Archive for February 2008

Basic Knowledge about virus

February 23, 2008 Add Comment

Basic Knowledge about virus


What Is A Virus



A virus is computer code, which makes copies of itself, without the computer user's (victim's) knowledge. Viruses attach themselves to other files or programs on the victim's computer - and often take complicated steps to disguise their presence.

- Some viruses are deliberately harmful or malicious - they carry a "payload". For example, erasing data from the victim's hard-disk.

- Other viruses simply attempt to make copies of themselves. Even these viruses can beharmful as they often have unintended consequences, and they always use computer resources (example: disk-space) without the computer user's knowledge or consent.

Very often, a virus can lay dormant for a long period of time (or until a given date), sometimes even years, before copying itself or executing its payload.

Viruses are usually designed by the virus writer to attack a particular type of computer or software. Most viruses are targeted at (and therefore can only infect) users of Microsoft operating systems (MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows) and/or Microsoft products (Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook Express, etc.). However there are also viruses which affect other types of computers and software

How Viruses Spread
If a virus just stayed on the infected computer and didn't spread to other computers it wouldn't be too much of a problem (except for the unlucky victim). However just as a virus can infect the files on one computer, it can easily spread on to other computers:


-Some viruses attach themselves to program files (which may include EXE files, device drivers, etc). When the file is copied (or emailed) to another computer - it ends up being infected.


-Some viruses attach themselves to document files (most often Microsoft Word or Excel documents). These "macro viruses" use the advanced features of Word, Excel etc. to replicate themselves.


-Some viruses reside in the boot-sector of floppy or hard-disks. The boot sector is a special area of the disk, which is read and executed when the computer is started. If a computer is started with an infected floppy disk in the drive, it becomes infected.


-Some viruses send email from one computer to another, usually without the sender's knowledge. For example, these emails may be sent to people in the victim's address book or whose email address was listed on recently visited web pages. These viruses send an infected attachment with a plausible looking message. When the recipient opens the attachment, their computer becomes infected.


-Some viruses combine more than one of the above strategies and may switch between different strategies at different times or under different circumstances.

Virus Hoaxes

If you have been on the Internet for a while, you have probably received hoax virus warnings. (If you are new to the Internet, don't worry you are bound to get one sooner or later!) Hoax virus warnings are started by a person maliciously (or as a prank), but then passed on by many innocent computer users who wrongly believe they are genuine warnings and that they are helping others by passing on these messages. Most hoax virus warnings instruct the recipient to forward the warning to "everyone you know" and this is why they spread so fast. (Incidentally many people are taken-in by, and pass on other fake/hoax messages, including "opportunities", "news" or "secret information" )


If you get a virus warning or message telling you to pass it on to "everyone you
know", chances are that it's a bogus message. The most well-known virus hoax is
"Good Times".


Hoax warnings are not harmless.


- It has been known for a company's email system to be crashed by the volume of email generated by users forwarding warnings to everybody else repeatedly!


- Hoaxes waste user's time, as well as Internet resources and bandwidth.


- Some hoax virus warnings encourage users to delete files from their computers - for example - files which are not infected with any virus and may be essential to the correct operation of the computer.


-We recommend that you do not pass on virus warnings at all. If you must do then check carefully whether the warning is a hoax first! Companies should establish a clear policy that says virus warnings should not be passed on, or passed only to the IT department (which can then determine the veracity of the report) and not to all users.

Trojan Horses


The name Trojan horse comes from Homer's Illiad in which Greek warriors were able to sneak inside the walls of Troy (which they were besieging) by concealing hemselves inside a "gift" of a wooden horse.


In the computer world, a Trojan horse (often called just "Trojan") is a program (or occasionally a document) which appears to be harmless, or even useful, but actually has a malicious intent such as erasing the victim's hard-drive.


The difference between a Trojan and a virus is that:


- A virus copies itself without the user's knowledge


- A Trojan is copied by users deliberately - although of course they don't know about its hidden malicious intent. Sometimes Trojans are attached to illegal copyright violating software ("pirated software", "appz", "crackz", etc.).


Worms

Like a virus, a worm is a program that spreads itself from computer to computer without the victim's knowledge. Also, like a virus, worms may sometimes have deliberately malicious effects, although in many cases the mere fact of replication can be enough to be harmful to computers or networks. The difference between a virus and a worm is a technical one:


- A virus attaches itself to files (programs or data) on the victim's disk and spreads when these files are copied or executed.


