. Symbol “|” (pipe, conveyor) means to pass the content to COMMAND1.

Thus, instead of 

mysql -uroot < C:\Users\MiAl\Downloads\all-databases.sql

you need to use the following command: 

Get-Content C:\Users\MiAl\Downloads\all-databases.sql | .\mysql -uroot

“./program < input.txt > output.txt” alternative for PowerShell

Consider the construction 

./program < input.txt > output.txt

It means that the contents of the input.txt file are passed to the standard input of the “program” command, and the result of program execution is redirected to the output.txt file. But the above command will not work.

An analogue of the considered construction, which will work in PowerShell, is the following command: 

Get-Content INPUT.txt | ./program > output.txt

Or you can use the PowerShell style variant: 

Get-Content INPUT.txt | ./program | Out-File output.txt

mysqldump in PowerShell corrupts non-Latin characters when exporting database (SOLVED)

Posted by Alex On October 23, 2022

mysqldump is a MySQL utility for creating database and table backups. Unlike phpMyAdmin, which, although it offers a web interface, is a slower tool due to the limitations of intermediates such as PHP and Apache, mysqldump is a much more efficient tool without limitations for backing up very large data.

But on Windows, mysqldump has some nuances. Due to the peculiarities of PowerShell for working with encodings, all non-Latin characters can be corrupted in exported databases. This issue is not seen in CMD, but recent versions of Windows use PowerShell by default, so the issue in question affects all users who run mysqldump to back up databases in Windows.

The following command, executed in PowerShell 7: 

.\mysqldump.exe -u root --all-databases > all-databases_ps7.sql

Creates a UTF-8 encoded all-databases_ps7.sql file into which all MySQL databases will be exported using mysqldump (for backup purposes). But in these databases all non-Latin characters will be irretrievably corrupted!

That is, instead of Cyrillic, it will be something like this:

'╨Р╤А╨▒╨╕╤В╤А╨░╨╢╨╜╤Л╨╣ ╨┐╤А╨╛╤Ж╨╡╤Б╤Б: ╤Г╤З╨╡╨▒╨╜╨╕╨║ / ╨Ъ.╨Ь. ╨Р╤А╤Б╨╗╨░╨╜╨╛╨▓, ╨Ф.╨е. ╨Т╨░╨╗╨╡╨╡╨▓, ╨а.╨Э. ╨У╨╕╨╝╨░╨╖╨

To avoid this problem, use mysqldump with the --result-file option. The following command will save the database in the correct encoding: 

.\mysqldump.exe -u root --all-databases --result-file=all-databases.sql

You can also use the following two-command construct to fix the encoding problem: 

[Console]::OutputEncoding = [System.Text.Encoding]::GetEncoding("UTF-8")
.\mysqldump.exe -u root --all-databases > all-databases.sql

Output encoding issues in PowerShell and third-party utilities running in PowerShell (SOLVED)

Posted by Alex On October 23, 2022

What encoding is used in PowerShell by default. How to change the default output encoding to UTF-8 in PowerShell

If you run the following command in PowerShell 5: 

"Testing" > test.file

And check the encoding in the newly created test.file, it turns out that it is UTF-16LE.

If you run the following command in PowerShell 7: 

"Testing" > test.file

And check the encoding in the newly created test.file, it turns out that it is UTF-8.

The following command, executed in PowerShell 5: 

.\mysqldump.exe -u root --all-databases > all-databases_ps5.sql

Creates a UTF-16LE encoded all-databases_ps5.sql file into which all MySQL databases will be exported using mysqldump (for backup purposes). In these databases, ALL non-Latin characters will be irretrievably corrupted!

