What You Want to Know About Technology

What is Proxy means

2009-08-19T07:42:00.000+07:00

In computer networks, a proxy server is a server, that could be a computer system or an application program that acts as a go-between for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. In other word, proxy server called man in the midle between real server on internet and the client. Simple work from a proxy server, client connects to server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource, available from a different server that allocate on other network. The proxy server evaluates the request according to its filtering rules. For example, it may filter traffic by protocol, time access, or IP address. If the request is validated by the filter, the proxy provides the resource by connecting to the relevant server and requesting the service on behalf of the client. A proxy server may optionally alter the client's request or the server's response, and sometimes it may serve the request without contacting the specified server. In this case, it 'caches' responses from the remote server, and returns subsequent requests for the same content directly. With this use, our connection to internet will be more simple because we didn't need to contact the real server to have what we want. We can set our proxy server to update the data to synchronous with the real server.
A proxy server has two main purposes:

To keep machines behind it anonymous. It's really help us to keep our privacy and network security.
To speed up access to a resource (via caching). It is commonly used to cache web pages from a web server.

A proxy server that passes requests and replies unmodified is usually called a gateway or sometimes tunneling proxy. A proxy server can be placed in the user's local computer or at various points between the user and the destination servers or the Internet. A reverse proxy is a proxy used as a front-end to accelerate and cache in-demand resources (such as a web page).

Collaboration between Facebook with Twitter

2009-08-07T07:17:00.004+07:00

We all know Facebook is a most growth social networking in internet. It's connect so many people so easily and make a distance has no meaning. Also with Twitter, this is a mini blog with high growing rate as well as Facebook does. Now we will make a collaboration between this two powerfull site. We will make an update from Facebook will be appear in our Twitter homepage and vice versa.

Facebook make an update to Twitter
First, find your status RSS feed on Facebook. It is buried. To find it, we need to visit our profile and on our mini-feed select "See All". On the right you will see a list of items, select “status stories” and finally below this a feed link can be found. Finally add your newly found status RSS feed to the TwitterFeed service. In this step, we can set our update frequentcy, prefixed it with "From Facebook..." and am publishing just the title from the status feed.
Twitter make an update to Facebook
The official Twitter Facebook app (found here: http://apps.facebook.com/twitter/) has an option after you install it to update your Facebook status with your latest tweet. We need to understand that there is a delay if you use twitter frequently. But overall it's really powerfull to make frequently update for both with one update in a side.

Both Facebook and Twitter have pretty extensive APIs that you can develop applications against. With these a lot is certainly possible, but it would take development time and effort to write the code necessary to accomplish whatever else you might want to do. Also keep in mind that "everything" isn't possible. The APIs are limited in certain respects, specially where privacy, technical, or other issues might be involved.

What is set associative mapping

2009-03-01T19:36:00.000+07:00

set associative cache - A compromise between a direct mapped cache and a fully associative cache where each address is mapped to a certain set of cache locations. The address space is divided into blocks of 2^m bytes (the cache line size), discarding the bottom m address bits. An "n-way set associative" cache with S sets has n cache locations in each set. Block b is mapped to set "b mod S" and may be stored in any of the n locations in that set with its upper address bits as a tag. To determine whether block b is in the cache, set "b mod S" is searched associatively for the tag.A direct mapped cache could be described as "one-way set associative", i.e. one location in each set whereas a fully associative cache is N-way associative (where N is the total number of blocks in the cache). Performance studies have shown that it is generally more effective to increase the number of entries rather than associativity and that 2- to 16-way set associative caches perform almost as well as fully associative caches at little extra cost over direct mapping.

source : http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/set+associative+cache

Have a blog, so make money from it

2008-12-14T10:21:00.003+07:00

Every people who alway visit internet know about blog. Yes, a blog. Blog is a personal website that we can make without know about web programming. Thats the truth, a common user can make a blog so easy, just click and click then finish and you have create a blog. Blog is like online diary, most of user write down on their blog about their daily activities.

But does everyone know how to make money from that hobby, blogging?. Maybe there is a lot of blog user doesnt know about it. advertise on blogs are one of many way to monetize your blog. There is many way around internet, but this is the most used by blogger in common. For example, there are PTC ( pay to click ), PTR ( pay to review ) and many more.

Payingpost.com is one of the most popular program in review program. You just need to submit your blog, wait for reviewing by the payingpost.com crew, and make money with post a review that you can get. In payingpost.com we receive the payment with paypal transfer. It give a more reliable transfering money and it so secure. Many blogger have receive their payment and give testimonials that say payingpost.com is the best pay per review program in internet.

Payingpost.com has a good website looking,eye candy looking. Once you got there, you will know what you have to do. Sign up for new account is the first way for you. If you have any question, there is a crew that can answer all your question about this program with IM. They will be so pleasure to help you.

If you want to know more, read this article carefully. I suggest you that have a blog, you have to follow my way. Run your hobby, create money. Do you like it, right? I've join this payingpost.com for a long time, and I have a good income from it. I can work at home, enjoy my life, and I have money from my hobby.

Technology And The Whistleblower

2008-12-04T08:27:00.000+07:00

As the meeting comes to a close, your boss smirks with an self assured arrogance. He then says that you should seriously consider his offer, because he has it on good authority, that there may be a very localized downsizing in your department. Wouldn’t it be nice to smirk back and just say “no thanks”.

This scenario plays out more often then most people realize. With all of the recent business and government scandals there were a lot of people who knew that books were being cooked, laws being broken and the health of the public being put at risk, just to keep profits high and investors content. Many people felt that there was nothing they could do against powerful executives and corrupt bureaucrats. The credibility of a low level employee compared to that of a ‘successful’ corporate executive is a huge hurdle to overcome. Also, corporate lawyers are there to defend the company, even from internal hazards. So, once a person decides to speak up, they must be prepared to have their credibility brutally attacked and the onslaught of legal preceding from an all-star team of corporate lawyers.

Just the thought of legal proceedings can stop a person from making the ethical choice. It’s easy for people to be vilified by their employer, at which point the credibility of the person speaking out is destroyed. How is possible for a single person to fight a company or government with infinite resources? Many years ago, it was practically impossible. However, the “digital revolution” may have changed the balance of power. For a “whistleblower” to be effective they need proof of wrong doing and a method to communicate those issues to the public. The availability of compact electronic devices such as digital audio recorders and digital cameras allow an individual to document many of the issues and bring the power back to the whistleblower.

The first piece of technology that should be in every whistleblowers repertoire is a digital audio recorder. These devices are so small that they can be put in a shirt pocket without being noticed. Once you decide to “blow the whistle” you should start recording all of your conversations. Keep a log of the items discussed, so that you can refer to the appropriate recording when needed, otherwise you can spend hours going back over the content. The best part is that these devices are not expensive. A digital voice recorder costs about $100, or many times MP3 players have a microphone built into the device, so they can be used to record conversations.

Another device that is very handy is a voice modem with telephone recording software. This will allow you to, hook up your phone, and record any conversations that occur over the phone. If you get fired before you have all the evidence, sometimes telephone conversations, with the people in power, can help to document important facts, because people very rarely think they are being recorded and say things that they probably should not have.

Make sure you check your local laws regarding conversation recording. In most places it is legal to record with one-party consent. One-party consent means that if you are involved in the conversation, you do not need to notify the other parties that you are recording the conversation. In Canada, one-party consent is the law. In the United States it is a little more complicated, as some states have their own regulations. You can refer to this recording law chart (http://www.snakeoil.ca/docs/recordinglaw.html) to determine what laws affect you. If in doubt, speak with a lawyer.

The third device every whistleblower should have is a digital camera. Many times the violations are in manufacturing or packaging, which could be a public health concern. These can be very hard to document and prove, since the paper records may be manipulated. A picture says a thousand words though, and will help authorities uncover doctored documents. When taking pictures be very cautious as most companies prohibit camera’s on their premises. Many cell phones are now equipped with digital camera’s, so they are easier to conceal. Take as many pictures as you can and try to prove the date you took them. Some camera have a date stamp feature, even though this is easy to manipulate. The best option is to take a picture of the daily newspaper beside the offending subject. This is very hard for lawyers to argue against and disprove that the violations did occurred on that particular date.

The last piece of equipment needed is a computer. When the authorities begin investigating your complaint, you will need to produce your evidence such as documents pointing to the issues. Most corporations are moving towards a paperless environment, which means that these documents will only be accessible by a computer. The other important part your computer plays, is to backup all of those images and audio recordings. Make sure your computer has a CD writer or DVD writer. Take these backups and put them somewhere secure, like a bank deposit box.

One area of concern is the removal of corporate documents from the office. This can violate many legal agreements you may have signed. If you are worried about this, there is a very simple solution. Backup all of the evidence files at work and stash them somewhere in the office. In the ceiling or in duct work is a great place. Basically, anywhere nobody ever looks. When it is time to produce these documents, simply tell the authorities that you have stashed them in a safe place at the office. The evidence is kept safe and you haven’t violated any agreements, a win-win situation.

In the future, companies may begin banning digital devices from the workplace for the exact reasons being discussed here. However, if were are persistent, it may go the other way and corporate behaviour may change, which is the ultimate goal of being a whistleblower. The days of “plausible deniability” and “disgruntled employees” are disappearing quickly.

Writer : Darcy O'Neil
Source :
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/computers_and_internet/article_1811.shtml

OpenOffice 3.0 Final

2008-12-03T23:39:00.002+07:00

OpenOffice.org 3 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.

Great Software requires great people. OpenOffice.org 3 is the result of over twenty years' continuous high quality software engineering. Designed from the start as a single piece of software, OpenOffice.org 3 has a consistency and a quality that is world class. Its open-source development model means there are no secrets.
Roll your mouse over the screenshots for more details of the main components (requires javascript).

Easy to choose, easy to install, easy to learn - OpenOffice.org 3 is the easy choice for an office software suite. OpenOffice.org 3 is suitable for complete beginners, but if you have used any other office software, that's ok too. OpenOffice.org 3 will make full use of what you already know - through familiar screens and menus - and also what you have - by reading existing files with no retyping.

You may use OpenOffice.org 3 for any purpose without restriction: private, educational, public administration, commercial...

download link http://rapidshare.com/files/152437306/OOo_3.0.0_Win32Intel_install_en-US.exe

What is VPS??

2008-12-03T01:22:00.000+07:00

A Virtual Private Server (VPS) is a hosting environment that combines the benefits of both shared hosting and dedicated hosting. It does this by creating a virtual server that runs inside a hardware server via a specially designed partition.

Each Virtual Private Server partition runs its own operating system in a secure and private environment and cannot be accessed or interrupted by its neighbours. This system gives you the same level of root access as a dedicated server whilst sharing the cost of the hardware. With a VPS you are virtually running your own server but at a fraction of the cost.
The flexibility of a dedicated server

Users share system resources, such as the CPU and memory, but unlike shared hosting (a virtual host on a shared hardware server ) the file system is fully partitioned. This means that up-time is more consistent; while root access to the server provides the flexibility to add and change modules and to install your own software.
As cost effective as shared hosting

Partitioning a single hardware server into multiple servers is nothing new. In fact, mainframe computers have long been partitioned into multiples. In 1996, Japanese giant Verio started to migrate the technique into hosting as a highly cost-effective storage solution.
How much technical knowledge do I need?

All our VPS options include the Plesk control panel, which makes it easier to administer your websites and services.

However, because a VPS gives you root-level access, allowing you to install whatever software you like, you will need some technical knowledge and understanding of how servers work to run a VPS effectively.
Why call it VPS 2.0?

We've called our new VPS range VPS 2.0 because of our next generation improvements to both performance and hardware. Our servers are 9th generation Dell machines with embedded Intel® Virtualization (VT®) optimisation in the Intel® boards. They are designed by Dell specifically to ramp up VPS performance.

The inclusion of the very latest range of software and control panels for Windows and Linux is accompanied by price reductions across the range so we're increasing performance, features and value at exactly the same time.
Powerful partnerships working for you

We've partnered with SWsoft to offer you a choice between Ubuntu Linux and Microsoft Windows virtual private server systems, making us the first UK host to deliver Windows SQL Server 2005 VPS hosting using the latest Plesk 8 and Virtuozzo Power Panel technology.

All VPS 2.0 systems are hosted on Dell PowerEdge 2950 servers with quad-core Intel® Xeon® processors for maximum multi-tasking performance and 15,000 RPM SCSI RAID 10 drives for data speed and integrity.

As we're a certified Intel Server Centre of Excellence using a Tier 1 Network with 50,000 Mbit Connectivity, you can also trust we set the access, speed and safety benchmarks you need.

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Carlsberg launches Web-TV

2008-11-25T23:52:00.002+07:00

Who didnt know football?
www.partofthegame.tv

Almost every poeple in this world love this game. Oldman or youngman, man and women, has no different in this game. Maybe you loose your football club match? Don't worry about that, you can find it in Partofthegame.tv. Partofthegame.tv is one from a lot of web tv that give you what you want.

Carlsberg web-tv has so much galery of various match around the world. Find and search what you want to see, especialy football moment.
Be sure not to miss the video clips about football funnies and rituals from the Football Magic.

Routing Versus Bridging

2008-11-23T17:00:00.003+07:00

When Connecting to the Wireless, xDSL or Cable Network 
Summary:
 
As wireless, cable and xDSL technologies emerge, a growing consideration is how to connect to the network. Although much can be said about different methods, it really boils down to two: bridging or routing.  Now for those experienced in networking, they will know that this question has been around since routing and bridging technologies have been. However the new element here is that the discussions always centered on LAN’s and/or private WAN’s. When connecting to the Internet there are new considerations to keep in mind when making your decision. This technical document is geared for those who need assistance in the decision for choosing what equipment and how to connect to the cable or xDSL network.
 
Background:
 
Now before we can argue routing versus bridging (or vice versa for that matter) we need to be clear on what both devices are and how they behave. So let’s define each one:
 
Bridge:
A bridge is a device that connects two segments of the same network. The two networks being connected can be alike or dissimilar. Unlike routers, bridges are protocol-independent. They simply forward packets without analyzing and re-routing messages. 
 
Router:
A router is a device that connects two distinct networks. Routers are similar to bridges, but provide additional functionality, such as the ability to filter messages and forward them to different places based on various criteria. The Internet uses routers extensively to forward packets from one host to another. 
 
Based on these definitions we can see that key difference between a bridge and router is that a bridge does not look at protocols and a router does. A bridge does not look at traffic for the purpose of allowing or disallowing it, and it does not decide what to do with certain types of traffic; it simply moves data from one network to another. Whereas a router examines protocols and decides what to do with each packet based on defined criteria.
 
Router vs. Bridge in Cable & DSL Environments
 
When you order Internet access either via a cable or xDSL connection, they will offer you a bridge (although it may often be called a “modem,” it is a bridge). These are very low cost (usually around $200,) and will connect your machine to the ISP’s network. Now this is a cost-effective solution, however there are some very apparent reasons on why you should consider a router over a bridge. Let’s look at an example to illustrate this point
 
Security Risk: In this example, we have two different customers bridged to the Internet using the same ISP. You can see that both customers have IP addresses on the same IP network. This means that broadcast from Customer A’s network will propagate to Customer’s B network. For example if machines on both networks are utilizing file and print services through the Windows Network, it is perfectly plausible (and has happened) that machines from Customer A can show up in the Network Neighborhood of Machines on Customer B’s network. Now for security reasons alone this is a very undesirable situation.
 
Everyone is talking about firewalls, filtering, etc. Many people connecting to the Internet today do not realize how vulnerable they are to attacks from the Internet. When utilizing a dial up connection, the exposure is only for the time you are connected, however, along with the all the benefits of a permanent connection, there is a big drawback: your network is exposed to the Internet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When you are at home asleep, it could be quite possible someone out there is working away at your network in the hopes of destroying or stealing data. Although this is not a pleasant thought there are very simple means to prevent this happening. 
 
The first thing is have a routed account. With a routed account you have a device examining all traffic before it enters your network. This means that traffic not destined for your network will not be routed to your LAN, broadcast storms, and other network related issues on other networks connecting to your ISP will not effect your network. Now the biggest gain from a routed account is security. A Router has the ability to filter Internet traffic. This means the router connecting you to the Internet can discriminate which traffic it will allow into your network, and which traffic it will not. A Router also has the ability to “hide” all of the IP addresses on your network and make them appear as if the were only one IP address out on the Internet. By doing this, you have just eliminated 90% of all security threats.
 
Other Benefits: Aside from security other benefits of using a  Router over a bridge include: 
 
·         You will have a contiguous block of IP addresses, rather than sporadic address across a network.
·         A  Router can use DHCP to assign workstations addresses on the LAN, preventing specific configuration in each device.
·         A  router has the ability to use NAT (Network Address Translation), thus only requiring you to obtain 1 IP address from your ISP. Cost saving as well as security enhancement
 
For the above reasons it seems quite clear that a routed account has distinct advantages over a bridged connection.  For wireless bridge connections an Ethernet broadband router can be placed between the bridge and the LAN, thus providing all the benefits of routing to cable, ADSL and other environments.

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What is the purpose of Wi-Fi ad-hoc mode? Why would I use it?

2008-05-28T10:18:00.000+07:00

The 802.11 standard defines two modes of operation: Infrastructure mode, where all stations communicate through an access point, and ad-hoc mode, where stations communicate directly without the help of an intermediary. Ad-hoc mode can be useful for temporary peer-to-peer applications, such as when two laptop users want to exchange files over Wi-Fi.

Most businesses discourage use of ad-hoc mode because they prefer to enforce corporate security policy at the access point and gateway or switch connected to the access point. Users that communicate directly over ad-hoc mode essentially bypass those security measures. Ad-hoc mode can even be used as an attack method. For example, a Windows XP PC that previously associated to an access point with a given name (SSID) can be tricked into automatically re-associating in Ad-hoc mode to an attacker's laptop that advertises that SSID. You avoid this attack by configuring XP (or any other wireless client software) to associate to preferred SSIDs in infrastructure mode only.

On the other hand, several vendors are now using ad-hoc mode as the foundation for building wireless mesh networks. Mesh networks have many applications, including outdoor metropolitan networks and mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs). To learn more about Ad-hoc mode and its use in mesh networks, visit this NIST resource page. A standard for mesh networks is now under development, designated IEEE 802.11s.

In short, ad-hoc mode has many constructive uses, but unless you have a specific reason for enabling, your safest best today is to disable ad-hoc mode to prevent unwanted or risky associations.