- A worm resides in the computer's active memory and spreads from one computer to another by infecting other computers over a network connection (these days most often the network is the Internet).


Because worms use network connections to spread themselves, they can spread incredibly fast and generate massive amounts of network traffic (slowing or blocking legitimate access to the network).

Another worm in the news (July 2001) is the "CodeRed Worm" which affects Windows NT and Windows 2000 web servers. This worm takes control of infected servers and then uses them to launch "Denial Of Service" attacks against the other Internet sites. This worm has been highlighted in the press by US government officials and Microsoft. Microsoft have also made a fix available for the security hole that this worm exploits

System Instability, Reboots and Crashes Trouble Shooting

February 17, 2008 Add Comment

Explanation: The system is booting up and starting to work correctly, but on occasion it either reboots without warning, or seizes hard (no mouse or keyboard response, and a reboot is necessary). These symptoms occur over a period of time.

Diagnosis: This is, unfortunately, one of the most difficult of all problems to troubleshoot on the PC. The reason is twofold: first, these problems are usually intermittent, and therefore hard to pin down to any particular cause, and second, there is a really large variety of problems that can cause this sort of behavior. It is necessary to narrow done the specific circumstances in order to have a better chance at finding the problem. See below for possible causes, which are listed with the recommendations to possibly solve them.

Recommendation: Follow the questions and suggestions below to try to identify the cause of the problem:


  • Did you remember to scan the system for viruses? Lockups and instability are "classic" virus infection behavior.
  • Make sure that you disable all power management options in the BIOS setup program. They can cause spurious behavior, particularly on some motherboards.
  • Are you getting error messages when the problem occurs? If so, try to find the error message here.
  • Are you experiencing this problem only when running a specific application program? If so, it may be the application itself that is causing the problem.
  • If the problem occurs only when you use a specific peripheral, such as a mouse or modem, there are three typical possible causes specific to this situation. First, there may be a problem with the particular peripheral you are trying to use. Second, you may have a resource conflict that is causing the system to lock up when you try to have two devices access the same resources. Finally, there may be a driver problem with the device, if it is something that uses a driver in the operating system you are using. Look in this section for specific troubleshooting information for various devices. Use the resource conflict troubleshooter.
  • If the problem occurs only when the system is warmed up (meaning not within the first few minutes that the PC is turned on, but only afterwards), or if the problem occurs only when the room where the PC is located is hot, it is likely that the problem is hardware-related and probably something to do with the motherboard, processor or another system component that is running too hot. I would suggest that you refer to this section, which describes checking for overheating components inside the box, and follow the recommendations there.
  • Are you running a VESA local bus video card on a motherboard that supports both VESA and PCI? If so, you should realize that this combination has been known in the past to cause instability. Try replacing the VESA video card with an inexpensive PCI video card and see if the problem goes away.
  • If you have just bought or assembled this PC, or performed an upgrade to it, check this list of possible candidate causes of system problems that is related to new installs.
  • If the problem occurs when you lean against the system box or when you put the monitor on top of it, try here.
  • If you are running Windows 3.x, does the problem seem to occur after using the system for a long time, or if you use a large number of applications simultaneously? If so, go to the Program Manager, click "Help", then "About Program Manager". Check the number listed for system resources. If it is below about 20-30%, that may be the cause of your problem. Try rebooting and checking the value, to see if it increases, and see if the system runs better. I recommend rebooting Windows 3.x daily if it is heavily used. Check this section for ideas on dealing with system resources under Windows 3.x.
  • If the problem is occurring under Windows 3.x or Windows 95, try using just DOS software for a while and see if the problem goes away. If it does, then you may have a problem with your installation of Windows, although it could still be a hardware problem (Windows is more sensitive to these than DOS is).
  • If you have a network card, check your network settings. Sometimes the built-in networking in Windows will spend a great deal of time "looking" for a network when one is not there, which causes the system to lock up and then unlock periodically. If you are using TCP/IP or another protocol, try disabling the protocol and see if that fixes the problem. You may need to contact your network card manufacturer or Microsoft for more assistance if this is the case.
  • If you have recently changed any BIOS settings--especially those that control system timing--and the problem has started since around that time, try changing the BIOS setting back to the previous value, or resetting the BIOS settings to low-risk defaults to see if the problem goes away. You may also want to follow this procedure to set your key BIOS settings to safe values.
  • Scan the hard disk for file system corruption and check for bad sectors as well.
  • Drivers can cause seemingly random glitches and lockups if they are poorly written, especially the video driver. Try running the system with a "slow but sure" default driver or a different version obtained from the manufacturer. Sound card drivers can also be touchy in this way. Try turning off hardware acceleration in Windows 95 by selecting System in the Control Panel, then selecting the Performance tab and clicking "Graphics".
  • Unreliable power can cause all sorts of strange system problems. A common problem is having the input voltage selection on the back of the power supply set to 220V when it should be 110V. If possible, try running the system off a UPS and see if the problem goes away. If practical, try swapping in a new power supply. If you notice the lights dim briefly at around the time that this problem occurs, this is a power problem.
  • Try using less aggressive BIOS settings for items such as memory timing and hard disk timing. For example, set the BIOS memory access settings to the slowest possible. Disable any performance-enhancing BIOS options (such as those described here) to see if the instability goes away. Try running the hard disks at a lower PIO mode to see if IDE timing might be causing the problem. 

