Outlook Express and Malware Registry Entries Can Slow Down the Processor
Anyone that uses their computer to get information online, whether they are using Outlook Express for e-mail or a web browser, knows that the risk of getting malware is fairly high. Any time a computer gets information from the Internet, that information can contain malware.
As long as the majority of computer users run any of the Microsoft Windows operating systems, there is a necessity for at least three types of programs to be installed. The three most important programs any Windows user needs is a virus protection program, a malware removal program and a registry cleaner.
Those that use their computers daily and use programs like Outlook Express and Internet explorer are sometimes more at risk of getting malware on their PCs that can make registry changes that are hard to fix, even when the malware has been removed. These registry changes can slow down the computer by causing the processor to actively try to run applications that are not even on the computer.
Most people that use their computers every day will quickly start to see their PCs slowing down over time as these old or redundant registry entries begin to pile up. Every time a computer user adds or removes a program there is a change to the registry. Also when using programs like Outlook Express, the accounts that are set up to retrieve e-mail have registry entries, so when these settings are changed some of the entries can be left behind causing the processor to slow down.
All of us have experienced some type of computer problems and fumbled around to try to fix them. On occasions people have damaged their registry trying to fix a problem. Trying to remove malware manually is a very common cause of registry damage. Most malware programs can add all kinds of crazy registry entries and when improperly removed can cause damage that can slow a computer down even more.
To speed up any computer running a Windows OS most people would recommend starting by turning off auto start up programs. When these options are changed there is typically a change to the registry. Then remove programs that are not being used at all on the computer. After that use some type of good registry cleaner program. These few steps will take only a short period of time to do, but could help speed up a computer considerably.
With its advanced registry cleaning technology, Optimize-Your-PC can help you fix PC errors, including those found in Outlook Express, and have your PC running like new again in under 2 minutes!
It’s Time to Teach the Spammers a Little Lesson
Spam is no recent phenomena. It has existed ever since the rise of the internet and will continue to do so. A recent study from McAfee has pretty much summarized the seriousness of the problems which spam creates. Did you know that as a result of spam alone, 33 billion kilowatts-hours of electricity was wasted in 2008? And this only accounts for America. Imagine what the total would be with the whole world combined. Another statistic revealed that $3 billion worth of electrical energy is lost through spam. Why is this the case? At an individual level, a single spam email emits about 0.3 grams of Carbon Dioxide, a greenhouse gas. If you multiply that with the number of spam emails being sent around the net, an estimated 62 trillion spam emails, that turns the final value into around 17 million metric tons of Carbon Dioxide.
So what exactly is spam? Spam is a term for any unwanted or unsolicited junk emails you receive on your email service. There are many variations in spam emails. The most common ones are those which attempts to ‘sell’ you products such as viagra, asks for your personal information and claims which state you have won a lottery or award. Did you know that when McColo, a U.S.-based Web-hosting service that was responsible for much of the world’s spam, was shut down in 2008, the result was an annualized carbon dioxide savings equal to taking 2.2 million cars off the road? This shows that we can reduce the number of spamming effectively by taking actions against the ISP (Internet Service Providers) alone. Unfortunately, many of these victories are short lived as spammers are like weeds, they’ll migrate to another ISP and regrow their spam sending capacity once more. But what if the whole world took action? What if everyone was able to identify the origins of a spammer and rally against ISP to shut the spam accounts down? In reality, it is an utmost impossible task to encourage the 6 billion netizens to all take action at once but it is still an action worth taking as an individual. All it needs is one viable complaint and kabem! A small but significant percentage of spammers could be gone.
So how do you identify the origins of a spam email? Unfortunately, email services have evolved to a state which allows people to send spam using bogus email addresses. However, there are some ways to get around this and find the real identity of the user. Let me explain how.
Identifying the real source of the spam mail
Luckily for us, email headers can tell us a lot of something. Spammers maybe able to forge a bogus email but they may not realize their whereabouts could be identified, just from the header alone. Luckily for us, there are free website services which do all the analyzing for us. However before you start, you fist need the original HTML code of the email header. Many emails should give you the option to change it to HTML view. For Gmail, click the downward arrow button next to the reply button and click ‘Show Original’. Once you have the HTML code, copy it and go to the Spam Origin Locator website (Search Geobyte Spam Origin Locator on the search engine). Paste your HTML code into the text book and click submit. You should now have a table listing the origin of the spam email address!