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What is Hub

2008-05-28T10:07:00.000+07:00

In general, a hub is the central part of a wheel where the spokes come together. The term is familiar to frequent fliers who travel through airport "hubs" to make connecting flights from one point to another. In data communications, a hub is a place of convergence where data arrives from one or more directions and is forwarded out in one or more other directions. A hub usually includes a switch of some kind. (And a product that is called a "switch" could usually be considered a hub as well.) The distinction seems to be that the hub is the place where data comes together and the switch is what determines how and where data is forwarded from the place where data comes together. Regarded in its switching aspects, a hub can also include a router.

1) In describing network topologies, a hub topology consists of a backbone (main circuit) to which a number of outgoing lines can be attached ("dropped"), each providing one or more connection port for device to attach to. For Internet users not connected to a local area network, this is the general topology used by your access provider. Other common network topologies are the bus network and the ring network. (Either of these could possibly feed into a hub network, using a bridge.)

2) As a network product, a hub may include a group of modem cards for dial-in users, a gateway card for connections to a local area network (for example, an Ethernet or a Token Ring), and a connection to a line (the main line in this example).

What is bridge in network world

2008-05-28T09:10:00.000+07:00

In telecommunication networks, a bridge is a product that connects a local area network (LAN) to another local area network that uses the same protocol (for example, Ethernet or Token Ring). You can envision a bridge as being a device that decides whether a message from you to someone else is going to the local area network in your building or to someone on the local area network in the building across the street. A bridge examines each message on a LAN, "passing" those known to be within the same LAN, and forwarding those known to be on the other interconnected LAN (or LANs).

In bridging networks, computer or node addresses have no specific relationship to location. For this reason, messages are sent out to every address on the network and accepted only by the intended destination node. Bridges learn which addresses are on which network and develop a learning table so that subsequent messages can be forwarded to the right network.

Bridging networks are generally always interconnected local area networks since broadcasting every message to all possible destinations would flood a larger network with unnecessary traffic. For this reason, router networks such as the Internet use a scheme that assigns addresses to nodes so that a message or packet can be forwarded only in one general direction rather than forwarded in all directions.

A bridge works at the data-link (physical network) level of a network, copying a data frame from one network to the next network along the communications path.

A bridge is sometimes combined with a router in a product called a brouter.

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Switch is .....

2008-05-27T09:05:00.001+07:00

In a telecommunications network, a switch is a device that channels incoming data from any of multiple input ports to the specific output port that will take the data toward its intended destination. In the traditional circuit-switched telephone network, one or more switches are used to set up a dedicated though temporary connection or circuit for an exchange between two or more parties. On an Ethernet local area network (LAN), a switch determines from the physical device (Media Access Control or MAC) address in each incoming message frame which output port to forward it to and out of. In a wide area packet-switched network such as the Internet, a switch determines from the IP address in each packet which output port to use for the next part of its trip to the intended destination.

In the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) communications model, a switch performs the layer 2 or Data-Link layer function. That is, it simply looks at each packet or data unit and determines from a physical address (the "MAC address") which device a data unit is intended for and switches it out toward that device. However, in wide area networks such as the Internet, the destination address requires a look-up in a routing table by a device known as a router. Some newer switches also perform routing functions (layer 3 or the Network layer functions in OSI) and are sometimes called IP switches.

On larger networks, the trip from one switch point to another in the network is called a hop. The time a switch takes to figure out where to forward a data unit is called its latency. The price paid for having the flexibility that switches provide in a network is this latency. Switches are found at the backbone and gateway levels of a network where one network connects with another and at the subnetwork level where data is being forwarded close to its destination or origin. The former are often known as core switches and the latter as desktop switches.

In the simplest networks, a switch is not required for messages that are sent and received within the network. For example, a local area network may be organized in a Token Ring or bus arrangement in which each possible destination inspects each message and reads any message with its address.

Circuit-Switching version Packet-Switching

A network's paths can be used exclusively for a certain duration by two or more parties and then switched for use to another set of parties. This type of "switching" is known as circuit-switching and is really a dedicated and continuously connected path for its duration. Today, an ordinary voice phone call generally uses circuit-switching.

Most data today is sent, using digital signals, over networks that use packet-switching. Using packet-switching, all network users can share the same paths at the same time and the particular route a data unit travels can be varied as conditions change. In packet-switching, a message is divided into packets, which are units of a certain number of bytes. The network addresses of the sender and of the destination are added to the packet. Each network point looks at the packet to see where to send it next. Packets in the same message may travel different routes and may not arrive in the same order that they were sent. At the destination, the packets in a message are collected and reassembled into the original message.

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Router is ......

2008-05-27T09:03:00.000+07:00

In packet-switched networks such as the Internet, a router is a device or, in some cases, software in a computer, that determines the next network point to which a packet should be forwarded toward its destination. The router is connected to at least two networks and decides which way to send each information packet based on its current understanding of the state of the networks it is connected to. A router is located at any gateway (where one network meets another), including each point-of-presence on the Internet. A router is often included as part of a network switch.

A router may create or maintain a table of the available routes and their conditions and use this information along with distance and cost algorithms to determine the best route for a given packet. Typically, a packet may travel through a number of network points with routers before arriving at its destination. Routing is a function associated with the Network layer (layer 3) in the standard model of network programming, the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. A layer-3 switch is a switch that can perform routing functions.

An edge router is a router that interfaces with an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network. A brouter is a network bridge combined with a router.

For home and business computer users who have high-speed Internet connections such as cable, satellite, or DSL, a router can act as a hardware firewall. This is true even if the home or business has only one computer. Many engineers believe that the use of a router provides better protection against hacking than a software firewall, because no computer Internet Protocol address are directly exposed to the Internet. This makes port scans (a technique for exploring weaknesses) essentially impossible. In addition, a router does not consume computer resources as a software firewall does. Commercially manufactured routers are easy to install, reasonably priced, and available for hard-wired or wireless networks.

RAM Overview

2008-04-10T14:37:00.001+07:00

by : Christophe Catesson

There are two big categories of random access memories:

* Dynamic memories (DRAM, Dynamic Random Access Module), not very costly. They are in most cases used for the central memory of the computer

* Static memories (SRAM, Static Random Access Module), quick and expensive. SRAM is notably used for cache memories of the processor

Functioning of the random access memory

The random access memory is constituted of hundred of thousand small condensers storing charges. When it is loaded, the logical state of the condenser is equal to 1, otherwise it belongs to 0, what means that every condenser represents one bit of memory.

Given that condensers off-load, it is always necessary to recharge them in a space of regular time called cycle of refreshment. Memory DRAM requires cycles of refreshment for instance (Ns) is about 15 nanoseconds.

Every condenser is coupled with a transistor allowing to "recover « or to change the state of the condenser. These transistors are lined up in form of matrix, that is they achieve a hut memory (so called memory) by a line and a column.

So, for a memory of type DRAM, the time of access is of 60 nanoseconds (35ns of delay of cycle and 25 ns of time of latency). On a computer, the time of cycle corresponds contrary to the frequency of the clock, for instance for a computer pulsated in 200 MHz, the time of cycle is 5 ns (1 / (200*106)).

As a result a computer having a frequency well brought up and using memories the time of access of which is much longer than the time of cycle of the processor must perform cycles of wait to access to the memory. In the case of a computer pulsated in 200 MHz using memories of types DRAM (which the time of access is of 60ns), there are 11 cycles of wait as a cycle of transfer. The performances of the computer are of as much diminished as there are cycles

Formats of Random Access Memory (RAM)

There are numerous types of random access memories. These all come in the form of barrettes of memory attachable on the motherboard.

* SIMM (Single Inline Memory Module): it is about printed circuits among which one of the faces has fleas of memory. There are two types of barrettes SIMM, according to the number of connector cables (30 or 72)

* DIMM (Dual Inline Memory Modulates) are from memories 64 bits, what explains why it is not necessary to match them. Barrettes DIMM have fleas of memory on both sides of printed circuit and have also 84 connector cables on each side, what endows them with a total of 168 brooches. They have bigger dimensions than barrettes SIMM (130x25mm).

* RIMM (Rambus Inline Memory Module, conscripts also RD-RAM or DRD-RAM) are from memories 64 bits developed by the society Rambus. They have 184 brooches. These barrettes have two notches of location (détrompeurs), avoiding very risk of confusion with the previous modules. Considering their well brought up speed of transfer, barrettes RIMM have a thermal film made responsible for ameliorating the clearing up of warmth. As in the case of DIMM, there are modules of smaller size, called SO RIMM (Small Outline RIMM), intended for laptop computers. Barrettes SO RIMM include only 160 brooches.

* DRAM (Dynamic RAM, dynamic RAM) is the type of memo most spread at the beginning of the millennium. It is about a memory from which transistors are lined up in a matrix according to lines and of columns. A transistor, coupled with a condenser gives the information of a bit. 1 byte consisting of 8 bits, a barrette of memory 256 Mb DRAM will contain 256 therefore * 2^10 * 2^10 = 256 * on 1024 * on 1024 = 268 435 456 bytes = 268 435 456 * 8 = 2 147 483 648 bits = 2 147 483 648 transistors. A 256 Mb barrette has so in reality a capacity of 268 435 456 bytes, that is 268 Mb! These are memories from which the time of access is 60 ns. On the other hand, accesses memory are made in general on data lined up consecutively in memory. So the mode of access in gust (burst mode) allows to achieve the three successive data in the first one without time of additional latency.

* DRAM FPM to speed up accesses to DRAM, there is a technology, called pagination consisting in achieving data located on the same column by changing the address of the line only, what allows to avoid the repetition of the number of column between the reading of each of the lines. They speak then about DRAM FPM (Fast Page Mode). FPM allows to acquire time of access in the order of 70 - 80 nanoseconds for a frequency of functioning that can go from 25 to 33 Mhz.

* DRAM EDO (Extended Data Out, Goes out of data ameliorated sometimes also called "hyper-page") appears in 1995. The technology used with this type of memory consists in addressing the following column during the reading of the data of a column. It creates an overlapping of accesses allowing to save time on every cycle. The time of access to memory EDO is therefore about 50 - 60 nanoseconds for a frequency of functioning going 33 - 66 Mhz. So, RAM EDO, when it is used in mode gust allows to acquire cycles of form 5-2-2-2, that is a benefit of 4 cycles on the access to 4 data. As much as memory EDO did not accept the upper frequencies in 66 Mhz, it disappeared in aid of SDRAM.

* SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM, translate synchronous RAM), appeared in 1997, allows a reading of data synchronized with the bus of the card-mother, contrary to memories EDO and FPM (qualified as asynchronous) having their own clock. SDRAM allows therefore to free itself from time of wait owed to synchronization with the card-mother. This one allows to acquire a cycle in mode gust of form 5-1-1-1, that is to say benefit of 3 cycles in comparison with RAM EDO. In that way SDRAM is able of working with a cadenza going until 150 Mhz, allowing him to acquire from time of access about 10 ns.

* DR-SDRAM (Direct Rambus DRAM or else RDRAM) is a type of memory allowing to transfer data on a bus of 16 wide bits to a cadenza of 800Mhz, what confers on him a band passer-by of 1,6 Go / s. As SDRAM, this type of memory is synchronized with the clock of the bus to ameliorate exchanges of data.

* DDR-SDRAM (Double Dated Miss SDRAM) is a memory based on technology SDRAM, allowing to double the rate of transfer of SDRAM with equal frequency. Reading or writing of data in memory am accomplished on the basis of a clock. Standard memory DRAM uses a method conscript SDR (Single Data Fails) consisting in reading or writing data in every forehead going up. DDR allows to double the frequency of reading / writings, with a clock pulsated in the same frequency, by sending data in every forehead going up, as well as in every downward forehead. Memory DDR has in general a commercial appellation of type PCXXXX where "XXXX " represent the debit side in Mb / s.

* DDR2 (or DDR-II) allows to attain twice as well brought up debit sides as DDR with equal external frequency. They speak about QDR (Quadruple Dated Fail or quad-pumped) to indicate the method of reading and used writing. Memory DDR2 uses in effect two channels separated for reading and for writing, so it is able of sending or of accepting twice more data than DDR.

source

Microsoft Server 2008 Certification: Routing's Not Just For Cisco Exams Anymore!

2008-04-02T22:41:00.002+07:00

by: Chris Bryant

Knowing routing theory and routing protocols has always been a big part of earning your CCNA and CCNP certifications. According to Microsoft's exam blueprints for the Server 2008 certification exams, that knowledge will also serve you well on your Microsoft exams.

The topic outline for the Configuring Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure exam (70-642) specifically mentions routing and routing protocols as exam topics. Specifically mentioned are RIP, OSPF, and static routing - three topics every CCNA and CCNP candidate will be well prepared to handle!

IPSec isn't part of the CCNA exam, but you'll see it on at least one CCNP exam, and it's also listed as a 70-642 exam topic. IPv6 and IPv4 addressing are both covered on the 70-642 as well.

Microsoft's website lists the following major skills you should expect to see on this exam:

Configuring IP addresses and Services (routing with RIP and OSPF, static routing, persistent routing, addressing, DHCP and DHCP options including relay agents, IPSec policies, Authentication Header and Encapsulating Security Payload, subnetting, supernetting)

Configuring Name Resolution (DNS configuration, zones, records, replication, and integration with Active Directory, and client computer name resolution techniques)

Configuring Network Access (includes NAT, VPNs, RADIUS, 802.1x authentication, MS-CHAP, firewalls, and remote authentication)

Configuring File And Print Services (self-explanatory)

Monitoring And Managing A Network Infrastructure (includes SNMP and Windows Server Update Services)

Your CCNA and CCNP preparation will not quite be enough to get you past this exam, but as you can see, it'll give you a great head start!

source:

What's WiMAX?

2008-03-24T16:24:00.001+07:00

WiMAX is a short name for Worldwide Interoperability of Microwave Access. WiMAX is described in IEEE 802.16 Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) standard. It is expected that WiMAX compliant systems will provide fixed wireless alternative to conventional DSL and Cable Internet.

Typically, a WiMAX system consists of two parts:

A WiMAX Base Station: Base station consists of indoor electronics and a WiMAX tower. Typically, a base station can cover up to 10 km radius (Theoretically, a base station can cover up to 50 kilo meter radius or 30 miles, however practical considerations limit it to about 10 km or 6 miles). Any wireless node within the coverage area would be able to access the Internet.
A WiMAX receiver - The receiver and antenna could be a stand-alone box or a PCMCIA card that sits in your laptop or computer. Access to WiMAX base station is similar to accessing a Wireless Access Point in a WiFi network, but the coverage is more.

Several base stations can be connected with one another by use of high-speed backhaul microwave links. This would allow for roaming by a WiMAX subscriber from one base station to another base station area, similar to roaming enabled by Cellular phone companies.

Important Wireless MAN IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX) Specifications

Range - 30-mile (50-km) radius from base station
Speed - Up to 70 megabits per second
Non-Line-of-sight (NLoS) between user and base station
Frequency bands - 2 to 11 GHz and 10 to 66 GHz (licensed and unlicensed bands)
Defines both the MAC and PHY layers and allows multiple PHY-layer specifications.

Why It’s Crucial To Have A Dedicated Server

2007-12-27T08:55:00.000+07:00

by: Stu Pearson

A dedicated server is a single web server or computer on the internet that hosts websites and shows pages as viewers request. A dedicated server is within a network of computers, exclusively dedicated to one costumer or a large business, since it can meet many needs.

Dedicated servers are most commonly used in the web hosting industry; hundreds of sites are hosted under one dedicated server. A dedicated server is considered to be the next step on from shared hosting environments. Having your own dedicated server makes you free of worry about other websites slowing you down or crashing your server. Dedicated servers also give you total control, and allows for installing software on your website that opens doors for gaining extra performance.

The advantage of having a dedicated server is that the clients of the server can customize both hardware and software setup so they meet needs like faster data access and effortless accommodation of traffic on the site.

These dedicated servers come with good costumer service. The web host works with the client in making sure that the dedicated server meets the needs of the client. In cases of companies having several divisions like a chain of outlets, it is still crucial for each to have their own dedicated server because they can create many domains on a single server easily, which results in more efficiency rather than having to lease host space on different web servers for each division or outlet individually.

For large companies having websites for every dealership such as motorcycle manufacturers, the advantage of having a dedicated server is that the parent company can put all of the websites for each dealership under the same server.

Here’s how it works. Assume a company named “Taurus Cars Corp.” is running a series of dealerships, the parent company could host an individual website for every dealership. Each website may look like this; for the parent company “www.taurusmotorscorp.com”, for the dealership in Florida “www.taurusmotorsflorida.com “, for the dealership in Colorado “www.taurusmotorscolorado.com” and so on.

The advantage of this setup is the dealership in Florida is using the same online tools as the dealership in Colorado. Making the online presence of the company Taurus Motors Corp. very streamlined and cost-efficient, while making things significantly easier for the company’s administration and support, also known as customization and uniform of point of sale software. Considering the websites of each of the different divisions or dealerships residing on one dedicated server, makes this advantage beneficial in terms of increasing sales.

In some cases other business want to use dedicated servers for the sole purpose of customization, costumer service, and fast access. They host websites themselves or better yet sub-lease the extra space for interested companies to set up their websites and domains. The advantage derived by any business under a dedicated server is the ability to enhance security.

All these advantages imply that dedicated servers are the best option for most large companies or businesses. Hosting personal websites or small business websites in general doesn’t require a dedicated server, instead for this purpose you can lease from a standard web host.

source : articlecity

NetSuite IPO generates $185 million

2007-12-27T08:53:00.000+07:00

NetSuite's initial public offering raised $185.4 million, close to double the amount the company originally forecast the IPO would generate and a positive sign for the market of hosted, software-as-a-service business applications.

NetSuite, a provider of hosted applications for small and midsize organizations, sold 6.2 million shares of common stock at $26 per share via auction and its underwriters acted on their option to buy an additional 930,000 shares, the company said Wednesday.

The $185.4 million is a gross amount from which underwriting discounts and expenses will be deducted, the company said. Moreover, 365,000 of the shares bought by the underwriters were owned by stockholders like NetSuite's CEO and chief technology officer, so the proceeds from those shares -- about $9.5 million -- won't go to the company.

In the final IPO prospectus, NetSuite had estimated that, if the underwriters exercised their option in full -- as they did -- NetSuite's IPO net proceeds would be approximately $161.9 million.

NetSuite initially set a range of $13 to $16 per share for its IPO but subsequently raised it and eventually set the price at $26 per share on Thursday of last week, the day when the stock started trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the "N" symbol.

At midmorning Wednesday, the stock was trading at $34.85, down about 10 percent from its previous close. Its highest point so far is $45.98.

Incorporated in 1998, NetSuite sells ERP (enterprise resource planning), CRM (customer relationship management) and e-commerce applications on a hosted, subscription-based model, in which customers access the software via the Internet and don't need to install it on their premises.

This software-as-a-service model, championed by companies like Salesforce.com and Google, is considered a significant threat to the traditional approach from vendors like Microsoft of having customers implement software on their own PCs and servers.