Bounce your Business thought Website - Internet Marketing

February 14, 2008 Add Comment

Bounce your Business thought Website - Internet Marketing


When we are in a new era of internet marketing, competition for the top ranking on any search engine has increased even more. In the huge spread of world wide web, the best way to get observed is through the search engines. And more or less every locations of web struggle for higher rankings in the SERP. This is the reason, you need to optimizing your site with more than one method for SE optimization. Building or collecting links is one of the most reliable and cost-efficient methods for increasing web visibility.

Link building campaign is the most vital part and its plays an essential role in SE optimization and also excellent traffic generate to a particular website and one of the most essential processes that impact your website's page ranking on any kind of search giant like as Google, Yahoo, Bing etc. At first a seo professional will strike the list by selecting an appropriate competitive keywords and key phrases.After selecting the right keyword experts are starting the back link campaign for the particular webpage. Incoming links are extremely important in structuring a high quality seo service.

Benefits of growing link popularity - Always you put a link on your Website to a different Website, you are referring more business to them. It is expected that your clients will also verify the business that you offer on your site and possibly do business as well with them.

Achieve superior search engine positions - When a search engine evaluates your Website, it's looking for all types of things about your site that move into its algorithm for position. One of these issues is the quality and number of back links from other sites to your website. Mainly, it reflects on a back link to your website as a reference. So the more references a site has, the top website can rank in SERP.

Link Building is one of the useful techniques of seo which can effectively increase the web attendance of your website. This technique of SEO involves posting links leading to your website on pages of other website. The host websites in turn back link to pages of your website. This is the procedure in which links are produced. It has come out itself into a complete industry, turnover with millions of dollars. These services can save your advertising expenditure and also your time.

As a professional Link Building India, we spread our hands with more than four years experience, for improving your business website. Our link exchange programs going through good Google page rank pages and search engine popular websites. So if you are searching for a good and reliable link building company then feel free to contact us and order for better campaign of your website.

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System Configuration Utility Advanced Troubleshooting Settings

February 11, 2008 Add Comment

System Configuration Utility Advanced Troubleshooting Settings

dvanced Troubleshooting Settings
Disable System ROM Breakpoint:

This setting specifies whether Windows 98 should use Read Only Memory (ROM) address space between F000:0000 and 1 megabyte (MB) for a break point. Windows normally searches this address space to find a special instruction that is used as a system break point. If this address space contains something other than permanently available ROM, you should disable this setting. This sets "SystemROMBreakPoint=0" in the System.ini file. This is equivalent to starting Windows with the command-line switch "/d:s".

For additional information about SystemROMBreakPoint, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Article ID: 71264 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/71264/EN-US/ )
TITLE : Information on SYSTEM.INI [386enh] Entry SystemROMBreakPoint=

Disable Virtual HD IRQ:

This setting prevents Windows 98 from terminating interrupts from the hard disk controller and bypassing the ROM routine that processes these interrupts. Some hard disk drives may require this setting to be enabled for interrupts to be processed correctly. If this setting is enabled, the ROM routine handles the interrupts, which can slow system performance. This sets "VirtualHDIRQ=0" in the System.ini file. This is equivalent to starting Windows with the command-line switch "/d:v".

EMM Exclude A000-FFFF:

This setting prevents Windows from trying to scan for unused memory address space. This also disables the Random Access Memory (RAM) and ROM search instructions for the memory address space. This scanning can interfere with some devices that use the same memory addresses. This sets "EMMExclude=a000-ffff" in the System.ini file. This is equivalent to starting Windows with the command-line switch "/d:x".

