Free AntiSpyware for Windows XP

By: Ratliff, J

Microsoft recently released a newer beta version of their
AntiSpyware tool. After downloading and installing this new
version of Antispyware, I must say I was impressed. The tool
found everything I threw at it, including a few that AdAware
could not find. Microsoft has also implemented a network for
people to join if they wish to combat new spyware. It is kind of
like a huge lab if you will. Althought the beat version is free,
it does expire in July 2006, and MS is sure to charge for the
final product. However, I think that this tool will be a great
product for all computer users who are tired of constantly
fighting spyware and adware. I am advising all of my clients at
http://www.victoriatechnology.com to download it and try it out.
You can find Microsoft Spyware here.

About the author:
J. Ratliff is a web developer and technical guru. He runs Victoria
Technology as well as Affiliate Ranch.

Is Your Laptop Or Home Computer Wireless Enabled?

By: Kevin Erickson

Built in wireless capabilities are becoming almost standard
equipment on most laptop and home computers these days for a
couple of reasons. One of the primary reasons is cost. Adding
wireless capacity is so inexpensive that it would be silly for
the manufacturers not to add it. The perceived value of any
machine with wireless capacity far exceeds the cost to add it.
Wireless is the wave of the future, so if the manufacturers want
to stay ahead of the technology curve they need to add it to all
but there most basic models.

However, if you're like most people you probably can't even
check how much memory your computer has, let-alone if your
computer is wireless enabled. Throw in the fact that you may not
even know what wireless networking is and it's easy to ignore
even trying to determine if your computer has that capacity. As
a result, having ever taken the time to set it up is clearly out
of the question.

However, since you bought your computer you've probably heard
more and more about "going wireless" because it's becoming the
hip thing to do. If that's the case with you or I've simply
peaked your imagination then read a bit more because I've
outlined a few things you can to do to check if your computer
has wireless capabilities.

Laptops - Intel Centrino Mobile Technology Computer
manufacturers do less than a perfect job at explaining what this
means but if you if your laptop came with this built in then
that's good news for you! In a nutshell, it means that your
laptop has wireless networking built right in and you don't have
to do a thing. Intel Centrino Mobile Technology is a marketing
name for a combination of the Intel Pentium M processor and
Intel's' Pro Wireless card.

If you have Intel Centrino Mobile Technology then your computer
should have a "Centrino" sticker on it somewhere. If you can't
find a sticker but you suspect you had one at one time then
simply do the following. Right click on your "My Computer" icon.
It's probably on your desktop but if not then go to your Start
Menu, find My Computer, right-click and select Properties. When
the menu opens look at what it says after or under the word
Computer.

On a side note, Intel Centrino Mobile Technology also increases
battery life and allows manufacturers to build computers
smaller. If you can't find anything referring to Intel Centrino
Mobile Technology under the word Computer -- don't worry because
as long as your laptop has a free card slot, installing wireless
is a piece of cake.

Desktop Computers If you're not sure whether or not your desktop
computer has a wireless connection, the easiest thing to do is
to simply turn it around and look for a small aerial sticking
out of the back towards the bottom. If it's there then you are
wireless enabled. On the other hand, if there's nothing then
it's still possible that you have a wireless device in the
computer, especially if you purchased anytime in 2005 or beyond.
However, because it's not the best idea (unless you've done it
before) to try and open up your computer to check something I'll
show you a way to check, if your wireless enabled, using Windows.

Using Windows to Check Wireless Capacity Rather than messing
with your computers hardware to verify what you've got
installed, you can just as easily check using your Windows'
Device Manager. To use it, right click My Computer / Choose
Manage / and then click Device Manager.

After you click Device Manager a list of everything you can
install will appear on the right half of the screen. Take a look
under Network adapters and ignore anything that says 10/100 or
Ethernet because they are simply normal network connections --
not wireless ones. If there's anything else there, it could be a
wireless device.

If you think you have a wireless device, but it has a yellow
warning sign alongside its name in the Device Manager, you
should take a look at it to see what's wrong by double clicking
on it. Windows should then tell you why the device is not
working at the moment and may even suggest that you go through
its troubleshooter program. Do that before you do anything else.

If it turns out to be a driver problem, you should insert the
driver CD that came with your computer. If you can't find the
driver CD that came with your computer - don't worry because you
should be able to find and then download the appropriate driver
online. The first step would be to go to website of your
computers manufacturer and do a search for the name of the
wireless device that showed up in your Device Manager. Once you
find the correct driver simply download it and follow the
instructions.

After all this (actually about 5 minutes) you may discover that
you don't have a wireless enabled computer -- oh well, those are
the breaks. However, it's clearly better to find out your
computers wireless capacity now -- before you go out and buy
some wireless equipment and then realize that you didn't even
need it.

This article may be reproduced only in its entirety.

About the author:
Kevin Erickson is an entrepreneur and writer. To read other
articles he's written visit: Wireless Internet VoIP Provider Trade Show Display

On Reconditioned or Refurbished Notebooks

By: Richard Keir

Copyright 2005 Richard Keir

What exactly is a reconditioned or refurbished notebook
computer? Depending on where you are buying, it normally should
be a used - or possibly a returned notebook - that has been
factory rebuilt. A refurbished notebook computer is basically a
cheap, used (maybe) and renovated computer that satisfies all
your performance and portability needs and provides all the
advantages you would get on buying a new notebook - such as
warranty and technical support. This is critical - do not buy a
so-called reconditioned or refurbished notebook computer if it
does not have the same warranty or guarantee as a new machine.

I'm writing this article right now on a factory reconditioned
notebook that I purchased well over two years ago at a very
substantial savings over the same machine "new". It came with a
full factory warranty and it has performed like a champ.
Granted, I was nervous when I first bought it, but I'm now
convinced that if you can find a reconditioned or refurbished
notebook that has the features you're looking for, you'd be
foolish to pay full price -- the discounts are incredible, and
the products are functionally identical.

If you just need a computer that is portable, one that you can
use to perform simple computing tasks, why spend a fortune in
buying a new notebook from some well-known brand? Look for a
refurbished notebook computer instead. You will get a notebook
that will give you the required performance at a much lower
price - and it will still be covered by a warranty.

There is normally a difference between "refurbished" and
"reconditioned" (or factory reconditioned). Refurbished usually
means that this is an older notebook that has been used and then
reconditioned - often by a third party. Depending on the
warranty being offered by the refurbisher, this could be an
excellent deal. As always, it depends on whether the refurbished
notebook meets your specifications. If so, and the price - and
guarantee - are good, then you have nothing to lose.

Reconditioned machines, when you find them in a retail outlet,
usually are returns that had some problem, went back to the
manufacturer, were fixed and now are available at a very
substantial discount but have the full 'new' machine
factory/manufacturer guarantee. This can be a huge savings and
an incredible deal. Often these reconditioned notebooks sell at
a discount of 50% or more - and they may even be current models.

Maybe I've just been lucky, but my experience with factory
reconditioned notebooks has convinced me that it's foolish to
dump a bunch of dollars into a new machine if an equally capable
refurbished notebook is available. After all, every
reconditioned notebook was once a new notebook that had some
kind of problem causing its return. If the factory did its job,
then the reconditioned notebook is less likely to have a problem
than a new model. And if it does have a problem, you will still
have the warranty that new notebooks have.

Students, and of course their parents, who are on the look out
for a low-priced notebook to meet school needs, should
definitely consider buying a refurbished notebook computer.
Education is expensive enough without throwing away money by
paying top dollar for a notebook when an equivalent refurbished
or reconditioned notebook would serve as well. Check out the
computer shops in the local area - or even check online sites
like Amazon.com that may showcase a good refurbished notebook
computer on sale.

So before you spend - possibly waste - a lot of money buying a
brand new notebook that might have features you will never need
and accessories you never asked for, look into the possibilities
of a suitable and low-priced reconditioned or refurbished
notebook computer.

About the author:
Richard, a computer professional and writer, has a strong
interest in software and computer hardware. Visit Completely
Notebooks at http://Completely-Notebooks.net to learn more about
all kinds of notebook computers and accessories.

Implementing a Secure Password Policy

This article is for network administrators but the tips are
useful for home users, too, especially with the popularity of
home networks increasing.


By Stephen Bucaro

I don't need to tell you the importance of good network security
- but I will. If your network is compromised, competitors could
obtain information about where your company gets their
resources, steal your company's research, learn your company's
marketing plans, and other sensitive information that could
destroy your company's competitive advantage. The loss of
competitive advantage could require your company to reduce its
labor force - in other words you could lose your job.

If your company's network is compromised, identity thefts could
use your company's customers credit card numbers and social
security numbers to steal their identities and destroy their
lives. And it's not only your company's customers who are going
to suffer. When the source of the security breach is traced to
your company, the result will be a negligence lawsuit. And after
you get a reputation for being incompetent in the area of
network security, try to get a network administrator job at
another company.