As of Sept. 30 of this year, NetSuite had over 5,400 active customers, according to its IPO prospectus . In 2006, the company had revenue of $67.2 million and a net loss of $35.7 million. In the first nine months of this year, it generated $76.8 million in revenue and racked up a net loss of $20.6 million, according to the prospectus.

NetSuite plans to use its IPO proceeds to pay off an $8 million balance on a line of credit with Tako Ventures, an entity controlled by Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, and to possibly make acquisitions.

As of Nov. 30, Ellison controlled about 60 percent of NetSuite's outstanding stock -- some 31.9 million shares -- but Ellison transferred those shares into a holding company, NetSuite Restricted Holdings. The move is meant to "effectively eliminate" Ellison's voting power and avoid potential conflicts of interests, according to the prospectus.

NetSuite also plans to devote between $10 million and $15 million for capital expenditures, including the purchase of property, plant and equipment and the addition of a second data-center facility, and for working capital and other general purposes, including its international expansion. NetSuite currently provides its hosted applications out of a single data center, which the company admits in the prospectus is a risk that could harm its business should there be any service disruption at this facility.

NetSuite also said it may use a portion of the net proceeds to acquire other businesses, products or technologies, although it doesn't have any agreements or commitments for any specific acquisitions at the moment. The money it doesn't spend will be invested in short-term, interest-bearing investment grade securities.

2007-12-27T08:44:00.000+07:00

Tropos Networks has set up a network of about 70 meshed Wi-Fi routers in Mecca, providing Hajjis with free Internet connectivity during their annual gathering

The millions of pilgrims in Mecca this week for the Hajj, an annual gathering of Muslims, can stay connected thanks to a temporary Wi-Fi mesh network covering a large part of the city.

Hajjis, as the pilgrims are called, come to the city in Saudi Arabia from around the world for several days of religious rituals. More than 2 million gather each year. A network of about 70 meshed routers from Tropos Networks has been set up to provide free Internet connectivity, according to Denise Barton, director of marketing at Tropos. Users only have to register before using it. Barton believes it is the first public Wi-Fi network set up for the Hajj.

Mesh networks are well-suited to temporary deployments because they need fewer fixed-line connections than do traditional Wi-Fi systems. Packets can hop from one router to another until they reach one that's connected to a landline. The technology has also been used for permanent municipal Wi-Fi networks, including the one Google had built with Tropos equipment in its hometown of Mountain View, California.

Saudi Arabia's Communications and Information Technology Commission appointed an Internet service provider, Bayanat Al-Oula, to provide the temporary network. It was rolled out in less than 60 days with no help from Tropos personnel, Barton said. Aptilo Networks, a wireless-management software and services company based in Stockholm, is running the network as a managed service from its offices in Malaysia. This also helped Bayanat get the infrastructure up and running quickly, said Per Knutsson, Aptilo's co-founder and director of product development. Aptilo is handling user authentication, security, customer-support calls and other features, as well as setting up the portal visitors use to register for the network.

Aptilo and Tropos are no strangers to temporary Wi-Fi networks. Aptilo has managed systems for large sporting events, and in 2004 Tropos built a network in downtown Redwood City, California, for a high-profile murder case. The trial of Scott Peterson, who was convicted of killing his wife and their unborn child, drew massive public and media attention. The county court where the trial took place set up a temporary network with five surveillance cameras and five meshed routers for its own security needs and for reporters who descended on the area for several months.

The Mecca network is made up of Tropos 5210 mesh routers, which use IEEE 802.11a for mesh connections and can support users with 802.11a, b and g devices, Barton said. Such networks typically require between 20 and 40 routers per square mile, she said.

By Stephen Lawson, IDG News Service
December 19, 2007
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/12/19/Wi-Fi-mesh-lights-up-Mecca-for-Hajj_1.html

Cisco green plan looks beyond routers

2007-12-27T08:31:00.000+07:00

Cisco Systems wants to turn the enterprise data network into an electricity meter.
InfoWorld InfoClipz

Using open standards, the company wants to get server and storage vendors to collect and share information about their equipment and send it to Cisco routers and switches. The data could include power consumption, operating temperature and more. It's becoming a critical job, and because the network touches all IT resources across the enterprise, data collection should happen there, according to Paul Marcoux, vice president of green engineering.

Marcoux joined Cisco from American Power Conversion only about six weeks ago after Cisco created the position to overlook energy issues across all parts of the company. Networking gear itself makes up a much smaller portion of IT power consumption than do servers or storage, but Cisco plans to go beyond just making its own products more efficient.

Power is a growing issue in datacenters as the cost of energy rises and concerns about global climate change increase. Being able to collect and analyze information about power usage is a big part of the battle and becoming more crucial in the age of virtualization, according to Marcoux. Distributing storage and processing cycles without regard for power issues is not just inefficient, it's dangerous, he said.

If virtualization software looks at a process that requires more computing power or storage space, then enlists servers or storage devices that are near to overheating or running out of power, it could send a rack of servers over the edge and shut it down, Marcoux said. For that reason, the virtualization system needs to know the power status of all the resources it may call upon, he said.

By the same token, consolidated datacenters typically serve many departments of an enterprise and consume a lot of power, but those groups generally don't have to pay for their part of the power. In fact, the electricity bill often bypasses even the IT department, going to building management instead, Marcoux said. Collecting data about the power consumed by each device, and eventually by individual transactions, would allow enterprises to bill each department for the power it uses, he said.

Software on routers and switches would collect the information and then take actions or forward it on to separate building management, energy management or virtualization control systems, Marcoux said. Given the large amount of energy data to be processed, Cisco may introduce daughtercards for its platforms to provide extra computing power, he said. He hopes the technology will be in place and collecting information in enterprises within three years.

Because datacenters contain gear from so many vendors, open standards are the only way to make such a system work, according to Cisco. Fortunately, there already are several available standards, Marcoux said. Having standards already in place will help speed up adoption, Marcoux said.

"We're not trying to reinvent the wheel, we're just trying now to utilize the wheel," Marcoux said.

Cisco's proposal would represent a whole new role for networks beyond communications, said Burton Group analyst Dave Passmore. Server vendors might go along with the plan, but Cisco can't count on smooth sailing, he said. Centralized power regulation would play a role in overall management of the datacenter, an area where Cisco is attempting to make inroads with other initiatives as well.

"Who controls virtualization in the data center is going to be the new battleground," Passmore said.

source : http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/12/24/Cisco-green-plan-looks-beyond-routers_1.html

Playstation 3 New Face

2007-10-08T16:18:00.000+07:00

Introduction

Lagging a full year behind the release of Microsoft's Xbox 360 and lacking the immediately attention-grabbing hook of Nintendo's 360-degree motion-sensing Wii, Sony's long-awaited PlayStation 3 has recently been the subject of much heated debate. Despite its obvious appeal to diehard gamers and fans of the world's most popular console brand – not to mention home theater enthusiasts, what with 1080p HDMI output and extensive online music/video download capabilities – questions have been plentiful.

For example: Is the system, available in 20GB ($499, sans WiFi and a built-in combination Memory Stick product lineup, Compact Flash and SD/MMC card reader) or $599 chrome-trimmed wireless-ready 60GB hard drive models, worth the hefty asking price, the highest since early-'90s systems like CDi and 3DO? Can Sony, who's recently cut back North American November 17th launch date ship projections to just 400,000 units (with some analysts predicting actual distribution of half this number or fewer machines), manage to avoid aggravating a soon-to-be-device-deprived buying public while still keeping up with the competition? And, of course, with so much power and hardware combined in a single unit catered to the highest-end luxury users, is there even a point to upgrading?

The short answer to all: Yes, depending which of school of thought you fall into, your game playing habits and how much disposable income you've got to burn. However, let's get one thing out of the way up-front, before you freeze your poor behind off spending all night camped out in front of the local electronics retailer hoping to score one of the severely under-stocked devices. For a host of reasons ranging from technical niggles to launch lineup shortfalls to pure common sense, it's perfectly fine – and in most cases, even advisable – to skip buying one this holiday season and wait until the dust settles sometime early in 2007.

Right from the get-go, it's important to consider the following fact: You're not actually buying a videogame console here (although surely, that's the machine's strength and the chief function most prospective buyers intend to employ it towards) so much as a full-fledged digital media hub. As slick as everything from cutting-edge digital diversions and Blu-ray movies – video resolutions ranging all the way from 480i up to an eye-popping 1080p are supported – it's what you personally make of the machine that gives the gizmo its true value. So for all of you who've been pestered since, oh, 2004 by your wide-eyed little pride and joys, remember: Dropping $599 just so kids can use the beast as an overgrown Atari may be a little much. They'll be just as entertained by lower-resolution outings for other systems like Nintendo's Wii or Sony's own PlayStation 2. And, in truth, most PlayStation 3 titles right now are simply enhanced ports of existing products anyway (see offerings like Tony Hawk's Project 8 or NHL 2K7). What's more, unless you plan on clocking in time behind the controller yourself, investing in a library of next-generation movies, browsing the Web on your TV, purchasing extra levels/cars/characters/songs/films online or are intent on building the ultimate technophile's living room setup, it's the sort of holiday gift that may be little extravagant for anyone younger than 15.

Virtual Local Area Network

2007-09-27T10:44:00.001+07:00

Virtual LAN
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A virtual LAN, commonly known as a vLAN or as a VLAN, is a method of creating independent logical networks within a physical network. Several VLANs can co-exist within such a network. This helps in reducing the broadcast domain and aids in network administration by separating logical segments of a LAN (like company departments) that should not exchange data using a LAN (they still can exchange data by routing).
A VLAN consists of a network of computers that behave as if connected to the same link layer network - even though they may actually be physically connected to different segments of a LAN. Network administrators configure VLANs through software rather than hardware, which makes them extremely flexible. One of the biggest advantages of VLANs emerges when physically moving a computer to another location: it can stay on the same VLAN without the need for any hardware reconfiguration.

Advantages
Increase the number of broadcast domains but reduce the size of each broadcast domain, which in turn reduces network traffic and increases network security (both of which are hampered in cases of single large broadcast domains).
Reduce management effort to create subnetworks.
Reduce hardware requirement, as networks can be separated logically instead of physically.
Increase control over multiple traffic types.
Create multiple logical switches in a physical switch.

Protocols and design
The primary protocol currently used in configuring virtual LANs is IEEE 802.1Q, which describes how traffic on a single physical network can be partitioned into virtual LANs by tagging each frame or packet with extra bytes to denote which virtual network the packet belongs to.
Prior to the introduction of the 802.1Q standard, several proprietary protocols existed, such as Cisco's ISL (Inter-Switch Link, a variant of IEEE 802.10) and 3Com's VLT (Virtual LAN Trunk). ISL is no longer supported by Cisco.
Early network designers often configured VLANs with the aim of reducing the size of the collision domain in a large single Ethernet segment and thus improving performance. When Ethernet switches made this a non-issue (because each switch port is a collision domain), attention turned to reducing the size of the broadcast domain at the MAC layer. Virtual networks can also serve to restrict access to network resources without regard to physical topology of the network, although the strength of this method remains debatable as VLAN Hopping is a common means of bypassing such security measures.
Virtual LANs operate at Layer 2 (the data link layer) of the OSI model. However, administrators often configure a VLAN to map directly to an IP network, or subnet, which gives the appearance of involving Layer 3 (the network layer).
In the context of VLANs, the term "trunk" denotes a network link carrying multiple VLANs, which are identified by labels (or "tags") inserted into their packets. Such trunks must run between "tagged ports" of VLAN-aware devices, so they are often switch-to-switch or switch-to-router links rather than links to hosts. (Confusingly, the term 'trunk' is also used for what Cisco calls "channels" : Link Aggregation or Port Trunking). A router (Layer 3 device) serves as the backbone for network traffic going across different VLANs.
On Cisco devices, VTP (VLAN Trunking Protocol) allows for VLAN domains, which can aid in administrative tasks. VTP also allows "pruning", which involves directing specific VLAN traffic only to switches which have ports on the target VLAN.

Assigning VLAN memberships
The four methods of assigning VLAN memberships that are in use are:
Port-based: A switch port is manually configured to be a member of a VLAN. In order to connect a port to several VLANs (for example, a link with VLANs spanning over several switches) the port has to be member of a trunk. Only one VLAN on a port can be set untagged (3Com's term) or access mode (Cisco's term); the switch will add this VLAN's tags to untagged received frames and remove this VLAN's tag from transmitted frames.
MAC-based: VLAN membership is based on the MAC address of the workstation. The switch has a table listing the MAC address of each machine, along with the VLAN to which it belongs.
Protocol-based: Layer 3 data within the frame is used to determine VLAN membership. For example, IP machines can be classified as the first VLAN, and AppleTalk machines as the second. The major disadvantage of this method is that it violates the independence of the layers, so an upgrade from IPv4 to IPv6, for example, will cause the switch to fail.
Authentication based: Devices can be automatically placed into VLANs based on the authentication credentials of a user or device using the 802.1x protocol.

Port-based VLANs
A port based VLAN switch determines the membership of a data frame by examining the configuration of the port that received the transmission or reading a portion of the data frame’s tag header. A four-byte field in the header is used to identify the VLAN. This VLAN identification indicates what VLAN the frame belongs to. If the frame has no tag header, the switch checks the VLAN setting of the port that received the frame.

source

Wireless

2007-09-12T13:46:00.000+07:00

Wireless operations permits services, such as long range communications, that are impossible or impractical to implement with the use of wires. The term is commonly used in the telecommunications industry to refer to telecommunications systems (e.g., radio transmitters and receivers, remote controls, computer networks, network terminals, etc.) which use some form of energy (e.g. radio frequency (RF), infrared light, laser light, visible light, acoustic energy, etc.) to transfer information without the use of wires . Information is transferred in this manner over both short and long distances.
Wireless communication may be via:
radio frequency communication,
microwave communication, for example long-range line-of-sight via highly directional antennas, or short-range communication, or
infrared (IR) short-range communication, for example from remote controls or via IRDA,
Applications may involve point-to-point communication, point-to-multipoint communication, broadcasting , cellular networks and other wireless networks.
The term "wireless" should not be confused with the term "cordless", which is generally used to refer to powered electrical or electronic devices that are able to operate from a portable power source (e.g., a battery pack) without any cable or cord to limit the mobility of the cordless device through a connection to the mains power supply. Some cordless devices, such as cordless telephones, are also wireless in the sense that information is transferred from the cordless telephone to the telephone's base unit via some type of wireless communications link. This has caused some disparity in the usage of the term "cordless", for example in Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications.
In the last 50 years, wireless communications industry experienced drastic changes driven by many technology innovations

System console

2007-07-25T16:49:00.000+07:00

The system console, root console or simply console is the text entry and display device for system administration messages, particularly those from the BIOS or boot loader, the kernel, from the init system and from the system logger.

On traditional minicomputers, the console was a serial console, an RS-232 serial link to a terminal such as a DEC VT100. This terminal was usually kept in a secured room since it could be used for certain privileged functions such as halting the system or selecting which media to boot from. Large midrange systems, e.g. those from Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard and IBM, still use serial consoles. In larger installations, the console ports are attached to multiplexers or network-connected multiport serial servers that let an operator connect his terminal to any of the attached servers.

On PCs, the computer's attached keyboard and monitor have the equivalent function. Since the monitor cable carries video signals, it cannot be extended very far. Often, installations with many servers therefore use keyboard/video multiplexers (KVM switches) and possibly video amplifiers to centralize console access. In recent years, KVM/IP devices have become available that allow a remote computer to view the video output and send keyboard input via any TCP/IP network and therefore the Internet.

Some PC BIOSes, especially in servers, also support serial consoles, giving access to the BIOS through a serial port so that the simpler and cheaper serial console infrastructure can be used. Even where BIOS support is lacking, some operating systems, e.g. FreeBSD and Linux, can be configured for serial console operation either during bootup, or after startup.

It is usually possible to log in from the console. Depending on configuration, the operating system may treat a login session from the console as being more trustworthy than a login session from other sources.

Routers and Managed Switches (as well as other networking and telecoms equipment) may also have console ports in particular Cisco Systems routers and switches that use Cisco IOS are normally configured via their console ports.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

White screen of death

2007-07-25T16:45:00.000+07:00

n Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 2000, and (possibly) also Windows NT, a White Box of Doom or White screen of death will appear if an error occurs while loading a system-critical application or process, such as the system shell (e.g. Explorer.exe). It has a similar appearance to a General Protection Fault, or GPF.

Clicking "OK" will normally cause the computer to shut down, or it may result in another similar error. This error may also appear if, at startup, an illegal operation occurs during the startup process. Also it will make your computer freeze and you have to shut the computer down.

Some computers, such as Dell computers, have boot errors that result in a WSOD

This error may occasionally be ignored, as it may just have been a single occurrence of a failed startup sequence; however, if it should occur repeatedly, the user may then be required to reinstall Windows.

A way to work around this if you don't want to install Windows is to set the shell to Winfile.exe.

BSOD ( Blue Screen of Death)

2007-07-25T16:40:00.000+07:00

Windows NT

In Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Vista, the blue screen of death occurs when the kernel or a driver running in kernel mode encounters an error from which it cannot recover. This is usually caused by an illegal operation being performed. The only safe action the operating system can take in this situation is to restart the computer. As a result, data may be lost, as users are not given an opportunity to save data that has not yet been saved to the hard drive.

Blue screens are known as "Stop errors" in the Windows Resource Kit documentation. They are referred to as "bug checks" in the Windows Software development kit and Driver development kit documentation.

Windows 2000 (can also be configured to display debug info like the Windows NT example)

The text on the error screen contains the code of the error as well as its symbolic name (e.g. 0x0000001E, KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED) along with four error-dependent values in parentheses that are there to help software engineers with fixing the problem that occurred. Depending on the error code, it may display the address where the problem occurred, along with the driver which is loaded at that address. Under Windows NT and 2000, the second and third sections of the screen may contain information on all loaded drivers and a stack dump, respectively. The driver information is in three columns; the first lists the base address of the driver, the second lists the driver's creation date (as a Unix timestamp), and the third lists the name of the driver.

By default, Windows will create a memory dump file because a blue screen error occurs. Depending on the OS version, there may be several formats this can be saved in, ranging from a 64 KB "mini dump" to a "complete dump" which is effectively a copy of the entire contents of physical RAM. The resulting memory dump file may be debugged later, using a kernel debugger. A debugger is necessary to obtain a stack trace, and may be required to ascertain the true cause of the problem; as the information onscreen is limited and thus possibly misleading, it may hide the true source of the error.

