Friday, January 30, 2009

Tips and Tricks to To Speed Up Your Computer Performance

Over time all the computers tends to slow down and this leads us to buy new hardware equipments to maintain the current speed flow and performance of the machine. These upgrades over time can turn to be very expensive and this is why I want to share with you guys some of ways that you can speed up your computer performance with a fractions of the price.

So are you ready?

First of all let me tell you why your computer is slowing down, I think this very important to know the reason behind the slow downs. You see over time your machine gets saturated with useless data, what I mean is that your computer is getting cluttered with garbage.

What do I mean by garbage?

Well, every time you install and uninstall any programs there will be always files left behind, mainly registry files. And these files will get cluttered over time. This is the main cause of the problem so to fix it you must remove the entire "garbage" registry left over files.

To do that you must use a Registry Cleaner software program, these kinds of programs will search and remove all the invalid, corrupted and left over registry files.

For more information about registry cleaners I strongly suggest visiting the link below.

Another way to speed up your machine is to remove the startup programs that you do not use often. To do this just go to home -> run and type "msconfig" and under the start up tab uncheck start up programs that you do not use often (restarting system may be required). By removing these start up programs you can free your computers memory by 30%. all the

A good way to use computer memory is to perform a disk de-fragmenter, this will organize your computer files and folder making it very easy to the machine to find the proper information. By doing this you will increase your computer speed by 20%.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com By Smit Chacha

Smit Chacha is a computer expert with over 8 years in the industry. He has an intimate knowledge of the windows registry and various register repair software.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

How do I choose my password?

Your password is more than just a key to your online account. If your password falls into the wrong hands, someone can easily impersonate you while online, sign your name to online service agreements or contracts, engage in transactions, or change your account information. So, choose your password carefully and then keep it safe from others.

A password is like a toothbrush: Choose a good one and don't share it. A password can be any length, and can contain spaces, symbols, or numbers. With so many options, you should be able to come up with a password that's easy for you to remember but impossible for someone else to figure out. A password is a secret that only you should know.

Here are some tips for choosing a strong password — one that is difficult to guess.

* Choose a password you'll remember. It should be memorable for you (so that you don't have to write it down or leave it in the open), but difficult for others to guess.
* Avoid using a word. Avoid a complete word from a dictionary (English or otherwise) or a name.
* Use at least 7 characters. The more characters your password contains, the harder it is for someone to guess it. A long but simple password can be safer than a short, complex one — and often easier to remember.
* Use a combination of capital and lowercase letters, numbers, and standard symbols (! @ # $ % ^ & *). Your Yahoo! password is case-sensitive, which means that a capital letter A is different from a lowercase a.
* Don't use personal information that someone could easily figure out. Avoid a password based on information easily obtained about you (like your birthday, your child or pet's name, phone number, license plate number, employer, school name, automobile brand, or street name). Don't use a password you already use for another account, such as your bank account PIN. And don't use your user name in any form (such as reversed, capitalized, or doubled).
* Avoid the obvious. Don't make it easy for attackers by repeating a digit or letter (like "111111" or "FFFFFF") or any other common sequence of characters (like "123456"). Stay away from obvious passwords such as "test" or "password." When you change your password, change several characters; don't just append a number like "2" to the end. And make sure anyone watching you enter your password can't guess it as you type (such as a password typed using a single hand, like "qwerty").
* Put a new spin on a familiar phrase. Pick a favorite phrase or lyric for your password. To shorten it, substitute letters with a number or a standard symbol or remove vowels. For example, "fredsboy" can be made into "Fr3d$boy." Shorten "two tickets to paradise" to "2Tickets2Paradiz," or combine "cat" and "dog" into "cAt!Do8."
* If you use a password generator, be careful. Make sure you can identify and trust the creator of a password management or generator program. Never share any personal information unless you trust the company or person you're working with. Online password-generator programs can help you create a random password that is generally harder to crack but also more difficult to remember.

Protect your privacy by choosing a strong password!!!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Smart tip: Get a loan without interest!