Wait, you’re not done yet! You now need to identify the ISP of the IP address. How? You need to run a function called tracerroute. To open this, open run and type in ‘cmd’ to open the command window. Now type in ”tracert xxx.xxx.xxx.xx” (Xs being the ip address) which will run the tracer route. You should now be able to see the ISP of the ip address.
This is an example of what you might see.
traceroute to 62.105.106.207 (62.105.106.207), 30 hops max, 38 byte packets
1 hsrp2.cc04-wien.AT.eunet.at (193.154.165.1) 0.952 ms 0.820 ms 3.707 ms
2 r2-ge1-3-0-95-ixi1.vie.at.eu.net (193.80.94.11) 1.556 ms 1.473 ms 1.179 ms
3 so-2-2-0.vie20.ip.tiscali.net (213.200.79.33) 1.388 ms 1.733 ms 1.327 ms
4 so-7-0-0.ams10.ip.tiscali.net (213.200.81.174) 19.123 ms 19.428 ms 19.298 ms
5 he12.core.rtr.gxn.net (195.69.144.95) 27.890 ms 27.575 ms 28.196 ms
6 gb0-1-2-llb-x-many.HE23.core.rtr.gxn.net (194.143.163.38) 29.572 ms 28.312 ms 28.382 ms
7 p8-0-0.tn-cr12.cix.gxn.net (62.72.156.142) 32.931 ms 32.683 ms 32.312 ms
8 f2-0-97.tn-cr57.cix.gxn.net (62.72.148.2) 33.155 ms 34.170 ms 33.110 ms
9 g0-1-91.tn-hg11.cix.gxn.net (62.105.94.254) 34.354 ms 37.704 ms 34.311 ms
As you can see, trace route was able to identify more than one ISP. Which one is the origin? The final one, gxn.net. Great! Now you have found the ISP. All you need to do now is search up the website of the ISP you identified and submit an abuse report and hope for the best. You can try using the Network Abuse Clearinghouse for a better chance of getting your message through. Make sure to include the significant bits of the email header HTML code to give the ISP a better idea of the spammer!
Visit the main author’s website at http://www.hkactivity.com
Using Print Control Software to Manage Workflow
Print control has become an important part of almost any business. Now more than ever business owners are finding it necessary to cut costs by managing the printing that takes place. This does not mean that less material is printed, but rather printing is controlled so that unwanted documents aren’t turned out and materials wasted in the process.
Print control software is now being developed with the business owner in mind. Instead of employing an IT person to monitor the print jobs, the software that is available is not intuitive enough that it can be used by those without an IT background. This has significantly increased the level of productivity because it has opened up a host of options for the business owner. Now the IT person you have employed can spend time taking care of other computer-related tasks and you can monitor the output of all your print jobs.
Print control software is also easy to use, very cost effective and powerful enough to help you solve problems that occur all on your own.
Now you will have no problem controlling the printing of documents, spreadsheets and reports as well as invoices and bills. You can even control how much color is used for your various documents and will be given full monitoring capability for every printer on your specified network.
You will even have the option of backing up your print jobs or deleting them when they have been completed.
Print control software will offer you many robust features you may have never even known you needed and once employed, won’t be able to do without. When utilized, it will allow you to manage the amount of information that is printed from every computer on the specified network as well as obtain information from each computer where each print job was requested. This will not only provide you with a systematic way of monitoring your overall printing, but will also help you significantly cut costs by allowing you to eliminate unwanted print jobs before they are ever executed.
Print control software truly enables you to optimize your printing environment in a way that is now both possible and necessary. You will know what each of your employees are printing and how each printer is used. It will also save you time and money in the long run and allow you to concentrate on other important business-related activities.
Gary Null
Vancouver, British Columbia
Y6Z 1Y5 Canada
gary@czsolution.com
Tel:1-615-686-6232
Fax:1-615-704-7696
http://www.czsolution.com
CZ Solution has been developing innovative print management software solutions since 2003. Our mission is to provide easy-to-use print management software solutions for today’s complex printing environments. Our products help automate and simplify the administration of printing and reduce printing cost. Our core products are CZ Print Job Tracker and CZ Print Release Station.
