Tips and Tricks !!!

Encryption & Decryption Explained.

2009-07-17T22:17:00.008+05:30

Encryption & Decryption Explained.

Today I am going to discuss about the most happening topic of Internet i.e. Encryption and Decryption.

What is Encryption?

A data converted into unreadable format is called encrypted data and the process is called is ENCRYPTION.

What is Decryption?

Converting an encrypted data to unencrypted format i.e. readable format is called DECRYPTION.

How does it work?

Every encryption has it own algorithm. Unless and until we know the algorithm we can’t decrypt it and thus we can call it KEY.

I will show you a simple encryption program to explain the process.

As we know every character set has its own ASCII value which is a numeric number.

Let see a example.

Character	ASCII
A	65
a	97
B	66
b	98
C	97
c	99

and goes on………………………

Now let us take a string -----“ IT IS FUN TO LEARN COMPUTER ” , I am going to encrypt it with a simple C program. The algorithm I am using in this is, I find out the ASCII codes of the string which are numerical values, after that I add a random number with every ASCII value. By doing this the ASCII code will change thus the characters also.

To decrypt it we must know the number I added with the original ASCII code. So here we can call it KEY i.e. the number. So to get the original code we need to subtract the same number from the encrypted ASCII code. Now we will get the original ASCII code thus the original character set.

THE PROGRAM:-

#include .<<stdio.h>>.

#include .<<conio.h>>.

main ()

{

char a[100], b[100], c[100] ; //* Declaring the Variables

int i, x;

clrscr();

for(i=0;i<=100;i++) //* Setting the value of variables to zero

{

a[i] = b[i] = c[i] = 0; /*

}

printf("Enter a String:-"); //* Getting the String.

gets(a);

printf("\n");

printf("Enter a Number:- "); //* Getting the Key

scanf("%d", &x);

for(i=0; a[i]!='\0'; i++)

{

b[i] = a[i] + x; //* Adding the number to ASCII (ENCRYPTION)

c[i] = b[i] - x; //* Subtracting the number from ASCII (DECRYPTION)

}

clrscr();

printf("\n");

puts("Encrypted form of your string is :- ");

printf("\n");

puts(b); //* Showing the Encrypted Data

printf("\n");

puts("Decrypted form of your string is :-");

printf("\n"); //* Showing the Decrypted Data

puts(c);

getch();

}

And here is the OUTPUT :-

2009-07-17T22:06:00.009+05:30

Click On the Picture To See Learge Image.

Trick to show your name after time in taskbar !!!

2009-07-10T01:04:00.000+05:30

Here is a trick to add your name in place of AM and PM beside time in the taskbar.It's simple and exciting.Start -> Control Panel -> Regional and Language option -> Customize (beside English US) -> Go to TIME tab -> Change AM symbol and PM symbol from AM and PM to your name -> Apply -> Ok ...IS it changed ??? May be not ...Now go to time in taskbar and Double Click it to open "Date and time property" ...Look at the place where time changes in digital format i.e. 02:47:52 AM , click to arrow to chage the AM or PM by selecting and press arrow. It will Show your name Apply -> OK.

A Simple funny trick with Command Prompt !!!

2009-07-10T01:03:00.001+05:30

Here’s a cheap trick to amuse yourself when you get bored.
Open a command prompt (Start, Run, cmd, OK) and enter the following command:

title yourname

Press enter

then check out the title bar of the command window.

Watch movies in ms-paint !!!

2009-07-10T01:01:00.001+05:30

Did you know that you can watch movies in paint ? But u can't do anything(Just watch it when its playing in Winamp... hope no use other than just experimenting..)

Here's what you gotta do :

1.Open your favourite movie player and play the movie in whichever movie player you have

2.Hit "PrintScreen" key, keep playing the movie in the player, dont stop it.

3.Open MsPaint.

4.Select "Edit>Paste" Or Hit "CTRL+V"

You can watch movies in Paint!

But there are no Pause, Next, Previous, Stop etc. buttons

Make invisible folders !!!

2009-07-10T00:59:00.000+05:30

First create a new folder somewhere on your hard drive
when you name it hold down "Alt" and press "0160" this will create an invisible space so it will apper as if it has no name.Then right click and select "Properties". Select the tab "coustimize" and select "change icon". Scroll along and you should see a few blank spaces. Click on any one and click ok.

works only with numpad keys. So wont work on laptops.

Lock a folder without any software !!!

2009-07-10T00:55:00.002+05:30

Lock a folder without any software
Suppose you want to lock the folder games in d: which has the path D:\games.In the same drive create a text file and type

ren games games.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}

Now save this text file as loc.bat

create another text file and type in it

ren games.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} games

Now save this text file as key.bat

Now you can see two batch files loc and key. Press loc and the folder games will change to control panel and you cannot view its contents. Press key and you will get back your original folder.

try this out!!!!!!!

Know the Quality of your Mobile Phone !!!

2009-07-10T00:53:00.000+05:30

Press the following on your mobile *#06# and the-international mobile equipment identity number appears. Then check the 7th and 8th numbers:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 th 8 th 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Phone serial no. x x x x x x ? ? x x x x x x x

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits are 02 or 20 this means your cell phone was assembled in Emirates which is very Bad quality

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits are 08 or 80 this means your cell phone was manufactured in Germany which is fair quality

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits are 01 or 10 this means your cell phone was manufactured in Finland which is very Good

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits are 00 this means your cell phone was manufactured in original factory which is the best Mobile Quality

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits are 13 this means your cell phone was assembled in Azerbaijan which is very Bad quality and also dangerous for your health

Some Tricks !!!!

2009-07-10T00:50:00.001+05:30

1) Try to create new folder or rename any folder with “CON”. What will happen? I don’t know why, but do it your self to prove it.

2) Do it again:

a. Open notepad
b. Write “Bush hid the facts”
c. Save with your own file name
d. Close, then try again! Very strange??

3) Open Microsoft Word, then write “=rand (200, 99)” and
Press enter. Read it what happen?

4) Still the same with Microsoft Word. Just write “Q33 NY” (<–Wow, i found the airplane name that contain with WTC, 11 September ago). Besides that, change the word size to 48 then change the font type to WINGDINGS. You'll find the symbol.

HOW TO MAKE WINDOWS XP GENUINE ?

2009-07-10T00:47:00.001+05:30

Simply download the file and run it. That’s all.

http://rapidshare.com/files/253906936/WVXP.rar

HOW TO REMOVE WGA ?

2009-07-10T00:43:00.002+05:30

What is WGA ?

Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) is an anti-piracy system created by Microsoft that enforces online validation of the licensing of several recent Microsoft Windows operating systems when accessing several services, such as Windows Update, and downloading Windows components from the Microsoft Download Center. WGA consists of two components; an installable component called WGA Notifications that hooks into Winlogon and validates the Windows license upon each logon and an ActiveX control that checks the validity of the Windows license when downloading certain updates from the Microsoft Download Center or Windows Update. WGA Notifications covers Windows XP, Windows Vista and current test versions of Windows 7. It does not cover other versions of the Windows NT family, such as Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003, or the Windows 9x family. The ActiveX control however checks Windows 2000 Professional licenses as well.
WGA also advertises the latest service pack for Windows XP, which requires manual intervention to disable. Previously voluntary, it became mandatory for use of these services in July 2005.

How to Remove WGA notification:

Simply download the file and run it. That’s all.
http://rapidshare.com/files/253901046/RemoveWGA.rar.html

Shut down Windows XP Fast

2009-07-10T00:31:00.003+05:30

How to shut down windows faster ?

Waiting for your Windows to shut down completely can be a frustrating task especially when you are rushing to go somewhere. Your recalcitrant Windows OS might take its own sweet time to close all the programs and shut down completely. If this problem continuously harasses you, you could just make some amendments to the Windows registry

and it will help to speed up your Windows shutdown process.As you might be fully aware, the Windows registry is an important directory to store settings and options for your Windows OS. It contains all information and settings for your hardware devices as well as your software applications. You might have big trouble if things go wrong. Hence it is better to back up your Windows registry before doing anything to it. Once you have backed up your Windows Registry, you can start amending some registry files to speed up your computer shutting-down process.
To shut down your computer in a hurry, sometimes the process of closing down the programs will slow you down. The repetitive pop-up messages asking if you really want to quit can be really annoying.
To speed up and force these programs to close down, a few registry files you need to amend are as follow:

Registry File: AutoEndTasks
Function: To end running tasks and automatically shutdown
How to change:

a. Go to “Start”, click “Run” and type “regedit” to open Windows Registry directory
b. Go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
c. Look for the Registry Key called AutoEndTasks . Right-click, select Modify and Change the value to 1.
d. Exit Windows Registry

Registry File: WaitToKillApp
Function: To set the interval time for Windows OS before killing the applications users attempt to close
How to change:

a. Go to “Start”, click “Run” and type “regedit” to open Windows Registry directory
b. Go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
c. Look for the Registry Key called WaitToKillApp. Right-click, select Modify and Change the value to 1000.
d. Exit Windows Registry

Registry File: HangAppTime
Function: To set the hang time for the app before closing
How to change:

a. Go to “Start”, click “Run” and type “regedit” to open Windows Registry directory
b. Go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
c. Look for the Registry Key called HangAppTime. Right-click, select Modify and Change the value to 1000.
d. Exit Windows Registry

Registry File: WaitToKillServiceTimeout
Function: To set the time for Windows to wait before ending Microsoft Services.
How to change:

a. Go to “Start”, click “Run” and type “regedit” to open Windows Registry directory
b. Go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
c. Look for the Registry Key called WaitToKillServiceTimeout. Right-click, select Modify and Change the value to 1000.
d. Exit Windows Registry

Apart from making changes to the four registry files above; another registry file you could probably change is ClearPageFileOnShutdown. When windows is shutting down, it will automatically remove and clear the contents of the pagefiles for security reasons. The cleaning process might take some time and slow down your closing process. If you are willing to compromise your system’s security, you can amend the registry settings to disable the Windows to do the clearing of paging files.

Registry File: ClearPageFileOnShutdown
Function: To clear the paging files
How to change:

a. Go to “Start”, click “Run” and type “regedit” to open Windows Registry directory
b. Go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management
c. Look for the Registry Key called ClearPageFileOnShutdown. Right-click, select Modify and Change the value to 0.
d. Exit Windows Registry

Besides changing the registry setting, another approach to do quick shutdown of your computer is via some useful shutdown tool such as Quick Shutdown

Boot Windows XP Fast

2009-06-17T12:39:00.006+05:30

Follow the steps :

1. Open notepad.exe, type "del c:\windows\prefetch\ntosboot-*.* /q" (without the quotes) & save as "ntosboot.bat" in c:\
2. From the Start menu, select "Run..." & type "gpedit.msc".
3. Double click "Windows Settings" under "Computer Configuration" and double click on "Scripts (Startup/Shutdown)" and double click again on "Shutdown" in the right window.
4. In the new window, click "add", "Browse", locate your "ntosboot.bat" file & click "Open".
5. Click "OK", "Apply" & "OK" once again to exit.
6. From the Start menu, select "Run..." & type "devmgmt.msc".
7. Double click on "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers"
8. Right click on "Primary IDE Channel" and select "Properties".
9. Select the "Advanced Settings" tab then on the device or 1 that doesn't have 'device type' greyed out select 'none' instead of 'autodetect' & click "OK".
10. Right click on "Secondary IDE channel", select "Properties" and repeat step 9.
11. Reboot your computer.

Change Your IP In Less Then 1 Minute

2009-06-17T12:30:00.004+05:30

How To: Change Your IP In Less Then 1 Minute

1. Click on "Start" in the bottom left hand corner of screen
2. Click on "Run"
3. Type in "command" and hit ok

You should now be at an MSDOS prompt screen.

4. Type "ipconfig /release" just like that, and hit "enter"
5. Type "exit" and leave the prompt
6. Right-click on "Network Places" or "My Network Places" on your desktop.
7. Click on "properties"
8. Right click on "Local Area Connection" and click "properties"
9. Double-click on the "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" from the list under the "General" tab
10. Click on "Use the following IP address" under the "General" tab
11. Create an IP address (It doesn't matter what it is, just type 1 and 2 until it fill the area up).
12. Press "Tab" and it should automatically fill in the "Subnet Mask" section with default numbers.
13. Hit the "Ok" button here
14. Hit the "Ok" button again

You should now be back to the "Local Area Connection" screen.