Credit cards are like double-edged swords; if you are not careful you can get hurt. Now that you have been warned, take a look at your credit card features closely and you will find ways to use it to your advantage. Before we begin, let us get an answer to one basic question: What is a credit card? It is a loan which you can take when you swipe the card and you repay the money when the bill comes. The good part about this kind of facility is that you can actually enjoy an interest free loan. How? By paying up during the 'free credit period'.
What is free credit period?
The credit card companies offer you an interest free credit period of anywhere between 20 and 52 days, after you swipe your card. The terms vary across different credit cards.
How do you know what is your free credit period?
Your credit card company, generally, follows a monthly billing cycle. You will get bills or credit card statements on a particular day of every month. The bill will mention the due date within which you need to make the due payment. Usually, you have around 10 to 20 days from the last day of the billing cycle to pay the charges.
The interest free period will work out to 40 to 50 days including the billing cycle plus the number of days leading up to the due date.
What is the advantage?
There are two advantages. The first, obviously, is that you get a little more time to pay off your bills. The second, is that you can use this as a free loan instead of dipping into your bank account.
How do you use it to your advantage?
The trick is to time your purchases in a way that you can get maximum free credit period. Of course, it's worth the effort only if you are making big ticket purchases, the interest cost on which would have otherwise been high.
Example: Let's assume the billing cycle starts from the 1st of every month ending at 30th of every month. That is, my bill for transaction from 1st May to 30th May will come on 1st June. Let us also assume that my bill due date is the 20th of every month, so in this case, it is 20th of June. So, if you make a purchase on the 1st of May, you will get to enjoy 49 days of interest free period. That is, 29 days before the billing cycle ends plus the 20 days you get before your due date for the bill amount.
On the other hand if you make a purchase on the 25th of the month your interest free period will be only 25 days (5 before the billing cycle ends and the 20 days before your due date). How does this benefit you financially?
Let us look at this example:
Situation 1: On 1st May, you buy a plasma TV costing Rs 1 lakh in full cash, that is, by issuing a cheque out of your bank account.
Situation 2:On 1st May, you buy the TV using your credit card and avail a free credit period of 50 days. That means, the Rs 1 lakh is still in your bank account for 50 days. At an interest rate of 4 per cent on a 50 day deposit, the interest works out to Rs 300.
Situation 3: Instead of 1st May, you buy buy the TV using your credit card on 25th May and avail a free credit period of 25 days. That means, the Rs 1 lakh is still in your bank account for 50 days. At an interest rate of 4 per cent on a 50 day fixed deposit, the interest works out to Rs 150.

Are there any terms and conditions?
Fine print has a way of getting in the way of happiness. To avoid this, scan the terms and conditions of the credit card company carefully. It, usually, mentions that the free credit period will cease to exist if you carry forward balance from the previous month. That is, you need to make your card payments in full each time to be eligible for this feature.
In all, judicious use of the credit card will provide you the maximum free credit period on your card. So, the next time you go shopping, time your purchases in such a way that you get the maximum credit free period.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Are You Ready For the New Windows 7?

Windows 7 is the new upcoming version of the Microsoft Windows operating systems. People are looking forward to having this version of Windows because Windows Vista didn't live up to its name, it was buggy and had some problems. Most reliable Microsoft Windows to this day is Windows XP. Windows 7 was codenamed Blackcomb and Vienna when it was in preparation.

Unlike Windows Vista that has a great layout and visual quality, Windows 7 will be more compatible, it will support all previous software that worked on past versions of Windows and it will be an a lot faster and better operating system.

Windows 7 will bring some major updates to some Windows features. For example advances in handwriting recognition, better performance with multi-core processors, kernel upgrades, support for virtual hard drives, better boot performance, etc. Many new features will be added to the control panel, so you will be able to customize your operating system even more then you could before. The taskbar will be changed to, the quick launch icon has been removed and replaced with pinning programs and applications to the taskbar. The new task bar is easier and more practical, but maybe you will need some time to get used to it. The new layout has some practical features and it can make some of your Windows transparent just by dragging your mouse over the icon, which can be really helpful in some situations.

Microsoft has published information on minimum system requirements needed to use Windows 7. Microsoft has released an application that works as an advisor, it scans your computer to see if it is compatible for Windows 7.