That is, instead of Cyrillic, it will be something like this:

'╨Р╤А╨▒╨╕╤В╤А╨░╨╢╨╜╤Л╨╣ ╨┐╤А╨╛╤Ж╨╡╤Б╤Б: ╤Г╤З╨╡╨▒╨╜╨╕╨║ / ╨Ъ.╨Ь. ╨Р╤А╤Б╨╗╨░╨╜╨╛╨▓, ╨Ф.╨е. ╨Т╨░╨╗╨╡╨╡╨▓, ╨а.╨Э. ╨У╨╕╨╝╨░╨╖╨

The following command, executed in PowerShell 7: 

.\mysqldump.exe -u root --all-databases > all-databases_ps7.sql

Creates a UTF-8 encoded all-databases_ps7.sql file into which all MySQL databases will be exported using mysqldump (for backup purposes). But in these databases, ALL non-Latin characters will be irretrievably corrupted AGAIN!

That is, it would seem that the default encoding has changed to UTF-8, but the problem with completely corrupted database backups has not gone away.

How to save output from third-party programs in UTF-8 encoding in PowerShell

The above behavior, which corrupts the output of commands in PowerShell, is not acceptable. Let's look at how to ensure that output in PowerShell is saved in UTF-8 encoding.

How to save PowerShell output in UTF-8 encoding, use the Out-File cmdlet

Consider the following command: 

.\mysqldump.exe -u root --all-databases > all-databases.sql

As already shown above, it corrupts non-Latin characters due to incorrect encoding.

In some sources, as a solution to the problem, it is recommended to replace the “>” character with “Out-File”, and also specify the encoding using the “-Encoding UTF8” option. That is, use the following command: 

.\mysqldump.exe -u root --all-databases | Out-File -Encoding UTF8 all-databases_fixed.sql

In fact, both in PowerShell 7 and in PowerShell 5, this command changes little. First, the command is analogous to the output redirection symbol “>”. Secondly, by default, the Out-File cmdlet uses UTF-8 encoding, that is, it is not necessary to specify it specifically.

But the most important thing is that despite the fact that the data is saved to a file with UTF-8 encoding (in the previous command, this is the all-databases_fixed.sql file), non-Latin characters in this file are still corrupted! The thing is that the Out-File cmdlet initially processes the received data in the wrong encoding. Therefore, it no longer matters how exactly Out-File saves the data – the data is corrupted already at the time of receipt in this cmdlet.

The problem was solved by explicitly specifying the encoding for the received data: 

[Console]::OutputEncoding = [System.Text.Encoding]::GetEncoding("UTF-8")

The subsequent run of the command saved all the data in the correct encoding: 

.\mysqldump.exe -u root --all-databases | Out-File -Encoding UTF8 all-databases_fixed.sql

This method works equally well in PowerShell 7 and PowerShell 5.

By the way, the original command using this method also saves the data in the correct encoding: 

[Console]::OutputEncoding = [System.Text.Encoding]::GetEncoding("UTF-8")
.\mysqldump.exe -u root --all-databases > all-databases.sql

Saving output by third-party utilities

In all previous commands, we redirected the output of the mysqldump utility to a file, or to the Out-File cmdlet. But the mysqldump utility has a --result-file option after which you can specify a filename to output. That is, as a result of using this option, you do not need to use output redirection or PowerShell cmdlets.

The following command will save the database in the correct encoding: 

.\mysqldump.exe -u root --all-databases --result-file=all-databases.sql

Windows stopped booting in Virtual Machine after upgrading to VirtualBox 7 (SOLVED)

Posted by Alex On October 22, 2022

After upgrading to VirtualBox 7 (more precisely, to VirtualBox 7.0.2), the Windows 11 guest OS stopped booting.

Windows 11 guest boot starts as usual, no errors are displayed. Moreover, you can hear the Windows logon sound, but the desktop is not shown.

Boot freezes on the initial screen with UEFI messages.

As a host (main) OS, I use Linux, namely Arch Linux.

The problem was solved in the following way:

1. Shut down the guest OS

2. Go to its settings → Display.

Uncheck “Enable 3D Acceleration”.

3. Boot guest OS with Windows as usual

4. Update Guest Additions.

5. After that, you can again activate the “Enable 3D Acceleration” setting – the guest system will boot without errors.

Hangups while updating Guest Additions

One of the innovations of VirtualBox 7 is the automatic updating of the Guest Addition.