Windows NT 3.5

Microsoft Windows can also be configured to send live debugging information to a kernel debugger running on a separate computer. (Windows XP also allows for kernel debugging from the machine that is running the OS.) If a blue screen error is encountered while a live kernel debugger is attached to the system, Windows will halt execution and cause the debugger to "break in", rather than displaying the BSOD. The debugger can then be used to examine the contents of memory and determine the source of the problem.

The Windows debugger is available as a free download from Microsoft.

Windows includes a feature that can be used to cause a blue screen manually. To enable it, the user must add a value to the Windows registry. After that, a BSOD will appear when the user presses the SCROLL LOCK key twice while holding the right CTRL key.^[3] This feature is primarily useful for obtaining a memory dump of the computer while it is in a given state. As such, it is generally used to aid in troubleshooting system hangs.

By default, Windows XP is configured to save only a 64K minidump when it encounters a blue screen, and then to automatically reboot the computer. Because this process happens very quickly, the blue screen may be seen only for an instant or not at all. Users have sometimes noted this as a random reboot rather than a traditional stop error, and are only aware of an issue after Windows reboots and displays a notification that it has recovered from a serious error.

A BSOD can also be caused by a critical boot loader error, where the operating system is unable to access the boot partition due to incorrect storage drivers or similar problems. The error code in this situation is STOP 0x0000007B (INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE). In such cases, there is no memory dump saved. Since the system is unable to boot from the hard drive in this situation, correction of the problem often requires booting from the Microsoft Windows CD. After booting to the CD, it may be possible to correct the problem by performing a repair install or by using the Recovery Console (with CHKDSK).

The color blue was chosen because there was a version of Windows NT for the DEC Alpha platform and there the console colors could not be changed in an easy way. For consistency reasons blue became the color for Stop errors on all platforms (alpha/i386/mips/ppc).

ReactOS

ReactOS, an attempt at creating a free software/open source implementation of a Windows NT-compatible operating system, also features its own BSOD similar to the Windows NT/XP one.

Windows 9x

Windows 9x/Me

The blue screen of death also occurs in Microsoft's home desktop operating systems Windows 95, 98, and Me. Here it is less serious, but more common. In these operating systems, the BSOD is the main way for virtual device drivers to report errors to the user. It is internally referred to by the name of "_VWIN32_FaultPopup". A Windows 9x/Me BSOD gives the user the option either to restart or continue. However, VxDs do not display BSODs frivolously — they usually indicate a problem which cannot be fixed without restarting the computer, and hence after a BSOD is displayed the system is usually unstable or unresponsive.

Two of the most common reasons for BSODs are:

Problems that occur with incompatible versions of DLLs. This cause is sometimes referred to as DLL hell. Windows loads these DLLs into memory when they are needed by application programs; if versions are changed, the next time an application loads the DLL it may be different from what the application expects. These incompatibilities increase over time as more new software is installed, and is one of the main reasons why a freshly-installed copy of Windows is more stable than an "old" one.

Faulty or poorly written device drivers, hardware incompatibilities, or damaged hardware may also cause a BSOD. If you have just installed a new piece of hardware, updated a driver, or installed an Operating System update shortly before you see the BSOD, be sure to investigate these causes also.

In Windows 95 and 98, a BSOD occurred when the system attempted to access the file "c:\con\con" on the hard drive. This was often inserted on websites to crash users' machines. Microsoft has released a patch for this.

The BSOD can appear if a user ejects a removable medium while it is being read on 9x/ME. This is particularly common while using Microsoft Office: if a user simply wants to view a document, he might eject a floppy disk before exiting the program. Since Microsoft Office always creates a temporary file in the same directory, it will trigger a BSOD upon exiting because it will attempt to delete the file on the disk that is no longer in the drive.

This type of blue screen is no longer seen in Windows NT, 2000, and XP. In the case of these less serious software errors, the program may still crash, but it will not take down the entire operating system with it due to better memory management and decreased legacy support. In these systems, the "true" BSOD is seen only in cases where the entire operating system crashes.

Windows CE 5.0

Windows CE

The simplest version of the blue screen occurs in Windows CE except the versions for Pocket PC. The blue screen in Windows CE 3.0 is similar to the one in Windows 95 and 98.

Windows for Workgroups 3.11

Windows for Workgroups

Windows for Workgroups' Blue Screen of Death is very similair to the Windows 9x BSoD.

Xbox Error Message

Xbox

Although the Microsoft Xbox usually shows a Green Screen of Death when a critical error occurs, this model was seen showing a BSOD during the presentation of Forza Motorsport at the CeBIT computer fair in Hannover in March 2005.

Boot Loader Function

2007-07-25T16:38:00.000+07:00

Boot loader

Most computer systems can only execute code found in the memory (ROM or RAM). Modern operating systems are stored on hard disks, or occasionally on LiveCDs, USB flash drives, or other non-volatile storage devices. When a computer is first powered on, it doesn't have an operating system in memory. The computer's hardware alone cannot perform complex actions such as loading a program from disk, so an apparent paradox exists: to load the operating system into memory, one appears to need to have an operating system already loaded.

The solution is to use a special small program, called a bootstrap loader, bootstrap or boot loader. This program's only job is to load other software for the operating system to start. Often, multiple-stage boot loaders are used, in which several small programs of increasing complexity summon each other, until the last of them loads the operating system. The name bootstrap loader comes from the image of one pulling oneself up by one's bootstraps (see bootstrapping). It derives from the very earliest days of computers and is possibly one of the oldest pieces of computer terminology in common use.

Early programmable computers had a row of toggle switches on the front panel to allow the operator to manually enter the binary boot instructions into memory before transferring control to the CPU. The boot loader would then read the operating system in from an outside storage medium such as paper tape, punched card, or a disk drive.

Pseudo-assembly code for the bootloader might be as simple as the following eight instructions:

0: set the P register to 8
1: check paper tape reader ready
2: if not ready, jump to 1
3: read a byte from paper tape reader to accumulator
4: if end of tape, jump to 8
5: store accumulator to address in P register
6: increment the P register
7: jump to 1

A related example is based on a loader for a 1970's Nicolet Instrument Corporation minicomputer. Note that the bytes of the second-stage loader are read from paper tape in reverse order.

0: set the P register to 106
1: check paper tape reader ready
2: if not ready, jump to 1
3: read a byte from paper tape reader to accumulator
4: store accumulator to address in P register
5: decrement the P register
6: jump to 1

The length of the second stage loader is such that the final byte overwrites location 6. After the instruction in location 5 executes, location 6 starts the second stage loader executing. The second stage loader then waits for the much longer tape containing the operating system to be placed in the tape reader. The difference between the boot loader and second stage loader is the addition of checking code to trap paper tape read errors, a frequent occurrence with the hardware of the time, which in this case was an ASR-33 teletype.

In modern computers the bootstrapping process begins with the CPU executing software contained in ROM (for example, the BIOS of an IBM PC) at a predefined address (the CPU is designed to execute this software after reset without outside help). This software contains rudimentary functionality to search for devices eligible to participate in booting, and load a small program from a special section (most commonly the boot sector) of the most promising device. It is usually possible to configure the BIOS so that only a certain device can be booted from and/or to give priority to some devices over others (a CD or DVD drive is usually given priority over a hard disk, for instance).

Boot loaders may face peculiar constraints, especially in size; for instance, on the IBM PC and compatibles, the first stage of boot loaders located on hard drives must fit into the first 446 bytes of the Master Boot Record, in order to leave room for the 64-byte partition table and the 2-byte 0xAA55 'signature', which the BIOS requires for a proper boot loader.

Some operating systems, most notably pre-1995 Macintosh systems from Apple, are so closely interwoven with their hardware that it is impossible to natively boot an operating system other than the standard one. A common solution in such situations is to design a bootloader that works as a program belonging to the standard OS that hijacks the system and loads the alternative OS. This technique was used by Apple for its A/UX Unix implementation and copied by various freeware operating systems and BeOS Personal Edition 5.

What is msconfig

2007-07-25T16:36:00.000+07:00

MSConfig, or System Configuration Utility, is a boot configuration utility bundled with all Microsoft Windows operating systems released after 1995 except Windows 2000. Windows 2000 users can download the utility separately, however. This tool modifies which programs run at startup, edits certain configuration files, and simplifies controls over Windows services. Part of the base Windows install, it can be accessed by running 'msconfig' on any system on which the user has administrator access.

Files that can be edited through MSConfig include AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS, WIN.INI, SYSTEM.INI on Windows 9x systems, and BOOT.INI on Windows NT systems. The chief benefit to using MSCONFIG to edit these files is that it provides a simplified GUI to indirectly manipulate the sections of those files and the Windows registry tree pertaining to the Windows boot sequence.

The most recent version of MSConfig, released with Windows Vista, features a greatly simplified user interface and increased support for managing services.

Causes and cures of defragments action needed

2007-07-25T16:30:00.000+07:00

Causes and cures

Fragmentation occurs when the operating system cannot or will not allocate enough contiguous space to store a complete file as a unit, but instead puts parts of it in gaps between other files (usually those gaps exist because they formerly held a file that the operating system has subsequently deleted or because the operating system allocated excess space for the file in the first place). As advances in technology bring larger disk drives, the performance loss due to fragmentation squares with each doubling of the size of the drive.^{[citation needed]} Larger files and greater numbers of files also contribute to fragmentation and consequent performance loss. Defragmentation attempts to alleviate these problems.

Consider the following scenario, as shown by the image on the right:

An otherwise blank disk has 5 files, A, B, C, D and E each using 10 blocks of space (for this section, a block is an allocation unit of that system, it could be 1K, 100K or 1 megabyte and is not any specific size). On a blank disk, all of these files will be allocated one after the other. (Example (1) on the image.) If file B is deleted, there are two options, leave the space for B empty and use it again later, or compress all the files after B so that the empty space follows it. This could be time consuming if there were hundreds or thousands of files which needed to be moved, so in general the empty space is simply left there, marked in a table as available for later use, then used again as needed.^[1] (Example (2) on the image.) Now, if a new file, F, is allocated 7 blocks of space, it can be placed into the first 7 blocks of the space formerly holding the file B and the 3 blocks following it will remain available. (Example (3) on the image.) If another new file, G is added, and needs only three blocks, it could then occupy the space after F and before C. (Example (4) on the image). Now, if subsequently F needs to be expanded, since the space immediately following it is no longer available, there are two options: (1) add a new block somewhere else and indicate that F has a second extent, or (2) move the file F to someplace else where it can be created as one contiguous file of the new, larger size. The latter operation may not be possible as the file may be larger than any one contiguous space available, or the file conceivably could be so large the operation would take an undesirably long period of time, thus the usual practice is simply to create an extent somewhere else and chain the new extent onto the old one. (Example (5) on the image.) Repeat this practice hundreds or thousands of times and eventually the file system has many free segments in many places and many files may be spread over many extents. If, as a result of free space fragmentation, a newly created file (or a file which has been extended) has to be placed in a large number of extents, access time for that file (or for all files) may become excessively long.

The process of creating new files, and of deleting and expanding existing files, may sometimes be colloquially referred to as churn, and can occur at both the level of the general root file system, but in subdirectories as well. Fragmentation not only occurs at the level of individual files, but also when different files in a directory (and maybe its subdirectories), that are often read in a sequence, start to "drift apart" as a result of "churn".

A defragmentation program must move files around within the free space available to undo fragmentation. This is a memory intensive operation and cannot be performed on a file system with no free space. The reorganization involved in defragmentation does not change logical location of the files (defined as their location within the directory structure).

Another common strategy to optimize defragmentation and to reduce the impact of fragmentation is to partition the hard disk(s) in a way that separates partitions of the file system that experience many more reads than writes from the more volatile zones where files are created and deleted frequently. In Microsoft Windows, the contents of directories such as "\Program Files" or "\Windows" are modified far less frequently than they are read. The directories that contain the users' profiles are modified constantly (especially with the Temp directory and Internet Explorer cache creating thousands of files that are deleted in a few days). If files from user profiles are held on a dedicated partition (as is commonly done on UNIX systems), the defragmenter runs better since it does not need to deal with all the static files from other directories. For partitions with relatively little write activity, defragmentation performance greatly improves after the first defragmentation, since the defragmenter will need to defrag only a small number of new files in the future.

Myths

2007-07-25T16:26:00.000+07:00

Myths

Defragging the disk will not stop a system from malfunctioning or crashing because the filesystem is designed to work with fragmented files. [2] Since defrag cannot be run on a filesystem marked as dirty without first running chkdsk [3], a user who intends to run defrag "to fix a system acting strangely" often ends up running chkdsk, which repairs file system errors, the end result of which may mislead the user into thinking that defrag fixed the problem when it was actually fixed by chkdsk.

In fact, in a modern multi-user operating system, an ordinary user cannot defragment the system disks since superuser access is required to move system files. Additionally, modern file systems such as NTFS are designed to decrease the likelihood of fragmentation. [4] Improvements in modern hard drives such as RAM cache, faster platter rotation speed, and greater data density reduce the negative impact of fragmentation on system performance to some degree, though increases in commonly used data quantities offset those benefits. However, modern systems profit enormously from the huge disk capacities currently available, since partially filled disks fragment much less than full disks. [5] In any case, these limitations of defragmentation have led to design decisions in modern operating systems like Windows Vista to automatically defragment in a background process but not to attempt to defragment a volume 100% because doing so would only produce negligible performance gains. [6]

Kinds of File System in a Computer

2007-07-25T16:24:00.000+07:00

Filesystems

FAT DOS 6.x and Windows 9x-systems come with a defragmentation utility called Defrag. The DOS version is a limited version of Norton SpeedDisk.
NTFS Windows 2000 and newer include an online defragmentation tool based on Diskeeper. NT 4 and below do not have built-in defragmentation utilities.
ext2 uses an offline defragmenter called e2defrag, which does not work with its successor ext3, unless the ext3 filesystem is temporarily down-graded to ext2.
JFS has a defragfs utility on IBM operating systems.
HFS Plus in 1998 introduced a number of optimizations to the allocation algorithms in an attempt to defragment files while they're being accessed without a separate defragmenter.
XFS provides an online defragmentation utility called xfs_fsr.

Aims of defragmentation

2007-07-25T16:16:00.000+07:00

Aims of defragmentation

Reading and writing data on a heavily fragmented file system is slowed down as the time needed for the disk heads to move between fragments and waiting for the disk platter to rotate into position is increased (see seek time and rotational delay). For many common operations, the performance bottleneck of the entire computer is the hard disk; thus the desire to process more efficiently encourages defragmentation. Operating system vendors often recommend periodic defragmentation to keep disk access speed from degrading over time.

Fragmented data also spreads over more of the disk than it needs to. Thus, one may defragment to gather data together in one area, before splitting a single partition into two or more partitions (for example, with GNU Parted, or PartitionMagic).

Defragmenting may help to increase the life-span of the hard drive itself, by minimizing head movement and simplifying data access operations.

How "Seo Elite" Can Bring Your Web Site To #1 Position In Google Within 3 Weeks!

2007-07-07T22:35:00.000+07:00

by: Jhong Ren

Do you have a web site and very few people know that you and your business exist? Well, it happened to mine.

I was lost when it comes to “Search Engine Optimization”. I absolutely had no idea until my friend recommended SEO Elite.

With a lot of similar web sites targeting the same niche as mine, it has become very hard to come on first on Google.

When I first had my blog up and I did a search in various search engines like Google and Yahoo!, my blog is no-where in sight. So how has SEO Elite brought my web site to #1 position within weeks? Let me share with you what I know so that you can immediately execute these steps.

1. SEO Elite comes an excellent software that automatically search for backlinks of websites. So what I did was I search for backlinks for the number one site when I Googled the keywords.

2. Yes, you can use free wares in the internet but when I compare the search results, SEO Elite gave me more results, in terms of quality and quantity.

3. Next, I asked for reciprocal links of the sites or submitted articles to directories.

4. Ask for quality links from sites with at least Page Rank of 4.

5. And again, ensure your blog has quality content such that the sites find it added value to link you.

6. The best thing I realize is I knew exactly what my competitors are doing and how did they earn money using their sites. I’m telling you you will be very surprised by what your competitors are doing too.

So What SEO Elite had taught me:

1) Concept of online and off line page optimization.

a) Online optimization is about using various Meta tags, Meta keywords, Paragraph, Heading, Bolds, Italics, and Anchor tags. It also tells me to use proper keyword density in a web site (about 6 - 8%).

b) Off line optimization is about getting quality links to my site.

2) SEO Elite taught me what I need to know about my competitor web site, so I could implement the same strategies that they used. And the trick here is I implemented even better than them so I could overtake their #1 ranking position within weeks.

3) SEO Elite helped me to track backlinks as well as Page Rank of your competitors’ site so that I could copy their strategies.

4) SEO Elite comes with a software that automates all these, leaving me with much more time to write articles such as this to benefit you.

You may be telling me that you can do the tasks manually. Yes, it works if you are asking for links exchange from ten sites. But what if there are hundreds of them or even thousands. What are you going to do? Still manually?

So the good thing about SEO Elite is that it allows auto-submission of link exchange request, submission of articles to article directories and even checking if other sites are still linking you. SEO Elite can be the SEO resource for you.

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Facts You Should Know About Spyware

2007-07-07T22:16:00.000+07:00

by: Arvind Singh

Every PC user must control and arrest spyware through antispyware and adware removal tools. Spyware comes in various forms and the most commonly found is the illegally installed spyware. It is used to secretly get information in unethical ways, which is why good antispyware software needs to be used against it.

Spyware Avatars

As software that picks up information from your computer without your consent, Spyware assumes many forms. It can be Trojans, web bugs, adware and commercial software that are used to keep an eye over someone's computer to track what they are doing or to illegally get their secret information like passwords to bank accounts etc. Trojan software gets into your system by duping you into thinking it is something else, just like viruses. Web bugs come as ActiveX controls and cookies that just follow you around as you browse the web. Once they know your habits, they show you popups with advertisements they think you might be interested in. This sort of software or remote administration software can be stopped by firewalls.

The commercial computer monitoring spyware software includes URL recorders, key loggers, chat and screen recorders, program loggers etc. and antispyware can guard you from this. The key loggers just track all your keystrokes, which means just about everything you do on your computer. Then you have those screen loggers that can just take a picture of your screen, in spite of you having firewalls installed.

Can Cleaning Your Registry Or Deleting Your Startup Items Help?

The problem with spyware and adware is that they run as hidden files so they don't show up on the task list, the registry, or the startup items. They lodge themselves where startup cleaners cannot find them and they run invisibly. But good antispyware software or adware cleaner can find them and eliminate them.

The seriousness of running antispyware cannot be emphasized enough

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Not All Spyware Is Malicious But Must Be Removed

2007-07-07T22:13:00.000+07:00

by: Arvind Singh

Though not all Spyware is malicious they must be removed all the same. The reason being that they will ultimately expand the registry of the system and stall the programs and generally make the system unstable.