For 32 bit system minimum system requirements for Windows 7 are following: 1 GB of RAM, Processor should be minimum 1 GHz, graphic card should support direct x 9 and it should have at least 128 MB of graphics memory, it requires 16 GB of hard disk space. For 64 bit things are different: At least 2 GB of RAM, processor 1 GHz, Graphic card that supports direct x 9 with 128 MB of graphics memory and at least 20 GB of free hard disk space is required for installation.

Some features that Windows Vista had are removed in order to maximize the performance. Your computer should work really fine when using Windows 7 because the main goal when making Windows 7 was to fix the previous problems and make it stable and reliable. Layout for Windows 7 looks great and it looks like they have really paid attention to making it functional and user friendly rather than putting make up on something that doesn't work but looks nice. This is the idea most people had that used Vista.

Your computer will certainly work great when using Windows 7 if it has the minimum system requirements, but it is always better to have computer that does not only mach minimum operating requirements but is even better configured. Windows 7 will run smoothly even on computers that are outdated, it is only needed to have requirements earlier mentioned in the text. It looks like Microsoft is finally making something as good as Windows XP, maybe even better.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com By Jay Lee Johnson

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Now, a credit card that cannot be stolen!

Your online shopping just got easier and safer with the virtual credit card. But, what's a virtual card? A virtual card is just like your credit/debit card; only it isn't tangible. It was introduced to check the rising instance of fraudulent transactions over the Internet.

How does it work?

Many banks offer this facility but the process works differently with different banks. However, here’s a general outline:
Let's assume you have a bank account with ABC Bank. Now, follow these steps to get your very own card.
Step 1: Log on to your online account
Step 2: Register for the use of this virtual card
Step 3: Fill in the amount you will need for shopping
Step 4: The bank will generate an exclusive 16 digit number, a CVV2 number and expiry date for this virtual card
There you go, you are ready for shopping online. However, the card will be valid only for a particular period of time; usually, it’s valid for 24 hours. So, you need to use it within that time frame. It can be used at any merchant website, which accepts the service provider (VISA, Master card) mentioned in the card.
Features of a virtual card:

1. It is a safe and risk-free option
2. It has temporary PIN numbers, which assures safety
3. It is time bound; one needs to use it within the time limit specified before the virtual card expires
4. You need to set a limit to your spending and will be eligible to avail the amount specified on the card, which is dependent on the credit limit of your credit card or cash reserves on your debit card.
5. You can use both your credit card and debit card to generate your virtual card!
6. The balance amount, if any, will be credited back to the main account.
There are a few disadvantages: There could be delay in shipping merchandise, as the merchants might wait to receive the money before dispatch of goods.
Also, you need to complete a transaction within 24 hours. So, forget about paying at your leisure. Once a transaction has been completed successfully, the card cannot be used a second time. There is also a spending limit of Rs 50,000 with most banks that you need to keep in mind.
Cost
Most banks provide the use of a virtual card for free. You only need to be registered with online banking, and you can generate several virtual cards in a day.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Live Event Video Streaming is the Next Big Thing!

The internet has become the most important invention of the modern era! You would think it's the automobile, television, ultrasound or even the space shuttle. No, it's the internet! More people surf the internet in more countries then actually own automobiles. It used to be that the popular discussion was how may televisions the average family owned but now its how many computers. It's no wonder that a large portion of the job sector has gone to the internet over the last fifteen years and it's no wonder that every person on the planet has secrete dreams of becoming the next big thing on the internet.

Countless people have been able to develop loyal fan followings on social networking sites like you tube like a certain obsessed Brittany Spears fan! He was able to obtain is several minutes of fame and even secured a reality series on cable television. The new lead singer of Journey was observed by the band on MySpace and was immediately thrust into the spotlight as the group's new lead singer. In the era of unedited news that gets delivered at record setting pace it's no wonder that everywhere you look you'll find someone willing to step into the shining light of fame.

So you want to be that person? MySpace is played out and you don't feel like learning "The flight of the wounded bumble bee" on guitar to show the Youtube world that you are the next Nuno Bettencourt? Instead of going the route of "over played police chase" save yourself a few years of prison time and figure out how to maximize live event video streaming. This is the wave of the future. As "reality" gets put back into the hands of real people and artists take control of their creative outlets from the historically narrow-minded and greedy promoters you're going to find that live event video streaming will become the must have medium on the internet.