15. Right-click back on "Local Area Connection" and go to properties again.
16. Go back to the "TCP/IP" settings
17. This time, select "Obtain an IP address automatically "Hit "Ok"
19. Hit "Ok" again
20. You now have a new IP address

Please Note:
This only changes your dynamic IP address, not your ISP/IP address. If you plan on hacking a website with this trick be extremely careful, because if they try a little, they can trace it back

Computer Acronyms

2009-06-17T12:10:00.005+05:30

--- A ---

ADSL - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
AGP - Accelerated Graphics Port
ALI - Acer Labs, Incorporated
ALU - Arithmetic Logic Unit
AMD - Advanced Micro Devices
APC - American Power Conversion
ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange
ASIC - Application Specific Integrated Circuit
ASPI - Advanced SCSI Programming Interface
AT - Advanced Technology
ATI - ATI Technologies Inc.
ATX - Advanced Technology Extended

--- B ---

BFG - BFG Technologies
BIOS - Basic Input Output System
BNC - Barrel Nut Connector

--- C ---

CAS - Column Address Signal
CD - Compact Disk
CDR - Compact Disk Recorder
CDRW - Compact Disk Re-Writer
CD-ROM - Compact Disk - Read Only Memory
CFM - Cubic Feet per Minute (ft�/min)
CMOS - Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
CPU - Central Processing Unit
CTX - CTX Technology Corporation (Commited to Excellence)
CLI - Command Line Interface
CU - Control Unit

--- D ---

DDR - Double Data Rate
DDR-SDRAM - Double Data Rate - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
DFI - DFI Inc. (Design for Innovation)
DIMM - Dual Inline Memory Module
DRAM - Dynamic Random Access Memory
DPI - Dots Per Inch
DSL - See ASDL
DVD - Digital Versatile Disc
DVD-RAM - Digital Versatile Disk - Random Access Memory

--- E ---

ECC - Error Correction Code
ECS - Elitegroup Computer Systems
EDO - Extended Data Out
EEPROM - Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
EPROM - Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
EVGA - EVGA Corporation

--- F ---

FC-PGA - Flip Chip Pin Grid Array
FDC - Floppy Disk Controller
FDD - Floppy Disk Drive
FPS - Frame Per Second
FPU - Floating Point Unit
FSAA - Full Screen Anti-Aliasing
FS - For Sale
FSB - Front Side Bus

--- G ---

GB - Gigabytes
GBps - Gigabytes per second or Gigabits per second
GDI - Graphical Device Interface
GHz - GigaHertz
GUI - Graphical User interface

--- H ---

HDD - Hard Disk Drive
HIS - Hightech Information System Limited
HP - Hewlett-Packard Development Company
HSF - Heatsink-Fan

--- I ---

IBM - International Business Machines Corporation
IC - Integrated Circuit
IDE - Integrated Drive Electronics
IFS- Item for Sale
IRQ - Interrupt Request
ISA - Industry Standard Architecture
ISO - International Standards Organization

--- J ---

JBL - JBL (Jame B. Lansing) Speakers
JVC - JVC Company of America

- K ---

Kbps - Kilobits Per Second
KBps - KiloBytes per second

--- L ---

LG - LG Electronics
LAN - Local Are Network
LCD - Liquid Crystal Display
LDT - Lightning Data Transport
LED - Light Emitting Diode

--- M ---

MAC - Media Access Control
MB � MotherBoard or Megabyte
MBps - Megabytes Per Second
Mbps - Megabits Per Second or Megabits Per Second
MHz - MegaHertz
MIPS - Million Instructions Per Second
MMX - Multi-Media Extensions
MSI - Micro Star International

--- N ---

NAS - Network Attached Storage
NAT - Network Address Translation
NEC - NEC Corporation
NIC - Network Interface Card

--- O ---

OC - Overclock (Over Clock)
OCZ - OCZ Technology
OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer

--- P ---

PC - Personal Computer
PCB - Printed Circuit Board
PCI - Peripheral Component Interconnect
PDA - Personal Digital Assistant
PCMCIA - Peripheral Component Microchannel Interconnect Architecture
PGA - Professional Graphics Array
PLD - Programmable Logic Device
PM - Private Message / Private Messaging
PnP - Plug 'n Play
PNY - PNY Technology
POST - Power On Self Test
PPPoA - Point-to-Point Protocol over ATM
PPPoE - Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet
PQI - PQI Corporation
PSU - Power Supply Unit

--- R ---

RAID - Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks
RAM - Random Access Memory
RAMDAC - Random Access Memory Digital Analog Convertor
RDRAM - Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory
ROM - Read Only Memory
RPM - Revolutions Per Minute

--- S ---

SASID - Self-scanned Amorphous Silicon Integrated Display
SCA - SCSI Configured Automatically
SCSI - Small Computer System Interface
SDRAM - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
SECC - Single Edge Contact Connector
SODIMM - Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Module
SPARC - Scalable Processor ArChitecture
SOHO - Small Office Home Office
SRAM - Static Random Access Memory
SSE - Streaming SIMD Extensions
SVGA - Super Video Graphics Array
S/PDIF - Sony/Philips Digital Interface

--- T ---

TB - Terabytes
TBps - Terabytes per second
Tbps - Terabits per second
TDK - TDK Electronics
TEC - Thermoelectric Cooler
TPC - TipidPC
TWAIN - Technology Without An Important Name

--- U ---

UART - Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter
USB - Universal Serial Bus
UTP - Unshieled Twisted Pair
UPS - Uninterruptible Power Supply

--- V ---

VCD - Video CD
VPN - Virtual Private Network

--- W ---

WAN - Wide Area Network
WTB - Want to Buy
WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get

--- X ---

XGA - Extended Graphics Array
XFX - XFX Graphics, a Division of Pine
XMS - Extended Memory Specification
XT - Extended Technology

Update your BIOS

2009-06-15T17:05:00.005+05:30

BIOS Update Procedure

All latest Motherboards today, 486/ Pentium / Pentium Pro etc.,ensure that upgrades are easily obtained by incorporating the system BIOS in a FLASH Memory component. With FLASH BIOS, there is no need to replace an EPROM component. Once downloaded, the upgrade utility fits on a floppy disc allowing the user to save, verify and update the system BIOS. A hard drive or a network drive can also be used to run the newer upgrade utilities. However, memory managers can not be installed while upgrading.

Most pre-Pentium motherboards do not have a Flash BIOS. The following instructions therefore do not apply to these boards. If your motherboard does not have a Flash BIOS (EEPROM) you will need to use an EPROM programmer to re-program the BIOS chip. See your dealer for more information about this.

Please read the following instructions in full before starting a Flash BIOS upgrade:
A. Create a Bootable Floppy (in DOS)

•With a non-formatted disk, type the following:

format a:/s

•If using a formatted disk, type:

sys a:

This procedure will ensure a clean boot when you are flashing the new BIOS.

B. Download the BIOS file

•Download the correct BIOS file by clicking on the file name of the BIOS file you wish to download.