Having a secure password policy is the front line of network
security. What good is a firewall and ant-virus protection if
hackers can easily log on and have their way with your network?
A secure password policy requires the following steps:

- Require users to create secure passwords - Configure your
system for password security - Disable default administrator
accounts - Create a Written password security policy -
Continuously communicate the password policy

How a Password Cracking Program Works

Hackers trying to break into your company's network will use a
"password cracking" program. The program runs continuously on
one or more computers. At predefined intervals it attempts to
logon to your company's network using the next username and
password in sequence in its dictionary. After a predefined
number of failed attempts, it will wait for a predefined
interval before making another attempt.

A password cracking program is not so aggressive that its
activities are easily detectable. You'll never know about the
hacker's activities unless you carefully analyze your server
logs. A hacker will continue to run the password cracking
program for years. They have lots of patience because, after
all, they are just sitting watching TV while the password
cracking program trys to break into your company's network. And
when it finally breaks into your system, the hacker can sell
your company's customers personal information for hundreds of
thousands of dollars.

Require Users to Create Secure Passwords

Your job, as network administrator, is to force users to create
passwords that are very time consuming for the password cracking
program to discover. In order to do this, users must create
passwords that are not at the beginning of the password cracking
program's dictionary. If one of your users thinks it's cute to
use the name of their pet as a password, I can assure you that
the word "scooter" is very close to the beginning of the
cracker's dictionary. Your networks security might not last the
week.

Require you users to create passwords that comply with the
following rules:

- Don't use a persons name, pets name, street name, or name of
an activity, event, place or thing - Don't use any word that
would be in the dictionary - Make the password long, the longer
the better (some systems have a maximum password length) - Use a
combination of letters and numbers - Use special characters,
like underscore or exclamation mark (if your system allows
special characters) Use a combination of uppercase and lowercase
letters (if your system's passwords are case sensitive).

Configure Your System for Password Security

A hacker's password cracking program can be thwarted by the
following system configurations:

- Lock out a user's account after a certain number of failed
logon attempts. Sure, a user might arrive in the morning with a
hangover and screw up their password two or three times, but
more failed attempts than that is probably the result of a
hacker. Configure the system to lock out a users account after
an unreasonable number of failed logon attempts.

- Configure the time interval of the failed logon attempts lock
out. If users understand that after they mistype up their
password x number of times, they need to wait 30 minutes before
making another logon attempt, they shouldn't be too annoyed. The
longer the time interval of failed logon attempts lock out, the
more it thwarts hackers. Unfortunately, long lock out periods
can occasionally be a problem for a legitimate user.

- Configure Your System to expire passwords periodically.
Imagine a password cracking program that has attempted millions
of passwords from its dictionary and is getting closer every day
to the actual password - and then the password changes. The more
frequently passwords change, the more secure the system is.
Configure Your System to expire passwords every 60 days or more
frequently.

Disable Default Administrator Accounts

Upon installation, many operating systems and software
applications have default accounts. Everybody knows the default
administrator user name for a Windows server is "Administrator".
Everybody knows the default administrator user name for SQL
server is "sa" and that, by default this user name requires no
password. Perform an audit of the all software and hardware
(routers, switches, etc.) on your network to make sure they are
not using a default account.

Create a Written Password Security Policy

Put your password security policy in writing. In addition to the
items already discussed in this article, put the following rules
in your written security policy:

- Don't reveal your password to ANYONE - not a fellow employee
(who may quit or get fired and then use your password) - not a
service technician (A hacker might call pretending to be a
technical support person who needs a password to troubleshoot a
problem). If a legitimate technical support person needs your
password, change your password immediately afterward. Many
security breaches occur when a user purposely reveals their
password.

- Don't let anyone look over your shoulder while you log on, and
in return don't look over anyone else's shoulder while they log
on.

- Don't leave your computer unattended while logged on. Log off,
go for coffee, log on.

- Don't leave paper or digital media containing sensitive data
laying around. You can't be sure that outside visitors won't
enter your area. You can't be sure that a fellow employee isn't
out to cause damage to your company.

- Don't discard paper or digital media in public waste
containers. "Dumpster diving" is a common way for thefts to
acquire sensitive information.

Continuously Communicate the Password Policy

many users hate password policies. They prefer to create a
password that is cute and memorable, and never change it. They
prefer to be friendly and cooperative with fellow employees and
outsiders and share their passwords. They don't understand the
value of the company's information and don't like to take the
time to be vigilant about not leaving it laying around, or
disposing of it properly.

As network administrator, it's your responsibility to
continuously communicate and promote the password security
policy. Use the company newsletter and meetings to reiterate the
password security policy. Also communicate WHY the password
security policy is necessary. WHY do employees need to comply
with the company's password policy? What will be the inevitable
result of failure to comply with the policy? Employees will
demonstrate much better conformance to any rules if they
understand WHY the rules are necessary.

----------------------------------------------------------
Resource Box: Copyright(C)2005 Bucaro TecHelp. FREE ebooks,
software, graphics, certification self tests, Java Script and
CSS cut-and-paste code. Learn PC Anatomy, find FREE diagnostic
Tools and technical assistance. Learn how to start your own
online business and much more! You never know what you'll find
at bucarotechelp.com

Used Laptops Could Be Your Best Option

By: Dave Klein

Most people who want to purchase a new laptop look at brand new
laptop computers. There are many used laptops available. Is
buying a used laptop a good idea? It depends on where you look
and what you need in a computer. Used laptops do not come with
warranties and usually have no guarantee. However, if you are
looking for a laptop for basic functions, this could be the way
to go.

Most used laptop computers were sold so that the previous owners
could upgrade to a newer model. Others are for sale because
companies upgrade their computers frequently. In some cases, you
can find top quality laptops at a fraction of the price. If you
want to consider purchasing a used laptop, the first step is to
make certain that you are buying from a reputable dealer. There
are numerous dealers that sell used laptops online. Online
marketplaces often do have larger quantities and set prices for
their used laptops. Some may even offer limited warranties. If
you choose this route, check into the dealer and the computer
offer carefully before making a purchase. Most of these dealers
sell computers that are good brands that have also been upgraded
in some way. In all cases, a used laptop should have the memory
completely erased and ready to go when you buy it. Many used
laptops can be found on online auctions. This could be a risky
way to purchase a computer. Prices for used laptops can vary
greatly depending on the seller. If you are using an online
auction to buy a used laptop make sure you ask the seller plenty
of questions before bidding, and check their seller reputation
on the auction site. Be wary of any seller that has poor seller
feedback. Another thing to consider when looking at used laptops
will be if the computer has the ability to be upgraded. Make
sure the laptop computer you are looking to purchase can have
the upgrades you want. Older computers may have less memory and
will need more memory to make it useful. If the asking price of
a used laptop is low enough, buying more memory may not be cost
prohibitive. Also, you will need to check to which types of
programs are already installed on the computer. If you will have
to purchase expensive programs such as a Windows program, you
may not come out on top with the purchase. If you will need to
access the internet, make sure the used laptop has the
capability to do so. Some older models may not be able to access
WiFi or a high-speed internet access without upgrades.

Before looking at used laptops, remember that these computers
are not certified. If you experience problems, used laptops
usually do not offer any type of warranty or guarantee. There is
no guarantee of how long the laptop will work. Also, remember
that used laptops may need repairs or part replacements. In
addition, if you get a used laptop and have problems, you
usually have no recourse with the seller.

About the author:
At Bizlaptops we specialize in finding you the best deals on cheap laptops as well as a
discount laptops
selection. Sign up for our free "Amazing Laptop Deals" service.

Virus or Spyware - What's the Difference?

By:Dave Fraser

This month's article is one of the things I still find comes up
as a frequent question, "what's the difference between Viruses
and Spyware"? I will try and clarify that here. One of the
biggest slowdowns of a PC is caused by viruses, adware or
spyware as it's often called. Before you can benefit from any
other optimisation tips or improvements you really need a system
relatively free from those pests.

A virus is a piece of malicious software code written to cause
some kind of damage to a computer system or network or even the
Internet itself. Viruses spread, similar to their biological
namesake, from one machine to another and can spread havoc
wherever they go. They are most commonly spread by sharing files
with others or through email attachments where they can be set
up to send themselves to all the addresses in your email address
book.

Adware is usually dowloaded and installed along with some other
program without your knowledge and unlike a virus doesn't spread
by itself. Very often you click "OK" without reading the terms
and conditions and by doing so you agree to have the files
installed. An example is you see a "free" program on offer that
you think might be useful and download it without thinking. Even
some anti-spyware programs install adware and the website earns
money from the ads that are clicked on.

The catch is that the extra files introduced are used to
determine things like your surfing habits and the data is used
to serve up popup ads or redirect your browser to a page other
than the one you wanted. Some of the programs can be used to
install keyloggers which can send back information about
passwords and bank details etc. Adware is not a security problem
it is more an annoyance especially when you have ten different
programs trying show ads. The amount of computer resources it
uses up slows your system to a crawl.