Some people believe that you may not always need to remove spyware because Spyware is not always malicious. There are many kinds of Spyware that can infect your PC. Most of them are, thankfully, not uploaded with malicious intent. But why take chances. First of all let us analyze how Spyware comes to get onto the system in the first place. People who browse the Internet come across many sites that offer free download. Clicking on these downloads may bring with it some program in the background or hidden from the user. This may be in the form of ActiveX controls or components. When we download certain programs the download program flashes a message requiring the user to allow the download of an ActiveX control without which the download will not work. This ActiveX control is registered in the CLSID files of the registry. Once the download is complete the ActiveX control stored as a .OCX file begins its stealthy work. Best Spyware removal programs are especially weary of ActiveX controls and remove any malicious looking .OCX files.

Not All Spyware Cause Damage

Spyware is not always illegal. You may have inadvertently agreed to the use of the Spyware by clicking on the 'agree' button without reading the agreement. This kind of Spyware, however, does not carry out any malicious activity. It just collects data off all the Internet sites you visit and mails the information to the host where it came from. This does not mean that you cannot remove it when you want. You can do so with certain free Spyware Virus removal programs that search and remove adware and Spyware as well. There are malicious and downright criminal Spyware as well. This type of Spyware locates personal information such as that pertaining to your credit card or online bank information and is used for criminal activities usually causing a lot of damage to you. The system must be regularly scanned with free Spyware Adware removal utilities and then the registry cleaned with a registry cleaner to make sure the system is always secure.

Run Anti Spyware Every Time You Think Of It

Spyware can be removed from the system by using anti Spyware programs. However the anti Spyware software does not remove the entries of the ware from the registry. Special free anti Spyware removal software is required to do just that. Free anti Spyware removal software such as Microsoft Spyware removal tool, Yahoo Spyware removal utility or any of the free Spyware removal tools can scan the registry for broken links and useless entries that are no longer linked to programs. These free Spyware removal tools will then remove these entries from the registry freeing up disk space and compacting the registry for efficient use.

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Tell Me About Computers

2007-07-06T09:34:00.000+07:00

by: Khal Nuwar

So you want to know about computers? The most important thing to remember, if you are new to computers, is not to be afraid of them. They are just another electrical appliance, and unless you do something drastic, I promise you they wont blow up in your face!

Trial and error is your best friend when learning about computers and a few tips on computer jargon will help a long way. I love jargon it is so creative- who on earth thought of "cookies"?

Lets begin with some basics, computers were first created in 1936, and Microsoft Windows was born in the 1980s. Since then computers, or should I say programmers, have become smarter and smarter, creating the wonderful array of program freedom that we now enjoy in our daily lifestyle of computing.

So lets get ourselves up to date with the meaning of some of the computer jargon, or what some of the bits are, and what they do in your computer.

The Computer Case

Computer cases are the outside casing of your tower, or box in your computer, these cases come in an array of different sizes and styles. Many people have their cases in fancy styles as a way of expressing themselves, or expressing individuality.

Depending on what you choose, will determine the price you will pay for a computer case. Before grabbing the fanciest thing you find, remember to take some note of what's 'inside' the box, make sure that you choose a tower or box that suits your requirements as well as your individuality!

CPU

A CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the component in a computer that sends instructions and processes information in programs. Since the 1970s single chip processors have been the main type of processor. Usually when people refer to CPUs they mean microprocessors.

The Mother Board

There are many different designs of mother boards available but generally they all look pretty much the same and do the same job. To look at, a Mother Board looks a lot like a green piece of plastic with a heap of wires and chips attached to it. Take care of your Mother Board as it is very sensitive. It is advisable to take precaution before touching it as you may damage the onboard components.

Power Supply

The power supply unit in a desk top computer is a component that converts AC voltage to DC. The ATX style is the most common nowadays, although there are several different styles of power supply units available on the market.

Hard Disks

I find hard disks funny, as they aren't really disks in the olden days sense, originally hard disks were disks made of hard plastic, and floppy disks were floppy if you shook them. Now a Hard drive refers to the storing capacity inside of your computer. All your files are written onto the hard disk and stored there for future retrival or modification.

Floppy Drive

Floppy discs aren't floppy at all! They are infant hard plastic square things that used to be a popular way of transferring data from one computer to another. The computer reads and copies the information to a small metal circular disk set in the plastic casing.

CD ROM

ROM means, Read only memory, ROM chips are used in many appliances not just computers, a CD ROM is a device that stores information or data permanently. Once it's on there you cant delete it like you can with your hard drive or floppy disk unless you are using a CD-RW.

CD's are a standard means for distributing large amounts of information easily, since CD's are so cheap. You can use a CD ROM on your computer to create your own music and photo CD's.

Now you know some 'inside info' you should be ready to go and explore the endless options of computers and devices that are open to you, just remember- To err is human, to mess things up requires a computer!

Happy Computing!

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The Next Generation Of Computers Is Quantum Computers

2007-07-06T09:33:00.001+07:00

by: Robert Michael

Taking the Quantum Leap

While it may seem that the evolution of computers is about at its end, that is not the case. The next generation of computers is quantum computers.

The reason behind continuing computer evolution is the continuing thirst we have for speed and capacity of our computers. Way back in 1947 an engineer and computing expert, Howard Aiken, predicted that all the United States need to satisfy its need for computers were six digital electronic computers. Other scientists and engineers that followed Aiken added to the volume they predicted as being adequately massive, but were also far too conservative.

What none were able to predict that scientific research would produce voluminous quantities of knowledge that needed to be computed and stored, nor did they predict the popularity of personal computers, and the existence of the Internet. In fact, it’s hard to predict if humankind will ever be satisfied with its computer power and volume.

A basic computer premise, called Moore’s Law, says that the number of a microprocessor’s transistors doubles every 18 months and will continue to do so. What this means is that by no later than 2030 the number of microprocessor circuits found in computers will be astronomically high. This will lead to the creation of quantum computers, whose design will use the power of molecules and atoms for processing and memory tasks. Quantum computers should be able to perform specific calculations billions of times more quickly than can the current computers that are based on silicon.

Quantum computers do exist today, though few and they’re all in the hands of scientists and scientific organizations. They are not for practical and common use – that is still many years away. The theory of quantum computers was developed in 1981 by Paul Benioff, a physicist with the Argonne National Laboratory. Benioff theorized going beyond the Turing Theory to a Turing machine with quantum capabilities.

Alan Turing created the Turing machine around 1935. This machine was made up of a tape whose length was unlimited and which he divided into small squares. Each square either held the symbol one or the symbol zero, or no symbol at all. He then created a reading-writing device that could read these zero and one symbols, which in turn gave these machines – the early computers – the instructions that initiated specific programs.

Benioff took this to the quantum level, saying that the reading-writing head and the tape would both exist in a quantum state. What this would mean is that those tape symbols one or zero could exist in a superposition that could be one and zero at the same time, or somewhere in between. Because of this the quantum Turing machine, in contrast to the standard Turing machine, could perform several calculations at once.

The standard Turing machine concept is what runs today’s silicon-based computers. In contrast, quantum computers encode computer information as quantum bits, called qubits. These qubits actually represent atoms that work together to act as a processor and as the computer’s memory. This ability to run multiple computations at one, and to contain several states at the same time, is what gives quantum computers the potential to be millions of times as powerful as today’s best supercomputers.

Quantum computers that have 30 qubits would, for example, have processing power equal to today’s computers that run at a speed of 10 teraflops (trillions of operations per second.) To put this in perspective, the typical computer of today runs at gigaflop speeds (billions of operations per second.

As our cry for more speed and more power from our computers continues, quantum computers are predicted to be a readily available product sometime in the not so distant future.

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Little Kids, Big Computers - The First Wired Generation

2007-07-06T09:32:00.001+07:00

by: Leon Groom

The numbers are astounding. According to a eMarketer report released in 2005, 39% of children younger 11 years old and younger are online regularly. 73% of teens aged 12 to 17 are online consistently. 31% of all kids have a computer in their room. Back in 2002, comScore Media Metrix found that the 12 to 17 year olds spend almost half an hour instant messaging each other. This same survey reported this age group played online games almost 30 minutes a day, and were on other web sites for about three quarters of an hour. This all translates into a lot of time on the keyboard and in front of the monitor.

There’s trouble brewing with all this computer use. The problems surrounding this issue include:

· children using equipment designed for adults
· children using adult-sized computer furniture.
· children don’t know ergonomic computing techniques
· children are spending too much time on the computer

Kids as young as eight years old are complaining of headaches, neck aches, and back aches. If you look at any child using a computer, you can see immediately why this might be. Young children have to tilt their heads back to see a monitor that is towering above them. The rule of thumb is that the user should have to look down somewhat to see the focal point on the screen. The worst health statistics regarding children using computers are related to laptops. Because laptops aren’t adjustable in any way, they put the most stress on young users.

Child sized computer equipment is available nowadays. Keyboards are designed with little hands in mind. And the keys are color coded to help new readers pick out the correct letters. Keyboards for kids come with software that assists with reading and typing skills. And it’s not just keyboards that need to fit kids. Child sized mice fit small hands. To make the mouse even easier to use, they come with colored dots on the buttons to help youngsters who might be a little weak on telling left from right. (There are probably some adults who could benefit from that, too!)

Many adults aren’t familiar with proper computer use techniques, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that children aren’t being taught how to compute ergonomically. Parents should become knowledgeable about what constitutes proper posture and typing technique. They should set an example for children by taking frequent breaks, stretching, and using appropriate assistive ergonomic devices. Parents should also be aware of how long their children are on the computer. It’s easy for anyone to get caught up and lose track of time. A kitchen timer set for twenty minutes is a great way to enforce limits.

Any time a child uses a computer, adjustments must be made to accommodate his size. And this doesn’t mean putting phone books on the chair. Children who use a computer frequently should have a child sized work station and equipment, or use the various adaptive devices to make computing comfortable. This is the time to protect the first wired generation from repetitive stress injuries. Five years from now is too late.

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How Computer Viruses Work and How to Protect your Computer

2007-07-06T09:30:00.000+07:00

by: Matt Gundesen

Many people are afraid of tinkering with their computers because of the fear that they might inadvertently introduce a computer virus into the computer system.

Computer viruses have become the technological bogeyman that scares computer users all over the world. We have all heard of how dangerous computer viruses are and how it can damage your data. Of course, aided by the bloated images Hollywood movies paint with regards to computer viruses, a big majority now have this insane (but mostly unfounded) fears about it.

It is true that computer viruses are dangerous. Anyone who has lost vital information in their computers because of a computer virus will know how big a damage it can cause. But computer viruses are not these insidiously little pieces of code that could wreak havoc on the world. If you know what to do when you get a virus in your computer then you can definitely limit, if not totally stop, the damage it can cause.

But what is a computer virus? Well, it is a software with a small imprint that would usually attach itself on to a legitimate program or software. Every time this program is executed the virus is also executed and it tries to reproduce itself by attaching to other programs or it immediately starts affecting the computer. A computer virus and email virus basically have the same modus operandi, the difference though is that an email virus would attach itself to an email message or automatically send itself using the addresses in the address book in order to infect the people who receive the email.

A computer virus is usually embedded in a larger program, often a legitimate piece of software. The virus will be run when the legitimate software is executed. The computer virus would load itself into the memory of the computer and then it will seek out any programs where it can likely attach itself. When a likely program is found then the virus would modify the file in order to add the virus’ code to the program. The virus would usually run before the actual legitimate program runs. In fact, the virus would usually perform the infection first before it commands the legitimate program to run. This process is so fast that no one would even notice that a virus was executed. With two programs now infected (the original program and the first infected program), the same process would be repeated whenever either program is launched worsening the level of infection.

After the infection phase, or even within the middle of the process of infection, the virus would usually start its attack on the system. The level of attack can range from silly actions like flashing messages on the screen to actually erasing sensitive data.

Fortunately, there are steps that you can do in order to protect your computer from viruses. Among the steps that you can take are:

* The simplest way to avoid a virus is to install a legitimate and effective antivirus program in your computer. The antivirus program is designed to look out for any kind of activity that could be seen as similar to a virus attack or infestation and it automatically stops it.

* You can opt to use a more secure operating system in your computer. For example, Unix is a secure operating system because the security features built into it prevents a virus from actually doing what it is programmed to do.

* Enable Macro Virus Protection in all of the Microsoft applications resident in your computer. Additionally, you should avoid running macros in a document unless you have a good idea of what these macros are going to do.

* Avoid using programs that you have downloaded on the internet especially when they come from dubious sources.

* Never open an email attachment that contains an executable file – these are files with the EXE, COM and VBS extensions.

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Do You Need Computer Training?

2007-07-06T09:29:00.000+07:00

by: Rick Boklage

The answer is yes, sooner or later you will need some computer training. As computers evolve and new software becomes available people are finding it important to keep up on their computer skills.

If you work in office environment for example, you may be faced with a situation where your employer purchases a new piece of software in the hopes that it will help his company become more efficient. As a result, you may be required to learn to use this new piece of software. Even if you work in a warehouse this new software may required that you need to enter inventory and print packing slips.

Do you need to know everything about the software? The answer is no, you by no means have to become a computer expert. Just acquire the skills that will allow you to use the software as efficiently as possible in your day to day activities. Here are some ways to gain those computer skills.

1. The software manual. Take some time to briefly read the titles and summaries. By doing so when you come across something you are not sure how to do you may think, "I remember reading something about that" and quickly find it again in the manual.

2. Software specific books. These are books you can purchase at most major book stores. They are quite often written by people who are experts with the software. The text is often followed by examples which may make it easier for you to understand and therefore you learn quicker.

3. CD tutorials. With some of the more popular software you may be able to purchase a CD tutorial. These training aids take you through step by step the different functions of the software. By "doing", as you are learning you are more often to remember these various functions.

It's never to late to start computer training. The skills you learn today may be all you need to get that promotion or qualify for that new job. Taking the initiative to upgrade you computer skills shows your employer or potential employer that you are able to adapt to the every changing computer workplace.

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The Top Ten Spyware And Adware Threats That Exists To Harm Your Computer

2007-07-06T09:28:00.000+07:00

by: Karl Smith

If you have a computer, then chances are you have either spyware or adware lurking on it somewhere. Estimates suggest that 90% of computers are infected with malicious software (malware) of some type. They take over your computer, infest it with pop-ups and other junk, or even worse, steal your private information. Although there are countless types of spyware and adware, these are the ones generally considered the biggest threats to your computer.

Gator - This adware is designed to track the sites you surf and so get a picture of your online interests. Once it has enough data, it starts to bombard you with everything from banner ads to pop-ups on similar subjects, hoping to grab your interest and attention. Generally your computer gets infected with Gator when you share files through Kazaa or other means, or when you download freeware.

n-Case - Another type of adware, which subjects you to an endless flood of pop-up ads. Downloading freeware from online sites is the way your computer usually gets infected with this malware.

PurtyScan - This is particularly sneaky adware. First it displays a pop-up ad on your computer offering to detect any pornographic content on your computer, with an offer to remove it. If you click on the ad, however, you end up a website which then infiltrates your computer with even more spyware and adware.

Transponder - Similar to Gator, in that it 'watches' your online behavior, then bombards you with ads that this malware decides are relevant.

CoolWebSearch - This malware is certainly not cool, but malicious. The first step is that it hijacks your Internet settings and web page, and then redirects you to another web page of its own. As you can imagine, that website is full of more adware and spyware, waiting to get into your computer.

Internet Optimizer - You could almost call this piece of malware a hacker. It takes control of your home page, and also any other web pages you visit. The final step is to pass you on to its own web page, so that it can download other malware onto your computer.

Perfect KeyLogger - This malware is a tool for hackers. It can record your keystrokes, which makes it simple to find out private information such as credit card numbers, passwords and other private details. These are then passed on to the hacker.

ISTbar/Aupdate - Although it pretends to be a toolbar, this is still malware. It's a form of spyware, and it operates by continually displaying pornographic images and pop-up ads on your computer, which is both embarrassing and annoying. It also takes control of your Internet settings and web page.

TIBS Dialer - If you access the Internet via a dial-up connection, this malware will hijack your phone modem and then transfer you to various websites full of pornography.

Keen Value - This malware starts out by tracking your online behavior, analyzing every website you visit. It also collects your personal information if you fill out any forms online, and then bombards with endless advertisements, many of which link through to websites full of dangerous malware.

This is why protection is always important even if you surf the next just once a week.

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How To Build A Computer Without Really Trying

2007-07-06T09:26:00.000+07:00

by: Darryl F. Griffin

I didn’t start out trying to build a computer. My CD disk drive stopped working and I kept getting an error message which said, “This drive is not available.” I went to the “my computer” file to check the status of the drive through the properties but the drive wasn’t listed. I then went to the device manager to check the drives status but it wasn’t listed there either.

Now I’m not a computer whiz or computer “geek” but I do have some knowledge, although limited, as to how a computer works. After spending literally hours trying to figure out what happened to my CD drive, I finally decided to cross the line and venture into the unknown. I took the cover off the computer case. I had no idea what I was looking for so I started tinkering around to see if maybe something had come loose. Sure enough, a cable going to the back of the CD player was unplugged. I plugged the cable back in, put the cover back on, plugged in the power cord and pushed the power button to fire her up. I was kind of surprised to see that it actually worked. This got me to wondering how hard it would be to build a computer from scratch. I went searching on line to see if this was possible, something that I could do. After reading various articles and visiting numerous web sites I decided to give it a try.

The first step was to determine what kind of computer I wanted. First and foremost it had to be fast. No sense going through all the trouble to build a dud. It also had to be capable of handling large video files, many photographs, and a vast amount of music (songs). And finally I wanted it to be a media center; capable of playing and recording music, playing and recording DVDs, downloading and playing games, and capable of playing cable television. I also wanted to be able to connect an overhead projector and have my wall as the screen while surfing the net. Once I decided what I wanted, I started looking for the components and or parts I would need.

The first thing I needed was a case, or tower. I found out that there are guide lines standardizing case such as ATX Form Factor. This is a standardized case designed to accept certain motherboards, and thus determining the layout of the inside of the case. I found a great source for the parts I would need, in a online store named Newegg.Com. Although I didn’t know it at the time, I quickly found out that in addition to a vast product selection, and very low competitive prices, their customer service was “top flight.” Yes I highly recommend these guys.

First on my list was a Rosewill R114A-SLV silver steel mid-tower computer case. This case came with a 400w ATX 20-pin main connector power supply. (See photo A). Next on the list was a motherboard. I needed an ATX Intel motherboard, (ATX meaning it would fit perfectly in my ATX mid-tower). For this I chose the ASUS P5P800 Socket T (LGA775) Intel 865PE ATX Intel motherboard. It is very powerful and affordable, and supports Intel’s Pentium 4 processor®. This processor supports Hyper-Threading technology which, according to Intel’s web site “results in more efficient use of processor resources, higher processing throughput, and improved performance on today’s multithreaded software.” This motherboard also comes with a 775 pin Land Grid Array (LGA-775) socket designed for the Intel® Pentium® 4 processor, and most importantly to me, a Users Guide.