•Save the BIOS file and the Flash Utility file in the boot disk you have created. Unzip the BIOS file and the flash utility file. If you don't have an "unzip" utility, download the WinZip for Windows 95 shareware/ evaluation copy for that one time use from _www.winzip.com or _www.pkware.com. Most CD ROMs found in computer magazines, have a shareware version of WinZip on them.

•You should have extracted two files:

Flash BIOS utility eg: flash7265.exe (for example)

BIOS eg: 6152J900.bin (example)

Use the latest flash utility available unless otherwise specified (either on the BIOS update page or in the archive file). This information is usually provided.

C. Upgrade the System BIOS

During boot up, write down the old BIOS version because you will need to use it for the BIOS backup file name.

Place the bootable floppy disk containing the BIOS file and the Flash Utility in drive a, and reboot the system in MS-DOS, preferably Version 6.22

•At the A:> prompt, type the corresponding Flash BIOS utility and the BIOS file with its extension.

For example:

flash625 615j90.bin

•From the Flash Memory Writer menu, select "Y" to "Do you want to save BIOS?" if you want to save (back up) your current BIOS (strongly recommended), then type the name of your current BIOS and its extension after FILE NAME TO SAVE: eg: a:\613J90.bin

Alternatively select "N" if you don't want to save your current BIOS. Beware, though, that you won't be able to recover from a possible failure.

•Select "Y" to "Are you sure to program?"

•Wait until it displays "Message: Power Off or Reset the system"

Once the BIOS has been successfully loaded, remove the floppy disk and reboot the system. If you write to BIOS but cannot complete the procedure, do not switch off, because the computer will not be able to boo, and you will not be given another chance to flash. In this case leave your system on until you resolve the problem (flashing BIOS with old file is a possible solution, provided you've made a backup before)

Make sure the new BIOS version has been loaded properly by taking note of the BIOS identifier as the system is rebooting.

For AMI BIOS
Once the BIOS has been successfully loaded, remove the floppy disk and reboot the system holding the "END" key prior to power on until you enter CMOS setup. If you do not do this the first time booting up after upgrading the BIOS, the system will hang.

BIOS Update Tips
note:
1.Make sure never to turn off or reset your computer during the flash process. This will corrupt the BIOS data. We also recommend that you make a copy of your current BIOS on the bootable floppy so you can reflash it if you need to. (This option is not available when flashing an AMI BIOS).

2. If you have problems installing your new BIOS please check the following:

Have you done a clean boot?
In other words, did you follow the above procedure for making a bootable floppy? This ensures that when booting from "A" there are no device drivers on the diskette. Failing to do a clean boot is the most common cause for getting a "Memory Insufficient" error message when attempting to flash a BIOS.

If you have not used a bootable floppy, insure a clean boot either by

a) pressing F5 during bootup

b) by removing all device drivers on the CONFIG.SYS including the HIMEM.SYS. Do this by using the EDIT command.

Have you booted up under DOS?
Booting in Windows is another common cause for getting a "Memory Insufficient" error message when attempting to flash a BIOS. Make sure to boot up to DOS with a minimum set of drivers. Important: Booting in DOS does not mean selecting "Restart computer in MS-DOS Mode" from Windows98/95 shutdown menu or going to Prompt mode in WindowsNT, but rather following the above procedure (format a: /s and rebooting from a:\).

Have you entered the full file name of the flash utility and the BIOS plus its extension?
Do not forget that often you will need to add a drive letter (a:\) before flashing the BIOS. Example: when asked for file name of new BIOS file which is on your floppy disk, in case you're working from c:\ your will need to type a:\615j90.bin, rather than 615j90.bin only.

BIOS Beep Codes

2009-06-15T17:02:00.002+05:30

BIOS Beep Codes

When a computer is first turned on, or rebooted, its BIOS performs a power-on self test (POST) to test the system's hardware, checking to make sure that all of the system's hardware components are working properly. Under normal circumstances, the POST will display an error message; however, if the BIOS detects an error before it can access the video card, or if there is a problem with the video card, it will produce a series of beeps, and the pattern of the beeps indicates what kind of problem the BIOS has detected.
Because there are many brands of BIOS, there are no standard beep codes for every BIOS.

The two most-used brands are AMI (American Megatrends International) and Phoenix.

Below are listed the beep codes for AMI systems, and here are the beep codes for Phoenix systems.

AMI Beep Codes

Beep Code Meaning
1 beep DRAM refresh failure. There is a problem in the system memory or the motherboard.
2 beeps Memory parity error. The parity circuit is not working properly.
3 beeps Base 64K RAM failure. There is a problem with the first 64K of system memory.
4 beeps System timer not operational. There is problem with the timer(s) that control functions on the motherboard.
5 beeps Processor failure. The system CPU has failed.
6 beeps Gate A20/keyboard controller failure. The keyboard IC controller has failed, preventing gate A20 from switching the processor to protect mode.
7 beeps Virtual mode exception error.
8 beeps Video memory error. The BIOS cannot write to the frame buffer memory on the video card.
9 beeps ROM checksum error. The BIOS ROM chip on the motherboard is likely faulty.
10 beeps CMOS checksum error. Something on the motherboard is causing an error when trying to interact with the CMOS.
11 beeps Bad cache memory. An error in the level 2 cache memory.
1 long beep, 2 short Failure in the video system.
1 long beep, 3 short A failure has been detected in memory above 64K.
1 long beep, 8 short Display test failure.
Continuous beeping A problem with the memory or video.
BIOS Beep Codes