But in my case, after inserting Guest Additions CD image, an error occurred and the virtual computer hung.

In addition to the problem discussed just above, I noticed that the Windows guest OS, after inserting the “Guest Additions CD image”, tried to update them on its own. This led to endless freezes and the need to force a reboot of the guest OS.

Finally, the problem was solved in the following way:

1. Remove Guest Additions (if your guest OS keeps freezing then boot into safe mode)

2. Restart your computer

3. Reinstall the Guest Additions

4. Restart the computer again

Should I upgrade to VirtualBox 7?

At the time of writing, the latest stable version is VirtualBox 7.0.2, which was released just a few days after the release of the first stable version of VirtualBox 7.

However, according to my observations, Windows 11 is still unstable in VirtualBox 7.0.2.

Although VirtualBox 7 brings significant updates, they are not in demand by most users who run virtual machines in VirtualBox. If you do not see anything important in the changelog in VirtualBox 7, then I would recommend waiting a few months before upgrading. During this time, more problems and bugs will be fixed.

See also: Some program areas become transparent or invisible in guest OS Windows after upgrading to VirtualBox 7 (SOLVED)

How to prevent Tor users from viewing or commenting on a WordPress site

Posted by Alex On October 19, 2022

The Tor network is an important tool for anonymity, privacy, and censorship circumvention, which in some countries is being fought even at the state level.

But Tor is a public tool, so it can sometimes be used for online trolling and bullying. This article will show you how:

  • prevent Tor users from commenting on your WordPress site
  • prevent Tor users from registering and logging into the site
  • prevent Tor users from viewing WordPress site

WordPress plugin to control allowed actions from the Tor network

VigilanTor is a free WordPress plugin that can block comments, browsing, and registration for Tor users.

This plugin automatically updates the list of IP addresses of the Tor network and, after configuration, automatically controls and blocks Tor users.

To install VigilanTor, go to WordPress Admin Panel → Plugins → Add New.

Search for “VigilanTor”, install and activate it.

Then go to Settings →VigilanTor Settings.

We will perform all subsequent actions on the plugin settings page.

How to disable commenting on a site from Tor

Enable two settings:

  • Block Tor users from commenting (prevent Tor users from commenting your WordPress site)
  • Hide comment form from Tor users

Now Tor users will still be able to view your site, but when they try to leave a comment, they will receive a message:

Error: You appear to be commenting from a Tor IP address which is not allowed.

How to prevent Tor users from registering and logging into the site

To prevent Tor users from registering on a WordPress site and preventing registered users from logging in from the Tor network, enable the following settings:

  • Block Tor users from registering
  • Flag users who signed up using Tor
  • Block Tor users from logging in (Useful for preventing brute for attacks)

How to Block Tor Users from Viewing a WordPress Site

Enable setting:

  • Block Tor users from all of WordPress

This setting will prevent any activity, including logging into the site, commenting, and browsing.

When trying to open a site in Tor, the user will receive a message:

Sorry, you cannot access this website using Tor.

How often does VigilanTor update the list of Tor IP addresses

The Tor network often changes IP addresses, that is, new ones are added, and old ones are removed. Once downloaded, the Tor network IP list becomes obsolete over time.

VigilanTor automatically downloads the list of Tor IP addresses and updates it automatically.

By default, the update is performed every 10 minutes. You can increase this interval to 6 hours, or enable real-time updates.

How to enable DNS over HTTPS in Windows 11

Posted by Alex On October 15, 2022

To improve your online privacy and security, Windows 11 lets you use DNS over HTTPS (DoH) to encrypt the DNS requests your computer makes when you browse or do anything else on the Internet. This article will show you how to set it up in Windows 11.

Encrypted DNS is more private and secure

Every time you visit a website using a domain name (such as “suay.site”), your computer sends a request to a Domain Name System (DNS) server. The DNS server takes the domain name and looks up the corresponding IP address from the list. It sends an IP address back to your computer, which is then used to connect to the site.