Spyware is more malicious and evil intentioned and is designed
to steal something from you. It can be downloaded by visiting
the wrong types of websites or along with other files the same
way as adware. Spyware can often be hard to remove as it can
continually recreate itself and hide somewhere on your hard
drive.

Programs such as trojans can be used to allow access to hackers
at a later date. From the story of the Trojan horse where the
Greeks hid inside the wooden horse left as a peace offering and
were wheeled in to the fort by the Trojans themselves. Then at
night the Greeks crept out of the horse and opened the gates and
let the enemy in. Trojans and adware unlike viruses don't spread
themselves.

It is wise to run more than one spyware checker as no one system
gets rid of them all. You can never be certain you have every
one removed because new ones may not have been discovered and
the Spyware program doesn't recognise it yet. I use the two free
ones "Spybot" and "Adaware" and I also use
http://www.pcsandthings.com/CounterSpy.htm which comes from a
reputable company that specialises in removing spyware.

Sometimes people say to me "doesn't my anti-virus software
remove spyware"? Well the answer is most don't and even if it
does I always find a specialist product works best. Beware also
of bogus spyware scanners available on-line which actually
install their own spyware once they have removed their
competitors. Sometimes you run a free scan and it finds all
sorts of nasties but you will have to sign up and pay to remove
them. I have even seen it that they find things that don't exist
or try to frighten people into believing they have lots of
spyware when all they have are advertising cookies.

Cookies are small text files that websites leave on your system
so that when you return they can customise the page that loads
or they can count you as a returning visitor. They are harmless
and most of them are useful. They can be easily removed by
deleting them in your browser settings.

So you need to be running a suitable and up to date antivirus
program and one or more Spyware checkers.

More tips can be gotten from my website at
http://www.pcsandthings.com

About the author:
Dave tries to make your computing experience a bit less
stressful and helps you to speed up your computer
with free tips at www.pcsandthings.com

Setting up an automated disk defrag

By: Kerry Garrison

Let's face it, back in the old days sitting and watching Norton
Speed Disk crank away on a 20mb drive actually had some
entertainment value, mostly because it only took a few minutes.
These days, a badly fragmented multi-hundred gigabyte drive may
take hours to defrag. If that's still your idea of
entertainment, then I can bet you don't go on a whole lot of
dates. Let's try and free up your weekends anyway by showing you
how to automate your defrag on Windows XP.

What is a defrag anyway?

Think of your hard drive as a giant wall of mail slots you might
see at a big business. Each slot can hold a small amount of
data. If a file you are trying to save fits into a single slot,
great, no problem. However, if the file is going to require
multiple slots, you begin to get fragmentation if the system
writes one part of the file to one slot but then has to skip
over several slots before there is space for the rest of the
file. The more files you add and delete, the worse this
fragmentation becomes. By defragmenting your drive, the defrag
program rearranges all of the data stored on it so that each
file is in consecutive slots. This makes reading the file in
when you want it much faster.

How do you defrag your drive?

On a Windows XP machine, go to your Start menu, select All
Programs, go to Accessories, select System Tools, and then
select Disk Defragmenter. This will allow you to select each
drive you may have in your system, analyze it , and perform a
defragmentation if needed.

That's all well and good for those people who actually remember
to do this once in a while, but the Naked Computer Guy is
nothing if not lazy. I would much rather be catching up on
TIVO'd episodes of American Chopper than remembering to defrag
my drive, so I created a very simple method to schedule a
regular defrag that I use on all of my client's machines (as
well as my own) these days.

The Automated Defrag

The reason why this is possible is that in the current version
of Window's defrag program, they put back in the ability to run
the defrag program from a command prompt. Armed with this
knowledge, we can create a simple batch file to defragment our
drives, and then schedule the defrag to run at specific times.
Start off by running Windows Notepad. We are going to add one
line in this file for each drive in your system using the format
defrag driveletter: so for most people, this will look like:

defrag c:

If you have more hard drives, just add additional lines for each
drive letter. Now we want to save this file, for simplicity's
sake, let's just save it to the root of your C drive. When
saving this file, be sure you save it as follows:

"dodefrag.bat"

If you do not put the quotes around the name, it will end up
saving the file as dofefrag.bat.text which will not work for our
purposes.

Next go to your Start menu, select All Programs, go to
Accessories, select Scheduled Tasks. Double click on the "Add
Scheduled Task" icon. On the first screen, click on Next, then
click on the Browse button, then double-click on the
dodefrag.bat file, and just to be a bit anal about this, let's
select the Weekly radio button, and click Next.

Since I recommend keeping your computer on 24 hours a day (turn
off CRT's) so that automated updates and maintenance tasks can
run at off-usage hours, let's schedule your task for a time
frame that makes sense to you. I set mine to run at 4am every
week on Sundays. This means that on Monday morning, my system is
all set for me to begin my week.

Once you click the Next button you will be asked for the
security credentials of a user that the program can run as. This
is important because your system may not be logged in or it may
be logged in as a non-admin user when the time comes for the
task to occur. This step is a problem if you do not have any
accounts on your system that do not have passwords, this will
simply generate an error. If you have an account with a password
set that has administrator rights, enter that user name and
password, click Next, then click on Finish, and you have just
automated your defrag process. If you need to create a user with
a password for running these types of tasks, then follow these
steps:

- Go to the Start menu, then Control Panels, then User Accounts

- Click on Create a new account

- Put in a user name (I like to create an account called
Maintenance)

- Click Next

- Make sure Computer Administrator is checked and click Create
Account

- Click on the new account icon

- Click on Create a password

- Enter in a password and hint for this user

- Click on Create Password

- Close the User Accounts window



Make sure the user name in the Schedule Task Wizard screen
matches the new account you created, and then follow the
instructions above to complete the task creation process.

About the author:
Kerry Garrison is the Director of Technical Services for Tech Data Pros, a southern
California IT Consulting firm, and is the publisher of The Geek Gazette and VOIPSpeak.net.

Basic Computer Maintenance

By: Kerry Garrison

We get asked all the time what things you can do to prolong the
life of your system and keep it running in top shape. We have
put together a short list of our favorite tips to help you
maximize that investment of yours. Use these tips to keep your
system cool, running fast, and lasting longer.

I Thought I Saw A Bunny Wabbit

The main enemy of your computer is heat. Heat will destroy a
computer given a high enough temperature or a long enough
duration. When you machine is nice and new, heat shouldn't be a
problem is a well designed system. Well, if it isn't a problem
when you bought it, why is it a problem now? The answer are two
simple words: dust bunnies

Those pesky dust bunnies will multiply in the sanctity of your
computer case like real rabbts in the wild. The dust will build
up on the components and cooling fins trapping in heat. Now I
know that now self respecting computer stud wants to ask the
wife to borrow the dust buster, heaven knows you might get
trapped into cleaning something else while you are at it. In our
book, the best cleaning is to take the machine outside, remove
the side panel, and use a good air compressor or canned air to
clean off all of the components. Be sure and use the little
straw to get deep into the power supply. More power supplies are
lost every year to dust buildup than any other cause. Before
putting the cover back on, check all the cards and RAM to make
sure it is seated well.

Do The Defrag

When do you defragment your drive? This is an age old question
that I will put to rest right here and now. You do NOT need to
defragment your drive every day, nor every week, and many people
don't need to even do it once a month. It really just depends on
how much your use your system. We reecommend a defragmentation
about once a month. In an upcoming article, we will actually
show you how to automate this process.

Backup

Enough said. If you are not backing up your data on a regular
basis, then paint your face, put on a funny wig and a rubber
nose and hang out with Bozo, cause a fool you are. Read this
sentance carefully: your hardrive will die someday...period. It
is only a matter of when. how often should you back up? That
depends again, how far back to you want to go when your hard
drive dies and all of your data is gone? Every business should
be backing up their data monday through friday, preferably with
the ability to go back to any day's backup for at least two
weeks.

Whose got the power?

One of the most overlooked problems that will reduce a perfectly
good computer to a pile of rubble in no time flat is the quality
of the power coming into the system. If the power fluctuates up
and down even a small amount, it puts a tremendous strain on the
power supply to filter it and deliver clean power to the system
components. At minimum you want a good surge suppressor. I am
not talking about the $2.99 hardware store specials, I am
talking about a good quality, brand name (like Belkin) surge
suppresor. If you spend less than $20 on it, it is not providing
adequate protection. If you really want ensure good quality
power to your system, invest in even a small battery backup
system. A small UPS will smooth out the power spikes and drops
end deliver smooth, consistent power to your system.

About the author:
Kerry Garrison is the Director of Technical Services for Tech Data Pros, a southern
California IT Consulting firm, and is the publisher of The Geek Gazette and VOIPSpeak.net.