Phoenix Beep Codes

Phoenix uses sequences of beeps to indicate problems. The "-" between each number below indicates a pause between each beep sequence. For example, 1-2-3 indicates one beep, followed by a pause and two beeps, followed by a pause and three beeps. Phoenix version before 4.x use 3-beep codes, while Phoenix versions starting with 4.x use 4-beep codes. Click here for AMI BIOS beep codes.
4-Beep Codes
Beep Code Meaning
1-1-1-3 Faulty CPU/motherboard. Verify real mode.
1-1-2-1 Faulty CPU/motherboard.
1-1-2-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
1-1-3-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. Initialize chipset registers with initial POST values.
1-1-3-2 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
1-1-3-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. Initialize CPU registers.
1-1-3-4 Failure in the first 64K of memory.
1-1-4-1 Level 2 cache error.
1-1-4-3 I/O port error.
1-2-1-1 Power management error.
1-2-1-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
1-2-2-1 Keyboard controller failure.
1-2-2-3 BIOS ROM error.
1-2-3-1 System timer error.
1-2-3-3 DMA error.
1-2-4-1 IRQ controller error.
1-3-1-1 DRAM refresh error.
1-3-1-3 A20 gate failure.
1-3-2-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
1-3-3-1 Extended memory error.
1-3-4-3 Error in first 1MB of system memory.
1-4-2-4 CPU error.
2-1-4-1 BIOS ROM shadow error.
1-4-3-3 Level 2 cache error.
2-1-1-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
2-1-2-1 IRQ failure.
2-1-2-3 BIOS ROM error.
2-1-3-2 I/O port failure.
2-1-3-3 Video system failure.
2-1-2-1 IRQ failure.
2-1-2-3 BIOS ROM error.
2-1-2-4 I/O port failure.
2-2-1-1 Video card failure.
2-2-2-3 Keyboard controller failure.
2-2-3-1 IRQ error.
2-2-4-1 Error in first 1MB of system memory.
2-3-3-3 Extended memory failure.
2-3-2-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
2-3-3-1 Level 2 cache error.
2-3-4-3 Motherboard or video card failure.
2-4-1-1 Motherboard or video card failure.
2-4-1-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
2-4-2-1 RTC error.
2-4-2-3 Keyboard controller error.
2-4-4-1 IRQ error.
3-1-2-3 I/O port error.
3-1-3-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
3-2-1-2 Floppy drive or hard drive failure.
3-2-1-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
3-2-2-1 Keyboard controller error.
3-2-4-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
3-2-4-3 IRQ error.
3-3-1-1 RTC error.
3-3-1-3 Key lock error.
3-3-3-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
3-4-4-4 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
4-1-1-1 Floppy drive or hard drive failure.
4-2-2-1 IRQ failure.
4-2-4-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
4-2-4-3 Keyboard controller error.
4-3-4-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
4-3-3-4 IRQ failure.
4-3-4-2 Floppy drive or hard drive failure.
3-Beep Codes
Beep Code Meaning
1-1-2 Faulty CPU/motherboard.
1-1-3 Faulty motherboard/CMOS read-write failure.
1-1-4 Faulty BIOS/BIOS ROM checksum error.
1-2-1 System timer not operational. There is a problem with the timer(s) that control functions on the motherboard.
1-2-3 Faulty motherboard/DMA failure.
1-3-1 Memory refresh failure.
1-3-4 Failure in the first 64K of memory.
1-4-1 Address line failure.
1-4-2 Parity RAM failure.
1-4-3 Timer failure.
1-4-4 NMI port failure.
2-_-_ Any combination of beeps after 2 indicates a failure in the first 64K of memory.
3-1-1 Master DMA failure.
3-1-2 Slave DMA failure.
3-1-4 Interrupt controller failure.
3-2-4 Keyboard controller failure.
3-3-2 CMOS error.
3-3-4 Video card failure.
3-4-1 Video card failure.
4-2-1 Timer failure.
4-2-2 CMOS shutdown failure.
4-2-3 Gate A20 failure.
4-2-4 Unexpected interrupt in protected mode.
4-3-1 RAM test failure.
4-3-3 Timer failure.
4-3-4 Time of day clock failure.
4-4-1 Serial port failure.
4-4-2 Parallel port failure.
4-4-3 Math coprocessor failure.

BandWidth Explained

2009-06-15T16:59:00.002+05:30

BandWidth Explained

Most hosting companies offer a variety of bandwidth options in their plans. So exactly what is bandwidth as it relates to web hosting? Put simply, bandwidth is the amount of traffic that is allowed to occur between your web site and the rest of the internet. The amount of bandwidth a hosting company can provide is determined by their network connections, both internal to their data center and external to the public internet.

Network Connectivity

The internet, in the most simplest of terms, is a group of millions of computers connected by networks. These connections within the internet can be large or small depending upon the cabling and equipment that is used at a particular internet location. It is the size of each network connection that determines how much bandwidth is available. For example, if you use a DSL connection to connect to the internet, you have 1.54 Mega bits (Mb) of bandwidth. Bandwidth therefore is measured in bits (a single 0 or 1). Bits are grouped in bytes which form words, text, and other information that is transferred between your computer and the internet.

If you have a DSL connection to the internet, you have dedicated bandwidth between your computer and your internet provider. But your internet provider may have thousands of DSL connections to their location. All of these connection aggregate at your internet provider who then has their own dedicated connection to the internet (or multiple connections) which is much larger than your single connection. They must have enough bandwidth to serve your computing needs as well as all of their other customers. So while you have a 1.54Mb connection to your internet provider, your internet provider may have a 255Mb connection to the internet so it can accommodate your needs and up to 166 other users (255/1.54).

Traffic

A very simple analogy to use to understand bandwidth and traffic is to think of highways and cars. Bandwidth is the number of lanes on the highway and traffic is the number of cars on the highway. If you are the only car on a highway, you can travel very quickly. If you are stuck in the middle of rush hour, you may travel very slowly since all of the lanes are being used up.

Traffic is simply the number of bits that are transferred on network connections. It is easiest to understand traffic using examples. One Gigabyte is 2 to the 30th power (1,073,741,824) bytes. One gigabyte is equal to 1,024 megabytes. To put this in perspective, it takes one byte to store one character. Imagine 100 file cabinets in a building, each of these cabinets holds 1000 folders. Each folder has 100 papers. Each paper contains 100 characters - A GB is all the characters in the building. An MP3 song is about 4MB, the same song in wav format is about 40MB, a full length movie can be 800MB to 1000MB (1000MB = 1GB).

If you were to transfer this MP3 song from a web site to your computer, you would create 4MB of traffic between the web site you are downloading from and your computer. Depending upon the network connection between the web site and the internet, the transfer may occur very quickly, or it could take time if other people are also downloading files at the same time. If, for example, the web site you download from has a 10MB connection to the internet, and you are the only person accessing that web site to download your MP3, your 4MB file will be the only traffic on that web site. However, if three people are all downloading that same MP at the same time, 12MB (3 x 4MB) of traffic has been created. Because in this example, the host only has 10MB of bandwidth, someone will have to wait. The network equipment at the hosting company will cycle through each person downloading the file and transfer a small portion at a time so each person's file transfer can take place, but the transfer for everyone downloading the file will be slower. If 100 people all came to the site and downloaded the MP3 at the same time, the transfers would be extremely slow. If the host wanted to decrease the time it took to download files simultaneously, it could increase the bandwidth of their internet connection (at a cost due to upgrading equipment).