See also: How to enable DNS over HTTPS and what it is for

This process of getting the resolution of a domain name to an IP address traditionally took place on the network in the plain text. Any intermediate point can intercept the transmitted information – the domain names of the sites you visit and their IPs. With DNS over HTTPS, also known as DoH, communication between your computer and a DoH-enabled DNS server is encrypted. No one can intercept your DNS requests to track the addresses you visit or spoof responses from a DNS server.

First, choose a free DNS with DoH support – there are already a lot of them now

Starting with the release of Windows 11, DNS over HTTPS in Windows 11 only works with a certain hard-coded list of free DNS services (you can see the list yourself by running 

netsh dns show encryption

in the terminal window).

Here is the current list of supported IPv4 DNS server addresses as of October 2022:

  • Primary Google DNS: 8.8.8.8
  • Additional Google DNS: 8.8.4.4
  • Cloudflare Primary DNS: 1.1.1.1
  • Secondary DNS Cloudflare: 1.0.0.1
  • Primary DNS Quad9: 9.9.9.9
  • Secondary DNS Quad9: 149.112.112.112

For IPv6, list of supported DNS server addresses:

  • Primary Google DNS: 2001:4860:4860::8888
  • Google Secondary DNS: 2001:4860:4860::8844
  • Cloudflare primary DNS server: 2606:4700:4700::1111
  • Additional Cloudflare DNS: 2606:4700:4700::1001
  • Primary DNS Quad9: 2620:fe::fe
  • Secondary DNS Quad9: 2620:fe::fe:9

When it comes time to enable DoH in the section below, you will need to select two pairs of these DNS servers – primary and secondary for IPv4 and IPv6 – to use with your Windows 11 PC. As a bonus, using them will likely speed up your Internet experience.

Enable DNS over HTTPS in Windows 11

To start configuring DNS over HTTPS, open the Settings app by pressing Win+i on your keyboard. Alternatively, you can right-click the Start button and select “Settings” from the special menu that appears.

In Settings, click “Network & internet” in the sidebar.

For “Wi-Fi” and “Ethernet”, the procedure for setting up DNS over HTTPS is slightly different.

Configuring DNS over HTTPS for Ethernet (Wired)

In Network & internet, click the name of your primary Internet connection in the list, such as “Ethernet”.

On the Ethernet properties page, find the “DNS server assignment” setting and click the “Edit” button next to it.

In the window that appears, select “Manual” DNS settings from the drop-down menu.

Then turn the “IPv4” switch to the “On” position.

In the IPv4 section, enter the primary DNS server address you selected in the section above in the “Preferred DNS” field (for example, “8.8.8.8”).

The drop-down list “Preferred DNS encryption” will become active. In this list, select “Encrypted only (DNS over HTTPS)”.

Similarly, enter the address of the secondary DNS server in the “Alternate DNS” field (for example, “8.8.4.4”). The drop-down list “Preferred DNS encryption” will become active. In this list, select “Encrypted only (DNS over HTTPS)”.

If your ISP supports IPv6, then repeat this process with IPv6. If your ISP does NOT support IPv6, then you DO NOT need to enable IPv6 DNS servers. If you're unsure, it's best not to enable IPv6 DNS.

Switch the IPv6 switch to the On position, and then copy the primary IPv6 address from the section above and paste it into the “Preferred DNS” field. Then copy the appropriate secondary IPv6 address and paste it into the “Alternate DNS” field.

After that, set both “Preferred DNS encryption” options to “Encrypted only (DNS over HTTPS)”.

Finally, click “Save”.

Back on the Ethernet hardware properties page, you'll see a list of your DNS servers with “(Encrypted)” marked next to each one.

Configuring DNS over HTTPS for Wi-Fi (Wireless)

In Network & internet settings, click the name of your primary Internet connection in the list, such as Wi-Fi.

On the Wi-Fi properties page, go to the “Hardware properties” section.

On the next window, locate the “DNS server assignment” option and click the “Change” button next to it.

In the window that appears, select “Manual” DNS settings from the drop-down menu. Then turn the “IPv4” switch to the “On” position.