Annoying Spyware And Its Elimination

By: Allen Brown

It is not so noticeable like spam and virus assaults to the
systems. Spyware could be destructive and cause financial losses.

Spyware is almost an invisible software programs that collects
and transmits personal or company's important data through the
Internet without being noticed. The transferred data could be
used for smashing up your company's credit or might hard hit its
profits. Spyware is also commonly acknowledged as Adware,
Malware, Sneakware and Snoopware.

Entry point of Spyware: It could enter your network by
auto-download software that automatically downloaded to your
network, even without user's acknowledgement. It could also
enter with software, which is downloaded by user that includes
Spyware program. Most common entry of this software is pop-ups,
which appears while opening any site. The pop-ups are very
attractively designed to allure user to click it.

The Spyware software is not even blocked by firewall programs,
as user itself allows it, of-course, due to unawareness.
Similarly, the usual antivirus programs are also unable not
block it, due to they don't seem as wicked as viruses.

Safeguard against Spyware: User should completely read and
understand the license agreement before downloading any
software. Avoid downloading unknown and fallacious software from
the internet. Keep away from clicking pop-up that put forward
mouthwatering offers.

The constant use of anti-Spyware software: Often use of anti
Spyware could prevent entering such harmful programs to your
network. The best precautious step is that, a user could apply
to block Spyware access via gateway security solutions like the
NetApp Internet access and security (IAS) solution, which stops
admittance to Web sites offering Spyware.

There are several anti-spyware programs available out there.
These programs search and eliminate Spyware and adware. They can
detect and sweep off huge number of adware files and modules.
Some of these programs also clean program and web-usage path
from your network that is very helpful if the system is shared.
There also some free downloadable software on authentic sites
like www.1888softwaredownloads.com, www.download.com,
www.mcafee.com, www.spywareinfo.com,
www.all-internet-security.com, www.tucows.com etc or you can use
keyword "free antispyware download" in search. So be precautious
while downloading any software from the net. Make sure you do
not download or acquire anti-Spyware program without checking
its authenticity. It doesn't happen often, but when it enters
would create immense destruction.

About the Author : Allen Brown is a freelance writer for
www.1888SoftwareDownloads.com, the premier website to find Free
Software Downloads including free anti-virus software, free
spyware detection software, free toolbars, free chat software
and more. He also freelances for www.1888FreeOnlineGames.com .

Tips To Ensure Your Wireless Network Is Secure

By: Keith Park


1. Reduce the Access Point (AP) broadcast strength whenever
feasible

- Cover only required areas in your home or business by
placing the AP in a more central location, away from
exterior walls.

2. Lock down the AP

- Ensure you change the default password and Service Set
Identifiers (SSIDs), disable the broadcasting of the SSID and
the option of "administration via wireless connection", if
possible. Disable any ports not required and prevent any
pass-through traffic if not needed.

3. Use Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) or Wi-Fi Protected
Access (WPA)

- This will encrypt wireless connections. WEP can be used on
many AP's without many headaches during setup. WPA is more
secure than WEP but is not yet widespread.

4. Limit network addresses

- If you don't have too many computers connecting, consider
limiting the maximum number of DHCP addresses the network can
assign, allowing justenough to cover the PC's you have.

5. Use assigned IP addresses

- If you only have one or two PC's connecting to your
network, manually assign them IP's and disable DHCP.

6. Turn on logging

- It's always a good idea to log attempted or failed
connections and to review these logs on a frequent basis. This
will allow you to proactively monitor unauthorized
connections.

7. Update your AP Firmware

- Make sure your AP has the latest firmware from the
manufacturer. They will issue updates to patch vulnerabilities
in the AP that could allow someone unauthorized access.

About the author:
Keith Park has been in the IT industry for the last 7 years and
is the author of the website TechCorner PC Resource Zone. Go there for
more articles and resources.

Additional resources @ http://mgrcentral.com/computers/default.aspx?stud
entid=1575219

Finding WiFi Hotspots

By: Jeremy Maddock

If you are taking a trip, but need to check your email and keep
up to date with business, on the go, then a WiFi enabled laptop
might be the perfect solution for you. Of course, the trick to
WiFi
laptops is finding hotspots in which to use them.

Before taking a trip, it is often a good idea to research
businesses in your destination ahead of time, and find the best
WiFi
locations in the area. Some of the places you might want to
look are hotels, libraries, and coffee shops, as such
establishments often offer a free or low cost wireless broadband
service to their customers.

About the author:
Jeremy Maddock is the webmaster of TeleClick.ca, a trusted
source of telecommunications
news.

Removing Spyware From Computers

By: Gary Gresham

Removing spyware from computers isn't as easy as installing it.
The first problem is that you often are completely unaware that
it's even there.

But removing spyware from computers is critical because there
are some spyware programs that can get into your computer and
allow a hacker access to your personal information such as
credit card numbers and enable identity theft.

For this reason, if no other, the quicker you find and start
the process of removing spyware from computers the better.

Spyware is software that is automatically installed on a
computer usually unintentionally and unknowingly by a user who
clicks to close a pop-up ad displayed when a webpage is opened.

The advertisements are designed so that you can't close them
without activating them. Once installed, the spyware is capable
of performing any of a number of tasks without you even
realizing it.

One of the most popular uses of spyware is to provide
information. The person sending out the spyware wants to know
where people are surfing on the Internet. As much as that
invades your privacy, it's by no means the worst of what spyware
is capable of.

Unlike a computer virus which can usually be quickly removed
once found, spyware usually requires a complicated removal
process. It may not have the same ripple effect of having your
computer infects other people's computer that a virus has.

But the way it affects the performance of your computer,
together with the implications of what the spyware is capable
of, make it's removal a priority.

One of the best ways to fight spyware is to download an
anti-spyware program. These programs are designed not only to
detect spyware on your computer, but also to stop them from
being installed in the first place.

There are free programs which detect existing spyware, and
block some incoming infections, but they don't upgrade
automatically and hackers sending out spyware are constantly
working to find ways around the free anti-spyware.



Make sure that any anti-spyware program you use is kept
up-to-date or you may be relying on outdated technology to keep
your computer clean. That means you still run a risk of being
infected by a more advanced attack.

While there are spyware programs that you do agree to, the
majority of spyware is not only put onto your computer without
your consent, it's also there without your knowledge.

For example, if you install the Google toolbar you are given
the option of allowing them to harvest data on your surfing
habits. But they do allow you to refuse that if you don't want
anyone having access to your computer.

Working away in the background, spyware takes what information
it wants and relays this to the spyware sender. For safe web
surfing it's safer to take advantage and install up-to-date
adware spyware blockers.



This doesn't automatically ensure that removing spyware from
your computer is 100% accurate. So you also need to get into a
habit of running the anti-spyware program on your computer to
check that nothing managed to squeeze past your defense system.

A good adware spyware blockers program is the best way for
removing spyware from computers and keeping your sensitive
information private.



Copyright © 2005 Spyware-Information.com All Rights Reserved.

About the author:
This article is provided by http://www.spyware-information.com
where you will find free spyware cleaners, downloads, removal
software, computer firewalls and valuable tips. For regularly
updated articles about adware, spyware and protection from
identity theft go to
http://spyware-information.com/articles_1.html

How To Find Amazing Laptop Deals

By: Dave Klein

Laptop computers are becoming increasingly popular because of
their easy portability. A laptop is ideal for those who must
travel because of their jobs or for those who work away from
their desk. College students also use laptop computers for their
studies. It is not difficult to find good laptop deals.
Electronic stores and the Internet are all perfect places to
look for laptop deals.

Before purchasing a new computer, research the many laptop deals
that can be found in electronic stores. Look in the weekly sales
ads and compare the sales from week to week. As the technology
for laptops increases, the prices of laptops are starting to
drop. Laptop deals are readily available with manufacturer
rebates. Rebates, combined with a good sale price can give
consumers an excellent deal on a new laptop.

If you purchase a laptop deal that comes with a rebate, it is
important to follow all of the directions on the rebate to get
the rebate check. Read the rebate offer carefully to make sure
that the purchase is eligible. Some rebates are very specific
and require certain software purchases in addition to the
laptop. Also, make sure to send the paperwork off on time.
Rebates for laptop deals will be ineligible if it is not
postmarked on the correct day. Follow all of the instructions on
the laptop rebate and be sure to make copies for reference.
Also, remember that laptop rebates often takes several weeks.

Another way to get a great laptop deal is to shop around. Do not
settle for the first sale you see. Look at all ad circulars for
you local electronic stores and compare the prices. Be certain
that the laptop you are looking for is the exact same as in the
ad. Laptops can be very similar, even with the same brands.
There are usually small things, such as different software that
makes the price on laptop deals different.