Force Compatibility Mode Disk Access:

This setting prevents all 32-bit disk drivers from being loaded except the floppy driver. You may want to enable this setting if your computer does not start due to disk peripheral input/output (I/O) problems. If you enable this setting, all I/O uses real-mode drivers or the basic input/output system (BIOS). Also, all disk drives that are functional in protected mode only, no longer function. This is equivalent to starting Windows with the command-line switch "/d:f".

For additional information about how to troubleshoot compatibility mode issues, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
130179 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/130179/EN-US/ ) Troubleshooting MS-DOS Compatibility Mode on Hard Disks


VGA 640 x 480 x 16:

This setting causes Windows 98 to use the standard VGA display adapter driver. This disables the existing "display.drv=" line of the System.ini file, and adds the "display.drv=vga.drv" line to the [boot] section of the System.ini file.

Use SCSI Double-Buffering:

Some Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) drives may require that this setting be enabled. Windows 98 should detect whether or not this setting is needed, so you should only enable this setting if there is a disk access problem. This adds the line "Doublebuffer=2" to the Msdos.sys file. This setting is unavailable if a Doublebuffer line already exists in the Msdos.sys file.

Disable Scandisk After Bad Shutdown:

This setting adds the line "Autoscan=0" to the Msdos.sys file. This can be useful when you troubleshoot shutdown issues, as it decreases startup time after a bad shutdown.

Limit Memory to MB:

This setting limits memory usage on your computer to the first MB, where is a number of megabytes. This setting adds the "MaxPhysPage=" line to the System.ini file, where is a hexidecimal value of the amount of memory to be used. If this setting is too low (16 MB or lower), it may prevent Windows 98 from starting normally.

Disable Fast Shutdown:

This setting disables Windows 98 shutdown performance enhancements. This can be useful to troubleshoot problems shutting down Windows 98.



Disable UDF File System:

This setting disables support for the Universal Disk Format (UDF) file system for all removable media. This setting can be used to troubleshoot problems with proprietary DVD players that may be incompatible with UDF.



Enable Pentium F0 (Lock CmpXchg):

This setting provides a method to work around an erratum in the Intel P5 series of processors (Pentium and Pentium MMX). The processor stops responding (hangs) if a particular illegal instruction sequence is issued. This issue should not occur with a normal program, it would have to be generated maliciously. If this setting is enabled, Windows 98 enables a protection routine to avoid hanging. This setting can interfere with some kernel mode applications (such as debuggers), so it should not be used while debugging programs.

NOTE: Norton Utilities 3.0 SpeedDisk and UnErase Wizard tools lock the computer if used with this setting enabled. If you have Norton Utilities, Microsoft recommends that you do not use this setting, or disable Norton Utilities from startup. 

Keep Privacy online : Security Tips

February 04, 2008 Add Comment

Keep Privacy online : Security Tips


Nobody wants their private information all over the internet. If a hacker gets a hold of some of your personal information, it can ruin your life. Did you know that many websites collect your personal information without your permission and without you even knowing it?

They collect this information for a variety of reasons. They like to get information and send you spam, adware, and junk mail. Sometimes hackers can get this personal information and use it for identity theft or to infiltrate your computer. But I know you are wondering “how do they get my private information through the Internet?”

It is actually quite easy. First of all, every computer has an IP address. When you visit someone’s website, the website owner can track you through your IP address. All IP addresses are logged into the website’s server. You IP address can give away details many private details like, where you live.

It can be quite a scary thought, but there is a solution. The solution is an anonymous proxy server. So, what is an anonymous proxy server? An anonymous proxy server is a machine that is between your computer and the server you are accessing to view the web page you want to look at. They provide the best privacy and hide your IP address so you can surf anonymously and securely. No one will even be able to tell that you are using an anonymous proxy server!

FindProxy.org is one of the best tools for hiding your identity from online scammers. It is your guide to private online surfing. They have a huge list of fresh proxy servers. The best thing about Findproxy.org is that they are 100% free and that they are always up to date. Being updated frequently is very important because eventually all proxies get blocked.

How Does Shortcut work on Windows

February 04, 2008 Add Comment

How Does Shortcut work on Windows



A shortcut may be a link that you have created somewhere, usually on the desktop, or may be a combination of keys to launch a program. Shortcuts will all be registered in the registry and clutter it up as and when you keep on adding the shortcuts to the computer. The registry thus needs to be cleaned up regularly with a registry cleaner.