Hosting Bandwidth

In the example above, we discussed traffic in terms of downloading an MP3 file. However, each time you visit a web site, you are creating traffic, because in order to view that web page on your computer, the web page is first downloaded to your computer (between the web site and you) which is then displayed using your browser software (Internet Explorer, Netscape, etc.) . The page itself is simply a file that creates traffic just like the MP3 file in the example above (however, a web page is usually much smaller than a music file).

A web page may be very small or large depending upon the amount of text and the number and quality of images integrated within the web page. For example, the home page for CNN.com is about 200KB (200 Kilobytes = 200,000 bytes = 1,600,000 bits). This is typically large for a web page. In comparison, Yahoo's home page is about 70KB.

How Much Bandwidth Is Enough?

It depends (don't you hate that answer). But in truth, it does. Since bandwidth is a significant determinant of hosting plan prices, you should take time to determine just how much is right for you. Almost all hosting plans have bandwidth requirements measured in months, so you need to estimate the amount of bandwidth that will be required by your site on a monthly basis

If you do not intend to provide file download capability from your site, the formula for calculating bandwidth is fairly straightforward:

Average Daily Visitors x Average Page Views x Average Page Size x 31 x Fudge Factor

If you intend to allow people to download files from your site, your bandwidth calculation should be:

[(Average Daily Visitors x Average Page Views x Average Page Size) +
(Average Daily File Downloads x Average File Size)] x 31 x Fudge Factor

Let us examine each item in the formula:

Average Daily Visitors - The number of people you expect to visit your site, on average, each day. Depending upon how you market your site, this number could be from 1 to 1,000,000.

Average Page Views - On average, the number of web pages you expect a person to view. If you have 50 web pages in your web site, an average person may only view 5 of those pages each time they visit.

Average Page Size - The average size of your web pages, in Kilobytes (KB). If you have already designed your site, you can calculate this directly.

Average Daily File Downloads - The number of downloads you expect to occur on your site. This is a function of the numbers of visitors and how many times a visitor downloads a file, on average, each day.

Average File Size - Average file size of files that are downloadable from your site. Similar to your web pages, if you already know which files can be downloaded, you can calculate this directly.

Fudge Factor - A number greater than 1. Using 1.5 would be safe, which assumes that your estimate is off by 50%. However, if you were very unsure, you could use 2 or 3 to ensure that your bandwidth requirements are more than met.

Usually, hosting plans offer bandwidth in terms of Gigabytes (GB) per month. This is why our formula takes daily averages and multiplies them by 31.

Summary

Most personal or small business sites will not need more than 1GB of bandwidth per month. If you have a web site that is composed of static web pages and you expect little traffic to your site on a daily basis, go with a low bandwidth plan. If you go over the amount of bandwidth allocated in your plan, your hosting company could charge you over usage fees, so if you think the traffic to your site will be significant, you may want to go through the calculations above to estimate the amount of bandwidth required in a hosting plan.

All About Spyware

2009-06-15T16:56:00.002+05:30

There are a lot of PC users that know little about "Spyware", "Mal-ware", "hijackers", "Dialers" & many more. This will help you avoid pop-ups, spammers and all those baddies.

What is spy-ware?

Spy-ware is Internet jargon for Advertising Supported software (Ad-ware). It is a way for shareware authors to make money from a product, other than by selling it to the users. There are several large media companies that offer them to place banner ads in their products in exchange for a portion of the revenue from banner sales. This way, you don't have to pay for the software and the developers are still getting paid. If you find the banners annoying, there is usually an option to remove them, by paying the regular licensing fee.

Known spywares

There are thousands out there, new ones are added to the list everyday. But here are a few:

Alexa, Aureate/Radiate, BargainBuddy, ClickTillUWin, Conducent Timesink, Cydoor, Comet Cursor, eZula/KaZaa Toptext, Flashpoint/Flashtrack, Flyswat, Gator, GoHip, Hotbar, ISTbar, Lions Pride Enterprises/Blazing Logic/Trek Blue, Lop (C2Media), Mattel Brodcast, Morpheus, NewDotNet, Realplayer, Songspy, Xupiter, Web3000, WebHancer, Windows Messenger Service.

A Basic Guide to the Internet

2009-06-12T23:20:00.001+05:30

The Internet is a computer network made up of thousands of networks worldwide. No one knows exactly how many computers are connected to the Internet. It is certain, however, that these number in the millions.

No one is in charge of the Internet. There are organizations which develop technical aspects of this network and set standards for creating applications on it, but no governing body is in control. The Internet backbone, through which Internet traffic flows, is owned by private companies.

All computers on the Internet communicate with one another using the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol suite, abbreviated to TCP/IP. Computers on the Internet use a client/server architecture. This means that the remote server machine provides files and services to the user's local client machine. Software can be installed on a client computer to take advantage of the latest access technology.

An Internet user has access to a wide variety of services: electronic mail, file transfer, vast information resources, interest group membership, interactive collaboration, multimedia displays, real-time broadcasting, shopping opportunities, breaking news, and much more.

The Internet consists primarily of a variety of access protocols. Many of these protocols feature programs that allow users to search for and retrieve material made available by the protocol.

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COMPONENTS OF THE INTERNET

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WORLD WIDE WEB
The World Wide Web (abbreviated as the Web or WWW) is a system of Internet servers that supports hypertext to access several Internet protocols on a single interface. Almost every protocol type available on the Internet is accessible on the Web. This includes e-mail, FTP, Telnet, and Usenet News. In addition to these, the World Wide Web has its own protocol: HyperText Transfer Protocol, or HTTP. These protocols will be explained later in this document.

The World Wide Web provides a single interface for accessing all these protocols. This creates a convenient and user-friendly environment. It is no longer necessary to be conversant in these protocols within separate, command-level environments. The Web gathers together these protocols into a single system. Because of this feature, and because of the Web's ability to work with multimedia and advanced programming languages, the Web is the fastest-growing component of the Internet.

The operation of the Web relies primarily on hypertext as its means of information retrieval. HyperText is a document containing words that connect to other documents. These words are called links and are selectable by the user. A single hypertext document can contain links to many documents. In the context of the Web, words or graphics may serve as links to other documents, images, video, and sound. Links may or may not follow a logical path, as each connection is programmed by the creator of the source document. Overall, the Web contains a complex virtual web of connections among a vast number of documents, graphics, videos, and sounds.