To compare laptop deals easily, check the Internet. There are
several websites on the Internet that will do the comparison
shopping for you. Simply put in the model number of the item you
are looking for and the website will generate prices from
different stores. Often the prices that these websites generates
are the sale prices that are found in the weekly sales circular,
but the prices are listed side-by-side for easy comparison. This
method of shopping helps you find the best laptop deals.

Getting a good laptop deal is also easy when you search the
Internet. Even large electronic stores sell their products on
the Internet. Some often have sales that are only available
through their website. If you do choose to purchase a laptop
from the Internet, make sure you are making the purchase through
a reputable dealer. Be wary of any website where you do not know
for certain that the laptop is a brand name or if the laptop
deal seems too good to be true. If you are uncertain about the
reputation of an online dealer, it is usually better to research
the company or go with another store.

About the author:
At Bizlaptops we specialize in finding you the best deals on cheap laptops, discount laptops and laptop reviews. Sign up for
our free "Amazing Laptop Deals" service.

Advanced personal Adware programs available from Lavasoft

By: Jason Frovich

Find out more about how to download Lavasoft Adware 6 0 Personal
without paying a cent. Why use Lavasoft Adware 6 0 Personal?
There are several good reasons to protect you computer from
Adware and Spyware programs by using Lavasoft Adware 6 0
Personal or similar programs, depending on your specific needs
and requirements. If your computer is connected to the Internet,
the risk of it being infected with harmful software is very high
if you do not use protective programs, such as a Firewall and
Anti-virus software. However, a Firewall and a standard
Anti-virus pram is not enough to protect you from involuntarily
installing Advertising-supported Software, so called Adware. It
is very easy to be lured into accepting Adware. If you download
music from the Internet, the risk is very high that these
downloads include Adware as well, and even if you refrain
completely from downloading music files from the Internet you
can still unknowingly install an Adware program when your are
doing nothing but looking at web pages. For example, if you by
mistake click on a fake X instead of the real X on the top of
one of those annoying pop-up adds, your computer can start
downloading and installing harmful Adware without you even
knowing it.

To stay clear from Adware, you need an Ad-Aware program, e.g.
Lavasoft Adware 6 0 Personal. Ad-Aware programs like Lavasoft
Adware 6 0 Personal are designed to search your computer for any
Adware programs and remove them. Lavasoft Adware 6 0 Personal
will also alert you every time an attempt to install an Adware
program is made. By using Lavasoft Adware 6 0 Personal, you will
stop the malicious Adware at the gate and the harmful programs
will not be able to infest your computer. Compared to
Anti-Adware programs only capable of scanning your computer and
removing already installed Adware, Lavasoft Adware 6 0 Personal
will provide you with a higher level of security since the
Adware will be blocked before it manage to install it self.

Once a malicious Adware program has been installed, it will take
control over your computer and is capable of automatically
display commercials and advertising materials for you. It can
sometimes be extremely annoying, such as multiple pop-up windows
that are impossible to close, or it can be very cleverly
disguised and blend in with other commercial messages on the
Internet. Adware programs can also download and install
advertising material to your computer without your consent. To
avoid this, you need to install an Ad-Aware program, such as
Lavasoft Adware 6 0 Personal.

Lavasoft develops many types of Ad-Aware programs to suit
different types of users. Some Lavasoft programs can be
downloaded for free, while other variants have to be purchased.
If you start buy downloading a free version of Lavasoft Adware,
you can always upgrade it later. Examples of popular Ad-Aware
programs from Lavasoft Adware are Lavasoft Adware 6.0, Lavasoft
Adware 6.0 Plus, Lavasoft Adware 6.0 Professional and Lavasoft
Adware 6 0 Personal. As the name suggests, the Lavasoft Adware 6
0 Personal is very suitable if wish to protect your personal
computer from Adware. Lavasoft Adware 6 0 Personal is not
indented for businesses or large organisations.

Adware programs are sometimes combined with Spyware programs,
since the information about you gathered by the Spyware program
makes it easier to target you with suitable advertisements. When
your computer is infested with a Spyware program, all your
actions will be monitored and information will be sent to the
company or person in control of the Spyware. The data can
include highly personal information such as long lists over all
your online activities; visited websites, online purchases, all
searches performed by search engines, etcetera. The information
about you will then be gathered, stored and used without your
knowledge or consent. Lavasoft Adware 6 0 Personal will
safeguard you against Spyware as well as Adware.

It is worth mentioning that there are honest Adware programs on
the Internet as well. The persons and companies behind these
Adware programs do no try to deceive you into unknowingly
installing the Adware program on your computer. Instead, the
Adware is a way to make it possible for you to download a
software program, such as a popular game, without having to pay
for it. Instead, the money to cover development costs etcetera
will come from the companies displaying advertisements while you
use the program. When you no longer wish to use the free
program, you can simply remove it together with the Adware.

Lavasoft Adware 6 0 Personal has been design specifically to
suit the needs for private persons who wish to safeguard their
own computers from malicious Adware. Lavasoft Adware 6 0
Personal will check your entire computer for Adware. Once an
Adware is detected, Lavasoft Adware 6 0 Personal will remove the
Adware. Lavasoft Adware 6 0 Personal is also designed to alert
you every time an attempt is made to install an Adware program
on your computer. This means that Lavasoft Adware 6 0 Personal
will not only clean your computer from existing Adware; it will
also protect you from any new infestations in the future.

You can download Lavasoft Adware 6 0 Personal directly from the
Internet. It is easy to install and you don't have to reboot
your computer, you can start scanning your computer as soon as
the installation is finished. To keep an Ad-Aware program up to
date, you need to update it regularly. For Lavasoft Adware 6 0
Personal, free updates are available online. You can even set
Lavasoft Adware 6 0 Personal to update automatically as soon as
an update becomes available.

About the author:
New forms of malicious Spyware and Adware are constantly created
and in order to protect your computer from infestations you must
choose a high-quality program and keep it updated.
Supportcave.com offerslavasoft adware 6 0 personal
available for immediate online download

Wireless Networking Explained

By: Lee Asher

Wireless networking is just what it sounds like -- a way of
creating networks without any wires! Wireless networks utilize
radio waves and/or microwaves to maintain commmunication
channels between computers and other network devices. If this
sounds exciting to you, then read on.

With a wireless network, you can create radio connections
between computers that let them communicate and connect to the
Internet without you having to go to all the trouble of
connecting them with wires. The computers don't even need to
have a clear path for the signal, as the wireless signal can go
through walls and between floors easily.

Where Did It Come From?

The story of wireless networking is a rather strange one. It is
basically an application of a technology called frequency
hopping which was, believe it or not, invented by the actress
Hedy Lamarr and a musician named George Antheil, back in the
1940s. Seriously, do a web search -- I promise I'm not pulling
your leg here.

They received a patent for their invention, which was intended
to help in the war effort. Hedy was Jewish, but had been made to
hide it and socialise with Hitler as a young woman -- she had to
drug her husband and run away to London to escape her native
Austria. The importance of what they'd done, however, wasn't
recognised until many years later.

The U.S. military adopted the technique in the '60s, using it
during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Hedy never saw any money from
it as the patent had expired (don't worry, she was a film
star!), but she was given a Pioneer Award by the Electronic
Frontier Foundation in 1997, three years before her death.

Wireless at Home

When most people talk about wireless networks, they are talking
about wireless LANs (local area networks). A local area network
doesn't mean that it covers your whole neighbourhood -- the
'local area' in question can be only one building, such as your
house. So if you want wireless networking in your home, you want
a wireless LAN.

Once people have wireless in their home, they always seem to act
as if there's been an absolute miracle. After years of drilling
holes in the walls and running wires all over the place,
suddenly seeing them gone is really amazing.

The Myths

Wireless networking is expensive. Well, wireless networking used
to be expensive when it was new, but now the prices have come
way down thanks to competition and mass production. There are
hundreds of manufacturers of wireless equipment, with something
for every budget. Your costs will depend on how many computers
you want to connect and how far apart they are, but a typical
family should still be able to do it for less than $100 overall.
If you're willing to leave one of the computers on whenever
you're using the other one, you could do it for as little as
$20! Best of all, once you've spend the money, there's nothing
more to pay after that.

Wireless networking is hard. Again, this myth is a holdover from
the early days of wireless. It used to be very difficult, with
you needing to fiddle endlessly with the configuration on each
computer just to get the simplest things to work. Now, though,
Windows supports wireless out of the box, and setting it up is
easier than ever. You can usually plug in what you've bought,
put the CD in the computer and then sit back and watch it all
work perfectly!

Wireless networking is insecure. You might think it's dangerous
to have all your personal data floating around in the air for
anyone to read. Well, if you want, it's dead easy to enable
encryption for your wireless signals. It's already difficult for
outsiders to intercept wireless signals at all, and they
certainly won't be able to decode them as well.

Not Just at Home

It was home users that were quickest to adopt wireless
technology, willing to pay any amount to finally be free of
needing to run wires all over their house. Since then, though,
the technology has started to spread to offices, universities,
and all sorts of other places.