Next on the list was a processor. I chose the Intel® Pentium® 4 processor; 530J 3.0 GHz, 800 MHz FSB in the 775 Land package. This super fast processor comes with a heat sink and fan assembly which uses push pin technology to install. For memory I decided on Rosewill’s 512 MB 184-pin DDR SDRAM DDR400 (PC3200), four times. For the hard drive I chose Western Digital’s WDC1600®, 160 GHz 7200 RPM Serial ATA Hard Drive. I chose a Mitsumi 1.44 MB 3.5 Internal Floppy, a Rosewill DVD burner; model RD-162, and Rosewill CD burner; model RR-52, (both retail). With the exception of the floppy, all of my components were retail, IE, in original manufacturers packaging, etc. Also on my list were 2 80mm Sleeve, Blue LED light case cooling fans, a Sound Blaster Live® sound card, an ATI All In Wonder 9600® 8X graphics/TV card, a Dell® 17” Ultra Sharp flat panel monitor, wireless mouse and keyboard, HP Photo Smart 7660® printer, and Logitech Z 2300® speaker system.

As you can see I did my homework. Before taking on this task, I didn’t have a clue as to what a motherboard was, what was a CPU’s function, what a hard disk was and what it was for, what if any compatibility issues I would encounter, and how all of this “stuff” worked together. So over the course of about three months I purchased all of these components. My very first mistake was that I ordered the ASUS P4P800SE instead of the ASUS P5P800SE. The P4P800SE is not compatible with the Intel P4 LGA-775 processor®. So here was a chance to test the service level of Newegg.com. I emailed them and explained my situation, and without hesitation they exchanged the motherboard and didn’t charge me a restocking fee or freight. They acted as if they had made the mistake. Needless to say, I was VERY impressed.

Once all of the parts and components were here, I laid everything out, identified everything, and read the users guide that came with the motherboard from cover to cover. Now was the “nuts and bolts” time, the time to put this thing together. The motherboard came with ten screws and ten felt washers which were used to attach the motherboard to the case chassis. I placed the felt washers over the holes on the chassis and placed the motherboard on top of the felt washers. Therefore the felt washers were between the chassis and the motherboard. I then secured the motherboard to the chassis with the ten screws. Next was installing the CPU. I found out real fast how sensitive a piece of equipment this was. There are 775 tiny pins or connectors that could easily get bent, and thus make the CPU useless. This I considered the most intimidating. However, I said a prayer, took my time, got the CPU lined-up correctly, and proceeded with caution. Perfect match! Perfect fit! The sweating was over. I then installed the heat sink and fan assembly onto the CPU with the push pins, (push down and twist clockwise). I then plugged the CPU fan cable into the connector on the motherboard labeled CPU_FAN. I then installed the Serial ATA hard disk drive into one of the internal bays. Then I installed the floppy disk drive. Next to install was the system memory. It’s very important that you first “ground” yourself by touching the metal chassis before handling the Dual Inline Memory Modules (DIMM). This motherboard comes with four DIMM sockets enabling the use of various configurations, based on the amount of memory to be installed. I chose four 512MB DIMM modules, which kept it simple. I just unlocked the DIMM sockets by pressing the retaining clips outward. Next I aligned the DIMM on the socket so that the notch on the DIMM matched the break on the socket. By pushing straight down, I firmly inserted the DIMM until the retaining clips snapped back into place. I then installed the DVD optical drive in the first bay, and the CD optical drive in the second bay. This particular case has flip up doors which conceal the optical drives. I then installed a network card into one of the five PCI slots and secured it to the chassis with screws. Next I installed the ATI All In Wonder9600® graphics card into the Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) slot. This motherboard only supports a 1.5v or 0.8v AGP card which is keyed to fit into the AGP card slot. Next, was time to set the “jumpers.” The jumpers are set to determine how a part of the computer will function. For example, there’s a three pin keyboard power jumper which lets you enable or disable the keyboard wake up feature. There’s a jumper cap that covers two of the three pins to determine the jumpers function.

Next came the fun part, the internal connections. I connected the FDD to the floppy disk connector with the FDD signal cable. Then I connected a power cable to the FDD. Next I connected the serial ATA hard disk drive to one of the two SATA connectors with a serial ATA signal cable, and then connected a power cable to the hard drive. I then plugged in the CPU fan connectors, the serial (COM) port module cable to the serial port connector, two USB 2.0 ports, and game module. I then connected power cables to the two optical drives. Next I connected the ATX power connectors (24-pin EATXPWR, 4-pin ATX12v), the internal audio connector (4-pin CD, AUX), front panel audio connector (10-1 pin FP-Audio), and last but not least, the system panel connector (20-1 pin Panel). The system panel connector is color coded so connecting it was fairly simple. I then replaced the system case cover, connected the monitor, the wireless receiver for the keyboard and mouse, the speakers, and the power cord. I then plugged the cord into a wall outlet. Now for the moment of truth! I pushed the power button. Nothing happened! No lights on system panel, no onboard LED light, no CPU fan running! Nothing! Needless to say I was crushed. All of this work for nothing. I started wondering what I could have done wrong, or was it some kind of compatibility issue. I went back to the beginning and retraced all of my connections, and they were all correct. After about an hour of tracing and retracing my steps it hit me. There was no power coming into the system! I then plugged in a lamp to test the outlet, and it worked fine. After going over everything again and again I realized that maybe, just maybe the felt washers were somehow preventing a connection. It was worth a try so I uninstalled everything, and I mean everything! I then took out the motherboard, removed the felt washers, replaced the motherboard, so that it was in direct contact with the case chassis, put the felt was hers on top of the motherboard, and then tightened the motherboard to the chassis with the ten screws. I realized that the only instruction not in the users guide was the correct placement of the felt washers! I then reinstalled everything. When I plugged the power cord into the wall outlet the onboard LED light came on! I pushed the power button and she came right on. It worked! Oh how happy I was. I then went into the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) and followed the steps to set the many different parameters to control the operation of the computer. With the users guide, these were pretty easy to set. Once I finished setting the different parameters I installed the operating system, Microsoft Windows XP® with service pack II. Seeing the ASUS logo followed by the Windows XP logo was one of the most gratifying parts of this whole ordeal. I was thrilled! My computer worked flawlessly the first time I used it, and has worked flawlessly every since. I can watch TV programs, search the internet at super fast speeds (with cable modem), download songs and create a play list, create photo disk, and albums, listen to AOL radio, watch videos, watch DVD movies, play games, Call Of Duty, The Big Red One®, and print excellent photos. This computer is awesome! Overall this was a very intense learning experience. Once I was committed there was no turning back, because too much money had been spent. By the way, I already owned a desktop computer system made by a highly respected manufacturer. I paid close to $1,100 for the complete system and it has no where near the capabilities of the computer I just built. There is just no comparison. And I spent a whole lot less building my own, actually saved hundred of dollars. I priced major name brand computers with the power and capabilities of the one I just built and the cheapest came to about $2,200. Unbelievable! Just goes to show, anything is possible if you stick to it, and more importantly, if you have the Lord on you side…

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Computer Security - Startling Facts

2007-07-06T09:25:00.000+07:00

by: Peter Crest

Working on the Internet provides Internet marketers with the opportunity to make a living in the comfort of their own home. Computer Security includes threats such as viruses, identity theft, spyware, adware to name but a few. The latest statistics show that at least over 900 new viruses are created each month which makes keeping track of them really quite difficult. This article would cover three (3) subtopics namely: The Internet, Spyware and Antivirus.

Internet

If you use your computer on the internet, you need (at minimum) anti virus software. The problem of computer security is the number one problem in todays networks and Internet engineering. As hackers use different means to crack the security systems it often happens to be impossible to resist and computer security system fail.

Computer Security on the internet is vital for home and business use as there are increasingly hostile environments when users surf the net. It is very important for users to be educated on the dangers they may face while on the internet. Your computer connected to the internet is similar to your house in many ways. Users search on the internet for free computer security software which they dump into their computers and hope for the best.

The Internet is a wonderful place. Anyone with an Internet connection can stay in touch with family and friends via email. Computer security is growing rapidly by the minute and the only one who has control over their files of information is the user. It is strongly suggested that users equip their pc with an armed fire wall for vital protection.

An advice is to use Microsoft Windows Update to keep your operating system and Internet Explorer patched. Other advice could be to only conduct Internet transactions that have secured processing. Even if you have a computer connected to the Internet only to play the latest games or to send email to friends and family, your computer could be a target.

Although confidentiality, integrity and authenticity are the most important things when it comes to computer security in general, for everyday internet users, privacy is the most important one, because many people think that they have nothing to hide or the information they give doesn't seem sensitive when they register with an internet service/site.

Spyware

An avenue for Spyware to infect your machine is through popular Peer-to-Peer File Sharing software such as Kazaa. Extreme spyware like Rootkits and other advanced spyware have fundamentally changed the playing field in todays computer security.

While it may seem to be common sense, many of the most widely-spread attacks have involved spyware and email attachment worms. Often these packages come as “suites” including a firewall and Spyware scanner. They scan and destroy spyware as it’s found in the user’s computer.

Regardless of the type of spyware, it can slow your computer to a crawl and needs to be removed from your computer. Spyware occurs when certain websites run programs in the back ground of your computer while gleaning information from it. There is now a bill in the US Congress to make Spyware illegal.

Anti-spyware tools will greatly assist in protecting your privacy and restoring full computer functions that spyware may have taken over. In the internet world it is vital for users to have a good spyware scan (a recommended and reliable one can be found in the Author Resource Box below) and removal tool because of the multitude of different spyware, adware, Trojans and other malware constantly looking to attack your system. Spyware can slow down your computer, and would have to be removed.

There are tools available which include good free Spyware removal software among other security measures the user can take to protect the computer from malicious attack such as Viruses, Spyware and Adware. The recommended one is staed below. Spyware not only covertly runs in the background and steals personal information of the user it is a potential security threat of which the extent of the damage cannot be determined.

Antivirus

With all of the marketing commotion that surrounds viruses, you should already have antivirus software on all of your computers. Let me explain something, just because you have a antivirus software program on your computer you are not cured. Until recently could one install a firewall and an antivirus program and feel quite secure.

Protection services could commonly include the ability of an administrator to monitor activity throughout the system as well as potentially block hazardous material on the internet from being viewed by other users, the ability to manage automatic updates and what's more the ability to enquire about the status of antivirus software. These include firewall, spyware scanning software and antivirus software.

Everyone needs to have proper computer security measures in place to make sure they are consistently free from all these malicious software. Urgent action should be taken now.

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Windows XP Tips for Computer Security

2007-07-06T09:23:00.000+07:00

by: Chris Kaminski

Here are a couple of tips to speed up your Windows XP computer and help keep you protected and secure online. First you need to control which programs load on startup: Many of the programs you install on your computer automatically configure themselves to launch at startup, usually invisibly. The truly essential ones, such as anti-virus and firewall products, generally run as services and run fine in the background. Other less important software like media players don't need to be running continually.

These extra programs slow the boot process and then severely suck up resources like memory and CPU cycles. It is pretty easy to control which applications launch on startup. The System Configuration Utility lists all these applications in one place:

1) To get there: Click the ‘Start' button then choose the ‘Run' command.

2) In the text box type "msconfig". - Across the top of the dialog box select the ‘Startup' tab.

3) The Startup Tab lists all the programs that launch at start-up. To disable any of these simply un-check the box on the left. Only non-essential programs are listed here it should be safe to un-check pretty much anything. If it turns out you needed it just go back and re-check it.

4) Once you are done re-boot the machine. 5) When the Desktop returns you will be presented with a window that says you have chosen Selective Startup. Just Check "Do not show this window again" and click OK.

To keep your computer secure, turn on automatic updates. Seems like every virus writer has nothing better to do then attack Windows operating systems. Keeping the system patches and security fixes is critical. During the setup of XP Service Pack 2 with a new computer or an up-grade you are asked whether or not to turn on automatic updates, if you made the mistake of checking no you can find this option in the Windows Security Center (Start / Control Panel) and change it back. Even with all its faults, XP is a powerful operating system that has many good security features.

Here are some more tips to help you get the most out of your operating system. Remove Windows components not found in ADD / REMOVE. Many Windows components, things like Network Services or Solitaire are easy to remove through the Add or Remove programs configuration window (Start / ControlPanel / Add and Remove Programs / Windows Components). Simply un-check them, but … some things are deliberately hidden.

A good example would be MSN Messenger. To remove this from startup follow these steps:

1) In Windows Explorer (right click Start / Explore), navigate to C:WindowsInf and make a copy of Sysoc.inf.

2) Double click on Sysoc.inf and it will open in Notepad.

3) Press Ctrl H (opens Find and Replace) and replace the string ,hide, with ,, then save and replace the file. Now all the hidden components will appear.

4) Then follow the steps above for removing programs from the startup menu.

To restore a corrupted system file: If a necessary system file should become missing or corrupted by a virus you can replace it from your Windows CD.

1) Go to Start / Search and type in the file name replacing the last letter with an underscore (ex. Filename.ex_).

2) If the file is found, open a command prompt (Start / Run, type CMD in the textbox).

3) At the prompt type expand followed by the full pathname of the file and destination (expand D:Windowsfilename.ex_ C:Windowsfilename.exe) where D: is the letter of your disc drive. If either pathname contains spaces surround the entire pathname with double quotes. If the file isn't found search again using the un-modified file name, it is probably in a CAB file, Windows treats these as folders, simply drag the new folder to the destination while holding down the right mouse button then select Copy Here.

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Fix Computer Problems In A Jiffy With Rollback Rx

2007-07-06T09:22:00.000+07:00

by: Jacob Henderson

Rollback Rx system restore software is mandatory for every computer user to ensure system security and data loss prevention. More so in educational institutions dependent on PCs for their routine work, where a rollback tool is essential since most are multi user systems. PC restore is a regular operation that has to be done, to preserve data and to repair computer problems that might arise from misuse of computers. This can happen in many ways, but can be totally avoided with a disaster recovery solution like Rollback Rx.

Areas Where Rollback Rx Can Repair Computer Issues

In colleges and universities where several people use the same computer, students store their academic work in the form of reports, software programs, etc in various folders. Because many people use the same system, the necessity to fix computer problems arises when certain files or folders become deleted or moved. This could very well cause problems. With Rollback Rx, PC restore can be done easily to a secure state, to keep the operating system and other data intact.

Unauthorized Downloads Can Be Fixed With Rollback Rx

There is a tendency to download free programs that appear useful, little knowing that it can lead to security issues and computer repair. Viruses and spyware get into the system and crash the entire network. In such situations, Rollback Rx helps retrieve important data while removing all these unwanted elements from the pc network when a system restore is performed, preventing permanent damage and exorbitant costs.

Just imagine having the hard drive being deleted by a click of the mouse. When students handle computers, they are usually curious and tend to tinker around with settings and end up, sometimes unintentionally creating computer repair, putting the computer’s security at risk. When Rollback Rx is installed on the pc, it can be scheduled to take snapshots at specific intervals so that fixing computer problems becomes a quick task instead of creating several hours of downtime and data loss. This would avoid serious issues like certain scheduled activities being deactivated, antivirus programs being over-ridden or firewalls turned off, exposing the network to sabotage and other malware. With Rollback Rx, this sort of problem can be avoided and rectified easily, because it helps rollback the systems to a configuration that is suitable.

Rollback Rx system restore software is like a guardian for the PC network, avoiding computer repair and disaster through program failure or operating system malfunction. It keeps the system healthy and the user happy. While very simple to use, Rollback Rx has the options of selectively allowing only certain people to access it, thereby making it ideal where multi-user systems exist.

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Ways To Hide Files On Your Computer

2007-07-06T09:20:00.001+07:00

by: Clinton Brown

At some point in time, perhaps on your family computer, or your own computer, you will develop, collect, and store some important personal files on your hard drive that are strictly for your needs and purposes. These digital files may be so important to you, that under no circumstances, should anyone ever be able to access and see them. Some of these personal and business files may include documents, spreadsheets, emails, pdfs, text files, invoices, pictures, videos, and mp3s. These files may be so sensitive in nature, that you realize a need to prevent your spouse, kids, friends, or anyone for that matter, from viewing and accessing them. Perhaps, you may even need to hide porn or other explicit files. Just imagine if your spouse, or little ones at home, did a file search for all picture files and movies that were on your computer. Hopefully the results wouldn't expose them to anything that you wouldn't want them to see. Just imagine what could happen, if your children at home decided to fool around with your work and files that was listed in the recent documents menu. Ok, you get the point. And thus, this question is raised: How do I hide files and folders so that they won't be discovered?

There are several ways in which you can hide files: You can put your files within a folder and apply the hidden attribute to the folder. You can bury your files deeply in subdirectories within subdirectories and hope that no one browses using Windows Explorer. You can change the file name and file extension of your file to something unique and strange, so that no one recognizes it, or you can purchase a file hiding software security application such as a folder lock or folder hider with password protection.

All of the above methods may be your solution to hide your important files. It simply depends on the significant importance of your files and level of security you need. You can apply the hidden attribute to a folder or file by choosing to do so within its properties. This is a simple way of hiding a folder in Windows XP. However, the files will still show up if a user sets the option "show hidden files and folders" within the folders options. Another way to hide a file is simply by concealing it by dumping it into a folder you think no one will ever access. However, you run the risk of it appearing within the results of a Windows Search and having it displayed in the documents list. Another way to hide a file is by renaming it along with its file extension so that no one recognizes it or is able to open it using its standard program. Although this method could possibly work for you, you would have to waste time renaming it and changing it back to the correct extension.

And thus, the following question is raised: What is a quick and sure proof way to hide files in windows so that they won't appear within Windows Explorer and won't be displayed in the results of a Windows search? Your solution: A simple and easy to use folder security software utility that will allow you to hide files and folders and make them reappear all with a simple hotkey. Supreme Folder Hider is such a solution that will save you time and will provide you with an extra added sense of security. Supreme Folder Hider prevents all file access from Windows Explorer, the command prompt, shortcuts, and most recently used document lists.

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Ways To Hide Files On Your Computer

2007-07-06T09:20:00.000+07:00

Are You Large Format Computer Graphic Literate? These 4 Questions Will Tell You

2007-07-06T09:19:00.000+07:00

by: Bob Albright

Today it seems there is a large format printer on every street corner. HP5000's, Encad's, Epson's for large format printing (larger than 35" wide) are available at your nearest Kinko's or Office Max. Many people pull a few files off their internet site, drop them into Photo Shop or Illustrator then take their computer file then submit their saved file to a large format printer and think everything will work out just the way they envisioned it. My experience in producing graphics for the trade show business for the past 25 years tells me otherwise.