The Advantages of Using Web Filters
The Internet is your window to the world. It allows you to learn about a particular place without having to visit it personally. Surfing the Web can also teach you a lot of things that can be useful to your day to day activities. From everyday news to something as mundane as the best ways to effectively clean your carpet, the Internet can provide you with all the information that you need with just a few clicks of the mouse. It is a good source of entertainment, too.
However, surfing the Internet may not be always good for people, especially to the children. Because hundreds of millions of people connect to the Web to exchange files and data, regulating web content is quite difficult. You could not exactly stop a particular person from uploading offensive materials on the Internet. Fortunately, there are programs that can help you block unwanted web sites that can be potentially harmful to the younger members of your family.
As the name implies, web filters are computer programs that allow you to screen and block web sites that you deem inappropriate. For instance, if you want your child to visit only educational sites, you can filter web pages that contain irrelevant materials and allow access only to those that has passed your criteria. By using such software, you can prevent your kid from stumbling upon web sites that contain offensive media and feature information that are not suited for his or her age.
We are all aware that most children are driven by their curiosity and most of them are more adept at surfing the Internet compared to their parents by the time they reach adolescence. While the Internet can be extremely helpful to their education, checking out the Web exposes them to various ideas and concepts that can pose risks to their mental and emotional development. However, if there are web filters installed in their computers, parents would be able to steer them away from web sites that can bring bad influence such as those that promote gambling, pornography, drug abuse, and violence.
Web filters can also help those people who have problems with compulsive shopping. Since the Internet makes it easy for many individuals to acquire their needs with just a click of a button, it is easier for shopping addicts to continue their destructive habits through online stores. But with web filters, you can block the web sites that fuel a certain person’s addiction to shopping.
One of the biggest advantages of installing web filters to you computer aside from blocking inappropriate online content is that it helps employees remain focused on their jobs. As we all know, many workers are tempted to surf the Internet for personal use even during office hours. Such a behavior is unacceptable because it can significantly affect productivity and exposed the computer network to unnecessary risks such as viruses and spywares. But by limiting their Internet access, employees would be discouraged from wasting their time on counter-productive practices.
Indeed, the Internet is a useful tool for many people. However, it is prone to abuse and can do more harm than good in some cases. Therefore, as a responsible surfer, do not upload materials that can be harmful to children and offensive to certain groups of people because there are parents like you who do not want their kids to see inappropriate web content.
Discover a new breakthrough in web filtering software that is completely leak proof unlike traditional content blocking software available. Get a FREE 7 day trial of the most advanced online filter on the market and keep your family safe. Randy is a christian husband and father who enjoys helping people understand how to leverage the power of the internet while providing a great tool to surf safely.
Free Messengers
Messengers are a marvelous way of keeping in touch with friends, family and even colleagues at work. Free messengers are a feature offered by all the major web portals. You can share files and photographs, music and news with all those you have on your contact list. Instant messaging can be made fun as well by using smileys, cartoon characters, and wallpapers. In a word, your whole online world is easily contactable. The messengers commonly used are AOL’s AIM, Yahoo Instant Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, Google Messaging, and the ICQ. The new kid on the block is Digsby.
These messengers are easy to download and come with many features, not the least being that you can connect instantly with anyone who is on your contact list. You can send messages directly from your inbox and a record is kept so that in case you want to refer to a message, you can access it easily. Free messengers are a boon because they help you to contact even your business associates and partners instantly. In today’s world, time is of the essence and to keep pace with a swiftly moving world, communication has to be just as swift if not swifter.
When you are online and messaging your friend, another friend or contact can also join in either in your conversation, or you can carry on a separate conversation in another window. Neither is disturbed, and both work beautifully. Free messengers are developing and refining their features in such a way that not only are they offering a whole lot of special attractions, but they also make the whole thing very user-friendly. You can see new photographs that your friends have posted, and should your friend or friends be online at the same, time, you can even play a game together. This is really companionship in cyber world!