Rock bands have already begun to use closed circuit broadcasting to share their live concerts to people around the world and the NFL has successfully broadcasted their games via live stream to theaters in several cities. The wave of the future is already here and it's time for you to figure out how to use it to find your place in internet history!

It won't be long before you turn on your computer and see banner ads for live concerts, television and historical events that will be broadcast in high definition right to your computer. It's up to you to find the creative source to make your mark. Once it becomes the must have item there is little chance you'll be able to ride the wave to the bank and then you'll be left looking for the next big thing.

Article Source: ArticleStreet.com

Monday, January 12, 2009

Are Hard Disks Going to be Obsolete in a Few Years from Now?

Are Hard Disks Going to be Obsolete in a Few Years from Now?

Hard drives have ruled the roost in the world of computers and laptops for the last few decades. They enjoy complete dominance as primary data storage devices and have now even begun to be used in such consumer electronics devices as DVD players and mobile phones.

There has been no technology until now that was able to come close to hard drives in terms of data storage capacity, reliability, functionality and cost. The commonly available hard drives have capacities of 80 GB, 120 GB and 160 GB. This is a huge amount of storage space available to a typical computer user. Hard drives are also quite cost-effective and easily affordable by anyone.

However, they have some drawbacks. The drives are based on decades-old technology and their basic design has remained more or less the same over the years. They are notorious for crashing unexpectedly, leaving the users staring at the prospects of total data loss. Also, hard drives are mechanical and have many moving parts which undergo tremendous wear and tear in the space of just a couple of years. There is an entire range of data-recovery companies which today caters exclusively to recovering data from crashed or damaged hard drives! It seems, though, that things are finally going to change in the near future.

Over the last three or four years, an entire new data storage industry of solid-state devices (SSDs) has emerged that has begun to look like a serious threat to the market dominance of the tried and trusted hard-disk technology. The flash-based drives and data storage media have steadily gained in popularity with computer users.

SSDs have always been the storage devices of choice for use in digital cameras. Commonly available flash-based memory cards come in capacities of 1 GB to 5 GB and can store thousands of high-resolution pictures. SSD storage media is also being used in mobile phones to store pictures taken from built-in cameras as well as for holding hundreds of songs that a user can listen to anytime.

SSDs have many advantages over hard disks for storing digital data. For one, they are very small, no larger than your thumb, and weigh very less. This considerably reduces the weight of digital cameras, laptops and mobile phones which a typical user has to carry with him in person.

Additionally, SSDs have no moving parts. Thus, there is no question of wear and tear or generating heat through friction. There is no maintenance cost involved with SSDs because there are no mechanical components which may go bad or need replacement over time.

Another benefit of these SSDs is that they hardly use any electricity to store or access data. There are no platters to be spun around by a spindle motor like in a hard drive and there is no elaborate circuitry that may get fried or corrupted. It is simply one single piece of solid state memory with a tough plastic coating. This energy-saving feature of SSDs is a boon for laptops which currently have to expend a large amount of battery power in operating their hard disks on which reside all data, software and operating system.

Flash-based SSDs have long been used in computers and laptops in the shape of tiny USB Flash drives for storing and transporting digital data. These drives have had a couple of drawbacks – price and capacity -- that until now prevented their large-scale use in computers as primary storage media. However, recent developments have given a major boost to the potential of flash-based drives as an alternative to hard disks.

Early this year, SanDisk corporation launched a new 32-GB solid-state drive for use in computers and laptops. It is unbelievably fast, boasting of a data-access speed that is 100 times faster than a hard drive. One can only imagine the speed at which it will allow a computer to boot up as well as load software! If this is the shape of things to come, then, indeed, it seems that the mechanical hard drives are going to be an endangered species in the next six or seven years.

The only problem with SSDs is their price, which is exorbitant compared to the storage capacity that hard drives can offer for the same amount of money. However, it is still early days. As the technology matures and scale of production increases manifold, it is only a matter of time before flash-based drives become as high capacity and inexpensive as hard drives.

When that happens, there will be a paradigm shift overnight and large-capacity flash-based drives will take the place of hard drives as the primary storage media of computers and laptops. The hard drives would then become obsolete and go the way of floppy drives – consigned to the history bin of the information technology industry.

By: James Walsh

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Are these your problems with Windows?