There are two types of shortcuts in windows operating system environment. On shortcut is a link created and placed anywhere. This is mainly placed where one can see it such as on the desktop. Right clicking on the desktop and selecting -New - Shortcut can create a shortcut link on the desktop. Then browsing through the next window to get to the file or program that you want to create a shortcut link on the desktop to.

Once you have selected the object for the shortcut you click finish and a link is created on the desktop. Clicking on this link will open the file. Another way is to navigate or browse to the file or program on the PC and right click and select 'create shortcut'. The system will warn you that the short cut will be placed on the desktop for the particular object. Clicking 'ok' will accomplish the task. Now that you know what a shortcut is and how it works, you should also know the impact it may have on the registry of the system and why the registry has to be cleaned with a registry cleaner from time to time.

Some shortcuts can be created with the help of the windows keyboard. Presetting a set of control Alt (Key) will start up a program without you having to navigate to where the program is stored to get it up and running. However these shortcuts will all be registered in the registry and clutter it up as and when you keep on adding the shortcuts to the computer.

The registry is a central database of all the activity on the system and needs to be cleaned up regularly with a registry cleaner because as the registry grows older and is used more often it slows. When a shortcut key is pressed the shortcut keys refer to the registry for information on where to locate the program or file to launch. The registry in turn goes through its entire database in the section to locate the data being queried. So, if the registry is large with useless shortcuts, it will take a very long time to locate the shortcut that is being sought. This is the reason that the registry must be cleaned with a windows registry cleaner on a regular basis.

There are many free windows registry cleaners on the Internet. So go on and make your choice. It can only be of help to speeding up the system and making the operating system run error free and more efficiently with as few headaches as possible.

Spam Mails Big Burden now days

February 01, 2008 Add Comment

Spam Mails Big Burden now days


You probably know that Spam is unsolicited and undesired e-mail message. Spammers are the people who send Spam. Spam is a serious problem. It is important today as never before because almost every other email message we receive is Spam. So, the question arises how spammers get your email address and why they send you Spam. Spammers can obtain your email address in three ways.

One way is to guess a mailbox name for a publicly listed domain name. Many organizations have the email addresses where the first part of the email address is a general word such as “info”, “sales”, “accounts”, “support”, etc. People often use the email addresses beginning with their first name, for example, John, Sandra, Julia. Spammers simply put the first names before the @ symbol followed by a domain name, and get possible email addresses.

Secondly, spammers can gather email addresses from the Internet. They use programs that search web pages looking for email addresses. If there is your contact email address in your web site, or if the email address is embedded into your profile, your email address will be obtained by spammers.

The third way to get your email address is to buy email lists. Some dishonest companies can make money by selling the customer’s information to spammers. Spammers can also bribe unscrupulous employees of companies to get a copy of the email list.

Once spammers got a list of the victims’ email addresses, they start spamming. They do it to make money. In general, there are two kinds of spam messages:



1.Offering trashy and fraudulent goods or services (e.g. Viagra, Cialis, medications, fake Rolexes, software programs, etc.)

2.Stock scams working on “Pump and dump” schemes. Spammers encourage you to invest in a particular company's stock, in order to quickly inflate its value and enable the spammers to make a fast profit.



By sending their undesired messages spammers have for an object to contact thousands or even millions people in the hope to hit one or a few dolts who actually will buy their crappy products. No dolts, no spam. But out of a million people, you will always find one or two.

Most of the Internet protocols that computers use to talk to each other are anonymous. Your email server thinks that any email server connecting to it over the Internet is giving its name properly and that the email it sends is legitimate. Spammers abuse this trust relationship to send you their garbage. The Internet protocols cannot be changed in a moment so we need another solution to the problem of spam.

Legislative attempts produced no effect. It’s not easy to track a spammer located in USA sending spam using a mail server from Russia to mailboxes in Australia. Spammers are also known to use Trojans to hijack one’s computer and make that person send spam on behalf of the spammer. The “victim” doesn’t even guess about it. These people would be caught up in any comprehensive Spam legislation.

However that may be you can take some measures to protect your inbox against spam flow by yourself. There is a wide choice of anti-spam products available on the Internet. You only have to choose the right one to block Spam before it reaches your inbox. There is no guarantee that you will get absolutely no Spam but at least you will reduce its amount.
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