Chains of coffee shops and cafes have found that their customers
will stay for hours if they offer wireless Internet access, and
it's also becoming more common in hotels and airports. This
means that once you set up a laptop for wireless, it becomes far
more portable than it ever was before.

About the author:


Original Source: Articles-Galore.com



Information supplied and written by Lee Asher of CyberTech SoftShop

Suppliers of the DeadEasy
Ebook Maker and Publishing Wizard.

Wireless Router & Security: A Step-By-Step Guide

By: Brian Medini

Setting up a wireless router is easy. Essentially you turn your
cable or DSL modem off and your wireless router on. Then, you
connect the router to the modem with a cable, and turn the modem
back on. You are more or less done. The wireless network wizard
on your computer will pick up the router and, if your ISP does
not have any special requirements, away-you-go, you are on the
Internet.

For ease of setup and configuration, manufacturers ship wireless
routers with all security disabled. Therein lies the problem. If
you do not take any further steps to secure your router, and a
surprising number of people don't, your network will be wide
open to all passersby and strangers. It's like you've hung out a
sign, "The door is open. Please come in and help yourself."

The problem is not that strangers will be able to use your
router to access the Internet but that, without further
protection, would-be intruders will be able monitor and sniff
out information you send and receive on your network. Malicious
intruders can even hop on to your internal network; access your
hard drives; and, steal, edit, or delete files on your computer.

The good news is that it is relatively easy to secure your
wireless router. Here are three basic steps you should take.

1. Password protect the access to your router's internal
configuration

To access your router's internal setup, open a browser and enter
the routers setup URL. The URL will be specified in the manual.
The URLs for D-Link and Linksys routers, two major manufacturers
of wireless routers, are http://192.168.0.1 and http://192.168.1.1, respectively.

For Linksys routers, leave the user name blank and type "admin"
(without the quotes) in the password field and press enter. To
change the password, simply click on the Password tab and enter
your new password.

For other routers, please consult your manual. Alternately, you
can search on the Internet with the term "default login for ".
Don't be surprised to find quite a number of pages listing
default login parameters for many different routers, even
uncommon ones.

2. Change the default SSID (Service Set IDentifier)

The SSID is the name of a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network).
All wireless devices on a WLAN use SSIDs to communicate with
each other.

Routers ship with standard default SSIDs. For example, the
default SSID for Linksys routers is, not unsurprisingly,
"Linksys". As you can see, if you don't change the default SSID
of your router a would-be intruder armed with a few common SSIDs
from major manufacturers will be able to find your wireless
network quite easily.

To change the SSID, click on the Wireless tab. Look for an input
item labeled SSID. It will be near the top. Enter a new name for
network. Don't use something like "My Network". Use a name that
is be hard to guess.

3. Disable SSID broadcast

Wireless enabled computers use network discovery software to
automatically search for nearby SSIDs. Some of the more advanced
software will query the SSIDs of nearby networks and even
display their names. Therefore, changing the network name only
helps partially to secure your network. To prevent your network
name from being discovered, you must disable SSID broadcast.

In the same screen that you changed the name of your network,
you will see options for SSID broadcast. Choose "Disable SSID"
to make your network invisible. Now save all your settings and
log out.

Since your wireless network is now invisible, you will have to
configure your computers to connect to your wireless network
using the new name. On Windows XP, start by clicking on the
wireless icon in the Notification Area and proceed from there.

With these three steps, your network now has basic security.
However, if you keep sensitive information on your computers,
you may want to secure your wireless network even further. For
example, you can

- Change the channel your router uses to transmit and receive
data on a regularly basis. - Restrict devices that can connect
to the router by filtering out MAC (Media Access Control)
addresses. - Use encryption such as WEP and WPA.

As with most things in life, security is a trade off between
cost (time, money, inconvenience) and benefit (ease of use). It
is a personal decision you make. However for the majority of
home uses, the three basic steps plus WEP/WPA encryption
provides reasonably strong security.

Turning on encryption is a two-step process. First you configure
your router to use encryption using an encryption key of your
choice. And then, you configure your computer to use the
encryption key. The actual process of configuring your router
for encryption varies from router to router. Please consult the
router's manual.

There are even stronger methods for ensuring security. A strong
and robust security method is RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial
In User Service). Using RADIUS requires additional hardware and
software. However, there are companies that offer RADIUS
security as a subscription based service. The fees are
reasonable and dropping.

Therefore for example, if you run a business on your wireless
network, have sensitive data on your computers such as credit
card information, and have a number of users who access your
network, you should consider using RADIUS. Since the service
sector for RADIUS is dynamic and growing, a search on the
Internet with terms like "RADIUS subscription" or "RADIUS
service" is probably the best way to locate one.

About the author:
Brian Medini in association with http://computer-internet.
marc8.com More on wireless networks http://compu
ter-internet.marc8.com/top/wireless

Save Money By Fixing PC Errors As They Occur

By: The Bug Doctor

How much did it cost you the last time you had to call one of
those computer tech help lines? What about the time you actually
had to have a PC service technician come to your home? That
expensive, huh? The truth is, PC tech help is expensive, and
often the problems that cost you the most could have been
avoided for a fraction of the cost with just an ounce of
prevention.

There are many computer errors that send us scrambling for tech
help. Sometimes, they can be annoying problems like glitches and
error pop-up warnings. Other times, they can be fatal and result
in the loss of data and/or system crash. All of these errors, no
matter how varied they may be, have one thing in common: They
are caused by things you unknowingly bring or take out of your
system's hard drive, and you can fix them instantaneously before
they start to cause problems with the right software.

You see, your computer is just a machine that does exactly what
it is programmed to do or what you tell it to do. To help it do
this, it has thousands of files and programs filed neatly away
in the hard drive. Most of the time, these files are accessed by
your computer easily, but sometimes the filing system can be a
little off, which makes it hard for your PC to access certain
files and applications quickly or at all. Anytime that your PC
has to search for these files or fails to find them an error
occurs.

In most cases, errors can occur without you even realizing it.
You may not get a warning or program shutdown. Often, the only
evidence that you have that errors are occurring is a computer
that does not perform as quickly as it used to. While this in
itself is annoying and frustrating, hidden errors can multiply
and result in PC problems that leave you shelling out big bucks
to tech professionals.

To avoid errors from multiplying and eating away at your wallet,
you need to fix the little errors as they occur. This can be
done easily with the right software. The right software consists
of programs that watch out for hidden errors and help fix them
before they cause problems. In many cases, you can get all of
the protection from hidden errors that you need in one software
suite or download. In some cases, you can even get an error scan
for free.

Even if you don't think your PC has hidden errors on it, it may
be a good idea to have it scanned for free just to make sure.
Statistics show that it is not uncommon for most computers in
operation to have more than 200 errors. In fact, 94% of all PCs
that have been used for one month or longer have hidden errors.

As mentioned before, hidden errors occur during the daily
operation of your PC, and they especially occur when you
download new programs or install and uninstall software. This is
because each time you download a new program or
install/uninstall software, you change the filing order of your
hard drive. New files are added, old files are deleted, and some
files that should have been deleted remain behind. In some
cases, you may inadvertently delete a file that is needed for
another computer application. All of these changes leave holes
in your PC's operation and make it more and more difficult for
it to perform accurately and quickly.

Instead of letting these problems add up until they become
annoying, unbearable or result in a system crash, doctor
software helps to eliminate any trouble that you may experience
from hidden errors. This software fixes errors that cause
problems, fixes corrupt files, prevents hidden files from
causing harm, and helps you avoid formatting and rebooting
errors without you having to think about it.

And you can use this software for a fraction of the cost that
you would shell out to tech professionals. Unlimited access to
repairs costs as little as $20 per month, $60 per year and $130
for life. Now, that's a big difference than what you pay for
in-house technical service. In fact, you could pay for your
doctor software for a lifetime just by avoiding one in-home
technical call. All of those technical fees avoided equal more
money in your pocket and a smooth-running, error-free personal
computer for you and your whole family to enjoy.

About the author:
Written by The Bug Doctor
- The Bug Doctor will fix
hidden bugs and errors on your PC and restore lost
performance and speed that is lost over time. http://www.bugdoctor.com

Antispyware Or Spyware?

By: Kwan Lo

Spyware has become the most prominent computer security problem.
How do you choose a good spyware removal tool? Beware of
antispyware software which installs spyware/adware to your
computer.

Spyware is a hidden software program. It is often used to
monitor the browsing and shopping habits of computer users.
Spyware can also be a remote control program that steals
confidential banking and personal information.

Spyware has quickly become the most prominent internet security
problem. According to the National Cyber Security Alliance,
spyware infects more than 90% of home PCs. Recent survey shows
that spyware is also sneaking into the network of corporate
computers.