When you constantly update your status message, you are sharing the latest information with your friends and so, even if you cannot physically be with them, you will know all about what is happening with your friend, even as he or she keeps up-to-date with what is happening to and with you. Free messengers have become very dynamic tools of communication. Your whole group of friends will be in complete sync with each other. The free messenger service also helps in social causes. Through the Facebook or chat, or IM, you can contact a wide range of people and get their opinion on some current issue. This is far from being a passive experience.
Adam Keshier is an expert on internet messaging services and a big fan of Digsby.
Free Web Hosting with Yahoo! Geocities
Free Web Hosting on Yahoo!
Yahoo! Geocities’ free web hosting enables you to share your business or your personality with the world for free. “geocities.yahoo.com” provides an absolutely free package for web hosting. I think Yahoo! Geocities is the largest home page community on the web. Yahoo! Geocities provides you simple web designing tools such as Yahoo! PageWizards and Yahoo! PageBuilder. So you need not worry about learning Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) for designing your web.
With Yahoo! PageWizards, you only need to answer a few questions and the Yahoo! PageWizards will create a professional looking web page for you in a few minutes. Yahoo! PageBuilder is a drag-and-drop editor that allows you to create a full featured web site very easily. For availing the Yahoo! Geocities’ free web hosting package service, one has to sign up with Yahoo! and this sign up process can be done absolutely free of cost.
If you already have an email address at Yahoo! , then you need not repeat the sign up process again. You will be getting your own Geocities web address – “www.geocities com/
Package Details for Free Web Hosting
The various features of this package are (1) Personalized web address (For example, “www.geocities.com/
Yahoo! Geocities’ free web hosting package provides FrontPage Server Extensions and so one can design and publish web sites using Microsoft FrontPage 2000. You may design the pages of your site offline using MS-FrontPage 2000 and then you can upload your web files to a FTP server. While uploading various web files, you need to enter your Yahoo! ID and the Yahoo! password. You need to set one web page as “index.html” and this is the first page that will be loaded when your web address is called.
There is provision in the Yahoo! Geocities to set the page “index.html” as the web page to be loaded when your web address is called. After hosting your site on the Geocities, you can upload changed files to the Geocities server as and when required. If you are ready to spend a little money on your site, then you can go for your own domain name and then re-directing your domain name to your web address on the Geocities. Thus one may feel that you have got a paid web site on the Internet.
You can take as many as email addresses from Yahoo! and can increase your web space if needed.
Yahoo! Geocities – an User Friendly Approach for Free Web Hosting
Thus, Yahoo! Geocities provides a user friendly approach for free web hosting and thereby enables you to publish your site, resume, share family photos or connect with others who share your interests.
Purchasing Refurbished Laptops Make Sense
It’s perfectly normal to be a little apprehensive about purchasing a refurbished laptop. The thought of purchasing a product that is refurbished conjures up thoughts of a product that has been repainted, fixed up, and made to look new, but doesn’t perform like new. This is not the case when it comes to purchasing a refurbished laptop computer. Laptops that are refurbished are typically products that have been returned for repair, may have a minor defect that is repaired, or in some cases are actually new product that for marketing reasons are termed refurbished, to justify a lower price. Excess manufacturer inventory is sometime sold into a distribution network that re markets products and in some case labels them refurbished.
What about the reliability of refurbished laptops? Today’s modern electronic devices are very reliable, and in reality there are relatively few suppliers of the basic components of a laptop computer. Under the covers there is a great deal of commonality between brands, of the basic components i.e. keyboards, memory, hard drives. The testing method’s used to test a refurbished device and failure modes of the components inside a laptop are such that laptops that are sold as refurbished are as reliable as new product right off the assembly line. In fact an argument can be made that a refurbished laptop may be more reliable than the new products since it has passed through the “infant mortality” portion of it’s life where early failures often occur. A refurbished product has been “burned in” and the early failures eliminated.
What about price? Do some shopping and you will find that refurbished laptops can be found for 30% to 40% of new product price. This can amount to significant savings. In many cases the refurbished laptop may have larger memory and hard drive capacity to boot. In almost all cases the refurbished laptop will come with a warranty. Check this out before buying to make sure you are covered in case something goes wrong.
I wouldn’t hesitate a nanosecond on buying a rubbished laptop. I have been around the computer scene for many years, and I can tell you there is nothing to fear in buying a used laptop. In most case the documentation, packaging, and everything else that goes with the new product will be included with the refurbished model. Check the details of what is included before you buy.