Producing hypertext for the Web is accomplished by creating documents with a language called HyperText Markup Language, or HTML. With HTML, tags are placed within the text to accomplish document formatting, visual features such as font size, italics and bold, and the creation of hypertext links. Graphics and multimedia may also be incorporated into an HTML document. HTML is an evolving language, with new tags being added as each upgrade of the language is developed and released. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), led by Web founder Tim Berners-Lee, coordinates the efforts of standardizing HTML. The W3C now calls the language XHTML and considers it to be an application of the XML language standard.

The World Wide Web consists of files, called pages or home pages, containing links to documents and resources throughout the Internet.

The Web provides a vast array of experiences including multimedia presentations, real-time collaboration, interactive pages, radio and television broadcasts, and the automatic "push" of information to a client computer. Programming languages such as Java, JavaScript, Visual Basic, Cold Fusion and XML are extending the capabilities of the Web. A growing amount of information on the Web is served dynamically from content stored in databases. The Web is therefore not a fixed entity, but one that is in a constant state of development and flux.

E-MAIL
Electronic mail, or e-mail, allows computer users locally and worldwide to exchange messages. Each user of e-mail has a mailbox address to which messages are sent. Messages sent through e-mail can arrive within a matter of seconds.

A powerful aspect of e-mail is the option to send electronic files to a person's e-mail address. Non-ASCII files, known as binary files, may be attached to e-mail messages. These files are referred to as MIME attachments.MIME stands for Multimedia Internet Mail Extension, and was developed to help e-mail software handle a variety of file types. For example, a document created in Microsoft Word can be attached to an e-mail message and retrieved by the recipient with the appropriate e-mail program. Many e-mail programs, including Eudora, Netscape Messenger, and Microsoft Outlook, offer the ability to read files written in HTML, which is itself a MIME type.

TELNET
Telnet is a program that allows you to log into computers on the Internet and use online databases, library catalogs, chat services, and more. There are no graphics in Telnet sessions, just text. To Telnet to a computer, you must know its address. This can consist of words (locis.loc.gov) or numbers (140.147.254.3). Some services require you to connect to a specific port on the remote computer. In this case, type the port number after the Internet address. Example: telnet nri.reston.va.us 185.

Telnet is available on the World Wide Web. Probably the most common Web-based resources available through Telnet have been library catalogs, though most catalogs have since migrated to the Web. A link to a Telnet resource may look like any other link, but it will launch a Telnet session to make the connection. A Telnet program must be installed on your local computer and configured to your Web browser in order to work.

With the increasing popularity of the Web, Telnet has become less frequently used as a means of access to information on the Internet.

FTP
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. This is both a program and the method used to transfer files between computers. Anonymous FTP is an option that allows users to transfer files from thousands of host computers on the Internet to their personal computer account. FTP sites contain books, articles, software, games, images, sounds, multimedia, course work, data sets, and more.

If your computer is directly connected to the Internet via an Ethernet cable, you can use one of several PC software programs, such as WS_FTP for Windows, to conduct a file transfer.

FTP transfers can be performed on the World Wide Web without the need for special software. In this case, the Web browser will suffice. Whenever you download software from a Web site to your local machine, you are using FTP. You can also retrieve FTP files via search engines such as FtpFind, located at /http://www.ftpfind.com/. This option is easiest because you do not need to know FTP program commands.

E-MAIL DISCUSSION GROUPS
One of the benefits of the Internet is the opportunity it offers to people worldwide to communicate via e-mail. The Internet is home to a large community of individuals who carry out active discussions organized around topic-oriented forums distributed by e-mail. These are administered by software programs. Probably the most common program is the listserv.

A great variety of topics are covered by listservs, many of them academic in nature. When you subscribe to a listserv, messages from other subscribers are automatically sent to your electronic mailbox. You subscribe to a listserv by sending an e-mail message to a computer program called a listserver. Listservers are located on computer networks throughout the world. This program handles subscription information and distributes messages to and from subscribers. You must have a e-mail account to participate in a listserv discussion group. Visit Tile.net at /http://tile.net/ to see an example of a site that offers a searchablecollection of e-mail discussion groups.

Majordomo and Listproc are two other programs that administer e-mail discussion groups. The commands for subscribing to and managing your list memberships are similar to those of listserv.

USENET NEWS
Usenet News is a global electronic bulletin board system in which millions of computer users exchange information on a vast range of topics. The major difference between Usenet News and e-mail discussion groups is the fact that Usenet messages are stored on central computers, and users must connect to these computers to read or download the messages posted to these groups. This is distinct from e-mail distribution, in which messages arrive in the electronic mailboxes of each list member.

Usenet itself is a set of machines that exchanges messages, or articles, from Usenet discussion forums, called newsgroups. Usenet administrators control their own sites, and decide which (if any) newsgroups to sponsor and which remote newsgroups to allow into the system.

There are thousands of Usenet newsgroups in existence. While many are academic in nature, numerous newsgroups are organized around recreational topics. Much serious computer-related work takes place in Usenet discussions. A small number of e-mail discussion groups also exist as Usenet newsgroups.

The Usenet newsfeed can be read by a variety of newsreader software programs. For example, the Netscape suite comes with a newsreader program called Messenger. Newsreaders are also available as standalone products.

FAQ, RFC, FYI
FAQ stands for Frequently Asked Questions. These are periodic postings to Usenet newsgroups that contain a wealth of information related to the topic of the newsgroup. Many FAQs are quite extensive. FAQs are available by subscribing to individual Usenet newsgroups. A Web-based collection of FAQ resources has been collected by The Internet FAQ Consortium and is available at /http://www.faqs.org/.

RFC stands for Request for Comments. These are documents created by and distributed to the Internet community to help define the nuts and bolts of the Internet. They contain both technical specifications and general information.

FYI stands for For Your Information. These notes are a subset of RFCs and contain information of interest to new Internet users.

CHAT & INSTANT MESSENGING
Chat programs allow users on the Internet to communicate with each other by typing in real time. They are sometimes included as a feature of a Web site, where users can log into the "chat room" to exchange comments and information about the topics addressed on the site. Chat may take other, more wide-ranging forms. For example, America Online is well known for sponsoring a number of topical chat rooms.

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a service through which participants can communicate to each other on hundreds of channels. These channels are usually based on specific topics. While many topics are frivolous, substantive conversations are also taking place. To access IRC, you must use an IRC software program.

A variation of chat is the phenomenon of instant messenging. With instant messenging, a user on the Web can contact another user currently logged in and type a conversation. Most famous is America Online's Instant Messenger. ICQ, MSN and Yahoo are other commonly-used chat programs.