Spyware is often coupled with free downloads, such as free
music, game and software downloads. Spyware may slow down
computer, hijack homepage and create uncontrolled pop-up
advertisements. Some spyware programs can remain unnoticed,
secretly gathering information from the computer. Once
installed, spyware is difficult to remove without the help of
dedicated antispyware software.

Due to the rise of spyware activity, antispyware programs are in
great demand these days. But are these spyware removal tools the
same? Do they provide the security consumers need?

There are many reports that some antispyware programs installed
their own spyware and adware to the computer. One consumer was
quoted saying: "It's a rip-off. I downloaded the free trial of
an antispyware program, only to find out that it added its own
adware to my computer." Other consumers have complained that the
antispyware program they use cannot detect all spyware programs.
Some even slow down the computer and create pop-up
advertisements.

There are a few good antispyware programs in the market today.
On the other hand, dozens of spyware removal programs are
blacklisted by consumers. Beware of spyware removal tools that
are heavily promoted by e-mail campaigns. Never run any free
downloads and free scans from unknown software publishers. Their
programs may as well be spyware programs themselves. Read
independent product reviews from renowned computer magazines or
reputable sources. Spending some extra time in research can save
you a lot of hassles in the long run.

About the author:
Kwan Lo is the owner of http://software.4reviews.net, an online
review site promoting top-rated, award-winning security and
utility software.

How To Prevent Unwanted Windows Programs From Loading At System

By: Balraj Dhaliwal

We all have them in our system tray, programs that load up and
use precious memory resources and take up valuable space on your
taskbar. Some of them you need, but most you can do without.
Take charge and clean them out.

Some of the kinder and well written programs are configurable
and allow you to change the settings that starts them up. If
this option is available, then this is the best approach.

There are, however, many programs that do not give you the
choice and no matter how many times you remove them, they
return. Two that I find really annoying are the "Windows
Messenger" and the "Quicktime Task". Both sit in the system tray
and I don't need or want them there. I'll show you how to get
rid of them forever if you have Windows XP Pro or Windows 2000.
For those with Windows XP Home, this solution will not work.

First and foremost, however, I'd like to discuss a little gem of
a program called Startup Control Panel, written by a young chap
called Mike Lin from Boston. The program is available as
freeware from www.mlin.net and Mike takes donations from those
who want to contribute to his efforts.

This program works under all versions of Windows and is a vital
part of any Windows installation. It's a program that will allow
you to control exactly what programs load at system startup.
This is one of the first things I install after setting up a
computer with Windows. The program can either be loaded as a
standalone program or incorporated into your Control Panel. I
prefer the latter, but both work equally well.

When you invoke the program, there are a series of tabs across
the top. The 4 that you should be concerned about are labelled,
"Startup (user)", "Startup (common)", "HKLM/Run" and "HKCU/Run".
These represent 4 different methods by which your computer can
run programs when the system first starts. There are 3 other
tab, which are not as important and are self-explanatory anyway.
Note that the tabs may be on 2 levels depending on the windows
size. I usually drag the window and make it wider so that all
the tabs fit natly across on the page in a line.

Going through each of the 4 tabs, look at the checked items that
will run. To stop them from running, uncheck the box. If you are
unsure about a program, uncheck it and see what the effects are.
You can awlays revise this later if something stops working. As
an exercise, run the Windows Task Manager (by hitting the Ctrl,
Alt and Del keys simultaneously) and note down how much memory
is taken up by your system on a fresh start. The figure is
listed on the status bar of the Task Manager under "Mem Usage".
After unchecking all the unwanted programs, restart your system
and compare the number and see how much less memory is being
used. This is the amount you have saved and all things going
well, you'll notice that your system is snappier and definitely
less cluttered.

You will soon find that some programs do not like being
unchecked. Yes, you guessed it, the two that I mentioned above,
"Windows Messenger" and "Quicktime Task". They will reappear
everytime you delete them. Worry not for there is another way
for those running Windows 2000 or Windows XP Pro on the NTFS
File System.

The NTFS File system comes with security built-in meaning that
access to files, folders and programs can be limited. This is
precisely the method which we will use to stop these pesky
programs from loading.

Open up a Windows Explorer window and navigate to where these
programs reside. For "Windows Messenger", it should be in your
"C:\Program Files\Messenger" folder and is called "msmsgs.exe".
Right click on the file and click on the "Security Tab". The
security settings will show. Basically you want to apply the
"Deny" access for all users and administrators. Do this by
selecting each group and then clicking on the "Deny" checkboxes.
When finished, click on the OK and you're done. The next time
you restart the system, this program will be denied access to
run. There are many who will rightly point out to me that there
is an easier way to do this and that is to run Windows
Messenger, navigate to the Tools menu and turn off the startup
option. I have done this in the past but find that when a
service pack or patch is loaded, that this program sometimes
notoriously starts up again, so the Deny option works
permanntly. Windows Messenger is a useless program and is
superseeded by the MSN Messenger program.

Repeat the same for the Quicktim Task program which you can find
by doing a search for "qttask.exe". You should find it in the
"C:\Program Files\Quicktime" folder.

You can deny access to any program that you don't want to run.
This is a powerful method of controlling your environment. It
can be reverted by unchecking the Deny boxes at any time.

For those running Windows XP Pro, by default the Security system
is disabled. This is easily fixed by opening up "My Computer"
and selecting "Tools, Folder Options, View". The item either
last on the list or close to last on the list will read
something like "Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended)". Uncheck
the box and click OK and your system will now have full security
settings on all file or folders. The properties window of any
file will then have the "Security" tab.

There is also the possibility that you have a Windows XP Pro
system running the FAT32 file system instead of NTFS. The FAT32
file system does not have the in-built security of NTFS and will
not allow you to allocate Deny permissions on files, folders or
programs. You can however, easily convert the FAT32 file system
to NTFS though using tools in XP. To find out how, do a Google
search for "convert FAT32 to NTFS".

I wish you all the best with your computing experiences.

About the author:
Balraj Dhaliwal is an Internet Consultant for BSD Domain
Registry, a well respected and liked domain and hosting provider
because of its no nonsense simple approach to getting things
done. Visit BSD Register at http://www.BSDRegister.com

Tips for Getting the Most Life Out of Your Laptop Battery

By: Eve Larson

As more and more people are becoming part of the mobile
workforce and using laptop or tablet PC's battery life is often
a primary concern. Today's portable computers use lithium-ion
batteries instead of older style nickel-cadmium power sources.
In addition to being able to hold a greater charge, lithium is
also very light weight, another important concern for portable
computers.

When you are purchasing your computer investigate if a long-life
battery is available. While it will add to the cost it can give
up to double the usage of a normal battery. To get the most
usage out of your battery you'll need to understand a little bit
about how batteries work. Each battery has a limited number of
charge cycles. If your battery lasts for 4 hours and on the
first day you use it for 2 hours and then recharge it fully and
the next day you use it for 2 hours again and then fully
recharge it again, you will have completed one charge cycle.
Each battery has a limited number of charge cycles before it
starts losing it's the charge it can hold.

If you aren't using your wireless connection to connect to the
internet or network turn off the wireless connection it will
extend the life of your battery. The same holds true for
Bluetooth connections. Another way to extend your battery life
is to lower the brightness of your monitor. Lastly bear in mind
that using your portable computer to play a DVD movie uses more
power than using a spreadsheet.

If you find that you are often using the computer with the
battery at full charge while connected to the main power supply
you may want to remove the battery. Keeping the battery fully
charged while it's at a high temperature, which is typical of
conditions of a laptop that is always plugged into the main
power supply, will dramatically shorten its lifespan.
Discharging the battery regularly is also conducive to long
battery life. Under optimal conditions laptop batteries will
last 24 to 36 months, under less than optimal conditions you may
shorten the lifespan down to 12 to 18 months.

To help keep your battery operating at optimal conditions try to
fully discharge it once a month. Many people find it helpful to
set a calendar reminder so they don't forget. If you find your
battery lasts less than 60 minutes, try fully discharging it
several days in a row. Just leave your computer on overnight
with no applications running. Be sure to turn off any alarm or
lower power warnings that are associated with your power
settings. If this fails to work you will need to replace the
battery.

© Copyright TabletPC.6LN.com, All Rights Reserved.

About the author:
Eve Larson is the senior author for Tablet PC News and Reviews
(http://tabletpc.6ln.com) where she provides information that
help you get the most out mobile computing platforms.

Building a Computer From the Bottom Up

By: Frank Hardy

Before you even think about building your own computer make sure
that you go for the best technology possible. This is an
important task and you want it to turn out as close to perfect
as possible. When your PC is complete you want it to have the
best hardware available.

One of the biggest benefits of building your own computer is
that you can customize it. You know what is most important to
you. Maybe you are a graphics user. MP3's might be the closest
thing you have to a best friend. Perhaps you are writing the
great American novel and you are mainly interested in text. If
you are building your own machine, you can concentrate on what
you want but if you're building it for a third party, you
obviously need to consult them first.