Good luck as you search for that bargain refurbished laptop and enjoy many years of reliable mobile computing.
The author is a computer industry professional in the service and repair industry. His career dates back to the early 1960′s and the early solid state large scale super computers. He has managed services organizations responsible for service of large PC networks and manged repair center operations. He has served on service industry councils of IBM, HP and Compaq. His website http://www.finestlaptops.com is focused on providing information on, and sources for cheap laptop computers.
Tips For Extending Laptop Battery Life
One of the most discussed aspects of owning a laptop and mobile computing, is how to get more operating time from the laptop battery. Everyone needs more time from the battery when they are traveling, or not able to have the laptop plugged into the AC outlet. It seems we always need more operating time than we can get from the battery, and it never fails that we are near the end of a critical task when the screen goes dim.
The first consideration when buying a new laptop, refurbished laptop, or a new replacement battery is to study the manual and the recommendation that the manufacturer has for initially charging and discharging the battery. The conditioning of the battery is important to its ultimate life and also allows the laptop to calibrate its charging status indicators with the battery. The process will vary depending on the battery technology and it is important that it be followed. The following are tips to follow to get more life and operating time from your battery:
Reduce LCD Display Brightness
Operate the display at the lowest brightness level that is comfortable for your eyes. The brightness of the LCD screen is one of the main components consuming significant power from the battery. Most laptop software combinations have control over the display brightness, and this will have more effect on battery time than any other factor. When operating from the AC brightness can be set at any level you want.
Minimize Optical Drive Use
An optical disk drive spinning with a CD or DVD inside consumes power even if you are not using the drive for programs. When not using the drive remove the media and you will save power.
Turn Off Optional Devices
Using WI FI is a drain on the battery. If you are not using WI FI turn it off and there will be less power consumption since WI FI circuitry even in seek mode consumes power. Remove any unused USB devices. The USB memory stick inserted but not being used is consuming a small amount of power, but when combined with other unused devices increases the power consumption.
Select Conservative Power Options
Go to the power options section of your software control panel and select the most conservative or power reducing option available. Select the “Hibernate” option rather than “standby” since hibernate actually shuts the laptop down and saves operating settings.
Increase the Amount of RAM
Increasing the amount of system RAM will reduce the number of hard drive accesses because more of the information is stored in memory instead of the hard drive. The reduction in disk activity decreases the power consumed. In addition to the power savings, increasing RAM is the single most significant step other than a CPU upgrade, that you can take to improve speed and performance of your laptop.
Take Care of the Battery
If you take care of the battery it will provide longer more reliable service. Remove the battery periodically and using a pencil eraser clean the contacts, and use a cloth or cotton swab moistened with rubbing alcohol to clean the battery contacts. Don’t leave the battery in the direct sunlight or store it where it will be subject to high temperatures. Heat is the enemy of anything electronic, and that includes your laptop battery. Depending on the type of battery your laptop uses you should charge and discharge the battery every two weeks. Check the operating manual to be sure of this procedure. You should not completely discharge a LI-ION technology battery since it doesn’t have the same “memory” effect as non LI-ION type batteries. Most new laptops use LI-ION batteries but check your manual to be sure of the correct care of the battery after periods of non use.
Following the simple steps outlined will go a long way towards getting more operating time from your laptop battery without hampering your laptop use.
The author is a computer industry professional in the service and repair industry. His career dates back to the early 1960′s and the early solid state large scale super computers. He has managed services organizations responsible for service of large PC networks and manged repair center operations. He has served on service industry councils of IBM, HP and Compaq. His website http://www.finestlaptops.com is focused on providing information on, and sources for new and refurbished laptop computers.
Netbooks – The Future of Computing
A netbook is a basically a mini laptop ideal for viewing emails, documents, watching DVDs, playing music, and other such small task applications on the go. Personally, I own a netbook and use it to browse the internet and play my DVDs. As a main computer, I have a macbook pro. However, my Q2 MSI Wind netbook serves as a travel companion; allowing me to stay connected to my friends and family and have fun.