In this period of time we've gone from one off screen printing for large trade show signs, to utilizing the Gerber vinyl cutter to make garage sale type signs to today's process which uses computer files for designed for various types of RIPs (Raster Image Processor) that print CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) images on various substrates from paper and vinyl to polycarbonate. Today most large format printing is done using these RIPs and the ink jet high resolution printers.

What are the land mines ahead for most people? Trade show graphics design requires an understanding of graphics computer software. If you can answer the following questions then you may be able to do your own graphic design. (Anwers provided below).

Vector Art - which programs provide it. What does resolution independence mean?

1) File Resolution - How does file resolution limit final print size?

2) Photographic proportioning - How must you scan a 35mm slide to make it fit a 14" x 150" header layout?

3) If you had a 150 pixel by 150 pixel image and we require 100 pixel per inch how big could this be printed?

4)Your image is scanned at 3200 pixels wide x 2400 pixels tall. You need a 15" x 28" graphic. Is the file appropriate?

If you can't answer these questions off hand, you need to pay someone to create your graphic art. I frequently have customers submit files who couldn't answer the above questions and we end up having to recreate their artwork.

Answers:

1. Vector art is artwork created in a drawing program such as Adobe Illustrator. All images must have outlines around them in order to be vectored artwork. These outlines are represented by mathematical formulae that allow the images to be enlarged to virtually any size and still be printed at a high resolution. That is what resolution independence is the ability to scale a graphic to various sizes and still retain high image quality. Scanned images and digital photography (bitmap images consisting of pixels) are not resolution independent, depending on the output device they can only be printed to a certain size and no larger.

2. File resolution limits final print size for all bitmap images (digital photography and scanned images). If you print RIP requires 100 pixels per inch then the final print size of a file 2569 pixel x 3678 pixels is 2569/100 x 3678/100 or 25.69" x 36.78" and not larger unless you are prepared to live with pixelated and otherwise degraded final images.

3. To use a 35mm slide you would have to severely crop the image and scan it at a very high resolution 1400 pixels x 15000 pixels. The example slide at right show a red box that is the proportion of the 14x150 inch header. As you can see most of the image area of the slide is going to be unavailable for the header proportions. That red rectangle representing about 15% of the total slide would have to be scanned at 1400 pixels x 15000 pixels in order to be printed at an acceptable resolution.

4. A 150 pixel x 150 pixel image could only be printed 1.5" x 1.5". Not nearly large enough for trade show graphics usage.

I suggest that if you don't understand those questions and answers above that you pay someone to do your computer layout for you. You'll save time in the long run and perhaps even make your deadline.

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Computer Scrapbooks

2007-07-06T09:17:00.000+07:00

by: Barbara Miller

When digital cameras were first released on the market, everyone was excited. Finally, here was an easy way to take and store photos. No more would our closets be plagued with boxes and envelopes housing a hodgepodge of unorganized photographs. What we didn't realize was that soon, our computers would be filled with a hodgepodge of unorganized photographs.

The explosion of home computers and the Internet has led to an increased need for people to organize computer scrapbooks. It's easy to accumulate literally thousands of digital pictures, and it's just as easy to get them all mixed up. Try finding a favorite photo as you're scanning through a list of numbers and letters. Creating computer scrapbooks makes it quick and easy to locate the photographs, as soon as you want to see them.

When preparing your computer scrapbooks, the first step should always be renaming your photos. You should use file names that are easy to understand and organize, rather than keeping the default names set by your digital photography software. Anyone who has used a digital camera or camera phone knows just how hard it can be to decipher the file names, let alone selecting the photographs. Proper titles listed in computer scrapbooks make it easy to remember which pictures you have.

One key point to remember is that all of your computer scrapbook files will be sorted in alphabetical order. This can get confusing, particularly if you're naming pictures by date. Rather than call your photos 'January10', 'April21' etc, use the numerical format year, month and then day. Those same files will now be called 20050110Baby and 20050421Baby. In doing so, your computer will display them in the correct date order for you.

After your photo files have been renamed, you need to create folders to store the different types of photo files. Try organizing your computer scrapbooks by subject, theme or occasion. This will allow you to find your photos much easier later on. For example, create a folder called 'Baby Pictures' and save all of your baby photographs in that folder. By setting up and following a naming system, you'll soon have the most well organized computer scrapbooks around.

Whether or not you print your digital photos, always create backups of all your computer scrapbook files. There are many archiving programs that can be used to compress large files, enabling them to be stored on a CD or other removable disk. It is essential that you label your CDs to keep your computer scrapbook backups as organized as the originals. You can write the title on the CD itself, but you should also remember to alter the name of the CD as read by the computer. Most CD writing software automatically prompts you to give the CD a title, but check the instructions before you start the burning process so you, and your computer, will be able to clearly identify the CDs.

Digital cameras make it easy to take and save pictures. Computer scrapbooks make it easy to find the pictures anytime you're ready to take a trip down memory lane or share the digital images with your friends.

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Computer Security Certification

2007-07-06T09:16:00.000+07:00

by: John Mailer

If there has ever been a growth field, it is computer security certification. With a good computer security certificate from a reputable college, you can go anywhere. Even if you go to one of those IT training schools the you see advertised on daytime television, your certification computer security will probably open doors for you. There are all kinds of jobs for computer security experts, from Homeland security to private industry. You can help prevent data theft, write computer security software, or investigate hackers for law enforcement. For a security certified network professional, the sky is the limit.

I had never expected to get into computer security certification when I was growing up. If anything, I was on the other side of the law. Many of the experts in computer security certification were hackers when they were kids. I used to try to break into all kinds of things just to see if I could do it. It wasn't a matter of malicious intent. I just wanted to test the boundaries and see what holes computer security systems had in them. To me, it was more of a game or an intellectual exercise than an act of vandalism. Unfortunately, law enforcement did not see it that way. I was caught when I was 16 years old, breaking into the offices of a major multinational corporation. Because of my age I got off with probation, but I realized that I had to turn my life around.

I got my computer security certification training after a few years of soul-searching. To be honest, I was tempted to give up computer hacking altogether, but finally I realized that this was not the course for me. I was just too fascinated by computer networking and the security issues that it involved. I knew that, if I did not go into computer security, it was only a matter of time before I would get into trouble again. Temptation would overwhelm me, and I would suddenly found myself hacking into something or other. Although a I could get away with it for years this time (I had learned from my mistakes) is still didn't seem to be worth the risk. In the long run, I would get caught. That is why I got my computer security certification. As a certified information security auditor, I can make my hobby into my life and stay on the right side of the law.

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Recording The Guitar to a Computer

2007-07-06T09:15:00.000+07:00

by: Brian Murphy

You want to record your guitar, make your own riffs, music, etc. You want to plug my guitar into my computer? How to connect the guitar to the computer the right and best way? What software? Which audio interface? What about my favorites guitar effects? What computer? Where to start? It can be overwhelming.

The recording guitarist's computer setup should be something like this:

* Guitar (*GTR with 13 pin connection recommended) * Microphone for recording Acoustic guitar, vocals etc. * Quality guitar cable * Audio Interface-Firewire (recommended) or USB * Guitar/midi interface * USB/Firewire cables * Computer (Mac recommended or PC) * Extra external/internal Hard Drive (recommended) * Audio recording/sequencer software * Plug-ins: effects- reverb, compressor, delay, chorus, etc o Dedicated guitar effects/amp simulation o Sampler/synths (for 13 pin guitarists or guitarist who can play keyboards) * Quality cables to speakers * Powered Speakers * Headphones (so you do not disturb the wife an kids at those late weekend sessions).

Some recording setups:

-Setting up your whole live rig and putting a microphone in front of the your cabinet, playing at loud volumes so you get the amp to sound right, push the speaker enough, putting your speaker in a closet, using a blanket to damping volume, etc. -You could use a load on you speaker and record direct.

-Use a preamp that is compensated for direct recording as the front end. You can plug this into outboard effects or add plug-ins

-You could record from your pedal board or any outboard multi-effects you might own. You probably end up with a direct type sound. Some multi-effects have amp simulation that might take the edge off the direct sound.

With any of these scenarios you are committing yourself to the recorded track. If you record with effects, you can't change it later. You would have to re-record! And if you do not re-record on the same day or you have to come back and have to set up the rig again, hopefully the knobs setting were written down, place the speaker in the same place etc, etc.... If you get into the recording other instruments or mixing the song and you want to change the guitar sound, tone, effects, etc, -- you have to re-record!

With a guitar with a 13 pin connection, either internally or a pickup installed on the body, you get 100% use of your software. You can record your guitar sound and get access to any software synths or samplers that come with the software or as a plug-in add-on.

With a software computer base system, you can change almost everything after you have recorded--amps, effects, mics, mic placement and more. You do this with plug-ins. You can save all your presets, sounds, etc. You could have multi-guitar tracks with different settings all from recording one track. The flexibility is there! Yes, there are purists out there- "software can't sound like tubes". Well, the software is getting pretty close!!!!

There is a lot of software out there. You do not have to spend a lot of money AND it is always improving. You buy a box. (i.e.hard disk recorders, and others mentioned above), you have bought a box. You usually can't upgrade without buying a new box.

People use computers every day at work or home- Microsoft Office (Word, Excel Power Point, etc) Email, Internet. Use it to record your guitar and music!!

Hopefully, this helps and you can check out more at http://www.guitarhelper.net

Brian has 18 years experience in the Music Industry.

He can be contacted at Brian@guitarhelper.net.

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Watch Satellite TV On Computer – Why Restrict To the TV?

2007-07-06T09:13:00.000+07:00

by: Davion Wong

It is possible and practical to watch satellite TV on computer with a fine quality PC and internet connection nowadays. There are literally thousands of satellite TV channels available to anyone through the computer and all one needs is the right piece of software to achieve that. Since this is so, everyone really does not need to restrict watching of satellite TV only to the TV set.

What PC satellite TV software can do is amazing as technology once again break new barriers. With the proper TV software package, it allows your computer to receive thousands of worldwide channels so that you can watch satellite TV on computer instead of the TV. In other words, you no longer are restricted and confined to the channels that your local satellite TV service provider gives to you in your TV package. Every satellite TV program you watch on your computer is delivered directly through your internet connection. As such, the number of channels available perpetually grows all the time.

But you may be interested to know what kind of satellite TV programs one can watch on their PCs should they choose to watch satellite TV on computer using PC satellite TV software. Since the exposure is worldwide, a person can be watching movies, news, LIVE games, sports events, music videos, TV series, educational and other entertainment programs from satellite TV stations in different countries like Australia, US, UK, Canada, Hong Kong, France, etc. Kids would be busy watching interesting discovery channels and kids’ cartoons especially during the holidays.

There are however things you need to prepare concerning your PC requirements in order for you to watch satellite TV on computer. For a start, you should ensure that your internet connection runs at 56k minimum. Anything lower than this means that you would not get maximum enjoyment out of your satellite TV viewing. TV picture and sound quality would be compromised. So go for broadband connection if you can afford to as you can then watch satellite TV on computer and really have a pleasurable experience.

Besides being able to watch numerous programs, the one major benefit to any satellite TV viewer is the cost savings. Compared to traditional satellite TV packages, the only cost involved to watch satellite TV on computer is the cost of the software. It is a one-time affair and you need not fork out any monthly fees to continue using it, unlike using conventional satellite TV providers. Once you pay and download the software, you can watch satellite TV on computer for free as long as you wish. Also, even if you want to watch some special channels like LIVE soccer or F1 sports, you need not pay any additional fee. So really, cost savings is one big factor that is driving more people to use PC satellite TV to watch satellite TV on PC.

Here is a quick tip for you if you intend to watch satellite TV on computer. Perhaps you are thinking of making an investment in this PC satellite TV software, but before that, please check if you have an existing contract with your service provider. Make sure that the termination does not carry any penalty so that you can have a peace of mind. Read more about this PC satellite TV software, its functions, etc at my TV blog before you make the choice to watch satellite TV on computer.

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The Essentials of Software Testing - What Everyone Must Know about Computer Software Testing

2007-07-06T09:11:00.000+07:00

by: Jones Wright

Since we are living in a highly-technological age, the term computer software is not really new to us. They are basically found in a majority of electronic gadgets that we commonly see or utilize: from the computers that we use for the internet to the system applications that make basic machineries operate. Indeed, their emergence to our society has revolutionized the way we live our lives and it is because of this that future prospects are being cast regarding the growing demand of computer software in the future. So what then is software testing?

Just like any other products that we see that are being circulated around the market, each of these products need to pass a certain qualification or standard before being made available for public use. Similarly, that’s what software testing does. It ensures that a software program passes a certain standard or quality as determined by professional computer testing experts before it is used by programmers to operate applications, gadgets and other computer systems.

For us to understand the whole process better, software testing can be summarized into three processes: verification, error detection and validation. Let’s take a look at each process step. Verification, from the root word verify, refers to the step of validating or verifying the capabilities and qualities of the software that is developed to see if it passes or reaches the desired standards or requirements before considering it for general use.

But what if the software and its parts suddenly go wrong? Now that’s where the process of error detection comes in. This step will subject the specific software program to a series of tests where it is expected to fail under normal circumstances. Of course, if it withstands those series of tests without failing the required standards, then it is approved.

The final test that it needs to hurdle is the validation step, which requires the software program to perform the tasks or services it was made for. And if the software program successfully hurdles all these three steps, it will then be subjected to a final series of test application to determine its suitability for higher-end technological services. So in other words, the software program will stage a successful run among all of these tests, then it will now be used for general distribution and usage.

What are the implications of software testing to our society? Well, people might find this technological process complicated but actually, it can potentially help and save our environment from future damages that abused technologies can bring. Software testing enables testing experts to determine at the initial stage the probable factors that can cause technological system damage to particular software programs and its possible adverse affects if misused in the long run. Overall, it will help experts generate data or facts that will help them improve on their researches on the field of computer technology in order to produce more innovative and technologically-beneficial products in the future.

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Protecting Your Computer and Network

2007-07-06T09:10:00.000+07:00

by: Aaron Weston

According to the latest research, Microsoft has found that cyber threats are getting more complex and advanced as "hackers" mature. How do you protect yourself against these threats? It's actually easier and cheaper then you think, and the payoff is high. In this article we'll address these challenges.

1. Get an antivirus program. Some worms, such as MyDoom, are capable of bringing entire networks to their knees. Some threats collect your personal information, such as passwords, and transmit them to a remote location. The cost associated with these threats is very high. To address these issues, several companies have released protections that are free for home use. Choose your program carefully as some promise the world, or have a reputation, but don't live up to the hype.

One unbiased test (http://www.techdo.com/?p=62) rated the top 20 virus programs against 175,000 virus definitions. The results may surprise you. Norton from Symantec, often perceived to be the best and requiring an annual fee for updates, is actually at the bottom of the list along with McAfee, easily surpassed by free offerings such as AVG, Avast! and AOL Active Virus Shield, using the top rated Kaspersky engine. In another test (http://www.thepcspy.com/articles/other/what_really_slows_windows_down/5), Norton takes three of the top six spots for programs that consume the most system resources. As you can see, you don't always get what you pay for and you may be leaving your system vulnerable.

At Northern Protocol Inc. we recommend AOL Active Virus Shield for Windows XP home use. Updates are free, response times are faster than Norton or McAfee, and it offers more comprehensive protection against threats. AVTest.org monitors response times of various vendors, and has found that Norton and McAfee are at the bottom of the list for releasing definitions. Your antivirus is only as good as it's definitions, and a slower response time and less effective detection increases the window for possible infection.

2. Get an anti-spyware program. Spyware threats are getting more complex. As browsers improve their security features, devious "script kiddies" have changed their tactics, now using Javascript to install threats, affecting any browser that has it enabled. So-called "free" software, such as screensavers, wallpapers and "smilies", to name a few, install spyware without your knowledge, burying the "agreement" in a lengthy license agreement that no-one ever reads before they click "accept". Some devious websites ask you to install "download managers" to access their files, which often have spyware (so-called "sponsor" software) embedded. Pay close attention to any installer that asks you to install "sponsor" software. Many antispyware programs and security suites are actually frauds, and often install spyware themselves. You can find a complete list at http://spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm.

There are several good programs out there, but the one we at Northern Protocol Inc. recommend the most is Prevx2.0. It requires a small annual fee to maintain the active protection component, but we find it extremely effective. Another good protection suite is AVG Anti-Malware which also requires a modest annual fee. Windows Defender is a good free alternative for users of genuine Windows products.

3. Install a firewall. Firewalls block intrusions from the outside, hiding your computer from the internet so that "hackers" don't know it's there. They can also block communications coming from within your network. Again, there are a lot of misconceptions in this realm. Norton and McAfee, while having a reputation, are actually sluggish and poor performers according to this review at http://www.informationweek.com/security/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=192201247&subSection=Security+Reviews. ZoneAlarm, while popular, is buggy and has hang ups of it's own, one being far too demanding of user involvement. One review (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1969207,00.asp), conducted by PC Magazine, rates Comodo Personal Firewall, a free firewall, as one of the best in it's class and is our recommendation as well.

A more effective solution, but more complex in installation, is to install an older computer as a firewall, running Smoothwall from http://www.smoothwall.org/. This solution is highly effective, inexpensive, and the one we use to protect our network.

4. Buy a router. Routers are inexpensive and in many cases offer built in firewalls that work in conjunction with the "NAT" firewall that is standard on all routers. What this does is take your IP address from the internet and translates it into internal addresses for your computer(s). This adds an extra layer of protection for your computer or network, putting one more obstacle in the way of any potential intruder. Northern Protocol Inc. recommends the use of Linksys or D-Link WBR or DIR series routers for the best performance.

5. Set the wireless security on your router. All too often people leave their wireless settings at default, leaving their networks wide open to attack. Log on to your router's control panel from any browser (192.168.1.1 for Linksys and 192.168.0.1 for D-Link) and set your wireless security settings.

First, change the password for the logon. Use a combination of upper and lower case letters and numbers, then test your password at http://www.microsoft.com/protect/yourself/password/checker.mspx for strength.

Second, enable encryption. In order, the preferred methods of encryption in terms of strength are WPA2, WPA and lastly WEP 128 bit. Some older network cards don't support WPA or WPA2, so either replace the card (recommended) or use WEP 128 bit. Create a key using the same guidelines as your administrator password, but make sure it's different.

Third, change the SSID (this is the name the router broadcasts to inquiring wireless devices). Ensure that it does not identify the make or model of your router and that it is not personally identifiable. It is preferable to disable broadcast altogether if you can remember the name and manually enter it into each computer's wireless configuration.