In the IPv4 section, enter the primary DNS server address you selected in the section above in the “Preferred DNS” field (for example, “8.8.8.8”).

The drop-down list “Preferred DNS encryption” will become active. In this list, select “Encrypted only (DNS over HTTPS)”.

Tip: If you don't see the “Preferred DNS encryption” settings, then you are editing the DNS settings for a specific Wi-Fi connection and not for the wireless adapter as a whole. Make sure you have selected the connection type in Settings → Network & internet, then click “Hardware properties” first.

Similarly, enter the address of the secondary DNS server in the “Alternate DNS” field (for example, “8.8.4.4”).

If your ISP supports IPv6, then repeat this process with IPv6. If your ISP does NOT support IPv6, then you DO NOT need to enable IPv6 DNS servers. If you're unsure, it's best not to enable IPv6 DNS.

Switch the IPv6 switch to the On position, and then copy the primary IPv6 address from the section above and paste it into the “Preferred DNS” field. Then copy the appropriate secondary IPv6 address and paste it into the “Alternate DNS” field.

After that, set both “Preferred DNS encryption” options to “Encrypted only (DNS over HTTPS)”.

Finally, click “Save”.

Back on the Wi-Fi hardware properties page, you'll see a list of your DNS servers with “(Encrypted)” marked next to each one.

That's all you need to do. Close the Settings app, and you are ready to go. From now on, all your DNS requests will be private and secure. Happy viewing!

Note. If you're having network problems after changing these settings, make sure you've entered the correct IP addresses. An incorrect IP address can cause DNS servers to be unavailable. If the addresses are entered correctly, try disabling the “IPv6” switch in the list of DNS servers. If you are configuring IPv6 DNS servers on a computer that is not connected to IPv6, this can cause connectivity issues.

How to increase the color (saturation) of images, how to make a photo warmer or colder

Posted by Alex On September 11, 2022

You have probably noticed that other people's photographs can look very beautiful: incredible colors and shades, the landscape seems to be from a postcard.

You might think that it's all about some very expensive camera, the outstanding talent of a photographer, or incomprehensible skills in photo processing. All this can take place, but in fact, you can turn an ordinary photo into a very juicy and bright one with just one slider in the photo editor.

For this post, I'll be using the free and open source GIMP image editor. But in fact, you can find a similar function in other paid and free programs. You can transform your photos in photo editors on mobile phones as well.

How to enhance the color of an image. How to make colors vibrant

In GIMP, go to Color → Hue-Saturation.

Here you will see only one “Scale” slider.

Moving to the right will make the colors more saturated.

Original image:

Image with high saturation:

Original image:

Image with high saturation:

Original image:

Image with high saturation:

Perhaps I do not know the measures (I set the saturation almost to the maximum), and the photos became too colorful. You can change the saturation according to your taste and artistic intent.

How to make a photo warmer or colder

A warmer photo has more yellowness, a colder photo has more blueness.

Changing the temperature of a photo also greatly changes its perception.

To change the temperature of a photo in GIMP, go to Color → Color Temperature.

Here you will see two sliders “Original temperature” and “Intended temperature”. experiment with both of them.

Original Image:

Image in warm colors:

Image in cold colors:

Changes in shadows and light

Let’s consider how to emphasize the shadows and light sources in the photo.

From the GIMP menu, go to Color → Shadows-Highlights.

Here you can increase or decrease the shadows in the photo, as well as increase or decrease the intensity of the light source.

For example, reducing the amount of light:

Original Image:

Look how expressive and even menacing the clouds have become:

In the following example, the amount of light is added:

Original Image:

And now the clouds have become shining like in a biblical parable:

Experiment with color!

I guess you agree that the simplest manipulations shown above with literally one settings slider can significantly change the impression of a photo. The pictures have become noticeably more spectacular, but at the same time they have not lost their realism.

The GIMP Preferences menu under Color has other settings you can try.

Pay special attention to “Brightness”, “Contrast”, “Exposure”. With them, you can change the impression of the photo.

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