Collecting the hardware for your new computer is the most time
consuming part of the process. You want to make sure that you
get high standard equipment that works well with your needs.
Take your time and don't try to skimp on your hardware. If you
don't heed both of these suggestions, your computer could bite
back later.

If you are building your own PC, you probably know that the
Motherboard is the most important part of your computer.
Everything that you plug into your computer will meet here. Be
especially choosy when buying a motherboard. And make sure that
there is an instruction manual. Some cheapies will not have one.

Be aware that the Motherboard will control the future of your
computer. All upgrades will have to be compatible with your
Motherboard. The chipset in the Motherboard deserves careful
investigation. What will it support? Find out before you buy.
Take your time. There are a ton of chipsets out there.

Pay close attention to how many PCL slots the Mother board has.
The more, PLC slots the better because they fill up quickly. How
is the board laid out? Check for any problems such as something
blocking your long PCI slots.

When selecting a case, be aware of the form factor. You want an
ATX form factor because that is what almost all new systems are
operating on. Try to go with a screw free form factor because it
will be easier to work with. One equipped with fans would be
optimal.

Three are three groups of processors; low end, average and high
end. The low end processor is okay for simple tasks. Letters,
invoices and other noncomplex applications can be performed on a
low end processor. If you do choose to go with a low end
processor, realize that these are fast becoming outdated.

Average processors are faster and they are just a bit more
expensive. For a few extra dollars you will be able to access
higher level applications without hassle. This will provide more
speed as well satisfying the average computer user.

High end processors are the cream of the crop. They are
expensive and usually reserved for those on the high end of the
pay scale. You will have high memory and no problem accessing
complex CPU programs.

Memory is a vital element of your computer. Spend the money and
purchase the best you can afford. If you don't, more than likely
you will need to go out and repurchase a better processor later.
Also you will want to make sure you get memory that works with
your system.

Get a video card that suits your purposes. If you are a small
business owner, go with a cheaper, jack of all trades card. If
you are building this computer for home use you might as well
reward yourself with some perks. Now don't go and spend five
hundred dollars on a video card that a top financial institution
might buy. Purchase a card that provides just slightly more than
you need, but not so high end that it cost as much as the rest
of your hardware.

You have your mouse and keyboard, right? Get a good hard drive.
Buy a new one, opposed to used, to make sure you are getting the
best quality.

CD-ROM drivers are cheap. Spend a little extra cash and get a
really good one. If you want a more advanced unit, buy a DVD
player. A DVD player will play CD-ROM's and DVD's. It will serve
multiple purposes.

About the author:
Frank Hardy is a computer engineer based in the UK. He is also a
specialist in fingerprint technology and CCTV systems at
http://www.adeleurope.co.uk.

Essential Tools You Need to Have When Working on a PC

By: Gary Hendricks

Whenever you start working on a PC, you need to ensure you have
the correct set of tools. I really hate it when I'm in the
middle of installing a card or upgrading the motherboard and
there's a missing screwdriver or cable tie.

So here's a short list of essential tools you need to have when
working on a PC. Remember to bring them along so that you have
an easier time.

Philips Screwdriver

Gosh, this is the most important tool for me as a computer
hardware enthusiast. All computer parts are connected by screws
- from add-on card slots to drive bays and PC casings. Remember
to get a screwdriver that does not have a magnetic tip -
magnetized objects inside your PC may damage some circuits.

Cable Ties

If you're like me, you'll hate the sight of untidy cables.
Whenever I open up an old PC, I just roll my eyes at the mess of
wires inside. Here's where the humble cable tie (also known as
zip ties) came in really handy. Organize those untidy cables
into bundles, route them through specific paths and tie them up.
Not only does this improve the look of your computer's insides,
it also helps airflow.

Tweezers

I always remember these. How are tweezers useful when working
with a computer? Well, when you accidentally drop a screw into
the deep, dark regions of the motherboard! Use those tweezers to
reach into tight spots or for retrieving that lost screw. I also
tend to use tweezers for removing or changing jumpers on hard
drives, optical drives and the motherboard.

Lint Free Cloth

If you have an old computer, you can be sure dust is accumulated
inside that PC. This can cause lots of problems - in particular,
it can clog up fans and air slots, raising the PC's temperature.
Using a lint free cloth to wipe off that dust from your case or
components.

Grounding Strap

If you've read my guide on maintaining a PC, you'll be well
aware that static electricity can cause severe damage to
electrical components in your computer. Prevent this by using a
grounding strap. This is usually a Velcro strap with a metal
contact to help discharge any static charge built up on your PC.

Windows Installation CD and Boot Disk

Many people forget that the original Windows installation CD and
its accompanying boot disk is a very important toolkit for a
computer enthusiast. The Windows installation CD is very useful
whenever the operation system asks for a Windows driver. The
boot disk, on the other hand, is very useful if the computer
fails to boot up. If you don't have a boot disk, check out this
link which offers free boot disk images for download.

Toolkits

I like to have a big tool kit to store all of the above things.
It also makes me feel like a handy computer guy too . A tool kit
helps to keep all your important tools in a central place so you
never forget anything.

Conclusion

Well, you now know what tools to bring along when next working
with your PC. Remembering to bring these tools will help your
maintenance or setup job that much easier. Good luck!

About the author:
Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site on building computers. Visit
his website at Build-Your-Own-
Computers.com for tips and tricks on assembling a PC, as
well as buying good computer components.

Computer Motherboard Guide

By: Peter Stewart

The heart of any computer is the motherboard. It is that big
board inside the computer that everything is connected to. It
performs the role of traffic lights and policemen, directing
flows of information to where they are needed, when they are
needed.

Choosing the right motherboard does not have to be a huge issue,
even though there is a lot to consider. I will start off with
the most major parts and move onto the the things that are less
important or non-essential.

Firstly is the socket type.

The socket is the place where the processor (CPU) connects to
the motherboard. There is no compatiblility between sockets, so
it has to be the right one. The socket connection needs to match
the connection of the processor you have or the one you intend
to buy for the computer.

Most older Intel Pentium 4s utilise socket 478. Newer ones use
socket 775. AMD chips utilised socket A for a long time, but now
the AMD Athlon 64 series and Semprons use socket 939. Just check
with someone as to what yours or your intended one will have.

Your choice of chip will have a lot to do with your needs, but
choosing one with an up to date socket type will ensure slightly
longer motherboard life as you can upgrade the chip for a while.

Second is the memory type

DDR is the RAM of choice for most systems, but some newer
systems, which includes all Pentiums with socket 775 use DDR2.
These two kinds are not interchangable and have a different
number of pins. Both DDR and DDR2 come in different speed
ratings measured in MHz. DDR has a usual 400MHz denoted as
DDR400 or PC3200, while DDR2 can go a little higher and comes in
slightly faster speeds. Just make it match what the board needs.

Third is expansion slots

The expansion slots are the places where you put extra cards
onto the motherboard, like graphics cards, extra sound card or a
wireless internet card. The old standard is a PCI slot and these
are appropriate for most expansion cards, excepts new graphics
cards.

The most simple of graphics cards are sometimes available for
PCI slots, but not too many. More common are AGP cards and the
newer PCI express (PCIe) cards. AGP slots come in speed variants
up to 8x, make sure the slot matches your card. PCI and PCIe are
incompatible, so don't be confused by that. The PCIe slots are
much longer and have a securing latch. If you want an SLI
graphics card setup with two PCIe cards with SLI attached
together, make sure the motherboard specifically states that it
supports SLI.

Fourth is hard drive and optical drive connections

Two kinds are available, IDE and SATA, IDE is older with a thick
cable and SATA is newer with a thinner cable. SATA capability is
usually an add-on, you can see a dedicated chip on the
motherboard. IDE is being phased out, but is still used for many
drives and all optical devices like DVD and CD drives. IDE has
speeds of ATA66, ATA100 and ATA133, SATA has speeds of 150Mbps
and 300Mbps the latter sometimes referred to as SATA2. Make sure
your board supports as much or more than you intend to install.

Fifth is the extras

The number of extras available on motherboard has increased
greatly and so has the quality of the extras. Things to be
expected are USB 2.0, a sound card and network slot. Other
things which it may or may not have are firewire and extra USB
slots.

So with all that in mind you should be in good stead to make a
good decision on your purchase. Happy shopping.

Roundup

Socket type - A, 478, 775, 939

Memory (RAM) - DDR, DDR2

Expansion slots - PCI and one of AGP or PCIe

ATA - ATA66, 100 or 133. SATA or SATA2

Extras - USB, network and sound card (expected), firewire, extra
USB, extra SATA slots (optional but becoming more common)

About the author:
Peter Stewart is a computer enthusiast, his interest in
computers and focus on practical down to earth advice inspired
his two websites.

http://computer-buying-gu
ide.com - Practical buying tips

http://computer-reviews.net - Fair and honest reviews and opinions