Hardware:
Physically speaking, a netbook usually has a screen that is 10 inches or smaller. The processor is also usually an Intel Atom processor, which has low power consumption and is ideal for basic computing. The Ram and hard drive space are also sufficient for the everyday computer (i.e 512MB of ram, 80GB hard drive). Some of the netbooks have solid state hard drives, which basically translates to “no moving part” hard drives. These hard drives can endure bumps and falls and will not break because they are flash memory. The downside is that netbooks only feature either 8GB or 16 GB hard drives. Netbooks also have no CD drive and as a result, a computer cannot install software easily. However, since USB drives are included, a person can just connect an external CD/DVD drive to their computer.
Software
Most netbooks feature Windows XP and run fast and great. However, I have also seen netbooks that run Linux; rather it is a custom distribution of linux that is tailored by the manufacturer of the netbook. I personally like Linux because I do not have to worry about viruses and for me, it is just easier to operate. The preference depends on the type of person and their experience with computers.
Overall
A netbook is a great computer with good power and performance to be an able companion on a long trip. The battery life is about 4 hours and can be longer with an upgraded battery. I highly recommend for the traveling type of people to get a netbook.
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An Insight Into the World of Cyber Forensics
Introduction
Mention crime and we think of robberies, murders and detectives examining the crime scene, interrogating witnesses and finally nailing the guilty.
But there is, however, another kind of crime, where traditional methods of criminal investigation fall flat on its face. Instances like hacking, cyber fraud, phishing, identity and data theft, all account as cyber crime. Cyber crime can be defined as an illegal electronic operation that target the security of computer systems and data processed by them. Even though it may appear that the effects of cyber crime are not life threatening, they have the potential to disrupt life. A survey in UK inferred that people were more scared of their bank accounts being hacked or credit card details stolen over the internet, than they were of robberies. There have been numerous cases, wherein people have been vulnerable to cyber crime in one way or the other. Crime can never be eradicated, but it can be prevented with the help of effective security to information. Whenever cyber crimes are committed, cyber forensic experts enter the scene and try to sniff out the clues and help in catching the culprits.
Skills and Tools
A cyber forensic expert is supposed to be adept in network security because most cyber crimes take place over networks. They should be competent in data recovery and encryption, because data and passwords are the targets of information theft. The experts should also be aware of cyber laws as most of the cases can got to court, where the forensic expert would be calles either as a witness or an examiner. A cyber forensics expert need not necessarily have to deal with computers all the time. Depending on the nature of cases and crime committed, the experts have to work on mobile phones, PDA’s, USB drives, media players, etc.
When it comes to corporate houses, they don’t really tend to trust the cops. They guard their systems and data by hiring the services of experts in information securities, such as Agape Inc. Also the process of collecting evidence after a cyber crime has been committed is not a cakewalk. Lot of care needs to be taken while collecting the evidence and processing them, as the loss of even an electron of information could mean that the data would not stand up to legal scrutiny. Of course, the job of forensic experts is very difficult, but they are assisted by some tools which help in processing the data quickly. The cyber forensic tools are software packages that can be used to preserve the state of storage devices or extract data from them. These softwares fall in 3 categories:
1. Open source software
2. Proprietary software
3. Tailor-made software for specific needs, designed by companies.
Courses and Career Path
The field of cyber forensics is still evolving and there is a lot of confusion on the part of students who are interested in pursuing this as a career option. To be good in this field, one needs to master various disciplines.Not only should they be experts in examining an evidence, they should also know the legal procedures of presenting the evidence in the court. For example, a cyber forensic expert would work on computer networks as well as network security. This means that network security certifications from renowned institutes/companies are essential for the candidate, to provide a good starting point.
A career in cyber forensics can be sought both in public and private sector. In the public sector, people are mostly absorbed into law enforcement agencies, state forensic departments and central agencies. In private sector, the scope for cyber forensic experts is immense as many experts would be required to detect and solve the increasing cyber crimes. Also, after sufficient experience, professionals can divert into freelancing and become independent security consultants.
Thus the job of a cyber forensic expert is a mixture of a cop and a geek, which is challenging and interesting, for committed professionals.
The author is a technology trainer and consultant who helps businesses build their online brand. His key passion apart from writing articles is Web 2.0 technologies and re-creating value for living. If you feel Sameer can be of any help to you, please send an email