Assuming most of the desktops in your current enterprise are installed with Windows XP (SP2/SP3) or Windows 2000, here is a list of problems you (administrator) might be facing with them.


Problems:


1. The users on most of the desktops use administrative accounts to work on their PCs. This is usually done so as to enable to users to do all the common tasks on their PCs themselves, but this may pose problems like:



a. Users can install software themselves. Once installed, software can compromise the overall health and control of the PC, as well as introduce security and data compliance issues. With every new piece of unknown software installed, desktop performance, security, and supportability is gradually compromised.



b. No asset inventory control or license management. This can leave you in a position where you don’t know what has been installed and whether or not you have a license for the software.



c. Important data files are often changed or deleted. With administrator accounts, users have full access to the system and can often delete files that are required for system stability and reliability or even booting into the operating system, running applications or performing other day-to-day tasks



d. End users are able to change core system configurations. Users with admin rights can install drivers, change firewall settings, deactivate services, or deactivate anti-malware software, and add additional user accounts.



e. Users are not restricted from attaching devices to their PCs. With unauthorized storage devices connected (such as USB drives and MP3 players), users can easily lose or steal important data, load malware onto PCs, or misuse company assets with personal devices.



f. Systems cannot be centrally managed. In many cases software is not centrally distributed or tracked. If that is the case, computers will require manual setup and configuration.



2. Many applications are written to require admin privileges. This is often because software developers tend to develop as local administrators. Many applications are designed to assume that administrative privileges are present.



3. Applications can save their data (installation files, registry keys, and runtime data) to random locations. Applications written this way are difficult to support, because each application functions in a different way. If something breaks, it is difficult to troubleshoot the problem. For example- applications may store unknown file formats in “Program Files’ folder during installation.



So what is the ideal way in which the Windows systems must be managed and how can that state be achieved?



Read my next blog on what should be done to tackle these problems proactively, and the third one in the series on how can it be done.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Orkut is barned. Muhahaha!! Here is the solution!

Are you not able to use Orkut from your home computer??

"Orkut is banned you fool, The administrators didnt write this program
guess who did?? MUHAHAHA!!"

Are you not able to use Firefox on your computer??

Here is the solution!

If you find those messages when you try to brows; chances are your computer is affected with a virus called w32.USB worm...

w32.USB Worm

It is spreading through Pen,USB,Thump disk thats why the name

It shows messages like

"I DNT HATE MOZILLA BUT USE IE OR ELSE..."

"USE INTERNET EXPLORER U DOPE"

"Orkut is banned you fool, The administrators didnt write this program
guess who did?? MUHAHAHA!!" with title ORKUT IS BANNED

hi if u c any of the following msgs while u r working on your pc

you are possibly infected with a worm "w32.usb worm"

solution:
*********

1. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL and go to the processes tab

2. Look for "svchost.exe" under the image name. There will be many but
look for the ones which have your username under the username
[username : it is ur login name or default user name which you might have
provided. if you are still not sure open start button. the one that
appears on the top is your "username"]

3. Press DEL to kill these files. It will give you a warning, Press Yes

4. Repeat for more svchost.exe files with your username and repeat. Do
not kill svchost.exe with system, local service or network service!

5. Now open run command start>run> and type "command" without quotes

now you will see the command prompt.
x:\docume~1\
where x [mostly c] is your main drive and is the login name.
now in the command prompt type as follows

c:\docume~1\ cd\
[this will send u to the root directory i.e. C: in this case]

now

c:\attrib heap41a -s -h
[will remove the system and hidden attributes of the folder "heap41a"
which is the main worm planted folder for autorun]

c:\rem heap41a
this will remove the heap41a folder from ur system.
if it is not allowed try logoff n login again n go to the command
promt again n C:\rem heap41a
now it must b removed

now the final part
open run command type "regedit"
search for "heap41a" without quotes [use f3 function key for searching]
and delete them

now you are free to open orkut.

finally also check one more thg.
i.e. open my computer>tools> folder options>view tab>
check vit the hidden folders n files
check if unhide is working
if it is not working then possibly u might have been infected vit
"Ravmon.exe"

try installing some anti spyware software like "adaware" and scan your pc
for removal.

thats it.

Don't forget to update your anti virus regularly.....

Search The Fire Seal

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