Fourth, if no other computers need to log on but your own, enable the MAC ID filter and enter in the MAC ID to each of your devices. This is a very effective solution, preventing all but your own devices from being able to log on to your router and obtain an address, even if they can figure out or already know the key. Each MAC ID is unique to every network device on the internet and thus no two devices have the same ID.

6. Update to the latest version of your browser. We recommend the use of either Opera or Internet Explorer 7, or both. These programs ensure that you have the latest security protections for your browsing experience, employing advanced techniques to prevent automatic installations of scripts, "phishing" scams, etc.

7. Update your operating system and software to the latest versions. As new threats and security flaws surface, Microsoft scrambles to get new fixes into the hands of it's users, and once a month releases a Malicious Software Removal Tool. Ensure that you have a genuine version of Windows, with Service Pack 2 installed for Windows XP, to be eligible for all the latest software updates. Research is showing that as operating systems become more secure, hackers are looking for alternative "attack vectors", or other software on your computer, as a means of attacking your system's security. Cover all your bases. Make sure that "Automatic Updates" are enabled on your machine(s).

8. Make regular backups. As backup solutions continually drop in price, there are no valid reasons to not perform regular backups. DVD burners, such as Pioneer and LG, are very inexpensive and reliable and can fit a large volume of data on a single CD or DVD. USB memory keys are also inexpensive, as are external hard drives. One folder that is very important to back up is your My Documents folder. Keep your backups away from the computer and in a safe place. Photographs can often never be replaced, so always keep current backups on hand.

Is your system infected? Do you need help employing any of the measures mentioned in this article? Call us at 705.812.2236. We remove the infections and protect you against future infections, without loss of data.

Learn more about security threats at http://www.npinc.ca/virus.htm.

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An introduction to computer forensics

2007-07-06T09:08:00.000+07:00

by: Kevin Cohen

Computer Forensics is the process of investigating electronic devices or computer media for the purpose of discovering and analyzing available, deleted, or "hidden" information that may serve as useful evidence in supporting both claims and defenses of a legal matter as well as it can helpful when data have been accidentally deleted or lost due to hardware failure.

However, this is a very old technique but now it has been changed a lot because of technological advances, modern tools and software’s which makes Computer Forensics much easier for Computer Forensic Experts to find & restore more evidence/data faster and with more accuracy.

Computer forensics has change the way digital evidence is gathered & used as evidence of a crime & it is done using advanced techniques and technologies. A computer forensic expert uses these techniques to discover evidence from an electronic storage device for a possible crime. The data can be from any kind of electronic device like Pen drives, discs, tapes, handhelds, PDAs, memory stick, Emails, logs, hidden or deleted files etc.

Most of us think that deleting a file or history will remove it completely from the hard disk drive. In realty, it only removes the file from the location but the actual file still remains on your computer. It is easier to track what has been done on your computer but difficult to say by whom though it is possible to alter or delete the data completely from your storage device. It depends on computer forensic expert’s skills how well he can find and restore the data without any loss or change.

Computer forensics got widespread attention during the Enron scandal widely believed to be the biggest computer forensics investigation ever. Nowadays Computer Forensics & Electronic discovery is becoming a standard part of litigation of all types, especially large litigations involving corporate matters in which there are large amounts of data.

Computer forensics can be used to uncover a fraud, unauthorized use of a computer, violation of company policies, inadequate record keeping etc… by tracking e-mails, chat-history, files, tapes, sites people browse or any other form of electronic communications.

Data security is one of the biggest issues that the corporate world is facing now by publishing company’s internet/policies & consequences for violations, signing of compliance documents by employees. Businesses can initiate monitoring their own computer systems to avoid legal consequences in future. Making employees aware that monitoring software and Computer forensics personnel are available could prevent workers from wrong doing.

With the use of computers in everyday life and increasing amount of hi-tech crimes, Computer forensics is a growing niche in the litigation support sector. Unlike many jobs in information technology sector, chances are that computer forensics services will not be outsourced to other country because of the confidentiality of the data business which will not allow it to travel just to save a little cash.

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Types Of Notebook Computers

2007-07-06T09:07:00.000+07:00

by: Roberto Sedycias

Notebook, notebook computer, laptop, and laptop computer are different terms for a small computer, which is mobile, and weighing about 1 to 6 kg or 2.2 to 18 pounds, depending upon the model. In 1979-1980, Bill Moggridge of GRiD Systems Corp. designed one of the first laptops and named it as the GRiD Compass 1101. It featured the clamshell design where the flat display folded shut on the keyboard. In May 1983, Gavilan Computer Corp. introduced and first marketed as a laptop, known as Gavilan SC. About this same time, Sharp Corp.Ltd., announced their laptop Sharp PC-5000.

In 1989, Compaq introduced Compaq LTE, which was a laptop of a smaller size, about the size of an A4 paper notebook, and it popularly came to be known as a notebook computer or notebook. Thereafter the terms laptop and notebook began to be used interchangeably. Nevertheless, the terms, notebook and laptop are incorrect terms, as due to the heat, many laptops cannot be placed on top of the lap, and most notebooks are not the size of an A4 paper notebook. However, what manufacturers usually call as a notebook, end-users prefer to call it as a laptop; hence both the terms are used.

According to the functions and the models of notebooks, they are generally classified as: Ultraportables (screen is diagonally less than 12 inches, weight is 1.7 kg or less); thin-and lights (screen is diagonally from 12 to 14 inches, weight is from 1.8 to 2.8 kg); medium-sized laptops (screen is diagonally from 14 to 15.4 inches, weight is from 3 to 3.5 kg); and desktop replacement computers (screen is diagonally from 17 to 20 inches, weight is 4 to 6 kg).

The concept of laptop was to make a device that could use the same software of a desktop computer, but much smaller in size to enable mobility and support mobile computing (ability to use the computer while in transit). Thus, further innovations have introduced transportables (which can be moved from one place to another without supporting mobile computing); tablets (which feature touchscreens and support mobile computing); ultra mobile PCs (which are very small and compact tablet PCs); internet tablets (which support internet and mobile computing); personal digital assistants (PDAs), which are pocket-sized and support mobile computing; handheld computers, which represent expensive tablets or PDAs; and smartphone, which is a PDA or a handheld computer with cellphone integration. Over the development phases, these classifications got blurry at times, and many machines fused functionalities of other categories.

Notebooks can be used for various purposes. Commercial purposes like attending phone calls, receiving and sending emails and faxes, typing out letters and printing them, making presentations with pie and bar charts, and taking data from one place to another can be achieved by any standard notebook. However, high fliers prefer thin-and-light notebooks and for regular office work, ultraportable notebooks are preferred. Both are wireless notebooks so they can be remotely accessed. Scientific purposes are best suited with a notebook that features fast computing speed, good 2D and 3D graphics display, and a large memory, like desktop replacement notebook, and a thin-and-light notebook. Artistic purposes require animation, 2D and 3D drawings, interior & exterior designing, arranging music compositions, post-production audio-video work, etc., which can be fulfilled by desktop replacements, gaming notebooks, and mainstream notebooks.

Educational institutions normally do not prefer notebooks due to its high chance of being stolen. Additionally, they prefer that their assets do not move around within the premises in the hands of students who may be careless. However, to keep up with the times, and to be considered as techno-savvy, they do invest in notebooks. The types of notebooks best suited for educational purposes are mainstream notebooks, and desktop replacements. Students need a notebook to do projects, prepare study notes, and to play some games in their spare time. They need to take the notebook wherever they go, hence, size and weight are major considerations. The type of notebook that fulfills student needs is a thin-and-light notebook with locking facility so that they can lock it with their backpack. Most students report late submission of projects due to their notebooks being stolen.

So no matter what the purpose one might have for using a notebook, it seems that mobility will always seem to be the main reason for such a product purchase. Nowadays with so many models being offered with affordable prices, it seems that notebooks will always be a product in demand. After all it is one of the best selling computer hardware for quite some time. And that says it all.

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Computer Diagnostics

2007-07-06T09:05:00.000+07:00

by: John Ugoshowa

The diagnostics that are associated with computers can help to identify any problem or failure that computers show when they are having problems. Diagnostics are used to test out the computer system, which includes both the BIOS and memory, software, and even the hardware that is attached to the computer.

The most common types of problems will occur when your computer is down to very low resources, which can either be a low amount of RAM, or a low disk space. These conditions are very common, and generally result in your computer running very slow. This can easily be fixed, all you have to do is defrag your hard drive, and get rid of some programs and files that you no longer use or need.

Almost all types of computer diagnostic software can find and fix just about any problem that you are having. It normally starts off with a BIOS examination, and goes on from there. PC diagnostics software can determine a lot from the BIOS, from the common settings to those that have a major impact on both boot up and performance.

No matter what you do, you should never modify or tamper with the BIOS settings, as it can lead to serious problems. If you do plan to modify or mess with your BIOS, you should always create a backup first, just in case something goes wrong. The BIOS settings can be very tricky, although they are responsible for a lot to do with your computer. If you have never been in the BIOS before, you really shouldn’t be modifying anything inside of it.

Depending on the diagnostics program that you are using, there will be several different features available. Right now, two of the most popular are Norton Systemworks and PC Doctor. Both of these programs offer full diagnostics software, good for fixing just about any software related computer program you can imagine.

Once you run the program, you’ll be able to select the diagnostic test that you are planning to run. Some offer you a full system scan, which will scan your entire computer and then display any problems that you having. After displaying any problems, the software will normally give you an option to go ahead and fix it. As long as the problem is nothing serious, the diagnostic software can generally fix it.

The more complicated problems, such as hardware failures or hard drive crashes, are a totally different story. They will require a technician who is very experienced, that can rebuild the hardware. Diagnostic software can report hardware problems to you, although most of the time it is unable to fix it.

There are other computer diagnostic software that you run after starting the computer or rebooting, that will check everything from BIOS. These types are great, although the types such as Norton and PC Doctor are by far superior. They offer far more features, including defragment, cache cleaner, and the option to delete your temporary Internet files. These features are great to have, especially if you aren’t the technical type.

For more reasons than one, computer diagnostic software is the ideal way to find and prevent problems with your computer. Norton Systemworks offers you Ghost as well, which is the perfect way to back up your data. You can back up certain files, or just go ahead and back up your entire hard drive. Systemworks and Ghost are very easy to use, even if you are completely new to computers. For everything they offer you - computer diagnostic programs are the ideal way to prevent problems before they happen.

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First Ever Approved Computerized Medication Box

2007-07-06T09:04:00.000+07:00

by: Joshua Daly

The first ever programmable computer device that allows professional caregivers to monitor how frequent a patient takes their medication was approved Thursday by the FDA.

EMMA, the Electronic Medication Management Assistant was created in order to reduce the number of drug dosing and identification errors. It will prove very useful to those who suffer from memory loss due to old age or disease, those with HIV, and others who have very complicated and rigid medication regiments.

In 2006 a study from the Institute of Medicine cited by the FDA stated that medication errors harm some 1.5 million people each year in the United States.

Daniel Schultz, M.D., director of FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health said, “FDA's clearance of the INRange remote medication management system puts an important safety tool directly in the hands of patients and their health care providers. It will help take away some of the confusion patients can experience when taking prescription medications, and allow care providers to more closely monitor their patients' medications between office visits.”

According to the FDA,

EMMA consists of a medication delivery unit and two-way communication software that allows a health care professional to remotely manage prescriptions stored and released by the patient-operated delivery unit. The delivery unit is about the size of a bread box and plugs into a standard power outlet.

EMMA stores prescription medications, emits an audible alert to the patient when the prescribed medications are scheduled to be taken, and releases them onto a delivery tray when activated by the patient at the appropriate time. It uses a Web-based application for a health care professional, such as a doctor or pharmacist, to remotely schedule or adjust a patient's prescribed medications, and provides the health care professional with a history of each time patients access their medications.

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Computerization – The Most Powerful Tool for Businesses Today

2007-07-06T09:02:00.000+07:00

by: Jim McCain

While the computer is a "tool" rather than a discipline, it is such an important, time saving tool that its proper and strategic use in modern business is critical to maximize information access and profitable decision making.

Small businesses today face growing inventory requirements, increased customer expectations, rising costs and intense competition. Moreover, if you plan to do business with the federal government you will need electronic commerce capability.

Computers can provide information that leads to better returns on investment. At the same time, they help you cope with the many other pressures of your business. Computers are not cure-alls, however, and considerable care should be given to: (1) deciding if you need one, (2) selecting the best system (or personal computer) for your business, (3) selecting the most relevant software for your needs, and (4) ensuring that you can easily operate the system.

It has been said that “to err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer.” No matter how many or what type computers your business may have, they are machines and subject to failure. Make sure you back up your computer files!

Use a tape drive or a Zip drive to back up all the data and programs on your computers or on your network computer. There are many brands available so the four things you need to compare are price, features, compatibility and ease of installation.

Here are a couple more backup tips:

1) It is great to backup your system, but if you leave the disk lying next to the computer, and then have it destroyed, it will not do you much good. Store your backup disk away from your computer and even outside the office if concerned about fire.

2) Back up your system regularly. Can you afford to lose a month’s data since your last backup? A week’s data?

3) Remember that backups are machines also, and if your data is so important that you could not do without it, consider the old fashion way, printing.

It pays to be cautious when it comes to the lifeblood of your business--information. There is NOTHING worse then trying to install new software and having your computer has turned into a creature from hell on you. Here are a few tips to help limit your chances of business interruptions or data loss disasters AND help you keep on a friendly basis with your computer.

Make sure you back everything up first. Before installing any software program, operating system or upgrade, perform a complete backup of your current system. This step is extremely important when the software you're installing affects or replaces your operating system. Include everything, especially software you may not wish to install separately should the need arise. Be sure to include all system files and any work files that could become lost or damaged.

If in doubt--use a professional. Don't try to "go it alone." It's far better to seek assistance than to risk damaging or destroying equipment or files or crashing your system.

You may be tempted to put off upgrading or buying new equipment-after all, every year, the machines get more powerful, and the options more plentiful. But if you wait, you trade the dollars you save for the price of slower performance and possibly fewer software choices. So when should you upgrade your equipment? Here are some guidelines:

The basic rule of thumb is this: Start with what you want to accomplish. If your computer doesn't do it well, it's time to look at new solutions.

If obsolescence is a concern, be comforted by the fact that you don't have to upgrade every time a manufacturer makes an improvement. Assess key improvements-such as faster modems, improved processors, and better monitors-that truly impact performance and go from there. And if you don’t want to invest in a whole new system, upgrading individual components such as your computer's memory, processor, and hard disk can be an affordable way to boost your PC's performance-and your productivity.

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Why People Go Laptop Computers Shopping

2007-07-06T09:00:00.000+07:00

by: James Brown

Because it is so easy to purchase a personal computer on the Internet, people do not understand why people go laptop computers shopping in the normal laptop computer selling environment of a bricked-in storefront in the City. At least in that location, people know that they can see the item up front and personal and can see what they are purchasing.

The reason why people go laptop computers shopping at a retail website that is located at a web address on the Internet is because there are great discounts to be found there, that are not offered by laptop computer merchants in their own hometowns.

In fact, many merchants who operate online storefronts, also have stores that are made of brick, aluminum or any other building material, and they still do not offer the same discounts as they do at their online stores. That is one reason why people go laptop computers shopping by using the online merchant locations.

There are multiples reasons why people go laptop computers shopping on the Internet. One person might think it is because they can use discount coupons to receive further discounts than the listed sale price that is posted on the laptop computer on the website. This is possible because they may have earned that discount opportunity through previous purchases they have made online.

The rewards people receive when they make any purchase at an online retailer is another reason why people go laptop computer shopping on the Internet. If the purchase meets a certain dollar amount, then the merchant will give them a dollar amount to take off their next order.

People can find discount codes to use online for purchasing laptop computers, and receive a 5% or 10% discount off the purchase price. These discount codes could give the laptop computer buyer the option to purchase a printer at a low price. Additional accessories and printer discounts are good reasons why people go laptop computers shopping at an online retail merchant location.

Computer enthusiasts know why people go laptop computers shopping on the Internet. They are routinely online, and make it a point to visit the various merchants to find out what the latest crazes are in computer gaming Industry.

Staying current with their computer technology minded buddies is why people go laptop computer shopping on the Internet.

These laptop oriented computer gaming people also prefer to have more than one laptop computer in their home that they can use strictly for their accelerated speed demon games. The opportunity to purchase discounted computer laptops with free shipping, and fast processor speeds at a good price, is why computer oriented people go laptop computer shopping at an online gaming retailer.

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How To Make Money With A Computer

2007-07-06T08:50:00.000+07:00

by: BobArcher

There are many ways to make money with a computer. We will discuss several of them as well as one of the newer methods that you may not be familiar with.

The method of making money with a computer that is used the most is where you develop or buy a product or service, create a website, set up an autoresponder to follow up and then advertise, market and promote to drive traffic to your web site. This method usually takes the longest to do and is or can be quite expensive. Probably the most important thing that needs to be done to be successful is the driving of traffic to your website. Many people don't know how to do this and those that do usualy spend a lot of money until they begin to make substantial money.

Another way to have online income with internet marketing is called affiliate marketing. Thousands of companies will pay you a commission to sell their products and/or services. You can become an affiliate at no cost. Some promote without a website and autoresponder but only about 5% make any money this way. When someone visits your company's website from your advertising very few will buy the first time and need to be followed up many times until they finally buy something. If you don't drive traffic to your own web site where you can capture their name and email address and then follow up with an autoresponder, the company is the only one that benefits because they can do their own follow ups and you may not earn a commission.

One of the newest methods of making money with a computer is called bum marketing. The creator calls it this because he feels that he can take any homeless, penniless, literate person off of the street and to a public library and show them how to make money in as little as 48 hours. This method is fully described by clicking barcher4171@sbcglobal.net." target=new>//www.firstmoneysecrets.com/?e=barcher4171@sbcglobal.net" class="hft-urls">http://www.firstmoneysecrets.com/?e=barcher4171@sbcglobal.net. His wife told him she needed more money and after saying to himself, what else is new, he set up an account for her and in 48 hours she started making money. Now, she's happy and he's her hero. With this method, anyone can use a computer with internet access located anywhere in the world. You don't need your own product or service or web site or an autoresponder and you can advertise (drive traffic) at no cost to you.

I hope that this article has been helpful and you now know more about making money with a computer than you did before. If you are interested in making any amount of money in a short time click on barcher4171@sbcglobal.net." target=new>//www.firstmoneysecrets.com/?e=barcher4171@sbcglobal.net" class="hft-urls">http://www.firstmoneysecrets.com/?e=barcher4171@sbcglobal.net.

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