MUD/MUSH/MOO/MUCK/DUM/MUSE
MUD stands for Multi User Dimension. MUDs, and their variations listed above, are multi-user virtual reality games based on simulated worlds. Traditionally text based, graphical MUDs now exist. There are MUDs of all kinds on the Internet, and many can be joined free of charge. For more information, read one of the FAQs devoted to MUDs available at the FAQ site at

10 reasons why PCs crash you must Know

2009-06-12T23:18:00.001+05:30

Fatal error: the system has become unstable or is busy," it says. "Enter to return to Windows or press Control-Alt-Delete to restart your computer. If you do this you will lose any unsaved information in all open applications." You have just been struck by the Blue Screen of Death. Anyone who uses Microsoft Windows will be familiar with this. What can you do? More importantly, how can you prevent it happening?

1. Hardware conflict

The number one reason why Windows crashes is hardware conflict. Each hardware device communicates to other devices through an interrupt request channel (IRQ). These are supposed to be unique for each device.

2. Bad Ram

Ram (random-access memory) problems might bring on the blue screen of death with a message saying Fatal Exception Error. A fatal error indicates a serious hardware problem. Sometimes it may mean a part is damaged and will need replacing.

3. BIOS settings

Every motherboard is supplied with a range of chipset settings that are decided in the factory. A common way to access these settings is to press the F2 or delete button during the first few seconds of a boot-up. Once inside the BIOS, great care should be taken. It is a good idea to write down on a piece of paper all the settings that appear on the screen. That way, if you change something and the computer becomes more unstable, you will know what settings to revert to. A common BIOS error concerns the CAS latency. This refers to the Ram. Older EDO (extended data out) Ram has a CAS latency of 3. Newer SDRam has a CAS latency of 2. Setting the wrong figure can cause the Ram to lock up and freeze the computer's display. Microsoft Windows is better at allocating IRQ numbers than any BIOS. If possible set the IRQ numbers to Auto in the BIOS. This will allow Windows to allocate the IRQ numbers (make sure the BIOS setting for Plug and Play OS is switched to 'yes' to allow Windows to do this.).

4. Hard disk drives

After a few weeks, the information on a hard disk drive starts to become piecemeal or fragmented. It is a good idea to defragment the hard disk every week or so, to prevent the disk from causing a screen freeze. Hard disks will slow down and crash if they are too full. Do some housekeeping on your hard drive every few months and free some space on it. Open the Windows folder on the C drive and find the Temporary Internet Files folder. Deleting the contents (not the folder) can free a lot of space. Empty the Recycle Bin every week to free more space. Hard disk drives should be scanned every week for errors or bad sectors.

5. Fatal OE exceptions and VXD errors

Fatal OE exception errors and VXD errors are often caused by video card problems. These can often be resolved easily by reducing the resolution of the video display.

6. Viruses

Often the first sign of a virus infection is instability. Some viruses erase the boot sector of a hard drive, making it impossible to start. This is why it is a good idea to create a Windows start-up disk. Go to

7. Printers

The action of sending a document to print creates a bigger file, often called a postscript file. Printers have only a small amount of memory, called a buffer. This can be easily overloaded. Printing a document also uses a considerable amount of CPU power. This will also slow down the computer's performance. If the printer is trying to print unusual characters, these might not be recognized, and can crash the computer. Sometimes printers will not recover from a crash because of confusion in the buffer. A good way to clear the buffer is to unplug the printer for ten seconds. Booting up from a powerless state, also called a cold boot, will restore the printer's default settings and you may be able to carry on.
8. Software
A common cause of computer crash is faulty or badly-installed software. Often the problem can be cured by uninstalling the software and then reinstalling it. The System Registry can be corrupted by old references to obsolete software that you thought was uninstalled. Use Reg Cleaner clean up the System Registry and remove obsolete entries.

9. Overheating

Central processing units (CPUs) are usually equipped with fans to keep them cool. If the fan fails or if the CPU gets old it may start to overheat and generate a particular kind of error called a kernel error. This is a common problem in chips that have been overclocked to operate at higher speeds than they are supposed to.

10. Power supply problems

With all the new construction going on around the country the steady supply of electricity has become disrupted. A power surge or spike can crash a computer as easily as a power cut. If this has become a nuisance for you then consider buying a uninterrupted power supply (UPS). This will give you a clean power supply when there is electricity, and it will give you a few minutes to perform a controlled shutdown in case of a power cut.

10 Fast and Free Security Enhancements

2009-06-12T23:04:00.001+05:30

Before you spend a dime on security, there are many precautions you can take that will protect you against the most common threats.

1. Check Windows Update and Office regularly on http://office.microsoft.com/productupdates have your Office CD ready. Windows Me, 2000, and XP users can configure automatic updates. Click on the Automatic Updates tab in the System control panel and choose the appropriate options.

2. Install a personal firewall. Both SyGate http://www.sygate.com/ and ZoneAlarm http://www.zonelabs.com/ offer free versions.

3. Install a free spyware blocker i.e SpyBot Search & Destroy ( http://security.kolla.de/ ). SpyBot is also paranoid and ruthless in hunting out tracking cookies.

4. Block pop-up spam messages in Windows NT, 2000, or XP by disabling the Windows Messenger service (this is unrelated to the instant messaging program). Open Control Panel Administrative Tools Services and you'll see Messenger. Right-click and go to Properties. Set Start-up Type to Disabled and press the Stop button. Bye-bye, spam pop-ups! Any good firewall will also stop them.

5. Use strong passwords and change them periodically. Passwords should have at least seven characters; use letters and numbers and have at least one symbol. A decent example would be g6jj9AS@h. This will make it much harder for anyone to gain access to your accounts.

6. If you're using Outlook or Outlook Express, use the current version or one with the Outlook Security Update installed. The update and current versions patch numerous vulnerabilities.

7. Buy antivirus software and keep it up to date. If you're not willing to pay, try AVG Free Edition ( http://www.grisoft.com/ ). And doublecheck your Anti Virus with the free, online-only scanners available at www.pandasoftware.com/activescan and http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

8. If you have a wireless network, turn on the security features: Use MAC filtering, turn off SSID broadcast, and even use WEP with the biggest key you can get. For more, check out our wireless section or see the expanded coverage in Your Unwired World in our next issue.

9. Join a respectable e-mail security list, such as the one found at our own Security Supersite at http://security.ziffdavis.com/ , so that you learn about emerging threats quickly and can take proper precautions.

10. Be skeptical of things on the Internet. Don't assume that e-mail "From:" a particular person is actually from that person until you have further reason to believe it's that person. Don't assume that an attachment is what it says it is. Don't give out your password to anyone, even if that person claims to be from "support."